Chapter Text
In her three years of working at the store, Tanya had not yet figured out why people tracked in muddy footprints so damn often.
Obviously, it made sense that the constant precipitation in Toronto would result in wet shoes on their own, but where the hell did the mud come from? Even if it was pouring outside, as it was right now, the store was situated right in the middle of the city, entombed in concrete and brick and cobblestone with no dirt in sight. If it were summertime, she could have concluded that people tracked in sand and dirt from their visits to the lake nearby, but who in their right mind was going to the beach in winter?
It didn’t matter why the mud was there, though. All that mattered was that dirty footprints stained the glossy linoleum floor, and that Tanya had to clean them up.
Yup. Mopping was the only thing on Tanya’s mind at the moment.
She definitely wasn’t thinking about how Scarlet hadn’t come to the store yet today, even though her shift ended in 15 minutes.
Or about how Scarlet had come in at a similar time every Tuesday since the semester started, and how even her manager was now so familiar with her weekly visits that he had asked Tanya where she was only a couple minutes prior. Up until now, she’d spent her entire shift working the cash register, so she definitely would have spotted Scarlet.
And she certainly wasn’t concerned for her roommate, even though Scarlet’s bed had been unusually empty when Tanya woke up early that morning.
Almost reflexively, Tanya turned towards the front doors, scanning the store for that familiar head of dark violet hair.
…
Maybe Scarlet’s absence was weighing on Tanya a bit.
Of course, it was only due to her own dislike of change in her routine. Tanya wasn’t afraid to admit that she tended to fret over unexpected deviations in her schedule, no matter how small. Scarlet wasn’t here at her regular time, so naturally, that would make Tanya uneasy.
At least, Tanya kept telling herself that.
If she tried hard enough, surely she’d be able to mop up the muddy shoe prints that Scarlet Gwon had planted across the surface of her mind…
Tanya groaned audibly, earning a concerned look from a nearby customer.
So she was unironically viewing the world through metaphor now? Her internal monologue was starting to sound like the flowery yet contrived musings of the lovesick characters in her stories.
Lovesick. That word repeatedly bounced around Tanya’s mind, echoing in the confines of her skull; it was only when she realized she had been mopping at the same spot for nearly a minute that she snapped out of her trance. As she walked down an aisle, though, she couldn't quite shake the word.
Lovesick.
Even though she wrote about it constantly, Tanya couldn’t say she was familiar with the feeling herself. Outside of a secret hookup or two, her experiences with love were humiliatingly limited to fanfic and celebrity crushes that her 14-year-old self vowed to take to the grave. She’d never had time for a real crush, much less a girlfriend.
Isn’t what Tanya was feeling the textbook definition of lovesickness, though? Thinking about someone all the time, heart racing when they were near, becoming a pathetic, stuttering mess in their presence…
No, she wasn’t in love! Scarlet was just toying with her!
Yes, that made sense.
It was the only logical explanation for all of Scarlet’s subtle behaviors over the past few months that were far too frequent to be coincidence. Coming to the grocery store at the same time every week, leaning in a bit too close, wearing more revealing clothing than usual whenever they were both in the dorm: it had to be some new scheme or plan to distract Tanya.
Tanya wasn’t stupid enough to deny the effectiveness of Scarlet’s persuasion skills; hell, it was one of the things she hated most about her rival. Considering how much she looked down upon Scarlet since they met, Tanya had never been on the receiving end of that manipulative, playful charm until recently. She had to be teasing Tanya for the sole purpose of getting a reaction out of her, or trying to catch her off guard somehow, or…
Tanya sighed.
Was she really going to do this?
Was she really going to waste time with all these mental gymnastics instead of finding the logical, objective reason behind…whatever these feelings were?
Even when she wasn’t present, it seemed like Scarlet’s sole purpose in life was to irritate her. But Tanya wasn’t going to let that witch cloud her judgement as she had done since the beginning of the semester.
She allowed herself to play devil’s advocate for a moment.
If someone did happen to be in love with Scarlet, what would they even see in her?
Tanya hated how quickly she was able to answer that question.
Scarlet was objectively attractive, for one. How could she not be, with a literal supermodel as a mother? Her skin was always clear, her hair long and always styled, her makeup precise and flattering, her body fit but not lacking curves. Tanya knew firsthand just how much time she spent getting ready each morning, making sure not even an eyelash was out of place.
She was also rich. That alone was sure to attract people, albeit rather shallow ones.
She was talented and hardworking - how else could she compete with Tanya? She prioritized her academics and extracurricular activities over everything.
Tanya had never really factored marriage into her future. She wasn’t opposed to the idea, though, if she ever met a woman who could keep up with her. She needed someone who cared just as much about their professional life as she did, someone who could provide stability and security.
By all accounts, it seemed like Scarlet —
“Miss me, Tanya~?”
“Jesus-!”
Tanya was startled out of her thoughts as she whipped around, coming face to face with Scarlet.
“I-no! Why the hell would I miss you?!”
“I mean, you’ve been cleaning up after people all day. I’m sure you could have used some form of entertainment.”
“Well, I’ll let you know that I had a fantastic shift today, Scarlet!” Tanya snapped. “Not that you’d know anything about working, but it’s much easier to do so when I’m not being pestered and distracted by you.”
Scarlet merely laughed.
“Sounds like you’re just bad at your job, don’t you think? You need to work on staying focused if a single customer can distract you so much, Tanya ~”
Tanya tried to respond, but any words seemed to get lost in the back of her throat, and the fact that she could smell Scarlet’s sensual, intense perfume was not helping in the slightest.
“I-I need to start walking home,” Tanya finally managed to mutter, desperate to end whatever humiliation ritual Scarlet was putting her through. “Shift’s over, I have a meeting in an hour…”
That wasn’t a lie, at least. The busy holiday season meant that Tanya needed to schedule more frequent student council meetings.
Scarlet called out as Tanya turned her back.
“Wait! You walk here, right? I’ll drive you back.”
What?
Scarlet was…offering her a ride? That was certainly uncharacteristic.
The idea of sitting right next to her in that fancy car, of the forced proximity, of becoming an embarrassing, flustered mess whenever that damn woman did anything even remotely endearing…
Tanya wasn’t going to take her chances.
“I-I’m fine! I can walk, thank you very much.”
“In this weather?”
Right. The rain.
Tanya made a mental note to buy a small portable umbrella to keep in her work bag.
“I’m not afraid of a bit of water.”
“You think that’s a bit of water?!” Scarlet gestured incredulously towards the torrential downpour outside. “Besides, didn’t you say you had a meeting or somethin’ soon? You won’t have time to dry off before that.”
“I-”
Shit. Scarlet had unfortunately made a rather good point.
Maybe…maybe spending more time with Scarlet would help Tanya get to the bottom of...whatever mental block she was trapped in.
Besides, she had no doubt in her mind that Scarlet was a bad driver. Maybe witnessing her on the road firsthand would make Tanya lose feelings out of sheer fear for her life.
Feelings that didn’t exist anyway, because she didn’t have any positive feelings towards Scarlet!
“…fine. Let me clock out and grab my stuff.”
When Tanya left the store, she heard Scarlet’s voice calling out from the inside of her black Mercedes.
“Took you long enough!”
Rolling her eyes, she walked over and opened the passenger door, but not before she caught a glimpse of the pile of empty coffee cups lining the floor of the backseat.
“Holy shit, does your car work part-time as a Jim Horton’s trash can or something?”
Scarlet rolled her eyes.
“Y’know, I changed my mind. You can walk your ungrateful little ass back to campus -”
“Okay, okay, fine!”
She scrambled into the car, tossing her work bag in the backseat with the abandoned coffee cups.
“I want to make it clear that I normally wouldn’t trust you on the road in a million years, but unfortunately I don’t have much of a ch - “
Tanya let out a soft gasp of surprise as she sat down and felt the heated seat through the fabric of her work slacks. The sensation was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome considering the cold rain outside.
“Nice, huh?” Scarlet chuckled lightly.
Tanya didn’t respond, opting to stare out of the window instead.
“Y’know, my car is probably worth more than your yearly salary. You should feel honored — I don’t let most people ride in here.”
It could have been Tanya’s imagination, but the snarky remark felt…halfhearted.
Almost as if Scarlet was just trying to start a casual conversation.
“Like they’d want to be stuck in a car with you anyways,” Tanya answered.
“For your information, I deny at least ten people rides each week!”
“Bullshit.”
“I’m serious!”
“No way. If that were true then, knowing you, you’d charge an unfair amount of money and start a shady chauffeur business around campus.”
Scarlet paused for a moment as she backed out of the parking lot, then chuckled.
“Hah. Not a bad idea, actually.”
“Of course it’s a bad idea! What’s wrong with you?” Tanya chastised, though a small smile had crept onto her face.
Huh. If Tanya didn’t know better, she would have thought it was actually pretty easy to talk to Scarlet.
But she did know better.
Scarlet was planning something, she had to be! She was trying to get Tanya to humiliate herself again!
…right?
Tanya risked a glance at the front seat.
“Why are you doing this, Scarlet?” she blurted out.
“Huh? Doing what?”
What, indeed.
Tanya hesitated, unsure of where to even start.
Why are you clouding up my mind even when I’m not around you?
Why do you have to be so naturally stunning and charismatic?
Why are you so insufferable, yet so damn intoxicating…?
“W-why are you giving me a ride?” Tanya eventually decided. “I know you couldn’t care less about me showing up to the meeting soaked.”
Scarlet gave a wry grin.
“What, I’m not allowed to do something nice for my favorite roommate~?”
“D-do you think I’m stupid or something?!” Tanya snapped, ignoring the way her stomach seemed to do a nervous flip.
“Yes.”
“I-ugh! KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, DUMBASS!” Tanya shouted as she realized that Scarlet was looking and laughing at her display of frustration.
“Relax, would ya? I’m fine. I got my license before you did, remember?”
“No shit, because you’re older than — stop changing the subject!”
“…you’re not gonna quit, are you? Fine,” Scarlet gave a heavy, exaggerated sigh. “I forgot the key to the dorm this morning. Happy?”
Tanya paused.
“That’s it? That’s what you didn’t want to tell me?” She started to laugh. “Do you not keep it on a keychain with your car keys?”
“I…” for the first time today, it seemed like Scarlet was at a loss for words. “Mind your own damn business, why don’t you?! I was in a rush!”
“What on Earth could have been so important that you didn’t have time to grab your key?”
“I said mind your own business, you nosy bitch!”
Tanya laughed again, but didn’t push further.
Instead, she pulled out her phone and started typing out a message to her sister:
Penny 🐧
Hey, remember those little keychains that you used to make and sell back in high school?
the crochet ones?? yea, why? :0
Do you still have the materials to make them? The little metal keyrings and whatnot?
no, sorry 😖i have a couple completed ones lying around tho!!
Alright, that works.
Can I buy one from you?