doomsday. [ yellowjackets ]

huit.

xxx.

chapter huit.
eight.

xxx.

     " Hey, Tai, you good? " Alex asked as she finally caught up with her, unintentionally bumping into her as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. She glanced over Taissa's face, noticing the distant look on her face. " You looked out of it back there. "

       " I'm fine, just needed some space. " She replied back instantly, shaking her head.

        " Mm. " Alex's sound of acknowledgment was unconvinced, but she didn't press it any longer. Being Van's friend for years had meant she was inadvertently around Taissa a lot, too, and while she didn't know if the other girl would consider them close friends, Alex thought of Taissa as one of hers. Maybe Alex wasn't giving herself enough credit; Taissa and Van had told her that they were in some sort of hidden relationship at the beginning of the school year, and had been adamant that she was the only one they told, so maybe Taissa did view her highly.

       " What about you? You didn't follow me out here to make small talk, did you? " The curly haired girl asked skeptically, raising a brow at Alex.

      " Yeah, actually. I feel like I haven't had a second to hear my own thoughts, the peanut gallery back there is getting unbearable. " She snorted, making Taissa humorously scoff. Alex looked ahead of them, watching the thick branches of the trees littering the path sway as the wind whistled through them. " I don't know how much longer I can last listening to everyone praise Misty like she's our fucking savior. " 

      " You and me both. " Taissa agreed, nudging a rock ahead. " She's going to put Coach in an early grave. "

      Alex laughed, though honestly it could've been true as much as it was funny. She thought about voicing the same concern she had said to Coach Scott while he was asleep, but figured she could already predict Taissa's response. Or maybe she would also admit she was worried about how they were getting rescued. Alex decided not to ask. She didn't want to hear Taissa Turner at a loss, surely that meant bad news.

      " Hey, do you know why Van and Jackie have some weird tension going on? I've asked her twice already and she just brushes me off. " Taissa spoke first, thankfully.

      " Ah, yeah, well, " Alex started, but paused to wave her hand around at a mosquito that was buzzing near her face. She grunted in annoyance as it continued to swarm around her, and at one point she felt it land on her, making her smack against her thigh suddenly. Taissa made a face at her, which Alex gave her an apologetic one in return before looking down at the smear of the bug on her leg. She made a sound of disgust and wiped her sleeve against it before she looked back up at Taissa, " I don't really know. Jackie and Shauna tried to get Van out of the plane, Jackie made Shauna leave because it was about to fucking blow up. I passed them to look for Theo, and helped Van. "

      " What? " Taissa's brows knitted, but Alex kept walking with a quick shrug. " So she left her to blow up with the plane? "

       " You say it like she meant to do it maliciously. She was trying to protect Shauna from getting herself killed. " Alex insisted with a small frown. She understood Van's anger, obviously, and while Taissa could be annoyed, at the end of the day, Van was fine; plus, she doubted that Taissa wouldn't have done the same if it had been Van trying to save one of Shauna or Jackie. " I told Jackie to apologize to Van, she didn't mean to 'leave her for dead', she was scared, like we all were. "