Chapter Text
Shirley had been alone most of her life.
Well, not technically alone. She’d had her mother back at the apartment. But that was before the whole drunk driving accident and CPS and… you get the picture. Now, she truly didn’t have anyone in her life, unless you counted her friends at school. Shirley didn’t—she loved them, don’t get her wrong, but none of them even knew she was in foster care, yet alone all the weird things she liked.
Besides, no one really wanted to adopt a 17 year old, since she’d be off to college by next year and out of their home anyway. What would the point of adoption even be if you couldn’t raise the kid? Going further, Shirley’s mother used to try and sell her for lottery tickets or cigarettes, and from all of that neglect came a ton of self-hatred that frankly made her unappealing to hopeful parents. Who wants that when you can just get a baby that doesn’t argue?
All this and more was why she was so surprised to be in the backseat of a (really bumpy) SUV with her caseworker driving to her future home.
She looks out the window, watching the landscape become more suburban as time passes. Townhouses and restaurants would leave her view just as quickly as they’d come, and soon the avenues became filled with one-story homes and apartment complexes.
“Shirley?”
Shirley manages to tear her eyes away from the street when her caseworker speaks. “Hm?” She murmurs, noticing a speedbump ahead and bracing for it. Her caseworker doesn’t notice it until it’s too late, and Shirley’s suitcase falls from the seat onto the car floor.
“You like this neighborhood?” Her caseworker inquires, ignoring the bump in the road completely. Maybe she’s just gotten used to them.
Shirley nods. “Yeah. It’s… it’s nice.”
“C’mon kid, lighten up.” Her caseworker risks a glance into the mirror, finding Shirley biting her manicured nails. “You’re always so confident. I’m sure all four of them will love you just the way you are, m’kay?”
Shirley meets her eyes in the rearview mirror, eyebrows furrowing. “Wait—what do you mean four?”
But as quickly as she’d asked, her caseworker turns a sharp corner and slams the brakes, the back of the car lifting into the air. Shirley almost flies out of her seat, gasping for air as her seatbelt desperately holds her in place.
“Oh look, we’re here.” The caseworker simply hums and unbuckles, waiting for Shirley to get out alongside her.
Shirley takes a minute to collect herself after that, and grabs her suitcase, easily carrying it out of the car.
Maybe these people would be nice and quiet and drive cars right, and everything would be fine.
As her caseworker finds the key under the doormat, Shirley can’t help but imagine what she would be greeted by. She’d only been briefed about her ‘primary caretaker’ (Anthony), but maybe everyone was as calm as he appeared to be. Maybe she’d paint her nails with them and gossip and talk. Maybe, just maybe, she’d finally have a supportive family.
So when the door opens, she’ll admit that with her daydreaming, she didn’t expect 8 million pieces of confetti to be dumped on her head.
At least three separate voices shout “WELCOME HOME!!!” and through the paper-filled haze, she can see a camera filming the front door. Her social worker enters behind her once the confetti stops, a grin evident on her face.
“What’s going on?” Shirley questions, and her caseworker’s face falls, glancing between her and the group.
“Oh,” her caseworker realized, “did I forget to say—oh shit.” The caseworker looks to the four people on the stairs (who Shirley just realized were there) and shoots them an apologetic look. “Would you four mind explaining?”
The four people eye each other with confusion before one of them (the one with the mullet) turns to Shirley with a bright smile. That’s Anthony, Shirley recalls.
“Shirley… we’re adopting you for a video!”
---
Shirley has been laying on her bed for five hours, just processing, and yet it still doesn’t feel right.
How could her caseworker fail to mention the fact that she was only going to be here for, what, a week? Was she even transferring schools? Did she even need to bring all her things?
What even was the point of adopting her?
She’d finally felt wanted. Call it stupid, but she was happy to have parents in her life. But they didn’t actually want her.
She’s in her (temporary) room when someone knocks on the (temporary) door. She wipes her eyes, despite not crying, and turns her head, yelling “come in!” and sitting up. The guy in the purple sweater, (whose name was Will, she’d learned) opens the door and he winces at its squeakiness.
He stands there awkwardly, as if he’d forgotten why he was there.
Shirley raises an eyebrow. “Did you need something?”
“Oh! Uh,” Will starts, verbose as ever, “Do you want to come down for dinner? We made your favorite—well, Coy and I made your favorite, Anthony and Hanbon just fucked around—but we think it’d be, like, nice to have a family dinner with you. Yeah?”
Shirley squints her eyes, trying to decipher if this was them making up for the situation she’s in or if they were just being nice, before deciding she didn’t care. “Okay,” she agrees. Will’s eyes light up, and Shirley can’t help but smile.
“Okay.” Will closes the door behind him, and she hears cheers from the hallway. She can’t help but laugh to herself at the sound.
Something about the four was infectious, and she could sense this giddy feeling building up in her chest just by being around them. Like she could be more herself.
It doesn’t even matter, she has to try and think. No, she should be mad at them. She should be mad at her caseworker, and just… ugh.
She shakes her head, trying to rid herself of thoughts before standing and heading down the hall.
When she finally arrives at the kitchen, her four momentary parents are sitting nervously, a plate of her favorite dish in front of each of them, and a final one on the corner of the countertop.
To be honest, she didn’t think they actually knew her favorite food. But there it was. It was even on a purple plate, her favorite color. Suddenly, her smile doesn’t feel so fake anymore.
She wordlessly sits down and digs in, and the tense atmosphere seems to dissipate. Soon, Will is joking with Coy, and Hanbon is throwing bits out just to see if they stick. Anthony and Shirley are eating in silence, but it’s comfortable.
Shirley gazes at the bunch as she takes her final bite. Anthony has now been dragged into the conversation by Hanbon, and all four of them are fake-arguing over who has the longest arm. Maybe it’s the hours of ruminating, or the fact that Coy keeps glancing over to her, making sure she’s okay, but she thinks:
Maybe I wouldn’t mind being here for a week. As long as they keep treating me like they want me here.
“Hey, Shirley? Hello?”
Shirley snaps out of it, eyes moving over to Hanbon.
“You good to start filming tomorrow?”
Shirley looks between the four, who are all staring at her. Like they care if or when she’s ready. Maybe they do.
Shirley, without hesitation, nods.
---
There are many instances where Shirley finds herself falling deeper in the hole that is these Bunch of Friends.
Like on the first filming day:
The lights were overwhelming. They hit Shirley’s eyes like hellfire, and she has to keep rubbing them to avoid going blind. Right before they start, she feels the couch sink next to her. She turns her head away from her hands, and Coy’s there.
“You alright, Shirley?” He asks, like he’s genuinely concerned.
Shirley shakes her head, trying to blink away the brightness hitting her corneas. “Uh, yeah, it’s fine.” She hesitates, before admitting to him, “The lights are… they’re certainly radiant.”
Coy exhales, like that was an easier problem than he was expecting. “Oh! Well we can lower them if you’d like. I’m sure we can fix the lighting in post anyway.”
Shirley knits her eyebrows together. “You sure it’s not a big deal?”
“Of course, Shirley.” She notes that his response is immediate. “This is your video. You’re allowed to ask for anything.”
Shirley just agrees, feeling her chest get a little tighter.
Of course, that was just for content. But they also take her out without prompting.
They went to a restaurant on her third day, and got her ice cream after. They went to a park the next day, where she outran them in tag and they complimented her for being so athletic.
Shirley knew it was stupid to feel so strongly towards them, but they were acting more considerate than her parents ever had, and it was hard to accept that she would be leaving tomorrow. She didn’t want to leave them yet.
That’s why, irrationally at 2 a.m., Shirley found herself knocking on Anthony’s bedroom door.
She knew that what she was doing was childish, and that they’d probably say no, but she wanted this. She wanted a family.
She found all four members sleeping in a ridiculously long bed, Will and Coy on the outside and Hanbon and Anthony in the middle. She chuckles at the sight, slowly creeping towards the side where Will was. She tries to shake him awake, and instead he lets out a loud snore.
“Hey, Will,” she murmurs, “Wake up.”
She hears a, “mmm?” and shakes his shoulders harder in response. Will shoots up, almost hitting her in the face, and Shirley takes a step back.
“Shirley?” She sees Will rub his eyes, adjusting them to the lack of light. “Wha—whaddaya need?”
“I—Can you guys adopt me?” She blurts.
Will’s face morphs into confusion. “But… we already adopted you, Shirley.”
“No, no. Like actually adopt me.” She can feel her emotions already welling up. She’s trying to choke back tears. “Cause like—God, this sounds stupid—but you guys are actually nice to me. And I was expecting to have to do more to earn it, but you all were, like, just naturally kind and I didn’t have to work for it.” She goes to wipe tears from her eyes, but more quickly replace it and she gives up. “You didn’t make me work for it and that makes me feel like I’m wanted. Like you guys accept me for me, and I don’t want to leave that space yet, please don’t make me leave—”
“Woah, woah!” Will reaches out for Shirley with one arm, pulling her into a half-hug, running a soothing hand down her back. He uses his other hand to hit Anthony, trying to get him conscious.
“Hey, shhh. It’s okay. You’re okay, Shirley.”
She was full-on sobbing into Will’s shoulder now, too busy to even notice that Anthony was becoming alert.
“Dude, what’s going on?” Anthony whispers, trying to keep Hanbon and Coy asleep before noticing Shirley. “Oh shit, she alright?”
“Anth, you gotta tell her about the plan.”
“What—no! That’s a surprise, why would I ruin it?”
“Are you serious?”
“No, I’m Anthony—yes, I’m freaking serious!”
“Dude, she’s crying about leaving tomorrow—”
“Okay, okay! Fine!”
Anthony crawls to the edge of the bed and jumps off, muttering passive-aggressive nonsense. Shirley’s teary eyes travel to where a confetti popper is hidden, head still leaning on Will’s shoulder. Will covers her ears as Anthony pulls the string and excitedly shouts:
“Shirley, we’re adopting you for real!”
Shirley’s crying stops abruptly, and her head whips towards Anthony’s beaming face. “...What?” She looks towards the bed, where everyone else is now awake and covered in purple confetti. “You’re all serious?”
Anthony sighs, like he was disappointed that the surprise got ruined, but his smile is still evident. “Yeah. We were supposed to tell you tomorrow, for the last part of the video. It was gonna be this big thing and whatever.”
All of Shirley’s energy seemed to hone in on leaping up and tackling Anthony into a bear hug, repeated mumbles of “thank you!” being lost in the thud of him colliding with the ground.
She hears Hanbon shout “group hug!” and can feel three bodies lying by her and Anthony. Shirley chuckles, pulling someone’s arm around her.
She was finally at home.