Chapter Text
Teagan woke up Saturday morning in her bed with a pounding headache, still in her clothes from the previous night. Memories of her excursion the previous night flashed through her head, and she burrowed deeper and deeper into her bed with each memory.
Despite the embarrassment about her actions, the memory of the shrimp, or Shrimpo as she now knew, still made her face flush.
After a well-deserved shower and cup of coffee, Teagan called Glisten. He picked up after the first ring, and she spat out her apology before he got a chance to say ‘hi’.
“I’m so sorry!”
“-what?”
Teagan shrank a little and repeated herself.
“I said I’m sorry, Glisten.”
“For what?” His voice was tinged with mockery, and Teagan’s shame melted into annoyance.
“For making friends with an asshole, apparently.”
A garbled cackle echoed through the phone. “I don’t think I’m the asshole here, but whatever you want to tell yourself, babes.”
Slowly, Teagan’s smile crept back on her face. “How’re you doing, did you get home safe? Did I tarnish your reputation?” Glisten let out a fake groan, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oh yes, I can never go back there, they all hate me now. No, I didn’t even spend that much time at the actual bar ; I doubt anyone even saw me. Which is truly unfortunate, my outfit was ravishing.”
“I did mean it when I said I was sorry, I just got so enthralled with the band, I don’t know what it was, Glis.”
“I’ll tell you what it was T, it was that shrimp.”
Teagan’s face flushed at his comment, but she knew he was right. “I just thought he was rather…interesting, that’s all.” Glisten hounded Teagan for the next hour; she’d comment little traits about Shrimpo here and there, and Glisten’s diatribe would carry on.
“Alright, I don’t want to listen to you waffle about the same night for the next year, where are they performing next?” This was a shock to Teagan, Glisten seemed to hate their performance last night. “Well, I looked up the bands’ socials, and it looks like they’ll be playing in a pub downtown, I might try and go. I assume you don’t want to come, right Glis?”
He let out a deep sigh. “No, I’ll come with you. But um, Teagan, there’s something I need to tell you first.” His voice was softer, almost guilty.
“What is it? You’ve got some boy toy you want to bring?” Teagan laughed at her joke; Glisten frequently would bring random men with him when he and Teagan used to hang out, in the good old days.
“Um, yeah, it is. Well, sort of, he’s not really a ‘
boy toy
’ anymore, we’ve been together for a while now. I just need you to promise not to freak out, okay, T?” The air between them shifted, and anxiety welled up in her stomach. “I…I guess I promise, what even is it, Glisten?”
His unease was palpable, even through the phone call. “Well, you remember when you had the tea shop, and it was kind of going under? And how you broke up with Rodger because you guys were partner partners and business partners, and then your parents cut you off?”
Silence.
“Okay, um, it’s just that, you, like, stopped talking to me, and Rodger was heartbroken, and I was too, sort of, and we would hang out sometimes, and like, complain about, um…” Glisten’s voice pittered off. “Anyways, we got really close, and we’re together now, we have been for a few months now.”
Mouth agape, she mustered together a terse response. “I…I can’t believe it.”
“Please don’t say you don’t want to talk to me anymore, Teagan, I can’t lose you again,” Glisten pleaded.
Her love for her friend won over her astonishment, and she responded quietly, “No, no, it’s okay Glisten. I’m glad you’ve found someone you really like. I didn’t know Rodger was gay, though. That’s the real shock, I suppose, is that he was dating me when he didn’t even like women in the first place.”
A sigh of relief escaped Glisten’s mouth, followed by a small laugh at Teagan’s comment about Rodger. “He’s bi, actually, so he does like women, he wasn’t just dating you for appearances, T. But you wouldn’t mind me bringing him tonight?”
“I guess, but don’t expect any extraordinary kindness on my part, I have a feeling it’s still going to be rather awkward between him and I.”
Now the second night in a row, Teagan scrounged through her closet for something apt for her night out. Mentally, she made a note to shop for less vapid clothing. That night, she pulled up to the pub wearing a black dress, accessorized with tights and the same black leather jacket from the previous night. Intending to see “Fruit Anarchy” in mind, she tried to appear slightly more alternative, darker, to fit the band’s aesthetic, but her banal clothing made that slightly more difficult.
As she walked towards the pub entrance, she saw Glisten and Rodger in the distance, chatting and giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls. Seeing them happy warmed Teagan’s heart, even if it stung a bit to see that seemingly everyone but her had moved on to happier things.
“Hi Glisten! And hello, Rodger. It’s nice to see you again after all this time. You look well.” Rodger’s face tensed slightly but quickly shifted to a soft smile.
“It’s nice to see you too, Teagan. It really has been too long.”
Glisten glanced back and forth between the two anxiously, and then pulled them both into a tight hug and exclaimed, “Oh thank god, I was worried you too would end up in a catfight.” Their attempts to squirm from Glisten’s grasp were met with tighter squeezes, only amping up the uneasy air between Teagan and Rodger. Once Glisten finally let go, Teagan hurried inside, and the couple followed suit.
Just as the previous night, the venue was packed with people, only this time the performance area was directly ahead of the door with no dining area to buffer the crowd. The bar was off to the side, and Teagan spotted a restaurant area through a distant doorway, and the scent of food wafted through the air.
Glisten and Rodger soon left Teagan to go eat, which bothered her at first, but Fruit Anarchy soon took the stage, and all other thoughts dissipated.
Their set didn’t differ much from their last performance; Shrimpo sang a few opening songs before switching with the strawberry guitarist. Without the haze of alcohol affecting Teagan’s perception of the band they weren’t as mystical or incandescent, but she was still completely and utterly enamored with them. If anything, the detail she could pick up on just hooked her harder.
Near the end of their set, they performed a new song, much softer than the others. In this song, Shrimpo went back up to sing with the strawberry, and the contrast between the strawberry’s smooth voice and Shrimpo’s rough cry mixed into a passionate wail, only heightened by the bubble girl’s guitar ringing out. You could feel the yearning and distress with every lyric, building, and building.
The underlying tune of Shrimpo’s bass bounced against the slower tune and the drums were almost entirely absent, only accenting the occasional stanza. It finished with a flourish of the guitar, the rattle of the cymbals, and a final harmony between the two vocalists ringing out.
Teagan was in love.
She was raised spoiled but sheltered to everything below her parent’s high standards. Even into her adulthood, she stayed within the boundaries of her parents generally. This music, this art was like nothing she’d ever heard. It was bursting with anger and aggression, but also longing, and hurt you could feel deep in your chest.
Teagan was left breathless as they finished their set, and she and the rest of the crowd erupted with applause. It was obvious everyone else could recognize the unreal talent of the band. The members all laughed and smiled at the praise, and faintly, Teagan caught the slightest blush on Shrimpo’s cheeks, so small you could miss it.
That was another she was enamored with; Shrimpo. She once again approached him, this time confidant in what she was going to say.
“I just wanted to compliment you-” “I hate that dress.”
She stood stunned at his interruption. “What?”
“I said I hate that dress. The one you wore last night was way better. Lavender’s your color.” He tilted his head, eyeing Teagan up and down. Goosebumps followed after his gaze returned to her face, which was now flushed.
“O-oh, I didn’t think you would remember me; Our interaction was so brief, haha…” Any confidence she had pittered away at his unwavering stare.
He angled his head down towards her; the stage put him a few feet above her. “And I never got to answer your question from last night, I am single, what’s it to ya?” His scowl faltered to a smirk for a second before returning.
Teagan’s face exploded in flames. All the snobby boys her parents set her up with (Rodger included) never spoke to her so…directly. They all spoke in vague flirtations, the smirk on Shrimpo’s face was new.
“I suppose I just thought you were, um, attractive.” She squirmed under his harsh gaze and tried to collect her wits. “It’s Teagan, by the way. My name.” Awkwardly, she stuck out her hand for a handshake.
He took it, and his hand was the same size as hers, fitting together perfectly. “Shrimpo. But I guess you already know that.”
Their conversation was awkward, with Teagan trying to maintain steady small talk and Shrimpo keeping his answers concise. Eventually, the topic of the band came up, and Teagan couldn’t stop herself from gushing about the artistry and the distinctiveness. Shrimpo blushed at her compliments and extended a hand down to her.
“You wanna meet them?” Immediately, she took his hand and hopped up on stage. On even ground next to Shrimpo, she realized she was taller than him by almost a full foot.
One by one, he introduced the band. “This is Sprout, he does rhythm guitar, Poppy is our soloist, and Goob’s on drums.” Ecstatic, she excitedly introduced herself, and they all smiled at her next to Shrimpo.
Teagan talked with the band as they packed up their things, about their music, their knack for performing, and everything she had been amazed by. They all chatted back, obviously enthused with their new fan. Once they were all packed up, Teagan gave her goodbyes and turned to leave, but Shrimpo grabbed her arm.
“Hey, you wanna grab a drink together?” He seemed a little bashful, and Teagan swooned.
She said yes, but first scurried over to Glisten to update him.
“Hey Glis, remember the shrimp from last night? Well, he and I are getting drinks over at the bar, okay? Are you guys going to be alright without me?” The couple exchanged a knowing look, and Glisten assured they would be just fine without her. “You go get him, Teagan!”
Shrimpo and Teagan talked until the bar closed, happy as a pair of clams. Teagan was able to hold a conversation almost entirely by herself, but he’d chime in occasionally with a witty joke or interesting observation, and she’d continue again. Shrimpo seemed perfectly content to listen to her and admire her, and Teagan had no lack of things to say.
Late in the night, she took him up on his offer to drive her home, and he walked her up to the doorstep of the apartment building.
“So.”
“So, indeed.”
Shrimpo laughed for the first time all night, and she could just barely make out his blush in the moonlight.
“I had a really good time tonight, Teagan.” Inwardly, Teagan swooned again. “I did too.”
“So you think I could see you again?” His gaze was softer, less hostile, but just as bold.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
As she leaned over his shoulder to put her number in his phone, Shrimpo turned his head to look at her. The shimmer of the streetlights illuminated her porcelain face, and something about the moonlight, or the alcohol, or maybe just the fervor of the night overcame him.
Shrimpo cupped her face in his hands, turned it towards him, and kissed her, standing on the tips of his toes. She looked at him shocked for a moment before leaning into him and kissing him back.
The kiss was as first kisses are, a little awkward and short-lived, but when they both stood on their own, the air between them was electric. Shrimpo’s face was now also aflame, and he awkwardly turned on his heels and began to walk away with a quiet ‘goodbye’ .
Before he could get too far, Teagan snatched his arm, pulled him into another kiss, and then scurried inside giddily. Shrimpo’s hand brushed over his lips in amazement as he replayed the exchange between the two.
They both tossed and turned for hours before falling asleep that night.