ties that bind.
chapter 003.
jackie's sidekick 2.0.

xxx.

THE LOCKER ROOM WAS STALE, and not just because it smelled like sweat and stinky cleats. The atmosphere was rigid, tense. An ambulance had came nearly twenty minutes after Coach Scott called, and they transported a wailing, bloody Allie to the nearest hospital. Practice was dismissed early after that, obviously, as Coach Scott sent the girls to the locker room to clean up and attempt to recover from the gore show they witnessed.

It was silent inside the locker room, too. No one dared to speak a word, though most of them seemed too in their own heads about what happened only moments ago. Absentminded stares, faces twisted in disgust, and a select few that were trying to distract themselves with a mundane task, like Shauna untying her cleat laces or Malia shoving her things into her locker.

Malia turned her head after closing her soccer bag inside the navy blue locker, her finger nail scratching at the old, worn bumblebee sticker stuck to the front. Near her, Natalie sat against the wall, her elbows hanging from her knees. A hand rubbed at the side of her face, smearing her eyeliner in the corner of her eye with the sweat sticking to her knuckles, clearly distraught by what happened— or, what she thought happened.

The sound of footsteps clicked down the corridor, hesitating before the owner came into view of the rest of the team. Then, Jackie appeared around the corner, holding her arms loosely across her chest as she surveyed the damage; the rest of them were fine, physically, but the emotional damage Allie's accident caused would be hard to reverse or heal.

It was her, their team captain, naturally, that broke the awkward silence, " I know we're all really worried about Allie, but it might not be as bad as it looks. "

It was a weak attempt, Jackie had to know that no one would be soothed by that, but it was also very in character of her: try to make things better than they seem, even if it was blatantly obvious they weren't.

" You could see her fucking bones, Jackie. " Natalie replied sharply in aggravation, looking up at the other blonde, " I'm pretty sure it's exactly as bad as it looks. "

" Oh, god, " Van muttered under her breath, frowning as she ran a hand over her face, " I'm gonna throw up. "

" Okay, but..I mean, we're still a team, and we still have each other. " Jackie tried again, but she didn't sound confident about it at all. She had noticed something was off on the field, too, and while she was better at hiding it, Malia could see the uncertainty in her eyes. They locked gazes for a split second, and Malia turned away almost immediately out of guilt.

While it wasn't really working like Jackie intended it to, Franny admired her at least trying. No one else wanted to speak up, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And, maybe Jackie only did it because it was expected of her as their captain, but Franny wanted to believe that she did it because she wanted to; Jackie always seemed to want what was best for the team, and in a difficult situation like that, she was trying to lighten their heavy consciouses.

" And, the Lord works in mysterious ways. "

" At least the dead weight's off the team now. " Charlie uttered at the same time, causing a few surprised looks to go her way.

Natalie slammed fist against the locker underneath Malia's, causing the dark haired girl to feel them vibrate underneath her grip. Both comments made Malia frown, lowering her forehead to the cool metal of her locker as Natalie suddenly stood up and stormed past Jackie. As her shoulder nudged Jackie, she called out, " Nice work, Taissa! "

" Wait, Nat, come on— " Charlie's disbelief was evident and a little concerning as she attempted to stop Natalie from leaving, but failed without hesitance. She rolled her eyes, but sat back down from the few inches she stood up when considering following after Natalie.

Taissa had been staring off absentmindedly since they'd gotten back to the locker room, moving about lackadaisically, like a zombie. She didn't talk, didn't look at anyone, she simply sat down on the bench and stared at her locker in silence. Natalie's comment was the first time Malia had seen her move in minutes. She closed her eyes regretfully, lowering her head into her hands.

Malia's eyes found Taissa without meaning to, her sunken expression softening as she turned back to her own locker. Jackie gave up on trying to lift their spirits, allowing others to head out, too. Malia bent over to pick up her school bag, finding a folded piece of paper sitting on top of it.

It must've fallen out of her locker while she wasn't paying attention, because she hadn't seen it up until then. Brows knitting, Malia slung her bag over one shoulder and pushed the paper open with two fingers, her eyes quickly scanning over it. Her father's name was signed at the bottom in a pristine, elegant signature of thin ink, and, beside it, was her name and the date of earlier that week.

The permission slip they were all given by Coach Martinez to have signed by their parents, allowing them to go to Nationals if they had won their last game. Malia had pointed out to him that he must've been pretty cocky to hand those out before they even knew if they were going to make it to Nationals.

Not cocky, confident. Didn't you tell me you were the best player on the team yesterday, Sun?

She insisted defensively that those weren't her words, but she took his point. It wasn't being cocky if it was true and had the facts to back it up.

Malia looked down at the permission slip, and, despite the gloom hanging over the locker room, she still managed a small smile. It might not have been said in words, but she took that as Coach Martinez letting her know that, even if she was benched from playing, they still expected her to come with them. She was part of the team, the most dedicated part of the team; it would be wrong to do it without her.

She folded the paper back up and stuck it into the side of her bookbag before heading out of the locker room without another word. As she walked past the brick wall— which, if you looked closer you'd see they had several etchings in each brick —Malia saw a flash of bleached blonde hair from the corner of her eye.

Natalie leaned lazily against the corner, a cigarette stick between her teeth as she tried to light the end of it, failing with a few clicks of her lighter. She swore under her breath, hands still shaking from the Allie situation, and seemed to only realize Malia was there after she gave up on trying to smoke.

Stark blue eyes met Malia's, making her nearly flinch from their intensity. Natalie had name dropped Taissa, but Malia felt animosity radiating off of her as they stood an awkward few feet away from each other. She was half expecting Natalie to go off on her for hurting Allie, shoulders stiff and braced for the attack.

Instead, Natalie simply shoved her lighter into her soccer shorts and huffed, " I didn't need you to follow me out here. "

" I didn't mean to. " Malia admitted, making a slight face at the assumption. They didn't really know each other that well, and Malia wasn't an outgoing enough person to follow Natalie out of concern.

          Natalie continue to look at her, like she was trying to decide if that was true or not. She broke eye contact to glance down at the cigarette that was now held between her fingers, flicking it with her thumb, decorated with chipped black polish on the nail.

          " What did Taissa do to get you in on that plan? " She suddenly asked, in a much lower yet less defensive tone. It almost sounded like she was moreso disappointed than angry.

         Malia pressed her teeth into her lip at the insinuation. Did everyone think she injured Allie purposefully? That she was capable of an act of violence like that, just to keep a mediocre player off the field at Nationals?

         " I agreed with her that Allie sucks, and that she could fuck up Nationals, and I was down for keeping her from getting the ball. " Malia confirmed, nodding her head as she adjusted her grip on her bookbag strap. She swallowed and averted her eyes for a second, only to look back up at Natalie, " But I didn't hurt her on purpose, I would never— "

         " It looked pretty intentional, Mal. Did you even try for the ball? " Natalie cut her off, making Malia scowl softly.

         " Yeah, I did, I tried too fucking hard, Nat. I played aggressive, I didn't mean to bust her shin out of her skin. " Malia defended, shifting her weight to her opposite leg as she let out a deep breath. Her tone switched, too, softening as she continued, " I don't.. I don't even know where that came from, I've never done anything like that before. I've never been so angry, I— I literally saw black. "

         Natalie actually listened to her that time, eyes flickering over her face as she analyzed the genuineness in her words. She pursed her lips, her dimple deepening as she thought about what to say then, " What made you so mad? Coach missing practice  mess up your after-school plans under the bleachers? "

        Malia's face fell so quickly it could've been comical, but she found Natalie's joke to be anything but funny. The blonde seemed to realize it too, instant regret crossing her face when she watched Malia's reaction. Plenty of the girls on the soccer team made jabs at Natalie's promiscuity, and while she had become mostly numb to it, it was hypocritical of her to further those stupid jokes about Malia and Coach's extra practice time.

        " Sorry, that wasn't funny. " She apologized humbly, shaking her head with a small exhale. She held her hand out and let it fall to her side, " Seriously, what got you so pissed? "

        Malia wasn't sure that she wanted to continue the conversation any longer after that, but she felt like she had to explain herself just to clear her name, if that was even possible.

        " I got benched. I'm not allowed to play in the Nationals tournament. " She told Natalie, who seemed to not believe her at first. The blonde scoffed humorously, staring at her as if she expected her to tell her she was just joking, but Malia didn't say anything more.

        " You're kidding, right? " When Malia didn't respond to that, just blankly looking back at her, Natalie let out another sound of disbelief, " You're, like, the best player on the team, how can you be benched? "

        " You slap a bitch for talking shit. " Malia answered, quirking a brow at Natalie, who chuckled heartily that time, her previous frustration seeming to fade, at least for the moment.

        " Okay, yeah, I'm sure that'll do it. " Natalie confirmed, nodding, her shaggy hair swishing with the motion. Her toothy grin remained on her face as she insisted, " That was sick, by the way. Might be the first time I've ever seen Melissa actually shut up. Now, if only you could do it to Mari or Charlie. "

        " Aren't you and Charlie friends? " Malia asked, but Natalie simply shrugged.

        " Yeah, I guess, doesn't mean she doesn't get on my nerves, though. " She replied casually, making a ghost of a smile appear on Malia's face. After a second of silence, she gestured her hand around, though to nowhere in particular, " Well, are you going to the party tonight? It's tradition, after all. "

        She mocked Jackie, who had told them all earlier that they were practically required to show up, even if only for a little bit. Parties weren't necessarily Malia's ideal event, and she felt even worse about going now that she sent someone to the hospital, but she didn't even think about her answer before she gave it to Natalie.

       " Yeah, I guess. "

       " Then I'll see you there, killer. "

       Malia squinted at her, but was able to take that joke more than the original one. She rolled her eyes still though, and walked away from Natalie without another word.

xxx.

           A few hours later, Franny found herself in a place she'd only ever daydreamed about being in: Jackie Taylor's house. That sounded a little creepy when she thought about it, but she meant it in a way that was..more pathetic than that. Franny didn't have many friends growing up, or at least what she considered friends. Mari liked to pick on her but would also cheer for her in practice, Jeff sat with her in almost every class they were in together (though she assumed he just did that to cheat off her tests), and Jackie was kind to her.

          But Franny had never experienced real friend. She never had a sleepover, didn't go dress shopping for homecoming with a group of girls, and didn't host Secret Santa around Christmas. Franny didn't have the experience of the average teenage girl, and she envied it, especially now that she was sitting in Jackie's room, imagining all the things they could've done in there had they been closer. They could've painted each others' nails, studied for tests together, gossiped about their classmates.

          " It's just a party. Come on, Fran, back me up here. " Jackie's voice cut into her thoughts then, though she was still staring up at one of many corny posters she had stuck to her mauve colored walls. Jackie's head turned in Franny's direction when she didn't respond, and she called, " Franny, hello? Did you hear me? "

         " Sorry. " She instantly said before she really knew what she was apologizing for. Franny met Jackie's expectant gaze, frowning slightly, " Sorry, what is it? "

        " I was telling Shauna that it's just a party, it's not like Allie died and we're celebrating instead of mourning. " She re-explained the conversation that she had been retracted from. Jackie shot a look over at Shauna, playfully raising a brow at her as she asked, " Am I right, Franny? "

        As she waited for Franny's agreement, which would surely follow no matter what, Jackie looked in a mirror that sat across from her bed, fluffing her curled hair up. Franny turned from where she sat in Jackie's vanity chair, looking between the team captain and Shauna, who stood near the closet, flattening her top down.

        " Uh, yeah. " Franny hollowly agreed. She wasn't all that sure if it really mattered, honestly; the party was going to happen, regardless of Allie being hurt or not. The only difference if they stayed home was the fact that they'd probably think more about the accident. Though, Franny would rather sit in Jackie's room and do the sorts of things she saw happen at sleepovers in tv shows than go to a party.

         " See? " Jackie promoted, causing Shauna to sigh as she looked away from the full length mirror.

          " I don't know, it just doesn't feel right to go and act like nothing happened. " She said, but it was clear that she wasn't going to miss out on the party either way.

         " It's not like not going is going to unfuck Allie's legs. " Jackie continued, leaning back on her bed when she was satisfied with her appearance. " Plus, it's tradition. "

         Franny zoned out again as they began to speak about a different topic— Shauna trying to be Catholic, or something. She stared at the vanity mirror, a plain look on her face, like usual. It was rare for her to smile, other than the little, close lipped ones she did for class picture day every year, and she wasn't even sure if she knew what her full, real smile looked like anymore. She didn't really know how to do makeup, and she often did the exact same thing every day for her hair, so she didn't really have anything to 'get ready' like the other two, so she sat in silence as a third wheel.

         Shauna turned to Jackie, silently waiting for her approval of her choice of outfit, to which the blonde pursed her lips and hummed, shaking her head. The brunette rolled her eyes and turned back to the options she had, quickly unbuttoning her shirt to change it out for another one.

          " You know, Shauna, Randy's going to be at the party tonight. " Jackie said, though it came out a bit odd, random.

          Shauna raised a brow as she showed her another top, " Okay? "

         " Mm-mm. " Jackie shot down another outfit, making Shauna turn away again. She watched her change into yet another top that was far too scholarly for a high school kegger, I mean, did every shirt Shauna owned have a collar? " He asked Jeff to ask me if you were gonna be there. "

        Shauna didn't respond, she just shot Jackie an annoyed look, to which the girl shrugged lightly, " I just thought you'd want to know that someone asked about you. "

        Even Franny could read the room, but maybe that was because she was on the outside looking in onto the conversation. As Shauna came back with another top that Jackie didn't approve of, the blonde let out a loud sigh.

        " Shauna, just wear the red dress I gave you, the boob one. Don't you think she'd look good in that one, Franny? "

         " Maybe I don't want to wear the red dress, and I sure as hell don't want to hook up with Randy fucking Walsh. " Shauna fired back, finally speaking up; it was like a short fuse had sparked, building up quickly and exploding within seconds.

" Jesus, what crawled up your ass? " Jackie asked, a bit taken back by Shauna's outburst. Her eyes trailed over to Franny, who she locked gazes with in the mirror, but the outsider shrunk away, not wanting to be dragged into the middle of it any more than she already was. Jackie just muttered, " Wear whatever you want. "

" Thanks, I will. " Shauna replied dryly, her eyes also going over to Franny. She let a snappy quip go, " Do you wanna agree with that, too? "

Franny met Shauna's frustrated look and pursed her lips, remaining silent. Maybe this was one of the few positives about not having friends— you couldn't have arguments if you didn't have anyone to argue with.

Jackie wore hesitance on her face, but it was clear she wanted to defuse the awkward situation before it got worse, " You're probably right about Randy, anyways. I once saw him get outsmarted by an escalator. "

Shauna looked as though she was trying to fight the smile that eventually won the battle to take over her face, " I heard him ask who invented the Pope. "

Franny wanted to join in that time, offer her own joke at Randy's expense, but she really didn't have anything. People didn't joke around with Franny, or tell her secrets, or gossip with her; anything she heard was in passing or in a group setting. She just sat in silence again.

Still, Jackie laughed, seeming to have dissipated their argument within a matter of seconds. Franny wondered if they did that often, in private.

Shauna left to go to the bathroom then, leaving Jackie and Franny alone. The room suddenly felt lighter without her, though Franny wasn't sure why. It didn't take long for Jackie to turn her attention towards Franny, never one to let silence fester too long. She crawled off the side of her bed, joining Franny near the vanity.

" I know everyone was upset about Allie, I was just trying to get their high spirits back, earlier, I mean. " Jackie explained, though Franny didn't know why she felt like she needed to tell her that; maybe it was easy to tell your thoughts to a relative brick wall

Franny nodded, " Yeah, I know. "

Like she was expecting more, Jackie just weakly smiled in response. Still, she quickly changed the topic, " Oh, I almost forgot. Here, I picked something out for you, too. If you want it. "

Jackie added that last bit on there hastily, anticipating a similar reaction to Shauna's. However, where Shauna didn't want Jackie dictating her choices, Franny welcomed it. She didn't really care what she wore, or how she looked, but she did like that Jackie thought of her— picked something out with her in mind.

It was like she had said to Shauna: I just thought you'd want to know that someone asked about you.

That was the goal, wasn't it? To have someone that considered you? Someone that remembered you, even when you weren't there?

Jackie disappeared into her closet and came back within a second, presenting Franny with something very different from her proposed idea for Shauna. She had clearly been trying to push Shauna out of her shell, get her to wear something a little more risqué, but what she held in her hands for Franny seemed like they were chosen with her shell in mind.

" I don't know how you feel about the color pink, but I thought it would look nice on you. " Jackie commented as both of their gazes looked down at the light pink sweater, and the longer brown skirt folded neatly underneath it. The blonde raised her eyes to the other girl's face, beaming, " It felt very you. "

It was very Franny, and that shocked her. She expected Jackie to bring her some slim fitting dress, maybe with a jean jacket to ease her into it, but the real choice was a welcome surprise. Franny accepted the outfit from Franny, causing the girl's smile to widen.

" You don't think it's too plain for a party? " Franny asked, out of both insecurity and honest worry.

" Maybe, but who cares? It's your style. " Jackie insisted, gesturing towards Franny's plain, non-ripped jeans and the long sleeve top the clung to her thin limbs. She reached forward and pulled some of her dark tendrils of hair in front of her shoulder and looked over her as if she was imagining the outfit on her. " You always look nice, I just wanted to give you another option. "

Franny smiled then. Slow, and barely there, but a real, genuine smile. She felt seen, even if it lasted only a second.

" Well? Go get changed! We've got a party to crash! " Jackie insisted, giving her a gently nudge towards the door. Franny's grin remained on her face as she stepped out into the hall, looking for the door to the bathroom, seeing the light had been left on inside.

She hadn't even thought about Shauna, who had been waiting in the darkness of the hallway, near Jackie's room, listening to their entire exchange with an envious frown.

xxx.

Night had fallen by the time the party really started to draw people in. Natalie hung around the trees, hiding in the branches and wooden limbs with her two, maybe only, friends. She dangled a ziplock baggy of LSD in front of her face, experiencing the most excitement she had all day, when a series of footsteps crunched over the twigs on the ground, and Charlie's face appeared through the plastic of the baggy.

The brunette glanced briefly over at the two boys on either side of Natalie and barely hesitated to say, " Beat it, losers. "

The taller one, Kevyn, blinked, looking as though he wasn't sure if he actually heard her say that or not. " Excuse me? "

" Sorry, let me say it slower for you. " Charlie bent herself at the waist an inch, even though Kevyn was taller than her by a few inches, and mockingly said, " Beat. It. "

Their other friend hit Kevyn's arm, murmuring to him, " Come on, man, you know girls and their alone time. "

" We're, like, totally going to gossip about which one of you we'd marry if you were the last men on Earth. " Charlie raised the pitch and tone of her voice in sarcastically agree with him, and though the two of them wore unpleasant expressions, it made them leave.

" You know, you don't have to be a bitch. " Natalie pointed out as if it was world-shattering news, lowering the bag of powder down, an annoyed look on her face.

" Life is more fun that way, though. " Charlie quipped, grinning at the blonde. As Natalie moved to step away from her, Charlie turned and walked beside her, hands in her pockets as she asked, " Why are you even here with them? I thought we were blowing this together. "

" I figured you might skip. You know, since you helped put Allie in a hospital. " Natalie stated firmly, and Charlie scoffed in amusement.

" Seriously, Nat? Last I checked, Malia is the one that kicked her so hard her fucking bone broke skin. " Charlie reminded her, acting as if Natalie was crazy for the hostility.

" Yeah, and I think you and Taissa set her ass up for that. " Natalie shot back accusatory in tone; part of it definitely had to do with the fact that she was high and on the border of tripping out, but she was also genuinely aggravated by the entire situation and the fact that Charlie would act like it was so far out there to think she did have something to do with it.

" Oh, wow, okay, " Charlie stared at her in disbelief, shaking her head. She held her palms up and took a small step back, " Yeah, okay, have fun getting fucked up tonight with those idiots. I'll go find another freshman to put in the hospital, or, better, another hothead to manipulate into doing it for me. "

Natalie stared at the back of her head with an intense pressure as Charlie spun on her heel and stomped away. The brunette didn't know where she was going to go or who she was going to find to replace the Natalie-sized hole at her side, but she was too busy fuming to think about it.

Did she plot against Allie with Taissa? Yes, obviously, Natalie was here for that conversation. Did she throw Malia under the bus to get it done?

" Fuck, watch where you're going— " Charlie snapped suddenly as she ran into another girl, feeling the remnants of liquid splash on her forearm. She took an instinctive step back, wiring her mouth for another jab at whoever it was, when she realized it was Franny.

She had been trying to juggle three solo cups for herself, Jackie, and Shauna (though she wasn't really sure if she had any intent on drinking something from a spout that she just watched six different boys stick their lips on). Her collision with her step-sister crushed the cups, spilling the alcohol all over the front of the sweater she borrowed from Jackie.

" Fucking 'course it's you. " Charlie muttered under her breath, her eyes hardened further when Franny looked up from the mess to meet her fiery glare. However, she took a second of clarity through her anger to look Franny up and down, amidst the pungent alcohol staining her clothes. She let out a dry laugh, " Are those Jackie's clothes?  Are you really trying to become her sidekick? What, Shipman's not enough for her? She needs a whole army of spineless losers? "

        Franny was never one for confrontation, certainly not with Charlie. Ever since their parents got married, they'd always been at odds, but it was almost always one sided. Franny didn't particularly dislike Charlie, other than the horrible attitude she had, but Charlie hadn't even given her a chance to get to know her before she crushed that idea beneath her shoe like a helpless ant. She knew it likely had to the reaction of something deeper within Charlie, and not so much Franny as a person, but it was hard to not take it personal.

        Franny had often dreamed of having a sister, but not like that.

        " Charlie— "

        " Whatever, I'm going to find a bathroom. Have fun with Barbie. " She cut her off before her name could even meekly leave Franny's mouth.

         Franny didn't bother arguing or trying to keep her there longer, watching her storm off towards the house. There wasn't too much time for her to dwell on it anyways, as someone else approached her bubble within seconds of Charlie leaving.

         " Oh, my god, Franny, what happened? " Jackie asked, her eyes wide as she grabbed the other girl's shoulder, looking down at her shirt and the crushed solo cups. She quickly glanced around, seeing Charlie in the near distance, but she said nothing about it and turned back to Franny. She knew she wouldn't blame her sister, so Jackie didn't wait for an explanation.

         She surveyed the damage to the sweater, murmuring about how much it costed and that it was vintage, but she then declared, " Okay, I might have something extra in Jeff's car, it might just be a t-shirt, but anything's better than smelling like alcohol. "

         Franny just offered her a grateful smile and a nod, allowing Jackie to drag her— though it was more like forcing her to run along side her— to Jeff's car.

xxx.

4,900 words.

welcome to another chapter. I feel like not much is happening in each chapter but it also might just be because I write so damn much and it takes me 5 chapters to get through one episode. I wanna write the crash so bad yall don't get it

slowly introducing more about each girl as we go, hopefully you're able to see some dynamics growing and their personalities/archs

as always, all comments and feedback are appreciated and read with love!