Chapter Text
thursday. 11:33 am
Shauna woke up with a throbbing headache and a sinking sense of dread pooling in her stomach—though that might just be the remnants of alcohol.
Her brain didn’t give her a moment to recover before replaying last night in stilted flashes: Lottie’s smile, her quiet but firm “I should probably head home,” the way she’d squeezed Shauna’s arm before leaving her standing alone at the doorstep.
Shauna stared at the ceiling, her cheeks heating with embarrassment and regret. She could still hear her own voice, small and stupid: “Do you, uh… wanna come in?”
God, why had she said that? Leave it to drunk Shauna—and, frankly, sober Shauna too—to completely misread a situation. Lottie had only driven her home out of politeness and in return, she had made a fool out of herself.
With a groan, Shauna dragged herself out of bed, pulling on a worn hoodie to shield herself from the world—or, at least, from the cold air brushing her skin. Her head throbbed with every step, and it felt like Natalie’s raspy voice was still ringing in her ears. The craving for coffee drove Shauna to the kitchen, wearing only the hoodie and lacy underwear. She could hear the faint buzz of conversation outside her door, but it wasn’t until she opened it that the voices became distinct.
Natalie was sitting on the kitchen counter with Tai, of all people, a mug of coffee in hand and her feet propped up on a chair like she owned the place. She was wearing one of Jackie’s tops and gesturing wildly as she pitched some idea to Tai, who was actually listening.
Shauna froze in the doorway, her groggy brain grinding to a halt at the sight. Who the hell invited her for breakfast?
“Oh, hey,” Tai said brightly, noticing her first. “Morning—or, I guess, afternoon now. Coffee?” Why was Tai playing along with this?
Natalie turned in her chair, giving Shauna a once-over that made her skin prickle. “Rough night?” she asked, smirking.
Shauna blinked, torn between annoyance and confusion. Ignoring Natalie entirely, she directed her question to Tai. “Why is she here?”
“Uh, good morning to you too?” Natalie answered, taking mock offense.
“Jackie brought her back home,” Tai said quickly, shooting Natalie a look. “She stayed the night and has actually been... surprisingly helpful brainstorming these damn posters.”
Shauna’s stomach churned. “Right,” she muttered, heading for the coffee pot.
It wasn’t unexpected, but it still felt weird knowing Natalie had spent the night under the same roof as she did. As she poured herself a cup, she caught Natalie watching her from the corner of her eye, sizing her up. It wasn’t threatening—just irritating. Ugh.
“So,” Natalie drawled, dragging the word like it was a challenge, “what’s got you all grumpy this morning? Didn’t like the show?”
“Sorry if I’m not thrilled to see random people in my kitchen,” Shauna said sneered, before taking a sip.
“Shauna,” Tai warned gently, but Natalie waved her off, obviously amused. “Relax,” Natalie said, holding up her hands in surrender. “I’m not planning to move in. Jackie said it was cool.”
Of course, Jackie had said it was cool. Shauna could practically hear her voice: “Come on staaay, Shauna won’t mind!”
Shauna sighed, pulling out a chair and flopping into it beside Tai. “Whatever,” she mumbled. On any other day, she would have yelled at Natalie, maybe even thrown her out. But today? She didn’t have the energy. Maybe she’d try being happy for Jackie, who was presumably getting ready right now. Natalie raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning back to her coffee.
“So, how was last night?” Tai asked, placing a hand on Shauna’s thigh, clearly trying to ease the tension. Shauna hesitated. She knew Tai wasn’t asking about the party in general—this was about Lottie. She bit her lip, suddenly hyper-aware of Natalie sitting there, listening. Did Lottie ever talk about her to Natalie?
“It was fine,” Shauna said carefully. Tai gave her a knowing look.
“Just fine? Come on, Jackie already told me she drove you home. What happened after that?”
Shauna’s face heated. “Nothing happened. We just talked.”
Natalie snorted, earning a sharp glare from Shauna. “What?”
“Nothing,” Natalie said, smirking over her mug. “Just didn’t think Lottie was your type, that’s all.”
Shauna bristled. “How would you know about my type, Natalie? This is the first time I’ve even talked to you—in my kitchen, no less.”
Natalie shrugged, clearly enjoying herself. “Jackie, if you haven’t noticed, talks a lot. And she likes talking to me and telling me things,” she trailed off.
Shauna stared at her, searching for a response, but Tai mercifully intervened. “Don’t listen to her,” Tai said firmly. “She’s just being a jerk.”
“Guilty,” Natalie agreed, grinning.
“Anyway,” Tai continued, turning back to Shauna, “so what did you two talk about?” Shauna hesitated, the memory of Lottie’s quiet laugh and soft gaze in the moonlight flashing through her mind.
“Nothing important,” she said finally. “But when we got back... she didn’t come in.”
Tai frowned. “Why not?”
“I don’t know,” Shauna admitted, the words tumbling out. “She said she had to get back to her dorm or whatever, but...” She trailed off, staring into her coffee. “I don’t know. It felt weird.”
Natalie snorted again.
“What now?” Shauna snapped. She could tolerate the girl for Jackie’s sake, but she wasn’t gonna deal with this whole condescending vibe.
“Just sounds like she wasn’t as into it as you thought.” Shauna’s stomach twisted, but Tai shot Natalie another warning look.
“Or maybe she was just tired,” Tai offered gently.
“Maybe,” Shauna muttered, though she didn’t sound convinced. Before the conversation could go further, Jackie appeared in the doorway.
“Morning!” she called practically beaming, oblivious to the tension in the room.
“Afternoon,” Natalie corrected, her smirk melting into a genuine smile as Jackie walked over. Jackie rested a hand on Natalie’s shoulder, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before ruffling her hair.
“Ready to go, babe?” Jackie chirped, grinning at Tai and Shauna.
“Yeah, let me get my keys, Jacks,” Natalie said, throwing Shauna a triumphant look as she left the room.
The second Natalie was gone, Jackie scrambled over to Shauna.
“She’s driving me to class! Can you believe it?” She squeeled.
“So, I take it last night went well?”
“More than well, Shauna. This is it! Oh, I’ve got to go, but I’ll call you later. Have fun!”
Great. Just great.
She let herself lean into Tai’s shoulder with a sigh.
“You know,” Tai whispered theatrically, “Nat’s driving Jackie to the studio... in Jackie’s car. She doesn’t own a car.”
Shauna let out a weak giggle and slumped more into Tai.
sunday. 09:11 am
Shauna had spent the last few days cocooned in her room, alternating between scrolling aimlessly through her phone and staring at the ceiling. Every time she closed her eyes, her mind drifted back to the doorstep, to Lottie’s soft smile and the way her fingers had lingered on Shauna’s arm.
It was stupid. Embarrassing. Really overdramatic.
Shauna had spent too much time trying to analyze that moment—too much time wondering why she cared so much. She barely even knew Lottie. But the more she tried to dismiss it, the more the feeling lingered.
She’d debated texting her—she still had the number scrawled somewhere in her notebook—but the fear of coming off as clingy and desperate gnawed at her.
A knock on the door jolted her from her thoughts.
“It’s open,” she called reluctantly.
Tai stepped in, taking in the room and then her before raising an eyebrow. “Wow. You look...terrible.”
“Thanks,” Shauna mumbled, pulling a blanket over her lap.
“Don’t get too comfy,” Tai said, holding up a stack of papers. “I need you to do something.”
“Not really in the mood, Taissa.”
Tai ignored her, settling on the edge of the bed and dropping the papers onto Shauna’s legs. “Come on. You’re not going to your classes. Help me finish these flyers before I lose my mind.”
Shauna picked up one of the pages, frowning at the bright, chaotic design. “You made these?”
“No, Natalie made those,” Tai said with a smirk. “I’m fixing them. Unless you think ‘Vote for her' in Comic Sans is a good slogan.”
The corner of Shauna’s mouth twitched downwards. “She helped you?”
“Yes, Shauna, she’s really not all that bad when she’s sober,” Tai shot back, already pulling out markers and scissors.
Shauna sighed and leaned back against the wall. “Why are you really here?” Obviously, Shauna didn’t believe Tai actually needed her help with flyers; that would be untypical.
“Because I’m a great friend, and I’m not about to let you mope in here forever,” Tai said. “Now shut up and start cutting those.”
As Shauna grabbed a pair of scissors, Tai reached into her bag again and pulled out a pre-rolled joint. “For better ideas,” Tai said, grinning. Shauna stared at her friend, grateful but lost in thought again, her mind wandering back to Lottie’s voice—calm and steady—telling her goodnight.
“Do you think,” Shauna started hesitantly, “Lottie thinks about me?”
Tai gave her a curious look as she opened Shauna’s window, letting fresh air in for the first time in too long, but didn’t press. “Yeah. She probably does. You’re hard to forget,” she answered softly, lighting the joint.
It wasn’t much of an answer, but it made Shauna’s chest feel a little less heavy.
monday. 10:31 pm
The three of them were sprawled out on the couch, pizza boxes and wine glasses scattered around. The movie had long since become background noise, but no one was really paying attention anyway.
Shauna was comfortably sandwiched between Tai and Jackie, her feet up on the coffee table. She had actually gone to a few lectures today and the wine in combination with the warmth of the blankets was making her doze off.
Tai was mid-rant, her voice dramatic as she pointed at the screen. “I swear, if he says ‘It isn’t you.' one more time, I’m throwing this remote through the TV.”
Jackie giggled, nudging Shauna with her elbow. “I think it’s cute that Tai still gets this invested in bad rom-coms.”
Shauna chuckled softly, leaning into Jackie’s shoulder. It had been a while since they had all gotten together for a ‘dorm movie night’ and it seemed to be just what they needed.
For once, she wasn’t overthinking. For once, she could just be in this moment.
Shauna's phone buzzed next to her, quickly ruining said moment, but she grabbed it without thinking.
A text flashed on the screen.
unknown: I’m sorry if I’ve made things awkward... Just wanted to know if you’re okay.
unknown: This is Lottie, btw
Shauna blinked, her heart skipping a beat. She couldn't even form a coherent thought on the message over all the noise in her head reappearing instantly. Without saying anything, she held up the phone, her eyes wide. “It’s Lottie.”
Tai’s head whipped around, eyes sparkling. “No way, she texted you?!”
Jackie practically lunged at the phone, her voice giddy. “Oh my God, this is huge! She’s thinking about you, Shauna! You’re like, on her mind right now.”
Shauna felt a flush creeping up her neck, her heart racing. “It’s... it’s just a text. Nothing major.”
“Oh, come on!” Tai grinned, grabbing Shauna’s phone, analyzing the message.
“Okay, this is cute, a little mysterious but cute.” she concluded.
Shauna stared at the screen, suddenly feeling way too much pressure.
Jackie was practically bouncing next to her. “You need to text her back, Shauna. Seriously. This is like, big.”
unknown: Can I see you tomorrow?