It barely took a day for Dana to stop being mad at Juliet. And she thought she had made it pretty clear that the deal they had made about dinner and laundry was hardly all that compulsory. But Juliet tended to be the proud sort, and she refused to back down now that she'd made a promise to the other girl. It felt a little weird to relent, but she also wasn't the type to turn down free food or a chance to get other stuff done now that she didn't have to bother with her laundry for a little while.

Neither of them wanted to make a huge deal about dinner, so they just caught some greasy burgers at the Two Whales, served by a lovely woman named Joyce. Things had just been so fucked up for a while that it felt good to do something totally boring and normal. But eventually it seemed reasonable to talk a bit about the bullshit that got them here in the first place.

"So... How are things with Zachary now?" Dana inquired, knowing full well that Juliet was usually the one doing all the digging. It felt kinda nice, turning it back on her.

"Mmm..."

"Bad mmm or good mmm?"

"Just... mmm... I mean, the End of the World party was great and all, and we had fun, but, like... The more I think about it, the angrier I get at both him and Victoria. Like... "Just a joke" is such a shitty cover, no matter how true it is. I don't know. Maybe I just need to give it more time?" It was strange, in retrospect. The two shared Vortex club stuff, but otherwise had never been super close, and here she was dumping all this stuff in her lap. But Dana had proved to be pretty chill about stuff.

"I know what you mean. I thought hanging with Trevor would mean nothing but good times. But he's like... the other end of the spectrum. Sometimes he's a little too laid back. Everything is very... surface..." Both girls seemed glad to have the unexpected chance to get some things off their chest. Their rocky argument the week before had been very explosive, but with the dust settling, it was kind of nice.

"Ugh. Boys." They laughed brightly at that, but quickly stopped as their feet brushed together and each pulled away with slight awkward blushing. Somehow they managed to push past the moment and continued chatting and eating before grabbing the bus back to campus. They gathered up all their assorted laundry, Juliet figuring that as long as she was being conscripted into slave labor, she might as well deal with her own gigantic piles of dirty clothes at the same time.

It was a lazy Sunday evening and the Blackwell laundry room was completely empty except for the two, so they were free to take up all but a handful of machines. As she sorted out clothing, Juliet would occasionally stop on an article of clothing and tell Dana how cute her clothes were or threaten to steal something. It was all very light and fun, so it came as a bit of a surprise when a lull hit, and Juliet suddenly looked at Dana while they sat together waiting for the washing machines to finish their various cycles.

"So... Off the record, as it were, just as a friend... How are you holding up?"

Dana tried her best to look at Juliet with confusion, but there was no way she could actually feign ignorance. Everyone knew. Some had more details than other, like Max Caulfield of all people. No doubt Juliet had done the legwork. She always got her story. But the question had been genuine. She wouldn't have responded otherwise.

"It fucking sucks, that's how I'm holding up. Logan was so sure it had been his, and Trevor just couldn't deal with that kind of real-ass shit. Even getting it... like... taken care of or whatever, that scarlet letter sticks with you. It's 2014 and people still think I'm some kind of demented baby-killer. Because it would have been so much more reasonable to ask me to actually have the damn thing. Being Vortex helps a little, because no one would say shit to me, but they still stare, they still whisper. Sometimes I think that's worse..." Dana finally managed to stop herself, realizing just how much she'd said in that small space of time. "The thing is, I really try to be, like, modern and shit about it all. But, y'know, easier said than done."

Juliet was, understandably, searching for the words. In the end, all she could offer was to let Dana hold her hand for a bit while she tried to calm down. "Um. Thanks. For asking. It's on my mind a lot, but everyone's too scared to ask." Both jumped slightly as the various washing machines beeped arhythmically to announce that they were done. With nervous laughter their hands separated and Juliet set about moving everything to the dryers.

"Anything I can do?" Juliet finally asked when everything was moved to the other machines.

"Yeah, I could stand to get a drink or something..."

"C'mon, I think that can be arranged." The two wandered back to the dorms and settled into Juliet's room as she hunted down some vodka and cola. It wasn't anything fancy, but it seemed to be more than enough for a quiet Sunday evening with nothing else better to do. She filled two glasses with generous helpings and the two 'clinked' their plastic glasses before drinking together on her bed.

Things quieted down again after that. With the both of them feeling pleasantly tipsy, Juliet allowed Dana to help her bring all the clothes back, and they began folding everything as their conversation continued. When all the work was done, the two agreed that they would do this again in a week.

When Sunday rolled around again, Dana requested that they go out somewhere a little nicer, on the condition that they would split the bill. Juliet had only ever promised to pay for one dinner, so milking it seemed shitty. Il Duce was hardly the fanciest restaurant in Arcadia Bay, but it was arguably the best Italian food in the entire area.

Juliet was the first to break into a difficult topic this time around. "I'm thinking of breaking it off." Not the most subtle of lead-ins, and Dana noted with some amusement that she wasn't saying so with an entirely heavy heart. "And I feel sort of shitty because I don't exactly have a good reason for it. Is it a total bitch move to break up just because I'm not 'feeling it' anymore?"

Dana shook her head, unaware that she did so with maybe just a touch too much desperation. "No! That's kinda the whole... thing, right? Like, you're together because you wanna be together. And if you don't wanna be together, then you shouldn't be together?" Her mouth was a few seconds ahead of her brain, and she realized only after the words left her mouth how completely ridiculous that explanation had sounded. Juliet's bright laughter didn't exactly help matters any.

"Trevor dumped me..." admitted Dana, and there was a secondary, similar moment in the opposite direction as she said so while trying to sound sad but not entirely hitting her mark. Juliet, likewise, was trying to be sympathetic without grinning. "Said I was 'too much' and... Fuck, I dunno, good riddance, I guess? I know I'm 'just a cheerleader' but I do like to occasionally be deep." She paused again and broke out in a giggle. "Gonna miss having sex while high, though. That was pretty cool."

This time Juliet did grin. "Just means you gotta find someone else who doesn't mind multitasking when they unwind." Their feet brushed together, and this time around they didn't pull away immediately, though there was significantly more blushing.

"Gonna suck going to my own Halloween bash without a date. Seems kinda lame." She felt Juliet's boot start to actively rub back and forth against her own, her blush deepening slightly.

"You've got two whole weeks. Plenty of time to find the right... person..." That was about as far as either of them was able to push their luck for the time being and they returned their attention to their meals.

Back at campus, what had originally been a way for Juliet to pay Dana back became a much simpler bonding activity of doing their laundry simultaneously. They continued their friendly banter and threats of stealing clothing, as well as a bit of drinking and, yes, just a touch of flirtation. Neither girl was quite at the point of admitting that was what they were doing, but it was pretty clear.

After parting ways that night, the cheerleader found she just couldn't focus on her homework, and sleep wasn't coming either. She had honestly expected there would just be a single dinner between them, and that after a single laundry session Juliet would be feeling humble enough. But they'd just finished their second Sunday together and had agreed to have a repeat session the next week.

Laundry day was normally when you wore your shittiest clothes since your nicer ones were all in need of a good cleaning. But Dana and Juliet had both gone all-out this time around and made sure to save up some of their truly decent clothing for their date. No. Not date. Laundry thing. It was just dinner and laundry, girl-talk, boring, stupid, uneventful. But there they were at dinner together, stealing food off each other's plates and giggling and blushing. Anyone watching for even five seconds would have been clued in to what was happening, but the two of them were pretending otherwise.

Their laundry loads were lighter this week, and rather than waiting around in the gross room full of washers and dryers, they headed back to Juliet's room right away.

They had just barely settled in when they were interrupted by the chirping of Juliet's phone and she smiled apologetically before answering. "Hey baby! Yeah? Yeah!" Dana sat there, trying not to think too hard on why her heart was thumping so hard in her chest. Juliet covered the phone with her hand for a moment and looked over at her. "I'm gonna take this outside. Back in a second..." It couldn't have been more than five minutes, but it felt like eons. It also really didn't help to see Juliet practically skipping back into the dorm room, giggling brightly. "Oh my god, I'm such a bitch..."

Damn straight you are, Juliet Watson! Dana swallowed the lump in her throat and tried her best to act normal. "What was that about?"

"I did it!" Juliet's face was so red, and Dana felt herself getting truly worried and upset, but kept right on playing dumb, even if it was technically with herself.

"Did what?"

What Dana had not been expecting was to have all their carefully folded laundry shoved aside, nor to be pushed onto her back, nor to have Juliet on top of her, and most certainly not to have hungry lips pressed against her own. "What do you think, idiot? I told him there was someone else, and I broke his poor heart." Before Dana even had a chance to reply, which admittedly would have taken some time considering how frayed her mind was, she was pulled into another kiss as Juliet playfully pinned her to the bed by her wrists.

"Now, we have less than a week, and I've got a super-sweet idea for a couple's costume." Dana couldn't wait to hear it. Their laundry would have to wait.