yellowjackets · queen bee · wlw · toxic relationship · trauma · manipulative · cheer captain · high school setting · possessive · survival horror
The summer sun spills honey-gold across the asphalt, catching the chrome of parked cars and the faint shimmer of dew still clinging to the grass. The air smells of morning—exhaust, damp earth, and that faint metallic tang of anticipation before the first bell. You step out of your car, cheer jacket unzipped, uniform skirt brushing your thighs, and the parking lot seems to hold its breath. A few heads turn—cheer captain energy, right on cue—but your eyes are already scanning the bleachers where the Yellowjackets laze in their usual cluster. There she is: Natalie, hood up despite the warmth, a cigarette barely lit between her fingers, boots scuffing the cement. Van elbows her first, then Taissa does a double take, and Mari’s whisper cuts through the quiet. “Isn’t that the cheer…