Chapter Text
“Who’s in there? Open up!” The sound of a balled-up fist pounding on the door shook her awake. “Courtney? Courtney?” A muffled shout echoed.
“Just a minute!” Courtney jumped to her toes and yelped back, voice quivering with a stutter as she lost her footing and fell back to the lid of the toilet seat.
“Well hurry up! Do you have any idea how long you’ve been in there?”
Her teammate’s words barely had the time to register before Courtney’s stomach twisted into a knot; her dark, reddened eyes meeting her reflexion.
“Scum.” She whispered, pulling at her puffy under-eyes as if they would snap back to their usual appearance when she let go.
Courtney turned on the faucet and splashed cold water in her face. She took a deep breath and squeezed the handle, then finally opened the door.
“All yours.” She moped, pushing past Heather in search of the nearest thing she could collapse onto. A hand caught her shoulder before her feet could even drag out a complete pace.
“Gosh, Courtney. You look rough.”
Heather’s words somehow lacked their usual sharpness.
“I hadn’t noticed.” Courtney groaned, her shoulders hanging as if her arms were too heavy for them to carry.
The hand disappeared from her shoulder and crept up to her jaw, tilting her chin to match the taller girl’s eye level.
“You need some real rest. The toilet seat isn’t exactly cutting it.” Heather said, while Courtney’s eyes fought to avoid contact with hers.
“I guess I can’t argue with that.” Courtney agreed, not fully expecting to.
“Come on.” Heather let go of Courtney’s face and walked her over to a cushy, first-class seat.
“Thanks.” Courtney sat down and leaned back. Heather took the chair beside her.
“You’re way out of his league, you know.“ She said.
“None of that matters, Heather.” Courtney replied with a sigh. “Where’s the masseuse? My neck is killing me…”
“Hey! Masseuse! Can we get some service around here?” Heather called out.
“Shush. She’s probably on break, who knows what time it is…”
Heather got up out of her seat and stood behind Courtney’s. She cracked her knuckles.
“Normally I wouldn’t do this for anyone. Including you.” She put her hands at the base of Courtney’s neck and started to lightly squeeze. If Heather’s mood had been different, Courtney would’ve figured she was trying to kill her. Courtney pulled forward in her seat, out of the other girl’s reach.
“Come on, Heather. Even by your standards, isn’t it kind of cruel to try and butter someone up after they were just cheated on?” She scoffed and rolled her eyes. The last thing she needed to be was someone else’s fool, especially if that person was Heather.
“Courtney, I’m not. We’re on the same team here, it’s not like I have anything to gain.” Heather said, looking her dead in the eye. Courtney considered herself more than decent at reading most people like books, but when it came to Heather, she was clueless. “Now, do you want a massage or not?”
“…Fine.” She finally accepted, still a little reluctant. Was there any harm in at least giving her a chance to be nice? Maybe it would be relaxing for a change. It wasn’t like she was letting her guard down, it was just a neck rub after all. It wasn’t like Heather had just professed her undying love to Courtney and then expected her to buy it.
Heather got to work on her neck, her hands felt like magic. Courtney’s expression softened, and she let herself sink into her seat.
“How’s that feel?” Heather asked, leaning over the other girl.
“Pretty good. You might actually have a talent for this.” Courtney tilted her head back at Heather, giving her a sort of half smile.
“See? I can be nice when I want to.”
“Why do you want to, though?” Courtney raised her brow, looking up at Heather with curiosity.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” She replied.
“Fair enough. You and I could have one powerful alliance…” Courtney put a finger to her chin.
“Oh, Courtney. This could go so far beyond an alliance. This could be revenge.” She stopped what she was doing and leaned in closer, cupping a hand at the other girl’s ear.
“I’m listening.”
“Well, Gwen is already as good as out of the game, but I’m thinking we teach that conniving little scumbag Duncan a lesson while we still can.”
“What do you mean?” Courtney sat upright.
“You could finally get with someone who’s on your level, you know, just to rub his nose in it.”
“Who? You mean Alejandro?” Courtney looked down the hall towards the door to loser class.
“Well, he’s an option, I suppose. But he’s… I’m…” Heather tripped over her words. She disappeared behind the back of the chair for a moment as she cleared her throat. “We don’t need him. We can do this on our own.” Heather walked back out and stood in front of Courtney, awaiting her response.
A few seconds passed before it hit her. When she understood what Heather meant, she didn’t know how to feel. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out for awhile. But she thought about it. She thought about her and Heather; and then she thought about Duncan, about Gwen. She licked her lips, dry and salty.
“Ok.” She finally choked, her voice as creaky as an old door hinge. “Yes, Heather,” she followed up with more assurance. “I mean, it could be worth a shot. When did you even come up with this?” Courtney asked, still quite stunned.
“I’ve actually been sitting on it for awhile… it doesn’t take a whole lot of time or brainpower to figure it out. You and me are the perfect recipe for jealousy.” Heather said with her usual confidence.
That did sound right on target. Courtney paused.
“I’m in.” She extended her hand out in front of her, Heather took it and smiled. They shook on it, then Heather sat down opposite to her.
“Feel better?” Heather asked. Courtney nodded, resting her head in her hand. “Good. Night, Court.” She kicked back and yawned.
“Night.” Courtney replied, unsure of how well she would sleep, but exhausted nonetheless.