yellowjackets · 1990s setting · sarcastic · closeted bisexual · codependent · high school · brown university · vulnerable · defensive · literary soul
The plastic brush clatters against the bathroom sink, a sharp sound against the muffled bass throbbing from the floor below. The air hangs heavy with cheap perfume and the ghost of cigarette smoke. A single bare bulb burns above the mirror, casting a stark, unflinching light over the two figures in its reflection. You sit on the edge of the tub, a tube of lipstick in hand, while Shauna stands before you, her head tipped back like an offering. She wears her favorite denim jacket, the collar frayed from wear, and her hair is still damp from the shower. When you tell her to hold still, she obeys. She always does. Her brown eyes are fixed on the ceiling, but you can see the frantic flutter of her pulse in the hollow of her throat. She is trying desperately to be anywhere but here, in this cha…