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“Please don’t move. Don’t make me move,” Toni groaned, wrapping her arms tightly around Shelby’s back without lifting her head from her lap, sprawled across the small bed in their dorm room.
Shelby rolled her eyes, combing her fingers through Toni’s hair before grabbing her hands, pulling them apart herself.
“Up up up,” Shelby said, tugging on Toni’s hand to no avail. “Come on. Time to mobilize. Places to be, people to see.”
“But I’m so tired. I actually think coach wants me dead. Shelby, she made us run so many drills today. I can’t feel my legs.”
Shelby shook her head with a fond smile, crossing her arms over her chest. “Wow, you mean to tell me big, strong, literal third year college athlete Toni Shalifoe can’t handle a few conditioning drills? Are you calling for early retirement?”
Toni scowled at her. “I can handle them just fine, thank you very much. But I also know that rest is a very important part of the recovery process.”
Shelby lifted an eyebrow, dropping her hand back to Toni’s hair and pushing it from her face so she’d look up at her. “I think you’ll be able to recover just as well sitting on your sister’s bed as you will laying in my bed.”
“I don’t know, your bed is so much nicer than mine.”
“Our beds are quite literally exactly the same.”
“The mattresses are the same, but yours is still better, I don’t care what you say. Must be these fancy sheets,” she said, burying her face against them.
Shelby let out a frustrated groan. “Don’t be such a party pooper. Martha’s excited. I’m excited. We haven’t gotten together with all the girls in so long. Please,” she said, drawing out the last word in a high pitched whine.
Toni shot her a look, knowing she stood no chance at arguing with her. Not when Shelby pulled the sister card and asked her like that.
“Fine, but you owe me,” she grumbled, standing from the bed and walking towards the door.
Shelby caught her by the back of her shirt, pulling her back into the room. “You literally don’t even have pants on. Get dressed, then we will go.”
Toni looked down at herself, wearing a baggy t-shirt and a pair of boxers. She shrugged, looking back up at Shelby. “I see no issue.”
Shelby rolled her eyes with an amused smirk, giving Toni’s shirt another tug. “Off,” she said, leaving no room for argument before walking across the room to Toni’s closet, rummaging through it to pick some more appropriate clothes.
Toni tugged her shirt over her head with a sigh, long past the awkward stage of not knowing how to change in front of each other after sharing a room for the last three years.
She held her hand out, taking the plain black shirt Shelby offered her, giving Shelby the one she’d been wearing. She pulled it over her head while Shelby tossed the other into her hamper, grabbing a pair of jeans from Toni’s drawer.
“Yeah, because this is so different from the other t-shirt I had on literally two minutes ago,” Toni joked with a slight smirk, catching the jeans Shelby tossed her way and tugging them on too.
“Right, but this one doesn’t smell like BO,” Shelby smiled a teasing grin as she walked back over to her, pressing a short kiss to Toni’s cheek before grabbing her shoulders and pushing her towards the door again.
“Literally why are we friends? You are so mean to me,” Toni scoffed, trying to be subtle as she tucked her chin to make sure Shelby wasn’t being serious.
Shelby caught her though, throwing her arm over her shoulder and pulling her against her side. “Because I give the best head scratches, and I always have food ready when you get back from practice, and you love listening to me sing when you can’t sleep.”
Toni hummed, grabbing Shelby’s hand on her shoulder and holding on to her fingers.
“And you love me,” Shelby added on, squeezing her hand.
Toni blew out a short laugh, shaking her head with a grin. “Yeah, guess there’s that.”
Shelby’s smile softened, giving Toni’s shoulder’s a squeeze. “You smell good, T. But you did need to put pants on, and you know much I like this shirt. It’s so soft.”
Toni rolled her eyes affectionately. “Then why didn’t you wear it?”
“Because then I wouldn’t have an excuse to cuddle you when they start the movie tonight. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” Toni laughed, a smile stretching across her lips as they walked into Martha’s dorm room down the hall.
The laughter and chatter of their friends filled Martha's dorm room, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that instantly made Toni glad she let Shelby drag her out of bed.
“Finally! We thought you two would never show up,” Fatin teased, handing them each a solo cup. “Did Toni need a nap after practice?”
Toni rolled her eyes but couldn’t hold back a smile. “Very funny. Shelby just had to make sure I was properly dressed.”
“Thank goodness for Shelby, then,” Martha chimed in, grinning. “Alright, let’s get this movie night started. We’ve got snacks, drinks, games, and the most cringe worthy rom-coms we could find.”
“But first, you bitches have some catching up to do,” Fatin said, nodding at the drinks she’d given them.
“What is this?” Shelby asked, swirling the liquid around in her cup with a skeptical look.
“Drink, babe. We’re about to start truth or dare and you know you won’t want to go into that sober.”
“Oh, I love an ice breaker!” Shelby said with an excited smile.
“We know,” the rest of the girls groaned.
Toni laughed, shaking her head fondly as she drank whatever concoction Fatin had given them, leaving to grab a seltzer for her and Shelby after their cups were empty.
When Toni came back with their cans, Shelby was rolling her eyes at something Fatin had said.
“What did I miss?” Toni asked, passing Shelby her drink.
Shelby rolled her eyes, Fatin looking at Toni. “I tried to get her to take another shot with me, but apparently she’s pacing herself.
“Excuse me for wanting to avoid a headache tomorrow. We just got here.”
“She’s been bossing me around the last twenty minutes, must still have some residual sass,” Toni said to Fatin, winking at Shelby as she dropped down onto Martha’s bed.
“Kinky,” Fatin said, wiggling her eyebrows, earning her a slap to the shoulder from Shelby.
“If you would listen the first time, I wouldn’t have to boss you around so much,” Shelby said, sitting down beside Toni who lifted her arm, giving Shelby the space to get comfortable against her side.
Martha eyed them with a soft smile on her face before clearing her throat. “Right, so everyone knows how truth or dare works.”
“Not exactly rocket science,” Rachel mumbled, holding her hands up in defense when Martha shot a glare at her.
“You do the dare or answer the question. If you don’t want to, you drink,” She said, only giving the rules again because of Rachel’s interruption. “Rachel, you can go first, since it’s so simple.”
Rachel laughed, leaning back against the nightstand beside Martha’s bed. “Alright, I guess that’s fair. Truth or dare, Nor.”
Nora paused for a moment before shrugging. “Dare, I guess.”
“Alright, I dare you to show us the most embarrassing picture in your phone right now,” Rachel said.
Nora unlocked her phone, a sly grin coming to her face as she picked one. “Ok, but just so we’re clear, you didn’t say who it had to embarrass,” Nora said before showing her screen to everyone, a picture of Rachel deep asleep curled up in a chair in the library, jaw hanging open.
“Ok that’s not what I meant,” Rachel said while everyone laughed, rolling her eyes and swatting Nora’s phone down into her lap.
“Should have specified,” Nora said with a smug grin. “Okay, who’s next? Martha? Truth or dare?”
Martha smiled, looking a little nervous before nodding. “I’ll go with truth.”
“What is the most disgusting thing you’ve ever done?”
Martha frowned, thinking before she started to laugh at herself. “Toni, do you remember when I found that kitten out back by the storm drain when we were kids?”
Toni nodded. “Sure, you were crazy about that little guy. Pretty sure you convinced yourself he was actually your son.”
Martha rolled her eyes. “Well, he had to eat this weird looking food for the first couple of weeks, but I didn’t know what it tasted like, so -“
“Martha, please tell me you didn’t -“
“I just took a tiny bite, but I can still remember how horrible it was.”
“You ate cat food?” Fatin asked, covering her mouth like she was going to be sick.
“In my defense I was like, maybe 5 years old. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t make him sick or anything!”
“I think it’s sweet, Martha,” Shelby said, sending her a soft smile.
Martha nodded towards her. “Thank you! It’s not like I go around eating it now. I answered it, we can move on. Shelby, you’re up. Truth or dare?”
“Truth. Go easy on me, Martha. Remember, I was just real nice to you when everyone else was laughing,” Shelby said with a pleading expression.
“I will, I promise, but I have been curious. You’ve been single for what, 5 months now? Anyone new you’re crushing on?” Martha asked with an excited smile.
Shelby laughed as she rolled her eyes, shaking her head softly. “6 months, and no. Y’all know i’ve been too busy for any of that.”
“Boo,” Fatin groaned. “Okay then, I have another question for you.”
“Not really how the game works, Fatin,” Toni interjected, swirling her drink around in her solo cup with her head resting against the wall.
“If you had to pick someone in this room to date, who would you pick?” Fatin asked anyways, leaning forward with a wide grin.
“Fatin -“
“Toni, obviously,” Shelby said with a shrug.
Toni’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head, looking over at Shelby. “Me?”
“She says, acting shocked while literally cuddling on the bed as we speak,” Leah deadpanned with a subtle smirk, laughing at the scowl Toni shot her way.
“I mean, we already live together. You probably know me better than anyone, and I’d like to think I know you pretty darn well. It only makes sense, for the sake of Fatin’s question at least.”
“Right,” Toni said, too flustered to say much more. She leaned her head back against the wall, keeping her arm around Shelby’s shoulders and absentmindedly playing with a strand of her hair.
She narrowed her eyes when she saw Fatin grin a mischievous smirk, leaning closer into Dot’s side. “I totally just thought of Shelby’s next dare.”
Dot rolled her eyes, moving on. “Toni, truth or dare?”
“Uh, dare I guess,” she said, regretting the words and trying to change her answer when she saw the grin spread across Fatin’s face. Fatin leaned in, whispering something into Dot’s ear again.
“No, nope, absolutely not,” Toni said when Dot started laughing. “Truth. I pick truth.”
“No, I’m with her,” Dot said, her smile widening. “Toni, I dare you to kiss Shelby.”
Toni’s eyes widened, choking on nothing. She looked at Shelby who had a noticeable blush to her cheeks, but to Toni’s surprise, she didn’t say no.
Toni blinked rapidly, swallowing down a lump in her throat as she looked between Shelby and Dot.
“Seriously, Dottie?” Shelby asked, and thankfully Toni saw she didn’t seem upset, or uncomfortable, more amused than anything else.
“I mean, you can drink, but Shelby already said she would date you -“
“Hypothetically,” Toni said in defense, looking down at the drink in her hand. She couldn’t kiss Shelby, could she?
“You don’t have to, T,” Shelby said, placing a soft hand on her knee. “It’s just a silly dare. If you don’t want to it’s -“
“No, it’s not that I… fucking hell,” Toni groaned, a little pissed at Dot, well, Fatin, for putting her in this position, and at herself for making Shelby think that Toni would rather skip the dare than kiss her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to kiss Shelby. Anyone would want to kiss Shelby. The thing that bugged her was making it such a spectacle, especially since everyone was actively teasing them, but Shelby was obviously fine with it, so Toni pushed that concern in the back of her mind.
“Look, it’s not that big of a deal, alright? It’s a kiss for fucks sake. Only if you’re cool with it,” Toni said, letting out a slow breath when surprise washed over Shelby’s face.
Shelby nodded, raising her eyebrows when Toni stayed exactly as she was.
Toni laughed, ignoring their friends whooping around them as she leaned off of the wall, making use of the extra little bit of bravery from the drinks they’d had as she cupped Shelby’s jaw.
Shelby’s hand rested at Toni’s hip as she leaned in slowly, painfully slowly, until their lips brushed together.
Toni sucked in a breath, fingers twitching against Shelby’s cheek, forgetting all about their friends behind them as Shelby kissed her a little more firmly, Toni leaning deeper into her.
It felt like an eternity, but really no more than a few seconds had passed when Toni came to her senses, somewhat at least, and pulled away from the kiss.
Her mind was reeling even if she knew she was being ridiculous. It was just a quick kiss because of that dumb dare from Fatin. Shelby was her best friend. Toni was just a little drunk, that’s why she felt dizzy when she watched Shelby’s eyes open back up, meeting her gaze with a sweet smile.
Shelby leaned in again, surprising Toni by pecking her lips for a second time before looking at their friends. “Y’all happy now?”
Fatin shrugged. “I still don’t believe that you two haven’t before now seeing as you’re like, the epitome of an old married couple, but you can go ahead and thank me for making it happen.”
Martha snickered beside her, tossing her hands up when Toni glared at her.
“Really, Marty? You too?”
Martha laughed, shaking her head. “So, who’s next?”
“I think we should wrap it up here and start a movie before Fatin gets any more ideas,” Leah said, climbing off of Rachel’s bed on the opposite side of the room to grab the remote.
Fatin rolled her eyes, making sure she got one last comment in. “All I’m saying is when you two idiots get married, I better be in the bridal party.”
“Yeah, we’ll make sure to jot that down,” Shelby said as she rolled her eyes with an amused grin, lifting Toni’s arm so she could fit back under it.
As they picked a movie, Toni fluffed up the pillows at the headboard of Martha’s bed, Martha sitting against the wall with Toni in the middle, Shelby settling in on her other side to get comfortable.
Rachel and Nora were on the other bed, Fatin making them squeeze together so she could fit in it too, Dot and Leah getting creative with some pillows on the floor between the two beds.
“You alright?” Shelby asked softly as the movie started up, somehow knowing that something was up with Toni even in the dim lighting.
“Course,” Toni said, sending Shelby a comforting smile.
Shelby blew out a breath, resting her head on toni’s chest, seemingly accepting that answer.
Halfway through the movie, Toni shuffled further into the bed and dropped her cheek to the top of Shelby’s head. Shelby turned slightly to look up at her, brushing a strand of hair from Toni’s face. “Comfortable?” she whispered.
“Very,” Toni murmured back, her eyes half-closed, not paying a bit of attention to whatever movie the girls had chosen. “This was a good idea.”
Shelby smirked, pinching Toni’s hip as she curled back into her. “Told you.”
Toni hummed, a sleepy smile tugging at her own lips.
She was stirred from the sleep she had accidentally fallen into by Shelby gently brushing the hair from her face, scratching at her scalp while whispering for her to wake up.
Toni blinked a few times, looking around the room to see their friends passed out in various places around the room.
“Thought you might want to head back to ours? Give Martha her bed back to herself. We kind of took up most of it,” Shelby said softly, nodding towards Martha, face smushed against the wall.
Toni grimaced, nodding as she groggily stood up and stretched her arms up over her head. She leaned over, carefully rolling Martha to the center of the bed before following Shelby from the room, careful not to step on Dot or Leah.
“How long was I out?” Toni asked as they stepped back into their own room, kicking out of her shoes.
“The last half out of the first, and the entire second movie,” Shelby said, being cut off by a yawn.
“That long?” Toni asked, changing into her pajamas when Shelby started to do the same.
Shelby nodded, climbing under her sheets and holding them open for Toni. Toni smiled, settling in beside her and opening her arms for Shelby to lay in. She really wasn’t feeling that tired considering she’d just gotten a two hour nap, but she knew if Shelby had stayed awake she must be killed.
“Thanks for letting me sleep,” Toni said, taking hold of Shelby’s hand on top of her stomach, loosely threading their fingers together.
Shelby hummed. “I knew you must be tired after classes and practice. I figured the extra sleep couldn’t hurt.”
“You’re the best, seriously. Like I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Toni said, feeling an overwhelming need to make sure Shelby knew just how much she meant to her.
Since they’d met just three years ago, Shelby had quickly become the most important person in her life. Sure, Toni had Martha and her family, but she was always hesitant to really let people in. Shelby though, it was just so easy to talk to her. Through the challenges of the first year of college, being somewhere new with people neither of them knew yet, they became each other’s constant.
“You’re my favorite person, you know that?” Shelby said softly, looking up at Toni while her fingers traced circles on Toni’s palm.
Toni looked down at her, a sleepy smile playing on her lips. “You’re mine too.”
“You kissed me tonight,” Shelby mumbled after laying back down, her shoulders shaking with soft laughter when Toni groaned into the silent room.
“You kissed me too,” Toni argued, reaching down and tickling Shelby’s side.
Shelby laughed louder, grabbing Toni’s hand to stop her and tangling their fingers together, pulling Toni’s arm back around her waist.
“I could tell you were freaking out a little bit before. I just wanted you to see it wasn’t as big of a thing as you were building it up to be.”
Toni sighed, mumbling her agreement. It did kind of feel like a big thing, but only because it was new to them. Shelby had just told her she was her favorite person a minute ago, and Toni had said it back without a second of hesitation because she meant it.
She shuffled back and forth until she was laying more comfortably, wrapping her arm tighter around Shelby. She could feel Shelby’s breathing evening out, both of their heart rates slowing as they neared closer to sleep.
“Love you,” Shelby mumbled, voice thick with sleep.
Toni smiled, knowing that no matter what happened earlier tonight, it was ending just like their nights usually did. She leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Shelby’s forehead. “Love you too, Bee. Get some sleep.”