Chapter Text
The early spring breeze sent a shiver down Shauna’s spine as she leaned her back against a chair, a soft sigh falling from her lips, the glow of the fire casting a warm shadow on her face. The speaker had crapped out over twenty minutes ago and none of them had bothered to fix it, perfectly content with the sounds of the fire crackling and their shared laughter.
Her attention shifted from the fire to the girls that laid sprawled out across Taissa’s backyard, a soft smile forming on her lips as she looked at each of them.
Lottie sat on top of the cooler, nursing a half cold drink in her hand while Laura Lee sat cross legged beside her on a folded blanket, politely declining every offer of a drink as she fidgeted with the fabric of Lottie’s skirt.
Mari sat next to them on a blanket of her own, feeding the fire a log every so often at Taissa’s request while Misty laid on a blanket trying not to be weird but still doing that thing where she stared at them all a little too long.
Taissa and Van sat next to one another, Van’s legs laid across Taissa’s lap as the two giggled about some silly joke Van had made. Jackie- as always- was sat next to Shauna, reaching for her hair to twirl between her fingers every so often. It was nice for Tai to put this together- they’d lost their most recent game but Taissa and Van were determined to lift the teams spirit up to prepare for the next one. And it almost worked- most of the yellowjackets were sprawled across her lawn- minus Allie and Rachel of course.
They almost never came to shit like this.
And Natalie as always was fashionably late or so she called it- an hour in and she’s yet to make an appearance which meant the only space left was this awkward little gap between Shauna and Taissa, the kind of space you wouldn’t want unless you had no other choice.
Which is exactly where Natalie ended up when she walked in acting like she hadn’t stood at the gate for ten minutes trying to decide if she wanted to be here at all but- Lottie would kill her if she bailed on them again. Her eyes scanned the fire pit like another seat was going to magically open up and sure- She could totally grab a blanket and sit behind the girls but that would make Lottie even more pissed at her and she really didn't need that right now.
Shauna noticed her before anyone else did and immediately shifted, tucking her legs closer to Jackie’s and brushing some crumbs off the blanket “ is that enough space?” she asked, looking up at Natalie with this soft kind of smile.
The firelight made her eyes look even bigger than usual.
Natalie blinked, weirdly thrown off by how gentle it was. She felt this dumb little flutter in her chest and immediately tried to ignore it because in what world is Shauna fucking Shipman making her heart flutter? She was too fucking high for this shit “ Uh.. Yeah “ she mumbled, sinking down onto the blanket, knee bumping Shauna’s and she didn’t exactly rush to move it away “ Yeah, It’s good “
Shauna hummed like that meant something, then turned to grab something from the bag that rested on a chair behind her.
A second later she was tapping Natalie’s arm, pulling the girls attention back to her as she held up an armful of snacks “ Jackie and I were on snack duty… We figured s’mores sounded appropriate for the occasion “ she said, smiling as she showed her the bag of jumbo marshmallows, graham crackers and a half open chocolate bar that began melting at the edges.
Natalie let out a quiet laugh at her excitement, leaning back a little to dig through her jacket pockets “You’ve got the right idea, Shipman… But it’s not complete without this “
She held out a few joints in her palm like she was showing off some prize.
From across the circle, Laura Lee made a tiny choking sound “Seriously?” she asked, looking from the joints to Lottie like she expected backup but the taller girl just shrugged
“I didn’t bring them for you, Laura Lee ” Natalie said, grinning as she pulled out a lighter
Misty let out this tight, judgemental sigh, and Mari muttered something about it “smelling like skunk and bad decisions ”
Which was hilarious considering at Lottie’s last party she smoked so much she threw up for four straight hours.
Jackie sat up straighter, clearly over the bickering already “Okay, okay. Can we all just chill? If someone wants to smoke, they can. If not, don’t “
Natalie smiled and turned back to Shauna, bumping her shoulder lightly “So… which are you?”
Before Shauna could even open her mouth, Jackie cut in again “Please. Shauna and weed? Not a chance “
That did it.
Shauna’s eyebrows pulled together just slightly, her jaw tightening.
Natalie noticed it right away- the little flicker of something, like she hated being so predictable. Natalie leaned in a bit, smirking without meaning to as she awaited Shauna’s response.
That reaction? Kinda hot, actually.
Shauna kept her eyes on the fire, thinking for a second longer than necessary before gently leaning into Natalie “I’ve never tried it before… but I think I want to “
Natalie blinked- Shauna usually WAS predicable and not because of herself. Everyone with eyes knew that Shauna hated to upset Jackie- one demand that sounded like a suggestion or snide comment usually shut Shauna down right away.
She looked at Shauna for a second, something slow and weird curling in her chest “Yeah?” she asked, voice lower now
Shauna nodded, eyes still on the flames “Yeah “
Natalie smiled, her whole body relaxing just a little as she allowed herself to lean into Shauna the same way Shauna was leaning into her “I can teach you ” she said, twirling the joint in her hand “ We could… shotgun it? If you want- since it’s your first time and it might be easier “
Next to them, Van was now watching, nudging Taissa with her elbow in the MOST unsubtle way and nodding her head towards the pair. And despite the fact that the group almost never saw the two of them like that, Taissa just raised an eyebrow like she wasn’t surprised at all.
Shauna’s head tilted as embarrassment buried itself deep in her chest- She felt like she should know what that meant and she didn’t… but maybe she wanted to “How would we do that?”
Natalie opened her mouth to explain but before she could, Van snatched the joint from her hand and lit it herself “ Like this,” she said, then grabbed Taissa’s face and passed the smoke right into her mouth like it was just a thing people did all the time
A few of the girls hooted, and someone threw a marshmallow.
Lottie groaned “Jesus, Van.”
Van just grinned, holding the joint back out to Natalie “What? I was just helping.”
Natalie rolled her eyes and turned back to Shauna, her expression soft again- A little shy, almost.
Their legs were still touching.
Neither of them had moved.
“You sure you’re ready?” she asked
Shauna didn’t look at Jackie, even when her hand came to rest on her knee like a warning.
“I’m ready ” she said as her eyes met Natalie’s, Her voice barely above a whisper.
Natalie held the joint to her lips as she took a slow inhale and then leaned in close- Closer than she’d ever imagined letting herself be to Shauna Shipman.
She hesitated for a moment before gently placing her hand along Shauna’s jaw, guiding her forward.
And as Natalie’s lips brushed her own, something cracked wide open in Shauna’s chest. Something hot and dizzying and REAL in a way nothing else had ever felt before.
It hit her like a spark igniting a flame , sudden and impossible to ignore as warmth bloomed behind her ribs, spreading like wildfire.
Light and needy and loud.
Her breath caught as Natalie leaned in closer, the joint balanced perfectly between them like some kind of shared secret.
The flames flickered in the fire pit beside them, casting flickers of gold and warm shadows but all Shauna could focus on was the impossibly close line of Natalie’s mouth
Shauna thought she was prepared for it- the shotgun, the inhale, the teasing smiles, soft touches, but she wasn’t.
She sooooo wasn’t.
Because when the smoke slipped past Natalie’s lips and into her’s, on a breath that felt much more intimate than it had any right to be, something inside of Shauna shifted.
Something that wanted more than just a hit of whatever cheap ass weed Natalie bought from whoever. Something that wanted to be seen and known and wanted in a way that she’d never let herself yearn for before.
As the smoke filled her lungs, Natalie’s nose brushed hers- barely but just enough to make her eyes flutter closed.
Shauna swore to GOD, she was about to die right there in Taissa’s backyard.
There was NO way her heart could be beating this fast and not actually explode- No WAY her hands could be trembling that subtlety and not give her away.
Her entire body was on fire- something hot burned her from the inside out, like every nerve had suddenly decided to tune into Natalie Scatorccio and Natalie Scatorccio ONLY.
And for just the briefest of moments Shauna wanted to lean in. To connect their lips and allow herself this ONE selfish and evil thing.
And it almost felt like maybe Natalie wanted that too.
The moment stretched a beat too long as Shauna and Natalie revelled in the feeling of warmth that encompassed them- the nerves and something they couldn’t quite place lingering around them.
And then Shauna exhaled.
And she knew the moment was almost over.
The smoke passed between them, slow and soft as it wrapped around them in some sort of haze.
Across from them, Mari was gagging dramatically at the display of intimacy- but neither of them noticed.
They were far too wrapped up in each other.
They pulled apart slowly, like neither of them knew the exact moment to stop, or how close they’d actually gotten.
Shauna’s lips parted slightly, smoke still faint on her breath, her eyes flicking down to Natalie’s mouth for just a second before darting away like she hadn’t just done that
Natalie leaned back first, suddenly aware of EVERYONE.
Suddenly aware of the heat still creeping up her neck, the way her hand burned with the memory of what it felt like to delicately cup Shauna’s face- how natural it had all felt and how completely terrifying that was.
Shauna cleared her throat and looked back at the fire like it could offer some kind of explanation, the flush on her face reddening more and more by the second.
“Uh…” Natalie tried, but nothing came out
“Yeah,” Shauna said quickly- way too fast “That was… fine- It was fine “
Natalie nodded “ Right. Yeah- Totally fine for your first time “
Their knees were still touching.
Neither of them had it in them to move just yet.
The fire popped, breaking the weird silence that had suddenly taken over the group as Natalie leaned further away from Shauna.
Jackie leaned forward with her arms crossed, her tone light but definitely laced with something sharp “ Well THAT was a lot of effort for one hit “
Shauna blinked “ What?”
Jackie shrugged, too casual for the harshness of her tone “ I’m just saying, if I wanted someone all up in my face like that, I’d just go make out with Jeff behind the shed and save us all the drama "
A few of the girls snorted as Mari raised an eyebrow- that’s exactly what they did.
Like all the fucking time.
Natalie’s jaw tensed as she readied herself to bite back at Jackie but it was Lottie who chimed in before anyone else could “Yeah, because THAT’S not gross,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust “We all know what happens when you and Jeff disappear for ten minutes. You come back smelling like Axe and desperation “
A couple of the girls laughed for real this time, Laura Lee however, looked like she wanted to sink into the earth as the tensions kept rising.
Jackie rolled her eyes and leaned back against the chair, no longer interested in the conversation.
Natalie risked a glance at Shauna, who was biting her lip, clearly trying not to laugh at how easily Lottie had shut Jackie down in her favour.
Or maybe trying not to feel whatever she was feeling.
Shauna turned her head, taking the same risk as Natalie. The two blinked at one another like they’d both been caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. The tension lifted as they both shy’d away from each other, quiet giggles escaping them as Shauna tucked a piece of hair behind her ear “ Thanks for uh… showing me? I guess “
Natalie scratched the back of her neck “Yeah, Anytime. You know… If you ever wanna not know what’s happening again “
Shauna smiled, small and crooked as she leaned into Natalie again “Cool… I’ll keep that in mind.”
They both turned back to the fire at the same time, saying nothing and pretending their knees weren’t still touching and that their shoulder’s hadn’t spent the better part of the night squished together.
And even though neither of them could really explain what just happened- They both kind of wanted it to happen again.