So I'm back from that holiday! I'm super tired cause I literally got back the other day but I miss Shaudrey so here goes! The prompt was from an anon saying they wanted Shelby and Audrey to get drunk and do stupid stuff. There was also another anon that said they wanted Shelby to have a nightmare/ one of them to get sick/ for the both of them to get a cat (I'll do separate chapters for two of them). This is gonna be fairly short but I hope it's okay and I haven't gotten rusty with the characters!
The Blind Date AU pt. 15
After the premier of Audrey's show, she seemed to have much more time on her hands. This time was mostly spent with Shelby, although she did make sure to spend more time with her friends. Ever since Audrey had gotten together with Shelby she seemed to have forgotten to have a social life. She didn't mind, though. Shelby was her best friend (even though Audrey would never admit it in fear of looking like a sap).
Audrey's offers to act in movies and television series was ever increasing, but she decided to take a short break to spend more time with Shelby. Shelby's book was coming along nicely. It had a neat scrapbook look and the colours used were mostly pastel. She wanted to do a little more work on it before publishing, but since Audrey was taking a break from her work Shelby figured she could leave the rest of her book for later on.
That night the two of them decided to have a movie night. A proper movie night. While Audrey was out picking up their pizzas and drinks, Shelby set up the couch area. She had laid a blanket out on the floor as well as several cushions, all of which were different sizes. She set them out nicely and found a movie to watch, putting it into the DVD player. Shelby brought out some napkins and glasses, placing them coffee table. When she heard Audrey knock on the door she let her in excitedly. She helped carry the pizza boxes to their spot on the couch.
"Do you think we have enough cushions?" Audrey asked, laughing softly. There was barely enough space for them to sit.
"I just wanted to make sure we'd be comfortable." Shelby said with a smile, putting the pizza boxes down on the coffee table beside the glasses. "What did you bring to drink?" she asked, plopping herself down onto the couch. Audrey revealed the bottle from the bag. "Mm, Port." she said, taking the bottle and placing it onto the coffee table. "What else did you get?" she asked, looking at the bag Audrey was holding.
"This one's for me." Audrey cooed, pulling out a bottle of London Gin, and a bottle of tonic. "It's my favourite. Did you know?" Audrey asked, opening a pack of straws and putting one in her glass after sitting beside Shelby.
"I do now." Shelby hummed, pecking Audrey's cheek. "You're using the wrong glass."
"Does it matter? I'll still be drinking the same thing." Audrey said with a laugh. She poured Shelby's drink and then her own, mixing the gin and tonic with her straw.
"Don't you need a lime and some ice?" Shelby asked.
"A lime! How could I forget?" Audrey said, quickly going to the kitchen. She came back with a cut lime, using it in her drink. "I don't like the ice." she admitted, tucking her legs up onto the couch and covering the both of them with a blanket.
Shelby pressed play on the movie helping herself to her pizza and wine. Audrey pulled Shelby a little closer to herself as the movie played.
...
As the night went on and the pizza was finished, Audrey became more and more generous with the amount of gin in her drink. She made sure to fill Shelby's glass with wine too. It was only polite that they got drunk together.
"I think I've had enough wine." Shelby said with a giggle, still letting Audrey fill her glass. "Why is this movie so terrible?"
"Because it has Adam Sandler in it." Audrey replied with a grin.
They both laughed along with each other even though there was nothing to really laugh about.
"You know, you're the prettiest girl...ever." Shelby said with a grin. "So, so pretty. How do you do that?" she giggled, leaning in to clumsily kiss Audrey's face. Audrey playfully nudged Shelby, causing her drink to spill slightly.
"Oh no." Audrey said, unable to wipe the smile off her face. Shelby didn't stop kissing the other woman. "Shelby, I spilled your drink."
Shelby gasped loudly. She placed her glass back on the coffee table with extreme caution, as if placing it at the even a slight angle would cause it to spill again. "Put yours down too. We're making a mess." she said, putting Audrey's glass down the same way she had put her own down.
"I think they're safe. Let me just..." Audrey leaned forward, trying to catch the straw between her lips but failing the first few times. When she finally got it she finished the rest of the drink.
"Let me try." Shelby said, taking Audrey's straw and putting it in her wine glass. She finished her own drink as well.
"Did you just drink wine through a straw?" Audrey asked, starting to giggle. Shelby giggled along with her. "I love you." Audrey hummed, leaning in to kiss Shelby but accidentally knocking her onto the couch. They laughed breathlessly as they kissed.
...
The next morning Audrey woke up with a pounding headache. She wasn't on the couch where she thought she had ended the night. She barely knew where she was. The light filtering through the window was so bright it was blinding. "What in God's name..." she muttered to herself, shielding her eyes from the light. She felt a weight on her lap. It was warm against her thigh. "Shelby? Shelby, wake up." Audrey said, her hand going down to her lap to feel though Shelby's hair. It wasn't Shelby's hair she felt, though. Audrey screamed when she realised that the furry ball in her lap was not, in fact, Shelby. The ball darted away at the sound of the scream. "What the bloody hell was that?" she half yelled.
Shelby was woken by the scream. She groaned softly, moving in closer to Audrey who was sitting beside her. "What happened?" Shelby asked, her voice raspy. "Why is the sun so bright?" she whined, burying her face in Audrey's shoulder.
Audrey squinted to see Shelby. "Let me get up to close the blinds." she said, gently leaning Shelby against the wall. She was glad to see that she was in her own kitchen. She quickly closed the curtains above the kitchen sink, the room quickly becoming dark. "I swear there was a giant rat on me." Audrey said, looking around the kitchen. She couldn't see any rats. Was it her imagination? Audrey's pounding headache had gotten the best of her. She drank as much water as she could before bringing a glass to Shelby. "I think we overdid it."
"I think you're right." Shelby said, downing the water quickly. "Where's the rat? Why are we in the kitchen?"
"I have absolutely no idea." Audrey replied.
"I'm cold."
"Come here, baby. I'll take you to bed." Audrey cooed, helping Shelby up and taking her to the bedroom. They both laid down for a while, still recovering. "Do you smell... fish?" Audrey asked, wrinkling her nose. Shelby nodded. "What on Earth did we do?" she whined, holding her own head.
After about half an hour Shelby sat up. "I feel sick." she groaned before rushing to the bathroom. She threw up in the sink, groaning as she rinsed out her mouth. She always felt nauseated the day after heavy drinking.
"I'll make some coffee." Audrey said, lugging herself to the kitchen. The fish odour was much stronger in there. She set the kettle to boil before looking around. She noticed two small rectangular cans under a chair. Audrey examined one and sighed. Sardines. "Shelby, do you remember anything about sardines?" Audrey asked, not raising her voice. She tossed the cans in the bin. From the smell of the kitchen it was as if they had gotten sardines all over the floor.
When Shelby finally emerged from the bathroom she sat down at the table. "I think we were catching something." Shelby said, resting her head in her hands.
Audrey brought the coffees to the table, placing one in front of Shelby and one in front of her own seat. "What could we have possibly been trying to ca- Oh my Lord." Audrey gasped as she pulled out her chair to sit down. The furry ball darted away again, but this time Audrey saw it. She sat in her seat and groaned. "I know what we were trying to catch."
...
Audrey recovered much faster than Shelby, most likely because she could deal with being hungover much more easily considering how many times she had been in that state. She had carefully helped Shelby into bed, leaving a bucket by her bedside. Audrey had stayed with the other woman a while longer before cleaning up the kitchen floor. She scrubbed and bleached until there wasn't even the slightest smell of fish. Once Audrey finished packing up the lounge and getting the red wine stain out of her carpet, she went on her phone to call animal control. She couldn't just have that...thing running around her apartment. She went to check on Shelby as she scrolled through the phone numbers, sitting on the bed slowly so her weight wouldn't bounce the other woman and wake her.
Audrey selected the number, bringing her phone up to her ear before looking at Shelby. Audrey smiled slightly to herself when she saw the other woman resting peacefully. Her smile faltered when she noticed the pair of big yellow eyes staring at her from behind Shelby's arm. As the line connected, Audrey hung the phone up. She sighed to herself, slightly exasperated. Shelby was resting peacefully, and in her arms was a black and brown tortoiseshell cat.
"Shelby? Shelby, wake up." Audrey said, her hand not getting too close to the cat. She shook Shelby from her hip.
Shelby woke up, whining softly. "Audrey?" she hummed groggily, rolling onto her back to stretch. The cat walked up onto Shelby's chest as she stretched, causing her to gasp. When Shelby realised what was standing on her she looked confused. She gently lifted her hand to pet the cat, scratching behind its ears. It purred contentedly, causing Shelby to giggle. "We caught a cat!" she said, meeting Audrey's eyes. "Come and pet him."
Audrey sighed again when she saw how excited Shelby was. The way her eyes lit up when she pet the cat was too precious. She couldn't just get rid of the cat now. Audrey reluctantly pet along the cat's back, watching the cat's eyes as he gave her a wary look.
"Can we keep him? Please?" Shelby begged, looking up at Audrey.
Audrey watched Shelby and then the cat a while longer. "We have to take him to the vet to get him desexed, immunised, and micro-chipped." Audrey said unenthusiastically.
Shelby's eyes widened. She sat up properly and hugged the cat, much to his distaste. "I can't believe this." she said with a grin, looking at Audrey. "We have a cat!"
Audrey couldn't help but smile at Shelby's excitement. "What's his name?" Audrey asked, petting the cat cautiously again.
"Gin." Shelby said without missing a beat.
Audrey appreciated the sentiment but she rolled her eyes anyway. "Really?"
"What? I think it's kinda cute." Shelby said, petting Gin softly.
Audrey laid beside Shelby, looking up at Gin. "Gin. Ginny. I suppose that's alright." she hummed. "I don't want him in the bedroom, okay?"
"But-"
"Not...in the bedroom." Audrey said firmly. "I need at least one room where I won't be breathing in fur. And we shouldn't be touching him. We don't know where he's been."
"That's rude."
"But it's true." Audrey retorted.
Shelby stuck her tongue out at the other woman. "You're just jealous, I think." Shelby hummed, still petting her cat.
"Jealous of a cat? That's completely ridiculous." Audrey said with a laugh, a light blush on her cheeks.
Shelby noticed. She placed Gin on the floor and brushed herself off slightly. "Audrey." Shelby hummed, stretching the 'y' sound as she scooted closer to the other woman. She draped her arms around Audrey's neck, straddling her lap. "You know I love you more than I love Ginny." she said with a smile, pecking light kisses along Audrey's lips and up her cheek.
"I know." Audrey sighed, pressing a firm kiss to Shelby's lips. "I just miss you. And now there's a cat stealing you away from me." she said in a joking tone despite her seriousness.
"Well, why don't you steal me back?" Shelby challenged with a smile.
"Oh? And how am I supposed to do that?"
"You'll figure it out." Shelby teased, pecking Audrey's nose. "Now let's get dressed. I want to go to the vet."
"It's half past five." Audrey said, raising an eyebrow.
"Already?"
"We did sleep most of the day away." Audrey said as she felt up and down Shelby's arms. "How about we put Gin in the bathroom and I'll go out and get kitty litter. While I'm gone you can make dinner. Deal?"
"Deal." Shelby said, slipping off Audrey. "Come on, Ginny." she said, scooping the cat up and carrying him to the bathroom.
Audrey groaned to herself softly. She knew she was away a lot because of work and that Shelby needed the company, but she couldn't help but feel like she was being replaced. She started to doubt herself again, just as she had with Rory. She knew she was overthinking but she couldn't help it.
"Hey." Shelby said from her spot in the doorway. She made her way over to Audrey and sat beside her. She could tell Audrey wasn't very happy. As the smaller woman met her eyes Shelby could see the fear. "Hey, Audrey." Shelby cooed, feeling over Audrey's forehead. "We don't have to keep him if you don't want." she said softly.
"No, I already said we're keeping him." Audrey said firmly, watching Shelby's eyes
"You can always change your mind."
"I haven't changed my mind."
"Then tell me what's wrong." Shelby said, finding Audrey's hand and squeezing it.
Audrey was silent for a while before opening her mouth to speak. "Are you replacing me?"
"No! Audrey, of course not. How could I?" Shelby asked, slightly shocked. She hadn't realised that that was what Audrey had been thinking about. "Audrey, you're irreplaceable." she cooed, stroking Audrey's cheek lightly. "You know I love you with all my heart, don't you?" she asked.
Audrey nodded slightly.
"See? Besides, how could a cat replace my girlfriend? Can cats stroke my hair? Can they help drag me to bed while hungover? I don't think so." Shelby said, earning a soft laugh from Audrey. "How about we both go and get the kitty litter. We can just eat leftovers when we get back, yeah?"
Audrey pursed her lips. "okay."
"I'll drive." Shelby said with a smile.
...
After buying the kitty litter and kitty litter tray... and cat bed, and cat toys, and cat collar as well as multiple other things for Ginny, Shelby drove Audrey further away from home.
"Where are we going?" Audrey asked. Shelby only smiled at the other woman, not answering as they drove up a winding hill. Eventually they came to a stop after Shelby parked. The spot they were in overlooked most of the city. The city lights shone brightly.
"Here." Shelby said, passing Audrey a Capri Sun she had gotten from their shopping bags in the backseat.
"What is this?" Audrey asked.
"It's a Capri Sun. Just stab the top with the straw and drink."
"Does it have alcohol?" Audrey asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, it's just a juice pouch." Shelby said with a laugh. She poked the straw into her drink, looking over the city and drinking.
Audrey drank from her own drink, looking over at Shelby. "Why did you bring us here?"
"I thought it would be romantic." Shelby said, grinning at Audrey. "The view of the city... Non-alcoholic drinks. I thought it was nice." she admitted.
Audrey smiled to herself as she sipped her drink. "Thank you, Shelby." she said softly, finding Shelby's hand. She felt a little better now.
"And just so you know... I wouldn't ever do this for Ginny." Shelby said, pecking the back of Audrey's hand.
Audrey smiled a little wider. Maybe keeping Ginny wasn't such a bad idea after all.
...
Well, that was much longer than I anticipated. I hope I wrote those prompts out alright. Don't forget to follow and review the story for more updates (and let me know if my characters are okay).