Pen Pals ||Shelby and Toni||

Yea I Do

"Would you be quiet sick and hurt people are sleeping." Shelby says turning to look at her. "It's not my fault this hospital is clearly under staffed." Toni says.

"Whatever let's just get this stuff and get back." Shelby says not even looking at her. "What wrong with you?" Toni says staring at her. "Nothing I'm fine!" She was the one talking loud now. "Hey you kissed me remember." Shelby looks at her sharply. "I was just. Listen I didn't come here for this! I'm gonna find someone you can- do whatever!" She watches Shelby storm off and turn back towards the way she came. Then watches her walk the other direction a second later.

Toni ends up by the cafeteria. "Okay you win hospital maze." Toni says angrily. How could she not find one single staff member. She's walking back towards the room when she walks by a what looks like a cpr mannequin the head looks broken its on the floor.

Toni walks over grabbing the mannequin off the floor.

She walks back to the room carrying the mannequin in her arms.
~~~~~

Shelby finally find a person to get her some blankets and a pillow. She eventually thinks that she could have just gone back to the room and ask Leah to ring for the person like 15 minutes ago but it's fine. She kinda needed the time with Toni. Even though it was horrible.

She knows that it's wrong what she did. But Toni looked so good- no she was just excited to have her here and was overwhelmed and she was tired. Shelby was straight. Very straight she had a boyfriend. And her dad wouldn't approve. She knew from experience.

She grabs the blanket and pillow from the lady. Then started to make her way back. Toni didn't exactly say she wanted to kiss her. Maybe she was just drunk and trying to mess with her. And she just kissed her. A totally normal thing to do. She eventually just decides to tell Toni she was just caught in the moment. That it didn't mean anything.

She wouldn't admit the fact that it did mean something. She walks into the hospital room handing the pillow and blanket over. She wouldn't admit that it meant so much for her. She would suppress the butterfly's in her stomach when Toni came back to the room trying to tell them about the mannequin she found as quietly as she can. She wouldn't admit that if she got too close to Shelby she would want to kiss her all over again.
~~~~~

Eventually things go back to normal. Well kind of. Leah goes back to school she has crutches and Fatin carries her books around no matter home much Leah argues that she could just carry her backpack around. Fatin tells her she's crazy. There dynamic has changed but Toni has already said that she wouldn't say a word till there both ready. "We just haven't put a name on it yet that's all." Leah says.

The group hangs out at lunch still without Shelby. Shelby has been as distant as possible to Toni. When they hang out as a group she sits as far as possible. She talks to Rachel a lot more. And at school she usually acts like she doesn't even know them. Which makes everyone pretty pissed sometimes. But sometimes Toni can see Shelby staring over to there table. Most times she turns and they lock eyes for a couple of seconds. Shelby will always turns back first.

Toni is pissed that she hasn't even gotten an explanation or a anything. She's just been trying to talk to her. She would walk up and Shelby will start talking to another one in the friend group. And there's no way to get her to talk at school. She only has one class with her and Dr. Farber likes silence in his class.

Toni knows she likes Shelby. Toni has liked Shelby for the longest time now. They use to talk until 2 o clock in the morning sometimes. She had hope maybe Shelby would like her back. But Shelby as far as Toni knows has a homophobic family and goes to church and does pageants. She knows that Shelby probably just needs time to think. Time to understand it herself.

Toni thinks about the fact that they are really unlikely to be friends if they had met in person. She would have probably hated her.
~~~~~

There hanging out at Toni's and Martha's house this weekend. With a lot of convincing from Dot and Fatin Shelby agrees to come. Martha's parents are out for the weekend and Fatin is bring the booze.

Everyone is at the house and there hanging out in the pool. "Hey where's Marcus?" Fatin says. Everyone looks at her confused besides Toni and Martha who jumps up to go grab him. A minute later Martha returns with Marcus in hand. "Guys meet Martha's boyfriend!" Toni says. The groups laughs while crowding around marcus. "You stole that old mannequin from the hospital?" Leah says who's sitting on a chair by the water. "Hey it's borrowing... I'll return it when I'm dead." Toni says taking a drink from her red solo cup. "Don't call Marcus an "it"." Martha says. Sitting him on a chair. "Sorry Marty B but your boyfriends kinda quiet." Toni says walking into the house to get another drink.

She hears the girls laughing about the penis Marty drew on Marcus. "She likes them hung." Fatin says.

She walks into the kitchen when she sees Shelby looking in the fridge and grabbing some punch. "I hope you don't mind." She says looking a little embarrassed. "I don't feel in the drinking mood." She says pouring herself some.

Toni just stares at her. This is the first time they have talked in weeks and it's about juice? She's already angry when suddenly Shelby is pulling her inside of the bathroom. "What the fuck?" Toni says getting away from Shelby's grip. "I need to talk to you." Shelby says. "You couldn't just fucking told me that." Toni says. "You know I really don't want to do this today." Toni says reaching for the door knob. Shelby blocks the door.

"What Shelby because you can't just fucking kiss me and then pretend like I don't exist for almost a whole week okay. I won't lecture you on how or why you should figure things out for yourself but all your hateful church shit isn-" Shelby grabs her by the collar "I know exactly who I am" she says. Toni can she the split second Shelby looks down at her lips. She doesn't have time to say anything before Shelby walks out of the bathroom.

Shelby ignores her for the rest of the time. She watches her and Martha laugh about something she can't hear. She knows Shelby has a lot she needs to figure out for herself. And she can't help but want to be there for her.

She thinks about when she needed to find somewhere else to stay when she came out to her foster family at the time. How Martha's family was so nice to her. She knows it will be hard for Shelby.

"Hey are you guys gonna chicken fight or you gonna be chickens?" Dot says looking the four of them. "Well obviously count me out." Leah says lifting up her foot a bit laughing. "Sorry Leah next time we will do a broken leg friendly thing." Toni says. "Oh it's fine I like looking at them have fun. It relaxes me kinda all those thought swirling in my head can be replaced for a second." Leah says eyeing fatin. "Gosh there gonna know before you can tell them if you keep looking at her like that." Toni says. "I'll stop when you stop staring at Shelby." Leah says now looking at her. "I'm not blind Toni."

"Yea well that's a little different." Toni says now very interested in the string in her shorts. "You like her though no?" Leah ask looking over at shelby.

She looks back over at Martha and Shelby herself. She can't help but smile when she sees Shelby looks up at her. And maybe it's her imagination but when Shelby looks down she can see a small smile too.

"Yea I do." Toni says surprised she's being honest about it. Leah just nods her head and looks back to the girls in the pool. Fatin is on top of Nora's shoulders and Rachel has been knocked off of Dot's. "Yea I do."

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Hope you all have a great day!