Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

The day had been disastrous. Meryl had never experienced such a barrage of blistering humiliation, never been so close to that elusive, forbidden thing called sex. After Meryl's unexpected 'discharge', Kayla had helped her get properly dressed again, and they'd decided between them that she'd be better served going home early rather than inviting further misfortune by trying to get through what remained of the day. Kayla accompanied her on the bus ride home, Meryl resting her head on her friend's shoulder and eventually falling asleep before she was gently shaken awake when her stop arrived. They went together up to the front gate of Meryl's house, hugged once more, then broke away from each other.

"None of this was your fault. You know that, right?" Kayla stroked her hair. Meryl held back tears and was just barely able to eke out a little nod. "I-I don't understand what's been happening...it's like-"

"Shh," Kayla whispered. "Just try not to dwell on it for now, alright? I'll call you tomorrow, after you've got a good night's sleep, and we can work through it together, yeah?"

"Y-yeah..." Meryl dropped her gaze to Kayla's chin. "I...I'm sorry, you had to see me like...that.

"It's like I said this morning: nothing I haven't seen before. Well, mostly."

Meryl sniffed pointedly, then turned and opened the gate, stepping through to the other side and starting up the path to the front door. "Mer Bear?" Kayla called. It made Meryl stop and look back, "W-what?"

"Love you."

Meryl hesitated, then smoothed down the front of her skirt and nodded. "Love you...too," she said, and then it was over. Kayla watched her go up to the door and bring the knocker down on it, leaving only once it had swung open to reveal Meryl's mother standing behind it. It was over, she thought, as she made her way back down to the next nearest bus stop. No more problems for today, at least.

Meryl stepped over the threshold, surging forward and wrapping her arms tightly around Mum for a hug. Mrs. Prentiss was clearly surprised, not having expected quite such a warm greeting. "Um...it's good to see you, too, dear?" She awkwardly brought out her foot to shut the door behind her oddly-affectionate daughter, and stared down at the top of her head, waiting patiently for Meryl to release her. When she finally did, she was shocked to find Meryl's eyes red and puffy. "Have...you been crying?" she asked, placing a hand on her daughter's cheek. "What happened?"

Meryl seemed to cringe, breaking away from her mother's touch. "Nothing, Mum. It's n-nothing." Mrs. Prentiss was about to press further, when Meryl bolted past her and up the stairs. "Me-" she began, but the words died in her throat and her eyebrows shot up upon getting an unfortunate glance up Meryl's skirt, under which, she was more than a little surprised to see, she wasn't wearing any underwear...