[021] our first doomcoming

                                         Courtney wasn't sure where her headache was coming from.

                                         It had happened out of nowhere, making Courtney even more irritable than usual. She could barely even focus on the makeshift funeral the others had made for, the migraine taking over her thoughts. It couldn't even be called a funeral, if Courtney was being honest. They had no body so the most they could do was just put up a headstone and placed it behind the cabin, people lingering to pay their respects. Courtney had left as soon as she could, not bothering to even fake it.

                                       Between the migraine she had and the fact that she didn't care enough about Laura Lee, Corutney just couldn't be bothered. 

                                      On the other hand, Suki was just numb, overcome with guilt to even properly focus for very long. She fully believed that the responsibility was all hers and it was something she'd never be able to forgive herself.

                                        The others in the cabin were feeling equally as gloomy and upset over Laura Lee's death. The entire mood in the cabin was brought down, everyone feeling pretty hopeless about what had happened. Laura Lee was gone, and they were sure to follow with the lack of food. They were surviving off of fried worms and even then, Suki couldn't eat due to the guilt consuming her appetite and thoughts. Courtney could barely eat herself - appalled at the idea of eating worms and also continuing to be bothered by the headache which seemed to come and go.

                                          Even though both girls were troubled for different reasons, they knew one thing. They, along with the others, knew that they were probably never going back to Wiskayok again.

                                        "Jackie, you have to eat," Shauna spoke up, interrupting the tense silence to comfort her friend.

                                       "Why? What does it matter at this point?" Jackie questioned, sounding truly hopeless. It was shocking to see the usually bright and happy team captain suddenly turn numb and unfeeling.

                                        The wilderness was getting to them all.

                                        "Jesus Christ," Courtney groans, holding her head.

                                        "Are you okay?" Suki asked.

                                        "I'm fine. Just a... stupid headache," Courtney shakes her head. "It doesn't mean anything."

                                         When Courtney looked up to meet Suki's gaze, Suki noticed that several blood vessels had burst in Courtney's eyes. Little by little, her eyes were starting to turn red.

                                         "Okay, I can't do this anymore," Mari says before she sets down her bowl, rushing into the kitchen before coming back with a giant jar filled with... well, neither Courtney or Suki were too sure about what it was filled with.

                                         "Wow, you brought a jar full of purple stuff. Super helpful," Courtney quipped, earning a glare from Mari.

                                         "What is that?" Coach Scott questioned.

                                         "It was some berries I was trying to save, but I think I might've turned them into booze? I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a drink," Mari explained with a shrug.

                                        "Do we think it's safe?" Taissa wondered aloud.

                                        Courtney scoffs. She'd try anything to get rid of her headache. "Who gives a shit?"

                                        "I have a few more," Mari adds, hopeful that the others would come around to her idea.

                                        "If we have booze, let's have a party," Jackie suddenly suggested.

                                        Taissa's the one to scoff in response next. "Yeah, because we have so much to celebrate."

                                        "Do we need a reason?" Jackie argued. "We're gonna be dead in a few weeks."

                                       "There's a full moon tomorrow night," Misty adds, eager to add her contribution to the idea.

                                       "And it's almost homecoming," Akilah agreed.

                                       It felt like such a long time ago where Suki worried about shit like that. She used to worry about being accepted and going to Homecoming, knowing Courtney would more than likely force a boy to go with her just so she wouldn't feel alone. Courtney would have a date of their own and they'd both end up absolutely miserable. But now, that was the very least of Suki's worries.

                                       "We packed dresses, right? For the awards dinner?" Lottie chimed in.

                                      "There we go. We have dresses, we have booze. We can decorate. Have a sort of... moon homecoming," Jackie suggests.

                                      "More like a doom homecoming," Taissa says with a soft snort.

                                      Van gets up after that, storming into the pantry so she could hide away from the others. It was pretty safe to assume that she wasn't totally on board with the idea. But the majority was.

                                      "Might as well call it doomcoming," Courtney teased.

                                      But Lottie seemed to take her serious enough to suggest it to the others. "Yeah, a doomcoming."

                                      "Now, that's a party idea," Natalie agreed.

                                      Jackie smiles in satisfaction, glad that another one of her ideas had won. "Yeah, all right, Doomcoming. Tonight, we'll drink rotten berries and celebrate our impending death."

                                      And now it was Suki's turn to storm away. But this time, she'd retreat outside so she could be by herself. She could hardly believe that an actual party was going to be taken place just hours after Laura Lee had died. It didn't feel right. But no one was willing to listen to the crazy girl, even if she had basically predicted Laura Lee's death.

                                     After all, it was what the majority wanted.

                                     By the time Suki went back in, she'd be led towards the room where Jackie and Misty were. Jackie had just finished doing Misty's makeup and the girl continued to smile at her reflection in awe. She'd soon leave with a smile, going off to do... whatever it was she was doing. And then it was just Jackie and Suki left in the room together.

                                     "Are you okay?" Suki suddenly asks, making Jackie's brows furrow in confusion. She didn't know why but she could just sense that something was wrong. Or... something wrong was about to happen. She could feel a subtle shift in the air, a chill settling deep into her bones.

                                     "Why wouldn't I be?" Jackie asked, confused.

                                      Suki looks away from her, shaking her head. "Doesn't matter. Um, I'm sorry for bothering you -."

                                      "No, stay," Jackie answered. "I'll even do your makeup for you. Free of charge."

                                      "I don't know...," Suki trails off, turning sheepish.

                                      "Don't tell me you have to ask Court for permission or something? Come on, I'm kinda curious to see what you'd look like anyways," Jackie insisted.

                                      Suki ponders it for a moment longer before she sits down with Jackie, allowing her to do her makeup for her. Jackie did as she was told, even if Suki was awkward and had an inability to stay still for very long. Not to mention, Jackie was cold to the touch. Every time she touched Suki, she resisted the urge to recoil back from the chill. But nonetheless, they were finally done and then Jackie held out the mirror for Suki to see. 

                                     "What do you think?" Jackie asked.

                                     Suki chuckles, almost unable to believe that she was looking at herself. "That's not me."

                                     "Unless you have an evil twin I don't know about, I think that's you," Jackie teased. "Have you seriously never tried makeup before?"

                                     "Nothing besides Chapstick," Suki admits, handing the mirror back over to Jackie.

                                     "Well, you're absolutely gorgeous. You should dress up more," Jackie encouraged. 

                                     "I don't know the first thing about dressing up. That's Courtney's thing," Suki scoffed.

                                     "You and Courtney are pretty close, huh?" Jackie noted.

                                     Close didn't even begin to describe how she and Courtney were. But it was the best, simpler way to explain it so Suki only nods in response.

                                      "Do you know what it's like to be betrayed? And not just by anybody but... someone very close to you?" Jackie suddenly asked. 

                                      It was like she desperately needed to talk to someone and while Suki expected that person to be Shauna, she knew it'd be rude for her to just ignore her. Besides, she did know what it was like to be betrayed.

                                      Suki nods slowly.

                                      "It's the worst feeling in the world. You think everything's perfect, only to have the fucking rug ripped out from under you. And you find out that everything's a lie and you've been so... so naive all this time. I'm tired of being naive," Jackie continued to ramble. "God, I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

                                      "You're not naive. You're... Jackie," Suki reasoned.

                                      Jackie chuckles. "What the actual fuck is that supposed to mean?"

                                     "It means... you always find a way. No matter what, you just... do. Everything falls into place for you. Whatever you're going through, you'll find a way out of it," Suki encouraged her.

                                      "Thanks a lot, Suki. Between you and me, I like you a lot more when you're not around Courtney," Jackie responded.

                                       "She's not as terrible as everyone thinks she is. She has a soft side too. You just have to get to know her," Suki rushed to her defense (once again).

                                       "I guess I'll just have to take your word for it then," Jackie shrugged with a small smile, one that Suki mirrored.

                                       Courtney had wandered outside, still wondering why she was being tormented by this headache. It had begun to lessen but Courtney was reeling from the effects of it, leaning against trees when the vertigo began to kick in. She sees someone in the distance and so she decides to approach them, realizing that it was none other than Misty herself. She was grabbing some sort of plant, placing it into her little collection. At the sound of footsteps, Misty looks over and prepares to hide. But she'd relax instantly when she sees that it's just Courtney.

                                        "What're you doing, Quigley?" Courtney questioned.

                                        "Making something," is all Misty says.

                                        Courtney peeks over her shoulder, seeing SHROOMS written in bold. She was collecting actually fucking shrooms. "Shrooms. I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, Quigley."

                                         Misty immediately scoffs. "They're not for me."

                                        "For Ben, got it," Courtney quickly made the connection.

                                        "Did you want some?" Misty offered.

                                        "No, I don't think Suki's going to be taking anything from me after she found out I poisoned her," Courtney turned her down.

                                        "How did she find out? Does she know I was involved?" Misty asked, growing worried.

                                         "I don't know how she found out, Misty. If I knew, I would've taken care of that by now," Courtney huffed. "And don't worry, she just thinks it was for me. Your poisoning skills haven't been uncovered yet."

                                         Misty's shoulders sag in relief before she looks over at Courtney, moving a little closer to where she sat. "Does this mean we're.... best friends now?"

                                         "You want me to be your best friend?" Courtney raised a brow.

                                         Misty nods. "Sure, you're scary and you're probably the only person here capable of actually killing me. But you're the only person that... gets me, you know? We're two sides of the same messed up coin. And you know what they say, us weird girls have to stick together!

                                         "I'm not weird," Courtney weakly argued.

                                         "You poisoned your best friend because she stopped paying attention to you. It's extreme, to say the very least," Misty pointed out.

                                         "Like you're one to talk," Courtney scoffed.

                                         "True. I'm no better, but that's exactly why I can call you out for the same exact same thing," Misty reasoned.

                                         Courtney huffed. "Whatever. If you want to be my best friend, then fine. We can be best friends."

                                         "Really?" Misty perks up and the way that she looks at Courtney like she's some sort of God makes Courtney feel just a little better. If she didn't have Misty wrapped around her finger before, she definitely did now.

                                         "Sure. Just... don't make me regret it, okay? I don't need you fucking things up for me," Courtney warned.

                                         Misty nods. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. Hey, uh, are you feeling well?"

                                         "I've never felt better," Courtney drawled.

                                         "Your eyes... they look a little...," Misty trails off, unsure of how to explain it.

                                         "What?" Courtney snapped. "What is it?"

                                         "I think you should see for yourself," Misty responded.

                                        Courtney heads back over to the cabin, determined to find some sort of mirror so she could see the way that she looked. And, of course, the only one with a mirror was Jackie who was trying to do her hair. Without even bothering to ask, Courtney just snatched the mirror from Jackie and raised it up so she could check her eyes.

                                        "Hey, I was using that," Jackie complained.

                                        "That's interesting," Courtney deadpans, moving the mirror closer and seeing her eyes beginning to turn red. The blood vessels were beginning to burst more and more. She couldn't believe it.

                                        Wordlessly, Courtney gives Jackie the mirror back before she decided to go and get ready. She was confused as to what was going on with her. But for right now, she just wanted to get dressed up and get drunk. The sooner she'd be able to get rid of this strange headache, the better off she'd be.

( 🌲🔪🦌 )

                                                        By the time the party had now finished being set up, the sun was beginning to set. Everyone was all dressed up, Suki wearing the only green dress she ever owned which had been passed down from her mother and Courtney wearing red. They even had makeshift crowns on their heads, made out of either twigs or pinecones or leaves or even whatever dried up flowers they could find. Suki still wasn't one hundred percent on board with the whole thing but with Courtney holding onto her hand, she was going to try and participate as best she could.

                                                        Lottie lit the very last torch, signaling the beginning of the celebration. "Let the doomcoming begin!"

                                                        Javi banged on the makeshift gong as everyone moved forward, walking through the gateway composed of long branches, jewelry, and discarded cloths. With the torches all around the clearing in which a tree stump was at the very center, a log used as the table, and the soup and makeshift berry booze, it was truly a party. Or the closest thing to it in the wilderness. This felt like some sort of bizarre fever dream and yet it was very much real.

                                                    As Suki looked over at Lottie, she'd see that she was wearing Laura Lee's dress and it makes her heart sink. She knew how close Lottie and Laura Lee had been which made her feel even worse. She couldn't tell Lottie what had happened. She just couldn't.

                                                 Misty and Coach Scott walked first, followed by Shauna and Jackie. The former was beginning to show off more of her baby bump, although something like that was impossible to hide forever. Courtney and Suki were next, holding hands as they showed off their dresses. Jackie catcalled Suki, making her hide her face in embarrassment. Next was Taissa and Van, both of them wearing masks. Suki assumed that Taissa was only wearing one because Van was - wanting to show her support as best she could.

                                            Seeing how close they were quickly made the others begin to speculate that something was up between them.

                                            "Do you think they're together?" Courtney asked, leaning over to where Suki was.

                                            Before Suki could answer her question, Taissa and Van decided to. She pulled Van in for a kiss and the two kissed each other in front of everyone. Both Courtney and Suki were surprised by the bold act. What was even more shocking was that everyone seemed to be happy for them. Their small town may have been against it but at least, the Yellowjackets were happy - applauding and cheering for them both.

                                          After that, the two of them would split up and continue with the party. Courtney and Suki had gotten soup for themselves, sitting over to the side to eat and hang out together.

                                        "I'm not a big fan of Mari's soup," Suki grimaced. And yet she kept eating it until there was none left because it was the only option. "It tastes funny."

                                        "Here, you can wash it down with this," Courtney offered.

                                        Suki hesitates for just a moment and Courtney scoffs.

                                        "Mari made it herself. I had nothing to do with it. It's safe," she quickly reasoned.

                                        Suki sighs before she takes it from Courtney, drinking the wine which was a lot stronger than Suki thought it'd be. But then again, she had never had wine before. Nonetheless, it was enough to get rid of the soup's taste for a little while.

                                        "Hey, you look really beautiful, by the way," Courtney compliments Suki, fixing Suki's twig crown so it'd fit her face a little better. "I like the dress. How come I've never seen you wear it before?"

                                        "That's because this is my first time. I don't have any dresses of my own, so I just borrowed one of my mom's. My dad kept it hidden in the basement. I guess he wanted to keep some of her prized possessions hidden away so only he could have them. But I found it a couple months ago and... that's that," Suki shrugged.

                                       "Right," is all Courtney says, clueless as to how to comfort Suki.

                                       "Do you think we should try and become public?" Suki suddenly asked, deciding to change the subject.

                                      Courtney blinked for a moment before shrugging. "Do you want everyone to know about us?"

                                      Now that she knew the whole team wasn't going to shame them for being together, Courtney thought it'd be a rather tempting idea. Making everyone know that Suki truly belonged to her was beautiful.

                                       "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do," Suki admitted.

                                       She wanted to finally be able to move forward from what had happened between them and be with Courtney properly. Despite Courtney nearly killing her, Suki wanted to forgive Courtney and bring things back to the way they were. She had done everything for Courtney. She had even sacrificed Laura Lee for her.

                                        She loved Courtney so much. And deep down, she knew that Courtney loved her too. Even if her way of showing it was twisted and flawed. It was all Courtney knew.

                                       "Then I guess we should give them something to talk about," Courtney winks at her.

                                      The two of them stand up to their feet and as the others could see, Courtney whispers something into Suki's ear before she grabs Suki by the hand and begins dragging her off so the two of them could be alone. It definitely worked in causing a scene.

                                       Natalie noticed, along with Mari and a couple of others. But while Natalie frowned, the others were amused.

                                     "How much do you guys wanna bet that Taissa and Van isn't the only couple around here? It's pretty suspicious that Suki and Courtney are always so close. And the way they defend each other like crazy? They have to be dating," Mari gossiped.

                                    Natalie hoped not. Suki deserved a hell of a lot better than someone willing to poison her for their own personal gain.

                                    Suki and Courtney walk deep into the forest until they were sure that they'd be able to be alone, the two of them lying down on the ground. Suki looks over at Courtney before she moves in just a little closer, feeling comfort in the moment their bodies were pressed close together.

                                    "You know, for a doomcoming or whatever, that was kinda lame back there," Courtney began, making Suki chuckle. "I'd rather be alone with you instead."

                                    "It was still more creative than anything our school would've thrown back home," Suki lightly argued.

                                   Courtney shrugged. "True. I'm just glad that I get to actually go with you instead of David. I truly would've killed myself right then and there. Hey, do you think people would be sad for me if I did just end it? Or would they pretend for a day before moving on with their lives?"

                                   Suki frowned. "Don't talk like that. You know I hate thinking about that stuff."

                                  "It's inevitable, Suki. We're gonna die out here. Might as well get all of the shit we wanted to do out of the way first," Courtney remarked.

                                 "Like what?" Suki questioned.

                                 Courtney strokes Suki's cheek, her thumb trailing along her lower lip. "Take a wild guess, Suki."

                                  Suki blushes as she reluctantly pulls away from Courtney. She quickly got the hint and while she was interested, Suki felt nervous. She had never done it before, and she was scared of disappointing Courtney somehow.

                                  "Have you ever thought about it?" Courtney inquired.

                                  Suki nodded. "A couple of times. Have you?"

                                  "Too many times to count," Courtney admitted. "I was waiting for the moment where I'd feel guilt or shame or something. But I didn't. It felt right. I was just scared that you wouldn't want to or that you didn't even feel the same."

                                  Suki giggles, beginning to feel a little more relaxed than before. Something had changed. Everything felt hazy and warm. And not to mention, Suki felt her nerves slowly beginning to melt away. "I know just what you mean. But I just want to make sure that I'm... good enough for you. All I've ever wanted was to be enough for you, Court."

                                  "Oh, Suki. You'll always be enough for me. All I want is you. You're so special and you're all mine, that's what makes it even better," Courtney assured her.

                                  "Do you promise not to hurt me ever again?" Suki questioned.

                                   Courtney nods. "I promise. I made a mistake but I'll do better for you."

                                  "Then I'm all yours," Suki responded. It was all she needed to hear.

                                  A soft smile graces Courtney's lips as she caresses Suki's face again before she begins kissing her.

                                  Suki kisses her back and Courtney climbs on top of her, the kiss between them deepening into a passionate make out. But just then, Courtney could feel something else taking over her. Before she could stop herself, she'd bite Suki's lip hard enough to draw blood. Suki quickly pulls away from Courtney, glancing up at see her blood now running down Courtney's own lip. Courtney looked a little surprised before her eyes darkened, desire clearly written all over them. 

                                     It was the same look Suki had.

                                     Suki pulls Courtney in for another kiss, tasting her own blood on Courtney's lips. Courtney matches her intensity, pulling down the sleeve of her dress so she could begin kissing her neck. Suki runs her fingers through Courtney's hair, allowing herself to enjoy the passionate moment between them. It was all she had been dreaming of and now it was becoming a reality.

( 🌲🔪🦌 )

word count: 3816
notes: so now the wilderness is trying to get to courtney... you can't expect to be with the wilderness' #1 messenger and NOT get affected. also to get a good idea of how the girls look, i had suki in more earthy tones with the makeup as well as an earthy green dress to represent her being part of the wilderness (i guess) along with her ties to her mom (given that it belonged to her first). and courtney's theme being red. red eyes (both literally and figuratively with the red eye shadow) and a red dress to signify the bloodthirsty monster she'll become

p.s. they finally banged. toxic yuri wins. looks like jackie isn't the only one getting her cherry popped

p.p.s i found it so funny that court was getting mad at suki for not trusting her with any drinks when she literally poisoned her for days on end lmao. #COURTNEY: so what if i poisoned you a couple times before? 😡 you need to get over it already! 🙄