Junebug

Chapter 8

You woke up the next morning to Robin bustling around the small dorm getting dressed for something. You sat up and their gaze fell on you, greeting you as you rubbed your eyes and processed suddenly being conscious after 8 hours of pseudo-comatose.

"I'm going around town with Annette – wanna come?" They asked as they pulled a denim jacket/gray hoodie duo over the rest of their outfit.

You sat up and nodded your head slightly as you subconsciously patted down your hair that you knew was horrendously askew in a severe case of bedhead.

"Yeah, lemme get ready." You grumbled softly as they finished getting dressed. As you finally got woken up with a sped up version of your morning routine, you pulled on an outfit you thought looked suitable. As you stepped out of the bathroom, your sleep clothes hastily folded in your hands before finding their destination in your shared hamper basket, you found Robin sitting on their bed with their attention focused on their phone.

"You're not gonna 3rd wheel me again with this, are you?" You teased as you trailed to the door where the shoe rack stood proud next to it; it held a mix of yours and Robin's shoes and – a pair of Annette's slippers? – like it was dutifully made to do.

"Wh- no! We're just friends right now and she wanted to be shown around town." They explained with a slight hitch to their voice. "Besides, you're better with directions than I am." They added with a slight snicker.

Once you pulled on your shoes the two of you headed down to meet Annette at the dorm building doors. Annette greeted you, noting that it was nice that you were joining them today.

The three of you made small conversation as you strolled down the small sidewalk that led towards the center of town; it wasn't a big place but it was typically bustling during the summer with tourism so there was a need for it to be a walkable town.

Of course as the year creeped through the Spring months, the trees around the area that held fruit and flowers began blossoming which drew people in for the aesthetic.

Though you like Annette enough, there was something just off putting about her. She reminded you of one of the boys in the way she watched things– like she was analyzing everything around her despite being in non-hostile territory. And you didn't like how she interacted with Robin; the two got along wonderfully but it was almost suspicious; it wasn't that you were just aware of Robin's almost comically horrible love life, but the fact that Annette just seemed overly perfect to the point that from an outside view it seemed fake.

Shit, you were just protective over Robin, you rationalized.

You had one objective on your mind today though, and that was getting blueberries for Price, and when the three of you found yourselves in a supermarket that's exactly what you did.

You picked up the best looking container for blueberries before following Robin and Annette, who had never been in a supermarket before and found great delight in wandering up and down the giant aisles.

When the three of you left you watched as they decided the next place to explore. You pointed out a crystal shop across the street and you found a sidewalk before making a mad dash across the road – which was clear of any vehicles but you can never be too careful – and walking into the small shop.

-

The day dragged on as the three of you roamed around town like an unstoppable force, picking some mementos on the way. In the morning you had your blueberries for Price picked up and at another store you found yourself deciding whether or not to get Gaz a small container of bandaids that read dumbass on each individual bandaid – spoiler alert: of course you got it.