A foot catching the door as it tries to slam shut.

[Catche Jagger]

Well, even Max was struggling with this shit, so what did that mean for her?

“Um, sure.” Was all Gabriela could think to say as she took the bottle from Max, and held it gingerly in her hand. Cool. She could do this.

She took a swig of the drink.

Actually no, she couldn’t do this.

Gabriela almost immediately broke into a coughing fit, pulling the bottle away from her mouth, eyes watering. She grit her teeth and tried to smile.

“Yeah… good stuff.” She struggled to say, feeling a bit foolish all over again. “Do you, uh, like this stuff in particular or whatever?”

[The Honeless Beard]

Max stared at her.

"Woah, wait. So you're not like, the expert?"

[Catche Jagger]

Gabriela stared right back

“Uh… what? You’re joking right? You’re the expert, right? Like, the fucking party person?”

[The Honeless Beard]

"No," Max barked out a laugh, "no, I don't party. I, uh,"

Max fiddled with the whiskey. Amber liquid sloshing against the side of a plastic bottle. She'd stolen a fucking bottle of whiskey to be cool to someone who didn't party either.

"I play softball. Played softball. I got banged up pretty badly last time I was out."

[Catche Jagger]

Oh… huh. Gabriela couldn’t help but laugh along a bit with Max at how stupid they seemed to be here. Two idiots putting on a show for one another.

It was actually pretty funny.

“I’m, uh, I just read and stuff. I mean, do I look like much of a partier?” She laughed again. At least, like, sports people were stereotypically supposed to be cool or whatever.

“Are you doing alright…?” Gabriela added slowly, not sure what to say about the whole getting banged up thing.

[The Honeless Beard]

"Nah," she said, lifting some of her skirt to reveal a bulky cast around her knee, "fucked myself up sliding into second."

A pause. Well, fuck, they'd already drank out of the same bottle.

"Uh, hey, you look great. Parties or no."

Another pause, then another big swig. Liquid courage.

[Catche Jagger]

Oh.

What was-?

Oh.

Gabriela decided that it wasn’t cold at all out here. It was actually very fucking warm.

“Uh, thanks. Um.” She fumbled over words.

Was this real shit? Like, that some girl was trying to be smooth with Gabriela just out of nowhere and it was kind of nice but also weird and what the hell was she supposed to say back to that shit?

“Yeah, you look good too.”

What a fucking reply that was. It was easier when people just assumed she hated them. Still, she had some sort of small, lopsided smile on her face.

[The Honeless Beard]

"Yeah, thanks,"

Max paused, then thrusted the bottle back at Gabby.

"I can look good, uh, elsewhere too. You uh, drink... coffee?"

Another wince.

[Catche Jagger]

Okay. Yeah. This was totally fine.

Gabriela took the bottle from Max and took her own swig. It was still way too strong, but she managed not to break into a coughing fit this time.

“I mean, yeah, sometimes.” She spoke slowly, not wanting to sound like she was falling all over herself or anything. After all, Gabriela still wasn’t sure what, exactly, she was doing here.

“Might be nice to, um, see you around some coffee sometime. But… I’m pretty sure Sandbox closed down.”
























Sandbox, of course, being the local coffee shop.

[The Honeless Beard]

FIN