A Change of Heart

by adorethelore

Summary:

Natalie and Lottie Matthews are best friends. That’s all they’ll ever be, even if Natalie wants them to be more. Lottie loves Shauna… but so does Jackie Taylor. Maybe the two of them can team up? Get their best friends to call off their fling and choose what’s in front of them?

OR
When Natalie Scatorccio and Jackie Taylor’s best friends start dating, they hatch a plan: break them up as soon as they possibly can.

Notes:

First time writing fanfic, so sorry if it’s bad and I hope you enjoy! :)) Title is based off of a The 1975 song.

Chapter 1: And are we awake?

Let’s get one thing straight: Jackie Taylor was not Natalie Scatorccio’s friend. She was about the last person Nat expected to be knocking on her door at ten o’clock on a Thursday night, but low and behold, there she was.

“Jax?” Natalie asked, looking out at the girl in the hallway with confusion.

“We need to converse.” Jackie replied, pushing past her and walking into the dorm room. She headed straight towards the kitchen, opening the fridge and taking out a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

“Hey! That’s my Tonight Dough!”

“Guess what? I don’t care.” Jackie said as she continued to pace around the kitchen. “Where are your spoons?”

“Jimmy Fallon worked many long hours in the kitchen making that for Lottie and I,” Nat said slyly. “But here you are, scarfing it down like it came out of your own grocery bill.”

“I’m surprised you still have a sense of humor right now, Natalie.”

“Ooh,” Nat said. “Full name usage? Whatever’s sent you into this spiral must be serious.”

Jackie sighed. “You don’t know, do you?

“Know what?”

“Check instagram, like, right now.”

Nat grabbed her phone off of the counter.

“Nice lock screen, dork.” Jackie said, peeking over her shoulder. “Would’ve expected something a little more dark and brooding.”

The lock screen was a picture from two summers ago, a vacation that her, Lottie, Van, and Taissa had gone on. It was the four of them on the beach at sunrise, laying on their towels in the sand. That was one of the best weeks of her life, Natalie thought, though she hadn’t admitted that to anyone, not even Lottie. Just like she wouldn’t admit that she had never been on a trip anywhere farther than the Jersey Shore, or that she had never had a friend quite like her. Nobody was as remarkable as Lottie Matthews.

“Well, I guess we’re both just full of surprises, aren’t we, Jackie?”

“Jeez,” Jackie said. “What’s crawled up your ass?”

“If you wanted someone to be all sorority sister with, you should have waited for Lottie to get home. I’m sure if you asked her nicely enough, she’d paint your nails whatever shade of pink that you like.”

“She’s most certainly not going to be back tonight.” Jackie said quietly. “Open your damn phone.”

Nat unlocked it. Her password, shocker, was Lottie’s Birthday. She’d made it that two years ago, halfway through their freshman year. She had only known Lottie for a few months at the time, but something inside of her had felt that they would be close for a long, long while. Deciphering the ways of Rutgers was, admittedly, hard for an eighteen year old Natalie, but she had gotten through it with Lottie by her side. Van and Tai, too, but from across the dorm hallway, not from right across the room. Shauna and, begrudgingly, Jackie, came into their little world sophomore year, as they all shared a common interest in good liquor and Friday nights spent in places other than the oh, so familiar fraternity houses. Nat much preferred Shauna’s company to Jackie’s, but she didn’t really mind Jackie being around as much as she was showing it.

That was, of course, until she saw it. What had brought Jackie here.

xoxo_lotts:

1 attachment:

hard launch?? ❤ @shaunashipps

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Comments:

lauraleelovin: knew it! love you guysss.

taissaturner: oh my god!?!?!?

vanistheman: REPLY TO MY TEXT THIS MINUTE CHARLOTTE MATTHEWS.

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“What the fuck?” Natalie yelled, throwing her phone across the room.

“So they didn’t tell you either?”

“Of course they didn’t fucking tell me, Jax, what in the actual hell is going on?”

“I couldn’t believe it either!” Jackie replied, “I mean, it’s our two best friends! They didn’t even tell us!”

“Where are they even at right now?” Nat asked. “Lottie told me she had a club thing. Something for like, baking club.”

“Oh, that’s rich.” Jackie laughed. “Pun intended. Baking club? Nat, you should know better than anyone that Lottie would burn the entirety of Rutgers down if she tried to make anything more complicated than chocolate chip cookies.”

 

“Okay, I get it. It was a flimsy excuse and I shouldn’t have fallen for it. Can you answer my question please? Where the fuck are Lottie and Shauna?”

“Get this: they’re literally in me and Shipman’s dorm.”

“What?” Nat replied.

“Yup. Shauna came to me earlier today and was like ‘Yo, Jax, I’m gonna have someone over later, can you find somewhere to go for the night?’ I didn’t even complain!”

“Bet you didn’t think it was gonna be Lottie.” Nat murmured.

“Nope. But uh, now I know I guess.” Jackie sniffled. Was she crying? Shit- did Jackie have feelings for Shauna?

“Fuck Jackie, that kind of sucks.” Nat replied. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to try to comfort me Natalie,” Jackie smiled, crying a bit less. “I know it’s not really your style.”

“Hey! I can be comforting when need be. I’m, uh, here for you Jax.”

“Sort of funny that she kicked me out for a hookup and then ended up making said hookup her girlfriend, isn’t it?”

“Not funny at all.” Nat grumbled.

“Of course you’d say that,” Jackie laughed. “We’re in the same boat. Two girls hopelessly in love with our best friends. We should start a club. ‘Homoerotic Hell’ or something.”

“What?” Nat choked. “I- uh, you’ve got me wrong. Lottie and I are just friends.”

“Oh! Uh, oops, sorry.” Jackie backtracked. “I just sort of, you know, assumed, cause of the whole… codependency thing you guys have going on.”

“Codependency thing? What?”

“Nevermind. I came here for more than just venting, Natalie. I need your help.”

“Oh my god, literally with what? I just found out my best friend has been seeing Shauna fucking Shipman behind my back and lying about it. Shouldn’t that give me a pass from involvement in your revenge plot?”

“You see, that passion towards the subject is what will fuel the plan.”

“The plan- what plan, Jax?”

“To break them up, of course.” Jackie replied with a smirk.

“No way.”

“Please just hear me out!”

“No, no way.” Nat started backing up, getting further and further away from the madness stirring.

“Come on, it’ll be fun. We’ll be like the Spy Kids or something.”

“Spy kids? Jackie, what delusional world are you living in?” Natalie snapped. “If Shauna and Lottie didn’t tell us about this, it’s because they care more about this fling than the approval of their long term best friends, okay?”

“Please Nat?” Jackie said, quieter than she had been all night. “I just want Shauna back. That’s all I want.”

“...What does the plan entail?” Natalie groaned.

“Oh, Natty!” Jackie exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Ugh, please don’t start calling me that,” Nat whined, squirming around in Jackie’s arms. “I don’t think I can take any more Jackie Taylorification of my life.”

“I actually love that term!” Jackie said with a smile, going to sit back down with her bowl of ice cream. “Now let’s talk strategy. What’s our game plan?”

“This is your idea, Taylor,” Nat said. “I’m really just an accomplice.”

“We need a little effort on both sides!”

“Keep thinking. I’ll help with execution.”

They ended up shooting ideas back and forth for a while, but were left with nothing. They sat in quiet self pity for a while, the two being dangerously close to giving up until Jackie sat up straight, a serious look now painted across her face.

“I think I have an idea?”

“What is it?” Nat asked.

“What if we go on a few dates and how they react? Maybe it’ll sow some seeds of doubt in their minds.”

“That would never work. They probably wouldn’t even care if we dated, Jackie.”

“Oh please, Natalie, those are two of the most jealous girls I know. Remember when you got closer with Kevyn during sophomore year, and Lottie practically begged you to hang out with her instead?”

“I guess?”

“And remember when Shauna saw Mari and I at that Italian restaurant on a date and signed her up for scientology? Shauna may not know that she wants me, but I know her well enough to know that she’s entirely capable of it. I swear she could.”

“You know, I haven’t seen Mari since that day.” Nat whispered. “I hope bisexual satan Shauna Shipman didn’t kill her or something.”

“You can’t say that!” Jackie giggled. “Believe it or not, that’s my best friend, Natalie.”

“How do you plan to even convince them that we stand each other? I don’t know if you can see this, Jax, but you and I aren’t the most likely to couple up.”

“It has to be a slow operation. We’ll gradually get closer. Make them wonder if we’re really just friends. Then boom! Dates, flowers, romance! They’ll go crazy.”

“You are putting a lot of faith in this plan,” Nat sighed. “What if it all goes wrong?”

“Who cares?” Jackie replied, putting her hands up in the air. “I’ve got nothing to lose at this point, do you?”

“I guess not,” Nat grumbled.

“Then we ought to get started then, huh?” Jackie stood up, face full of determination. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, Natalie Scatorccio.”

“You are so full of shit.”

Chapter 2: Am I too old to be this stoned?

Summary:

Lottie and Nat finally talk, and Jackie and Nat have a girls night (they’re growing on each other.)

Notes:

Chapter 2! Hope you enjoy :)

So the plan was set in motion. Jackie called it “Mission Jackienat,” and though Nat thought it was a bit on the nose, she hadn’t said one thing about it. They had talked late into the night about the deal: the strategy, the goal, and the limits.

They devised a concise list of rules, the first set in place was by Nat, the second and third by Jackie, and the fourth by Google since the two of them were both short of ideas. The first rule was to tap the other person twice on the hand before being physically affectionate. This was put in place to maintain a respectful relationship between the two of them, as well as to ensure that they wouldn’t be caught off guard and could continue their act.

The second rule was that they couldn’t tell anyone, not even Van and Tai, that their relationship was fake. At least not at first, when they needed to make sure there wasn’t anything that Lottie and Shauna could be suspicious about. It was bad enough that Jackie and Nat had been indifferent towards each other until this point, barely tolerating the other’s company. They didn’t need any more flaws in their plan.

The third rule was probably the hardest: stay convincing, but also continue to stay vague. It was decided, they actually became friends with each other on the night Lottie was over at Shauna’s, and started catching feelings for each other as they hung out in the weeks after and they realized how much they had in common. They had this story and they would stick to it. It should be simple, easy to remember. But Nat and Jackie both knew that if put on the spot, they could be forced to elaborate in detail that could be dangerous. If they added something to the narrative, they would have to write it down in the shared Google document they had for “Mission Jackienat.”

Finally the fourth rule: don’t fall in love with each other. When Jackie and Nat saw that in the search results, they laughed, but decided to write it down anyway. What was the harm in it? Jackie said they needed a fourth rule for it to actually feel like a list, and who was Nat to argue with that logic?

In the end, they felt they had a good grasp of what they were working on. They had the idea to finish the document with their signatures, to make it feel like the real deal.

“It’ll be like the bill of rights,” Jackie said. “But in the name of love!”

Natalie started it out small. By the time her last class on Friday had finished, Lottie had returned back to the dorm.

Jackie had told her the night before, “Don’t come off as upset. Act like you’ve known this was coming. Be supportive.”

Nat just couldn’t wrap her head around why Lottie hadn’t told her. Sure, some things in their friendship weren’t perfect, but she had never seen them as bad either. She wouldn’t have been upset if when she asked Lottie where she was going yesterday, she would have told her the truth. So why the unnecessary lie? Why say she was going to a baking club, just to end up posting in Shauna’s room as if Nat couldn’t see it?

Still, Nat knew she had to play it cool. If she was going to be able to get Shauna back to Jackie and get her best friend back as well, she had to play nice.

“Hey,” Nat smirked as she walked into their dorm room. “Hot date yesterday?”

“Fuck,” Lottie sighed. “I forgot you could see that.”

“Well, I did!” Nat said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lottie took her glance off of the floor where it had been and looked at Natalie guiltily. “Shauna just didn’t want us to tell anyone. She has a feeling Jackie’s gonna be really upset.”

“Actually,” Natalie replied slyly, “Jackie was here yesterday. She didn’t have anywhere to go for the night, so we hung out.”

“What?” Lottie choked. “Uh- how was that?”

“It was actually kind of fun, surprisingly.” Nat smiled, thinking back. Honestly, it wasn’t a lie. “She’s good company.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I know, I’m shocked too.”

“I didn’t know you even liked her, Nat.” Lottie said. “I sort of thought you hated her.”

“Well, I don’t. I’d expect her to be around more, Lottie.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because you’re dating her roommate and best friend.” Nat rolled her eyes. “We’re probably all going to get closer.”

“Was Jackie upset last night?” Lottie said curiously.

“Uhm, no actually,” Nat lied. “She seemed pretty supportive of it. I think she just wants Shauna to be happy!”

“Oh,” Lottie replied. “That’s good, I suppose. I don’t want her to like, hate me.”

“She could never, Lottie. She’s not that type of person.”

“It’s surprising to hear you say that.” Lottie laughed.

“Well get used to it! She’s part of our lives now!”

“Alright, alright. I will.” Lottie smiled. “Oh, by the way, I’m going over to Shauna’s later. You should invite Jackie over or something, since you guys are so close now.”

“Haha, will do!” Nat said, and as the afternoon went on, the more she thought about it, the less she dreaded it.

It was a strange sensation, to tolerate Jackie Taylor. She’d never have expected it, but they actually did have some things in common. She learned that they both played soccer before they came to Rutgers, they both love cooking, and they both were in shitty bands in high school (Jackie was the vocalist, Shauna was the lead guitarist. That alone says a lot about their friendship). She also learned that Jackie smoked pot, which was a happy development in the night.

“Maybe we should start a band,” Jackie joked as they laid on the floor in Nat’s room. “Something to do while our best friends hook up every night.”

“I guess it would be nice to be able to hit away my feelings again,” Nat said, fantasizing back to when she was the drummer in her own Riot Grrrl band instead of just listening to it on her spotify.

“I could use some of that as well,” Jackie replied. “Speaking of which, look at what they fucking posted just now.”

Nat looked down at Jackie’s phone. Shauna was the first person in Jackie’s feed, Nat saw. It must be hard to love someone like that. What was it like to have met the one you want the most in fucking preschool? You just see them on the playground and think, “Yup. That’s the one?”

shaunashipps:

1 attachment:

this one 🩷 @xoxo_lotts

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Comments:

melthehatgirl: cutee

jeffinitelynot: dude!!

vanistheman: wow. so adorable.
xoxo_lotts: shut up van
vanistheman: make me

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“Shut up,” Natalie cackled. “Even Jeff Sadecki commented.”

“This isn't funny!” Jackie said angrily. “Shauna rarely posts. What if this is serious?”

“Then we better make sure our plan works.” Nat replied calmly. “Don’t worry, Jax, she’ll be back in your suffocating arms before you know it.”

“You only know they’re suffocating because you let me hug you,” Jackie grumbled. “You didn’t even hit me or anything.”

“Yeah, cause I know my face wouldn’t look good in a mugshot.”

“Sure,” Jackie said sing-songily “Or it’s because you like my presence. You have a secret soft spot for me! Don’t you?”

“I do not have a ‘secret soft spot,’ Jax. Don’t get it twisted. This is a business deal and a business deal only.”

“Oh yeah?” Jackie smirked. “And what’s the business? Last time I checked you aren’t doing it for yourself, so you must be doing it for me and my wellbeing.”

“Nuh uh!”

“Yuh huh!” Jackie giggled.

“Whatever man,” Nat replied. “You are so high.”

“You wanna know what we should do?” Jackie said, looking up at the ceiling. “We should post too. Hard launch our friendship. Show Shauna and Lottie what they’re missing over here in room 231!”

“Right, because room 231 is the poster card for fun.”

“I mean, I’m having a grand old time. Aren’t you?”

“It’s not the worst way to spend a Friday night, I guess.” Nat laughed.

“I’m growing on you, Nat Scat,” Jackie said with a smile. “Just you wait. Now come here and pose, we’ve got a polaroid selfie to post.”

lumberjax:

1 attachment:

friday night in da dorm @natscat 🫶

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Comments:

maristheparty: loving this crossover episode

lauraleelovin: so cute!!

travismartinez: hot

mistyquiggs: two of my faves omg!

vanistheman: an interesting development

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“Dude,” Jackie snorted. “Shauna and Lottie both just liked it at the same time.”

“I hope they aren’t praying on our downfall.” Nat said.

“They totally should be, we’re gonna be unstoppable. Look at how many likes we’re getting!”

“Damn,” Nat replied. “Travis commented. I didn’t even know he knew how to use Instagram.”

“Anything for his queen, Natalie Scatorccio.” Jackie giggled. “He’s had the hots for you since like orientation, freshman year.”

“Too bad he’s not as cool as me,” Nat sighed. “I can tell he really wants to be.”

“Poor, poor Travis.”

Nat laughed. “You know, you’re not half bad company, Taylor.”

“You’re not so awful either,” Jackie replied. “Though you totally avoid your feelings. It’s like, ‘Damn. Is she a girl or a robot?’”

“At least I’m not pining over my best friend.”

“At least I’m not unknowingly pining over my best friend!”

“At least the love of my life isn’t my kindergarten buddy!”

“Shut up!” Jackie yelled, tackling Nat and laughing.

“Am I wrong?” Nat smirked from under her. Jackie rolled back onto the floor, still cackling.

“You never know, I could marry a rich man and spend my summers on a yacht. I could leave Shauna’s nerdy ass behind.”

“Right, and I’ll be president of the fucking United States.”

“You might be good at it,” Jackie said. “You’ve got the independence thing down!”

“You’re making me sound like a personified Statue of Liberty.”

“Did you know the Statue of Liberty is from France?”

“Oh my god,” Nat groaned. “Shut up.”

“Je parle un peu de français,” Jackie smiled.

“Tu es un derrière.” Nat snorted.

“Tu m'aimes.”

“No I don’t!” Nat laughed and hit her with a pillow. “I tolerate you.”

“Well, Nat,” Jackie said, “I tolerate you too.”

“Wow,” Natalie replied sarcastically. “We’ve come so far.”

“That we have!” Jackie said sweetly, then hit her back.

“Oh no you didn’t!”

“Sorry, can you speak up? Jackie giggled. “I don’t speak loser.”

“And I don’t speak little bitch!” Nat replied, now up on her two feet, matching Jackie’s height.

“Oh, it’s on!” Jackie yelled. “Prepare to lose to the champion of all slumber party pillow fights!”

“Prepare to lose to the champion of all slumber party makeouts.” Nat joked.

“That is not the flex you think it is.”

“Oh yeah?” Nat smirked, then hit the back of Jackie’s head.

Jackie turned out, looking shocked, and then reaching for the pillow in Nat’s hand. Nat jumped up on top of her bed and out of Jackie’s reach, searching for a stuffed animal to use. Jackie grabbed one of her feet, and Natalie fell onto the pile of blankets on the floor. Jackie then grabbed half of the pile of Natalie’s stuffed animals and piled them on top of the pile (and Nat.)

“Rest in peace to Natalie Scatorccio,” Jackie faux-lamented, “Loved by some. Loathed by many. The owner of a concerning amount of stuffies for a twenty-one year old woman.”

“I CAN’T BREATHE, JAX!” Natalie yelled dramatically from under the pile.

Right at that moment, Lottie and Shauna came bursting into the dorm, laughing. The door to Nat’s room was wide open, so they immediately heard Nat screaming and came rushing in, no longer smiling.

“NAT?” Lottie yelled. “Jackie, where is she?”

“Dude,” Jackie snorted. “Calm down.”

“What the fuck? I just heard my best friend screaming bloody murder and now I can’t find her. What am I supposed to think of that?”

“I’m under here,” Nat laughed, her voice being muffled. “Under all the stuffed animals.”

“We were having a pillow fight. What’s so wrong with that?”

“Nothing I guess,” Lottie grumbled. “I was just worried.”

“Well don’t be,” Jackie said innocently. “I promise to take good care of her in your absence.”

“Yeah,” Shauna replied with a smile, finally speaking. “Jackie wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“But I might,” Nat laughed, hitting Jackie so hard with a squishmallow she fell backwards onto the bed.

“Natalie Scatorccio!” Shauna exclaimed.

“AGH!” Jackie yelled.

“Serves her right,” Nat rolled her eyes.

“Truce?” Jackie said, standing back up and extending her hand.

“Truce,” Nat winked, taking her hand and shaking it.

“God, get a room.” Shauna snorted, and Lottie finally cracked a smile.

“C’mon, let’s go watch something.” Lottie said. “Winner gets to pick.”

“But who won?” Nat asked.

“You did!” Lottie replied. “You got the last hit.”

“Can we watch ‘Twin Peaks?’”

“Of course,” Lottie rolled her eyes.

“Actually,” Jackie said. “I think I’m gonna head back, it’s getting kind of late. You coming, Shauna?”

“Oh, uh,” Shauna hesitated. “Alright, Jax, let’s go.”

Shauna went over to Lottie and kissed her on the cheek. “Goodnight guys!”

As they closed the door, Nat turned to Lottie.

“What, didn’t wanna kiss in front of the youth?” Nat smirked.

“Shut up,” Lottie replied.

“Sorry, that was just very junior high. Cute peck, though. Wouldn’t have thought Shauna was a chicken.”

“Watch the damn show,” Lottie grumbled.

“Oh I will.” Nat smiled.

“Good.”

“Good.”

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 3: I wasn’t told you’d be this cold

Summary:

The plan continues. Galentines day!! We meet Van, Tai, and some of the others. A hard launch ensues some drama.

Notes:

This one’s funnnnn

Time was passing especially quickly for Natalie Scatorccio these days. She had found herself busier than ever, balancing school, work, and playing an imaginary game of chess with her closest friends, thanks to Jackie Taylor, of course.

Sometimes Nat wished everything would slow down. She’d never been much of a nostalgic person, but as she got closer and closer to graduating, she couldn’t help but wish to get a redo. She was only a junior, sure, but college truly had been the best experience of her life so far. She hadn’t had close friends before she came to Rutgers, and she didn’t want to give that up if her friend group went separate ways.

Nat wasn’t ready to graduate. She wasn’t ready to definitively decide her future, the thing that she would devote her life to. That’s why psychology had been such a great path and major for her. She knew she had time. She would probably be going to school for her master’s degree four years after she graduated, as long as she could get into a half-decent program.

Then maybe, five years from now, she wouldn’t be twenty-one anymore, she wouldn’t be as lost. Maybe she’d still have the same people in her life, or she’d at least she’d use the lessons she was learning at Rutgers about friendship to make even more connections in the world.

There was one thing she knew for sure: she hoped to god, or the universe, or whoever was responsible for life on earth that she would get to keep her core group of friends for a little bit longer.

It was a selfish thought, really. Of course, she wanted her friends to live wonderful lives outside of New Jersey and find who they really were. She just hoped they weren’t more than a car ride away. She secretly hoped that the furthest they’d live away from her was across the street, or a fifteen minute walk at the most.

It was unrealistic, though. Unreasonable. She knew that. But it couldn’t stop her from hoping.

She hadn’t expected Jackie to be added to her list of people she would miss after college, to become someone that she dreaded parting ways with. But now, she was. Months ago, she hadn’t even thought they’d have shit to talk about, but she learned overtime that wouldn’t have a lot to talk about, somehow, they always did.

Once or twice a week now, Jackie began to come down to Spina Records, the record store off campus that Nat worked at part time. When she had come around more than a few times, Nat’s manager, Ben, had even joked that he should put her to work. After that, Jackie had actually started helping, greeting customers and organizing the vinyl bins.

“Damn,” Ben laughed from behind the counter. “Be careful, Nat. She’s gonna take this job out from under you.”

“She hasn’t been crushed by grueling customer service work yet,” Nat grumbled. “I think the longest she’s ever had a job was the week she worked at Francesca’s in the mall.”

“What is this grueling customer service job you speak of?” Jackie shouted from the other side of the store, looking through a couple of The 1975’s records. “Telling a fifty year old man where the Nirvana bin is?”

“More like having to explain Nirvana isn’t a clothing brand to the sorority girls,” Nat snorted.

“You say that as if they’re actually the problem,” Jackie laughed. “You know damn well your worst customers are the ones who only listen to the ‘male manipulator’ genre.”

“You might actually be right there, Jax,” Nat replied. “They’re all like, ‘I love The Smiths more than any woman could.’ Then, despite it all, they don’t understand why girls hate them.”

“Speaking of which, here he comes!” Jackie said, looking out the window.

“Well that was just a general statement but-”

Nat followed Jackie’s gaze, watching as Kevyn Tan, the poster child for the alternative (and misogynistic) genre of men, walked up to the store. The door opened with a jingle as Kevyn strutted his way into the store. Nat had joked in the past that a man like him could know Spina Records like the back of his hand, but couldn’t be the slightest bit self-aware that the way they plow through that door could actually cause it to break, causing a hefty fine in property damage.

“Hey Natty! How’ve you been?” Kevyn shouted from across the store, head in a bin of 90s records.

“Fine, Kevyn,” Nat rolled her eyes. “What are you searching for today?”

“Do you have ‘The Bends?’”

“Maybe, why don’t you give it a look for yourself, treasure hunter?”

“You guys have to have it, right? Radiohead’s like, totally mainstream, I’m just getting it for a friend anyways, but I need to find it.”

“He’s not fooling anyone,” Jackie whispered in Nat’s ear, startling her. She supposed that she must have moved back closer to the counter when Kevyn had come in. “He’s a hundred percent getting that for himself.”

“Found it!” He yelled.

“Whoop-de-doo,” Jackie replied un-enthusiastically.

“That, my friend, is how you lose customers,” Nat said, elbowing her. “He may be annoying, but he drops a pretty penny here like, twice a week.”

“Whatever,” Jackie grumbled.

“You ladies gonna ring me up or what?” Kevyn said, walking up to the counter with a smug look.

“Nice find,” Nat replied, holding back an eye roll. “That’ll be… $35.99 today.”

“You guys are so overselling this,” Kevyn muttered under his breath, “But alright.” He tapped his card and left, speeding around at the same pace he came in at.

“Have a good day,” Natalie said in a monotone voice.

“And who’s scaring away customers now?” Jackie smirked.

“Can it, Jax.”

“Oh,” Jackie perked up. “I forgot to mention this earlier. Should we have another Galentine's day party this year?”

“Ask the chat,” Nat groaned. “Not me. I can’t make a decision for the life of me.”

“Fine,” Jackie sighed. “I’ll do it later, I’ve actually gotta run. Make sure to at least reply so I don’t look like a fan! Bye Natty!”

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Naughty Nineties:

Wednesday, February 11th
5:36 pm

Jackie:
Hey guys!! Ik this is super late but we ARE doing Galentines on Friday right? It’s basically tradition at this point.

Van:
omg I forgot abt that… but yes pls

Lottie:
How’s doing something once a tradition?

Nat:
i lowk second that actually

Van:
please guys we haven’t hung out in a hot minute

Jackie:
Cmon it’ll be so much fun!! I can put together a craft for us or something, plus we’ll have the usual karaoke and stuff so it’s not like we’ll be bored.

Nat:
fineee

Jackie:
WOOHOO

Van:
Lot?

Lottie:
Shauna are u going?

Shauna:
sure

Lottie:
I suppose I’ll pull up…

Van:
Alr lovergirl

Van:
Sooooo… tai?

Lottie:
Wowwww I see how it is

Tai:
Don’t sass my girlfriend

Tai:
Of course i’ll come to Galentines, babe

Van: Awwwwwwwww

Nat: blegh

Tai: jelly

Van:
LMAO

Van:
Do you guys wanna invite Mari, Mel, Laura Lee, Akilah, and Gen too? Ik we’re not as close but it could be fun to have like the whole bunch of girls from this floor

Jackie:
Idk Shauna are you gonna be able to be in the same room as Mari and not strangle her?

Shauna:
I think I can find it in my heart to forgive her.

Lottie:
Omg wait I miss Laura Lee!! I hate that she switched majors

Lottie:
Invite her pls so we can catch up

Nat:
I say invite all of em

Nat:
where r we having it tho

Jackie:
Me and shippy can host!!

Shauna:
Stop calling me shipman

Shauna:
I fucking hate it

Jackie:
no

Van: soooo… everything’s settled then?

—----------

“It’s official,” Nat groaned. “I have absolutely nothing to wear tonight.”

“It’s just galentines, Nat,” Lottie teased. “Don’t you own any pink?”

Nat looked herself up and down. “Do I look like I own pink, Lot?”

Lottie rolled her eyes. “Red then?”

“Good idea,” Natalie replied, fishing through her wardrobe. She pulled out her red and black plaid skirt, a staple in her wardrobe since her senior year of high school. “This’ll do.”

Lottie laughed. “I guess it’ll have to, though it’s not very on theme.”

“What could I even do to be more on theme?” Nat scowled.

“You could let me put heart gems on your face…” Lottie grinned.

“Are you joking?”

“Afraid not champ, hold still.”

Lottie took her face gem sticker sheet (which was the largest quantity of face gems Nat had ever seen, but she begrudgingly appreciated the hustle), and began to apply one on each of Natalie’s cheeks.

“You look like the queen of hearts,” Lottie said proudly.

“The things I let you do, Lot,” Nat grumbled.

“You love me.”

“As if.”

“Come on, come on,” Lottie said fondly. “We have to go!”

“Didn’t your mother tell you that the coolest girls are fashionably late, Lottie?”

“I haven’t heard a single person say that before, Nat.”

“Well, maybe she just said that to excuse the snail’s pace she moved at when she was hungover taking me to school,” Nat joked.

“Way to make it dark,” Lottie laughed.

“What? It’s true!” Nat held up her hands.

“Alright loser, let’s go.”

—----------

When they walked in, nearly everyone was already there, talking amongst themselves loudly in Jackie and Shauna’s living room.

“Told you we were gonna be late,” Lottie sighed.

“Sorry!”

“It’s all good guys,” Jackie said, taking in long strides as she walked over to them. She grinned. “I love your outfits! Especially you, Nat, I love the face gems.”

“I put them on her,” Lottie smirked. “Aren’t they cute?”

“So cute,” Jackie replied with a polite smile. “Nat, can I grab you for a sec? Just need help setting up the bluetooth speaker.”

“I’m gonna go find Shauna,” Lottie said.

“Alright, have fun,” Nat replied as Lottie walked away.

“I think she hates me,” Jackie giggled, grabbing Nat’s hand and pulling her into the kitchen. “Now come on, we have to talk.”

“About the speaker?”

“No, stupid,” Jackie teased. “The plan!”

“We didn’t plan anything for tonight, did we?” Nat asked, thinking back. So far, they had only really done small things. Planting the seed, Jackie had been calling it. Nat would bring up Jackie unprompted in conversations with Lottie almost daily. Jackie had been doing the same with Shauna.

It seemed to be working, at least with Lottie. Nat had known that Lottie wasn’t Jackie’s biggest fan, but still, the amount of eyerolls she had counted even at the mention of Jackie was higher than she’d ever expected. What had she even really done to Lottie?

Nat had always thought that they would be the type to get along, maybe even be best friends if Shauna and herself weren’t in the picture. Lottie was definitely more reserved than Jackie, but that was similar to how Shauna was, and they seemed to have a lot of things in common. Nat being one of them, of course. Plus, Jackie was majoring in communications, and Lottie was majoring in business. Those two fields overlap, right? Why couldn’t the people?

“I know we didn’t have anything planned,” Jackie started again, “but an idea came to me late last night. I think it’s actually kind of perfect?”

“Oh really?” Nat laughed. “Get out with it, then.

“We need to hard launch it tonight.”

“What?” Nat choked. “We- we hadn’t planned to do that until at least a bit further into the future, I thought. We could probably count the amount of dates Lottie and Shauna have gone on with our fingers.”

“Who cares?” Jackie shrugged. “Now’s as good a time as any. Everybody’s here to witness it!”

Nat thought it over. Shauna and Lottie were here, sure. Van and Tai too. But did they really want to cause a scene in front of their entire extended friend group? They knew everyone in their circle was supportive, sure, but it might be a bit selfish to make Galentines about themselves. Then again, Shauna and Lottie announced their relationship with no context over instagram, shocking everyone. Nat didn’t think anything could be as horrendous as that.

“Alright,” Nat whispered. “I’m in.”

“Woohoo!” Jackie cheered, and started moving back toward the living room. “We’ll do it later. I’ll wink at you when it’s time.”

“How are we even gonna do this?”

“I’ll take the lead,” Jackie replied. “You just trust me. I’ve got it all figured out.”

“How ominous of you,” Nat muttered under her breath, but Jackie was already gone, greeting Mari and Akilah now.

Though it may come as a shock to her friend group, Nat actually didn’t have a problem with most people. Strangers got on her nerves, sure. Especially the wealthy and pretentious kind. When she caught her dad stealing as a kid, he had told her that the Scatorccios’ were like a clan of real life Robin Hoods. Stealing from the rich to feed the poor.

“You don’t owe them corporations shit, Natty,” He’d say. “Eat the fucking rich.”

Nat was trying to unlearn that these days. Lottie was her best friend, after all. She’d been the one to teach her that the upper class weren’t all bad. Lottie’s parents were business sharks for sure, but their daughter was as sweet as pie. She hadn’t once purposefully tried to hurt Nat, something that she hadn’t been used to when she came to Rutgers.

Her kindness had helped Nat to open up. Not just to her, but to everyone else as well. She’d introduced her to Van and Tai, and encouraged her to actually make an effort to be their friends. Hell, before Lottie and Jackie were on the terms they were on now, Lottie had even tried to get Natalie to be kinder to Jackie and Shauna.

So Nat tried. She tried to be kind to everyone. She thought that that must be why she got to have this group of people in her life. She spoke to Mari and Akilah in the classes she shared with them, but she wasn’t as close to them quite yet. She wanted to try harder. Hell, she also wanted to befriend Melissa, Gen, and even Laura Lee.

Laura Lee, who she’d always been a bit jealous of. Who she had envied when she and Lottie were in all the same classes and seemed to share a bond Nat hadn’t ever had with anyone.

Laura Lee, who was now laughing with Lottie over some joke Shauna fucking Shipman had said, acting like no time had passed since they last saw each other.

And Nat didn’t resent it anymore. She smiled at the sight. She wanted to try with Jackie, and she had succeeded. What was stopping her from succeeding with anyone else?

As the night went on, Nat was feeling even more sappy. She danced with everyone, joined in on games, and even sang a drunken karaoke duet with Lottie of “When You’re Gone” by the cranberries.

Jackie, surprisingly, still hadn’t revealed anything. She’d been practically avoiding her all night. And sure, Nat had been praying that no drama would start, but still, she’d been expecting it. Anticipating it. Calculating the fall damage.

It was now 11pm. Five hours into the gathering. The party was still moving along, and the girls, even Nat, were dancing (or stumbling about) to “Shut up and Dance.”

It was the bridge of the song when Jackie pulled her aside. People were still shouting around them, but Jackie’s whisper was still legible.

“Do you trust me?” She asked.

“Yes.” Nat said plainly. No need to lie.

“Kiss me. Right now.”

“Really?” Nat smirked.

“Really,” Jackie nodded, side-eyeing Lottie and Shauna. “They’re watching us.”

“Oh, alright,” Nat rambled nervously. “Okay, here I go.”

She planted a kiss on Jackie’s lips. Short, sweet, just enough to look real. Jackie looked up at her, smiling. Nat was a bit entranced.

“That was perfect,” Jackie said sweetly.

“Oh my god?” Van shouted, interrupting the moment, grinning widely at them. “I wasn’t expecting that one.”

“Me neither,” Tai smirked. “But I don’t hate it.”

Everyone around them started talking loudly over each other, sharing their thoughts, but Nat wasn’t looking at them. She looked at Jackie, who was looking over at Shauna, running after Lottie as she stormed out of the room.

“Plan failed successfully?” Jackie joked, bringing her gaze back to Nat.

“No, Jackie, the plan did not fail successfully.” Nat snapped, and took off running after Lottie, but she and Shauna were gone.

“Shit,” Nat whispered to herself. “What the fuck did I do?”

Notes:

The 1975 mentioned lol ;) I think it’s funny that basically in every fanfic Nat works at a record store. First groupchat scene too! And a bunch of dramaaaa. Do we like??

Chapter 4: On the road

Summary:

Nat and Jax road trip? Or at least the lead up to it.

Notes:

Hope you enjoy this one ;)

It was only Monday, but, unsurprisingly, Natalie Scatorccio was already having a horrible week. And maybe it was her own fault.

She’d never been good at apologizing. Nat remembered, two summers back, when she and Lottie had gone to the local fair, and Lottie had dragged her into the fortune teller booth. The psychic had told her that she had an untamed fire in her soul. She carried passion in her heart, but along with it, anger.

“What a cliché,” Nat grumbled as they left, rolling her eyes.

“Is she wrong though?” Lottie had teased.

Yeah, she was carrying a bit of anger with her at this moment. But Nat and her anger were a package deal, weren’t they?

She wasn’t quite sure what she was angry at. It could be Shauna and Lottie, storming off as if they weren’t also together. It could also be at Jackie, for kissing her, or at herself, for letting it happen. Was she angry that she herself had kissed her back and not hated it? Was she angry that she had hurt Lottie, the only person she had really cared about until a month or so ago?

Okay, she was one hundred percent angry with herself.

But she was angry at the world too. What were the odds of all the things that had happened, happening? And why did it seem like the odds were almost never in her favor?

She hadn’t seen Lottie since Friday, not really. When she had returned to the apartment, Lottie, as well as a decent amount of her stuff, were gone. The next morning, Lottie had texted to inform her that she just happened to be having an all weekend sleepover over at Shauna’s place.

In the back of her mind, Natalie had thought of Jackie when she had seen the text. Where was Jackie staying? She tried to picture a slumber party with Shauna, Jackie, and Lottie, but at this point, it didn’t seem possible. The tensions were too high. Nat understood Jackie’s feelings. She’d hate Lottie too.

Jackie was in so deep for Shauna, it was actually admirable. She was loyal. She was willing to go down with the ship with a smile on her face.

It infuriated Natalie how loyal Jackie was. That, despite the fact that on Friday, Nat had yelled at her, abruptly left her party, and hadn’t spoken to her since, Jackie was still here. At Spina Records. For her usual biweekly visit.

“Hey Nat,” Jackie said, walking in with a cautious smile.

“Jackie,” Nat replied, mouth agape from behind the counter. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to say that.” Jackie paused. “I am….”

“Sorry,” Nat smirked. “What was that?”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Jackie blurted out. “I know that must have been hard on Friday. It must have hurt to hurt someone you love so much. Believe me, it hurts to see Shauna hurt.”

“Alright, JT,” Nat smiled. “We’re good.” She’d already planned on forgiving Jackie eventually, but she supposed that today she could be extra nice. Some good karma really couldn’t hurt her at the moment.

“Shauna and Lottie are doing alright, I think, if you were wondering.” Jackie replied.

“Have you spoken to them?”

“When they came back from wherever the fuck they had snuck off to, they asked me why I kissed you. I told them it just felt right. After that, the vibes were kind of off, so I stayed over at Mari’s.”

“You could’ve called me,” Nat said quietly. “I would’ve let you stay over.”

“I would’ve, but I didn’t want to have to deal with hurricane Natalie.” Jackie laughed. “Besides, it was sort of fun living at Mari’s. Did you know that her, Akilah, Mel, and Gen have game night over there every other Saturday? Why haven’t we ever gone?”

“Probably cause game night is for losers,” Nat snorted.

“Is not!”

“It totally is.”

“Not to interrupt… whatever this conversation is about,” Ben said from the other side of the store. “But can we get back to work? Jackie, come sort these.”

“Yes sir!” Jackie saluted, grinning.

“Are you ever going to pay her?” Nat whispered to Ben when he came over to the counter.

“Not until she asks. We’re on a tight budget, Nat. Free labor is great for business.”

“I can hear you!” Jackie yelled.

“I'll write you up if you continue that attitude!” Ben joked.

“You can’t write up someone you don’t pay,” Jackie rolled her eyes.

“Guess I’ll really have to then, huh?”

“You better,” Jackie grumbled.

Jackie and Ben continued their banner, moving around the store, but Nat was only half listening now. She was thinking about Lottie. She was thinking about the half-hearted text Lottie had sent to Nat, she was thinking about the weekend spent angrily in different homes, she was thinking about whether she’d be home when she got back from work.

Nat had had a thought that lived quietly in the back of her mind in recent times. She wondered, ever so quietly, what Shauna had that made her so special to the people in her life. Shauna was sweet, sure, and one of the smartest people Nat knew, but did that make her what she was? Some sort of saint to the women who loved her? Jackie absolutely adored her, and Lottie… well Lottie was running out of parties with her, spending weekends wrapped in her arms, living a life in bliss because of her.

She should be happy for Lottie, really. She was her best friend. Lottie deserved to be happy. She deserved the best this world has to offer. She just didn’t understand why she couldn’t offer enough, why Lottie seemed so much happier with Shauna these days. Everyone seemed to be happier with Shauna. Even Jackie. Even though Shauna had hurt her, Jackie still seemed to love her just as much. Shauna had to know of Jackie’s feelings. There was no way she could ignore the look Jackie gave her every time she opened her mouth. The smile Jackie gave her, even when she was sitting across the room with Lottie by her side.

“Hey, are you listening?” Jackie nudged her, holding a backpack in her right hand.

“Oh, sorry. What’d you say?” Nat readjusted to her settings.

“I said to clock off. I have a surprise!”

Nat blinked. “What?”

“C’mon,” Jackie laughed. “Let’s go back to the dorm. You have to pack!”

“Pack?”

“It’s this thing people do before trips,” Jackie smirked. “I thought in your years of life, you might have learned that already.”

“Shut up.” Nat grumbled. “Let me guess. You packed fifteen hairbrushes and twenty lipstick tubes?”

“At least I’m prepared.” Jackie teased. “I’ve been packed!”

“Well, I just found out about this ‘surprise trip’ now.”

“Let’s go pack!”

“What if Lottie’s there?” Nat tensed, re-remembering the anxiety she had been feeling about going home.

“Well, guess we better put our game faces back on.” Jackie replied with a smile.

---------------

When Natalie and Jackie returned to the dorms, Nat opened the door cautiously, just a sliver of light peeking through to the hall.

“Come in!” Lottie yelled. From what Natalie could see, she was standing in the kitchen, wearing an apron, holding a platter of something out in front of her.

“Hey,” Nat said, a pang of guilt coming over her. She hoped Lottie wouldn’t be upset she’d brought Jackie over without asking.

“Wanna sit down?” Lottie said, smiling, placing the platter on the kitchen table. “I just made this blueberry pie. Shauna taught me this amazing recipe over the weekend.”

A wave of relief washed over her. Lottie didn’t seem upset in the slightest. And she had baked? That was a major deal, especially for Lottie. Anyone who knew her knew she didn’t have a bone in her body that could cook decently. That was why Natalie took care of cooking, and Lottie did the dishes instead. Doing the dishes had always grossed Nat out, so freshman year, that had felt like a match made in heaven. Now Shauna was teaching Lottie how to bake, and yet another thing in their friendship that had always been the same was changing.

“Sure, Lot.” Nat sighed. “Jax is here too, by the way.”

“Oh,” Lottie paused. “Hi Jackie. How was Mari’s?”

“It was alright, how was my house?” Jackie joked, but Nat could sense an edge in her voice. It was a bit over-polite, even for someone as seemingly stuck-up as Jackie.

“It was fine. Shauna’s doing well, if you were wondering.” Lottie replied, equally as polite.

An awkward tension was filling up the air, and Nat was not a fan of it. Lottie was one of the sweetest people she knew, and she understood why she wasn’t the biggest Jackie lover. However, on the other hand, she also knew that Jackie really hadn’t done anything to Lottie, besides be in love with someone that she had known much longer than Lottie or any of their friends.

It was like they were jealous of each other, of each relationship that the other had with Shauna. But it had always been Jackie and Shauna. Everyone in their lives had known that, up until this point. Lottie definitely had, her and Nat had certainly joked about it at some point. Why would Lottie fall for Shauna, knowing how badly Jackie wanted her? And knowing, deep down, that Shauna may have shared some of those feelings?

Nat just couldn’t grasp it. She could understand why Jackie couldn’t seem to grasp it either. For some reason, she felt the need to defend Jackie. She felt the need to side with her instead of her best friend, the one who’d been with her through everything. Who knew everything about her life up until this point.

Nat couldn’t help but wonder what Lottie thought about her and Jackie’s… relationship? Romance? She wondered if Lottie had been caught up on it, wondering whether it was casual or serious, the same way Nat and Jackie had wondered about Lottie and Shauna on that fateful Thursday night.

Had Shauna and Lottie shared some tonight dough last Friday?

Nat needed to stop thinking about it now.

“Jackie,” she said suddenly. “I think we better start packing. Traffic’s supposed to be really bad.”

“Oh,” Jackie replied, clearly catching on to what Nat was trying to do. She wanted to end this encounter as soon as possible. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“Wait!” Lottie said. “Where are you going? What are you packing for?”

“Nat doesn’t even know,” Jackie winked, then turned to walk into Nat’s room. “It’s more fun that way.”

“You think everything’s fun.” Nat grumbled, following behind Jackie.

-------------

When Nat and Jackie were done packing up Nat’s small duffle bag, it had been at least an hour, and clothes were scattered all over the floor. According to Jackie, she had only needed three shirts, two pairs of pants, socks, underwear, and toiletries. Still, it took a while. Since she had no idea what she was packing for, and Jackie refused to tell her, she didn’t know what exactly to wear during the days. It was cold everywhere in immediate distance from them, and from what she had picked up from her conversations with Jackie while packing, they were driving wherever it was that they were going. But what were they going to be doing? They could be hiking, they could be partying, they could even be going somewhere fancy, though Nat highly doubted that. She tried to picture a world where Jackie took her to one of her upper-class functions, but it didn’t even seem like Jackie went to those anymore, and she at least didn’t seem to ever want to take Nat to one.

It was sometimes hard for Nat to picture what their friendship looked like to other people, given their differences in style, class, and just about everything important in a normal person’s friendship. It must have been confusing for their friends, especially if they were picturing them as a couple as well. It’s not like Jackie’s mother had even dated a man like Nat’s father, or had even grown up on the same side of town as someone like him.

Nat hadn’t liked her father, but she also didn’t like being judged. Especially by the people of the upper class. But sure, she could easily see Jackie’s parents judging someone like her, but for some reason, never Jackie. Despite everything that Jackie did that had annoyed Nat, especially when they first met, Nat hadn’t ever really worried that Jackie would judge her.

Nat knew, deep down, that her and Jackie were one in the same. They both liked girls, whether that was evident in each of their personalities or not. Nat had known since she had first met Jackie that she had had feelings for Shauna, so how could she believe that Jackie would judge her for the people she liked? Jackie wasn’t homophobic, that was clear from one conversation with her. Jackie just wasn’t judgmental. Not of anyone that didn’t deserve it.

Maybe that was why Nat had let her in her apartment that Thursday. Or why she wasn’t bothered by Jackie’s cosplay of a minimum wage worker, or why she had let Jackie look through her clothes and her shit while they were packing.

And Jackie did a good job at packing. How she had fit her own shit into a bag as small as she had already loaded up in the car, Nat was not able to understand. She’d always pictured girls like Jackie having someone carry their bags with them for every vacation they took, Carrying seven bags in and out of fancy limousines and hotels.

Jackie had helped Nat pack her stuff too. Nat only had one bag, and Jackie made it work.

“Look, you even have room for souvenirs!” Jackie grinned.

“If you catch me buying souvenirs from anyone in a one-hundred mile radius of New Jersey, take me to the back of the house and shoot me.” Nat replied, rolling her eyes.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that.”

“Ooh!” Nat mocked. “Another clue? I think I have a guess already. Are you taking me to the Baltimore Aquarium?”

“You wish,” Jackie smirked.

“Aw, so we’re not going?” Nat put on a faux frown, giving Jackie the fakest puppy dog eyes she had ever tried to do. “I’ve always wanted to see the fish!”

“Well, keep looking.” Jackie replied. “We’re going somewhere fish free.”

“Okay, now that’s a real clue.” Nat laughed. “That narrows it down so much. No beaches, no zoos, no-”

“No trip if you keep making stupid guesses.” Jackie interrupted. “Now come on, let’s get this show boat on the road!”

“Why would we take a boat to somewhere with no fish?” Nat joked as she walked toward the door.

“Shut up!” Jackie groaned from behind her.

“You guys having fun?” Lottie cut in, sitting on the couch with television on. She was binge watching One Tree Hill right now, Nat remembered.

“So much,” Jackie grinned.

“Great.” Lottie replied, her smile just as wide (and probably fake).

“Bye Lottie,” Nat came over and offered out her arms for a hug. Lottie took them. From behind Lottie’s head, she could see Jackie smirking and mouthing “simp.” She ignored it. “I’ll miss you!”

“I’ll miss you too.” Lottie said. “Do you guys know when you’ll be back?”

“I’m just not quite sure yet,” Jackie said with a frown. “We’re just having SO much fun together and-”

“Probably a couple of days from now.” Nat butted in.

“Don’t wait up for us though!” Jackie teased. “It could be a while, given the developments since Galentine’s.”

Nat stopped in her tracks. Wow, Jackie was just going there. A bit bold, Nat thought, but maybe just enough to prompt a surprise Shauna and Lottie breakup while they were on their trip?

“I was just wondering how long I should invite Shauna over for, is all.” Lottie replied, not breaking her polite smile.

Nat saw Jackie’s jaw clench.

“Well, we better get going!” Nat interrupted, practically dragging Jackie out the door. “See you, Lot!”

Nat slammed the door behind them. They walked to Jackie’s car in silence.

“Jackie,” Nat started once Jackie had started driving, “If you want to be able to pull this off, you have to stop looking like a guard dog anytime someone mentions Shauna. You don’t see me making that face about Lottie.”

“Oh,” Jackie replied. “So you do have feelings for Lottie.”

“What?”

“I knew it!” Jackie said. “I knew I could get you to admit it!”

Nat thought about it. Maybe Jackie was right. Nat had been so jealous recently. She had been so hurt that Lottie hadn’t told her about Shauna. Maybe there was something beneath the anger?

“Holy fuck,” Nat’s jaw dropped. “Maybe I do.”

“Well join the club,” Jackie smiled. “We meet on Tuesdays. We cry over our best friends. We drink wine.”

“You better get whiskey for that next meeting. I think we’ll need it after the week we’ve been having.”

-------------

Naughty Nineties:

Monday, February 16th
6:17 pm

Van:
Hangout this week?

Nat:
1 Attachment:

Jackie and I are a little busy.

Jackie:
Road trip!

Tai:
What is happening right now?

Van:
I wish I knew

-------------

Notes:

I'm baaaaack! Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth. School is killing me slowly, but at least it will be over soon!

Notes:

Thank you for reading!!