[003] bad blood

                                              "Oh, come on. You're not gonna let some silly accident stop you from having fun... are you?" Rebecca remarked, looking at herself through her little compact mirror as she reapplied her lipgloss.

                                              Eleanor looked at Rebecca along with Maude and Katherine as all four of them sat inside of Rebecca's Ford Mustang (which happened to be painted a bright cherry red for the sake of attracting attention). She couldn't help but wonder how the other girls could act so normal after everyhing she told them. Sure, they hadn't been there when Allie had basically broken her leg. But still, they were acting pretty cavalier about the whole situation and that stunned Eleanor.

                                             "I mean, it's not like you broke the girl's leg. And I'm sure she'll be fine. She sucked as a player anyway," Rebecca continued with a shrug.

                                             "Okay, true, but that doesn't mean I can just act like everything's fine. You didn't see her bone jutting out of her leg -," Eleanor stammered.

                                             "Ew, ew, ew! Don't say that! You're going to make me lose my appetite," Katherine quickly cut Eleanor off, covering her ears dramatically.

                                             "Maybe that's a good thing. Your dress is fitting you a little too tightly," Rebecca retorted, glancing at Katherine from over her shoulder.

                                             Katherine frowns.

                                             "This is going to be your last big party before you go off to nationals. There's going to be lots of cute boys there and it's about time you pop your cherry. So forget all about it and have fun tonight. You're the only virgin in the group, Ellie. That has to change," Rebecca adds, patting Eleanor on the shoulder. She probably thought that her words were supposed to be encouraging but 

                                               Eleanor seriously regretted telling Rebecca about that. And ever since then, she constantly used it against her. It was the one thing Rebecca was able to hang over her head, the one thing she managed to beat Eleanor in. It was absolutely ridiculous but Eleanor couldn't help but feel pressured by it all. The worst part was that Eleanor couldn't really figure out why she wasn't attracted to the guys in her school. She knew that she could have any boy she wanted and she had been asked out plenty of times before.

                                                But perhaps, she was just way too picky for her own good.

                                                "Tonight's the night," Rebecca continued.

                                                "If you say so," Eleanor shrugged.

                                                The girls then piled out of her car, walking side by side into the party. Eleanor plasters a confident smile onto her lips. Everyone instantly turned to look at them but that was expected due to how popular they were. But it wouldn't be long at all before Eleanor would look around and instantly meet Shiloh's gaze. It had to be a case of bad luck or something.

                                               Shiloh's eyes narrow before she looks away, not wanting to give Eleanor a second glance. She was obviously still pissed from what had happened with Allie. But Eleanor was convinced that it wasn't her fault. It couldn't be. She was more willing to deny it all (just as she continued to do with the failure of her and Shiloh's relationship) and just act like it had never happened. So that's exactly what Eleanor planned on doing.

                                               Shiloh, on the other hand, just focused on the beer in her cup and chugged as much of it down as possible. Getting drunk probably wasn't the best idea since she had to wake up early and board a plane tomorrow. But she wasn't one to really focus or care about the future. She lived in the moment - both a blessing and a curse.

                                                "Shiloh, right?"

                                                At the mention of her name, Shiloh turns to look at her and sees that it was just one of her other classmates. Heidi Winthrop was in her science and her english class and although they never really talked much (they actually never talked whatsoever), Shiloh had always noticed her from time to time. And apparently, Heidi had noticed her too.

                                                "Yeah," Shiloh remarked with a small smile. "Uh, you're Heidi. We have, like, one or two classes together."

                                                 "Two actually. But then again, you're usually asleep so I don't blame you for not remembering," Heidi teased her with a shake of her head.

                                                 "Am I in trouble or something?" Shiloh raised a brow.

                                                  Heidi softly chuckled. "No, I promise. I was just hoping to talk to you since I never really got a chance to before. You know, since you're usually sleeping and all."

                                                "About what?" Shiloh inquired.

                                                Heidi shrugs, moving a little closer to where Shiloh stood. "I dunno, whatever you want to talk about. You're the school superstar after all."

                                                "I wouldn't say I'm a superstar," Shiloh chuckles softly.

                                                "Are you kidding me? You and the other girls are famous here. It's incredible. I wish I was as talented as you," Heidi replied with a small smile.

                                                "I wouldn't call it talent. Feels a lot more like luck, if I'm being honest," Shiloh replied. She wasn't sure why she was so quick to deny all of Heidi's compliments. But it was difficult for her to accept any of it when she didn't think so highly about herself.

                                                 Heidi shrugs. "Well, maybe you could teach me sometime."

                                                 It takes Shiloh far too long to realize exactly where Heidi was going with this. And so she nods, the smile on her face growing. "Yeah, maybe I will."

                                                Eleanor was absolutely bored out of her mind, standing there with a drink in hand while she was talking to none other than Winston Smith. He wasn't anything remotely special, except for the fact that he was handsome and popular. Ideally, he was the kind of guy that Eleanor should be with. The kind of boy to solidify her popularity.

                                                And yet she quickly found herself only getting annoyed by him. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't stop talking about himself or maybe it ws the fact that he kept calling her baby all the time. But regardless, Eleanor already found herself ready to leave and go back home.

                                                "You look really gorgeous tonight, baby," Winston compliments her and it'd be for the first time since their nine minute conversation.

                                                "Thank you. So do you," Eleanor responds, plastering a smile onto her lips. "I really like the... plaid shirt."

                                                "Oh, yeah. Thanks. Listen, I know you're going to Nationals and all but... I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me when you came back," Winston offered.

                                                Eleanor wasn't really banking on saying yes. But when she thought about the expectations Rebecca had placed upon her, Eleanor knew it'd be social suicide to stay single forever. Winston was her best shot. Still, the sound of laughter is enough for Eleanor to briefly turn around and see Shiloh. She was talkng to some other girl and from the looks of it, they were pretty close.

                                                The sight of Shiloh happy with someone else was enough to make Eleanor feel all weird. She frowns at the sight before turning back around to look at Winston. "Sure, I'll go out with you. We can set something up after Nationals."

                                                 Winston smiles but before anything more could happen, the sound of commotion is enough to draw Eleanor's attention. It seemed to be coming from Shauna who was shouting at Taissa. Eleanor turns to look at Winston, beginning to back away from her.

                                                "Excuse me. I'll be right back," she replies and leaves before Winston could even say anything.

                                                Eleanor makes her way over to the arguing pair as the others did so. Including Shiloh who had heard a little more of the commotion before pulling away from Heidi. And just like that, the two girls joined the argument about to brew.

                                                "No! Listen, you guys, we don't have to worry about the Allie problem anymore because Taissa and Ellie fixed it for us," Shauna shouts, looking around at everyone else before she focused her attention back on a guilty and angry looking Taissa.

                                               Laura Lee frowned. "What? What's she talking about?"

                                               "She's talking about Taissa and Ellie's little plan," Nat explained with a smirk.

                                                "Fuck off," Ellie exclaimed.

                                                "You fuck off. Learn to take some accountability for your actions," Shiloh retorted.

                                               Taissa turns around to glare over at Nat. "Oh, please. Since when do you give a shit anyway? Don't you have a bong to hit or a dick to suck?"

                                               "Don't talk to her that way!" Shauna argued in an effort to defend Nat.

                                               "Oh, fuck off, Shauna. I don't need you to defend me. Last time I checked, you were fine with the whole freeze her out strategy," Natalie argued.

                                               "Okay, seriously, what are you talking about?" Laura Lee asked again.

                                                "Shut the fuck up, Laura Lee!" they all shouted, instantly shutting the girl up.

                                                "No, no, no, stop it," Van shook her head, trying to deescalate the situation. And failing.

                                                "Somebody needs to take her wasted ass home," Taissa insulted Shauna again and the taunt seemed to be the final straw for Shauna who snapped.

                                                "Say that again, bitch. Say that again," Shauna replied, her voice raised, as she tried to charge after Taissa again.

                                                "I will say it again!" Taissa shouted.

                                                 Everyone started fighting after that and it just got completely out of control. Eleanor tried to get in Shauna's face but then Shiloh stepped in, shoving Eleanor back. Eleanor got angry and also shoved Shiloh back, causing the two of them to start fighting. Between the guilt of the Allie incident being thrown back in her face and then seeing Shiloh with another girl, it only made her even more upset.

                                                 "Cat fight! Cat fight!"

                                                 A crowd was now beginning to form, all of them chanting the same thing. For most of the party, the fight was pretty entertaining. But for Jackie, it was far from it. Jackie finally appeared, deciding to step in and stop the fight before it could escalate even more.

                                                 "That's it! Enough! Yellowjackets, with me!" Jackie exclaimed.

                                                 Eleanor and Shiloh glare at each other for a moment longer before they decided to join the rest of them. They were separated from the entire party now with Jackie standing in front of them.

                                                "I don't know what the fuck that was, but I do know that it's over. We're about to go to nationals. And based on what I'm looking at right now, we might as well not bother getting on that plane," Jackie began, sounding as disappointed as she looked. "Alright, everybody line up. No, I'm fucking serious. Line up!"

                                                They were all in a line, Eleanor right beside Taissa while Shiloh was beside Nat. She was really the only person on the team that she could trust being around at the moment.

                                                "Here's what we're gonna do. I want each of you to go down this line and say one nice, true thing about every other girl on this team," Jackie suggested.

                                                "What is this, fucking Girl Scout camp?" Taissa scoffed. 

                                                "Who wants to go first?" Jackie asks, ignoring Taissa and her teasing.

                                                "I'll go, Jackie," Laura Lee immediately volunteered before walking towards Taissa with a smile. "Taissa, you are beautiful in the eyes of our Lord."

                                                  "Van, you are beautiful -," Laura Lee spoke before she'd be cut off by the other girls groaning and complaining about Laura Lee's repetitive message.

                                                  "This is so pointless," Eleanor rolled her eyes.

                                                  "Okay, Laura Lee, fall back," Jackie sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll go first."

                                                   "Taissa Turner, you have more fight in you than anyone I've ever known."

                                                    "Eleanor Sun, you're the smartest girl I've ever met. And not to mention, really pretty."

                                                     Eleanor smiles. "Thank you."

                                                     Shiloh rolls her eyes.

                                                   "Vanessa Palmer, your smile makes me feel happy every time I see it."

                                                   "Laura Lee, I truly admire your faith."

                                                   "Shiloh Vega, you're so determined and brave. No matter what, you fight for everything that you believe in."

                                                      Shiloh falters slightly, the compliment throwing her off guard. Eleanor's own smile falters as she looks over at Shiloh before forcing herself to go forward.

                                                     "Nat, I love that you don't care what anybody thinks. And you're so completely yourself."

                                                     "She's also deadly at beer pong," Van was quick to joke which made the other girls laugh.

                                                     "So, go on. Tell her," Jackie smiled as she backed away, motioning for the other girls to start complimenting each other.

                                                       Eleanor prepared to walk off, only for Jackie to stop her and grab her by the arm. She dragged Eleanor all the way to Shiloh, forcing the two of them to be stuck together.

                                                      "Oh no, you're not going anywhere. You two need to talk things out before we leave for nationals. We can't be a team together if even two of us are apart. You're not leaving until you work something out," Jackie ordered.

                                                     "This is bullshit," Shiloh cursed.

                                                     "You'll thank me later," Jackie says with a smile before she leaves off to go and talk with the other teammates.

                                                     With it being just the two of them, the two girls look at each other while waiting for the other to talk. But obviously, Shiloh wasn't going to budge. And so that left Eleanor no other choice but to speak up first.

                                                    "Are you going to be mad the whole time? What's done is done and all we can do is move on. Besides, Allie's going to be fine," Eleanor reasoned.

                                                   "You're so self centered. I can't believe it took me so long to see it," Shiloh rolled her eyes. "The only thing I want to say to you is that I'm glad we're no longer friends."

                                                   Eleanor scoffs. "So what? You're gonna try and be friends with that ginger loser? Go ahead. I'm sure you two will be a match made in heaven."

                                                   "Were you watching me?" Shiloh asked.

                                                   "Get over yourself. You two were flirting in front of everyone. Do you think she'd actually want to hang out with you once she remembers who you are?" Eleanor raised a brow.

                                                    Shiloh shakes her head, scoffing. "Yeah, maybe, because she's not a bigoted asshole like you and your friends are. And I bet she's way better at keeping a secret than you are."

                                                    "So that's what this is all about. You don't care about Allie. You're just going to forever punish me for what happened between us. You ruined our friendship the moment you kissed me," Eleanor replied, deciding to throw the blame right back onto her.

                                                     "Maybe you're right. Maybe I did fuck things up. But you didn't have to go and tell fucking Rebecca about it. You hated her," Shiloh retorted. "And now you're still kissing her ass to try and maintain your popularity."

                                                     "I... She's not that bad once you get to know her. She's a better friend than you'll ever be," Eleanor argued.

                                                     "Bullshit. You won't take accountability with Allie and you won't take accountability with me. I'm done waiting for an apology from you. I'm willing to work alongside you for the sake of nationals. But I'm done talking about this with you. There's no use in bringing back up the past. It's done," Shiloh remarked.

                                                     "Fine. As far as I know, our friendship never happened. And maybe that's for the better. Although it was pretty obvious you never wanted to be just friends with me," Eleanor adds before she folds her arms across her chest.

                                                      Shiloh shakes her head before she finally storms off, having enough of the situation. Jackie had just finished her conversation with Shauna when she saw that Shiloh was angrily walking away.

                                                    "Hey, Shiloh. Did you even finish with -?" Jackie began.

                                                    "Fuck off," Shiloh retorted, making Jackie sigh in defeat.

                                                    Shiloh keeps walking until she ultimately runs into Heidi who had been finishing her own drink. "Hey, do you want to leave with me?"

                                                     "Uh, yeah. Sure. Let's go," Heidi agrees.

                                                     Shiloh follows right behind her without second thought, wanting nothing more than to leave the party. And she was more than happy to do so with her new friend.

( 🌲🔪🦌 )

word count: 2736
notes: here's the third chapter! i updated the cast list to include the new characters since they're actually a little important. eleanor was lowkey so jealous of shiloh and heidi despite having no right since she basically ruined any chance of them being close again. i can't wait for them to stop hating each other because that's going to be so much fun to write tbh