Fencing The Line ( A Glassheart Short Story)

The Retreat

"Bridget, I'm sure a couple of bugs won't kill you," Chloe grumbles, trying her hardest to get some sleep. However, she found it quite difficult when the travel bus hit a curve every other minute.

Oh, and Bridget's complaining wasn't helping much either-

"When they say a week-long retreat, a normal person would expect a spa or a hotel. What the fuck are we supposed to do at a lodge?!" Bridget huffs, frantically gathering any type of semblance she has left. Her sanity was slowly slipping away, and Chloe was there to witness every second of it, given that the two were sitting right next to one another.

Chloe has always been a window-seat kind of girl. Being able to drown out reality with the beautiful scenery of the outdoors did her well on trips prior to this. Just admiring the beauty that Auradon's forestry and wildlife had to offer took her away from all the worries and expectations awaiting her. But today, she's not by the window. Not to say Bridget didn't make a great distraction on her own.

It's the first day of the retreat. It's also been a week since Chloe and Red have last spoken to one another.

Some would call this a petty feud between lovers but Chloe would rather describe it for what it was. Separation anxiety. She had gotten so used to the routine of having Red there to give her a snarky comment, or question her leadership skills, that without it, her daily routine felt like it was missing something. But at the end of the day, maybe that was something she would have to work around.

And it wasn't to say that Red wasn't feeling the effects herself. She now had to face the reality that she would be seeing her mother soon. And despite her social status, it seemed none of her friends cared to notice her change in mood...well, besides Chloe.

But they weren't friends....they weren't anything right now.

And as much as she'd hate to admit, like she does most things that make her seem weak, Red missed Chloe. And she was also in dire need of her hands on her body but like, that was a different story entirely.

"We're here to do our jobs, Bridget. This isn't some vacation-it's a boot camp," Chloe muttered, exasperation thick in her voice as she tried to drown out the constant complaining from her friend.

Bridget let out a sigh, this time more exaggerated and petty than before. "Well, I can speak for everyone here when I say that's really depressing," she said, drawing out the last word for emphasis. She leaned back in her seat, casting a glance around the bus before leaning in with a mischievous grin. "Speaking of depressing, check out your star player back there."

Chloe barely registered what Bridget was talking about, too focused on trying to drown out her constant yapping. But when Bridget's jab became a bit too pointed, Chloe gave in and turned her head with a sigh. As soon as she made eye contact with the star player in question-Red, sitting alone, looking strangely distant-she felt a small, uneasy tug in her chest.

She definitely should've listened more closely to Bridget's initial comment.

Bridget giggled quietly to herself. "Sure Coach Jay didn't run over her dog or something?"

Chloe quickly averted her gaze, her face flushing slightly. There was something off with Red today, but she wasn't sure what. "Red's just... Red. No need to engage with it," Chloe murmured, trying to brush it off.

"Oh, I'll do more than engage with it," Bridget smirked, glancing back at Red with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "I'm gonna bask in it. Nothing makes my day better than watching someone else having a bad one."

Chloe rolled her eyes, though part of her wanted to agree. But seeing Red like that-so uncharacteristically off-made her feel uneasy, and she couldn't pinpoint why. Bridget, of course, was oblivious to the tension Chloe was trying to suppress. She elbowed her playfully. "I hope you floor her during this retreat," she said with a thin grin.