STRANGERS ♱ yellowjackets

17. nancy drew mode on

BUNNY STAYS IN BED THE NEXT DAY, she pretends not to wake up when both Shauna and Taissa try to talk to her. Finally, when the two girls leave the attic Bunny gets up. She needs to talk to Lottie, and she needs to do it in peace. Bunny goes through her suitcase, but she can't find her pen anywhere. Natalie just must have forgotten to give it back to her.

As the girl goes down the ladder she hears two voices that make her stop in her tracks.

Bunny peaks behind the corner, seeing Coach Scott and Travis sitting in the living room talking about something. The girl holds her breath as she presses her chest against the wall, making sure her breathing is as quiet as possible. She's not sure why she's spying on the two, maybe sneaking around Taissa and Natalie to talk to Lottie has put her in Nancy Drew mode. God, she misses those books...

As Bunny listens to the end of the conversation her mind works hard to connect the dots; Travis is getting sex education from Coach Scott. Confusion washes over the girl like a tide, pulling her into the sea of jealousy and unworthiness as she goes through the conversation she and Natalie had the previous day. Natalie said nothing was going on between the two hunters and Bunny believed her. But now, she's unsure of if the blonde was lying to her again.

The two men get up, gaining Bunny's focus again. She presses further into the wall, cursing as she tries to get as far away from the door frame as possible, otherwise one of them could see her.

Finally, when Coach Scott pulls something out of his pocket, Bunny grows too curious. She tries to take a peak, but her feet hit a can on the floor and let out a thud. Bunny sighs as she presses her forehead against the wall, cursing herself. "Uh- hello?", Coach Scott calls. Bunny takes a sharp inhale before stepping into the doorway, smiling softly as she begins to pretend to dust down her shorts.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you", she says, trying her best to act cool, "It's still hard to come down the ladder with the hand", Bunny says and rubs her bad shoulder with a sheepish smile. Coach Scott nods sympathetically, but Travis' face is suspicious.

"I'll go now", Bunny says, giving the coach one last smile before walking past the two. On her way out she takes a look at the stack of condoms Coach Scott is holding in his hand, it makes Bunny's stomach turn.

Did Nat lie to her?

As she gets outside, her eyes roam the cabin's surroundings. The cool breeze pets her face like a comforting mother, telling her everything is going to be alright. She must find Lottie, she has to think about something else than Natalie and Travis. Otherwise, she might go insane and turn herself into the loony bin, like that is possible here.

As her eyes find the dark-haired girl, she feels someone tug her hand. "Finally, you're awake. Took you long enough", Jackie says and starts pulling the girl towards the forest line in the direction of the lake. Lottie's silhouette gets smaller and smaller as Bunny is helplessly being kidnapped by her captain. Nancy Drew had to wait.

"Are you like... okay, y'know? After the attic and everything", Jackie asks, her voice nonchalant as she speaks, not even baring a glance at the blonde. Bunny opens her mouth to speak, but Jackie's tongue is quicker.

"I'm just so pissed at Natalie right now. She was so out of line yesterday", Jackie groans and Bunny quickly catches up on why Jackie waited for her specifically to wake up and get water with her from the lake. The brunette needed a therapy session, someone to vent to.

"Right", she says, playing along to the girl's mood, just like her mother has taught her to. It's important to validate other's feelings by mirroring them, before suggesting an actual solution to their problems. Sometimes people just need someone to assure them how shitty they are feeling.