"I can understand why she was upset," Charlotte said. She was sitting with Sonya in a small donut bar, waiting to meet up with Mandy, who was apparently on her way to join them.
For the second time, Sonya had recalled the heated exchange of views with her friend from the day before, and for the second time, Charlotte had been sympathetic. There was no getting away from it; the new couple had been so wrapped up in each other that they had been neglecting their friends. Charlotte had already sent texts to several people, in case they were starting to feel the same way about her that Mandy had been about Sonya.
"Definitely," Sonya said. "I felt really bad once I had a chance to sit down and think things through properly. But all's well that ends well, right? We patched things up, and Dandy's Donuts is back in business."
Loving the happy smile on her girl's face, Charlotte returned it in kind. "And with a special guest, too."
"Yeah. It'll just be a short video we'll film, a few minutes long, talking about the donuts."
"In every detail," Charlotte said, confirming her understanding. "I've seen a couple of episodes before."
"You have?" Sonya asked in surprise.
"Yeah. I've seen you sitting there, stuffing your face and talking with your mouth full," Charlotte chuckled.
"That's the best bit about the show!" Sonya exclaimed, smiling broadly. "Donuts aren't as much fun if you don't eat them like a pig."
Charlotte laughed. "Noted. Hey, here's Mandy."
The third member of the trio had just walked through the door into the small donut bar. "Hey, guys," she said, walking the few paces to where Sonya and Charlotte were sitting.
Greetings were exchanged, then Sonya and Charlotte got up, ready to go up to the bar and order their donuts.
"I think that, seeing as you're the guest on the show, you should pick the donuts we review," Mandy suggested to Charlotte.
"Works for me," Charlotte said easily.
"Char was just commenting on how we eat like pigs in our videos," Sonya advised her friend. "She said we..."
Charlotte put a hand over Sonya's mouth to shut her up. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, exaggerating her outrage for comedic effect. "I said nothing of the sort."
"Yes you did," Sonya giggled into the hand, her words muffled but understandable.
Mandy laughed at their antics. "Don't worry about it. It's usually Sonya who eats that way. I'm quite ladylike about it."
"Yeah, right," Sonya mumbled into Charlotte's palm, just before it was removed from her mouth.
"See how she treats me?" Sonya asked Mandy.
"Right when I was starting to ship Flairville, too," Mandy joked.
Sonya couldn't help herself making eye contact with Charlotte and smiling. Simply hearing Mandy say Flairville made her happy, even if she didn't know they were an actual couple.
"We'd better order before they kick us out of here," Charlotte said. Realistically, it wasn't likely to happen. There were only a couple of other customers in the donut bar.
"Alright, what are we getting?" Sonya asked.
Charlotte selected chocolate glazed donuts, and Sonya purchased a bag of five of them.
Donuts in hand, they walked out into the parking lot, got into Sonya and Charlotte's hire car. They got ready to film the short YouTube video by positioning a camera on the middle of the dash. Sonya sat in the driver's seat, with Charlotte in the front passenger seat. Mandy sat in the back, between the two front seats so that she would be in the centre of the shot.
"All set," Sonya reported. Without waiting for either of the others to acknowledge the fact, she started the camera filming. "Hi everyone!"
"Welcome back to Dandy's Donuts!" Sonya and Mandy said simultaneously.
"It's been a while, but we're back! And we have a special guest!" Mandy said, hyping it up.
"The Queen is here!" Sonya added, a huge smile on her face as she looked at Charlotte.
"Hi, guys!" Charlotte smiled, looking into the camera. "It's great to be here. Now let's eat some donuts!"
Sonya and Mandy briefly talked about where they were and where they had purchased the donuts. Then Sonya handed out donuts from the bag.
Mandy described the donuts for the viewers, before inviting Charlotte take the first bite and talk about her reaction to the taste.
In keeping with the other episodes of Dandy's Donuts, Charlotte didn't stand on ceremony or manners. She bit a large portion out of her donut and started speaking while chewing it. "Mmm, this very nice. The chocolate glazing is delicious."
"The texture is nice too," Sonya said, chewing her own donut.
"Lovely texture," Mandy commented.
They continued discussing what had turned out to be the top quality donuts until they had all finished eating.
"There's two left," Sonya reported, taking them out of the bag.
"One for me," Mandy said quickly, snatching it away. "The two of you will have to share. I think you should do it Lady and the Tramp style, too!"
"Oh god, really?" Charlotte shrieked while Sonya laughed loudly.
"Yes, really!" Mandy insisted.
"Alright, I'll do it," Sonya decided. She put the last remaining donut in her mouth, holding it with her teeth so that the other half stuck out towards Charlotte. She leaned over towards Charlotte's seat, allowing Flair to meet her halfway.
"Here goes," Charlotte said, giggling like an idiot.
Mindful that the video was going on YouTube, and that her relationship with Sonya was not to be revealed outside of kayfabe, Charlotte did her best to bite off half the donut without her lips touching Sonya's. She managed it, too.
"Awesome!" Sonya muffled through a mouthful of donut after she had stuffed her half into her mouth.
In the back, Mandy was laughing at them. So was Charlotte, and it made bits of donut fall down the front of her shirt, making a real mess. It only intensified the laughter from all three women.
A minute later, Sonya had turned off the camera. There was no doubt in her mind that the viewers would find that episode particularly enjoyable. "I've not laughed like that in a long time," she said, smiling first to Charlotte and then to Mandy.
"Me either," Charlotte said, wiping a tear from her right eye.
"Quite the contrast to how we see you guys on TV these days," Mandy chuckled. She posed, tensing the muscles in her arms and affected a macho voice. "We run Smackdown Live."
Sonya laughed as Charlotte said, "Well, we do run it."
The complaint Mandy had voiced the previous day came back to mind for Sonya. Mandy was annoyed with the lack of time she was getting in the ring. Sonya wondered if as champion, she might be able to help. She had an idea that might achieve exactly that.
"Mand, I'm thinking about what you were saying yesterday," she said.
"Which part?" Mandy asked.
"The part about how they're not giving you ring time. I have an idea we could pitch to Road Dogg."
"Oh, okay. I'm listening," Mandy said with interest, while Charlotte listened keenly.
"Nothing was done to address our friendship. On-screen, I went from being your best friend one minute to being revealed as Charlotte's girlfriend the next. How you felt about it was never addressed."
Mandy nodded. "Okay, so what are you saying?"
"I'm saying we pitch a face turn for you. They teased us fighting each other after you eliminated me from the battle royal at Evolution. They could make it an angle now, with you kicking my ass for turning my back on you. How exactly they'd write it would be up to them, but that's my idea."
"It could be worked into this thing with Mella," Charlotte suggested. "Carmella and Mandy versus Sonya and Charlotte."
"You mean as an angle, not a match," Mandy clarified thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think it would make sense, if we can get them to go for it."
"You're still in the European Championship tournament," Charlotte added.
Mandy grunted a laugh. "Yeah, because I haven't had my first round match yet."
"We're on the same side of the bracket," Charlotte recalled. "We could meet each other in the tournament, and that could be part of the angle."
"I'm loving this, guys," Sonya said happily. "We should all go pitch this together Tuesday night."
"I'm up for that," Charlotte said.
Mandy smiled. "Sounds awesome, guys. Thank you."
With the plan decided upon, Charlotte's attention turned to something a little more immediate. "Guys, we forgot to buy drinks. My mouth is so dry. Can I get you anything?"
Sonya and Mandy put in their requests, and Charlotte got out of the car to go back into the donut bar.
"Sonya Deville!" Mandy admonished almost as soon as the door was closed.
"What?" Sonya asked with concern.
"You're dating Charlotte for real, aren't you?"
Sonya was dumbfounded. How the hell did Mandy know? Her shocked reaction must have dispelled any doubts, for Mandy said, "I knew it. Don't worry, you know I won't say anything to anyone else."
"I really need you not to," Sonya implored her. "This is Charlotte's first relationship with a woman. The absolute last thing she needs is for it to go public before she's had a chance to talk to her family."
"My lips are sealed," Mandy promised. "At least that explains why you lied yesterday and told me it was a friendship."
"I couldn't tell you the truth," Sonya said apologetically. "How did you even know? How did you figure it out?"
"I'm your best friend, Sonya. I know you. I know what I'm seeing when I watch you guys with each other. There are subtle things in your expressions, in your eyes. You love her, don't you?"
"Yes," Sonya admitted. "I love her very much. It might sound stupid saying that this early, but it's true. I've never fallen for someone so quickly before. With Charlotte, it just feels right. No, it is right. She means the world to me, Mand. I hope you can understand that. I haven't meant to blank you out or distance myself from you, it's just that something very special has happened to me this past month or so."
Mandy took Sonya's hand in a reassuring manner. "I get it. Trust me, I do. And I'm happy for you both. Please, forget how I went off yesterday. If I had known this was the reason you were spending so much time with Char, I wouldn't have complained. I thought you were replacing me as your best friend, not starting a relationship."
"I would never try and replace you," Sonya said emotionally. "I love you, you know that?"
Mandy glanced out of her window, seeing Charlotte emerge from the donut bar with three drink bottles in hand. "No, you love Charlotte. And she's coming back, so you might want to change the subject."
By the time Charlotte got back into the car, there was no way for her to tell what had been talked about while she was gone. Oblivious, she handed out the drinks with a contented smile on her face.
A/N: Many thanks to those who left a review on the previous chapter, and to everyone who has supported my stories in 2018. This has been my favourite year yet as a writer. If you guys have had anything like as much fun with my stories as I have had writing them, I'm very happy.
This will be my last update before Christmas, so I'll take the opportunity to pass on my best wishes to you all.
Next time, Fastlane. It's Carmella against Sonya for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Time for you to predict the winner in your reviews!