After AnimeCon: Show on the Road pt 1 (Patreon)

/// Short section today, for a bit I want to wean myself away from complex bits I rewrite endlessly and post up a bunch of smaller, faster POV pieces so that we don't fall into a pacing quagmire.

    “Well, damn,” Kelly cursed, putting her hands on her hips. “Yeah, I’ve got no clue.”

    “I dunno how it’s done right, but this is definitely done wrong,” Emily agreed.

    The girls had managed to wrestle the canvas up off of the viking tent, which required them to unhook the actual frame and ease the whole structure apart so that they could even reach. Folding the canvas back up into a relatively neat bundle appeared to be beyond them, however, because Kelly hadn’t really been paying attention when Rebecca unfolded it last night. Emily had seen Rebecca set up and take down the big tent several times in the past, but likewise had no idea how to neatly fold it back up.

    “Eh, whatever,” Emily nudged the giant haphazard pile of canvas with her sneaker. “It’ll fit in the hatchback like this. Right?”

    “Emily… Emily Kitten. Love of mine,” Kelly said. “Rebecca had this all neat and orderly for a reason. What if us just cramming it up like this all wrong has it so that it’s full of wrinkle lines the next time she sets it up? Embarrasses her in front of her historical LARP friends, or whatnot? I mean, Em. You do fold your nice tops real carefully after you wash them, right?”

    “Ugghh,” Emily growled. “No. Shit, though. You’re probably right. We’re gonna have to ask her how she does it then, because hell. I can’t figure it out.”

    “We can spread it back out flat-ways?” Christine suggested in a timid voice. “I think that if you’re folding it all up neat, you would have to do it like that to start. And then, she can take it from there once she gets back?”

    “Sure, yeah,” Kelly bent down and grabbed one of the corners. “Kitten, get that side. Christine? Here, yeah—like, walk it out this way where there’s room.”

     They had managed to collapse and pack away the smaller modern camping tent in sensible fashion, because that one was as straightforward as sliding out the poles and breaking those down, then rolling up the canvas and jamming it into the carry sleeve it fit into. Christine had done most of that one herself, and with Emily and Kelly pitching in the big tent was just about sorted out as well.

    Stephanie was no help at all—their adorable pink-haired companion had been stricken by increasingly long pauses as she was driven to distraction. Brian and Rebecca were off in the woods and clearly up to no good and overwhelming Steph’s radar with feelings, but Kelly found herself just sharing sheepish glances of relief with Emily. It had not been fun to have their private issues and minor grievances dragged kicking and screaming into the light, and although she could appreciate Stephanie’s good intentions... Kelly was honestly still feeling a little peeved.

    Which means then I have to worry that Steph is ALSO picking up on me being annoyed with her, which makes me uncomfortable as hell, too, Kelly wanted to gnash her teeth and rage at how frustrating their situation was, but she managed to keep her expression schooled in a bored look that might at least fool the others. I—I very honestly have no idea how to cope with having a psychic girlfriend and not being able to hide ANYTHING from her. Like, yeah I’m a little mad at her, but I DON’T WANT HER TO EVER FEEL THAT FROM ME. Makes me super uncomfortable.

    She never thought she would be so thankful that Brian and Rebecca snuck off to play pop goes the weasel or whatever it was they were getting up to out there. Stephanie was focusing on that, which meant that Kelly and Emily were momentarily free from scrutiny while they inwardly fumed and griped and no doubt planned petty revenge.

    I feel like I’m more mad than just giving Steph a wet willy, Kelly decided with a huff. Sticking a wet finger in her ear isn’t punishment enough. But, is giving Steph a big surprise wedgie too much? Need to hash this out in secret with Emily, see what Emily has cooking up.

    As they dragged the tent canvas out to almost fill the clearing beside the fire, Kelly imagined giving Stephanie a wedgie. That certainly seemed like it would be satisfying, and Kelly was taller than Stephanie, so it wouldn’t be too hard to manage. What kind of panties was their beau wearing today? It was hard to picture Stephanie having chosen anything so provocative as a thong, but all the same it was very enjoyable visualizing pulling such a hem up out of Stephanie’s pants and yanking the garment up into a pronounced whale tail—presumably while Stephanie was yelping and squealing in confusion.

    Hmm. Now that I think of it, I’m so sweet on her all the time that I never put a ton of thought into like, BULLYING her, Kelly realized. The idea is kind of hot. But then again, also—I love her, and I want her to take it like a petty SERVES YOU RIGHT kind of prank and not something actually mean-spirited. Hmm…

    With the cloth now spread out, the girls awkwardly stood, exchanging look as if to ask each other what to do next.

    “Okay,” Kelly took the lead. “Then… I guess we should just get everything else down to the cars? The cooler, all the stuff by the fire. Christine, is there anything in the cabin that we need to take?”

    “Um,” Christine frowned, looking down at the ground. “Her towels? Probably. The lock she was using, to uh. Restrain me. I’ll go gather everything up.”

    “Cool,” Kelly gestured with her finger from Emily to the cooler. “Cooler?”

    “Sure,” Emily said. “And, uhh. Steph’s off in la la land, which means…?”

    “Yeah, probably,” Kelly nodded, glancing out through the trees in the direction of that grave. “I’m cool with it, though.”

    “Me too!” Emily hurried to agree. “Just like—yeah, it’s a little weird. Rebecca and I have been friends forever, so having her in the harem with us… it’s weird? I love her to pieces, but man. I dunno if. I guess it’s just hard to picture like, even kissing her?”

    “You don’t think of her that way,” Kelly shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”

    “Yeah,” Emily said.

    They walked together past the ring of seats around the fire where Stephanie had installed herself, and for a moment Kelly was tempted to muss up the girl’s hair, or try to startle her, or—or something. Their shy little mental health tyrant was perched on a log and all but squirming in place, making strange faces while her eyes were squeezed shut. In the end, Kelly shook her head and continued past to just grab one end of the cooler with Emily.

    Guess it wouldn’t really be fair, Kelly wanted to sigh. She doesn’t get to pick and choose all the emotional stuff that gets thrown her way, she just has to deal with it. Like, even when Rebecca and Brian go off to have a private moment, Stephanie can’t block that out or ignore it.

     Kelly paused, causing Emily to slow as well—they’d barely taken a few steps while hefting the big cooler chest.

    Or, maybe she CAN block it out? Kelly turned her attention towards Christine who was struggling with the door of the cabin. Christine’s whole thing was creating a magic null zone, or whatever. Did we get that working again, or does it not affect us like that if we’re on the same side of the ‘mirror’ as her, now?

    “Hey,” Emily tugged her end of the cooler. “C’mon, move it bimbo liner. Anchors up, let’s go.”

    “Tug away, brave little tugboat,” Kelly rolled her eyes.

    The big cooler would have been heavy for one person to carry, but the weight was fine distributed like this between two. Together they hauled it past the campfire, skirted around the spread out canvas, and then started carefully picking their way down the steep incline of the tire ruts down towards the road.

    “So, I was thinking,” Kelly remarked.

    “Not your strong suit, but go ahead,” Emily retorted.

    “Hey—don’t get pissy with me,” Kelly laughed. “I didn’t ask to get us emotionally fucking audited.”

    “UggGgghh,” Emily groaned out loud, almost stumbling a step. “Don’t even. Can we uh, can we just forget all of that? Pretend it didn’t happen? Please?”

    “We can’t,” Kelly said. “I wish we could, but if we do that, then next time is gonna be even worse.”

    “It’s not like I don’t deal with my personal problems,” Emily griped. “It’s just, like. I deal with them by moving past them. Coasting on by and leaving them behind, ‘cause I’m like a river. I’m not really mentally wired for… fixating on my problems and, uh. Actually sorting them out.”

    “To be honest,” Kelly swallowed. “I’m used to just bailing when things got too tough to deal with. Which, yeah, I could do, because… because before all this, my relationships weren’t serious. They never got serious. I was careful not to catch feelings. But, fuck. Steph’s kind of got a point in that I can’t do that here with us, because I am now super involved. I do love you guys. I can’t just… shoot off into space the second things aren’t going my way.”

    “Ugh,” Emily growled. “I. Well. Yeah, I love you too. I don’t want to fuck all of this up. But, at the same time… I don’t know. I can’t just all of the sudden change the whole way I operate. She needs to cut us a bit more slack, I think.”

    “Yeah,” Kelly said.

    They reached the bottom of the hill, and the vehicles parked by the side of the road came into view as they walked out of the treeline. The cooler was dropped off by Rebecca’s Suvaru, and then they turned and began to trudge back up the way they’d came.

    “But, at the same time—I do think we deserve a little petty revenge,” Kelly said. “Nothing mean. Just a little something.”

    “Go on,” Emily grinned.

    “I was thinking—surprise wedgie,” Kelly proposed. “Like, while I get her with that, you can at the same time pants her.”

    “You go high, I go low?” Emily asked. “Yeah. That could definitely work.”

    “But, at the same time… it’s no big deal if we get her here, like out here where it’s just us,” Kelly explained. “Getting a wedgie, and getting your pants yanked down isn’t gonna put her into a super cute fluster or have her go all red and completely embarrassed. Because out here, it’s just us.”

    “Right,” Emily nodded. “Gas station back in Tionetta? It’s not like there were even people walking around or loitering, ‘cause it seemed like a ghost town, just about. But, it’s still like, a public space. Where she’d have to be mindful of people catching an eyeful.”

    “My thoughts exactly!” Kelly said with a wicked smile. “And, I mean. Look at us—here you and I are, bonding.”

    “Trauma bonding,” Emily agreed. “Just what she wanted. She basically brought this on herself?”

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