Chapter Text
No one seemed to know where they stood, as they walked into the halls of North Shore Highschool the monday following Spring Fling. The massive paradigm shift of the school year had barely begun to settle over the populace. While they were in their classes, things seemed almost normal, but the hallways were more chaotic than usual. No one seemed to know quite where to stand or who to talk to, and this confusion reached its peak once the lunch bell rang.
The thrum of idle conversation dulled to a murmur as Regina George entered the cafeteria. She was alone, her usual two friends already settled at their table. Despite the padded neck brace she was wearing, she looked as radiant as ever. If anything, she had only flourished following her harrowing accident and near death experience. She walked with confidence, never one to mind all eyes being on her, regardless of their reason. The commanding silence that spread around her barely registered, even when she dropped her tray onto the table and it clattered sharply.
Janis ‘Imi’ike winced, looking up at Regina in surprise. Damian recoiled, pulling his tray away from Regina’s as if he thought it might catch fire by being too close. His body language reflected the same thought, the deceptively large male leaning away from her with a dubious glare.
Behind them, across a short distance at their regular table, Gretchen Weiners stood.
“Regina?” she called, a hopeful question in her tone. Perhaps Regina had forgotten which table was theirs, in her time away. She had been home for some time, recovering, and maybe she had suffered a hit to her head when that bus barreled into her.
“Move over.” Laser focused blue eyes bit into Janis’ dark brown, almost black ones. She returned the gaze steadily, one of the very few beings capable of holding direct eye contact from Regina without withering or bursting into tears.
“Why?”
‘So I can sit down,” Regina huffed, with a theatrical sigh. She shifted her hip, sagging one shoulder as best as she could to look impatient while still remaining graceful. The neckbrace was unforgiving and kept her body rigid, but somehow it only added to her powerful stance.
The answer did not seem to register. Janis glanced across the table at Damian, who offered he a shrug and made a face that indicated he had not understood what she said, either. Janis looked back up at Regina, who was tall enough to tower over her even without her expensive, tall heel boots.
“Why?”
Regina’s eye twitched, irritation rising in her. She pushed it down, closing her eyes for too long a moment before opening them and fixing Janis another one of her intimidating stares. Janis held her metaphorical ground, as well as her seat, as she stared back with unshaken resolve. A murmur moved through the watching crowd, but Regina cut the growing tension with a smooth smile.
“Because I’m not eating my lunch standing up. Now scoot, let’s talk.”
Janis watched her for another long moment before grumbling and sliding her tray sideways. She scooted a couple of inches, which was enough for Regina to slide onto the bench beside her. Damian was trapped helplessly on the other side of the table, still wide eyed and baffled as he saw the two girls sitting beside one another for the first time in years.
Cady Heron arrived a little later than she would have liked, getting caught up in conversation in the food line. She had been getting stopped all day long by people who wanted to talk to her about the dance, about her speech, about her win or even about her sweet new Math team jacket. It was the best she had felt in weeks, though she supposed it was because her last adventure with popularity had come from the rumors of her pushing Regina in front of a bus. She much preferred this fleeting respect and positive reflection to that notoriety.
For her own sake, she still had not ventured back into the social media scene, which she was sure was still a dumpster fire.
Blinking, she was surprised to find her intended seat occupied by a familiar blonde back. She looked over Regina’s shoulder at Damian, who looked at her and then waved frantically for her to sit next to him, instead. Cady hesitated, not sure she was ready to face Regina just in case her mood had changed since the dance. In the corner of her vision she saw Gretchen and Karen waving, both looking lost for different reasons. Gretchen seemed to be on the verge of panic, wanting things to continue as they normally did and unsure what to think of Regina choosing the art freaks over them on her first day back. Karen liked to wave.
Cady squared her shoulders and moved toward the table. She flashed Regina a smile as she sat down beside Damian, who immediately leaned toward her.
“What is happening right now?” he whispered loudly to her, as if she might have organized this ordeal. Cady shook her head helplessly, looking at Janis. The textile artist looked uncomfortable and tense, even as Regina made herself comfortable.
“You guys need to relax,” Regina said, with a laugh. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder, accidentally hitting Janis in the face with it and prompting a growl to escape the stressed artist. “Sorry, habit. I didn’t mean to do that. It’s hard to turn my head like this.”
“Sure,” Janis relented, just a bit. She did not take her eyes off of Regina, though she felt the weight of Cady and Damian’s eyes on her now that she had spoken to the interloper. She took a breath. “Is this some sort of social experiment?”
“Just trying something new,” Regina said, looking at Cady now. The red head across from her sat up a bit straighter, eyes widening.
“Oh, when you said you were going to change…”
Regina pointed at her, winking. She shifted her gaze back to Janis, who was looking less nervous now and more annoyed.
“So you thought you could just sit with us and that means we’re all cool?”
“Well, I figured you’d apologize-”
“You what?” Janis laughed, incredulous, and lifted a hand when Damian tried to say something. It stopped him, though he did grip Cady’s arm in warning. He was either ready to run away with her in case something exploded, or throw her into the danger to better secure his own escape. “And what am I apologizing for?”
“Ruining my life,” Regina scoffed, looking around the table for support. Damian suddenly found something to look at on the ceiling, and Cady dropped a french fry in her lap that quickly became the most important rescue operation that needed her full attention.
“Ruining YOUR life?” Janis laughed again, though her voice was pained and lacked any kind of joy or mirth, “you reap what you sow, buddy. We just exposed you for what you were. You ruined your own life a long time before we got to it.”
“Janis,” Cady tried, Damian’s grip on her arm tightening in warning. “I think what Regina is saying is she wanted to make a change. It’s not going to be an immediate thing. I mean, she doesn’t expect you to forgive her right now.”
“Actually-” Regina started, but Janis stood abruptly.
“Good. Because I don’t. And you know what? I don’t think I will.” She moved to leave, then stopped, turning back to the group. “And another thing. I’m not sorry.” She escaped from the bench at that point, leaving her food behind but taking her backpack and crossing the lunch room without looking at anyone. Damian rose to follow her, but it was Cady that held on to him this time.
“Give her a second, then I’ll go after her,” Cady offered, gently. Damian sank back down, looking at Regina, who shrugged. Or at least, she tried to, grimacing.
“We’ve got to work on your people skills,” he said, leveling a finger to Regina. She looked surprised to be pointed at.
“I forgot she was so sensitive.”
“Seems like you forgot a lot of things,” Damian countered, shaking his head. “You might have been the queen bee around here, and you might be again, but if you think I’ll let you get your claws into Janis again, you’ve got another thing coming. It’s taken her years to get herself together and strong, and you are not going to hurt her again.”
A flash of anger crossed Regina’s dangerous eyes, but she tempered it when she opened her mouth to speak. There was an obvious pause as she processed her second response, rather than her initial one. Cady took note, hope rising in her chest.
“Whatever. I was literally just trying to be nice.”
“Then maybe you should figure out what nice is, first, before you try again,” Damian offered, getting up and waving his hand over his shoulder dismissively. He followed after Janis, unable to leave her alone for too long, and Cady sighed. There was an awkward silence at the table as Regina continued her meal.
“I appreciate that you tried,” Cady offered. She looked up as Gretchen and Karen approached, both holding their trays, and took up the spaces left open by the two best friends. They might have been at the wrong table, but they looked relieved to be in their proper group. Regina shrugged Cady’s attempt off, mostly figuratively, and looked at Gretchen.
“You look cute. I like that top,” she said, all talk of Janis abandoned and forgotten before it could even be approached.