👥 Collaboration Collateral 👥

Astrid and the gals

“What do you think about you him?” Astrid asked Octavia about this match that popped up on the dating app.

“He's not half bad.” Octavia scrolled down on his profile. He seemed to be a decent guy, but she wasn't really her type. He was likeable, but not bangable. “Not really my type.” Octavia swiped away and discarded him. If the guy wanted a girlfriend, he wouldn't have used the labrador as a profile picture.

“That's too bad, I would've dated him.” Ash commented. Octavia rolled her eyes behind her dark tinted steampunk glasses. That's exactly why she didn't. Octavia was into attractive men that were spontaneous, unpredictable, like Chris but if the men that she scouted were bland, boring, lacked iniatiative to maintain a relationship, then there was no point in dating. She wanted to love and feel loved.

“And get sidelined for a dog, no thanks. It's one thing to love a dog, and to get blocked for a dog is another.” Ocatvia pointed out the difference.

“Yeesh! No wonder you're single.” Ash commented.

“You're not having any luck on the love department either.” Octavia retorted.

“I'm single by choice. I love myself enough to not grovel for scraps.” Ash smirked as he flipped her braided ponytail to the side.

“What about the tension between you and TR? You're both at each other's throats like an old married couple.” Octavia countered.

“As if an idiot like TR is a viable option. I rather swing the other bat than tap that.”

“Mmhmm, keep telling yourself that.” Octavia humored her. She knew that Ash was in denial about having feelings for TR like a closeted homophobe lying through their teeth about their inclinations. As much as she was convinced that she wasn't in love with TR deep down she loved the hardheaded team mate to bits.

Ash herself didn't understand why Octavia insinuated that her and TR were a thing. Their relationship is as toxic as it gets, they flung insults at each other, argue, compete. The so called sexual tension has become a synonym for attraction and normalized. The love/hate dynamic is not something to be desired. He gets on her nerves and pushes her buttons with minimal effort, so she brushed Octavia's comment.

“I mean it. Why is sexual tension the standard for love?” Ash questioned, “it has been engrained in popular culture for centuries now.” Ash spun and walked away as her braided slung itself to the other side of her shoulder before eliciting an annoyed groan.

“She kinda has a point.” Astrid agreed with Ashlyn's statement.

“This kind of trash has been romanticized for ages. Look at this.” Ash scrolled down a list of enemies-to-lovers stories from her phone.