hello muppets happy wednesday!! welcome to this chapter woooo!! finished in the nick of time yeeha :)
big thanks to @/onthelasttrain (ao3) and @/sprnklersplashes (tumblr) for letting me steal the idea for janis' christmas gift for cady :D
okay tw forrr
touch of general angst
mentioned broken bones
mentioned homophobia/outing/etc.
panic attacks
and i think that's it!! but if i missed anything please let me know and i'll add it in :)
enjoy!!
—————
Janis snorts awake when her phone pings on her nightstand. She usually sets it to do not disturb before she falls asleep, but she must've forgotten to last night.
She gropes blindly around her nightstand until she feels the smooth silicone of her phone case and grabs it to see what's up. She almost clicks it back off and rolls over again when she sees it's just Damian, until she catches the photo he sent with it.
cupboard: Sent a photo: How does something so small take up so much bed
Janis smiles as she sees the photo of Cady sprawled across Damian's bed like a dropped marionette, limbs in every direction and strawberry blonde curls rumpled around her sweet face.
snarkisian: impressive of her tbh
cupboard: I am truly astounded
cupboard: U should come for breakfast
cupboard: Surprise her
snarkisian: ur mom home?
cupboard: Yea
snarkisian: like pancakes home?
cupboard: My mother is not ur personal pancake whore
snarkisian: i would never reduce nancy to that
snarkisian: how dare
snarkisian: but like
snarkisian: pancakes??
cupboard: Yes just come give your gf smth else to koala she's so hot
cupboard: She misses u anyway
cupboard: Dumbass
snarkisian: mhm
cupboard: What?
snarkisian: nothing
cupboard: Bitch
cupboard: I just found out y'all are together don't do this to me yet
cupboard: Let me be happy
snarkisian: is she with u ?
cupboard: No I escaped to go pee
snarkisian: ew
Janis calls him when the typing bubble appears again, before he can defend his natural bodily functions.
"You are not breaking up with that sweet angel." is Damian's greeting.
"No, of course not," Janis responds. "I... forget it, I'm being crazy."
"Bitch, if you weren't crazy in the psych ward you're not crazy now. Talk to me. Tell Mama Damian your troubles."
"Your mother calling you baby girl and you calling yourself mama is all a very rich tapestry that I'm not sure I care for," Janis says.
"Stop evading the question."
Janis snorts. "Evading? Look at you with your fifty dollar word."
"Bitch," Damian eloquently responds. "Seriously."
Janis knows when she's been caught. She inhales heavily and rubs her eyes, staring up at her ceiling. "Does... has she been different with you?"
"Diffe'n 'ow?" Damian responds around what is evidently a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Like... distant, I guess? I don't know," Janis sighs. "It's dumb."
Janis grimaces as she hears him spit out his toothpaste. "No it's not. Where is this coming from?"
"That's what's stupid," Janis mumbles. "I know I always say they're stupid and don't mean anything, but like... she didn't get me a candy cane. I got her one."
"Aww, babe, I would've gotten you one," Damian coos. Janis rolls her eyes.
"You are not my girlfriend. If you got me one I'd have stuck it up your nose."
"Gross," Damian responds.
"Hook your brain out with it like a mummy."
"What the fuck?"
"I don't know! I told you I was losing it," Janis replies. "Is it dumb I'm kind of upset?"
"No. Of course not," Damian scoffs. "I would be too. After you put such a touching note on hers."
"Shut up," Janis chuckles. "But seriously."
"No, that's... kinda shady of her," Damian replies.
"And every time I see her in public and try to talk to her she totally flips out. Even if there's nobody around. Like, I get that she doesn't wanna come out yet. That's fine, but like... when I came to check on her yesterday the first thing she said was like, 'There's people here!' and she seemed like she was actually... mad about it."
"I mean... fear makes people do weird things? She knows what happened to you, she probably just, y'know, wants to avoid something similar. She's still close to Regina."
"I guess. I feel like such a pussy," Janis sighs.
"I have never heard you use that word as a negative thing. Damn," Damian replies. Janis huffs a chuckle.
"It feels like she's... pulling away from me," she mumbles, pulling at a stray thread on her comforter. "I don't wanna lose her, Dame."
"Don't worry too much about that yet. I'm sure she's just worried about coming out. You know how North Shore is. The candy cane is a little shady, but maybe she just forgot. Now come eat, bitch."
"I'll be over in ten. Thanks, babe."
"Anytime, bitch."
Janis rolls her eyes as she hangs up and hauls herself out of bed to get dressed.
————
Janis smiles as she hops the fence into her neighbor's backyard and runs through it to the next street over. Sure, Cady's been acting a little weird, but that doesn't mean Janis can't be excited to see her.
She's knocking on Damian's door in seven minutes flat. His mom pulls it open, clad in a flour-covered apron that says Half Assed, All Good in a flourishing cursive font. She smiles as soon as she lays eyes on Janis and pulls her into a familiar embrace. "Hi, baby! Come in, Damian and that sweet Cady girl are in his room, you go right on in."
"Thanks, Ms. Hubbard," Janis says with a grin, squeezing her back before she heads to Damian's room. Ms. Hubbard goes back to the kitchen humming some country-ish song Janis surprisingly doesn't recognize. Her love for country music is her secret deepest shame.
Damian isn't there when Janis heads in, but she sees the light on in his bathroom. He must be doing his twelve-step Korean skincare routine he picked up from some regional drag queen on Instagram. He tried to get Janis on it too, but Janis barely has time for moisturizer.
Cady is still asleep in his bed, though, tucked into a precious little ball under the covers and her hair cascading angelically down her back. Janis smiles and crawls in to join her.
Cady snuffles consideringly when Janis gently kisses her neck, not quite woken up but starting to become a little more aware of the real world. "Psst."
"Mmph," Cady replies, nuzzling deeper under the covers. Janis chuckles and kisses her again.
"Caddy," she whispers. "It's morning."
"M'be f'r you," Cady grunts in reply.
"It's morning for everyone, dummy," Janis chuckles, gently tickling Cady's ribs. That gets her. Cady shrieks and lurches away, almost falling off the bed before Janis catches her and hauls her back. Cady's injured enough. "Boo."
Cady rolls over and brightens as soon as she sees her. "Janis!"
"Surprise," Janis chuckles, smiling as Cady burrows into her chest and kisses her sternum. "How's the foot?"
"Heavy," Cady says, grunting as she lifts it back onto the cushion Damian had provided to elevate it. "It's still pretty sore."
"I mean, you broke it. I'd be more concerned if it didn't hurt," Janis chuckles. "Dame's mom's a nurse, they always got the good Tylenol. You'll be cracked outta your mind by the end of breakfast."
Cady giggles and nods. "I missed you."
"I missed you too."
"How's Stevie?" Cady continues, playing with the neckline on Janis' shirt. Janis kisses her hair and peeks behind her. Why is Cady's phone lighting up so much?
"She's good. She loved seeing you yesterday. She made dad sign her up for that cheer camp thing in the spring as soon as he got home," Janis chuckles.
"Aww, yay," Cady coos. "I hope I'm back by then."
"I'm sure you will be," Janis promises. She perks up again, and Cady's phone is still going off like crazy. "Your phone looks like it's about to explode. What's going on?"
"What?" Cady responds. She rolls over to grab it and check it. She gets at least five notifications just as it's in her hand. Janis watches as she unlocks it and checks where they're coming from, and Cady's eyes bug out of her head. "Holy shit."
"What?" Janis asks, leaning in and resting her head on her shoulder.
"I got five hundred new followers on Instagram," Cady says in shock.
"That's like, our entire grade. More than," Janis replies. Cady nods hollowly.
"Everyone's liking my Kenya pictures and stuff," Cady continues, tilting her head curiously. Janis watches her scroll through her notifications tab, and through her Threads.
l.thurman: hope ur okay!!
dangitsdawn: Did Regina do that on purpose to trip her?
sophiekowachiiii: i was on the other side so i didn't see everything but i wouldn't be surprised
dangitsdawn: i was too. poor katie
weeweeweems: i'd hit that
aaronsamuels00: Ew dude knock it off. Feel better Cady <33
shaneOHMAN: regina ass lookin fat
glenncoco: 👀👀👀👀
rachelh_: omg @africady and @gwieners01 look like sisters in their costumes!! that picture was so cute!
Cady smiles faintly as she reads through all the people sending her well wishes, and even wider at all the memes people are already sharing of Regina's comically colossal costume problem. Janis snorts reading a couple over her shoulder.
"Should I post something?" Cady asks, turning to look at her. Janis shrugs. She has half this number of followers on her art page, let alone her personal one. How the hell should she know?
"If you want to. I dunno."
Cady swipes to her stories and hesitates on the default screen for a long time. Janis doesn't move, doesn't say anything.
Cady eventually snaps a quick photo of her holding out a thumbs-up in front of her casted foot resting on the cushion. She scans it for a long time, for anything identifiable as being Damian's. Janis assuages her that the cushion and bedsheets visible are from Pottery Barn and owned by half the mothers in the district, at least.
Cady adds a caption in the swirly cursive font reading, Thanks for all the love! She hesitates again before hitting the post button quickly and turning off her Instagram notifications to give her poor phone a break. Janis can't quite hold back a chuckle as it immediately starts vibrating so rapidly Cady's thumb can barely hit the button. Cady audibly exhales in relief when the torrent of messages and likes and comments stops.
"We good to go have breakfast now?" Janis hums, kissing her neck. Cady hunches her shoulder a little bit, so Janis backs off.
Cady opens her text messages and scrolls through several texts in the cheer team thread wishing her well, even though they're mostly the same people who commented on her Instagram. She swipes back out without saying anything, though Janis knows she can't leave any text unanswered for very long, and goes into her group and private threads with the Plastics.
"None of them have said anything," she says, sounding almost sad.
Janis chuckles. "Shock horror. Regina's probably busy trying to get her ass off the internet and Gretchen and Karen are too freaked to leave her side."
"I should text them," Cady says, thumbs poised ominously over the keyboard. Janis almost gags seeing the Regina 💕 at the top of the screen. She slaps Cady's phone out of her hands with a little more aggression than she intends. "Hey!"
"Listen, you don't wanna risk talking to Regina right now. She's been backed into a corner and she's gonna lash out at anything she can't control. She'll tear you to shreds, Caddy."
"I should at least make sure she's okay-"
"Caddy, we did this," Janis reminds her. She trembles as she carefully hands her phone back. For the first time, she almost doesn't recognize her girlfriend in front of her. It's new, and Janis certainly doesn't care for the feeling brewing in her gut. "This was part of the plan, remember? It's working. You know, getting payback, and all that?"
Cady considers this. "You're right. I guess she could've checked on me, too."
"They're not your friends," Janis says. "If they were they'd have at least noticed you broke your fucking ankle."
Cady nods. "Yeah."
Damian comes out of the bathroom then and screams at seeing Janis suddenly in his bed. Janis laughs and waves, and Cady giggles too. His mother calls them to the kitchen for breakfast, and Janis hauls her girlfriend up onto her back to carry her without a second thought to their conversation.
"Thank you," Cady says contently when Janis gently deposits her in her chair, leaning in for a kiss. Janis hesitates for the briefest of moments, conscious of Damian's mother watching them, before she leans in to return it.
"You're welcome, Peanut," she murmurs, pressing her lips against Cady's once more for good measure.
"Aww. Well aren't you two just as cute as can be. You look happier than a mosquito ordering a Bloody Mary!" Ms. Hubbard coos. Janis chuckles. Cady blinks as she tries to process what that means.
"There's no blood in Bloody Marys, is there?" she whispers to Janis. Janis laughs and kisses her again.
"No. She just uses a lot of figures of speech," she replies.
"Oh," Cady responds with a relieved nod. She wiggles happily when a large stack of pancakes is slid in front of them. "These look delicious."
"They are," Janis replies, immediately sliding as much of the stack as she can lift onto her plate and whacking Damian's hand away when he tries to steal one. "Mine."
"Hey now," Ms. Hubbard chuckles. "There's plenty for everybody, no need for bloodshed. And let Cady try some nice and warm, I want to hear what she thinks."
Everyone turns to Cady, who shrinks in on herself a little and shyly takes a bite. Janis watches intently. If Cady says anything less than these being the best pancakes she's ever tasted in her life their relationship may not survive.
"Holy shit," Cady breathes. She freezes when she remembers she's not alone in the wonderful pancake world she had been transported to. She smiles sheepishly when everyone laughs.
"That's what I like to hear. Dig in, baby," Damian's mother chuckles. Cady happily does so, smiling in relief. Janis chuckles and bats Damian away from the rest of the stack.
Janis relishes in the sweet, fluffy, airy, warm pancakes, blocking out the entire world around her except for the fork in her hand and the flavors on her tongue.
Until Cady gasps like she's been shot and starts coughing, having nearly choked herself on half-chewed pancake.
"Jesus, what happened?" Janis breathes, resting a hand over her racing heart.
"I forgot to tell my parents!" Cady replies frantically.
Janis blinks at her. "You didn't tell your parents you broke your ankle?"
"No! I totally forgot! They're gonna kill me, they get back this afternoon!"
"Just tell 'em now, it'll be okay," Damian shrugs.
Cady groans and rests her head on the counter.
"Would you rather they find out in person?" Janis asks, spearing another slice of pancake on her fork and putting it in her mouth. Cady snaps her head up.
"Damian, can you pretty please go get my phone?" she begs immediately.
"On it," Damian chuckles. He slides off his chair and returns in remarkable time with Cady's phone. Cady takes it with a nervous, shuddering sigh as she unlocks it and swipes through to her dad's contact. She shivers when she passes her mom's on the way.
Janis watches as she hesitates on the call button before she presses it and puts her phone to her ear. Cady absently reaches out and takes Janis' hand, clinging to it desperately as it rings. Janis gives a little squeeze she hopes is comforting, and Cady gives her a thankful little grin.
"He must be driving, he's not picking- heeeeey, daddy!" Cady greets with a nervous chuckle. Janis listens to the garbled speech on the other end, but can't make out any of the words. "Oh, yeah, uh... I'm fine. Hey, are you driving?" Cady bites her lip. "Is mom? Okay, you promise? At a rest stop, nobody's in the car?"
Cady inhales as she apparently gets confirmation.
"Okay. Before I tell you, it's totally okay, I got it figured out and I'm fine," she says.
Janis can actually make out the blunt, "What." on the other end.
"I broke my ankle at the parade," Cady says. She winces and pulls her phone away from her ear briefly. "I said it's okay! My..." she looks at Janis and hesitates before she continues. "My friends took me to the hospital, I got scans and a cast and crutches. I'm fine! It wasn't even a bad break! No, I'm at Damian's house, his mom let me sleep over. I'll be home when you are. No speeding, I'm really okay. His mom is a nurse, she's taking great care of me. Yes, I'm sure. Yes, I'm sure I'm sure. I'm fine! Okay, I'll see you when you get home. I love you too. Bye."
Janis smiles as Cady hangs up the phone and immediately melts into her with a groan. Janis rubs her back and lets Cady cling to her. "See, not so bad."
"You didn't hear him," Cady grumbles. "I'm not gonna be able to stay home alone for the rest of the decade."
"He'll calm down once he hears the whole story," Janis comforts. "...Well, maybe not the whole story."
Cady giggles. "Maybe not."
Janis presses her lips out, and Cady gives her a sweet kiss.
"I'm eating, here," Damian whines, hiding behind one of his pancakes. Cady peeks around Janis' head and giggles.
"Sorry, Dame."
"You kissed Janis, baby girl, don't you understand why she wants to?" Damian's mother chuckles teasingly.
Cady inhales roughly a swimming pool's worth of air in a millisecond and coughs out a, "What?!"
"Ma!" Damian pleads. Janis freezes.
"No, no, hold on," Cady continues, breaking into fits of giggles. Janis groans and slams her head into the counter. "You guys kissed?"
"We were twelve!" Janis yells into the granite.
"Aww," Cady coos, stroking Janis' hair away from her face with a giggle. "That's so cute."
Janis groans, and Damian echoes her.
"Oh come on, I totally humiliated myself in front of both of you yesterday, this is only fair," Cady chuckles.
"You didn't mean to break your ankle," Janis insists, lifting her head up to glare between her girlfriend and her best friend. "We did mean to kiss, and then we swore to never tell anyone or bring it up again, Damian."
"I told my mother that in confidence," Damian retaliates, glaring daggers at his mother. Ms. Hubbard holds her hands up in surrender.
"Sorry, sorry. Y'all got me more nervous than a blowfish in a basement full of balloons, goodness gracious. It's a cute story, baby girl," she says.
Janis and Damian both scowl at each other. Cady laughs and leans in to kiss Janis' cheek. "It is really cute."
"Okay, we can be done with this now!" Damian insists. Cady giggles again.
"'Course, they looked even more like siblings then," Ms. Hubbard continues. Damian and Janis both gasp, and Cady starts laughing so hard she nearly falls off her stool.
"Ma!"
————-
Four days later is Christmas. Janis spends it with her family, opening gifts with her sister in the morning and helping her dad make dinner for the rest of the day.
She spends the whole time thinking about Cady. She's so lost in her head she nearly loses a finger preparing the potatoes to boil and mash.
"Easy, Edward," her dad says, guiding the knife away from her appendages. Janis chuckles sheepishly. "You alright, little fig?"
"Yeah, sorry," Janis breathes, puffing some hair out of her face and sighing when it falls right back over her eyes.
"You sure? You haven't almost lost a finger to Christmas dinner in a few years."
Janis nods. "I'm just thinking."
"Care to elucidate?" her dad hums, taking another potato to peel.
"Alright, lawyer," Janis snorts. Her dad gently elbows her. "Watch it, I already almost lost a finger to these damn potatoes."
"Hey, no swearing. It's Jesus' birthday."
"No it's not," Janis laughs again. "When have you ever cared about Jesus anyway?"
"Hey, he was a cool guy for the most part. Carpenter. I always liked woodworking. Now seriously. More talky, less... losing fingers-y."
Janis sighs and adds more potato chunks to the pot of water. "...Cady and I are dating."
"Alright," her dad hums proudly. "Good for you, rock star."
Janis smiles and nods. "Yeah."
"That everything you want to tell me?" he asks softly.
Janis shrugs.
"It's alright if it is. You're sixteen, you're allowed to have secrets."
"...Do you ever think about mom?" Janis asks quietly.
"Every day," her dad responds just as softly. "Why?"
Janis shrugs again. "I dunno. I just... wonder sometimes. About what it might've been like if she was still here. If she... took it different."
"Janis, it wasn't your fault," her dad begins.
"I know, I know," Janis sighs. "I just... I miss her, dad. It's weird only having one parent to tell about my first girlfriend."
Her dad looks like he doesn't totally understand, but he nods. "I can do a killer falsetto and borrow Stevie's Halloween wig if you wanna try that."
Janis laughs. "No, it's okay. I just... I dunno, I think she really would've liked Cady. In another timeline."
"I'm sure she would," her dad agrees. "I'm sorry it didn't work out that way."
"Me too," Janis says, trying to blame the tears blurring her vision on the onions her dad is cutting for the dressing.
"I do like to think that even in this world she'd be glad you're happy," her dad offers. Janis can only nod. "And for the record, I am. Can say that for sure. Cady's a sweet girl."
Janis nods again, this time with a soft smile. "Yeah. She is."
"No more closing your door when she's over, though."
"Ah, man, c'mon. Not like I'm getting pregnant," Janis teases. Her dad laughs.
"If you wanted to, you'd figure out some way to, I'm sure of it." Janis tilts her head in agreement. "Give me another ten years or so before that announcement, please."
"Happily," Janis laughs.
"And for now, chop chop. Literally. I think Stevie's melting in the living room over there, we gotta eat soon."
Janis chuckles. "Yes, sir."
"Don't do that. Gross."
————
Janis' phone pings as she's brushing her teeth. She leaves her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth as she checks it, and smiles so big some foam dribbles down her chin when she sees it's from her girlfriend. She swears and spits and wipes her chin with a towel before she unlocks her phone.
cadygirl: Merry Christmas baby 🥰😘🎄
corndog: merry christmas butterfly
corndog: get everything you wanted?
cadygirl: No.
corndog: damn okay
corndog: what's missing
cadygirl: Youuuu
Janis chokes on her mouthwash.
corndog: you little sap
cadygirl: Hehehe
cadygirl: But seriously
cadygirl: I miss you
corndog: i miss you too
cadygirl: Would your dad let you come over tomorrow?
cadygirl: My family is leaving in the afternoon you could come after that
corndog: let me ask
corndog: ms velcro
cadygirl: Hey :(
Janis chuckles at her phone as she leaves the bathroom and bumps directly into her dad. "Aah! Hey, Papa."
"Not a crash dummy, Janis."
"Sorry. Hey, can I go to Cady's tomorrow night? Just for a bit?"
"Christmas canoodling?" her dad asks. Janis rolls her eyes.
"Yes, that's just it. I didn't get a gift I have to give her or anything," she chuckles.
"Yes, you can go if her people are okay with it. Just be responsible. What do you kids say? You are not immune?"
"To what?" Janis asks.
"STI's. Just because you're both girls-"
"Goodnight!" Janis yells immediately, running to her room before he can continue. She leaps onto her bed and pulls her phone out from underneath her.
corndog: yeah i can come
cadygirl: Good!
cadygirl: I can give you your present :D
corndog: aww
cadygirl: Fiveish tomorrow then??
corndog: sounds tits
cadygirl: Yaaaay 🥰🥰🥰
cadygirl: I'll see you tomorrow
corndog: see you tomorrow 😘😘
corndog: goodnight peanut
cadygirl: Sent a photo: Goodnight <3
Janis smiles at the picture of Cady in bed, covers pulled up to her nose and her eyes crinkled with a smile. Janis can just see one of her shoulders and grins even wider when she sees she's wearing the holiday pajamas Janis got her.
She clicks her own phone off and rolls over to drift off to sleep with a smile on her face.
————-
She's knocking on Cady's door at five sharp. Cady's mom pulls it open. "Janis, hi, dear. Come in, get out of the cold. Cady's just-"
"Janis!"
Janis peeks around Cady's mom and smiles as she sees Cady rapidly clicking down the hall towards her on her crutches. Cady's mom smiles too and returns to the kitchen. Cady continues going top speed until she stands in front of Janis.
"Hi," Cady greets breathlessly.
"Hi," Janis whispers back, stroking some of Cady's hair behind her ear and leaning in for a kiss. Cady eagerly returns it, pressing as close as she can on her one foot and abandoning her crutches against the wall to wind her arms around Janis' neck.
"I missed you," Cady murmurs when they break apart. "Did you have a good Christmas?"
Janis smiles and kisses her again. Cady hums happily and smiles against her lips. "I did. Brought you some cookies."
"Aww, thanks," Cady says, balancing on one foot to take the bag of cookies Stevie picked and packed up special for Cady and her family. Janis briefly takes them back so Cady can grab her crutches and slowly hobble down the hall towards the living room. Janis leaves the cookies on the kitchen counter and follows her.
There's a fire roaring in the fireplace, and Cady was apparently mid-Christmas movie. She settles in on the couch and huddles up underneath a fuzzy blanket, reaching for Janis to join her.
"Polar Express? Classic," Janis comments when she sees the paused movie on the TV.
"It looked cute," Cady shrugs, cuddling into Janis when she sits next to her on the couch.
"It's one of my favorites," Janis agrees. "Used to watch it every year as a kid."
"You must've been so cute when you were little," Cady comments wistfully, brushing a stray hair away from Janis' forehead and leaning in to kiss it. Janis smiles as Cady's warm, soft lips brush against her face and squeezes her girlfriend close when Cady nuzzles into her.
"I know for a fact you were cute when you were a kid too," she murmurs. "You still are."
She feels Cady huff a little laugh and smile against her chest. "You're cuter."
"Nah," Janis teases. Cady gently pokes her finger into Janis' side, and laughs when Janis squeals sharply. "Hey now."
"See? Cute," Cady replies. Janis feels herself blush. Cady giggles and wiggles a little higher to cuddle against Janis' shoulder.
They're quiet for a long time, just feeling the warmth of the other pressed against them and inhaling the comforting scent of their love and the wood burning in the fire nearby.
"This is familiar," Janis hums contently after a while. Cady chuckles.
"Yeah. You're a good pillow," she replies.
"Anything's a good pillow for you. You could sleep standing up," Janis teases.
"Hey!" Cady giggles. She considers it. "Yeah, I probably could."
"If you could stand in the first place."
"Yeah," Cady sighs, looking down at her pink foot.
"You will soon. It's already been a week," Janis offers as some weak semblance of comfort. Cady draws little shapes on her sternum and nods.
"Five left," she sighs. Janis pouts seeing her beloved girlfriend so upset.
"The doctor said you'd be good as new once that's up. Back to being a little jumping bean," she replies. "Terrifying me from ten feet in the air."
Cady finally smiles. "I'm always worried when you tackle people."
"I think I win," Janis chuckles. "I'm much less likely to get hurt than you are from doing flips above Damian's head."
"He's a good base! He's never dropped me. Even when I mess up," Cady giggles.
"He's never dropped you yet," Janis chuckles. Cady gently flicks her chin.
"Meanie."
"Would your present make you feel better?" Janis chuckles.
She feels Cady perk up beneath her hands and groans quietly as she sits upright, pulling Janis to follow. Janis pulls the small box out of her jacket pocket and hands it to her. Cady eyes her warily as she holds what's clearly some kind of jewelry box in her hands. Janis was afraid of this.
"It's nothing crazy," she explains, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. "I just saw it and thought you'd like it. But uh... I know it might be kinda early to be giving jewelry. And I don't know how into it you are. So if you don't like it I'll just uh... take it back, I guess. Pick something else."
"You promise it wasn't expensive?" Cady asks, looking at her with those wide blue-green eyes that could easily convince Janis to sell her soul to get her whatever she wanted.
"Promise. Cross my heart and whatnot," she replies. Cady smiles her sweet smile and flips the lid on the box. Janis feels her insides practically melt with relief at the awed gasp she gives at what she finds inside.
"Oh, Janis," she whispers shakily. "It's beautiful."
"You like it?" Janis replies hesitantly. Cady nods eagerly and wipes away a few tears that were brimming in her eyes.
"I love it. It's perfect," she murmurs. Janis watches proudly as she carefully lifts the gold charm to inspect, in the shape of an outline of Africa with a little heart dangling in the empty space in the middle.
Cady throws herself at her, winding her arms around her neck for a tight hug and kissing her shoulder. Janis squeezes her close, content to hold her for... forever, she supposes.
"Thank you," Cady whispers thickly, muffled against Janis' neck. Janis shivers a little as her warm breath brushes her sensitive skin and gently draws circles around part of Cady's spine.
"You're welcome," she murmurs. "I'm glad you like it."
"I love it," Cady insists. "Will you help me put it on?"
Janis nods, taking the necklace out of its box and gently brushing Cady's thick curls out of the way. She can see Cady smiling as she carefully drapes it against her chest and fastens the clasp behind her. "There."
"What do you think?" Cady asks, turning back to look at her and fluffing her hair back where it falls naturally.
Janis smiles and looks her right in the eye when she whispers, "Beautiful."
Cady grins again and winds her arms back around Janis. Janis smiles at feeling the comforting, familiar weight of her girlfriend's toned arms on her shoulders as Cady leans in for a kiss. Janis tilts her head the slightest bit so their noses don't bump and gently slides her hands to Cady's waist.
Cady tugs gently, until Janis is practically lying on top of her. Neither of them complain. Janis holds herself up on her elbows so she doesn't crush her and is somehow still mindful enough to be very careful of Cady's injured foot. Beyond that, they lose themselves, eyes closed and the world beyond each other completely faded into obscurity.
Janis can practically feel the three little words floating around in her mouth, and the urge to say them grows with every content noise Cady allows to slip from her throat or little smile Janis can feel as their lips meet again and again.
But it's too soon to say them out loud, no matter how loud they are in her head. So she leans in a little harder, runs her hand through Cady's hair a little slower, smiles a little wider, and hopes Cady understands.
"I forgot yours," Cady gasps breathlessly when they finally break apart. Janis chuckles, and can't resist kissing her one more time.
"I can't say as I blame you," she replies.
"Mm," Cady hums with a sweet giggle. "It's over there, can you get it?"
Janis nods and slowly peels herself away, grabbing the little gift bag from the hearth so Cady doesn't have to sort out her crutches to walk four steps.
"Don't laugh," Cady says as soon as Janis sits back down next to her. Janis looks up in surprise, her hand frozen on the tissue paper she was preparing to pull out.
"What?"
"Don't laugh," Cady repeats, if anything, quieter than the first time. She looks away and fiddles with her hands.
"I would never," Janis promises. She carefully removes the tissue paper and reaches into the bag. She smiles when she pulls her hand back out and reveals... a bee. Two, in fact.
One of them is rainbow colored, and the other is blue, yellow, and pink. They have slightly lopsided smiles stitched on their fat little faces and the rainbow one's wings are ever so slightly askew. Janis smiles as she squishes the other one. "They're so cute. Did you make these?"
Cady nods sheepishly. "I'm learning how to crochet. They're supposed to be us."
"I love them," Janis says, blinking away a little mistiness and smiling at her new miniature plush friends. "You did so good, Peanut."
"Really?" Cady asks quietly. Janis nods.
"I love them. I'm gonna put 'em on my shelf," she says. Cady beams. Janis lets Cady take them back and lean back against her, cradling her girlfriend in the hollow of her body and peeking over her shoulder as Cady explains how she made their new little bee friends.
Janis smiles as she explains how she miscounted the stitches for the wings but decided they added character, and how long it took her to figure out how to add the button eyes, which are also slightly lopsided.
Janis freezes when she hears footsteps, and Cady's parents are suddenly in the living room. Cady sits bolt upright and tries to stuff the bees into the couch, but she's not quick enough. Janis slowly sits up after her and stares firmly down at her lap.
"Don't stop on our account," Cady's father says. Janis looks up in shock, and she feels Cady startle a bit next to her.
"W-what?" Cady replies. "You're not... you're not mad?"
"Are you happy?" her mother replies quietly. Cady looks at Janis, then back at her parents. She nods. Janis squeezes her hand when she sees her lip quiver and a tear slip down her cheek. "Then how could we be mad, binti?"
Janis has been frozen and silent the whole time. She looks between all the parties present and slowly shifts, the couch creaking underneath her. "...I should go."
She gets the opposite of what she wanted when all three of them turn to look at her. "Are you sure?"
Janis pauses. This seems personal, but nobody seems to mind that she's there, either. "I... um..."
"It's okay, Jay," Cady whispers. Janis nods and settles ever so slightly. Cady squeezes her hand, and she squeezes back. Cady turns to her parents. "I... I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."
"It's alright, Monkey," her dad says with a bittersweet smile. "We've only been here a few months. I'm sure this has taken a lot of thought on your part. Growing up as socially stifled as you were can't have made a process like this easy."
Cady rolls her eyes. "You can say that again."
"We're sorry if we ever made you feel that you couldn't be yourself in this house. And that goes for both of you," Cady's mother continues.
"No," Janis chokes immediately, the word barely audible around the thick lump in her throat. "No, it wasn't that. I-I just wanted her to be safe."
Cady smiles at her, but there's something sad behind it too. Something apologetic, sympathetic, bordering on pitying. Janis knows exactly why.
She hates it.
"We appreciate that," Cady's father says. "If you really need to go, would it be alright if I drove you? I think it's snowing again. Wouldn't want you freezing to death on the way."
Janis hesitates. Being alone in tight quarters with her girlfriend's father after they've just been discovered to be dating is not the most pleasant idea at the moment, but neither is walking the whole way home in this weather. She nods shakily. Cady's dad shoots her a fatherly grin and a nod.
"Can we have a minute?" Cady asks quietly. Her parents nod, as if to say, 'Of course!' and usher them into the hall. Cady clicks slowly after Janis and rests her crutches against the wall to pull her into an embrace as soon as they're alone again. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea they were there."
"It's not your fault," Janis replies thickly.
"Are you okay?" Cady asks in concern, holding Janis' face between her small hands and stroking her thumbs over her cheeks. Janis nods, and Cady smiles at her sadly. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Janis says.
"Do you want me to go with you?"
Janis shakes her head. "You go watch your movie. I'll be okay, I promise."
Cady looks at her intently, scanning her face for any hint of falsehood. Janis knows she probably looks a mess, but she's not lying. Cady nods after a long beat. "Okay."
She pulls Janis down into a kiss, which Janis happily returns.
"Bye, baby. Merry Christmas," Cady whispers.
"Merry Christmas, Peanut," Janis whispers back. "Bye."
"Oh, your bees!" Cady gasps, hobbling down the hall as fast as she can to get them. She's blocked by her dad, bees already in hand.
"I got 'em. Figured these were for her," he chuckles. "Janis, you ready?"
"Yeah. Thanks," Janis says, coughing a bit to clear her throat and surreptitiously wiping her nose and eyes. Cady waves over her dad's shoulder, and Janis waves back before she follows him out into the frigid December air.
Janis isn't totally sure where to sit in this situation, but she decides she'd feel safest in the passenger seat. Cady's dad takes a few tries to turn the car on and they have an awkward wait for the engine to warm up before he backs out of the driveway and starts the drive to Janis' house at a snail's pace.
"Can you navigate for me?" he asks, and Janis jumps a little.
"Uh, yeah. Left here," she says.
Cady's dad makes the turn. "Can I ask you a few things?"
Please, god, no. "Sure."
"How long have you been with her?" he asks quietly. Janis dares to take a glance over and sees him gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles are almost white. She can't tell if it's because of the weather or their conversation.
"Um... a little over a month," she replies. "We had an away game before Thanksgiving and we got roomed together. She kissed me that night and we decided to give dating a try."
He nods. "She kissed you?"
Janis nods. He chuckles.
"Sounds like her. Does she treat you well?"
"What?" Janis replies, blinking harder as if that'll somehow clear out her ears.
"Does she treat you well? With respect, care? I won't say love yet, I don't know how long you kids wait to do that now," he explains.
"Um... yeah," Janis replies awkwardly. "She's... uh- never mind."
"Janis, this is my daughter. Please answer me honestly. Her mother and I need to have a talk with her about this anyway, I'd really like to know just what I have to talk to her about."
Janis purses her lips. "She's... afraid, I guess. People at school don't exactly take kindly to queer people. We've been hiding from everyone except our friend Damian since we got together. Which I'm okay with. I know firsthand what the others are like. I never want her to be subjected to that. But I think sometimes she's on edge when she doesn't need to be. But that's not something I can fault her for."
Cady's dad nods thoughtfully. "Thank you. I can only hope I'm doing this right by the both of you. She's my only child, and she's never had a girlfriend before."
"No she's not," Janis says before she can stop herself.
"What?"
"She told me about Caleb," Janis mumbles. "I know you guys don't like to talk about him. But beyond whatever she tells you tonight about her sexuality, just treat her like you would've treated him when he brought home his first girlfriend. It's really not any different. You don't have to make it into something none of you want it to be." She hastily tacks on, "But you've done great so far. I know she was really scared to tell you. She's really relieved you guys are cool with it."
It's silent for a long moment. Janis is terrified she's overstepped bringing up the man's dead son, and that she'll be literally kicked to the curb and banned from ever seeing Cady again. She fiddles with the wing of a bee and looks firmly into its beady little eyes.
"...I appreciate that," Cady's dad says quietly. He clears his throat. "Uh, Betsy... is the one who doesn't like to talk about Caleb. I'm glad Cady's told you about him. And you're right, just because you're not a boy and my expectations haven't been met perfectly to the letter doesn't mean I should treat her any differently."
Janis nods.
"Things will be different the next time you come over, but I hope you know it's a safe place for you if you ever need one," he continues quietly. "We were always glad Cady had you as a friend. If anything, this is a step up."
The lump returns to Janis' throat quick enough she almost chokes on it. She nods and says, "Thanks." to the best of her ability. He nods back.
"Dad conversation sufficiently awkward?" he asks. Janis chokes out a laugh and nods. "Then I've done my job. This it?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Mr. Heron."
"No problem, Janis. Merry Christmas," he replies.
"Merry Christmas," Janis echoes. He waits in the driveway to make sure she gets in safely. Janis enters with a bee in each hand and runs to find her dad.
She throws her arms around him, clutching the bees in a vice grip, and breaks down in tears.
————
Once Janis has a weird, emotional moment with her dad and then slowly calms down, she texts Cady to let her know she got home safely and asks her to thank her dad for the ride. Refried Beans settles in on her chest after making some particularly painful biscuits and purrs soothingly while Janis and Cady talk on the phone.
Janis normally loathes phone calls, but hearing Cady's sweet, sleepy voice crackle through her phone speakers makes everything better.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Cady greets as soon as they connect. Janis smiles and gently scritches behind Beanie's ear with her index finger.
"Yeah. Are you? How did it go?" she replies.
"Good, I think," Cady says with a gentle sigh.
Janis can hear a rustling, and imagines Cady shifting in her pink bed. Maybe she's on her back like Janis, staring at the ceiling. Or maybe she's on her side. Janis can almost feel her tucked against her, her warm breath against her neck. She smiles to herself.
"My mom and I talked while you guys were gone. She had a lot of questions, but uh... she was fine with it. She said I picked a good one."
"Maternal approval!" Janis cheers, startling the cat awake and earning herself a sleepy glare. She hears Cady's sweet laugh on the other end and smiles, more proud of that than even getting the approval of her girlfriend's parents.
Cady giggles for a little longer before Janis hears her take a deep breath. "Did my dad totally torture you?"
"No, he was fine," Janis chuckles. "It was awkward, but he just wanted to know how to handle it and stuff."
"Of course he'd ask you," Cady snorts. Janis can almost hear her rolling her eyes.
"It was kinda cute. I wanted to leap out the window at the time, but he was just worried about you."
"He's always worried," Cady sighs affectionately. "What did you tell him?"
"Told him we were gonna run away and get married in Vegas and I'd have you knocked up before your feet hit the ground."
"Janis!" Cady gasps. Janis chuckles at her scandalized tone.
"I'm kidding. I told him to talk to you and get everything on the table, and beyond that to just... treat you like he would've treated Caleb bringing a girl home."
Cady is quiet for a long moment. "...You guys talked about Caleb?"
"A little. I brought him up and thought I was about to be banished from seeing you ever again. But he... uh, he said he hadn't thought of it like that and that I was right. And that your mom is the one who doesn't like to bring him up," Janis replies quietly, almost embarrassed.
"That doesn't make any sense," Cady murmurs, clearly to herself. Janis doesn't say anything. She hears another rustling, presumably Cady shaking her head to clear it. "Anyway, that's not important right now. Are you really sure you're okay? You looked like you were about to cry. I was really worried."
"I was," Janis admits with a snort. "But yeah, Peanut, I'm fine. Had a panic attack with my dad when I got home, but it's all good now."
"You what?! Oh, baby," Cady coos sadly.
"I'm fine, Cupcake, you don't have to worry."
"Of course I do," Cady replies immediately. "You had a panic attack because of me."
"No, I had a panic attack because of my mother," Janis chuckles sardonically. "It was just some... y'know, not-the-best memories being dragged up. Not your fault."
"I still feel bad," Cady mumbles.
"Well, don't."
Cady giggles. "It's not that easy, goofy."
"I've told you a million times it's fine, Peanut. I got my catharsis on and all that. Feel good now. Probably was due for one anyway. And today should be happy for you, you're officially out to your parents and they both took it well. Don't let my mommy issues drag your day down, boo."
"That sounds weird coming from anyone but Damian," is Cady's immediate response. Janis laughs.
"Yeah, it felt wrong," she replies, and Cady giggles too.
"I'm really glad you're okay," she says quietly.
"I am. Are you sure you're okay?" Janis replies in the same tone. Cady's quiet for a long moment before she bursts into tears. Janis can hear her heaving sobs through the speaker, and the first one is enough for Janis to almost pull her shoes on and go running to comfort her. "Oh, honey."
"Sorry," Cady sobs. "I... I'm just so relieved, I-I-I don't know. It's a co-common thing with the- the animals, but it... I didn't... I was-was afraid of-of what they'd think about-bout it with me spe-specifically, you know? I didn't-didn't think they'd, like kick-kick me out or anything, but... I don't know."
"It can make things weird for some people," Janis offers.
"Yeah," Cady sniffles.
"I'm happy for you. Proud of you," Janis continues softly.
"Thank you," Cady replies with another small sniff. "Sorry. Today was a lot, and then... hearing about Caleb, and I think I might be getting my period."
"Oh, woof," Janis replies immediately, and Cady gives a watery laugh.
It's followed with a shaky inhale before Cady continues, "I miss him. He would've been the first one I told."
"He sounds great," Janis says quietly.
"He was. He would've loved you," Cady says softly. She giggles. "And he would've teased me so much."
"Teased you? How mean," Janis replies with a gently joking tone.
"God, I can almost hear it," Cady giggles again. Her voice lowers in an impression of her brother's, and Janis wonders how close it is to what he would've really sounded like. "'Man, Sprout, she's way out of your league. How'd you do that?'"
"I'm out of your league?" Janis cackles immediately.
"Totally."
"No way," Janis scoffs.
"I may be a popular cheerleader, but you're like, super hot, babe. If your social life had gone a slightly different direction you'd be running the whole school. Maybe the city."
"Shut up," Janis huffs, feeling herself blush.
Cady chuckles. "Are you blushing?"
"No."
"Hehe, yes you are," Cady teases. "You always blush when I'm nice to you."
"This isn't nice. This is bullying with compliments."
"Oh, please," Cady giggles. Janis can't help but chuckle too.
"But for the record, you're totally the one out of my league."
"Well, then we'll just have to agree to disagree," Cady replies with a smile in her voice.
Janis smiles like a dope at her ceiling. Suddenly, every little odd thing, every shady thing that's made Janis question what Cady really felt for her is out the window. What does it matter? She can hear Cady breathe through the phone, can easily close her eyes and imagine it's her warm body next to her, maybe her strawberry blonde head resting on her stomach instead of Beanie's fat little body. That's what matters. Damian was right. Cady's just anxious.
Cady yawns and snaps Janis out of her floaty daydream sort of state. "Tired?"
"Mm. Yeah," Cady responds with that sleepy little growl in her voice. Janis sighs quietly hearing it. So cute.
"Figures. Exhausting day," she replies with a small chuckle. Cady huffs a laugh too.
"You can say that again."
"You should get some sleep, Peanut," she says quietly, fiddling with the cat's tail and nearly getting some teeth marks in her hand for her efforts.
Cady sighs quietly. "Will you stay?"
"On the call?" Janis asks.
"Yeah. Just 'til I fall asleep? It's nice knowing you're there," Cady says shyly.
Janis smiles. "Yeah, of course. I like it too."
"Oh, good," Cady says, relief audible in her voice. "It feels creepy to be all like, 'I like listening to you breeeeeathe.'"
Janis laughs, and finally scares the cat off. She takes advantage of the situation to roll onto her side. "Maybe don't phrase it like that. But I like it too."
"Good," Cady says. She groans sleepily, like she's stretching one last time before getting cozy. "Goodnight, baby."
"Goodnight, Peanut," Janis responds softly. She rests the phone on her pillow next to her and drifts off herself, lulled by the steady rhythm of Cady's staticky breathing.
—————
The next days are the weird liminal-space-type blur between Christmas and New Year's. Janis spends it playing their new board games with Stevie and her dad, struggling through and then eventually ignoring her homework, and gorging herself on Christmas dinner leftovers and spare cookies.
New Year's is the same terrifying reminder of the passage of time it always is. She and Stevie split a bottle of sparkling grape juice and stay up until midnight with their dad, who starts belting along with Frank Sinatra as soon as the ball drops. Janis ducks out soon after to call Cady and share a New Year's kiss over FaceTime. Cady falls asleep after less than twenty minutes, so Janis wishes her sweet dreams and hangs up to go spend more time with her family.
The real world hits on the third. The holidays are over, and it's time to go back to school. Janis barely managed to finish all her winter break homework the day before, and slugs through the front doors in the morning with a huge thermos full of coffee. The only thing that actually got her out of bed was a selfie Cady sent that morning, showing off her new necklace and sweet smile with a message reading, Thinking of you <33 that made Janis blush harder than it should've.
She's so exhausted that the din of chatter echoing through the halls may well be in French for all that she can put together. It's never anything interesting, anyway, just everyone talking about what they got for the holidays or a rager of a Christmas party they went to or some family drama that's only interesting to them.
Janis slugs her way to math with Damian and groans as she sits down in her seat. It's still dark outside, and the temptation to sneak back home and go back to bed is steadily growing.
She can physically feel some of the exhaustion leaving her body when she hears someone behind her mention Cady's name. She tries not to actually snap her head up, though her ears perked up like a dog as soon as they heard the whispered Cady Heron.
"And the poor thing is on crutches! Regina totally tripped her on purpose!"
"I heard Cady's whole ankle shattered and she might never walk again."
"I heard Regina had been planning it for months."
"Yeah, me too. And when did Regina get so fat?"
"Who cares? Did you see Cady in her costume? She was so cute! She actually looked like an elf."
"Should I dye my hair red?"
Janis looks at Damian. He warily looks back. They both love Cady, but they also both know this is bound to be dangerous. They know the power of words, and while insults are dangerous, compliments are worse. As Damian once said, they're more addictive than opioids and Girl Scout Thin Mints™ combined.
—-
The gossip continues throughout the day. Cady barely makes it to her table at lunch, trying to navigate through a crowd of newly adoring fans swarming her like bees to their queen, asking questions and to sign her cast and wishing her well. Janis and Damian watch from their own table as Cady's cast gradually gets covered with more and more black ink.
Suddenly, a hush falls over the lunchroom. All chatter goes mute. Janis knowingly looks to the entrance, and sure enough, Regina George stands there. In sweatpants.
She looms as tall and proud as always as she struts her way across the cafeteria to her table, the crowds parting for her like the red sea and avoiding eye contact.
Regina drops her tray onto the table with a clatter. "Honestly, I was not the most embarrassing part of that parade. Did you see-"
"I'm sorry Regina. You can't sit with us," Gretchen interrupts quietly.
The tension is palpable. Janis actually finds herself holding her breath before she remembers she only actually gives seven shades of shit about one of the people over there.
Regina huffs. "What do you mean? Move over."
"You're wearing sweatpants. It's Monday," Gretchen explains curtly.
"And?"
"And that's against the rules, and you can't sit with us."
"Whatever, those rules aren't real," Regina scoffs.
Karen looks up from her pizza. "They were real that day I wore a vest!"
"Because that vest was disgusting!" Regina retaliates. It was, but Janis decided she liked it when Regina made it painfully clear she didn't.
Regina is growing visibly growing frantic as things continue. Janis shifts her gaze to Cady, and finds her gnawing anxiously on her thumbnail as she watches everything go down. She looks so small. Janis wishes she could just go scoop her up and eat behind the bleachers again.
Gretchen, surprising literally everyone down to the lunch ladies, slams her hands on the table and stands up with a bellowed, "You can't sit with us!"
She suddenly realizes what she's just done and returns to her normal kicked puppy state, cowering into Karen's side while the other girl simply blinks in shock at absolutely nothing and gives her some vaguely comforting pats on the shoulder.
Gretchen whimpers, "You can't sit with us! You-you can't sit with us." on repeat a few times before it all goes silent. Nobody moves.
Nobody
even
breathes.
"What do you think, Cady?" Gretchen asks suddenly. 450 sets of eyes suddenly land on the redhead standing frozen in the middle of the room.
Cady freezes and looks around in panic for a long, long moment before she takes a deep breath, and says, "...Rules are rules."
Regina tilts her head consideringly for a moment before she bites her lip and says, "Fine. You can walk home, bitches."
She struts her way back out of the cafeteria, head held high even though Janis can see she's dying inside. She gets a sick little thrill that runs through her at the hardened look in Regina's icy blue eyes.
It takes a solid minute for anyone to dare to move when Regina's (much larger) rear end is completely out of sight. Janis shrugs and returns to her chowder.
She has her spoon firmly in her mouth when Regina comes back, and leaves it there as she returns to the table with much less fanfare. Janis snorts and almost chokes when she grabs a box of Kälteens.
"I forgot these."
Cady blinks at her, and looks almost pitying. Janis scowls with her spoon still in her mouth. "...Regina, I'm sorry this had to happen."
"What had to happen? I'm not dead, I'll see you at practice in three hours," Regina replies with a scowl. She gets right in Cady's face, so close they're almost touching and continues, "Enjoy your three hours."
Cady gulps, but otherwise gives no reaction to the terrifying but desperate display she was just unwittingly made to be a part of. Regina leaves for good this time, and Janis looks away when she sees Cady start to celebrate with Karen and Gretchen.
She has a strange ache in her gut.
But it's probably nothing.
—————-
thank you for reading!
arbitrary note for fun lol: i mentioned a few chapters ago who i've been imagining as i'm writing these versions of the characters and i'd just like to say now. that's all out the window. cady flips constantly between danie and erika and briefly angourie (who actually played a cheerleader in a movie so that gave me brainrot for two days lol). janis is pretty consistently lindsay and damian is still grey henson but uh. again just do what you want lol i give up
anyway! thank you and have a wonderful day i'll see you next time :)
lots of love,
ezzy