Chapter Text
Jackie Taylor:
Hey, team!! I’m thinking of having a bonding party for just us at my house sometime this week. Please let me know if you can come along, otherwise i will reschedule ☺️
Shauna Shipman:
I can come.
Van Palmer:
i’ll be there oh captain my captain
Taissa Turner:
I should be able to make it.
LOL, Van.
Van Palmer:
i love you so much stop texting like that
Taissa Turner:
I can’t be grammatically correct, now? I love you too.
Van Palmer:
jesus christ save me
LL:
Van :(
Van Palmer:
my bad, lee
LL:
:)
lottie:
mm, i can make it !
Mari Ibarra:
on behalf of JV, we can all make it
Akilah:
are you our spokesperson now?
Mari Ibarra:
yes sweet cheeks
Akilah:
i feel harassed
Mari Ibarra:
don’t be like that pookie
Akilah:
pookie?? absolutely not i draw the line
Mari Ibarra:
damn..
Jackie Taylor:
OKAY!! I’ve heard from most of you, so it’ll go ahead! i’m thinking Friday, so you can all relax after the school week, but you’ll still get to have the weekend to yourselves!
I am, however, missing one of you! I got a few confirmations in DMs, but I’m still missing Natalie. Anyone heard from her?
Taissa Turner:
No, but I’ll bet the 5 dollars I have to my name that she’s high.
Van Palmer:
don’t be like that tai
Taissa Turner:
I’m just being honest.
Shauna Shipman:
No, you’re being a dick. There’s a difference.
Jackie Taylor:
Guys. Please don’t fight! Natalie is in the team too. Need I remind you she’s in this chat?
LL:
I think you should all be kinder to Nat. She’s gone through so much, and you treat her like this and then wonder why she never replies? God taught us to love each other no matter what.
lottie:
truth nuke
Mari Ibarra:
you guys have been extra defensive of natalie lately, did she corrupt you two??
lottie:
i was already corrupted way before i met nat
Jackie Taylor:
Here she goes being all cryptic again 🙃
nat.:
can yall get off my dick thanks. don’t rlly wanna go, jax.
Taissa Turner:
Got a bong to hit or a dick to suck?
nat.:
idk where yall got that fuckass rumour from i banged one guy
i don’t really like bongs either
Mari Ibarra:
thought u would since its shaped kinda like a dick
nat.:
so none of you listen to a word i say? good to know.
Taissa Turner:
You’re not the most truthful. Not to us, anyway.
nat.:
you guys desperately claw onto anything bad you can find about me because you love to make people’s lives a living hell
i’m not sure what i did to any of you
actually i am. i did nothing.
your words feel the exact same as my dads punches and his hands pulling my hair
and my confusion as to what i did to deserve this is the same, too.
i just want to fucking play soccer
i’m not coming to your stupid bonding session. you can forget any of the other ones in the future too.
fuck you turner. you too mari
nat. is offline. 1m ago
lottie:
nice going tai
@LL
LL:
On my way.
Mari Ibarra:
who else thinks they’re fucking
Van Palmer:
jfc
————————————
She brings a lighter to the cigarette hanging from her bitten lips. Her hands are cold, so cold, but the bitter air keeps her feeling alive. Natalie turned her phone off seconds after sending those last few messages, not being able to bear reading whatever heartless shit they said afterwards.
Her two lifelines, Lottie and Laura Lee, were already on their way. She only knew this because this was a regular occurrence, but this was the first time she’d gone off at them this hard. She usually just sulked into Laura Lee’s arms while Lottie stroked her hair, and then came back the next day pretending she was fine with how the team treated her. Lottie would bring them both back to her empty, hollow house and they’d lie in her bed, tangled with each other, talking about God know’s what (sorry, lee) while a movie plays as background noise.
Natalie hears the skidding stop of tires, and the clicking of doors, then the gravel screaming underneath her lovers’ feet. Then, she’s pulled into the car.
She almost falls asleep on the way there. Her eyes are completely fixated on Lottie’s hand flexing over the steering wheel, and Laura Lee’s sad smile in the backseat. She wishes she could kiss it off of her. Later.
She closes her eyes when they near Lottie’s house. She isn’t actually asleep, but she wants to feel Lottie’s strong arms carrying her and whispering to her, with Laura Lee beside her, cooing over her. Her parents never did this with her. She’s never felt safe inside the strong arms of someone she loved, not until now. When Lottie’s gentle hands caress her, she forgets the way her father used to leave bruises where watching eyes couldn’t see. When Laura Lee talks in her soft, loving voice, she forgets her mother screaming that it’s all her fault.
When they make it to Lottie’s room, she’s softly placed in the middle of Lottie’s big, rich girl bed. She feels the bed dip either side of her, and an arm crosses over her. A remote clicks, and a movie is playing. It’s Ratatouille, one of Lottie’s favourites. She’s always had a silly taste in films. Natalie loves it. Loves her.
She feels a nose press into her neck, and lips gently kiss it. Laura Lee, no doubt. She’s always loved tucking her chin underneath Nat’s and staying there, while the world spins without them. Her nose nuzzles into her neck while she makes herself comfortable, Lottie giggling on the other side of her, before dipping down and kissing Nat’s cheek. What was Natalie even sad about?
Lottie and Laura Lee talk idly as the movie drones on. Natalie has never been good with sleep, but listening to their voices while their hands subconsciously stroke Natalie’s side, or her face, or her arm, or just anywhere - it makes Natalie’s heart bubble with all the love it holds, crackling and growing like jiffy pop.
Her mind drifts away, and she finally falls into dreams with her two lovers stationed beside her.
Until they can get out of here, this will continue happening. However, if Natalie didn’t have Laura Lee and Lottie, she’d have been dead long ago. In her last conscious moments, she thanks God, even though she doesn’t really believe. She will, for Laura Lee. She also thanks Wiskayok, and the Yellowjackets team, even though she hates the team members. She’ll keep playing, for Lottie.
—
The next morning, she turns on her phone. Missed calls from Shipman, notifications from Jackie and Van. She wants to respond and say she’s okay, but Lottie’s snoring into her neck, and Laura Lee is kissing her way to her mouth.
She’ll get to it later.