STRANGERS ♱ yellowjackets

13. just in case

BUNNY LAUGHS WITH THE OTHERS as they dance to the familiar beat of Montell Jordan's This is How We Do It. Although Bunny isn't quite dancing, she's mostly laughing at how stupid she looks as she can only do the moves with one arm. Her shoulder has gotten better, it hurts the most at night, but she still can barely move it. Coach Scott said something about a dislocated bone healing for four to six weeks, that made Bunny cry.

The music stops, causing the girls to groan in annoyance.

Bunny pushes her hair from her face, looking at Van, Shauna, and Mari who are doing their best to fix the Walkman. Bunny puts her hand on her hip as she sways back and forth from her heels to her toes. Natalie sighs as she turns away from the scene, walking to where Bunny is standing and taking a spot next to her. Bunny tilts her head, a little disappointed by the shortness of their dance party. Suddenly, a loud creaking sound echoes from the attic alerting everyone in the room. Bunny's eyes snap towards Lottie, who is already looking at the blonde.

"What the fuck was that", someone asks, panic underlining their voice.

"Hey, you heard it, too?", Lottie asks, a little surprised that the others paid attention to the sound. Taissa shakes rolls her eyes softly and says, "It was probably just a branch", her voice stern and calming. Mari raises her eyebrows as she looks at the tall girl, "Inside, on the floor?"

Bunny shifts in her place, her elbow accidentally slightly brushing Natalie's arm, causing the older blonde to look at her. Bunny's eyes stay on the ceiling, a deep crease forming between her eyebrows. "What if it's him?", Bunny asks, her voice hushed as she looks around the team. Taissa shakes her head. "What, the dead guy?", Shauna asks, not sure if Bunny was making a joke. Bunny nods, her face serious and filled with concern.

"You know what it probably was?", Natalie says, looking up from the floor with a mischievous smirk on her face, "The dead guys missing fingers trying to find their way home-"

Bunny slaps the girl's arm, not finding anything about the situation funny as the others jeer at the girl. Taissa rolls her eyes with a small smile, even though she knows how spooked Bunny can get. That's why she's always tried to be the more sensible one of the two friends, the one to tell the girl the truth. "You really have to encourage them?", Taissa asks Nat, who only grins and lets out a chuckle.

"It's not funny", Bunny says lowly to the girl. Nat tilts her head before teasing the girl, "Oh, is the little bunny scared?" Bunny frowns as she slaps the girl's arm a little harder this time, Natalie lets out a small 'Ow', but the smile never leaves her lips. As Bunny proceeds to pout, Natalie shakes her head still finding the girl's reaction extremely funny.

"You gotta admit, it didn't sound like it was on the roof", Akilah says, taking Bunny's side. Bunny gives the girl a grateful smile, before giving Natalie and Taissa a pointed look. Jackie scoffs, "Fine. Then it was a rat, or a raccoon or something. I don't know--"

"Shh", Lottie hushes everyone quickly, her eyes glued to the ceiling. Bunny's eyebrows furrow as she looks at her brunette neighbor, turning her gaze to the ceiling as well.

When Bunny and Lottie were kids they found a small tree house in the forest near their houses. The two went to that tree house every day for a whole summer when they were about 7 or 8. That summer Bunny's grandmother passed away and it made Bunny miserable. Lottie, in an attempt to make her friend feel better suggested that the two would hold a seance, like the ones they had seen in movies. So, one day the two girls went to the tree house and intertwined their hands. They lit a candle and asked for Bunny's late grandmother to visit the girls one last time. Nothing happened, no matter how hard the girls asked. After an hour the two gave up and decided to go back to Lottie's house and play in the pool.