Chapter Text
Laura Lee didn't really know anything about Van's friends. She never met them, mainly because she didn't know how to react when she was in social situations. She always becomes incredibly nervous, all her words stumble on top of each other and come out in stuttering awkwardness, and whispers of ‘Lord please give me strength’ that she might’ve said louder than she intended.
They had been friends for years, for so incredibly long that Laura Lee was sure that Van knew more about her than she even knew.
It started when Van had gone up to little 6 year old Laura Lee, playing alone in the sandbox on the first day of primary school. Van was as lively and social as she is now, maybe even more.
She remembers that Van called her funny and weird when she asked about what bedtime stories her parents told her. Laura Lee replied with “oh.. uhm they sing for me”.
Van asked her about which songs her parents sang, maybe they were the same song? Laura Lee tried her best to sing the start of Kum By Yah, My Lord and Van had started to laugh which made Laura Lee cry as it was her favorite goodnight song.
Van quickly understood what type of family Laura Lee had grown up in, and eventually understood that it was just how she was. It never stopped them from being friends though.
Now they are in their second year of university. They found a two story apartment, big enough so they could have their own floor and have people over if they wanted. It was like 2 apartments in one, it was great, though they shared a main dining area and hallway.
Van and Laura Lee went to different Universities, but the apartment was exactly a 10min walk from both of their study places. They studied different things, and they complimented each other.
Van had always been a huge music fan, though she never really learned any instruments before high school where they had an after-school music-club. You could sign up for an instrument by choice and get free lessons.
Van signed up for drums and Laura Lee was able to talk her parents into allowing her to have piano lessons. Her lessons ended quite fast after she couldn't get the f-sharp right, and she still felt guilty about it.
Van on the other hand continued playing the drums, and even started studying musicproduction when she started university.
Laura Lee remembered how excited Van was when she came home one day and said she started a band with a few classmates at the start of November.
She loved listening to Van telling about their band progression. She was even surprised at how fast they’d come in only one and a half years.
They had their first debut concert in March, four months after the band was made, and so many attended. It was a free concert, open for anyone who wanted to support a local band's first concert.
Van played in a rock band called TheYellowjackets , and to put it mildly, rockmusic wasn't exactly for Laura Lee. She preferred staying home listening to folksongs and ballads like Plastic Jesus by Tia Blake.
She was invited, but sadly said no since she knew it probably would be a bit too much for her because she didn't really have any other friends to go with besides Van, and she didn't even know how to act or dress. Van understood of course, and said she could take all the time she needed, and next time there is a concert Van could help her.
Van had shown her recordings of their first concert on her DAT, someone had even been able to record it on a VHS-tape, eventually the sound was a bit too much for her.
Laura Lee remembered Van complained: “Yeah and someone even took their shirt off in the mosh-pit! It was hilarious, though you can't even fucking see me in the photos. There was this shit smoke machine, and it stood right in front of the fucking drumset”
She had looked at the few polaroid photos taken, Van looked like a ghost in all of them, barely visible, though you couldn't really see the faces of the other members eithr.
The person who took the photos had the flash on too, meaning the reflections from the instruments shone right back at the camera, probably blending the cameraman.
“Okay, so the short girl in the middle with the dyed mullet and black and white fender is Nat. She is our lead guitarist and frontman” Van enthusiastically said as she pointed at the photo.
“That's Shauna with the red guitar! She’s our backup singer and rhythm guitarist. She is quite nice, but she scares me sometimes” Van laughed.
“Then we have Tai on keys-” Van said, stopping herself, and Laura Lee was sure she could hear a change in her voice and her cheeks slightly color.
“Oh and then there's Lottie! Ah shit you can’t even see her face because of the flash. Anyway, she's our bassist, she’s fucking insane, like I’ve never heard someone use that technique on a bass before. She also has backing vocals on a few songs,” She said with an amazement in her voice.
“I’m going to pretend like I could understand everything you just said,” Laura Lee laughed.
“I know one-hundred-percent what a fender means,” she playfully said, receiving an eyeroll from Van.
Not even 2 months after their first concert, they received a call from a producer who was interested in their music, and eventually they released their first album The Hive in the start of August on CD, vinyl and cassette which gained them a lot of attention.
They even gained enough money to get a manager. Van described her as a “poodle-haired girl who was a bit too enthusiastic and probably would shove you off a cliff if she had the chance ”, but besides that, she helped out a lot .
Her name was Misty, and Laura Lee could see how the description perfectly matched the name.
Laura Lee found herself ‘borrowing’ Vans walkman to listen to some of their music. This wasn't really something for her, but they had a few calmer songs which she enjoyed.
She found herself listening to the basslines, it was not like she was actually studying them… just listening!
“Hey Lee? Have you seen my walkman? I can’t find it anywhere” Van asked once one morning when Laura Lee was getting ready for Sunday church.
“Uhm, no sorry..” she quickly said before disappearing out their frontdoor, leaving behind a confused looking Van.
Later that night Van received a call from Misty, which made her run around the apartment jumping up and down as if she had chucked down 10 slurpees in under a minute.
One of the bigger local bands called Limp Legs – where the frontman was a guy called Ben Scott actually had a limp leg – asked if The Yellowjackets wanted to be their special guests at their gig.
“I’ve listened to Limp Legs since fucking end of highschool!!!” She remembered Van shouting after she had run up and down in their apartment of the adrenaline shock.
The venue was sold out and Laura Lee remembered Van coming home and brag about it for maybe 2 months straight non-stop. She had never felt so proud of someone before. Two concerts in their career and already gained so much in just the span of one and a half years.
Still, she could feel a very small hole filled with jealousy, and she wished it wasn't there. Laura Lee usually stayed home or was away working at the university.
She studied art-history, mainly because of the intersections of faith and culture, but also for her love for narrative and symbolism.
After she ended high school she moved out very fast to study in the city and not in Wiskayok. During her entire time in high school she was incredibly devoted to her religion, and she is still now, however at the end of the year she realised she maybe wanted to understand more.
Not just by her own religion but others as well. She enjoyed the arts, she really did, especially off the saints.
She was alone a lot during high school, looked on as the shy and weird christian girl who didn't talk about anything else than Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, and they were probably right.
Van was incredibly social and went constantly to parties and got lots of friends, Laura Lee joined one of the parties but went home quite fast again.
She enjoyed the silence of painting and drawing. She had two little brothers and one little sister, all a lot younger than her who would constantly annoy her, she loved them with her whole heart.
During summer time her parents signed her up for bible camp the first month of break, and when she got home it was her little siblings turn to be away for a month.
She liked that she was able to have a whole two months for herself, without the constant ringing in her ears of small children crying or repeating her name non-stop.
Since she didn't go out much, she found herself painting and drawing, and eventually she got very interested in the history of church-art from the late middle ages after a lesson at school. She ended up borrowing books from the library and studying them in her free time.
Eventually she understood how many of the main religions have connections and originate from places in the middle east. She found it fascinating and enjoyed how much we were able to know now because of the art left behind.
Now every time she went to church on Sundays, she knew that the stained glass window was supposed to represent 'God's light shining onto the people’.
She might study something a bit unusual which isn't for everyone, but she enjoyed it a lot, and little did she know how much her art skills came to use.
She had designed both logos for The Yellowjackets which she was very proud of. The first was their name in bright yellow cursive, and the other was a symbol which in reality could look like a religious symbol of its own.
“You know, everyone wants to meet the creator of our logo right?” Van said a night when they were eating some takeaway food, both too tired to actually make dinner.
“Yeah I know.. I just-” She sighed
“I just don't know if it's my right place, you know how nervous I get. I’m not as good at getting, and especially keeping, friends like you” she finished, looking down at her takeaway food as she stirred around in it.
Van gave her her signature frown in return, a face she made when she didn't really know how to comfort.
“Please Laura Lee, we’re finally having our first big, and own, gig since the album release, I really want my best friend to be in the crowd” Van said, her voice small as she already knew what response she would get.
“I think I would be a better support back here..”
“Come on Lee, please… I could get you a free access pass, so you can see the concert from backstage! Or I can get you a seated ticket for the tribune!’ Van tried, she really wanted Laura Lee to be there.
Laura Lee was wearing her ‘deep in thoughts’ face before finally replying.
“if I’m going, I’m going as any other, as a fan.” She said, and Van bursted out with joy.
“YES! I love you Laura Lee, I swear to god it'll be great!” she said so quickly that Laura Lee almost didn't even know what she was saying.
“Hey, be careful with your words!” Laura Lee laughed as Van came over to squeeze her in a bear hug.
“I love you too” she finally said as they both giggled together.
“I‘ll get you a free access pass anyway” Van said before hugging her even tighter, making it difficult to breathe for her.
“Oh it's gonna be so great for you to meet the rest of the band!” Van said while letting go of her. She had a huge smile on her face before disappearing to her room to get her phone, probably to tell the rest of the band.
Shoot… she hadn't thought about if she got a free access pass, she probably had to meet Vans bandmates, which was something she probably wasn't ready for.
.
It was now the evening of the concert, and Laura Lee had stupidly enough said to Van that she could dress her up in what she thought fit for the gig, in other words, Van could dress Laura Lee in whatever she wanted.
“No I can’t wear this Van, it’s to revealing”
They were in Vans bedroom, movie and band posters covering the walls, and small fairy lights over the window curtains, a CD player playing something she read as ‘No Doubt’.
She had picked out a black flowy skirt with small flower patterns that you couldn't really see, and Laura Lee actually found it cute, but she didn't really like dark colours, and it was just below her knees. If they were shorter it would be an immediate no.
Then Van had made her wear a dark blue/gray-ish cropped halter top which she didn't approve of at all after she had changed to it.
“Oh come on! You look cute! Give me a 360” Van said with a proud grin. Laura Lee annoyingly huffed in return.
“I can keep the skirt, but please let me use another top,” Laura Lee said.
“Fine but you’re missing out on your full potential” Van jokingly said while dramatically putting her hands up in silent defeat, turning around to see what else she had laying around.
“In John twenty-one sev-” Van threw a pillow in her face before she could finish, getting a surprise yelp in return.
“Yeah and the part where it says, ‘Blessed are the meek’? I think it meant ‘meek’ as in not throwing pillows at people.” Van snorted.
If it was someone else, Laura Lee probably would’ve gone home and cried, feeling angry at herself, but in this case she threw the pillow even harder back at Van who wasn't paying attention, hitting her face with a loud SMACK making her fall sideways on the bed.
Laura Lee covered her mouth with both hands, trying to hide the shock on her face. “Cheese and rise! Are you okay? I’m so sorry!” Laura Lee said before sprinting over to Van, checking if she was okay.
Van let out a loud groan as she gripped the pillow in her face and threw it off to try to sit up.
Laura Lee couldn't help the smile tugging on her lips and the giggle coming from her. The pillow had left a red mark on the left side of Vans face, and Laura Lee was a bit too proud of herself to hide it.
“Well aren't you a little feasty today?” Van said, holding her hand to her cheek.
“I said I was sorry!!” Laura Lee protested, but they soon fell into a hysteric laugh at how childish they were acting.
“You‘ll be the one to explain to the crown why I’m showing up with a huge red mark on my face.” she laughed, and Laura Lee felt the pre-concert anxiety lighten from her chest.
Laura Lee stretched her arms out to Van and helped her back on her feet. Van was still slightly hissing from the pain and Laura Lee said a small ‘ sorry ’ every time.
“Okey but I think this top will suit you, try it on,” Van said while handing her a light blue top made from some jean fabric.
Laura Lee went to the bathroom and got changed, it was in fact a light blue jean-vest with two pockets in the front and buttons down. It had a V-shape collar which was neither too short nor too long, covering her cleavage and showed just enough skin for her cross-necklace to show.
She was surprised by Vans choice on this one, she actually liked it, even felt cute if she even allowed herself to think so.
“Hey, is it okay if I just fix my hair and stuff when I’m first in here?” Laura Lee shouted from the bathroom.
“Sure, just don’t use too long, I need to take a shit before we leave” Laura Lee laughed by the response. Of course she had to.
She found one of her favorite black hairbands with a bow that matched perfectly with the top, and decided to curl the ends of her hair and style her bangs. Then she put the smallest details of makeup on.
She didn't really wear makeup normally, first off all she didn't know how to do it, second, she had to appreciate and live with the face she was given by god.
“Are you finished yet?” Van shouted.
“Yeah I just need to find my earrings” she replied. She found a pair of cute golden bee earrings. Since she was going to a The Yellowjackets concert, bee earrings would match either way.
She walked out of the bathroom and over to Van who was sitting like a shrimp in the middle of the bed, reading a comic book of some sort.
“So what do you think?” she said as she stretched out her arms on each side and gave a little spin.
Van looked at Laura Lee with wide eyes, completely shocked, as if she didn't recognise the Laura Lee who was standing in front of her. This was in fact very out-of-character for her.
Laura Lee always wore bright pastel colours with some cardigan which was just as bright, she was like a walking sunray of some sort.
“Holy fuck-” Van said as she sprung up from the bed to stand, waving her arms around like there was a fly in the room, taking an extra look at Laura Lee who had given her a face of disapproval by her choice of words.
“Okay, if you start getting too much attention, just remember who really helped you with all this-”
“I- what? Thank you I suppose..” she replied. She could never get used to Vans weird ways of complimenting.
.
There was so much going around her that she felt disoriented. She had never been to a rock concert, and Van knew, but she could've given her a heads up for what to expect and prepare for. She was standing completely alone because Van had to rush backstage, what was she supposed to do now?
The venue was more like a concrete box, and no one had probably washed the place in a while as there were old posters and graffiti everywhere, maybe that's just how this venue is.
The strong smell of beer hit her the further she disappeared in the crowd, she could see people with cheap beers all around her.
It wasn't just beer she smelled but also a weird mix of sweat and sugar, and smoke. Laura Lee tried her best to not cover her nose by the strong odor. She already looked enough out of place, she didn't have to act so too.
Van had dragged her here with a grin and a promise that “ no one ever got spiritually corrupted by a rock concert, unless you count the metal concerts ”, the last part did not help her nerves in any way.
Laura Lee was swallowed by the crowd, holding tight around her tote bag to try make herself smaller so she wouldn't bump into people, which was basically almost impossible at this moment.
Her little bubble of worry was interrupted by a roar of screams and shouts. She turned around to face the stage, it was the band walking out.
First came Van — who found her at once in the crowd and directly winked at her, Nathalie, Shauna, Taissa — and then her .
“Lottie Matthews…” she whispered to herself.
She was tall, a lot taller than she expected, and wore boots that made her even taller, perfectly matching her outfit. The bass slung low around her hips, like it belonged there. She had a big smile on her face, clearly excited for tonight's gig. She took a quick glance at the crowd while adjusting the strap as the rest of the band got ready.
Her hair was messy and shimmered under the violet stage lights, a wind-machine was making it flow, revealing her full face, and Laura Lee didn't really know what to expect.
Lottie went over to the amp, adjusting the volume. Then she hit the first note…
The vibration went straight through Laura Lee's chest like a second heartbeat. Laura Lee inhaled sharply as her breath caught
Her eyes were wide with admiration and her mouth was slightly open in shock of amazement. She didn't know people could look like that. Lotties hair was a little wild, and her eyeliner a little smudged. And she played like she belonged here.
She tried looking away, but she couldn't. She tried to think of which direction she had seen the exit sign, briefly considering making a break for it, but her feet stayed rooted to the sticky floor.
“This is fine,” she muttered to herself, palms sweating. “I’m here for the music. Just… supporting a friend.”
Lottie, meanwhile, hadn’t seen her — the lights were too bright, the crowd a little too dark. But Laura Lee felt like Lottie was playing just for her anyway. Every deep strum of the bass made her stomach twist with something sharp and unfamiliar.
She tried to recite a Bible verse in her head. Failed. Tried another. Failed harder. She wasn’t sure if she was having a religious experience… but it had to be, there isn't anything else that can make her feel this way.
‘This is a test. God is testing me’ she thought.’
And maybe he was. But was she really passing or really, really failing .
The crowd had somehow gotten bigger around her, swaying, jumping, pushing, and she was still just…standing there. Frozen. Sweating. She was clutching the strap of her totebag like it could protect her from whatever was happening up on that stage .
The music was too loud. Just: too loud . It overwhelmed her, and mildly said, she preferred listening to the music from the walkman she had borrowed from Van.
She could see Lottie clearer now after being pushed a bit closer to the stage. Her head was slightly tilted down, hair falling in front of her eyes as her fingers glided over the strings with complete ease.
Laura Lee’s mouth was dry. Her knees were not okay.
She tried looking back at Van. At least Van was safe, Van made sense . But her eyes always dragged themselves back to Lottie. Her posture. The curve of her wrist, her hands, her smile. The heavy, deliberate way she played.
Laura Lee was not thinking about her hands, or her smile…or about that time in Bible Camp when a girl sat in her lap for hours while she braided her hair where she told herself it was meditative, like a prayer. That was years ago, and not important, and also had nothing to do with this .
She could leave. She should leave. She thought about leaving several times, even turning slightly to face the exit, but yet again she was stopped by a bassline going straight to her bones.
It felt like being possessed. That was the only way she could justify it.
Laura Lee bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Focus. She was just tired. It was the lights. The music. Peer pressure, something .
Then she turned back to the stage, and she saw Lottie leaning forwards to the mic. Lottie let out a low harmony, a backing vocal on the chorus, and Laura Lee nearly jumped out of her skin.
“She has a nice voice,” she mumbled, to absolutely no one.
Then, louder: “I don’t even like her voice.”
Someone in front of her turned around and gave her a weird look.
Laura Lee cleared her throat, face burning. God, why was it so hot in here?
.
Laura Lee was walking around the venue, incredibly confused on where to go. Van had been in such a rush and hadn't given her a proper introduction on where to go to find her after the show.
Van said something breezy like “just go down the hallway by the merch table and follow the smell of cigarettes” which was really unhelpful as the entire place smelled of cigarettes.
Laura Lee had made two wrong turns, passed a suspiciously shirtless man, and ended up back in the main venue space, now wimpy and echoing with the faint sound of clatter of gear being packed away.
Still on stage, crouched over her bass pedal and unplugging all the different cables was none other than Lottie Matthews. The blue-purple glow of half-dead stage lights still shining on her.
Laura Lee should've turned around, find Van or even a staff member. Or literally anyone else, but her feet didn't get the message.
‘Cheese and rise’
Lottie looked up, and smiled.
“Hey,” she said, like they’d met before.
“You’re Laura Lee right?” She said, packing away her bass and slinging it over her shoulder like it weighed nothing. Lottie stepped down from the stage, sweat still shining at her temples.
“Oh, uhm- yes..” Laura Lee said, suddenly a bit too self-conscious over what she was wearing.
“Van told us that you’re the artist behind our logo, she talks about you a lot… she really looks up to you” The tone of her voice was casual, but there was something in her gaze Laura Lee couldn't quite catch.
Lottie was standing in front of her, not far away on stage but literally right in front of her. The first thing Laura noticed was her eyes, a deep brown colour that turned brighter in the light, then her smile, it was soft and gentle, welcoming.
Laura Lee couldn't stop the fact that she was nervous . She was always nervous when she met new people, somehow this was different. She felt like her hands were shaking and turning sweaty.
What was happening?
Laura Lee blinked. “I- I mean, yes. But it wasn't, like- Just a sketch I sent Van after chu-” she stopped herself from going further. She couldn't form a proper sentence and all her words came out in stutters.
‘Lord please give me strengt’
She was fidgeting with her hands, and did not hold eye contact for more than 2 seconds before she looked away. She gulped hard trying to find her words and Lottie probably noticed as she was the one to speak.
“I’m Lottie by the way. I guess I’m the bassist… in case Van didn't mention me”
The introduction made Laura Lee giggle, “I’ve heard” she smiled back and received another gentle smile in return.
Lottie tilted her head, looking at her with gentle eyes “You okey?” she carefully asked.
‘ he noticed-’
“yeah! Uhm- it was a great show” Of course she wasn't okay, she was in full panic mode.
“Thanks,” Lottie said, amused. “You looked a little dazed when I saw you.”
Laura Lee blinked again. “You…you saw me?”
“Kind of. Just a silhouette. In the middle of the crowd. You weren’t moving like everyone else, at the same time you were the only one wearing a big bow”
“Oh- I- I didn't really know what to wear so Van helped me a bit…Uhm I don't really dance.” She said.
“No judgment, I suppose Van did a good job, it suits you.” Lottie said. “You were watching pretty hard, though.” she said, adjusting the strap on her shoulder and slightly tilting her head.
Laura Lee’s ears went red so fast that Lottie one-hundred-procent noticed. “I just- I’m observant. For graphic design purposes.” she said while clearing her throat.
Lottie raised an eyebrow. “Design purposes.”
Laura Lee laughed nervously. “I mean- like, if I were to... hypothetically... design future posters. Not that I’m offering.”
There was a pause. Lottie smiled wider. “I wouldn’t say no.”
Laura Lee was officially lost, she had no idea what to say back besides looking nervously down to the ground and fidgeting, actively feeling her face becoming warmer.
Either Lottie felt bad for her or just noticed she needed to get to Van as she nodded towards the side hallway and said “Vans probably back there. Want me to walk you?”
An unconscious sigh of relief came out of Laura Lee.
“Yes,” Laura Lee said, maybe a bit too fast. “I mean, sure”
Lottie just laughed, soft and low, probably noticed and gave her a curious look. “You’re cute when you’re nervous.”
Laura Lee’s soul left her body.
“Lee!” they heard someone shout, both of them turning to see Van standing by the hallway.
‘ Just God knows how long she has been standing there.. ’
“Awww look at you, making friends” she said, holding two water bottles before tossing one to Lottie who catched it with one hand.
“Van! Thank God! This place is a maze” Laura Lee said, visibly relaxing.
“I see you found the major rager on the four string motherfucker” Van said with a smirk and arms crossed, obviously teasing Lottie who gave a weird grimace in return.
Laura Lee let out a small giggle that made Lottie return her focus on her.
“I’ll introduce you to the rest of the band,” Van said, coming over to get Laura Lee before turning her gaze to Lottie. “Still here Matthews? I figured you'd be off somewhere writing poetry bass tones and emotional eyecontact”
Lottie raised an eyebrow. “Nice to see you too.”
“I‘ll stay here and clean up a bit, I‘ll be there soon” Lottie said, turning around to walk back to the stage, which confused Laura Lee as she just saw her pack everything down.
Laura Lee followed Lottie with her eyes before Van snapped her out of it again. She walked with Van, looking back once and then disappearing. Why couldn't she just act normal?
Van led her to the breakroom where they warmed up earlier, introducing her to the rest of them. Somehow she didn't feel as nervous, which was weird because there were more of them and she probably had to talk even more instead of a quick ‘Hi Hello ’.
They all seemed sweet and were kind to her, complimented how well she had made their logo.
The rest of the band had left to pick up some food while Van, Laura Lee and Lottie waited back at the dining area at the venue. It was a big empty space, looking more like a basement than a dining area.
The floor was made of concrete, the walls of brick and painted over with some white paint. There were actually three booths at each side of the room with red and white stripes and around three arcade games standing in a row against the wall.
“I should probably go home,” Laura Lee said, looking over at Van, breaking the awkward silence, not really wanting to look in Lottie's direction since she literally didn't know how to act.
Van could see Lottie giving a small sad frown, probably wanting to talk more to Laura Lee.
“Want me to call you a taxi so you get home safely?” Van offered.
“Oh that would be great, thank you” she said. Van was always the first and last to show up for band, so when she got home Laura Lee had already gone to bed.
There were a few times Laura Lee was up when Van came home, and that was when Laura Lee had a deadline for an art project.
They sat in silence for a while until the taxi came to pick Laura Lee up. Van had gone and taken a Slurpee from the free slurpee machine standing next to the small row of arcade games.
“It should be here now, let’s go out and check” Van said as Laura Lee got up from the booth and walked behind Van, saying a quick “ Bye, it was nice to meet you ” to Lottie who replied with a soft “ You too ”
Van pushed open the front door and held it up for Laura Lee.
“Get home safe” Lottie said with a smile, making Laura Lee turn around and give a little wave back before disappearing through the door.
Van returned approximately two minutes later, humming on some song she catched the taxi driver listening to. She sat down in the booth, opposite Lottie, neither of them really saying anything.
“She’s cute” Lottie subconsciously said while leaning her chin on her hand, holding her head up as she looked at the now closed door Laura Lee had left through.
Van stopped mid slurpee sip,
“What?” she said, unsure if she heard right or not.
“Hm?” Lottie said, finally returning back from her daydream.
“You just said you found her cute,” Van said with a questionable raised eyebrow, leaning back in her seat.
Lottie said as she looked away trying to escape the intense stare from Van. “Her outfit was cute,”
“No you said she was cute” and Van couldn't help but to snort off how obvious Lotte was being.
“I know very well what I saw back there. So? You think she noticed you flirting, or are you still convinced you’re just ‘being nice’?”
“I was not flirting. It was… complimenting. Very… casually" she gave Van an eyeroll before leaning back in her seat.
Van couldn’t help but smile by how obvious she was being. “Casual compliments like ‘You’re cute when you’re nervous’ from a stage diva who looks like she just walked into church by mistake? Yeah, super casual”
Van took a slow sip from her slurpee without breaking eye contact, and Lottie knew what would come after that.
“Okay, I guess I can share… as long as you don't put any weird ideas in her head” Van said, obviously teasing her as she got a grin on her face.
Lottie only groaned in response and decided to lay face down on the table, trying to hide the color in her cheeks.
“Just don't make me come over with a guitar and an angry song if you mess with her” she finished and Lottie only raised her hand to flip her off.
Van really could be a pain in the ass if she caught you saying anything about something, or someone , she was protective of.
.
Laura Lee had just brushed her teeth and gotten dressed for bed when she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her pajama shorts. She sat crisscrossed in the middle of her bed, leaving her nightlamp on.
She didn't really use her phone, she used it only for calls and messages. Van had shown her this weird snakegame on it, but she found it weird.
The message was from unknown number, which confused her because she never handed out her personal phone number, she usually gave the number to their housephone, and it was only when she had a group project at school.
Hey
you get home safetly?
Sorry, who is this?
Ah my bad
Its Lottie
Van gave me ur number