AGAIN

Illusion

Present time

   Bette Porter arrived in LA after 5 years of not setting foot anywhere near it. She'd been way too busy living in Barcelona, Tokyo, and then Paris. God how she loved being a journalist. And a successful one at that.

   She would always say that the biggest perk of her job was exactly the possibility of going anywhere and everywhere. And that was, indeed, amazing. But even these amazing opportunities are not as amazing without your loved one next to you. It had taken Bette 5 years to come back to LA to get Tina back.

   Well, let's be honest. That's not really why she came back; she came back because she was offered a job opportunity that she simply couldn't miss. The fact that Tina and her friends lived in LA only made it even more irrestibile. Besides, traveling can wait. After 5 years not really belonging anywhere, going back to her roots seemed like a natural process.

   She had called Shane a few weeks before arriving and specifically asked her not to say anything to anyone. Nor did she want to know how things were in LA either - she wanted to see everything for herself. Which, of course, seemed fucking stupid right about now.

   "Heeey!!" Shane said as she saw Bette sitting in the coffee shop and approached her to give her a hug.

   Bette immediately stood up and hugged Shane back. "My God, you look great!"

   Shane smiled at her and sat down in front of her. "Thanks. You look pretty good too!"

   "It's been a minute, huh?" Bette said. Sure, she and Shane kept in touch for the most important things in their lives but it had been nothing like what they shared before. Bette was always just so... busy. But Shane was pretty understanding and didn't push anything from her friend either. She respected Bette's time.

   Shane nodded. "Yeah. I mean I couldn't believe it when you told me you were coming back to LA. What the hell happened?!"

   "Oh we're going straight to it, aren't we? Uh I just, well, I was offered a great job here. I mean, if all goes well, I might have my own talk show." Bette sipped her coffee.

   "Holy shit, you're kidding me?! That's fantastic!!! I'm so happy for you, Bette." Quite honestly, though, Shane was also relieved to hear that Bette hadn't come back for Tina. As much as she loved those two together, she really didn't want anything to get messy with their friendship - and certainly not after Tina had finally found someone good for her.

   Bette smiled. "I know, it's fucking crazy. All of it. But, you know, other than that I'm also pretty happy to be moving back here. I missed the city, the people obviously..." She trailed off.

   Shane nodded. "We missed you too, Bette."

   "It just feels good to be in a place where I know everyone and I can have some sort of... God, I don't wanna say control because that just sounds wrong but... Just some sort of understanding of what might happen next, a level of certainty that I just haven't had in the past 5 years, you know?" Bette said, enthusiasm filling her.

   "Yeah, I mean... I just... Never mind."

   "No, come on, say it."

   Shane swallowed. "I just wouldn't be so sure, you know? A lot has changed, Bette. People have changed too. I'd be careful."

   "What does that mean? Of course people have changed, so have I. I know 5 years isn't exactly 5 months but I like to think we are all the same in the things that matter."

   "Oh God. Is this about Tina?"

   Bette was taken aback at how straightforward Shane was being. She definitely didn't recall Shane being like that at all. "How did you get any of that from what I said? I never once mentioned Tina."

   "Look, you were going to. I just helped you get there faster." Shane offered.

   "This has nothing to do with Tina. Okay? Who says I'm not dating someone else?!"

   Shane shook her head. "Are you?"

   "I could be."

   "I'm sorry I even brought this up. We can talk about something else." Shane said.

   "How is your salon? I've heard it's been going great. You know what, I've been meaning to go there to get a haircut. Maybe I'll drop by and see what it looks like!"

   Shane smiled. "Yeah, I'd love that. It's been going really well and I'm proud of myself for having accomplished this, ya know?"

   Bette and Shane kept talking for a while about salons and what was going on in Alice's life, and Dana's and everyone else but Tina. Shane hadn't brought it up and Bette certainly didn't feel like she should say anything. At least not yet.

   Truth was, she new the basics. She knew that Tina had opened up her new restaurant and that business was going well. She knew that Tina had traveled a bit over the last few years and that she had spent New Year's Eve with the girls last year. But that was about it. She didn't follow Tina on social media and even when she did, T hardly posted. She had always been a more private person, especially online.

   Bette forced herself to unfollow Tina on social media soon after she left LA 5 years ago because it hurt too much to see her posts and not be her girlfriend anymore. When it wasn't that, it hurt too much that Tina spent 3 weeks without posting a thing and she would be wondering what was going on in her ex girlfriend's life. Either way, it hurt too much. So she eventually unfollowed Tina in order to move on with her life. Still, her friends would post pictures with T every now and then so Bette ended up seeing the most important updates.

   "Shit, I gotta get going. Promised Al and Dana I'd go over to theirs for a beer about an hour ago. They must be pretty upset with me by now."

   Bette shook her head. "Of course. Do they know I'm here?"

   Shane nodded. "They do. And they're processing it."

   "Oh. I guess I understand."

   "Bette, hear me out. I love you and I have missed you terribly. But we all just need a little time. Things are not the same, a lot of shit has happened. We just... Need time. I'm here for you, you know. I really want everyone to be cool and all that again. But it might take some time."

   Bette looked confused. "Shane, I mean. It's not that I don't understand, I do. But don't you think that's a little harsh? If anything I understand Tina being mad at me but Alice and Dana? And you?"

   "I'm not mad. No one is mad, you know? It's past being mad. That "being mad" stage was 5 years ago. Now we're all a bit hurt. Some more than others. And I get what you're saying but when you left... It caused a lot of damage around here. Tina was profoundly hurt and we were equally hurt to see her that way."

   "She could have come with me." Bette defended herself.

   "I'm not getting into this with you. I'm not taking sides here. I'm simply saying what happened. And we just need time to process your being back. "

     Bette nodded, feeling hurt herself. "Right. I see where you're coming from."

   As Shane stood up to leave, she turned around to add one more thing. "For the record, I am really glad to see you. "

AN: Any thoughts/comments? I'm really glad to see at least a few people engaging in this story. I really want feedback on this so if you can send it to  fellow #tibette fans, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks again 💜