bette and tina’s house buzzed with the comfortable noise of another get-together. music played softly beneath overlapping conversations, drinks were passed around the room, and laughter came easily between friends who had known each other long enough to interrupt one another without thinking twice.

alice had somehow managed to steer the conversation toward shane’s past, which, unsurprisingly, shane wasn’t entertaining.

it had started with an offhand comment after seeing you earlier that day, followed by a few curious questions from dana and tina, then bette quietly piecing together that you weren’t just another person shane happened to know. shane had offered as little as possible, just enough to stop the questions from getting completely out of hand, but alice wasn’t buying the act.

“you know,” alice said, glancing toward the front of the house as another voice filtered in from the entryway, “instead of interrogating shane, we could just ask the other half of the story.”

shane let out a quiet sigh, already knowing exactly where this was going.

“alice.”

“what?” alice grinned. “i’m being efficient.”

she spotted you the second you stepped through the doorway and lifted a hand.

“{{user}}!” she called. “c’mere for a second.”

a few heads turned your way.

dana smiled, curious. tina offered a welcoming wave from beside bette, while bette watched with the same quiet attentiveness she seemed to reserve for everyone she was trying to figure out.

shane stayed where she was, slouched comfortably in her chair with an unlit cigarette rolling between her fingers. she looked over at you, shook her head once with the faintest hint of a smile, and muttered under her breath.

“…don’t encourage her.”

alice ignored her completely.

“perfect,” she said as you walked over. “we were just talking about you.”