Dancing On The Razor's Edge, Together

II. The Grass isn't Always Greener

7:30pm the previous night.

With Heather Watkins dead, and Ryan Torres seemingly dead at the scene, Shadyside is plunged into another candlelight vigil for another victim gone too soon. To see Shadysiders and Sunnyvalers together in the same room wasn't too rare of an occurrence nowadays. And whilst most of the jocks on the red side mocked and made their jokes, Shay was surprisingly neutral.

So much so, that she actually attempted to show sympathy to the Shadysiders. Not wanting to get involved in the scuffle that broke out in the gymnasium, she ran outside, looking for Deena, Kate... anyone. Eventually, she got onto the bus with the other Shadysiders, which was immediately when she felt all eyes on her.

"Hey! What's this bitch from the red side doing here?" She heard one jock ask. Ignoring the general digs, she sat in the seat opposite Deena.

"I'm sorry about Heather." She said solemnly, doing her best to communicate her honesty.

"Are you really? Or are you trying to make amends on behalf of your piece of shit town?" Deena replied back spitefully.

"Alright, look. You don't like me. I get it. I wear red through no fault of my own. But I can tell you, for sure, that I am not like those other assholes. That, I can promise you. I wouldn't be here, making casual conversation otherwi-"

Hearing banging on the back door of the bus, she saw a car tailing them, filled with the red of Sunnyvale. It was a gaggle of other students from the vigil; she recognised Sam, but no one else. Looking to Deena, she nodded. Kate and Simon quickly clamoured to them alongside a couple of other students. Simon looked down at Shay, before looking at Deena.

"Is she on our side?" He asked, genuinely not looking for trouble.

Deena looked to him, then to Kate, before finally back at Shay.

"Well... Are you with us?"

"Yeah, I'm with you. I'm tired of these dicks just as much as you are." Shay affirmed, a light smile on her face.

Looking down, she took out her small Motorola phone, checking for any new messages. She only had three numbers in it; her mom, her dad, and Ruby. Pressing the buttons to go back through the conversation, she looked back at her most recent message.

Shay: hey, are we still all good to hang out later tonight? 5:47pm

She'd heard nothing still. Granted, she knew she would hear it vibrate or her message tone if she did get a reply. But it didn't help her feel any better. She and Ruby had been hanging out for around 7-8 months before tonight. Which only added to her personal anxiety. Going to put her phone back in her pocket, she heard shouting from behind her, before feeling the rear end of the bus shake. With the force sending her face-first into the seat in front of her, she went out cold.

~8 months earlier~

"You know, my family would kill me if they found out I was hanging around with a Sunnyvaler, let alone another girl." Ruby let out a sly chuckle, as Shay scoffed alongside her.

"I mean, it's your choice as to who you hang out with, right? And whilst yes, me being a part of the red team isn't the most appealing factor, it makes me feel all the better knowing you're cool with hanging out." Shay explained, as they watched the cars from both towns driving between, across and away.

They found that meeting in the park closest to the border between the two towns had a scent of irony about it, which both girls found hilarious. Shay joined Ruby on the swing set, handing her one of the smoothies that she'd been carrying from their trip to the mall.