rat city sour diesel x lavender haze :: [ hatchet x leo ]

^{junior year. october 14th. 8:23pm.}

The plan to invite Leo to tonight's party has been a week in the making. Even before Ilyich locked Hatchet and Leo into the exy court in order to force them to talk their shit out, Nox and Salem were already on the case. Hatchet being caught feeling feelings was just too much to resist — they had to launch a full-scale investigation. They expected it to take more time (and maybe even a few threats of siccing Nox's goose henchman on her) to pry the who's, the what's, and the why's out of her. Instead, after witnessing Leo having sobbed herself to sleep in Hatchet's sleeping bag, more information than they'd dared to hope for just sort of started bubbling out pathetically; all they had to do was wait. Honestly, Nox didn't really understand what the big deal was about. Back in second grade Nox had caught Hatchet throwing rocks at Salem and immediately tackled her, force feeding her the stones she'd thrown. Although she didn't manage to shove them particularly far down Hatchet's throat, one of them did put a good-sized chip in one of her teeth. Meanwhile, it hasn't been all that long since Hatchet pinned Nox's throat between a fence and her forearm for nearly refusing to play exy again, after all of the work that had just gone into her rehabilitation. The conversation about these things went like this: "Are you gonna say sorry for choking me?" "No. Are you going to say it for shoving rocks down my throat?" "No." "Good." "Well okay then." These are just Rockfall things. Neither of them was particularly interested in apologizing for their basic existence; if that's a problem, take it up with their parents. Besides, the truth of it all is that they'd probably both be worse off without these interventions. "You chipped my tooth," Hatchet countered, clarifying her real grievance. Suddenly Nox was climbing on top of her, hands all over her face as she pried her lips apart, insisting: "Awww, but it looks cute like that!" She wasn't lying. A little acid and flesh melting between friends didn't sound so different. Translation: This was totally fixable! Girl, don't worry. Nox has gotchu. Back on the bus after their game with Lower Highland, for once, Hatchet isn't dwelling on frustration over the loss. (She played well; it was Rockfall's other backliner who wasn't on their game, helped nothing by the goalie never quite recovering from blocking a shot with their head early in the second half.) She feels all itchy. Nox swore this would be easy, but the itchiness keeps insisting that was a lie. Why does the back of her neck feel so hot? How come her mouth keeps pulling itself in weird directions? She compacts herself a little further into the back corner of the seat, pressed up against the wall in an instinctive need to be as close to the window as possible… just in case she needs to jump out of it. Sprawled out in Hatchet's lap with her feet kicked into the aisle, Nox grabs one of Hatchet's hands and snorts over the way it's clenched up in obvious panic. Everything's going to be fine, Nox just needs her to have a little faith. With a reassuring squeeze, she starts blowing on her fingers and prying them apart one by one before shamelessly placing the hand in her own hair. Pet me, the gesture says, that's what emotional support girlfriends are for. Worrying at the strands gives Hatchet something immediate and tangible to focus on and the itchiness relents as she absently coils and uncoils and recoils a lock of Nox's bottle gray hair around her finger or draws little anxiety shapes onto her scalp with the tips of her fingers. "Nnghhh," Hatchet whines miserably under her breath when she looks up to see Leo walking down the aisle, contemplating her seat options. Snapping out of her own haze of relaxation, Nox springs into action, sitting up to give a big wave. "Back here, L-Word!" She exclaims, motioning Leo towards the last two rows of the bus. "Saved you a seat!" Tucked into the back corner, the seat directly in front of them is strategically unoccupied, Nox having already put in some effort to ensure that no one else on the team got any bright ideas into their heads about claiming the spot. Hanging over the back of the seat, she gives the peeling pleather a couple of enthusiastic smacks, to ensure that Leo knows exactly where she belongs. With an upwards nod of her head, Leo makes her way in their direction, tapping the edges of the seats she passes by like offering consolation to the gauntlet of their bummed out teammates. After plonking down in her designated spot, she reaches out to accept the handslap greeting that Nox offers up. As the scrawnier striker leans back to rest an elbow on Hatchet's shoulder, Leo immediately drapes herself over the vacated seat back, turned around backwards to sit with her arms folded onto it and her chin resting on top. "Tough one," Nox comments. Leo nods. "Man, their defense was fast. Always surprising to see a backline that isn't a bunch of meatheads." She shoots a teasing smile at the meathead backliner sitting next to Nox. "Hey Hatchet." This summons a snicker from Nox, who immediately grabs onto one of Hatchet's braids and begins waggling the tail of it in her face in order to trick her into sitting up more. She bats at the nuisance a couple of times before smacking a hand over Nox's face and giving her an annoyed shove in order to put a stop to the antics. "Hey." It's better than her last failed attempt at saying words, but her nerves still subtly tug at the sound, drawing the pronunciation out a fraction longer than she was aiming for. She feels stupid for thinking this much about the way the word hey sounds in her mouth. Feeling stupid doesn't stop her from replaying it in her head once more, to further examine the miniature misstep. "At least we had you holding it down today," Leo compliments, oblivious to Hatchet's anxiety over the sound of her own voice. And Leo's. And the way it's equal parts good and weird that the girl she used to be inseparable from is right there, leaning over the seat to talk to her like this is a totally normal thing to be doing. It is, she has to remind herself. The small grin that follows is as much for this thought as it is for Leo's praise. "Checking their dealer into the wall was definitely one of our highlights." Flattery works on Hatchet Laveau. She's easy like that. It puffs her chest up automatically, coaxing her a couple of inches out from her corner as she tilts forward to better bask in her own glory. "Can't blame them for wanting to take their chances against the wall. I'd be afraid of me, too." It hasn't even been two weeks since they began their reconciliation. There's a long way still to go. Despite telling each other that everything is cool, Hatchet has never felt less cool in her life. The last couple of years have been an absolute wreck, but somehow she can't help worrying that the hard part might only just be beginning. "You're only half as scary as you think you are," Nox declares, pinching Hatchet's cheek until she scowls… which only makes her want to squeeze harder. "Stop," Hatched demands, heaving a bedraggled sigh. "But it's cute when you're angy! You get all rawr, I'm Hatchet. I punch stuff! You're stuff! Oooo, like right now. You're totally looking at me like I'm stuff." "Stop," Hatchet insists, more strongly this time, disgruntled brow furrowing as her frown puckers and twitches with (as of yet) un-punched grievances. Nox's delight doubles as she utilizes her grip on her girlfriend's cheek to turn her face towards Leo for a final verdict. "Like a cardboard box full of soggy kittens, amiright?" Leo considers this very seriously — both the question and what she can get away with. "No, no, I get what you mean," she says, grinning at the antics. Hatchet does look cute when she's being pestered. "It's hard to resist the urge to take her home and get her caught up on her vaccinations." The low growl in Hatchet's throat does little to change anyone's mind on the matter. "You are gonna get clawed to shreds first though." "Aww, but she doesn't mean it," Nox coos as Hatchet wrenches her cheek free. "Kittens just get bitey and scratchy when they're scared." Scoffing, Hatchet swipes an indignant thumb across her cheek as if to wipe away these ridiculous accusations, before jutting her chin out stubbornly. "Pft. Me? Scared? Quit saying dumb stuff already. What would I even be —" "Hey, L-Word!" Nox interjects before Hatchet can finish asking a question that she wouldn't want to hear the answer to and definitely not in front of Leo. She's Rockfall; she should know better. "There's a really chill party at my friend's place tonight. You should come with us!" The corner of her beaming smile curls up, teetering into a smirk at Hatchet's expense. Nox thinks she's funny. Choking on her own bravado, Hatchet tries to cover by feigning a cough. Right. That. Goddamnit. She sucks in a deep breath. "Yeah," leaning forward in her seat, she peers up at Leo with a fresh spike of nerves in her gut, desperately hoping she sounds more nonchalant than she feels, "you should come." "Yeah?" Leo confirms, meeting Hatchet's gaze. Outside of exy, they haven't really hung out since before the acid. They've said hey in the halls at school and have had a few brief conversations between classes — mostly about practice or settling whatever trivial debates Nox had stirred up about things like frogs vs. toads or what's the best thing to find in the Mystery Casserole and why is it spam? or would you rather get struck by lightning or zapped by a powerline? — but that's about it. For something that they did pretty much 24/7 between fifth and ninth grade, hanging out now feels like a big step. If Hatchet is ready for that then so is Leo. "Sounds fun," she says, smiling a little. "Count me in." "Cool," Hatchet replies, still not feeling anything like it, but heart racing with anticipation nonetheless.

_{what do i call you by taeyeon.}

^{junior year. october 14th. 9:30pm.}

"This is gonna be so good for you, Hatchy," Nox declares with an air of authority, Hatchet's scowling face firmly squished between her palms. It cannot be good for her to constantly be bottling up this much anxiety. Granted, Nox didn't really pay that much attention during last year's Health class (whatever, a passing grade is a passing grade and a D- gets the job done), but she caught enough to help with assessing this situation and the situation is that Hatchet's anxiety frequently ruins The Vibes. "You should be smoking way more weed." For everyone's sake. Hatchet isn't entirely convinced about that. Having tried her friend Sevyn's weed a couple of times, she didn't really get what was supposed to be so fun about it. It mostly just made her hungry and paranoid. While the bulk barrels of cheese balls that Sevyn hoards like an apocalypse prepper did hit the spot, it still wasn't a food experience to rival Leo's donuts or that time she made twice-fried chicken with soy garlic sauce and pickled radish. Sweet and crunchy, a little bit spicy… Apparently Sevyn smokes ditch weed. Apparently that explains a lot. Apparently all Hatchet needs to understand is that tonight they're going to be smoking top shelf Granite Vista green, courtesy of Nox's best friend's new weed buddy. "Bud-dy," Nox repeats, cracking herself up, "get it?" Once they're inside, Nox is quick to launch into a rundown of who's who while flourishing her hands around like a professional party guide. "This is Noe's place," she says, pulling a girl with slicked back hair in for a bear hug. They've been best pals since they were kids. Within moments Noe's already making her way back across the room for some type of glitter emergency, sparkles clouding the air around one of the most suspiciously sweet people in Rockfall. "That's Jett over there." She's Granite Vista, but only because that part of town is built on top of the old Wrenley family goat farm. Artsy as fuck, she's responsible for most of the really good graffiti throughout Rockfall, including the gruesome zombie amalgamation taking a permanent smoke break on Hatchet's school locker. She's also the mastermind behind tonight's party — a Halloween craftstravaganza — which explains why there are tin cans filled with markers and overstuffed cardboard boxes of colorful construction paper or yarn scattered all around. Dropping her voice, Nox adds: "Jett and Noe have been girlfriends since kindergarten, but Jett hasn't figured that out yet. Classic lesbian problem. Noe thinks it's cute, so we leave them be." With Hatchet and Leo sworn to gay secrecy, a familiar voice rings out from nearby. "Nox is here!" Then, after a beat: "Hey, Hatchet. Hey, Leo." It's hard to miss the way the enthusiasm is dialed back to an undeniably secondary level of excitement for anyone who isn't Nox, but everyone who knows Salem knows not to take it personally. Nox is king of her heart, but — much like Hatchet — to be acknowledged with any tone of voice beyond a disinterested deadpan is a high compliment. "You know Salem," Nox beams in shared delight as her girlfriend waves both hands in greeting. "Best girl." Chatting with her are the closest things to jocks that this crew of burnouts has to offer: a girl from cheer squad and a future combat team hopeful — Astraea and Axel, both freshmen. Astraea doesn't often talk much, but she has good energy. She and Nox met early this past summer, when Astraea held Nox's hair back while puking and then kept taking care of her afterwards. "If you get paranoid," Nox places a reassuring hand on Hatchet's shoulder, "just find Strae." She can coax anyone back to The Good Thoughts. As for Axel, well, Nox doesn't really know her yet, but she's the one who brought the weed tonight and, "her weed rules." Noe says she's cool, so for now they're giving her a pass on being a tourist. The other people milling about are even less familiar, but Nox can report back later after she borrows Salem's notes. "If weed isn't your thing," their party guide takes a moment to address Leo specifically, "that's cool. There's beer in the fridge and coloring books on the table. You do you." Turning to Hatchet, Nox abruptly switches to her best peer pressure face. "Not you, Hatchy. You're about to get so blazed."

_{i wish you would by taylor swift.}