The bus had already taken on enough of a suffocating atmosphere previous to Lindsey's arrival, and as Sara took another step back in attempts at disconnecting the static, poisonous energy between herself and her unwelcome guest, she had to grit her teeth to keep from spewing forth every blame she could pin on anyone but herself.

She took a deep breath in through her nose then exhaled through her mouth, warily eyeing the door as if she expected someone to rush in and drag the enraged woman away. "No, you need to leave." She spoke clearly and kept her back straight to reinforce her confidence, trying to convey that she wouldn't be derailed from her pushy suggestion, but Lindsey managed to bypass all the details of being unwanted and shrugged past her, ignoring the body language that screamed 'get out' and seating herself in the booth she'd previously been sleeping in.

"Great, a living nightmare," Sara slid in across from Lindsey, keeping her voice low enough not to be heard until she was convinced the other was ready to be civil. The space between the pair seemed like another dimension, too thick to allow oxygen but light enough to catch fire under the dagger-filled stare both were giving off.

"All right," Sara started, slowly shifting her gaze to the outside, this time taking in the weather that mocked her current situation instead of searching for a familiar frame to alleviate her worries. She'd tapered off long before Lindsey had gotten the hint, uncomfortably shifting against the seat

as she fell into the silence that she couldn't wage war against. She wanted this moment to be over, but more than that, she wanted Lindsey to leave and never come back this time.

Her anger returned as she remembered their morning after talk, her eyes flashing back to meet Lindsey's surprised ones looking back at her as if she were shocked that she'd turned around.

"What the fuck ever happened to going our separate ways?!" She demanded, leaning forward as she attempted to take back control. Lindsey looked as if she planned on spitting out a cocky reply, and in return, Sara's hand flew out to cup over her mouth. "No, I didn't say I wanted a bullshit excuse for you being here - you swore you wouldn't!" Sara was barely suppressing her want to snap Lindsey's neck right then and there, her anger at herself leaking out in the least healthy way. How could she have been so stupid as to believe in a promise? She wasn't a four year-old child anymore, she shouldn't have trusted in spoken word without a contract or some form of physical proof. Her jaw snapped shut from its slack position upon the realisation that she'd literally been fucked over, her teeth grinding against their counterparts as she stood up, towering over Lindsey.

"You're going to explain what happened to Tegan." She said, narrowing her eyes at the facial expression the other woman gave in response.

"Like hell, I am!" She spat back, shooting up to be the same height as her opposer, "it wasn't just my mistake!"

"So what?! Because of you, she won't even talk to me!" Sara's voice pitched down from the near shriek it'd reached as her fury dissipated into a pathetic, desperate begging. Her relationship with her sister had been demolished over a stupid mistake that needed to be brought to justice as the drunken mishap it really was; she didn't care if it cost her her pride.

"No, Sara, I don't want to!" Lindsey slammed her hands on the table, her eyes flashing with determination she deemed completely reasonable.

Sara could have sworn that Lindsey was the reincarnation of the devil himself as sunlight finally broke through the barrier of cloud that had thrown shade over the bus, relieving them from the harsh heat and hiding them under shade, and illuminated strawberry red hair into a flame that resembled Hell's fire.

"Please, Lindsey, you don't understand!" She tried again, struggling to keep the whine out of her voice. "You know she won't believe me, Lindsey, please!"

There was a sound outside that briefly registered with both Sara and Lindsey, but before the latter could say anything, Tegan stumbled through the door, eyes shiny and visibly upset.

Sara stood shocked still, her stomach dropped faster than she could process the fear crippling her and stopping the blood in her veins, the feeling that she wanted to puke resurfacing with more momentum than if a train had hit her. "T-Tegan?" She stuttered, looking from Lindsey to her twin as if they had been in a fight she had walked in on. She'd only seen Tegan this vulnerable once before, at the hands of the only other person in the bus. What did that make her now? Someone just as bad as Lindsey? Even worse? Did such a stupid, thoughtless mistake make her more of a criminal, more despicable than the woman Tegan had spent three years of her life on, cried and tortured herself over? Could she really be so much at fault for something she hadn't even initiated?

"I don't - what the fuck were you just asking?!" Tegan's eyes were locked on Sara. Her gaze was unwavering, filled with hurt, deceit, and just the tiniest flicker of doubt, a want to have misunderstood that Sara immediately grasped at.

"She... She wouldn't leave and I asked her to tell you what happened... but she wouldn't agree."

"Like I don't already know!"

"Because you don't! You're only listening to as much as you have and then you blame me and block me out! Honestly, Tegan, how do you expect me to tell you the truth if you won't even open your ears?!"

"I'm not listening?" Tegan huffed, "I think I've heard more than enough, thanks!"

"See! You're doing it again! You think you know what's going on and now you want to pack up and run away to pout again!"

"I wouldn't fucking have this problem if you hadn't slept around, and right when I come back to try and listen, here you are doing it again! How many fucking times can I pack before I leave for good, eh?"

The two siblings glared at the other with balled fists and strained jaws, each presenting their last hopes at making up and flailing in deep waters as their final resorts failed them. They had nothing else to lose and nothing else to fight for, and their battle was at its climax with the problem and only possible solution just feet away. Tegan and Sara's heads snapped back to Lindsey, their mouths opening as they both said in unison:

"Leave."