The teenager was dragged inside and appraised with all the horror one might have given somebody who had turned up with limb hanging off. She shifted under the disapproving gaze of her friend and for a second wished she had stuck it out and changed. Then she bit back the thought, this was dinner, it wasn’t like they were dining with the Queen of England. She wasn’t naked. Therefor perfectly adequate and acceptable, except that she should probably have worn something under the sweater, at least a bra. And yes she was cold, but her pride was a little dented by the scorn and so she shook it off.<br/><br/>“No, I’m fine thank you. It’s warm in here anyways.” It was warm, but she knew she’d be warmer in jeans; it was the same sort of short-sighted pride that would have somebody refuse a hand up from the edge of a cliff merely because they’d stated that dancing along the edge was probably not the wisest choice. Irrational but still very real and Ardelia was a very prideful person. “I’m sorry, I didn’t have time to run home and change and I’ve been running errands all day.” It was a blatant lie, she’d had nothing but time, but it seemed better than confessing she couldn’t be bothered. Or worse even still, the actual truth.<br/><br/><em>Sorry Beth I would’ve gone home but one of my clients was trying to score and you know how these addicts get, never take no for an answer even when you’re fresh out of Coke.</em><br/><br/>She tried not to smirk imagining Beth’s kind attempt to disguise her horror. Well intentioned, lovely to be around but completely sheltered from the nastier sides of life. Except that Ardy had noticed the shadows sometimes, even Miss Perfect had something haunting her, which at least gave the brunette hope that maybe everybody was secretly as fucked up as she was.<br/><br/>Lee pulled her arms further into the sleeves of the black band-hoody so that only the tips of her fingers were sticking out and wrapped her arms around her stomach rather defensively. It was sometimes difficult to remind herself that Beth meant well, they were so completely different, for instance when her friends invited her over for dinner it was usually pizza, Xbox games and beer. Anything that wasn’t underwear was considered acceptable wear. This was a different world.<br/><br/>Never more evident than at that moment, looking around her house, perfectly neat, smelling inviting, food and heat. Her stomach responded to the former, clenching tightly, she hadn’t realised quite how hungry she was. Yes Ardelia felt completely out of place here, it was more than obvious she didn’t belong and she bit her lip for a moment before smiling at Beth’s attempt to nullify her shock at the teen’s appearance. Jumping to compliments, it was hard to stay irritated at her, even with damaged pride.<br/><br/>“What can I say; it’s the lack of effort that does it.” Ardelia was all too aware that she was an attractive girl; she used it to her advantage a lot. However she was also aware that her beauty was very based in her youth and confidence. It wasn’t quite a classic beauty like Beth had, she couldn’t pull off the grown-up, sophisticated look without looking like a kid playing dress up. Besides, Ardy always suspected she looked much better with her clothes off. “I’m really sorry though, I didn’t know there was a dress code. I thought it was just dinner?” She smiled. And then wrapped her arms around the other woman in a crushing hug.<br/><br/>“I’m not being sweet by the way” she grinned, personal boundaries were certainly not things she believed in, “just ruthlessly stealing your body heat! Now<em>please </em>tell me there is food to eat, because otherwise I might just go and eat your kitchen. I’m fucking starving.”