R_S: So, it's been a while. This story is close to wrapped up, which is exciting. I've starting posting different stories on AO3 under the same name, fyi, so please check that out too!


Chapter 20

Biscuits

Bambi spent a lot of time on the phone in the time that followed answering questions for lawyers and law enforcement, fielding questions from family. She knew she would eventually need to appear for depositions, to testify in court at some point, but in the interim, Camp Green Lake was too far off the beaten path for many visitors, even with a case as high-profile as the state versus Kennedy was setting up to be. Somehow, a social worker had not come yet (behind the scenes, the warden was making damn sure that did not happen, although Katrina could not have known that), but she must have repeated her story a dozen times, often enough that it felt hollow when she spoke it. She did not tell the D-Tent boys, could not bear the looks. She didn't want to see the way Squid would look at her when he found out she was already used when she met him. Would he even want her anymore? Information surrounding Briana's death had been released, but the details of Kat's own rape had had not, due to her status as a minor. The staff knew, and Dr. Pendanski had fumblingly offered his services. She turned him down quickly, which seemed to have damaged his ego. In the next group meeting, he alluded to her needing to "process trauma" but he backed off when she immediately started crying. The boys looked uncomfortable and assumed this was wrapped up in the suicide and trial. She hoped to never tell them the truth.

That was complicated where Squid was concerned. Bambi hated keeping things from him. He was her rock, her anchor in the swirling storm of bullshit her life had devolved into. When she was not talking to lawyers and agents and officers or working herself to the bone running the camp, she was with Squid, latched onto him. He was going insane running interference so their adult supervision did not catch on, but he never gave her a hard time.

There was a soft side to Squid- she had found that out long ago. This was more than that, though. He was gruff on the outside, all bad boy posturing and rough edges, but he had a sweetness that was hidden. She remembered the first time she heard him crying in the night, after a day when she received a care package from her loved ones. Eventually, once they were together, she hazarded a guarded inquiry about it. He shut her down immediately, looked viscerally angry about it, but he simply ended the conversation and denied it had happened. Sweet though he might secretly be, there were certain things he was still too 'manly' to talk about, and that was one of them. His snide remarks about his alcoholic mother and absentee father, however, offered her a reasonable hypothesis.

The other boys in camp, even some of her so-called friends (especially X-Ray) made snide comments about her tears and hours spent with phone privileges they could only dream of. She heard how she was weak, pathetic… probably sucking off Mr. Sir to get time in there. But not her Squid, not the only fucking person in that entire god forsaken camp she thought gave even two shits about her.

He was no good with words, but having him there to protect her and just help her feel made all the difference. They had grown more exploratory with hands and lips in ways that made her breath hitch when she even thought about it. They were being a bit more careless she knew; once or twice a tentmate had come in to find her hands on him, and most of the camp knew he was getting something more than handholding. Boys were starting to jokingly count down the days until Squid's release, something he took none to kindly to when he heard it. But honestly? Bambi did not care. He was good to her and set boundaries when she could not, refusing to let her touch him when he could see she had been crying and was simply out of things to do with herself.

And he did not ask questions when she curled away from him to cry slowly and silently over the photocopy of a diary.

Kat thanked her lucky stars every damn day that Squid was there and hers and utterly perfect. She needed him more than she had needed anything before. He was the only thing keeping her going, it seemed, and she was not taking a second of his time for granted.

He was there for her when her heart broke a second time in ways she could not have imagined.

It had been a long, emotionally draining day. She finished the laundry early in preparation and did not have to prepare any sandwiches, so she had the whole day in Mr. Sir's office to spend on the phone answering questions. He supervised her some of the time, but it was one of those common days where he was tired of listening to her moping and stalked off.

It was better that way, Bambi supposed. It was easier to get the words out without him there watching and listening as though it had anything to do with him. Still, sitting there alone was lonely. The weight felt heavy when there was no one else to carry it as well.

The phone rang again, and for a long moment she stared at it, wondering if it was even worth answering. On the third ring, she brought the black plastic received up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Katrina?" The voice on the other was familiar, steady, and tears sprung to Kat's eyes immediately.

"Oh my god, Melanie? Mel, it's so good to hear your voic-"

"Fuck you, you fucking bitch! You're dead to me! DEAD!"

Her breath caught in her throat, choking the words that caught there, "I-I, wha-"

"You're a liar and a- a- traitor, and I can't believe I ever thought you were my friend! After everything I did for you , after I stood by you for your first fucking murder-"

"What are you talking about? I don't understand-"

"I had to find out from the fucking police coming in to question me in the middle of chemistry! About my fucking best friend!"

"It isn't like that, Bri didn't-"

"I hope you realize you're a fucking murderer for a second fucking time."

Kat licked her lips, clutching the phone in her white-knuckled grip. "Mel… Melanie, please, I-"

"No." Melanie's words were harsh on the other end, her tone unforgiving, "No, you don't get to- Brianna's dead, Kat. You guys didn't tell me, didn't care enough to let me help, and now she's gone. She told you what happened, and you could have told me, knowing you weren't going to be there to give her the support she needed, and now she's gone. That's on you."

"Mel-"

"I'll never forgive you for this." She could hear the tears in her friend's voice.

The line went dead. And so too, it felt, did she.

Her body moved on autopilot as her feet carried her across the hot ground. The sun was just tilting toward the West, nearing when she should begin her dinner duties, but she neither noticed nor paid mind. She did not remember leaving Mr. Sir's office but she found herself back at the tent, the hustle and bustle of the boys seeking reprieve from the hot sun reverberating inside. When she stepped in, chest hollow, they greeted her with rowdy calls. Someone was speaking to her, but she didn't hear them. Instead, she stood in the doorway for a long moment, staring at nothing.

"Ey!" Zigzag finally yelled, looking notably put out, "I asked you a question."

"Oh, sorry… what?" She blinked her eyes and noticed them looking. Squid stared hard, but she could not meet his eyes. Suddenly, he felt dangerous. Temporary.

She tuned back into Zigzag's questioning, "Dinner, I heard there'll be some biscuits. How ya gonna get 'em back here after?"

"I dunno, I'll just give them to you."

"With Twisty over your shoulder?" Armpit snorted, "Doubtful."

"C'mon, play some cards wit' us n' we'll brainstorm." Magnet slid over, nodding at her with his head.

"Look guys, just… I'm not in the mood right now, ok?" The boys went back to their game, and she watched them for a moment. X-Ray stared at her, but she did not notice, beginning to cross the tent toward her area. He caught her arm.

"Si'down." His voice was deadly, but she only blinked at him. The emotionless expression unnerved him, and he released, watching her sway.

"I'm gonna lie down… I'm tired." The snarl on his face in response looked downright animal.

"You got no right to be tired, girl. I'm fuckin' sick of your sob stories n' complainin'. What, some guy puts his dick in you months ago n' we're supposed-"

"What?" Her head popped up, suddenly awake, and the tent fell silent. "What did you just say?" X-Ray gave a flicker of unease, but he quickly doubled down on his practiced carelessness, crossing his arms and sneering.

"You heard me. We all know, princess. S'not like your friend's little novel is under lock n' key."

"You read it?" Bambi's voice was a whisper but hard, and she turned to stare at Squid. "All of you?"

He reached to tuck some hair behind her ear, "Babe-" he started softly, but she smacked his hand away. Armpit had the decency to look contrite, staring ashamedly down at the floor.

"How could you? I trusted you-"

"Get down off your fuckin' high horse, Bambi!" X-Ray cut in again, "We been takin' care of you from day one, n' now you're just makin' things too damn difficult, so this is your last and only goddamn warning." She could what little fight she ever had left in her flow out like a deflating balloon. She needed them more than they needed her, that was clear.

"Fine." She said softly and moved to her tent. Squid looked to follow, but she closed the flap in a way that made it clear he was to stay away.

X-Ray snorted, "Man, for all this drama, her pussy best taste like cho-" The clatter of the cot as it toppled over from Squid's sudden rise cut him off.

"Don't even fuckin' think about finishin' that sentence, X-Ray, or I swear to fuckin' god you won't have a goddamn tooth left in your ugly fuckin' head!"

"The fuck you say to me?"

"Yo, guys, chill out!" Magnet tried to get between them, but there was too much pent-up emotion to be bottled. The two exploded and collapsed, a buck mass of twisting limbs on the floor.

Armpit carefully tried to reach into the swirl of violence, "Hey, hey that's enough- guys, a little help here?" The other two carefully inserted themselves, each trying to pull on one of the boys acting like feral cats off the other.

"Get off of him!" No one saw Bambi come out of nowhere, swiping at X-Ray angrily when she caught the gangly boy's fist connecting with Squid's shoulder. Her boyfriend spun away, lashing out and hoping to catch his tentmate. Instead, it clipped the edge of Bambi's cheekbone. She yelped, and all the boys froze immediately. After the momentary pause, Squid scrambled up and rushed to her.

"Shit, Kat, are you ok? Fuck, I'm so, so sorry, I didn't- I would never- I'm sorry." It looked like he might cry, eyes welling as he cupped her chin to look.

"It's fine-"

"It's not fine! You're gonna have a bruise, shit Kat, I'm sorry. Here, si'down." He pulled her over to his cot, fussing gently as his face contorted with grief.

"Squid…" she said softly, eyes flicking to their audience.

He scowled, "The fuck y'all lookin' at, show's over."

"Man, screw this, I'm headin' to the rec room homes." Magnet announced loudly, standing up. Bambi shot him a grateful look as the other boys took it as an invitation to join, although X-Ray left with a scathing glare that could have rendered the fat from their bones. The couple pointedly ignored Armpit's voice as the group passed the outside of the tent ("Aw, it's kinda sweet, dog. I think they in love.")

"I am sorry, Katrina. I would never put hands on you like that, not ever."

She hushed him, "I know, Alan. It's not your fault. X is a fucking dickweed."

"Yeah, he is… I am too. I shouldn'a read it."

"No, you shouldn't've. Why did you?"

"It sounds stupid or like an excuse t'say it now, but I wanted to protect you. The guys were all readin' it, n' I felt like if I knew then I could keep 'em in line. Maybe s'just morbid curiosity, though." She shrugged one shoulder at that.

"We all have that, I guess."

"I punched the wall of the rec room when I saw it." He whispered, and her eyes watered.

"I'm sorry, Alan."

"Don't worry bout it, I'm alright. Are you?"

"I dunno… how long have you known?"

"Few days… wanted to talk to you about it, but I kept chickening out."

She licked her lips, eyes watering. "Well, now's your chance. Just… just say it."

"I could kill him," he whispered, eyes locked on the floor. Her hands were shaking.

"I'm sorry." She said again, voice cracking as the tears slowly began to spill, and her boyfriend looked at her.

"Sorry? Baby girl, what you got to be sorry about?"

"Y-you don't think I'm…"

He preempted the question and scooped her into his arms. "Fuck no. None'a this is your fault even a li'l, Kat."

"You still want me?" The words tasted childish on her tongue, but she knew she needed to hear the answer the moment she said them.

"I'll always want you. You're goddamn perfect." He pressed a kiss to her temple, but she shook her head.

"No I'm not… Mel hates me."

"She don't hate you, s'just hard to write-"

"She called, Alan. Said I murdered Bri by not saying anything, said it's my fault she's dead."

"She said what? That's fucking bullshit, and you know it. She's just… it'll blow over."

She shook her head, "I've never seen her angry like that, not in our entire lives. I don't think it will." Alan squeezed her hand, eyes earnest.

"Then you'll see her when you get out of her and make her understand." Kat pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and sighed.

"I'm too antsy to sleep, gonna get started on the biscuits early. Maybe I can sneak a batch in here before dinner, try to do some damage control."

He pursed his lips, "Prolly a good idea. We gotta figure out a way to deal with X, too."

"Don't worry about that, I can appease him. Thank you, by the way, for-"

"No one talks about you like that, not even him." Squid's tone was fierce, eyes alight with fire, and she kissed him again. He walked her casually to the kitchens, looking casual as they passed Mr. Sir yelling at Roadrunner and Stretch about one thing or another and pretending he was just on his way to join the rest of his tent.

"Have Magnet swing by in an hour, I should have some by then. And even if he comes early, Twisty keeps his head down; shouldn't be an issue."

Squid nodded, "Sure thing, Bam. See ya later." He sauntered off looking bored just as Dr. Pendanski popped up to ask her how she was doing. She gave the man her saddest eyes and best good-girl attitude, and he gave her little trouble.

Magnet was sweet when he pulled up a bit later while Armpit and Zigzag distracting the counselors by pretending that they saw a lizard by the spigot, even apologized as he stowed the paper bag full of a full dozen steaming biscuits. He was easy to forgive. X-Ray was less so, pushing Squid back in line for food and keeping the tent members diffident for the meal. It made Bambi's blood run cold with fear, but Squid tapped her knee gently. Even if the other boy called off her protection, she would still have him. And honestly, she was pretty sure she would still have all of them; things would just be more pleasant if she held her nose and made amends, even if he was the one who kept making snide backhanded comments. After dinner, he divvied out the biscuits without any sense of fairness. Bambi angrily riffled through her underwear bag to get to what was hidden within.

"Here," she snapped, all but spiking a small package of Twizzlers at X-Ray, "there's your retribution, now leave Squid the fuck alone."

"You gonna try me, girl?" He countered, rather than gracefully accepting the peace offering (although he did snatch it immediately).

"Fuck with me all you want, I get it; I'm not digging, I'm getting special treatment, whatever. But Squid's paid his dues and you know it. He's good as your right hand, X, you know that."

He snorted and smirked, "Shit, he's rubbin' off on you. Look at you growing a single, weak little backbone." Bambi knew better than to rise to the bait and said nothing. He saluted her, nodded, and tossed Squid a biscuit.

End of Chapter


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