Chapter Text
It was Brightmoon High’s annual senior trip to New York City, and Adora could not have been more excited. Her strict ponytail swung as she rocked back and forth on her toes, gripping the straps of her backpack, while they waited to board the school bus. It was six AM, but Adora hardly noticed. Next to her, her best friend Catra rolled her eyes.
“Do you have to be so...you right now?” Catra asked, tugging down on Adora’s letterman jacket to bring her back down to her feet. Adora laughed, and Catra couldn’t help but soften her expression.
“Sorry,” Adora said, grinning. “I’m just so excited!” She put her hand on Catra’s shoulder and Catra felt her whole body tense. She looked up to see if Adora had noticed, but Adora was already rambling with anticipation. “Catra, you’ve never even been to New York, you have no idea how much you’re gonna love it!” Catra smiled, and Adora smiled back. Nobody besides Adora really cared whether Catra was happy. She wouldn’t have even bothered going on the trip if Adora didn’t want her around.
At the front of the bus, their teacher, Ms. Weaver, clapped for their attention. Adora whipped around, and Catra felt herself strangely missing the eye contact. “Students, we’re going to start boarding the bus. See me on your way up for seating assignments.”
“Seating assignments?!” Adora pouted. “Damn, I really wanted to sit with you.” “Yeah, me too,” Catra groaned, shouldering her duffel bag. “Especially since literally no one else here likes me.” “Hey, what’s not to like!” Adora punched her on the shoulder as they moved up in the line.
“Adora, you’re with Kyle. Catra, you’ll be with Lonnie.” Ms. Weaver checked their names off on her list and motioned for them to get on the bus. ”Great,” Catra hissed into Adora’s ear. “Lonnie totally hates me.” Adora scoffed. “She does not!” Catra stepped onto the bus, facing back at her friend. “Easy for you to say, I’d rather be with Kyle!”
“I heard that,” Lonnie said from the first row. She slid her bag over without looking up. “Adora, tell your friend she should watch her mouth or I’ll give her a reason to want to be with Kyle.” Adora laughed nervously as she took the seat across from them. “Listen, once we get going we can switch, okay? I’m sure Ms. Weaver won’t even notice.” Next to her, Kyle was slumped against the window with a blanket covering his head. “Uh, and I’m sure Kyle won’t notice either.”
After the bus got moving, Adora motioned for Catra to get up. She did, but Lonnie didn’t move. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Lonnie said sarcastically, eyeing the two of them with annoyance. “Did you have something to ask me?”
“I swear I’m gonna-” Catra started, but Adora grabbed her wrist. “Lonnie, would you please switch with me?” Adora asked patiently. She stood up and checked to make sure their teacher hadn’t noticed them. “I don’t think I can take another minute of Kyle’s snoring.” Lonnie laughed dryly and picked up her bag. “Fine, but you owe me one.” Catra let Lonnie slide past her, then sat back down and huddled against the window.
“I hate how nice you are sometimes,” Catra complained, although she felt guilty as soon as she said it. “Don’t be silly!” Adora said, and Catra could hear her smiling. “You know you love me. Just don’t let this stupid seat thing ruin your trip, okay? We’re gonna have fun!” Catra turned to face her friend, who was all but glowing with excitement. “Fine, I will have fun, but just to make you happy,” Catra teased, hoping it made up for what she had said before. “I can tell you really want me to have fun, so none of this will be for my own benefit, got it?” “That’s my girl!” Adora beamed, and Catra couldn’t help but smile too.
After about an hour on the bus, Adora’s initial giddiness had worn off and she realized how exhausted she was. It was pretty early after all, and she had barely been able to sleep thinking about spending all day in the city with Catra. She leaned her head on Catra’s shoulder, and felt Catra gasp quietly. “Oh, sorry,” Adora straightened again, her eyes closing slowly. “No, it’s okay,” Catra said, gentler than her usual biting tone. She took Adora’s bag from her lap and placed it on the floor in front of them. “Just relax, I’ll wake you up if we hit a rest stop or anything.”
“Uh, okay,” Adora yawned and settled back into her place on her friend’s shoulder. “You’re sweet, ‘tra”
Catra laughed quietly, crossing her arms to keep herself steady for an already fading Adora. “Don’t worry about it, I know you never sleep.”
“Adora, hey, Adora wake up.”
Adora blinked herself awake, realizing suddenly she was hugging Catra’s arm with both of hers. She pulled away quickly, not wanting her friend to see how red her face was turning. “Wow, I didn’t realize I was really going to fall asleep like that.” She rubbed her eyes and finally allowed herself to look at Catra again. ”Where are we?”
“Just some rest stop, we’re still like three hours away.” Catra stretched her arms then reached down into her bag to find her wallet. “I’m gonna go buy some snacks, you wanna come?”
“Definitely, I think I need to buy a coffee or splash some water on my face or something.” She reached for her bag, but Catra put her arm out to stop her.
“C’mon, I’ll buy you something,” Catra placed her hand on Adora’s shoulder, nodding towards the doors of the bus. “I owe you for taking care of that seat situation.”
“It’s like I’m seeing a whole new Catra today!” Adora exclaimed, getting up and heading for the door.
The rest stop was seriously crowded, and the girls could hardly get two steps in without losing each other. “Listen, I’m gonna hold your hand, okay?” Adora told Catra over the sounds of people rushing past them. “Don’t freak out or anything.”
“Why would I freak out?” Catra asked, wondering how well she was hiding the fact that her breathing had quickened.
“I just don’t want to get lost, it’s so busy in here.” Adora slid her hand into Catra’s and began walking hastily towards a little convenience store. Catra allowed herself to be pulled along, making their way through the crowd until they reached the entrance of the shop. They entered, and the sounds of the people outside quieted. They paused for a moment, hand in hand, neither wanting to let go first. After a moment, Catra pulled away, suddenly cold with the thought that someone from school could see them. She moved quickly towards a drink cooler, not wanting to see whether Adora looked disappointed or relieved. Adora followed just a few steps behind her.
“Here, ice coffee, is that good?” Catra asked, pulling a sleek bottle labeled Vanilla Latte from the freezer shelf.
“Perfect, thank you,” Adora smiled with her hands in her pockets. “What kind of snacks are you getting?”
“Adora, please, I thought we were best friends!” Catra teased, turning on heel with the coffee in one hand and her wallet in the other.
“Right, candy, obviously,” Adora laughed and followed Catra to another shelf. “What was I thinking?” As long as she had known Catra, the girl never passed up an opportunity to buy a bag of candy. It actually made it pretty easy to turn around her mood on a bad day - all Adora had to do was spend two dollars at the drug store on a pack of Sour Patch Kids and Catra was more than happy to see her.
Catra had already chosen three packs of candy by the time Adora arrived. “You want anything else?” she asked, then quickly added “no wait, let me guess.” She traveled back towards the front of the store, grabbing a bag of pretzels and a pack of gum on her way to the counter.
“God, it’s almost like you’ve known me my whole life or something,” Adora smirked, though she was secretly touched Catra could read her mind like that.
Back on the bus, the two took their seat and Adora went straight for her ice coffee, determined not to embarrass herself by passing out a second time. She took one sip and cringed.
“What’s wrong?” Catra asked, tearing into a package of gummy worms. “The flavor’s no good?”
“No, it’s just…” Adora laughed and shook her head. “I just remembered I hate coffee.”
“What? Why would you ask for it then?”
“I don’t wanna fall asleep and leave you bored again!” She closed her eyes and took another sip, then shook her shoulders quickly as if trying to shake off the taste.
“I wasn’t bored!” Catra insisted, and Adora raised an eyebrow. “Seriously! I was, like, looking out the window…” She hoped she didn’t sound absolutely desperate to have her best friend sleep on her shoulder for another hour.
Adora knocked back two more sips of coffee and swiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Seriously, I’m sorry, and I’m totally completely awake now,” she yawned. “Okay mostly awake!”
“Listen, I’m kind of feeling tired too,” Catra said. “You wanna both sleep for a little while? I can set a timer for an hour.” Adora’s face relaxed a little.
“Yeah, actually, I’d really like that,” she smiled. “You wanna listen to music?” Without waiting for a reply she reached into her bag and tugged out a pair of headphones, plugged them into her phone, and passed one to Catra.
“Thanks,” Catra put the headphone in her ear, then quickly added “just don’t play anything dumb, okay?”
“No promises,” Adora put her headphone in and settled back onto Catra’s shoulder like she had before, feeling suddenly more aware of the people around them. She shuffled her favorite playlist, hoping Catra wouldn’t find it too uncool, and allowed herself to drift off on her friend’s shoulder - despite her earlier proclamation to never do so again. Catra leaned her head onto Adora’s. She wasn’t tired in the slightest, and she hadn’t bothered setting an alarm, but Adora didn’t need to know that. She smiled and focused on Adora’s playlist through their shared earbuds. She actually really liked Adora’s taste in music, but Adora didn’t need to know that, either.