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The parking lot of Wiskayok high school was practically empty, a few cars lingering after school hours for tutoring or detention. Nobody cared to stick around long after the final bell, all having better things to do with their afternoon.
Unless, of course, you’re doing something you don't want to be caught dead in the act of.
Taissa Turner and Van Palmer had been a thing for a while. Van always caught herself staring Tai down during practice, and chalked it up to nothing. She didn't want to get her hopes too high. Thankfully for her, Tai was staring right back.
It quickly became routine. Van leaves her 7th period and meets Tai in the back parking lot. They then proceed to make out until it's hard to breathe before getting into Tai’s car, and driving around aimlessly until it hits her curfew—Van’s mom didn't care enough to assign her one.
They fell into this sense of normalcy over the span of a few months. Van loved the time they spent together, it almost made her feel complete. They never made arrangements to visit each other's homes. Van refused due to the state of the place, and her mothers… predicament. Tai was against it because she swore up and down that her parents wouldn't even let Van get one foot in the door before they decided Taissa shouldn't be hanging around her. Van argued that Tai’s parents love her, but she wouldn't budge, so they were stuck kissing in the shitty school parking lot.
Atleast, until they let themselves get carried away.
After doing this for so long, they started to let their guard down. Nobody had caught them in the months past that they'd been meeting up, why would they now?
The crisp fall air sent a chill up Van's spine, but it didn't bother her. The gap between her and Tai had been closed long before, their combined heat warming her enough.
“Jesus, Tai! Treat me like a lady!” She teased, causing a smile to paint itself on the other girls face.
What did bother her, however, was the sound of footsteps abruptly stopping in their tracks. Both girls' heads turned towards the sound so quickly they almost banged together.
The source of the sound stood awkwardly, being none other than Travis fucking Martinez. Van could feel Tai stiffen under her, causing her to realize the situation at hand and push herself off. Her heart was racing so fast it could probably tear out of her chest if she let it, though she hopes that doesn't show on her face.
After Van sent her an alarmed look, Tai took the hint and stalked towards her car, her eyes lingering on the two now behind her. Van’s eyes bore into Travis, making him visibly uncomfortable.
“Listen, dude–” she started with a slightly pleading tone, before being cut off.
“I won't say anything.” Travis blurted, looking like he even shocked himself with the words.
Even after the attempt at resolution, the atmosphere kept its tense nature. Van tried to seem intimidating, but that's pretty hard to do when you're dealing with someone you need to look up to have a conversation with.
“..What?” Van squeaked, with a regretfully quizzical tone.
Van and Tai, though she wasn't here right now, knew how bad this could go. This was the coach's son. If he said anything, their parents could find out. Van could feel her heart sinking deeper with every scenario that crossed her mind.
She had overheard how Coach Martinez spoke about his sons, his youngest more than Travis, but it was enough for her to know his opinions. She had no reason to believe Travis saw things any differently.
Travis shuffled his feet, not knowing what else to say. He’d seen Van before, considering they shared a few classes. He’d also seen the way her and Taissa would look at each other during practice. His dad would occasionally drag him and Javi along to help out, Javi being more open to the idea than Travis. He took most of his time there to just sit on the bleachers and observe.
In his opinion, he thought anyone who didn't notice needed their eyes checked thoroughly.
He never really cared, or saw her or Taissa differently after his realization. It wasn't much of his business, even if he didn't really get it.
On the other hand, he knew there were people who had picked up on it. He’s heard the guys in his gym class talk about “fixing her”, heard girls in passing whispering how they're scared to go into the locker room if she's there, scared of changing "in front of a dyke” .
Honestly, it pisses him off—more than it should, probably.
He’s been paired up with Van on enough projects before. Enough to know she's a decently nice person, he’d even consider her a bit cool. So what if she's into girls?
He thinks about his late night talks with Nat, how she mentioned Van letting her stay the night when things got bad—or when she talked with Javi after one of their games, letting him ramble about comics.
Travis knew Van had never outright said anything about what she was, but he also knew she had never been ashamed to be her authentic self. Therefore, when he walked in—or technically in this case, out— on Van and Tai.
Van, still in disbelief, fished for the few crumpled dollar bills she had in her pockets. He pulled out all of $11, and shoved it towards the boy in front of her.
“Here, Martinez. This is all I can give you right now–”
“ God, Van, No—I don't want your money.” He pushed it back towards her. He could see her face changing as she tried to figure out what was going on. “Im not gonna tell anybody what I saw, alright? I don't care what you’re doing with Taissa.”
Those words caused Van to shoot a glance back towards Tai’s car, still parked right where it was left that morning. She could make out Tai’s face, watching for any signs she needed to intervene. Van mouthed a quick don't worry before turning back to Travis.
“Seriously, Travis, don't say shit about this—please. ”
Travis made a zipping motion across his mouth, trying to lighten the mood.
“My lips are sealed. For the record, though, you could be a bit more discreet. I mean, a fucking parking lot ?” He said carefully, prompting an eye roll from Van, though it lacked any malice.
“Whatever, man. But still—” she handed the crumpled money back to him, speaking before he could protest “go buy Nat something nice. Don't think she hasn't mentioned how absolutely whipped you are.” she grinned, leaving Travis to be slightly flustered while she threw her hand up in a wave, Travis doing the same.
Tai jumps into questioning her the second she shuts the passenger door. Despite what people thought, Tai could be pretty scary. She had no problems kicking someone’s ass, especially is Van is involved.
“So, are we good?” Tai asked cooly, scanning Van for any negative reaction. She was pleasantly surprised when Van looked at her with a stupid grin, and grabbed her hand.
“Yeah, M’lady. I think it’ll be fine.”