𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 , 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐨

Sage's lips thinned as she examined the dress Lottie had picked out. Her reflection was a mask of disapproval. Turning sharply, she leveled a look at Lottie, whose smile faltered into a confused expression. "What?" Lottie asked, her voice laced with uncertainty. "I think you look hot!"

"You're overthinking it," Lottie said, a confident smile playing on her lips. "That dress is so cute." Lottie's energy crackled as she closed the distance, her fingers lightly turning the girl's face. "A touch of lipstick," she mused, her gaze lingering. Sage's sigh was barely audible, a ghost of a smile touching her lips. Lottie, with the practiced grace of someone familiar with her own reflection, selected a brownish-red lipstick from her vanity and offered it to the blonde.

"This feels ridiculous," Sage muttered, applying the lipstick. "Allie's in the hospital." She sighed, the crimson transforming Lottie's vision. The white sundress, once childish, now bloomed with a delicate, feminine allure.

"I get it," Lottie said, the hiss of hairspray filling the room. "But tonight? Let's just... forget it all." She paused, turning to Sage with a mischievous glint. "Seriously, how often do people tell you you're breathtaking?" She watched as Sage's eyes flickered to her reflection. "Enough," Sage mumbled, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

The party pulsed through the trees, a sea of faces illuminated by flickering lanterns. As Lottie and Sage stepped into the throng, the bonfire drew Sage's eye. Its crackling flames sparked a cascade of terrifying possibilities: a runaway blaze, panicked screams, the suffocating smoke. Lottie's voice, soft and concerned, cut through the din. "You okay?" she asked, her smile a beacon in the shifting shadows.

Sage smiled, and Lottie said, "Seriously, I need to watch you," putting an arm around Sage's shoulders, "or someone's going to snatch you." Sage laughed, a genuine sound that eased a subtle tension she hadn't realised she was holding. Lottie always knew how to make her smile.

Sage managed a thin smile, though her stomach remained tight. Familiar faces swam into view: Taissa, anchored to the beer barrel with Van. But Shauna and Natalie, lingering at the perimeter, held an unsettling distance, their expressions unreadable in the flickering light.

Before Sage could form a response, a familiar voice rang out, "Sage!" She pivoted to find Alex Mayland striding towards her, a self-assured grin splitting his handsome face. He was a figure of physical presence, tall and broad-shouldered, with an innate ability to capture the room's attention.
A wave of annoyance washed over Lottie, and she mumbled, "Oh, great." Sage, attempting to diffuse the tension, whispered, "Be nice.

Alex's arrival was punctuated by his gaze, which lingered on Sage. A slow, "Wow," slipped from his lips. "You look incredible."

A flush crept up Sage's neck. She darted a quick, embarrassed glance at Lottie, who responded with an exaggerated eye roll. "Thanks, Alex," Sage mumbled.

"Would you mind if I just, uh, borrowed her for a quick sec?" Alex mumbled, his eyes fixed on Lottie, completely disregarding Sage.

Lottie raised an eyebrow. 'Actually—,' the word hung in the air, unfinished.

"It's fine," Sage said, a little too quickly. "I'll catch up with you later."

Though her expression suggested otherwise, Lottie gave a curt nod. "Good luck," she quipped, a playful smirk twisting her lips as she vanished into the sea of faces.

Alex brought Sage into his circle of friends. While polite smiles were exchanged, a few members of the group regarded her with a lingering, almost probing curiosity.

"So, you're a cheerleader, right?" one of them, Adam , asked.

"No," Sage replied, her voice tight, almost strained, "I play soccer."

"Cool," Adam said, nodding, though it was clear he understood little of what had been said.

Just as Sage prepared a polite retreat, Alex leaned close, his breath warm against her ear. "Don't mind them," he murmured, his voice a low rumble. "They’re on the boys team.”

The polite smile she summoned felt brittle. Her attention, like a moth to a flame, was pulled toward the bonfire, where Lottie, Van, and Laura-Lee formed a tight, lively circle, their voices a low hum against the crackling wood.

"I should probably—" Sage started, but Alex interrupted, his hand gently settling on her arm. "Stay a little longer," he murmured. "It's been so nice having you here."

Sage swallowed hard, the act of swallowing a physical struggle. The crowd surged around her, trapping her, and she scanned the mass of people, desperate for an out.

After a brief farewell, they parted. Sage shivered, hugging herself against the chill as she surveyed the small clearing. Her gaze swept the perimeter, searching for her teammates. Then, she spotted them: Taissa and Shauna, locked in an argument by a beer barrel.

Sage jogged up to the group of girls, her breath slightly ragged. "Sorry," she offered, her eyes meeting Lottie's, who shook her head with a relieved smile. "You're fine," Lottie assured her.

Sage doesn't get the chance to ask what was going on, before Shauna's and Tai's voices rise above the music.

"You're wasted-"

“And you’re a fucking sociopath,” Shauna spat at Tai, a sharp 'whoa' escaping Van's lips. From the periphery, Sage noticed Natalie and Laura Lee closing in, drawn by the escalating conflict. Shauna, with a theatrical flourish, stumbled back, flinging beer across Sage's dress. "Shit," Sage murmured, eyeing the spreading stain, but Shauna remained oblivious, her voice rising. "No! Listen, you guys"

"We don't have to worry about the Allie problem anymore, because Taissa fixed it for us!" A knot tightened in Sage's stomach as she shifted her gaze between Taissa and the rest of the group.

"What's she talking about?" Laura-Lee asked Natalie, who was fixated on Sage's ruined dress, now clinging to her skin. "She’s talking about Taissa's little plan," Natalie replied, finally turning her attention to Laura-Lee.

"Oh, please," Taissa drawled, her gaze sweeping dismissively over the bleach-blonde girl. "Since when do you care?" She fixed Sage with a skeptical look. Sage’s frown deepened.

"Don't you have a bong to hit or a dick to suck-"

"Hey!" Sage interjected, stepping forward. "Don't talk to her like that. ”Shauna cut in, her voice sharp. "Yeah, don't talk to her like that."

"Oh fuck off, both of you," Natalie snapped, her voice sharp. "I don't need your two to defend me." Sage rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "And you," Natalie continued, turning to Shauna, "Last time I checked you were fine with the whole freeze-her-out strategy." She jammed her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket.

With a frustrated sigh, Laura-Lee asked, "Okay, seriously, what are you talking about?" her words cutting through the silence and snapping Natalie, Shauna, and Tai to attention. "Shut the fuck up Laura-Lee!" they all shouted in unison.

"Stop," Van pleaded, attempting to diffuse the rising tension. Lottie glanced skyward, shaking her head in exasperation, while Sage's angry gaze raked over the bleach-blonde winger.
Taissa advanced on Shauna, her voice a low, dangerous hum. "Somebody needs to take her wasted ass home."

Shauna's shoulder slammed into Sage as she surged forward, her eyes blazing as they met Taissa's. "Say that again, bitch."

Sage instinctively moved to block Shauna, the calm in her voice a stark contrast to the fire in her eyes. "Call her a bitch one more time," she stated, each word clipped and precise.

Shauna's shriek, "Say it again!" echoed, lost in the roar of the fire. But Taissa didn't flinch. She faced Shauna, shoulders set, the air between them thick with unspoken threats, a tension as palpable as the heat radiating from the inferno.

"I will say it again," Taissa insisted, her voice sharp. Van, eyes wide with concern, reached out to hold her back.

The escalating shouts drew a crowd, insults flying like daggers between the girls. "Cat fight!" Randy jeered, fuelling the tension. As the confrontation turned physical, Sage desperately tried to separate Taissa and Shauna. She stumbled, nearly losing her footing, her heart pounding. Miraculously, she regained her balance, sparing her dress from the muddy ground.

Jackie erupted into the scene, a sudden, angelic fury, shouting, "That's it! Enough!" Silence gripped the group. The captain, his eyes flickering around, turned abruptly and disappeared into the forest. "Yellowjackets, with me!

Sage froze, mirroring Jackie's abrupt stop, her fingers mechanically brushing dirt from her dress. Inside, a storm of frustration and guilt churned.

"I don't know what the fuck that was, but I do know that it's over," Jackie said, her face a mask of disappointment. Sage's gaze dropped to her scuffed shoes, the weight of her actions pressing down on her. "We're about to go to nationals! And based on what I'm looking at right now, we might as well not even bother getting on that plane," Jackie continued, her tone sharp as broken glass.

Sage kicked at the dirt, her shoe leaving a dark smudge. Arms crossed, she shivered. The wet dress was a cruel second skin, amplifying the biting cold of the goddamn woods. She hated the sickeningly slick fabric, the feeling of it plastered against her. Anxiety clawed at her throat.

Jackie inhaled sharply, her voice dropping to a crisp, authoritative tone. "Alright, Everyone line up," she commanded, the single sentence leaving no room for argument.

Suspicion and annoyance flickered between the girls, a silent exchange that nonetheless forced them into a reluctant line. Sage, a buffer of sorts, positioned herself squarely between Taissa and Van.

A deep breath steadied Jackie. "Okay," she began, her voice firm but gentle. "Here's what we're gonna do. I want each of you to go down this line and say one nice true thing about every other girl on this team."

Taissa scoffed, a tight sound, and glanced at Van, who chuckled. "What is this? Fucking Girl Scouts camp?"

With a thin smile, Jackie asked, "Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go, Jackie," Laura-Lee announced, her voice firm. Jackie, momentarily taken aback, offered a grateful smile.

Laura-Lee approached Taissa, her hands gently cupping the girl's arms. "Taissa, you are beautiful in the eyes of our Lord," she said, though the resulting hum from Taissa was laced with sarcasm. Undeterred, Laura-Lee turned to Van. "Van, you are beautiful—"

While Natalie and Sage's laughter filled the room, Lottie could only manage a stunned, "Oh my God." Jackie, shoulders slumping, simply exhaled a defeated sigh. "Okay, Laura-Lee. Fall back. Fuck. Okay, I'll go first."

Jackie steps up to Taissa, her voice steady. "Taissa, you have more fight in you than anyone I know. Your strength is unmatched." Taissa stands a little straighter, clearly taken aback by the words. Jackie moves to Van next, her tone warm. "Vanessa Palmer, your smile makes my day better every time I see it."

"Sage Anderson," Jackie said, turning to her, her eyes soft, "you're just the most real person I know. Your heart is huge, and you always put everyone else first, no matter what it takes.

The impact of Jackie's words closed around Sage's throat. A soft, tear-laden smile, a silent acknowledgment, was all she could offer."

Jackie moves on to Laura-Lee, offering a kind smile. "Laura-Lee, your faith is something I deeply admire. You inspire me to keep going, no matter what."
When Jackie gets to Natalie, she's more cautious, but her voice is sincere. "Nat," Jackie calls softly, "I love that you don't care what anybody thinks. And you're so completely yourself."

"She's also deadly at beer pong," Van adds, taking a sip. Jackie's eyes light up. "So, go on! Tell her!" A sudden hush falls as the girls turn to each other. Sage's gaze softens as she meets Laura-Lee's.

The line goes quiet, Sage's turn. She steps forward, meeting Laura-Lee's gaze. "Laura-Lee," she says, her voice soft but firm, "your faith has given me back a belief I thought I'd lost forever."

A silent, heartfelt hug passed between Laura-Lee and Sage, a wordless acknowledgment of their shared experience. "I'm just glad I could help, Sage," Laura-Lee whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.

Sage turned to Lottie, her best friend, a soft smile gracing her lips. “I know I don't always say it,” she began,”'but you are, without a doubt, my best friend. And more than that, I want you to understand that nothing you could ever do or say would change that.”

Lottie hesitated, then pulled Sage into a swift, tight hug. "You're my best friend, too," she murmured, releasing her. Sage's smile was bright, but fleeting, as they both drifted towards the rest of the group. Sage's gaze darted, searching for Taissa or Shauna, but a sudden turn brought her face-to-face with Natalie. The air crackled with unspoken tension as they held each other's gaze for a beat too long. Inevitably, they were paired up.

Sage's heart hammered as she scanned the room. When her eyes locked with Natalie's, a tense stillness descended. It was a silent agreement, a reluctant acceptance of the only remaining option, though a part of Sage wished she could avoid it altogether.

Sage folded her arms, a knot of unspoken words tightening her throat. After a drawn-out silence, she exhaled slowly. "I need you to know," she began, her voice barely a whisper, "even when I was completely lost, I'm starting to see... you were there. In ways I never imagined. And that... that means more than I can say.”

Natalie froze, Sage's candid words a sudden, sharp gust of wind. Her eyes, wide and unblinking, held a stunned disbelief. Her lips parted, a silent question forming, before she managed a breathy, "Wait... what?”

Sage paused, the air heavy with unspoken words. She cleared her throat, the sound unusually loud in the quiet space, and forced a smile. "What I mean is... you've been there, always. And I'm just now realising how much that means."

The weight of the silence pressed down on Sage, making her fidget. She crossed her arms, then uncrossed them, then crossed them again, her eyes fixed on Natalie. She rubbed the back of her neck, the skin suddenly too sensitive. "Um," she managed, a thin smile pulling at her lips, "I thought... I thought you'd say something... you know, nice?" The forced humour in her voice wavered.

Natalie, her trance unbroken, inhaled sharply and fixed her gaze on Sage. The expression that washed over her face was utterly foreign, a raw blend of admiration and yearning that Sage had never witnessed. "I think—" Natalie began, her voice a hushed tremor, shifting slightly. "I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."