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The Yellowjackets won their first game of the season 2 to 0, leaving the girls with only one thing to do: get shitfaced at Lottie’s house. It was a tradition, Jackie insisted when Shauna expressed disinterest. Shauna knew that where Jackie went, Jeff went, and where Jeff went, his douchebag friends went. Therefore, going to Lottie's house would be more like going to a baby frat party. But Shauna knew, like always, she didn’t have it in her to fight Jackie, so they got ready together and went on their way.
To her relief, the party wasn’t that crowded. She sat with her teammates around the fire pit in Lottie's backyard, sipping something fruity and a little bit awful from a solo cup. At a lull in conversation, Jackie cleared her throat, attracting the attention of the rest of the team.
“So, you guys know how we were planning this on the bus ride back,” Jackie says strangely – what story is she about to tell? The rest of the group's attention hones in on Jackie, equally confused.
“Well, Misty was nearby –” a few eyebrows raise “– and after the bus ride, she pulled me aside and asked if the offer applied to everyone .”
“Did you seriously invite her?” Tai asks incredulously. It's not that Misty was banned from group activities. They just didn’t discuss them with her. Or invite her. Ever.
“Well, yes –” Jackie is interrupted by Van's harsh chuckle and a few groans. “She’s really not that bad! And she does a lot for us!” Jackie insists, trying her best to channel her status as captain. Her voice gets lost in the conversation, though, as everyone debates what it would be like to party with Misty Quigley; would she drink? Would she smoke? Is she even going to show up? Shauna has never really hated Misty like some of the girls in their grade, but she was never particularly fond of her either. She was in a lot of her AP classes, though, and she made an alright partner when Tai was absent. But that was very different than talking to her at a party she already didn’t want to come to.
Lottie suddenly shushes loudly and tilts her head to behind Shauna; through the fence to the backyard, Shauna can see a blonde, curly figure is in the street. She looks like she's spotted the girls, but doesn’t know what to do, so she stands with her back against her car staring. Lottie's yard is expansive enough that she certainly hadn't heard them, but the way she’s watching makes Shauna feel like she knows everything. After a few seconds of everyone staring, Lottie beckons Misty, causing the girl to smile and trot over, reaching the backyard in 15 awkward seconds and pausing behind Shauna's chair. She’s dressed in a dark pair of jeans with a belt that hugs her hips and a tucked in button up with a (likely stupid) pattern Shauna can’t make out in the firelight. Nevertheless, Shauna finds herself thinking that Misty looks nice, her slightly unbuttoned button-up revealing a smooth, pale clavicle and her curly hair falling gently onto her shoulders.
“...What’s new, pussycat?” Nat breaks the silence with a sentence she has absolutely never said before (Was she high? Shauna wondered. Would this all be better high? ) and everyone bursts out laughing, including Misty, who seems vaguely confused. The laughter dies down and Misty meets Shauna's gaze:
“Can I sit here..?” she asks, gesturing to the seat next to her, the only empty one in the circle.
“Uh, sure,” Shauna shrugs; it’s not like she owns the place, Misty didn’t have to ask. The girl sits down, placing her hands in her lap and skimming the circle. Everyone's broken off into their own conversations again, leaving both Misty and Shauna in awkward solitude.
“So… have you been to a party like this before?” Shauna asks, half genuine curiosity, half wanting to fill the silence between them.
“Oh! Not really! Well, last year my cousin had a birthday party, and he turned eighteen so it was a little crazy…” Misty immediately fills the silence for the both of them. Ah. Shauna remembers why Misty has a reputation as the weird girl. She half listens and finds a few interesting details: she’s never drunk, she’s certainly never smoked, and she was very, very excited that Jackie invited her. Not that Jackie was paying her any attention. That was just like Jackie to do, Shauna thought – invite someone to their first party and not bother talking to them. She bit the inside of her cheek.
As Shauna predicted would happen, Jeff eventually made his way over to Jackie, wrapping his arms around her from behind the chair. A few of the Yellowjackets exchanged glances; everyone tolerated Jeff, but he wasn’t any more liked than Misty. He whispered something to Jackie and the captain stood up, waving goodbye to the rest of the girls and mouthing see you later to Shauna. Shauna's hand clenched her near-empty cup; why did Jackie force Shauna to come if she was going to run off with Jeff? Shauna drove herself and Jackie, so she isn’t supposed to drink too much, but she needs another drink. She glances over at Misty, who has stopped talking and is looking down at her lap.
“Wanna come with me to get a drink?” Shauna asks Misty, whose head perks up at her voice. She looks around for a second, like Shauna could’ve been talking to someone else.
“Well… Yeah! Let's go!” Misty stands up enthusiastically.
–
Shauna pours two solo cups of fruit juice and splashes some vodka into each of them, more in hers than in Misty's. The blonde had followed her to the kitchen like a lost dog, but now that she was being handed a drink, she didn’t look so sure. The music was loud and Lottie's floor plan was insanely open; from the kitchen, they could see a few couples grinding on each other (not Jeff and Jackie, God knows where they went) and a group of guys approaching an uninterested group of girls. Shauna took a sip of her drink and eyed Misty's anxious face.
“Do you not want it?” Shauna asked. She didn’t meant to sound demanding, but it's a little harsh when it leaves her mouth. Misty looks up to meet her gaze and shakes her head.
“No! I do!” She quickly says, taking a sip to prove it. Her face contorts at the taste, making Shauna laugh to herself.
“Yeah, it tastes pretty awful,” she says in solidarity. Misty nods and looks at the people swaying to the shitty EDM music.
“So… Does Jackie usually leave like that?” Misty asks like it isn’t the most loaded question in the world.
Shauna answers as flippantly as she can: “Yeah. She has Jeff to worry about.”
“Well, that’s a bit rude.”
“...Yeah. It is.”
Shauna chews Misty's words in her mind. Yeah, it is a bit rude of Jackie to leave her like that. To beg her to come to a party and then leave her with no one. Agreeing with Misty aloud feels like an act of betrayal, and it feels good.
“What?” Shauna notices Misty is still staring at the dancing couples, one of which has moved to making out against the wall. “Do you want to dance or something?”
–
Misty is decidedly not good at dancing, which Shauna finds hilarious on her second drink. Still, they dance anyway, Misty slowly loosening up as she makes her way through her vodka-fruit juice concoction. As another track fades, Misty is breathing heavily, face red. She asks Shauna if they can both get another drink (“You don’t have to keep asking me to do things,” Shauna replies, ignoring how it feels a little good to be the one in control) and soon Misty's dancing is hilarious to the both of them.
After around five songs, they both collapse onto Lottie's oversized leather couch (creatively called “The Cum Couch” by half the team after an incident regarding two freshmen) and finish their drinks. Misty looks significantly more relaxed than when she first showed up. One of her shirts top buttons has come undone revealing a red bra, and Shauna doesn’t stare, why would she? But she does imagine Misty picking it out, putting it on; did she expect someone to see it? Did she just want to feel attractive?
“I know they don't like me. Most of the team doesn’t.” Misty states out of nowhere, snapping Shauna back to reality. “But I like them. I wanted to be here.”
“I kinda like you,” Shauna replies. “You’re… real.” It's probably not the best thing to say, but her drinks were strong and she’s too tired to lie. Misty's face stretches into a grin, a genuine grin at her words. When was the last time someone was that happy at something Shauna had to say? Misty leans towards Shauna like she’s going to whisper something.
Then she throws up all over her lap.
–
Shauna holds Misty's hair back over the toilet in Lottie's upstairs bathroom, the only one that wasn’t occupied. She definitely made the drinks too strong, let alone for Misty's first time. Shauna tangles her hands in Misty's curls, still drunk herself, but quickly sobering up from the smell of vomit. Misty is just gagging now, most of it out of her system. She spits into the toilet one last time before tilting her head back.
“‘M sorry, Shauna…” Misty mutters. “I don’t know… Why I did that…”
“You’re… fine,” Shauna says, letting go of Misty's hair and handing her a towel to wipe her face with. She offhandedly feels bad for ruining Lottie's parents' nice towels (including the one that she used to get Misty's vomit off her skirt), but she knows they’ll all be replaced the next time she comes over. Misty wipes her mouth and moves to face Shauna, her hazel eyes staring into her.
“You’ve been so nice tonight, Shauna… Thank you,” Misty murmurs, putting a hand on Shauna's leg. Shauna goes to reply, but then she realizes that Misty's looking at her lips, leaning in to kiss her–
“What the hell, ” Shauna says quietly, grabbing Misty by both her shoulders and pushing her back. She doesn’t let go, though; she just holds her still. There’s still a little vomit on the bottom of her chin and her eyes look a little teary – it wouldn’t be a far stretch to say she looks pathetic. But most of all, she looks wanting. Her hazel eyes are darting between Shauna's eyes and her lips, she’s letting her weight lean against Shauna's arms, she looks so vulnerable. Shauna knows that she looks at girls more than she should. And she knows there's a girl in front of her that wants her. And hell, what more could she ask for?
Misty still tastes like vomit when Shauna kisses her back, but she doesn’t mind, it’s not about that. The blonde whimpers as Shauna bites her bottom lip and forces her tongue in her mouth, the sensation and the unpleasant bitterness making Shauna shiver. For once, she doesn’t care where Jackie is. She has something that's hers.