***
Ship: Jady (Mean Girls)
Corny
***

"You've never been to a corn maze?" Damien scoffed, "Like- ever?"

"No...should I have?" Cady frowned.

"It's literally- it's like an unsaid tradition for Halloween!" Damien threw his hands in the air from where he sat across from Cady, legs crossed on the edge of her bed as she allowed Janice to examine the girl and hold different costumes up.

"I mean, it's not exactly a tradition-" Janice started.

"But it is! What's Halloween without corn mazes?!" Damien stood up and sighed briskly.

"I've never been in a corn maze either, Dam-" Janice was cut off again.

"WHAT!?" Damien fell back on the bed, "I feel like I've utterly failed as a friend.."

"Oh, come on, it's alright!" Cady put a hand on Damien's shoulder, "We could go this year?" She suggested.

"It's not the same if you've never been! It's a tradition for all the newbies to go as a group and then scare the living Christ out of them- or for me, the living hell." Damien got up and put his hands on his hips with a frown.

"Traditions, traditions- you made a tradition of us going to McDonalds on Fridays, everything's a tradition with you." Janice smirked.

"Huh! Traditions are what bind us as humans!" Damien argued.

"Along with flesh and bones and organs." Cady nodded.

"That's it, throw those costumes down, we're heading to a corn maze!" Damien declared.

Cady paused in thought before nodding, "I should be able to do that."

"Not like I have anyone other than you dorks to hang out with." Janice shrugged.

"Then it's settled- to the car!"

"I call shotgun." Janice stated.

"What does that mean again?" Cady asked sheepishly.

"Means I get the gun in the front seat." Janice began out the door.

"Oh— my mom usually calls shotgun." Cady commented before following.

"That's...unsettling." Damien cleared his throat before exiting the room.

***

"Here she is!" Damien breathed in the fresh air of the wide field, dotted with corn until it clumped together to make a maze with a banner and a line outside reading Corn Maze: Happy Halloween!

"Anything like you dreamed it looked like? Better, right?" Damien was all smiles.

"I've seen a corn maze before, Damien- just never been in one." Janice scoffed.

"Looks like...a bunch of corn." Cady nodded.

"Exactly what a virgin corn-mazer would naturally say."

"A what?" Janice let out a laugh.

"Somebody who's never been in a corn maze, of course!" Damien shook his head like this was common-knowledge, "Alrighty then! Let's go!" He grinned as he led the way towards the entrance.

Janice fell instep beside Cady, following behind Damien, "He gets worked up over these things easily." Janice remarked.

"I've noticed." Cady nodded with a smile.

"You'll get used to it after awhile, don't take him being sad over something to heart- if you can't make it to one of his traditions, he'll forget about it within a week, no sweat." Janice smirked.

"Duly notes." Cady chuckled.

"So, how'd you even celebrate Halloween in Africa?" Janice cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, my mom would have us carve squashes and then give me some sweats before she left for more collections of stats or whatever." Cady shrugged.

"Damn, sounds fun." Janice deadpanned.

"It's home." Cady shrugged.

"Here we are!" Damien announced as they reached the entrance to the maze, Damien pulling out a twenty and handing it to the man standing at the front.

The man looked at it and nodded before taking it and putting it into his fanny pack.

"You have to pay for this?" Cady scoffed.

"You're telling me." Janice nodded.

"That's ridiculous! Plus, twenty doesn't even divide evenly with three!"

"Ten dollars each." The man grumbled.

"I'm not going in, only you newbs." Damien grinned.

Janice seemed noticeably upset at this idea as Cady saw her tense up.

"Just us?" Cady clarified.

"Go! Get lost! Literally!" Damien beamed excitedly.

"Jesus Christ." Janice scowled before turning to Cady and sighing, "Come on then," She waved for her to follow and the two of them entered.

Cady blindly followed Janice as they wound through the maze, "What's the point?"

"To find a way out." Janice cackled in a Haunted Mansion Attraction voice.

"Oh..." Cady nodded.

"Relax, it's easy." Janice shrugged.

"These stalks are tall- not sure if it's exactly easy..." Cady pointed out.

"We'll be fine- as long as Spooky Ooky doesn't get us." Janice made a spooky hand gesture.

"Spooky what now?" Cady frowned.

"Man, you didn't have a childhood, did you?" Janice slowed down so she was now walking beside Cady.

"Not an average one."

"Obviously."

"More actual lions versus Between The Lions- I heard that was a show." Cady smiled.

"Yeah.." Janice nodded before pausing at a rustling in the cornstalks behind them.

Cady instantly got into a defensive stance.

Janice narrowed her eyes as the stalks shook, "The hell is..."

A rabbit came bolting out of the bushes.

Janice sighed, "It's just a-"

"Predator." Cady stiffened up.

"What? A rabbit isn't a-"

"Something must've been chasing it." Cady began to backup.

"Okay, but what-" Janice spotted the Coyote dart out of the corn a moment later, foam spitting it of its mouth.

In an instant, Janice had grabbed Cary's hand, the girl mesmerized by the creature rather than afraid. Janice, however, had survival instincts that were telling her to run. Pulling Cady along they darted wildly through the maze, zigzagging every which way until a small divide showed and the two girls pushed their way through it until they left the rabid animal behind.

"Janice! Janice, we lost it! It's okay!" Cady called.

Janice panted as she slowed down, "Holy shit!"

"We could have scared it away!" Cady yelled, "What was running going to do other than provoke it!?"

"Not all of us are animal experts!" Janice growled.

"It's common knowledge not to run from wild animals!"

"It had rabies, I'm not going to just let that thing bite you because you think you know what you're doing!" Janice huffed.

"I do know what I'm doing!"

"Animals here are used to humans hurting them often- they won't hesitate, especially if they're mad!" Janice argued.

"You could have left by yourself then! You didn't have to take me, I can handle myself!"

"No! No, you can't, Cady." Janice looked down at the shorter girl who looked at her with confusion.

"What? You think I need some form of protection?"

"A bit, yeah!"

"W-well, I don't." Cady turned her gaze down to the ground.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Are you sure it's not you who needs the protection?" Cady murmured.

"That's ridiculous." Janice rolled her eyes.

"Then why haven't you let go of my hand?" Cady blinked down at their intertwined fingers before slowly looking away.

Janice stiffened up before taking her hand away, "Reflexes..."

"I've studied reflexes of all creatures my entire life and I can tell you that that wasn't a reflex, that was a choice." Cady was walking slower now.

"We've got bigger things to worry about- like how we're legit lost in a corn maze." Janice groaned.

"Does this happen a lot? I've never done this before."

"Neither have I."

"Well then we've got that in common." Cady muttered.

"Yeah...what else is new?" Janice sighed.

"Well, I haven't celebrated a proper Christmas, I haven't ever been to a McDonalds- I've never been to Starbucks-"

"I've never kissed a girl, you?" Janice suddenly put in.

Cary's face flushed a brilliantly-confused red, "Wh-what? Is that- normal?"

"Depends on the kind of person you are." Janice shrugged.

"Yeah..?"

Janice turned to Cady, showing an equally red face but a chiller demeanor.

Cady stopped walking to turn back to Janice, looking hopefully full of absolute confusion, "You're a very quick-minded person, Janice."

"It's what makes me be," Janice shrugged, "And I'd rather be me," and with that, she planted a quick kiss to Cady's frozen face and then leaning back with a nonchalant face, "There, done, let's get out of here."

***

It took an hour of silence to finally reach the exit of the maze where Damien waited with a wide grin, "So? How was your first?"

Janice glanced at Cady.

"Amazing." Cady beamed.