The Switch / Shourtney

Chapter 18: A Little Family

January – February 15th, 2018

You know when you've just been living with a certain reality for so long that it just starts to feel normal? Well, that's sort of what it's become with my feelings for Courtney.

It's sad, I know. Pathetic even.

Some would say that it's unhealthy to keep your feelings inside like this. Damien is definitely one of those people. He's been pressing me more and more recently to just come out with it and tell Courtney. Especially after I told him about how my break up with Sophia went down. I had come so close to telling her, but of course as soon as I saw Wahlid, I chickened out. It was understandable, right? I don't know.

So, still I suppressed it. And soon January had passed and we were well into February with no change in my resolve to keep my... uh secret. I mean I really had no reason to tell her, besides for relieving my 'emotional torture,' as Damien called it. But it still wouldn't change anything, Courtney was still with Wahlid, or the other guy as I had taken to calling him in my brain. And I was still just her friend that she joked around with, made fun of, and got made fun of by.

She had been weird when I told her that Sophia and I had ended things. She just sort of nodded sympathetically but she didn't really bring it up again after that. Obviously, I didn't tell her the real reason why we had broken up, just that we had wanted different things, and that the relationship had run its course.

Ya. I really said all that vague bull crap.

I also omitted that fact that it had happened at the New Year's party, letting her believe that it had happened a couple week after. I did feel a bit guilty about lying to her about that, but what else could I do? And luckily she didn't suspect me of my little white lie.

Today I was filming another smoshpit weekly video with Damien. They were always a good time and I was excited to just goof around with my friend. It was always interesting to read off the teleprompter, it led to some stupid funny scenarios. We were starting a new segment today, called 'Tag Out News' where we would be switching accents according to whatever Josh yelled to us, so that was gonna be fun. I was always up for butchering an accent.

However, they weren't ready for me yet, so in the meantime, I was waiting the squad office with Courtney. She was working on a script while I sat around. She had brought Jango into work today and he was sniffing around the office curiously.

She had been doing that a lot recently which was very fine with me. The cast and crew liked having him around, and Courtney definitely did too. If I thought about it, I could still hear the way her voice sounded when she told me she was officially getting a puppy. She had been so excited. But that was nothing compared to the sparkle in her eyes the first time she introduced him to us.

"This is Jango," She said beaming and holding him tightly against her chest. "Guys, I got a freaking puppy!"

That was a few weeks ago and he was already a pretty consistent tenant at our office. It was great that we worked somewhere that they didn't mind Courtney bringing her new puppo.

Courtney leaned back, twisting from side to side in her office chair, as she played idly with her newly cropped hair. I was slowly inching towards Jango, trying to see how long it would take for him to notice me.

I got about a foot away from him before he realized and quickly scooted out of the way of my hands. I knelt down on the floor next to him, clicked my tongue and patted my knees. He quickly turned back around and jumped up onto my chest, trying to lick my face.

"Ugh, Jango, stop." I said in fake disgust and Courtney laughed at the pair of us.

"Would you ever get a dog?" Courtney asked me as I wrestled Jango playfully off of me.

"I don't know," I answered, scratching behind her puppy's ears as he wagged his tail enthusiastically. "Maybe one day."

She smiled at the two of us, settling down onto the floor beside me. "You're just so good with him. I can't believe you're a cat person."

I laughed, "I can like both."

"I beg to differ," Courtney argued back light heartedly. "You've gotta pick a team. That's just how it works."

"Well fine then, if YOU say that's what I have to do," I replied sarcastically and she knocked her shoulder against mine, rolling her eyes at my attitude.

Jango perked his head up at us, tongue wagging, before nuzzling back against my shoe. I scratched his back again as Courtney smoothed the fur at the top of his head.

Just then Olivia walked into the room

"You guys are so cute!" She grinned at us. "You look like a little family."

She leaned against the desk in front of us and gave Courtney a significant look. Courtney shot a pointed glare back at her.

"You guys are weird," I said, I was blushing slightly at her comment and was sort of lost as to what was going on between the two of them. Olivia just grinned at me.

"Don't worry about it Shayne," she said dismissively. "By the way, Josh sent me to come get you. They're ready for you to start filming.

"Great," Courtney said scooping Jango up into her arms, "Maybe now I'll actually get some writing done."

"Yeah right," I shot back at her, as I pushed myself up to my feet. "Don't act like it was me who was the problem here."

"You're always the problem Shayne." She replied with a slight grin. "Have fun with Dames."

"Don't miss me too much," I drawled sarcastically, and she nodded up me still grinning before going to sit back down at her desk and opening her laptop back up.

Olivia chuckled at me as I passed by her, "You guys are ridiculous."

I shrugged at her absently and headed out the door. As I walked down the hall towards the set to film Smoshpit Weekly, I couldn't stop the smile from playing on my lips.

A/N: Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter with not a ton of dialogue. I really love how Shayne and Courtney are together with Jango and wanted to put it in. They're such an adorable family lol. Next chapter is quite significant for their journey though - Get ready.