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At the cabin during a full moon, the Yellowjackets throw a slumber party at night. Eventually, they gather around for a seance up in the attic. Some of the girls and Travis participate in it while Taissa, Laura Lee, Javi and Coach Scott stayed downstairs. The sounds of laughter can be heard up in the attic, as Javi decided to go upstairs to see what they're laughing about, out of curiosity and boredom.
Meanwhile up in the attic, many of the girls continue to ask questions to the pendulum, while Shauna acts as a guide while blindfolded. Javi sat in between his brother, Travis, and Nat.
"I thought I told you to stay downstairs." Travis says as he turned to his little brother
"Whatever. It's boring." Javi replied back
Van and Mari are in the midst of a conversation.
"I think they got divorced recently. It could've been guilt money." the red-head spoke
"Well, that's just creepy." Mari says
"Well, honey, your mom and I are splitting up, but don't worry, 'cause your tits are gonna look amazing." Van doing an impression while holding her boobs as everyone laughed
"Okay. Guys, guys, focus." Jackie says to the team waiting as their laughter dies down for the moment. "Next question."
Tai eventually came up to the attic and grabs a chair, while the others continued doing the seance. Jackie turns to Misty before asking her.
"Misty?"
Everyone gives her undivided attention, as Misty smiles before clearing her throat. The frizzy haired blonde closed her eyes and focuses on the question she wants to ask. She exhales before opening her eyes once more.
"Dear spirit, I need to know the truth. Does the person I like like me back?"
Jackie looks at her with a hint of fondness. "Aww."
Different reactions amongst the group, but especially Nat, who stares at Misty with a slight grin before lowering her gaze. Tai and Van exchange a warm look at each other and smiled. Soon enough, the pendulum answers as the string Shauna is holding starts swaying.
"Oh, okay," Van replied
Laughter rings out as some girls whistled while the eccentric blonde covers her mouth in uncontained excitement while beaming. Misty begins laughing. The platinum blonde looks in her direction once more and smiles back at her, as Nat gazes at her with a look of fondness and affection. She lowers her gaze once more somewhat bashful, as she bites her lower lip.
Unbeknownst to everyone and especially Misty, Natalie is harboring feelings for the quirky blonde. If she is honest, deep down she held a certain soft spot for Misty during high school. Whenever someone bullied her at school, Nat would defend her on rare, certain occasions. Even to some of her teammates, when they talk rudely behind her back or make fun of her. Particularly, Van and Mari.
Although she and Van are really chill and close friends, she would tell her to cut that shit out. The red head would get suspicious yet tease her about Misty, wondering if she secretly has the hots for her, only for the punk girl to deny it before flipping her off. Van never took any offense and eventually backed off.
She and Misty weren't particularly close. They're not exactly best friends. But she would wave to her during practice and speak to her. Misty was even her tutor at one point and even helped her during assignments and prep for exams in science class.
She knows Quigley isn't popular and very much an outcast. She could relate. Yet the platinum blonde is an outcast by choice and never gave a shit what people think of her while the curly haired blonde craves acceptance and attention from others. She can say she understands where Misty is coming from as she knows what it's like to be lonely and judged by people.
Nat's feelings for Misty changed overtime. It happened one night during senior year. She had a dream of Misty. It was intense. Very intimate. She woke up panting and her heart was racing fast. Since then, she didn't know what to make of that dream. At first, she simply shrugged it off as a one-time thing. It was just a dream. It would never happen again. But then it eventually did. Sometime before she and her team won the State Championships.
And then there was that hallucination. Her memory of that night from the party was hazy. Even after the plane crash, she was still coming down from her acid trip. She was truly fucked up. Didn't know what was real or not. But that night before Nationals, she saw her. At first, she wasn't sure if Misty was actually there standing from afar watching her. She was dazed and confused. But then suddenly, she was gone. Vanished as if it was just a figment of her imagination.
Since that night, her feelings towards Misty grew. It is all rather complicated. And yet, she can't help but feel drawn to her. She even had another intense dream about her while stranded in the wilderness. It was on the first night they were stranded after their plane crashed. At the time, they didn't find the cabin yet and were still a bit hopeful they would get rescued. Shauna had brought up the mention of the plane having an emergency transmitter sending out a distress signal. Of course, any hopes of rescue were thrown out the window as much time has passed and no one has found them yet.
At first her feelings for Misty scared her and she couldn't make sense of it. But the more time she's been stranded here, she began noticing her in ways she hadn't before. And quite often. Like the way the sun reflects on her skin during the day and how her brown eyes light up. How her smile can light up the room and make her heart flutter without meaning to. How her rambling which most would find fucking annoying, she finds it somewhat endearing. How most would consider her fashion sense to be a disaster, like those weird ass cat sweaters, she oddly enough finds that it suits Misty.
"Fuck, I'm down bad." the platinum blonde thought
Natalie glances at Misty again. This time in a wistful manner filled with longing. She watches as her smile lights up as she looks to be having fun with the rest of the team. Then reality washes over her that the person Misty is referring to is someone else. Particularly, Coach Scott. She doesn't miss the way Misty acts around him and is always following him around, taking care of him. She also knows Misty's infatuation on him is one-sided. No one knows that their coach is gay, except her. He hasn't told her; she figured it out on her own.
It then hits her that her own feelings for Misty are likely one-sided. The quirky blonde doesn't know how she feels. She hasn't told anyone, let alone Misty. She thinks it must be painful irony that she would end up falling for Misty fucking Quigley. The girl who's obsessed with their much older, gay coach. How did she get here?
The night went on as things took a dark turn as Lottie seemed possessed or something. Everyone was worried and scared of what was happening. The tall brunette started speaking in French and then eventually, smashed her head against the window, cutting her forehead as blood dripped. Fortunately, Laura Lee helped out and was able to reach to Lottie through her belief. She shouted for Satan to be gone and that the power of Christ compels him. After she tosses the Bible at Lottie, the latter snaps out of it. By the end of the night, mostly everyone is too scared to go back to the attic. Everyone except Tai and Shauna.
***********************
Sometime during the night, Nat looks around as the rest of the girls are lying down ready for sleep. She is the only one who didn't change out of her clothes from earlier while everyone else already changed for bed. Honestly, she's not in the mood to sleep, given what's happened. Hell, she doesn't think she could even if she tried.
Nat observes everyone, only to notice Misty is missing amongst the group. The platinum blonde quietly got up and walked past her teammates. She decided to search through the cabin, only to not find her. Obviously, she's not in the room Travis is sleeping in. She then thinks of Coach Scott and wonders if he's seen her.
Then she hears the sound of the front door opening and walked back to the area where the rest of the girls are sleeping. Nat looks up and sees her coach quietly yet struggling as he walls back into the cabin. He looks up and notices her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I thought you'd be asleep by now." He says with a look a surprise
"It's okay. And no, you didn't startle me. Actually, I couldn't sleep." She replied back as he nodded understandably
"Coach, have you seen Misty?"
His facial expression changes as he looks slightly unease.
"Yeah, um, I have. She's uh, she's outside by the cabin."
Nat's eyebrows furrowed as she stares at him.
"You just left her out there? Alone?"
"Look Nat, I ---"
"Actually, you know what, it's fine. I'll check on her."
"Yeah, maybe it's a good thing. She's uh, she's pretty upset right now. I... I think she could use someone to talk to."
Natalie observes him carefully and has a feeling what it's about. She silently nodded before walking over to grab her boots. She sat down as she puts them and ties her laces.
"I'm going to check on her." She says to him before standing up
"Okay. Do you want me to wait --"
"No, it's fine. I have it covered. Just get some rest." She reassured him as he nodded before limping as he quietly heads to his room to get some sleep
Nat sighs before grabbing her rifle just in case Misty went far. Not to mention it's dark outside. As she quietly steps out of the cabin, she looks around for the curly haired blonde.
"Misty?" She calls out to her but no response
She walks around the cabin on the side and still doesn't see her. The hunter starts to get nervous as there's no sign of her.
"Shit."
Worry and concern sinks in as her hunter instincts take over. She walks a little further away from the cabin and calls out for her again.
"Misty? Misty!"
She then hears a snap of a twig as Nat looks in the direction of where she heard it. On alert in case there's a bear roaming through the wilderness, she holds her rifle up. When Misty steps out of the shadows, she places her rifle down and sighs in relief.
"Jesus Christ, Quigley. You nearly gave me a heart attack. I could've blown your fucking brains out."
Misty looks at her and is about to form a response when Natalie spoke again.
"What are you doing out here anyway? Do you know how fucking dangerous it is to be out in these woods at night?"
"I know I--- I couldn't sleep. And I needed a moment alone."
Nat's expression softens as she remembers her brief conversation with Coach Scott. He didn't give specific details but has a feeling why Misty is upset. She also notices she's still in her clothes from earlier and hasn't changed into her sleepwear either.
"For what it's worth I can't sleep either. I um, I saw Coach Scott and he told me ---"
"What did he told you?" Misty cuts her off
The taller teen stares at her before looking away.
"Look, it's late. How about we head back inside? Or we can talk nearby the cabin ---"
"No, I --- I don't want to go back there. Not yet."
"Misty..." Nat trails off uncertainly
"Look, I'm not scared of walking through these woods at night. Nothing scares me easily."
"Yeah, I've noticed." Nat quirks a light grin
"And in case, we walk into danger, well I have you to protect me." Misty smiles at her
Natalie couldn't help the way her heart skips a beat at her comment. She looks away to keep from blushing. Fortunately, it's dark so maybe Misty won't notice.
"Please? I just want to get away from here for a couple of minutes. Keep me company."
Nat turns to look at her and silently groans at Misty's puppy dog eyes pleading with her.
"Or I could always venture off alone in the wilderness ----"
"Okay, okay." Nat intervenes as Misty grins widely
"Fuck. Okay, we'll venture out in the wilderness together for a bit. But I'm in charge. You must follow my lead. Okay?" Nat says with authority as Misty eagerly nods
*****************************
As they walk through the wilderness alone at night, Nat is equipped with her rifle while Misty walks next to her while holding the lantern in the dark woods. Eventually, they stopped by the stream where the water is flowing by and decided to relax. They sat down quietly on the ground in silence. Natalie places her rifle down nearby while Misty placed down the lantern next to her.
The moon glowing above them as it reflects on the water. After a while, Nat turns to her and breaks the silence.
"So, I spoke with Coach Scott and..." The platinum blonde trails off as she sees the curly haired blonde tensed slightly. "He told me that you were upset."
"Did he... did he mention anything in particular?" Misty asked carefully
"No. He didn't go into details. But I had a feeling." Natalie answered as she looks at her while the eccentric girl lowered her gaze
"Anyway, I decided to step outside to check on you."
Misty turns to her with a look of surprise. "You did?"
"Yeah. I looked outside the cabin and when I didn't see you... I got worried." Nat admits somewhat bashfully while rubbing the back of her neck
Misty's expression changed in one of disbelief yet awe. Then her eyes carry emotion, but she doesn't cry.
"No one's ever... no one's ever done that before. Care enough about me to do that." Misty says in an audible tone as Nat's heart aches painfully in her chest
"For as long as I can remember, I've been invisible. Misty Quigley, the freak. The lonely outcast. A nobody." She replied in self-loathing tone
"Whoa, hey. Look at me."
Misty turns to look at her as Nat stares at her intensely.
"You are not a nobody. Don't ever put yourself down."
Misty shook her head and stayed silent. Nat presses on.
"Listen to me. Who fucking cares what people at the school think? You think I care?"
"That's easy for you to say. I mean look at you. Nat, you're so cool. And you're brave, you're confident and you're beautiful." Misty goes on about how amazing Nat is as the punk girl stares at her
"You have this way about you that... that people can't help but find fascinating and drawn to."
Nat quirks a grin as she spoke. "Fascinating, huh?"
Misty blushes slightly as she pushes up her glasses while Nat smirks. The former looks away as she speaks again.
"I mean, y-yeah. How can they not find you to be fascinating?" The curly haired blonde says honestly yet oblivious to the way Nat is looking at her
"And me? No one notices me. And whenever they do... it's not in a positive way."
Natalie sighs as she decides to reach out to her once more. "Hey, look at me."
Misty turns to look at her again.
"You think I don't know what it's like? To feel lonely? To be judged? I do. More than you think."
Misty stays silent as she gazes at Natalie who continues.
"I know what it's like to be an outcast. An outsider. Of course, I choose to be. But I get it." The punk girl spoke in a tone of empathy as the quirky girl listens intently
"And you say you're a freak? Well, guess what? So, am I. No one is fucking perfect."
"And that's okay. Besides, normal is pretty overrated. And quite frankly, boring." Natalie says honestly while cheering Misty up as the curly haired teen laughs
Nat smiles softly before reaching out to hold Misty's hand and gently squeezing it. She turns serious.
"I... I know you're upset about Coach Scott. He didn't tell me, but I figured out on my own."
Misty's smile faded somewhat as she stares at her.
"He turned you down gently, right?"
Misty stares at her in silence before nodding. She doesn't bring up his early accusation of poisoning him. Natalie looks at her with a soft expression. She lets go of her hand.
"I know that it's hard. Rejection is... it's fucking rough."
The curly haired blonde senses a "but" coming.
"But you know it couldn't happen, right? For many reasons." Nat spoke in a soft yet direct tone
"Right." Misty says audibly lowering her gaze
The platinum blonde looks at her before lowering her gaze as well. Misty broke the silence.
"I... I know it could never happen. For many reasons. Can I be honest with you?"
Natalie turns to look at her before nodding.
"As upset as I was, it wasn't for the reason you think."
The taller teen looks at her curiously as she waits for Misty to continue.
"Everyone thinks I'm crazy obsessed with Coach Scott. But in truth... I think I just took an interest in him because... it seemed like something I was supposed to do."
Natalie stayed silent as she processes her words while Misty looks at her with a somewhat vulnerable expression. Clarity sinks in as the former gazes at the latter with a look of understanding. She swallows thickly. Misty breaks the silence.
"I... I've seen the way many girls at our school talk about guys. And I'm not exactly popular. I just wanted to feel one with the team. To be noticed."
"Right." Nat says as she understands Misty a lot more now. "Then again, I... I can't say I'm completely surprised."
Misty shrugs as she sat in silence.
"Misty... you don't have to try to fit in or change who you are for anyone."
"I know. I... I just want so much for someone to like me." The eccentric girl spoke audibly
Nat's expression softens as she then reaches out to hold her hand again.
"Hey. There is a lot to like about you."
"You're incredibly intelligent. Fucking brilliant actually." Nat says honestly as Misty feels her heart swell at her words
"And you're caring, you're funny, you're pretty," she continues to list her qualities
"You think I'm pretty?" Misty asks in awe as that's the thing that stood out to her on the things Nat has mentioned
"Yeah. Are you kidding?"
The quirky blonde feels her heart react as she stares the platinum blonde, who continues speaking.
"You're beautiful." Nat admits in a somewhat bashful tone as she smiles a little. "And you're very brave. I mean, look at the way you handled things after our plane crashed." The rebellious yet kind teen reminded her
"Anyone else would've cracked under pressure. Fuck, a lot of us were losing our shit yet you were on top of things. I mean it was fucking insane when you chopped Coach Scott's leg off, but you saved his life."
Misty stays silent as she took in Nat's words.
"Honestly, aside from Tai, you really came through for us when we needed it." Natalie acknowledges
"So, did you. If it had not been for you, we wouldn't have any food to eat." Misty says appreciating all Nat has done as a hunter
Nat smiles softly as Misty returns it.
"I meant what I said. You are all of those things and more." The platinum blonde says sincerely
"And you deserve to be with someone who likes you for who you are. Who truly wants to be with you and only you."
Misty feels her heart burst as she gazes at Nat as feelings, she has long buried rush back to the surface. If she is honest, she has always found the punk girl to be fascinating. Deep down, she really likes her. From the moment she first met her. She just never thought she had a chance. So, she buried her feelings out of fear.
However, hearing the way Nat speaks of her and actually mean it, touches her heart deeply. Now, she finds it hard to ignore how she feels for her.
"And someday, someone will come along and --" Natalie says before being cut off as Misty unexpectedly kisses her
In shock, Nat reels back as her eyes widen. She stares at Misty as she processes what happened. Misty stares back as panic sets in.
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry, I-- I don't know what came over me." The quirky blonde stutters nervously but deep down knew why she did it
"I--I didn't mean --"
Nat cuts her off as she touches her cheek. "No, don't. Don't ever fucking apologize." she whispers in a raspy tone
Misty's cheeks redden as she stares into Natalie's beautiful green eyes. She sees the platinum blonde lowering her gaze to her lips before holding eye contact again, silently asking for permission. Misty silently gives it to her, as Nat leans in and initiates the next kiss. The moment their lips touch, Misty gasps. The curly haired blonde immediately feels a spark as she closes her eyes and returns it.
Natalie kisses Misty slowly while caressing her cheek, as the latter trembles slightly from nerves yet want. The platinum blonde pulls away with a gasp as she stares at Misty who still has her eyes closed for a moment before slowly opening it. Nat smiles at her as Misty returns it.
"Was that your first kiss?" The taller girl asked in a whisper
"Yeah." The curly haired girl admits somewhat bashfully before pushing up her glasses. "Was I bad at it?"
"No." Nat replied in a hushed tone before tucking a strand of her blonde curls behind her ear
Misty stares back at her before smiling again, as Nat leans in for another kiss. She meets her halfway as their lips lock. If the second kiss gave her a spark, this one is like fireworks as Nat slowly deepens the kiss. Misty gasps before returning it as she pulls her closer. They kiss one another slowly yet passionately under the moonlight sky.
The curly haired blonde sighs with pleasure as Nat grins against her lips at her response. The platinum blonde continues to kiss Misty while caressing her face as the latter eagerly returns it. When breathing became a factor, they reluctantly pull away with a gasp.
Misty's cheeks are flushed as she pants against her lips while Nat isn't faring any better as her heart is racing fast and she's a little breathless. They look at one another before smiling widely. Misty touches her lips while Nat looks away slightly processing what happened.
"Um, that was..." Nat trails off
"Wow..." Misty is at a loss for words as well
"Yeah." They share a laugh
"We should um, we should head back. It's late." Natalie suggested as Misty nodded
As they got up, Nat grabs her rifle while Misty grabs the lantern. While they're walking back through the woods, Misty feels some doubts resurface, wondering if Natalie will pretend like the moment they shared didn't happen.
However, her doubts are put at ease when Nat reached down to hold her hand and interlocks their fingers together. Misty looks up at her and beams happily with a smile. Nat glances at her and smirks before her expression softens to one of fondness. The taller teen lowers her gaze as a ghost of a smile forms on her face.
They eventually made it back to the cabin safely. As they quietly enter, fortunately the rest of the girls are sleeping. Mari and Akilah are sleeping next to each other. Lottie is still sleeping on the bed by the window, healing from her wound on her forehead.
Misty and Natalie tiptoe quietly as they go through their belongings and get their sleepwear. They look at each other before getting undressed. The platinum blonde turns away, not because she's embarrassed but wanting to respect Misty's boundaries.
However, Misty on the other hand, couldn't help but sneak glances and gawk at her. She thought she was being discreet but got caught, as she quickly looks away as Nat smirks at her.
After they finish changing into their nightwear, they put their clothes away. The two teens got ready for bed as Nat lies down in her original spot and got under her blanket. Misty stands over her somewhat hesitant before Nat pats the spot next to her. The curly haired blonde smiles as she took that as permission to lie next to her.
Misty pulls her blanket over her and lies beside Natalie. They gaze at one another and smile softly. Misty takes a risk and carefully reaches out to hold Nat's hand and surprisingly, the punk girl doesn't pull away. Instead, she gently squeezes her hand.
Misty blushes as she gazes at Nat while biting her bottom lip. Nat lowers her gaze at her lips and is tempted to kiss her again but holds back. However, there is always tomorrow. They lock eyes again and continue holding hands under their blankets. Eventually, they soon fell asleep as the long night catches up with them.
THE END