In Another Life - JackieShauna AU

Chapter 9 - New Friends

Shauna made her way to the hospital for the umpteenth time that week, her hands in her jacket pockets and her nose buried into the burgundy knit scarf that protected her from the chilly weather.

It had been two months since Jackie's visit to her home, and ever since then, Shauna found that making her way to the hospital had become a daily routine for her. And even if she didn't show up, she would still spend her days sending messages to Jackie, be it text, email, or the occasional video chat.

She exhaled through her nose and entered the hospital, greeted the woman at the front desk (who now knew her by name), and removed the scarf from around her neck. Shauna already knew where she had to go.

She ascended those familiar steps, said hello to the familiar faces, and rounded that familiar corner that she knew would lead her to Jackie's room. Another breath escaped her, slow and casual, but she'd soon learned to hold her breath when she noticed another person sitting outside in the hall, several feet from the room, where visitors could spend their time.

Shauna eyeballed the tall female for a long second, knowing that she wouldn't look up to catch her. Her head hung low, and her attention belonged only to the handheld system that entertained her.

Normally, Shauna would have walked away that instant in order to pay Jackie a visit, but as she neared her room, she could hear two voices coming from within. One of the voices belonged to Jackie. The other, she had no clue. Shauna paused and gripped the strap of her bag. Hesitating, she turned, pivoting on one foot to stare back at the small one who sat by her lonesome. Feeling that it would be rude to interrupt Jackie's conversation with whoever the other person was, Shauna strode over to the seats and sat one chair away from the gaming stranger.

Shauna tapped her fingers quietly against her pants.

"... Are you here to see Jackie Taylor?" Shauna's asked in a leveled tone.

"No. My friend is." The other spoke in a quiet voice, low and brooding. Or maybe not brooding, but more along the lines of apathetic.

Shippy. The nickname popped into Shauna's head for a brief second. She wasn't too sure why.

"Is your friend a friend of Jackie's?"

"Yeah. An old friend." She pressed pause on her PSP and tapped one end of it against her open palm. "They used to play soccer together. They go back a couple of years."

Shauna leaned back in her seat. "Ah. I see." She felt the need to keep most of her questions at bay. Her company did not seem like the type to socialize so openly, so she figured simple inquiries would do just fine, especially if she kept them to a minimum.

"May I ask your name?" Shauna took a shot at it.

A small thumb rubbed at the system's screen to remove a smudge. She looked up, gazed at Shauna past her bleached blonde bangs, and straightened her back in the slightest way possible.

"Natalie Scatorccio."

"Shauna Shipman." She felt like she could enjoy Natalie's company, what with how her words lacked all forms of emotion. "It's nice to meet you, Natalie."

"Nat is fine." She looked back down at the game screen. "Likewise."

Shauna nodded, glad to have made an acquaintance, and would have relaxed into her seat if not for the sudden disembodied voice that startled her soon after Nat's sentence.

"Hey, Nat, who are you talking to?" As if straight from a cartoon, out popped a tall female from Jackie's room, with long black hair that extended past her armpits. She carried a look on her face that made her seem more sinister than sincere, and her eyes flickered from Nat to Shauna, and then back to Nat.

"This is Shauna. I just met her." Her words were as straightforward as they were indifferent.

"Shauna?" Jackie's voice rang out from the room here time. Shauna didn't even have to see her face to know that Jackie was beaming. "She's here? Is she here?"

"I am-." Shauna rose from her seat to enter the room, but instead found Jackie standing at the door in seconds, her eyes wide with surprise. She was thinner than before, a large flannel shirt fitting her loosely. She had probably lost a bit over twenty pounds in the two months that passed.

Shauna frowned. "Get back into bed. You shouldn't be-"

Jackie didn't allow her to finish her sentence as she embraced Shauna suddenly. "I didn't think you were going to make it today." Though she'd gotten thinner, her arms still had some power to them. She squeezed Shauna, mushing her closer until she could barely breathe.

Shauna's eyebrows knit together. "I told you I would..." She all but murmured against Jackie's shoulder.

"What's this?" The taller, dark-haired female gestured to them. "I come to visit and I'm barely paid attention to, but when she comes along, she's given the whole package?"

Jackie pulled away to face her smirking friend. "Relax." She then turned her attention to Shauna. "This is Lottie, a close friend of mine."

She cocked her head to the side. "Nice to meet you, Shauna. I've heard a lot about you in the short hour that I've been here."

Nodding once, Shauna acknowledged Lottie's words but did not know how to respond to them. All she had to offer was a, "The pleasure is mine," before moving forward to try and usher Jackie back into her room.

"Hey- Hey!" Jackie resisted, standing firm in place. "We were actually just talking about stepping outside."

"Well, I brought it up, just as a suggestion, but then she got really excited." Lottie scratched the back of her head. "So we were going to step outside for a minute or two in order to get this queen bee to shut up."

"I've been cooped up in here place for too long. I haven't gone outside in days." The discomfort could be heard in Jackie's voice. If there was one thing that Shauna had learned about Jackie in the little time that she'd known her, it was that she wasn't too fond of staying locked up indoors. Maybe taking her outside for a while would do her some good.

Shauna looked down the hall. "Let's go then. To the garden out in the back."

Everyone came to an unspoken agreement after the one sentence. Lottie started down the hall, Jackie trailing after her. Shauna followed after knowing that Nat was nearby. As she walked, she stared at the backs of the two girls in front of her. They both seemed to be the same height, but Shauna couldn't help but realize that Jackie looked just a bit smaller.