bad day ❁ euphoria

rue ♡ target

- summary going to target with rue in the middle of the night after a bad dream (just imagine target is open 24hrs lol)

- relationship established, friends since the start of middle school. you have a crush on rue, but you don't know if you want to risk losing her by saying something

- m/f/a just fluff :)

- trigger warnings mention of a nightmare but otherwise none!

- word count 1000+

- author note i've just left this alone for almost three months now (oh god) so i'm quickly finishing it up before i publish something about fez! remember to stay safe n hydrated <3

You wake up in a cold sweat with a harsh full-body jerk. The weighted blanket your mom bought to help you sleep is heaped on the floor and the rest of your covers are strangling your limbs like thorny vines, tightening every second you don't detangle them. The bedroom is too dark to comfort or assure you so, arm resisting the pull of the sheet it's encased in, you flick on the bedside lamp. You just about catch your breathing, finally, and clumsily tear yourself out of the covers.

Now sat up, chest moving a little too fast and eyes gummed up with sleep, you glance around the room. Clothes on the furniture, boxes that go under the bed tipped over, closet open, walls too close and-

You slip out the window with your sneakers in your hands and phone in your mouth, the dewy grass drenching your socks before you have a chance to put the shoes on. The sky gives no indication to the time; it's just dark. The roads you walk across are completely bare and there isn't a single light on in any of the houses you pass. You don't realise until you get to her street, but your feet have automatically taken you to Rue's.

Predictably, there's a low light coming from her room, curtains open and a body moving swiftly past the window a few times. She's tidying - she doesn't care about having a clean bedroom but you were supposed to come over in the morning and she knows how stressed mess makes you sometimes. Your heart flutters at the thought of her taking the time to clean up on the off chance you came over stressed; you turn away from the house when you call her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asks softly, picking up before the dial tone can buzz twice.

"Can you come outside?" You say, nibbling your lip.

The sound of a window opening turns you back and Rue comes running full speed at you, arms open to embrace you. She's significantly taller than you - she's significantly taller than everyone - so she almost accidentally topples you when she rams into you, but the hug is tight enough to prevent the fall. She smells faintly like weed although that doesn't necessarily mean she's smoked any recently - if you smoke enough weed around the same stuff, you can never get the scent out. Nobody told you that and now after a few experimental sessions with Rue, your favourite hoodie can never be worn or washed around your parents.

"Are you okay?" She pulls back a little, keeping her arms around you for comfort.

You sigh, trying to smile for her sake. "Just a nightmare. I wanted to see you."

She frowns, slight but not pitying, and pulls you back into her chest. Rue cares for people - not just you, but you're definitely high on the list - but she doesn't know how to express it properly. She knows you need grounding, physical contact after stuff like this; hugs and hand-holding are abundant after a bad experience. She winds your hair around her fingers, like she's trying to keep you from floating away.

"I've, uh- I've gotta pick some stuff up from Target, you wanna do that?"

You do wanna do that. Rue dangles through her window to grab her hoodie and some money to stuff into her phone case and then she laces her fingers through yours while you walk to Target. You think of your parents for a moment, of them waking up and coming to check on you only to find the bed empty, before Rue gives your hand a quick squeeze and throws you a soft smile. It quells your worry instantly - this isn't the first time you've gone out in the middle of the night, and it's not like they can't call you.

The glowing red sign is a beacon calling to you, a saturated suddenness in the abyss of the empty grey car park. A lonely white van with mud splatters up the side sits with the engine on on the far left; you and Rue bolt through the far right to avoid it, smiling a little and making half-hearted kidnapping jokes. The lights in the entrance are garish, fluorescent yellow and you blink at Rue in them. Her eyes are ringed with mascara and glitter but she's still stunning. She smiles and grabs a trolley.

"Wanna sit in it?"

You hesitate for a moment before scrambling over the red plastic side and sitting heavily inside. Rue pushes you past the registers, past a middle-aged woman glaring, and through every single aisle. You pull things in whenever you feel like it and Rue almost clocks you over the head with a pint of Ben & Jerry's.

"Kiss marry kill: Gia, McKay and Kat."

Rue wrinkles her nose when she sprays more whipped cream into your mouth. "You can't put my sister in there, that's so weird."

"So you kill her! Or you do incest-y stuff. It's a game Rue, just play it." You giggle, wiping excess off your lip and sucking it off your finger. Rue rolls her eyes and sits back against the wall. From your vantage point you can see across the whole lot and can keep eyes on that white van which still hasn't moved. You decided to wait until it left. You're playing games and eating what you bought until you can go.

"Kill Gia,"

"Good choice,"

"Kiss... McKay. And marry Kat."

You nod, smiling.

"Kiss marry kill: Lexi, Cassie... me."

You get whiplash when you turn your head to look at her, finding her gaze is already on you. Your heart is hammering right out of your chest. You swallow. You look at the lot.

"Kill Lexi. Marry... Cassie. Kiss..."

Her lips are on yours, secure and soft and gentle, and her hand slips over your stomach to your waist. Instantly, you kiss her back, electricity tingling everywhere she touches and making you breathlessly.

"So kiss you."

Rue smiles and stands, holding her hands out to help you up. You pick up your bag and, hand in hand, you return to Rue's.