It was early Friday morning. Most of the students who attended Etheria High were already at the school or were on their way.
Glimmer and Adora were not. They were at a gas station.
"Oh my God!" Glimmer whisper shouted to Adora, who stood in the cold next to her. "This pump is the slowest pump I think I've ever used. This is gonna take forever!" She slapped her hand on the gas nozzle rapidly as if that would somehow speed it up.
"Oh, it won't be too much longer," Adora insisted, trying to bring a positive perspective to the situation as she tightened her coat around her.
"And we're probably gonna be late too. And you have your counseling. Why can't I just remember to get gas before the warning light turns on?"
"It's no big deal," Adora said. "I've seen Lonnie miss a ton of our meetings with Madame Razz and she hasn't gotten in trouble yet."
"I guess," Glimmer said begrudgingly as she watched the gas counter slowly rise. "Now I'm just cold and grumpy."
"Oh you little gremlin," Adora said lovingly as she took off her coat and gave it to Glimmer.
"You sure?" Glimmer asked hesitantly, though she was already putting it on.
"Yeah you need it more. I'm gonna get back in the car, though."
"Yeah go ahead. I should be done with this soon." Glimmer grumbled. Adora got back in the car and huddled up in the passenger seat.
She looked out at Glimmer, her foot tapping impatiently. Glimmer wasn't in the best mood today. Was that good reason to prolong telling her about Catra? Or was that just another excuse?
"What if I tell her and she hates me?" The thought found its way into Adora's mind once again as she played out the scenario in her head. She remembered Angella warning her that Glimmer could hold onto grudges for a while.
But Glimmer was also her foster sister and her best friend. There shouldn't be any big secrets like this between them.
"Also," Adora reasoned, "if Catra and I do become more than friends it'll be impossible to hide. Now has to be the time."
Adora was brainstorming ideas for how to let Glimmer know when she heard a yelp and a string of curses from outside. Adora hastily whipped her head around to see what had happened. It looked like Glimmer had spilled some of the gasoline onto herself when she was putting the pump back.
She got in the car and slammed the door behind her. The pungent odor of gasoline wafted off of her.
"I am not happy," Glimmer said plainly and began to drive away without another word.
"Maybe I'll tell her this weekend after all," Adora thought once again.
"Adora, your painting is looking absolutely splendid!" Mr. Hawk exclaimed energetically as he examined Adora's work.
"Thank you," Adora replied, happy to receive the compliment.
"No. Thank you, Adora. A beautiful piece of art. And a painting of the sea no less! I love the sea! Keep up the good work." Mr. Hawk beamed down at Adora and her painting and then walked off to praise another student.
Adora looked at Perfuma with an exasperated look on her face. "He is the most high energy person I've ever met, I think."
"Definitely," Perfuma agreed. "He's nice though. And your painting is really good."
"Thanks. I am not as convinced it's as good as you and Mr. Hawk say, but I'm really enjoying painting it." Adora looked at her landscape painting of a beach shore and focused on what she had left to do.
"Well in the words of a wise man, it's looking 'absolutely splendid.'" Perfuma replied with a smile. "You seem like you're in a good mood by the way."
"Do I?" Adora asked as she dipped her brush into the paint on her pallet.
"Of course. You seem really at peace. You have a better energy now than you have for a while."
Adora thought about Catra and the Halloween party and smiled to herself. "Yeah maybe you're right."
"There you are," Mermista said slowly as she walked up behind Adora, who was going through her locker.
Adora turned around to greet Mermista. She soon noticed, however, that Mermista was staring at her disapprovingly, her hands on her hips.
"Oh...uh...good morning?" Adora greeted her cautiously.
"Yeah good morning. Gimme your phone number," Mermista demanded nonchalantly.
"Uh...okay." She pulled her phone out to check her number as she still hadn't memorized it yet. She read it off to Mermista who entered it into her phone and then sighed.
"Now I have your number and I just got Catra's so when you two are planning on, like, literally disappearing from a party you can let your old pal Mermista know first."
"Oh shoot," Adora said as it dawned on her why Mermista was upset.
"Yeah, like, oh shoot is the right reaction. I spent forever looking for you guys. I, like, asked around and whatever."
"Why were you looking for us?"
"Well, like, I didn't know if you guys were alright or if the party had been too much for you or what."
Adora was surprised that Mermista had been so worried about them. "Sorry...we were out front on the sw…"
"Yeah I know you were out on the porch swing," Mermista interrupted. "Catra told me this morning. Just wish I had known last night."
Adora frowned. "Sorry. We should have told you where we were going."
"I mean," Mermista sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't mean to be, like, an overbearing mom or whatever, but I was just worried y'know?"
"I know. I'll text you next time," Adora promised.
"Bold of you to assume you'll get invited to another party," Mermista said seriously before cracking a smile. "I'm just kidding. You two can, like, come by whenever. How'd you like last night?"
"Well the party was cool," Adora answered.
Mermista squinted her eyes. "Don't you lie."
"Well it was cool!" Adora insisted. "But...I guess it wasn't exactly my kind of thing. But that little space you showed us was really nice!"
Mermista snorted. "Yeah you guys stayed there for like five minutes."
"Yeah we got... distracted," Adora explained. "But after that we had a lot of fun on the swing."
Mermista raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Yeah I bet you did."
Adora's face immediately reddened, causing Mermista to laugh.
"Did Catra say something or…" Adora trailed off.
"Nah it's just kinda obvious. I'm honored, though, that my porch swing was able to bring you two closer together." Mermista said with a lazy grin.
"Oh gosh," Adora said, extremely embarrassed. She tried to look everywhere but at Mermista.
"Aw I didn't mean to, like, break you or whatever. If it makes you feel better, I think it's adorable and I hope it works out."
"That just makes me feel more embarrassed," Adora replied honestly.
"Oh fine I'll leave you alone. But really though. Go for it." Mermista shot a pair of finger guns at Adora. "See ya later you little lady-killer."
Adora facepalmed and Mermista walked away, laughing to herself.
Scorpia was putting away her books to go to lunch when Catra walked up behind her and clapped a hand onto her shoulder.
"Confrontation time," Catra said right out of the gate. "You're gonna tell me what's wrong. Or else...I don't know, I'll keep bugging you and it'll be really annoying."
Scorpia twisted around to face Catra. "Nothing's wrong," Scorpia insisted.
"Nope. Lies," Catra responded immediately. "I mean it, man, what's going on with you?"
"Nothing is going on," Scorpia said defensively, feeling a little cornered.
"Scorpia. Come on. Is it my fault? Can you tell me that at least?"
"It's not your fault," Scorpia said quickly, wishing she wasn't having this conversation. She looked down the hallway longing for escape.
"See I'm not sure I buy that though. I don't get what's up. I mean last week you were acting strange too and I just don't know what's been going on. And why you wouldn't just tell me the truth about it."
At this Scorpia's face twisted into a quick frown and she shot a look at Catra. "So I'm supposed to tell you the truth all the time, but you never have to be honest with me?"
"What?" Catra asked, completely surprised that Scorpia was spinning this back into her. It was unlike her to be so upset.
"All you do is keep secrets, Catra. I ask if you wanna hang out a certain day and you say you're gonna be busy doing work at home and then later that day my mom tells me she saw you and Adora walking together in the park. Why couldn't you be honest with me then? Or when you said you had to leave early for an appointment after school and then I see you in a car talking to Bow? I don't even know what that means but regardless, you lied to me about that too."
Catra stared on with wide eyes and her mouth slightly ajar. She had no idea Scorpia had known these things.
Scorpia held her hand to the bridge of her nose and rubbed at her face. "And I'm not dumb. I could tell you didn't want me to workout with you and Adora during weights. I got the same vibe when I asked about joining theater too. But you just told me it was totally alright."
"I…" Catra replied weakly, unable to figure out what to say next.
"You know, Catra...maybe you're the one who needs to be more honest with your friends." Scorpia looked up as she said this and Catra saw the tears filling up her eyes. She shut her locker quickly and rushed past Catra, heading down the hallway without another word.
Catra stood, dazed and confused, watching her friend walk away from her and letting Scorpia's words sink in.
Catra didn't go to lunch. She didn't wanna be around people right now. The one person she wanted to talk to about this was Adora, but that wasn't an option.
She ended up finding herself at the auditorium doors. She figured it was a good place to be alone. It was always dark and empty.
Catra opened the doors and noticed that only the stage lights were on, leaving the rest of the auditorium in darkness. It was quiet as usual and there didn't seem to be anyone around. Catra shuffled numbly to one of the seats and fell down into it.
She thought back to what Scorpia had said and felt a stinging pang of guilt.
"I am a liar," Catra told herself. "And a bad friend."
Catra didn't cry often. It had been a while since she had done anything more than slightly tear up. But now she could feel the pressure in her eyes as she clenched her fists and rammed them into her brow.
Scorpia had been her friend for the longest time. And she had always been there for her. And over all the time they had known each other, nothing like this had ever happened. Scorpia had never been so much as annoyed with her.
"And I deserve it," Catra reminded herself. She felt a tear streak down her face and she quickly wiped it off.
"Oh...Catra...are you okay?" Came a sudden voice from behind Catra and she jumped visibly, shooting a glare back in the direction of the voice.
Entrapta was standing on the steps coming down from the sound booth and was looking at Catra concernedly.
"What are you doing here?" Catra asked, more than a little anger in her voice, as she quickly turned away and scrubbed her eyes clear.
"Oh…I...this is where I always eat lunch. Up in the booth." Entrapta had stopped approaching Catra and was now just hovering indecisively, unsure if she should leave or not.
Catra grunted and ran her hands through her hair, taking a deep breath. "Why do you do that?"
"Probably the same reason you did. Quiet. No people. I have time to think."
"Well I didn't know you were in here. Maybe warn someone before you go sneaking up on them," Catra advised gruffly. She was thankful that it was dim in the auditorium and hoped Entrapta couldn't see her face in much detail.
"Oh yeah. Noted. I just didn't know who it was and then I figured out it was you and then...well...I was wondering if you required any assistance. I have...some apple slices if…"
"I really don't want your apple slices," Catra huffed.
There was a moment of awkward silence and then Catra shook her head and turned to face Entrapta. "Sorry. I'm being a jerk."
"Oh that's fine," Entrapta said with a wave of her hand.
"It's not really," Catra said with a sigh. "I'll uh... I'll take those apple slices if you aren't gonna eat 'em."
"Oh good. They're a great source of nutrients. And y'know...tasty," Entrapta said as she shuffled down the remaining steps and sat in the seat next to Catra, pulling out what looked like a toolbox. Catra watched as she pulled out a container from within it and handed it to her.
"Thanks," Catra said quietly as she accepted the snack. "Sorry to interrupt your lunch or whatever."
"I don't mind," Entrapta replied. "I'm not working on anything right now so my schedule is flexible."
Catra eyed the strange girl and nodded. There were a few moments of quiet as the girls sat next to each other in the big, darkened room.
Eventually, Catra cleared her throat and spoke up. "So uh...you eat in here everyday?"
"Affirmative," Entrapta answered quickly. "It's the best place for me to do my work or just sit and think."
"I guess," Catra said. "You don't get, like, lonely or anything?"
Entrapta shook her head. "Not really. I find people can be a distraction...Not you though."
"Well I'm honored," Catra said as she chewed on an apple slice. "What about Double Trouble? You two seem pretty close."
"We are for the most part. But we don't really see each other outside of theater practice. We're sort of like...occupational acquaintances."
"So work friends?" Catra clarified.
"That's a way to say it, yes. But I suppose if I had a... friend, it would be them."
Catra frowned slightly in the dark. This discussion was becoming increasingly depressing.
"Well...that's good," Catra said awkwardly.
They spent the rest of lunch sitting next to each other in the auditorium. They continued to make conversation occasionally and Catra was unsure the entire time if Entrapta enjoyed her presence or not.
When the bell finally rang, signalling the end of their lunch period, Catra gave the empty container back to Entrapta. "Thanks for the apples. And for letting me stay here, I guess."
"Of course. If you ever need to get away you're free to come here. You're one of the rare people who I don't mind interrupting me."
Catra figured that for Entrapta, this was a compliment and smiled tiredly at the girl. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. You gonna be at theater practice tonight?" Catra asked as she stood up from her seat.
"Not tonight. Double Trouble and I are still working on the sound and lighting cues. I'll start coming to practice when we have those done."
"Gotcha. Well I'll see you then," Catra said, waving curtly as she walked away.
"See you then!" Entrapta yelled after her.
Catra didn't have another class with Scorpia for the rest of the day and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She really wanted to see her so she could apologize for...everything. On the other hand, though, Catra wasn't sure that Scorpia wanted to see her.
Catra managed to make it through her next class, though she didn't pay much attention. She found herself going towards Adora's locker in between classes, but Adora wasn't there. Scorpia wasn't at her locker either.
Catra started to text Scorpia a long winded apology, but ended up deleting it as she figured it was better to say in person.
Her last class dragged on even longer than usual. Catra barely took her eyes off the clock as she waited eagerly to hopefully smooth things over with Scorpia or at the very least talk things over with Adora and see what she thought about everything.
The second the bell rang, Catra sprung up from her chair and exited the classroom, making her way to Scorpia's locker. She got there early and waited impatiently for her friend to arrive.
She ran through her apology in her head again and prepared to tell Scorpia everything she wanted to know. She waited for a good ten minutes before she realized Scorpia wasn't coming.
She was still waiting when Kyle approached her. "Hey," he said quietly. "You waiting for Scorpia?"
"No I'm just waiting at her locker cuz I like the view," Catra said facetiously before sighing in resignation. "Sorry. Long day."
"I figured when you and Scorpia both skipped lunch. She...uh...she did talk to me just now though."
Catra studied Kyle carefully. "She talked to you?"
"Yeah. She asked me to tell you that she's sorry she blew up and she said she doesn't wanna talk about it. Hence...the whole her not being here thing."
"Great. Of course. What about her backpack and stuff?"
"She, uh, she already had it with her," Kyle said awkwardly. "Look I don't really know what all happened between you two, but...I hope it works out. And if you wanna talk ab…"
"Thanks Kyle," Catra interrupted him. "I really don't wanna talk about it. But thank you."
"I figured. Well...at least find someone to talk to. And I'm sure this will blow over soon. You two are too close for anything to get in between you for long."
Catra clung to Kyle's words more than she let on. "I hope you're right Kyle. I'm gonna get to theater practice. Thanks for being Kyle or whatever."
"Uh. Yeah that's me," Kyle said with a smile. "See you later, Catra."
Catra rubbed her eyes wearily and made her way to the auditorium, already deciding that Double Trouble was not going to get a great performance out of her today.
She entered the familiar doors and saw Double Trouble and Adora on the stage talking to one another. They heard the door open and both looked to see her walking up to the stage.
"There she is!" Double Trouble announced. "The one and only!"
Adora clapped for Catra with an amused smile as she stepped up to join them.
"What did I do?" Catra asked, confused.
"You're just great at being your wonderful self," Double Trouble answered. "Adora was telling me about your Halloween costumes and I saw a picture and just wow. If you two ever want to help Netossa and Spinnerella with costumes, feel free."
"Sure," Catra said. "And look I'm feeling kinda out of it today, so maybe we just do some more breathing techniques or something."
Adora studied Catra, worry on her face. Double Trouble nodded in consideration. "Well I don't wanna push you too hard. We'll start with some breathing and see where it goes from there."
"Awesome. Thanks," Catra replied. Double Trouble pulled out their notebook and crossed through some things. As they did this, Adora sidled up to Catra and asked if she was okay.
"Just Scorpia stuff. I'm fine. I'll tell you about it later."
"Promise?" Adora asked.
"Promise," Catra replied, managing a small smile as she saw how concerned for her Adora seemed to be. It was nice to have someone who cared so much.
"Okay," Double Trouble said quickly. "Breathing. You know the drill. We'll start with what we d…"
The sound of the doors of the auditorium opening echoed throughout the room and Double Trouble frowned as they lost their train of thought, craning their neck around to see who was entering.
Adora and Catra turned around as well and there was a moment of surprise as they recognized Glimmer and Bow.
Adora's immediate instinct was to hide herself or to hide Catra somehow. She found herself looking around her for somewhere to disappear to, realizing this was foolish as she was on an empty stage.
Catra was nowhere near as panicked as Adora, but she knew this wasn't an ideal situation. "Have you by chance told her yet?" Catra asked Adora quietly.
The look on Adora's face gave Catra the answer she was looking for.
Glimmer and Bow were smiling as they walked in and were talking to each other quietly. However, the second Glimmer caught sight of Catra on the stage her expression changed to confusion followed by a firm glare.
Bow just looked nervous and his eyes darted between the three girls as they stared at each other without speaking.
Double Trouble had no idea what was going on. "Uh...Welcome!" They exclaimed to the newcomers. "Are you two here to watch or to join our lovely th…"
"What are you doing here?" Glimmer addressed Catra with clear hostility, staring her down hatefully and ignoring Double Trouble's words.
"Oh I don't know, maybe just taking part in the extracurricular that I signed up for. What are you doing here?" Catra responded, matching Glimmer's aggression. She wasn't in the mood for this.
Glimmer began to walk up to the stage angrily. Bow tried to hold her back, but Glimmer shrugged him off easily and continued forward.
Adora tried to say something, but found that she couldn't.
Catra crossed her arms and held her ground, not breaking eye contact with Glimmer as she marched up to meet her.
Double Trouble still had no idea what was going on. "Ahem. Welcome to the stage! Wou…"
They were cut off once again by Glimmer as she walked up to Catra and stared her down. "Why are you in theater?"
"I appreciate the art form," Catra said with a thin smile.
"You...you knew Adora was in theater, didn't you?" Glimmer asked, her voice firm.
Adora looked between the girls. She hadn't seen either of them this mad. Bow awkwardly walked up onto the stage, keeping his distance. He shot Adora a troubled look and she returned it.
"Of course I knew Adora was in theater. That's the whole reason I joined in the first place." Catra knew in the back of her mind that this was probably not the best way to go about this, but it just felt too good to make Glimmer mad right now.
Glimmer took another step towards Catra. "I told you to leave her alone. She's not putting up with your harassment anymore. You and your friends have messed with her enough."
Catra laughed in Glimmer's face. "Yeah I don't think I will leave her alone though. And to be honest," Catra shot a toothy grin at the furious girl in front of her, "I don't think she wants me to."
Glimmer's eyes widened and she reached up towards Catra, grabbing onto her jacket. Catra laughed at this and it only made Glimmer more angry. "Catra I swear I am gonna…"
"STOP! Stop it!" Adora yelled loudly and everyone on the stage turned to look at her. She looked to be red in the face as she stomped forward and grabbed Glimmer's hands, separating her from Catra's jacket. "We are not going to fight like idiots!"
"But…" Glimmer was confused. "But she…"
"Catra is here because she's... because we're…" Adora looked to Catra and the two shared a deep look. Catra gave Adora a nod of encouragement. "Because we're friends and we wanted to do this together."
Glimmer took a step back, her face morphing into disbelief. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them rapidly.
Bow looked on, not sure if he should intervene or not.
"Uhhh," Double Trouble said cautiously. "I'm gonna...go. Practice is cancelled so...see you next week!" They quickly waved to Catra and Adora and then sped off backstage.
The girls barely noticed the frenzied theater director's exit as they stayed frozen in the moment.
Glimmer looked to Adora. "You...are you...are you for real?" She said it almost like a plea, as if hoping it was all a big joke.
Adora tried to maintain eye contact, but couldn't look her friend in the eyes as she turned her head and nodded in silent confirmation.
Glimmer spent a while processing this information. Bow slowly approached Glimmer. "Hey Glim," Bow said slowly. "Let's...uh... let's just take it a little easy."
Glimmer completely ignored Bow. "How long?"
Adora kept her head down shamefully. "A while...since my first week here."
It looked like somebody had punched Glimmer in the abdomen. She frowned deeply. "That seems like something you'd wanna let your best friend know, doesn't it?"
"I…" Adora's voice broke a little. "I was going to tell you! This weekend or…"
"Yeah sure you were!" Glimmer shouted, throwing her arms up. "I bet if I hadn't come in here today I wouldn't have known ever!"
Adora stepped back a little as Glimmer yelled and Catra spoke up. "Leave her alone, Glimmer," she said threateningly as she stepped forward.
"Oh wow! Look at you being all big and protective," Glimmer said mockingly. She was about to make another jeer before she seemed to pause and look between Catra and Adora thoughtfully. She began to slowly shake her head. "Of course! This is just perfect. The fight at the football game and now this..." Glimmer chuckled to herself in disbelief. "You're totally into Adora aren't you?"
Neither of the girls responded and Catra stood her ground.
Glimmer took this as her answer. "Wow. Just wow. Catra, this is just sad. You ruin our relationship and then you decide to bully your way into my foster sister's affections!?"
Adora's jaw dropped. "Hold up, what?"
Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Yeah wow you got me. Secret's out. We dated in middle school. And Catra ruined everything! And now she's trying to get back at me through you, Adora!"
"I am not! You are so full of yourself! You always have been!" Catra yelled back as she took a quick step towards Glimmer. "I could care less about getting back at you!"
"Yeah I doubt that entirely!"
"Yeah you would! My God, you've only gotten more insufferable over time!"
"Yeah and you've become a heartless jerk who picks on anyone smaller than them!"
"You have no idea what I do! You just told Adora that so she'd stay away from me! You lied to her first!"
"That's the truth! I didn't want her near you! You made her first week miserable!"
"Yeah well I've been making every week since that better!"
Bow stepped in between the two girls who were now even closer to each other. "Please can we calm down? If we all just talk about this with level heads we can c…"
"Bow I don't need one of your pep-talks right now," Catra said, not breaking eye contact with Glimmer.
"Don't talk to my friend like that," Glimmer said with a growl.
A wicked idea formed in Catra's head and she snickered delightfully. "Oh. Here's a fun fact for you, Glimmer. You'll love this. Bow and I hang out too. We've gotten to know each other pretty well as a matter of fact."
Glimmer snorted, rolling her eyes in disbelief. "Yeah sure. You and…"
Glimmer stopped dead in her tracks as she looked at Bow and saw the expression on his face.
Glimmer held a fist to her mouth and looked like she was about to explode.
Catra smiled proudly.
"Hold up, what?" Adora asked, extremely overwhelmed by everything that was happening. "Catra you didn't tell me you and Bow…"
Catra turned and looked at Adora, immediately regretting saying what she had said. She opened her mouth to explain but Bow beat her to it.
He looked from Adora to Glimmer with extreme guilt in his eyes. "We were just…it was for a...we were working together on something and...I was gonna tell you, but I figured...I mean I figured this would happen if I did."
Glimmer ran a hand through her hair and looked down at her feet. Everyone was silent. When she looked up again her eyes were filled to the brim with tears and she looked from Bow to Adora. Bow rushed forward to comfort her but she pushed him away.
"So that's it, huh?" Glimmer asked in stunned disbelief. "Both of my frien...both of you decided it would be better to lie to me than to sit down and talk to me and trust me to understand?"
She looked at her friends and they both avoided her gaze guiltily.
Glimmer laughed joylessly. "Wow. Some friends. At least you all have each other now." She wiped her hand across her face as tears began to fall and she quickly turned away, marching down the stairs and heading for the auditorium doors.
"Glimmer wait!" Bow yelled after her. "Glimmer!"
She ignored him as she exited through the doors without looking back. Bow looked to Catra and Adora. He started to say something, but just ended up frowning before he hurried down the steps to try and catch up to Glimmer.
Catra turned to Adora. "Wow. Okay that was r…"
"Catra," Adora interrupted wearily, holding up a hand. "I think that was the worst that could have gone."
"Yeah...I mean there were some flaws for sure," Catra admitted.
"It was all flaws!" Adora exclaimed, scratching at her arm furiously in absent-minded anxiety. "And Catra you did not make it easier at all." Adora shot a hurt look at Catra and Catra immediately felt her heart crumble into thousands of little pieces.
"I know. I'm sorry." Catra rushed to get the words out. "I just...it was Glimmer and we have a lot of... history and she just gets under my skin and then she said things about me and us and I just…" Catra took a breath and Adora sat down on the stage, staring at the floor. Catra sat down as well and continued her apology. "I shouldn't have. I should have let you handle it. I just didn't want her to be angry at you anymore. I'm...I'm sorry, Adora."
Adora pressed her lips together firmly and put her hand up to her temple, massaging it gently. She remained quiet for a few moments before replying.
"Catra…I want to be mad at you," Adora said with a frown. She looked up at Catra and tears began to well in her eyes. "But I can't. I just need you too much right now."
Catra stared at Adora as if nothing else mattered and quickly scooted over to hug the girl. Adora accepted the hug and relished the feeling of Catra's arms wrapping around her. She pressed her face into Catra's shoulder and gently cried as she wondered if her friendship was entirely ruined.
Catra held her tightly, feeling Adora's body tremble gently in her arms. Catra was pretty sure she had some idea what Adora was feeling. She thought about Scorpia and now the mess with Adora's friends. She realized she might need Adora right now just as much as Adora needed her.
Neither of them noticed the auditorium doors open as Bow walked in and saw the small huddle of the two girls clutching one another on the big, empty stage.
He had been going to tell them that he hadn't gotten through to Glimmer and that she had driven off. He knew Adora needed a ride and he assumed Catra probably did too. He figured now that it could wait a bit.
He didn't want to disturb them so he exited back out into the hall and closed the door gently behind him. He shook his head as he slumped to the floor tiredly.
"What in the world have we gotten ourselves into?" Bow asked himself quietly, rubbing some tears from his eyes.
You gotta love a chapter where everyone cries. The secret is out. A lot of them in fact! And now we get to see if they can put the pieces back together. It's gonna be angsty and sad for a while now. But I'm definitely gonna have some lighter moments mixed in cuz it's emotionally taxing to just write sad stuff all day. Anyway, thanks for reading and stay healthy!
