Female Tree house party (f)

[Blah!?]

Hey everyone! It's finally time for another story!

I'm sorry I still haven't worked on The Adventure Club in a long time, but I'm once again in one of those ruts where I can't get myself to work on anything. I've been milling about for the past few months waiting for the right idea to come along, and I think this was it. It's not anything as crazy as what I usually like to write, but these simpler ideas are typically what help me get back in the swing of things at least. Somehow I managed to bang this entire thing out in one day, and even after so short a time I'm already pretty happy with it. I hope you all enjoy it too!

Special thanks to a red nine for being my beta reader as usual, and MoonDuck for making my sneeze spellings suck slightly less!

Anyway, let's get started!

-----

Jamie had never been one for parties, and high school graduation was certainly no exception. If she had her way, she wouldn't have even walked at the ceremony to receive her diploma, but of course it wasn't her decision. And now, Jamie's twin sister had managed to drag her to yet another party to commemorate the end of the school year. Jamie walked awkwardly from room to room, ignoring the people, the drinks, and even the snacks. The problem wasn't that she had no friends, but rather that the rest of them were better at avoiding parties than she was. With any luck they would be waiting for her online when she returned home, but she still had to last that long.

 

Discovering an unoccupied couch, Jamie quickened her pace so she could claim it before anyone else. She was sure her presence would deter others from sitting on it. Jamie lowered herself onto the leftmost seat, holding her messenger bag and placing it on her lap once she was settled. Rubbing her wide, squishy nose with one hand, Jamie opened her bag with the other and withdrew her dormant 3DS. She prayed against all odds that the light in the upper right corner would turn green, that there was at least one other person in this house who shared her interests, but the streetpass indicator remained dark.

 

Jamie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and nudging her glasses up onto her forehead. She tapped the edge of her 3DS against the back of her hand twice before putting it away and closing up her bag. There was nothing stopping her from playing a game by herself but her own insecurity, and she obeyed it above her desires. Already the slightest hint of laughter made her jump, certain that it was directed at her. Even if nobody teased her for playing a few rounds of Smash, the news would surely carry to her sister, who already had enough to say about being 'antisocial.'

 

Leaning against the couch's armrest, Jamie placed her cheek on her right hand and slowly rubbed at a tickle in her left nostril. She wasn't allergic to perfume, but the overwhelming mixture of fragrances still made her want to sneeze. Despite that, Jamie took a deep breath in defeat and stared out the window. Then, her eyes widened when she noticed something in the trees just outside. She had finally found her salvation.

 

Quickly nudging through the crowd, Jamie made her way to the back door. The front was certainly being guarded, but plenty of people were already outside in the back yard. Just as Jamie suspected, none of them paid her any attention as she slipped out and away from the crowd. She accelerated to a fast walk once she was out of sight, not stopping until she reached the base of a tall tree beside the house. Jamie frowned as she drew a harsh sniff and rubbed her nose, but she was pleased with what was before her.

 

A series of boards nailed into the trunk of the tree led up to a quintessential tree house, complete with a roof and a window on each side. Jamie took one last look around to make sure she wasn't in anyone's line of sight. Once she was certain the coast was clear, and that her bag strap was secure across her chest, she began her ascent. Jamie could feel the tree pollen start to bother her nose more and more with every step, but the solitude and peace of mind would be worth it. Still, once she stuck her head through the opening in the tree house's floor, she knew she would have to sneeze after getting settled.

 

"Hehh... Heh'tCHH!"

 

Sitting on her hands and knees after pulling herself inside, Jamie ducked her head straight down with a sneeze. Before she could straighten herself at all, another "EHh'ch!" curled her head in even closer to her chest. The tree house's roof was too low for Jamie to stand, so she remained hunched over as she took a few seconds to rub her fingers under her broad nose. Then, she rolled sideways into a sitting position against one of the windowed walls. Once she was confident that she was out of sight, Jamie retrieved her 3DS from her messenger bag and flipped it open. She flicked the volume slider all the way down, not wanting to take any chances, and then she started up Smash.

 

The tree was too far from the house for a stable wifi connection, but single player was still more than Jamie ever expected to get at a time like this. She won several rounds in a row, mostly ignoring her allergies even as they continued tickling her nostrils. Before long, however, Jamie felt another sneeze coming on. She held her 3DS out as far from her face as she could, and then her head dipped between her arms with a sharp "Het'kSHH!"

 

"Agh, shit," Jamie groaned, her lapse in concentration leaving Samus open to be flung off the edge of the screen. She brought her 3DS up close to her face so she could give her nose an upward rub with the back of her wrist without further interruption, and then she finished out the match. Placing her handheld console on her lap, Jamie dug into her bag and removed a small bottle of nasal spray. She always hated using it, but it was the only allergy relief she could ever find while outdoors. Jamie unscrewed the cap and raised the bottle to her nose, but a sudden sneeze interrupted her before she could make use of it.

 

"IEH'ch!"

 

Jamie rubbed her nose slowly and firmly for a few seconds after the sneeze, and then she flared her long, curved nostrils wide open to make room for the spray bottle. She slipped the tip of the bottle into her left nostril, but before she could spray it, an unseen voice called out to her.

 

"Gesundheit!"

 

Jamie froze, her nasal spray still stuck up her nostril. She hoped whoever was outside the tree house would simply move on, but the more she thought, the more she came to realize her latest sneeze had been a bit louder and higher pitched than usual, and it was unlikely to be mistaken for anything else. When the boards leading up to the tree house began to creak, Jamie squeezed a puff of nasal spray into both nostrils as quickly as she could and put the bottle away. A young woman stuck her head through the opening in the floor and smiled. Jamie simply stared back. The visitor appeared older and more mature than the rest of the partygoers, but Jamie was no less wary of her.

 

"Hey!" the woman greeted, giving a quick salute. Jamie frowned, placing a finger vertically over her lips.

 

"Shh! Could you keep it down?" she demanded, shooting daggers at the young lady.

 

"Oh, sure," the visitor replied in a whisper, pulling herself the rest of the way in. "Hiding out up here?"

 

"Well, I was," Jamie grumbled, rubbing a finger under her wide nose in a slow, jerky motion.

 

"No worries, I'm the best at hide and seek," the woman continued, sitting up against the opposite wall. "I'm Stella, by the way. What's your name?"

 

"Please stop talking to me," requested Jamie, already leaning in toward her 3DS again. She knew better than to try kicking Stella out of the tree house, but she didn't have to be happy for the company either. Luckily Stella said nothing, allowing Jamie to continue her game undisturbed. Still, Jamie was certain that being a little short would have prompted Stella to leave on her own, but she chose to remain in the tree house for reasons unknown.

 

"Hehh..." Jamie breathed, feeling another sneeze coming on. Her eyes narrowed, but she kept them focused on her screen. She tried as hard as she could not to break concentration, but her flaring nostrils and heaving chest proved difficult distractions. Eventually Jamie's willpower failed, and she removed her right hand from her 3DS to scrub her fingers against the flat underside of her nose. She hoped she would at least be able to survive for a few seconds while she fought off the urge to sneeze, but eventually her allergies won out and cost her another stock.

 

"Ehh... Heh'tCHH!"

 

Jamie's glasses slipped down to the tip of her nose as her head bowed with a sneeze. She quickly straightened up and attempted to resume her game, but another building sneeze snapped her eyes shut before she could assess her situation. In the confusion Jamie accidentally began to push her control stick to the right with her thumb, once more sending Samus to her doom and ending the game in defeat.

 

"EH'kch! Dammit!" Jamie swore when she noticed the end screen. Letting out a sharp huff through her nose, she returned her 3DS to sleep mode, snapped it shut and tossed it back into her bag. Continuing to ignore Stella, Jamie searched the pockets of her cardigan for tissues. She quickly pulled out her small travel pack, dismayed to find there was only one little paper square left. Jamie supposed it would have to do, and she plucked it from the packet with one hand and raised it to her nostrils. Her broad nose squashed and wrinkled as she pressed the tissue against it, and then she gave a sharp, damp blow. A quick burst was all it took for Jamie to clear her nose, and afterward she massaged her septum and the edges of her nostrils, the wide tip of her nose squishing up and down.

 

"Gesundheit," Stella finally spoke up, breaking her vow of silence as Jamie depleted the dry area of her tissue. "Summer cold?"

 

"Allergies," Jamie corrected, a touch of lament in her low voice. She forced one last puff of air through her nostrils into the moist tissue, and then she crumpled it up and tucked it back into the plastic wrapper. Jamie folded her arms and avoided eye contact with Stella for a few more seconds, but eventually she decided to speak up.

 

"It's Jamie," she said, still averting her eyes. "That's my name."

 

"Nice to meet you, Jamie," greeted Stella, putting on another smile. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

 

"Do you mind if I don't answer?" Jamie muttered back, her voice nasal as she rubbed her nose. Stella lightly shook her head, and she took Jamie's lack of a reaction as permission to continue.

 

"I can tell you're not a party person, so I'm wondering why you came. That's not rhetorical or anything, I just want to know."

 

Jamie sighed, taking a second to respond. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and turned her body to better face Stella, though she still didn't make eye contact. After giving her nose a quick rub to one side and taking in a sniff, Jamie shrugged her shoulders and replied.

 

"My sister," she groaned, "I've told her a million times I hate parties, but she always makes me come anyway. I guess being eighteen minutes older than her doesn't really give me any authority."

 

"Aw, you're twins?" Stella cooed, placing her hands on her lap. "Identical?"

 

Jamie shook her head.

 

"Nope. And I pretty much drew the short stick on this one. She's a pretty, athletic socialite, and I'm a gangly loser with a big, fat nose."

 

"Well, I get the sense that you don't want to be an athletic socialite," giggled Stella. "And from one big sister to another, I think you look nice."

 

Jamie blushed, snapping her head to the side to look away. She rubbed her nose and stole a glance at Stella, immediately averting her gaze again when the other lady noticed her staring.

 

"Thanks, I guess," Jamie mumbled, adjusting her glasses. After another bout of nose-rubbing, Jamie looked back in Stella's direction and shrugged again.

 

"And speaking of, you look a little old and, well, sane to be at a stupid high school party at a big, dumb house like this."

 

"Well, it's my big, dumb house," laughed Stella. Jamie gave a start, a shocked whine seeping out of her throat. She opened her mouth, perhaps to apologize, but a sudden sneeze cut her off before she could speak.

 

"Hihhh... HEH'shh!"

 

"Gesundheit."

 

"Ehh'kCHH!"

 

"Gesundheit!"

 

Jamie kept her head hung low as she gave the underside of her nose a firm, rapid rub. Stella couldn't help but smile as she watched Jamie's nose squash left and right. Technically Jamie's description of 'big and fat' wasn't inaccurate, but Stella found the younger woman's large nose charming in its own right. She giggled softly as Jamie finally straightened up, placing her hands on her thighs.

 

"Another question," Stella began, "why hide up here if you have allergies? I mean, it is a tree after all."

 

"I just thought nobody would come up here," Jamie sniffed, wiping her nose on her cardigan's sleeve. Stella smirked, furrowing her brow.

 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I can think of a few guys who'd love to come up here and smoke."

 

Jamie frowned and scrunched her nose to the left with a harsh sniff. After adjusting her glasses, she hung her head with a sigh.

 

"Aw shit, you're probably right," she groaned, turning to face Stella again. Jamie stared out the window beside her companion, still not quite ready to make eye contact yet.

 

"And hey, you didn't answer my question."

 

"You didn't phrase it as a question," Stella teased. Jamie folded her arms in a pout.

 

"Yeah, well..." she trailed, off, stealing a split second glance at Stella. "Whatever."

 

"No, I know what you mean," Stella laughed. "Like I said, I live here, so I'm kind of at the party by default. But I'm not really one for going out either, so I'm just hanging around I guess. None of my college friends live around here, so when I'm home for the summer, I'm on my own. This isn't the first time my little brother's thrown a high school party, but luckily it'll be the last."

 

"Oh my god, younger siblings suck," muttered Jamie, the faintest hint of a smile crossing her lips. Stella gasped and leaned forward, lightly smacking the tree house floor.

 

"I know!" she agreed. "I swear the only reason we get along now is because I only have to see him for two months instead of all year."

 

Stella caught Jamie letting out a near-silent giggle, but she thought better than to call attention to it. She nearly spoke up when she noticed Jamie look into her eyes for more than a split second, but she thought better of that too. Even if she had said something, she could tell Jamie had another sneeze coming on anyway. She rubbed her nose hard for a few seconds, but she quickly lowered her arm to make way for the inevitable sneezes.

 

"Hhh-! HE'ch! Ih-Hih... Eh'kCHH! Ih... Hehh... Heh! EEh'CHHhh!"

 

Jamie's head bobbed up and down with three consecutive sneezes. The last was bigger and louder than either she or Stella expected, and she reflexively raised her forearm up to her nose to block it off. Groggily opening her eyes in the aftermath of her brief sneezing fit, Jamie cautiously lowered her arm away from her face.

 

"Aw, boogers," she grunted, crossing her eyes to stare at the ribbon of snot connecting her sleeve to her right nostril. Jamie sniffed hard, trying to slurp the mucus back into her nose, but even as her nostrils were sucked shut for a second, the string of snot refused to separate from either her arm or her nose.

 

"Gesundheit," comforted Stella, crawling toward the opening in the floor. "Sit tight. I'll go grab some tissues."

 

"Thanks," mumbled Jamie, watching as Stella began to descend the ladder. As soon as she was out of sight, however, Jamie smudged her nostrils against her sleeve to break the string of snot, and then she reached back into her messenger bag for a notebook and a pen.

 

Stella's presence was far more commanding that Jamie's, but she still managed to avoid being seen as she wove her way through the party crowd. The first bathroom she passed was occupied, but luckily the second was empty. Stella quickly slipped inside and retrieved an unopened box of tissues. The walk back out of the house was slightly more difficult, as people would be far more inclined to notice her carrying something, but Stella still managed to avoid detection as she made her way back to the tree house.

 

Jamie jumped with a gasp as a tissue box sailed through the opening in the floor and landed beside her. She placed a hand on her chest to calm her breathing as she watched Stella climb back inside. As Stella took her place against the opposite wall again, Jamie tilted her notebook back toward herself to keep it secret until she was ready to reveal what she had been working on.

 

"Hey, uh, Stella," she said, her voice timid and stuffy. "Can I, uh, give you sobethig?"

 

"Sure!" Stella replied, quickly remembering to keep her voice down. "What is it?"

 

"Well, I..." Jamie mumbled, glancing nervously down at her notebook. She removed a page from the bindings, but she kept it to herself for a moment more.

 

"It's probably dot very good, but I... I've drawn all mby friends frob school, and you're dot frob school, but I think... I think you're mby friend too."

 

Jamie blushed furiously, turning her head to the side as she held out her face-down paper. Stella put on a big smile as she graciously accepted the gift. She glanced quickly up at Jamie to see her rubbing her nose and still looking away, so she simply leaned back with the drawing and turned it face up. Stella found herself staring at a stylized but detailed and charming sketch of herself, sitting in a sitting position similar to her current pose.

 

"It's dot very good," Jamie repeated, punctuating her sentence with a sniff as she stopped rubbing her nose. "And I sdeezed od it. Er... Sorry."

 

"That's how I know it's authentic," Stella laughed, causing Jamie to squirm but smile. "And wow, Jamie, this is really good. You're not going to art school, are you?"

 

"Doe," Jamie replied, finally reaching for the tissue box. She tore it open, plucked out a paper square, and held it to the underside of her nose with one hand. After taking a deep breath through her mouth, Jamie blew her nose sharply into the tissue, and then she set about massaging her nostrils and septum just as she had before.

 

"I'm majoring in computer science," she elaborated from behind her tissue. "I just like to draw sometimes."

 

"Well, don't give this up," said Stella, catching Jamie's gaze for a second. "I wish I could draw like this."

 

"Thanks," Jamie murmured, staring down at the floor. "I don't think I'm that good."

 

Stella was about to offer more words of encouragement, but the sounds of approaching voices silenced her. She and Jamie sank down against the walls of the tree house, trying to stay out of sight. Stella guessed that the people below might just pass by, but when she looked up at Jamie, the younger woman's face betrayed a desperate need to sneeze. Stella began to scoot toward her new friend, but she was too late to stop Jamie's first sneeze.

 

"Eh'kSH!"

 

Jamie's head dipped forward just as Stella slid around behind her. Stella let Jamie rub her nose for a few seconds, but when it was clear that she was about to sneeze again, Stella quickly placed her hand over Jamie's mouth and squeezed her nose. She left just enough room for Jamie to breathe through her lips, but she was ready to smother the sound if a sneeze escaped anyway. Stella found herself becoming distracted for a second; Jamie's broad nose was so soft and squishy that Stella had to resist the urge to gently roll it back and forth between her thumb and forefinger. She considered the possibility that doing so might actually help, but before she could take action, another sneeze snuck through Jamie's squeezed nostrils.

 

"Ih-! HEHH'chh!"

 

"Gesundheit," whispered Stella. She could tell from the shifting footsteps below that whoever was outside had heard them, and there was no point in trying to stifle any more of Jamie's sneezes. Releasing her friend's nose, Stella slid across the floor and approached the tree house's center window. She quickly glanced back at Jamie to check on her, finding her helplessly rubbing a finger under her long nostrils but otherwise fine.

 

"Hey!" called an obviously inebriated voice. "What's goin' on up there?"

 

"Get lost!" Stella shouted back, staying just out of sight beside the window. "No boys allowed!"

 

"What?"

 

"No boys allowed!" repeated Jamie, sliding up to the other side of the window. She would have said more, but a creeping urge to sneeze again kept her quiet. Jamie groped for the tissue box, and she managed to grab it just in time to smother a sudden "Eh'tCHH!" with one of the soft paper squares.

 

"Why you bein' such a bitch?" inquired a closer voice from below. Stella and Jamie dragged themselves toward the opening in the floor and stared blankly down at the group of young men at the base of the tree.

 

"'Cause this is my tree house," replied Stella, "and I say 'bitches only.' Now scram!"

 

The boys on the ground looked ready to protest, but Jamie promptly blew her nose into her tissue and dropped it through the hole in the floor. The trespassers scattered, stumbling over each other in their attempts to avoid the snotty tissue, and by the time it harmlessly reached the ground, the boys had all fled back to the house. Stella and Jamie settled back up against their respective walls, the latter tipping her head back in preparation for one more sneeze.

 

"Ehh... HE'chh!"

 

"Gesundheit," said Stella, pulling her knees up to her chin. "Now you can't say you never have any fun."

 

Jamie shrugged, rubbing her nose with one outstretched finger.

 

"Parties still suck. But I guess tonight wasn't so bad."

-----

And that's a wrap! I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I have a feeling this is going to remain a one-shot for the foreseeable future, but as always feedback of any kind is much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

[Sass]

Great story Blah! I can really empathise with Jamie, I am also pretty bad at parties! I like her interaction with Stella it's really sweet

[NoV]

Jamie's head dipped forward just as Stella slid around behind her. Stella let Jamie rub her nose for a few seconds, but when it was clear that she was about to sneeze again, Stella quickly placed her hand over Jamie's mouth and squeezed her nose. She left just enough room for Jamie to breathe through her lips, but she was ready to smother the sound if a sneeze escaped anyway. Stella found herself becoming distracted for a second; Jamie's broad nose was so soft and squishy that Stella had to resist the urge to gently roll it back and forth between her thumb and forefinger. She considered the possibility that doing so might actually help, but before she could take action, another sneeze snuck through Jamie's squeezed nostrils.

Great paragraph The 'someone holding another person's nostrils to prevent an approaching sneeze' element is something I am really enjoying in a few recent fics at the moment. A thoroughly enjoyable read Blah

[Chanel_no5]

Great story as usual.

And I too would prefer a tree house with an allergic girl over a noisy party.

[Pilgrim]

Oh man a tree house story! I have been so WAITING for a tree house story! Nice work

[LastHope]

I love this so much! It's so well written and ahhhh a tree house story :3 thank you for sharing!

[SneezeloveronGirls]

This story is wonderfully written. Thanks for writing it and hope u write another like this when u have the time to.

[JadeStone]

This is adorable! I hope you write more with these two.

[Oolia]

Such a sweet story You're so good at describing the environment and everyone's actions with a nice balance; I always have a very clear picture in my head of what it looks like without being annoyed that it's too descriptive. And it's not easy to do at all :grumblegrumble: wish I had that talent...

[chalkdust]

I am always impressed at how well some people write! Great story, very sweet.

[TwinklingStars053]

I love your story! It's so well written! Ughh I envy Stella :/