Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fluorescent lights. Beige walls. Air heavy with boredom. All hallmarks of Teagen’s dreadfully mundane work life. Another cog in the machine of corporate America; cursed to spend every working moment in white copy rooms with mystery stains on the wall, and beige meeting rooms with everyone speaking in monotone. Long hours to compensate for the rapid inflation, endless emails even after work ends, chained to the office chair. 

It was looking to be another disdainful late night for Teagan. 50 unanswered emails stewed in her inbox while she mindlessly clicked through spreadsheets, just trying to keep herself awake. Fiery orange light peeking out a nearby window illuminated her cubicles, bathing Teagan in what looked like flames, and she couldn’t help but gaze out the window longingly. The city was similarly aflame with the light, and the most spectacular sunset shone through the gaps in the buildings.

Amazed by the sight, Teagan’s heart weighed heavy. Confined to her cubicle, alone with nothing but her computer for consolation. Glancing back and forth between the window and her computer, determination swept over her. It was five already, and ‘My work day is over when the clock says so, isn’t it?’, she thought to herself.

She clocked out quickly and hurried out of the building. A quick phone call to an old friend, and now she had plans. Back inside the comfort of her own home, she showered and stood in front of her closet contemplating the perfect outfit. “ It’s a Friday night, I’m single, I should be out, on the town ,” she muttered to herself. She shifted through all the banal, corporate clothes that had accumulated over the years at her job. Finally, her closet was bare, save a few pieces, mostly from her rambunctious youth. 

After much configuring, Teagan decided to go with a lavender dress ( much tighter than she had remembered), heels, and tights, and as she walked out the door, her leather jacket on a whim. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she sped along the road to the bar they were meeting at. With a screech, she pulled into a parking space, and then the anxiety hit. 

‘Oh god, what am I doing here? Fuck, this dress keeps falling down my chest, god, I’m too old for this, I have emails I should go respond to, maybe I should just-’ 

“TEAGAN!”

Glisten rushed over at the sight of her. Giddy with excitement, he snatched up her hands and practically jumped, he was so thrilled to see her. “Oh. My. God! I haven’t seen you in what feels like years , ever since your parents cut you off…’ “ - he dropped her hands and faltered at his comment- “but c’est la vie , I suppose. God, it is so good to see you, Teagan, I’ve missed you, I really have.”

The butterflies in Teagan’s stomach simmered down into a warm feeling, and suddenly the bar didn’t seem so intimidating. “Yeah, I’ve missed you too, Glisten.”

Glisten continued to chatter as they walked into the bar, a warmly lit room with the bar itself to the left, and tables all around. Teagan caught a glimpse of a band heading upstairs with their gear, setting up, in particular, a shrimp carrying a guitar case caught her eye.

They sat at the bar and chatted over drinks, but Teagan couldn’t keep her eyes off the bustle of the band, moving up and down the stairs. It consisted of four people, the shrimp, a bubbly girl, a strawberry boy, and a fluffy, lanky boy.

Eventually, Teagan ran out of restraint.

“Glis, let’s go see the band.” Confused, Glisten stared at Teagan.

“What band? I thought we were trying to catch up.” 

The alcohol had already burned off Teagan’s sense of empathy, and she grabbed Glisten’s arm and hauled him up the stairs before he could get a word out. The lights were just as dim if not dimmer upstairs as on the first floor, but these lights were colorful, and they gave the crowded room an eccentric aura. 

Carefully, the pair worked through the crowd and towards the small stage where the band continued setting up. Up close, the shrimp she couldn’t drag her sight away from was enticing, in a strange, sour way. Dark eyeliner smudged down his face, contrasted by his pale complexion, which matched his similarly punk outfit and dark shrimp accents.

Glisten tried to object to Teagan, but the shrimp grabbed hold of the mic to introduce the band and Teagan immediately shushed Glisten. The buzz of the alcohol had her hanging onto every word the shrimp said, or at least she told herself it was the alcohol. 

In a gravelly voice, he aggressively presented the band “We are Fruit Anarchy, and we are thrilled to be here tonight.” Then, quieter, “Alright, let’s go.” 

The bubbly girl gracefully moved her hands across her guitar, playing a calm, melancholic riff, before bursting into a harsh chord, which the rest of the band joined her on. The strawberry played loud rhythm guitar while the girl shredded the guitar, and the fluffy boy’s lanky arms flew across the drumset as he played. The shrimp’s hands climbed across his bass’s fretboard, and his gravelly speaking voice was equally (if not more) grainy as he sang. It was more of a melodic scream than singing, and Tegan was captivated.

The crowd seemed just as enthused with their performance, and something awoke in Teagan. She was barely able to make out what he was saying for most of the song, but the lyrics she caught were enraged, his singing voice had an eerie quality to it that seized her soul. 

As they reached the bridge of the song, the bubble returned to the haunting riff that started the song, adding harmonies and a screech in her guitar that wasn’t previously present. The shrimp layered more harmonies on top of it in a quiet voice, and as the drums slowly crept back in, the tension in his voice grew and grew, before finally bursting into a scream as they reached the climax of the bridge, and the song went on, even louder than before.

It ended, and the abrupt silence was short-lived; the crowd immediately exploded with cheers, and a small smile crept across the shrimp’s face. A blush then crawled onto Teagan’s face.

Their set continued, and the strawberry boy switched places with the shrimp after a few songs to sing, much to Teagan’s dismay. 

The strawberry’s voice was smoother than butter; soft against the rough music. Despite the violently loud music, the softness of his voice lulled Teagan deeper into the haze of her inebriation.

Glisten was less than enthused with the raucous nature of the band, but he remained by Teagan’s side, uncomfortable as he may be. After not seeing your best friend for a year, it’s hard to just leave.

Even though he wasn’t the star of the show anymore, Teagan’s gaze didn’t waver from the shrimp. He switched quickly from hard hits against the bass to soft plucks at the strings as his hand scaled up and down the neck of the guitar.

Obsessively, she analyzed every minute detail of his appearance, from the beads of sweat on his forehead to the tensing muscles on his hands. Entranced as she was by the music, her attention was more on him. At some point, Glisten left to go grab another drink, but she barely noticed until he placed a new one in her hand. Even the drink itself faded into the background, something fruity, not too bitter.

After their set finished, they began packing up their things, and the crowd began to disperse. A few persistent fangirls huddled around the strawberry guitarist, but Teagan was the only one to approach the bassist. 

Though only buzzed, her words tumbled out of her mouth before she got a chance to organize her thoughts.

“Your performance was so captivating, I’ve never heard anything like it. Surely you guys are performing somewhere else soon, right? And you never introduced yourself, only the band, what is your name? I can’t keep calling you ‘ the shrimp ’ in my head, haha…”

The longer she talked the more aware she was of her inebriation and her less-than-favorite outfit, and he chuckled as her face flushed.

He tilted his head, and in a rough voice, he answered with a deadpan stare.

“Yeah, my name’s not ‘ the shrimp ’, it’s Shrimpo. And yes, we are performing somewhere else soon, we have a pamphlet over on the table,” -He gestured to a table next to the stairs- “with all our performance dates. We mostly perform downtown, but we come here occasionally.”

“Are you single?”

Shrimpo’s eyebrows shot up, and Glisten, who was lingering behind them was quick to grab Teagan away. 

“What the hell, T? ‘ Are you single? ’, that’s wild for a first meeting,” Glisten muttered as they walked away. She tried to thrash against Glisten but gave up as soon as she started, slipping in and out of consciousness. Shrimpo glared at them, then shrugged it off and turned back to his guitar case, slipping out of her sight as she tripped her way down the stairs.

Glisten held her hair back while she puked on the sidewalk, and helped her back home.

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.

Chapter Text

Teagan’s Monday morning was hell. She was restless all night, her hangover was very present, and to top it off, her manager was getting on her back for not responding to his email on Friday. The day dragged on as she slowly made her way through each email and spreadsheet she’d left, one cup of coffee at a time. 

Her menial tasks had always bored her, but her attention was especially far today. Her exhilarating weekend lingered at the forefront of her mind, shimmery and bright. ‘ Did that really happen last night? ’ Teagan thought to herself. She replayed her kiss with Shrimpo over and over in her head throughout the day, on the drive home, as she ate her dinner, right up until she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Just then, her phone buzzed next to her. Eagerly, she snatched it into her arms and sprang up in her bed. 

But it was just her calendar. “Mom’s Birthday Tomorrow!” Quiet unease worked its way up through Teagan’s chest. 

When her parents cut her off, they sweetly explained that they didn’t “believe her business ventures were worth their time or money”, and a month later, they set off on a six-month cruise they swore didn’t have anything to do with the strained relationship between them and Teagan. She lost her tea shop, her apartment, her boyfriend, and her parents’ approval in a month. She never officially cut them off, but she didn’t talk to them much at all after they returned. Besides, they didn’t even run in similar circles anymore. Teagan couldn’t afford the extravagant galas and fundraisers if she tried.

She tried to fall asleep again, but she was once again tossing and turning, only this time for a much more painful reason.

Another alert went off, and she gingerly picked up her phone from her bedside table. She could feel the bags under her eyes as she slowly opened her phone, then swiped down to the text from Shrimpo, and put her phone back down-

She shot back up in her bed upon realizing who texted her. The time said 11:34, and Shrimpo had texted “you up?” 

Her face flushed, and every inch of her body tingled with excitement. She quickly shot back, “Yes, I take it you are as well?”

Three little dots bounced on the screen as she awaited his response.

“you could say that”

“What are you doing?”

“just lying in bed

thinking about that kiss”

Teagan nearly keeled over and fainted, but instead fanned her burning face excitedly.

“Yeah, it was pretty nice.”

The dots started to bounce again, but she cut him off with “Sure would like to do it again sometime.”

Bouncing dots.

“i think we can make that happen”

Teagan dropped her phone on her bed and proceeded to scream bloody murder into her pillow before composing herself and resuming her text conversation with Shrimpo.

Their conversation carried on as they made plans for Thursday night at the Carnival and ended just after midnight, with a slew of emojis and flirtatious gifs. But despite the end of their conversation, Teagan stared at her phone in bed, unable to avert her gaze from their conversation. She felt silly and giddy and excited, and every time she closed her eyes, there he was, in all his grunge-y eyeliner-filled glory.

Her mother's birthday dampened the mood, but the excitement of her plans with Shrimpo soon made it easy to ignore any hurt she felt. On her Thursday lunch break, she met with Glisten at a little cafe near her office. 

Conversation flowed easily between the two, and Teagan could almost forget they had ever gone so long without talking. She was babbling on about her date and her concern over her outfit when Glisten surprised her with an offer she couldn’t refuse.

”You know, I think I have a really cute dress at my boutique that would complement your eyes perfectly. You should come over after work, and I’ll show you it. I’ll even give you a discount.”

Boutique? Since when had he had a boutique? Teagan asked him immediately, and he simply shrugged and said, “A lot can happen in six months.”

She agreed, and when he gave her the address, she wasn’t surprised to see it was just down the block from Rodger’s law firm. And her old tea shop. It was a nice part of town, with lots of foot traffic and pleasant landscaping, and commonly frequented by the rich families in town, whom Teagan used to know.

This new addition to her evening made her already difficult task of focusing much harder. When Teagan was finally released from her corporate hell for the day, she was a flurry of excitement as she ran to her car and drove over. Being back in this part of town brought back so many memories tainted by regret. The coffee shops she and Rodger would have bland conversations at, dress shops where her so-called “friends” would make snide remarks about how Teagan’s dress size was “so much bigger” than theirs, the bookstore that used to be her tea shop, it was all so bittersweet. It was easy to look at her past, when money and laundry and cleaning never crossed her mind, and think of it fondly, but as the reality of her experiences came back to her, she realized she never wanted to go back.

Glisten heard the bell ring as a crying Teagan walked in. Confused as he was, he rushed to embrace her, to check if she was hurt, but when he finally got her to talk, all she said was, “Just remembering things.” She recounted her emotions about the past while Glisten brought her to the back, digging around for the dress he had told her about.

As she wiped away her last tears, Glisten triumphantly held up the dress. It was a deep eggplant color, with black lace detailing on the edge of the skirt and the neckline. The sleeves were long and flowy, and when Teagan put it on, they fell just below her wrist, and the lace tickled her fingers. Glisten hemmed it to the perfect length, and for the first time in months, she gazed at her reflection in admiration.

Within seconds of having it on, Teagan showered Glisten with praise and thank yous. “Glisten, I can’t believe this; where did you find a dress this pretty? I was worried it would look gaudy on me, but this…this is perfect, Glis.” A soft pink hue settled on Glisten’s face. “There’s a seamstress on the outskirts of town who lets me buy the dresses she couldn’t find a buyer for. I saw this one and thought of you immediately.” Tears threatened to come back, but Teagan quickly composed herself, straightening her posture with a deep breath in.

“Well, I can’t thank you enough, Glisten. What do I owe you for it?” Glisten waved it away. “I never even put it on display, I was always saving it for you, T. Don’t worry about it.” Tears welled up in her eyes despite her hardest efforts. She swept him up in a hug, and he reciprocated it immediately. 

He soon pulled away and ran off further back in the store. He yelled back to her, “If you’ve got a date in an hour, we’re going to need to clean up your mascara. I’ve got the stuff, you just need to sit there and be patient, ok?” Embarrassed, she sat herself on a nearby stool.

As Glisten painted her face, she quietly asked, “Why do you pamper me like this?” Glisten chuckled under his breath. “You never let me into your life before your parents cut you off. You never told me your feelings or told me anything about what was happening inside your head, T. It’s nice being an actual friend now.”

“I never meant to be rude, I just didn’t think anyone wanted to hear me whine. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It’s in the past now; just don’t do it again.”

Glisten sent her out the door, dolled up in her new clothes and makeup, and a warning that if Shrimpo tried to pull anything bad, they’d have fried shrimp for dinner.

The Carnival was a bouquet of sparkling lights, and the whole place smelled like fried dough and sugar. Teagan spotted Shrimpo sitting on a bench near a small crowd. The crowd was watching a small group of performers doing fancy flips and giant jumps. Shrimpo held two paper plates in his hands and watched the crowds. His gaze flicked over the stalls and crowds before he saw Teagan and locked onto her. He jumped up and ran over to her, but dropped a paper plate in the process. The corndog lay broken in a pool of mustard and ketchup in between the couple.

Their gazes flicked up and down from each other and the corndog. 

“Uh…Was that for me?” Teagan pointed at it.

Shrimpo groaned. “Was ‘sposed to be. Here, you have this one.” He extended the other plate towards her. She blushed as she accepted it into her hands. “Why don’t we share?” Gruffly, he agreed.

They walked over to a table near various food trucks and sat and ate silently. They both leaned over the shared plate, and the proximity caused Teagan to blush. Once the corn dog was gone, Teagan stood up abruptly. “So, you wanna play any games, or would you rather watch the acrobats near the entrance?” Her nerves made her awkward; she’d never been on a date with someone so different from her before. The predictable boys she’d dated in the past would’ve probably suggested they win her prizes or acted above the carnival altogether, but Shrimpo simply got up from his seat without even acknowledging her.

Confused, she watched him, and her breath hitched as he stood right in front of her. Shrimpo reached his hand up towards her, his thumb a hair away from cupping her face, and just as Teagan closed her eyes to lean into the kiss, he used his thumb to wipe away ketchup from her cheek and stepped back.

Despite her usually calm demeanor, Teagan’s face was ablaze. She’d never felt this way before. Shrimpo kept her on the edge of her seat whenever they were together, she was always waiting for the next word on his lips. 

Her heart was still beating out of her chest when Shrimpo started walking towards the carnival's center. Spinning on his heel, he looked at her with his eyebrows scrunched. “You coming?” 

With a stumble and her face once again set ablaze, Teagan quickly ran over and took his hand in hers, a little awkwardly at first. Shrimpo’s hands got sweaty within five minutes, but by that time, they reached the stalls of games. Bunches of stuffed animals hung on the ceilings and sides of the stalls. Teagan’s gaze grazed over them quickly — she was never one for toys or the like — and her eyes landed on Shrimpo. He was staring, mouth slightly agape, at a dusty blue seal plushie half the size of his body.

A small smirk slid onto Teagan’s face, and she looked down at his face. “You want me to win it for you?” In her attempt to be seductive, she placed her hand on her hip and dropped Shrimpo’s hand to point to the plush. Embarrassment flooded Shrimpo’s face, and he turned tomato red as he shouted, “What?! I’m not a fucking child, Teagan, I don’t need some stupid stuffed animal, I’m a grown-ass man.” Before he could even finish his sentence, Teagan was handing her money to the carnie working the stall and picked up the basketball in front of her. He stomped over to her and proposed an idea. “How about I win it for you instead?” She looked at him with a smirk, and he just smiled at her, arrogance seeping through his every movement.

They traded places, and Shrimpo threw every basketball with confidence. And every ball missed the basket significantly. With each missed basket, a slew of swear words and petty excuses came after, finishing with a final missed shot and a shrimp steaming with rage. With a confident sway in her hips, Teagan handed over another five dollars and made every basket with ease. 

Basketball was one of many sports her parents had her pursue in her youth, and though never her favorite, she did have a knack for it.

With all the balls thrown, Teagan pointed to the seal, and the carnie grabbed it for her. She held it in her arms, extending it towards Shrimpo, who begrudgingly took it into his arms. 

“...thanks, I guess.” His grimace contrasted with his bright red face, and seeing him so flushed made Teagan swoon. They walked through the carnival, ogling the booths and attractions.

With a grin, Teagan said, “You're welcome,” and as Shrimpo fumbled with the large plushie, “You want any help with that, shawty ?” She chuckled as she uttered that last word, but Shrimpo’s furious glare made her burst out laughing. “ No. ” Shrimpo’s grip on the seal plush slipped, and he shoved it into her arms. “I guess if you’re offering, you can have it.”

They walked through the sparkling lights and bright colors. Teagan won a few more games, and Shrimpo managed to win a small keychain for her on a memory game. Late in their evening, they made their way onto the Ferris wheel. 

Looking down, everything was just smudges of color and echoes of crowds and music. Hanging in the sky, the moon draped its light over the couple hanging in the air. Under the creaking of the Ferris wheel cabin, Shrimpo’s nervous breathing was barely audible.

“So…”

“So.”

She breathed a deep sigh. 

“Do you remember…what we were texting about, or something like that?”

Shrimpo’s face softened, and Teagan could just make out the pink in his cheeks. It was so specific, the way his face moved. Most of the time, he had an agitated look to him, but every now and then, his eyes sparkled, and the smallest visible dimple was visible on his cheek when he smiled. On these rare occasions, he smiled, Teagan caught a glimpse of a chipped tooth that made her heart ache.

He turned to face her, and she leaned in towards him. His gaze flicked between her eyes and her lips as he muttered under his breath, “I remember.”

Mere inches away, Teagan could feel his breath on her face. As she tried to scoot closer to him, the seal plushie between them separated them, and she slipped, slamming her hand into it instead of carefully embracing Shrimpo. She looked at him nervously. After a moment of silence, Shrimpo threw his head back laughing. Her face was flushed with embarrassment, and she sat there, mouth agape. When he finished laughing, He picked up the plush, shoved it behind him, and took her face in his hands.

He had taken Teagan by surprise, but she was quick to kiss him back. She took him in her arms and kissed him like she’d been wanting to since she first saw him. Frequently, she had to pull back and just to giggle. Shrimpo was everything she’d never imagined she wanted. His kisses weren’t rough, but there was a fervor to it she couldn’t place. He was short, and alternative, and his voice sounded like burnt toast, and he tasted salty, like brine, or saltwater. And she loved it.

After another bout of giggles, Teagan grabbed his face in her own hands and kissed him all over. On his forehead, his cheeks, his eyebrows, everywhere. She could have stayed like that for hours, but the Ferris wheel had miraculously continued to turn while the couple was in their own world, and their ride had come to an end. They stepped out dazed, and happy, and covered in smeared purple lipstick.

Shrimpo walked Teagan to her car, and she kissed him all over again. She got in and kissed him through the car window. She got home and sent him kissy-face emojis, and he hearted every one of them.

She slept and dreamt of Shrimpo and hearts and carnivals, and woke more rested than she’d been in a year.