hearing damage | YELLOWJACKETS

thirty-six.

AN: This is a long one y'all i hope you enjoy!
Galen, Turner, Taylor | 2021
Wiskayok, New Jersey

Quinn sat at the bar, scrolling through her phone. She found an article and tapped on it to see that it was about the Golden Horizon casting news. All of the leads had officially been cast. The movie was set to start filming in a couple of months and the world was excited.

Quinn sighed as she locked her phone and placed it face down on the bar counter as she took a sip of her cocktail.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Quinn looked to her left to see Francesca standing there with a smile on her lips which were painted red with lipstick. Quinn was startled at the sight of the young woman who she certainly hadn't been avoiding.

"Oh, um hi," Quinn greets as Francesca sits down beside her and lets out a laugh.

"Hi," Francesca says, still smiling.

"Can I order you a drink?" Quinn asks.

"I can order my own drink, but you can pay for it," Francesca tells her, and Quinn nods her head as Francesca calls the bartender over and gives him her order. She looks over at Quinn watching her with curious eyes. Quinn waits for her to say something, but she doesn't.

"I'm sorry," Quinn says, "That I haven't called you back."

"I figured you were a little spooked," Francesca holds her hands up, "But I'm not going to hold that against you."

"You can if you'd like," Quinn says, "I'm sure there are plenty of other interested people. Ones who don't ghost you after you ask them out."

"Yeah, I'm sure there are, but I'm not interested," Francesca responds, "I like you."

Quinn laughs as she looks at her drink, "Dating me would be a PR nightmare."

"Why do you say that?" Francesca asks.

Quinn sighs and she has half the mind to confess then and there. She was on the plane. She had been in the wilderness for nineteen months. She had witnessed things that had changed her for the worse.

She thinks to share it all when her phone starts buzzing on the bar counter. Quinn flips it over and Shauna's name lights up the screen. She almost sends Shauna to voicemail, but she knows Shauna wouldn't call her unless it was about something serious involving Callie or the blackmailer.

"Excuse me," Quinn says as she stands from her seat and walks outside where it's quieter. She answers the call, "Hello?"

"Quinn, where are you right now?" Shauna asks her tone weirdly level.

"I'm at a bar in New York," Quinn answers.

"Can you come back to New Jersey?" Shauna asks, "It's – it's important."

Quinn's brows furrow, "What are you talking about? Why are you acting so weird?"

"Quinn," Shauna says and her voice cracks as she speaks her name, "I need you."

Quinn bites the inside of her jaw at the words. She knows Shauna and unless they're arguing or in the heat of the moment, she would never admit to anything like that.

"Okay," Quinn breathes, "Okay, I'm coming."

"Okay," Shauna says.

Quinn ends the call and heads back into the bar. Francesca looks at her and Quinn feels like the biggest asshole on the planet.

"Something wrong?" Francesca asks.

"That was one of my old high school friends and she's going through some sort of crisis and needs me," Quinn says.