Miss Nothing.

“Yes it’s where they print things you DJ Cass Mas slut, I’m going to get you a t-shirt,” she told her with a grin, sliding her arms around Dove’s waist. Oh yeah? And what do you usually tell them. You wanna be my manager? You’d be a tough one,” she teased and leaned in to kiss her before pulling back with a grin. “I’m…going to be someone’s sponsor,” she said, clearly excited about it. As of November, Cass had been sober for four years. Now entering her fifth, she still felt clueless but grounded in a way she never had before. “Well my sponsor asked me if I would sponsor someone new to the group, She’s young, like 18, kind of a hot mess but was brave enough to come to the group and my sponsor thinks I can really help he. Cause I’m young and hip and all of that of course. Is it weird that I’m excited? I mean imagine that, me, someone’s sponsor and responsible adult. Holy shit that’s scary on second thought but a good scary, I think.”

**

"Oh shit, somebody's sponsor that's...that's huge, baby. I mean damn, it's gonna be like a more intense and way less annoying version of the dynamic Warren has going on with Leland, and this one like matters. Of course you can help her, and she's fucking lucky she gets you as a sponsor." Dove contemplated, "No, not weird, you're eager to make an impact. I get that, "It's a great scary and I am so fucking proud of you. In the least cheesy way possible. Seriously, you make life look easy you know? Which is one of the things that made me really fucking hate you when I liked you, but since I get to peek behind the curtain, I know how much you bust your ass."

“Oh I am so shocked by that assessment.” Cass smirked as she leaned back against Dove, her eyes fixed on the poster a moment longer. “Mmm am I doing the thing? I don’t know…” she laughed softly but Dove was right. For a long time Cass was so used to measuring her success by grades and anything academically related. Now that she was out on her own with no college degree and just a lot of passion, she was probably more critical of herself than ever. “Okay, okay I’ll accept the win. It is really cool and they actually spent money to print this so someone at Staples has seen my face multiple times,” she teased and finally turned around in Dove’s arms. “I actually have a bigger win though, if you’re ready to hear it. This one is between you and me though, I’m not advertising it.”

**

"I know, I'm a slut but I am, who I am you know? Cursed to just have an uncontrollable urge to fuck sexy DJs who just so happen to be my girlfriend." Dove just nodded, because they both knew she was doing the thing, they also both knew Dove was going to wait patiently while Cass came to see things the way Dove herself did. "Is that where big posters get printed? Hmm I didn't know that. Anyway plenty of people outside of Staples know who you are. Seriously, every event I go to at least one person is tripping over themselves to tell me how great another one of your sets were and how they want to go wherever you're spinning." Dove raised an eyebrow, curious about this turn of events where Cass had bigger news apparently. It wasn't very often that she didn't at least have an inkling, but this was one of those times, "Okay, I'm listening. What's this bigger win?"

“I don’t know, I think I look kind of awkward in the picture. The headphones look funny on me.” Cass was looking at a version of the poster for her standing gig at a local bar. It was her first time having something that she would do week after week. She had started recently, but after a few consecutive weeks of good turnout the owner had decided to make it official. “But I’m going to put it everywhere. I feel like I’ll reach a real peak of my career when I see one of these somewhere and someone drew a mustache on me or something.”

**

Dove cocked her head as if she was actually considering what she regarded as an insane question, "Mmm, I don't know, I'd bang for sure. No doubt about it." Dove told her while she wrapped her arms around the DJ from behind and dropped her chin on Cass's shoulder, "What if I told you that you're doing the thing? Okay I'll tell you. You'd say 'what thing?' and I'd say, 'The thing where you accomplish something or do something that is impressive and makes you feel good and you scrutinize it within an inch of it's life instead of just accepting the W. That thing."

Cass wasn’t exactly sure how they had found themselves having this kind of conversation but it felt like a significant shift in their relationship. If anything it had only drawn Cass to trust Dove more even if it had flared up a lot of insecurity for her. But she wanted to be someone who could have these kinds of conversations and not fall apart but actually give both of them the chance to be heard. She wanted to be that kind of person but also that kind of girlfriend, one that wasn’t scared at every little hiccup, especially if it involved other people. After all they had been through, this somehow seemed like one of the toughest and easiest moments for them. “Okay fair, you make very good points. But you know every DJ has to start somewhere. Groupies are a great start. Having a solid, amazing, extremely hot and brilliant girlfriend is another amazing start. So you yeah, it’s only up from here.” Cass brushed her fingers along Dove’s stomach before resting her hands on her waist. “I know. I do. And it’s the same for me. I think that’s what’s scary, you know? Trusting something so much. Actually knowing that no matter what we’ll always work it out? That’s some serious real love shit, Dove. We’re growing up. That’s kind of bananas.”

**

"Groupies are not the worst place one can start, yeah I guess that's true." Dove smirked while blushing under the weight of her compliments, "Being legitimately talented at what you do and fucking beautiful doesn't hurt your foundation either." They had started in chaos so it really by now shouldn't have been surprising that they can in turn handle chaos when it came up, and yet the notion of losing Cass was terrifying and Dove didn't always know how to work well under pressure, but she had Cass to navigate through it with, trial and error and whatever else needed to happen just would. "That's some serious love shit." Dove nodded, agreeing with the sentiment completely, they were growing up and managing to grow together, even if feelings for someone else came into the picture like it had with Blue. "You're kind of bananas." She retorted, ironically in a childish manner before she leaned down to kiss Cass again, then laid on her, her face in the crook of Cass's neck. "The next few weeks are gonna be hell. The holidays are coming up and so people will be coming home, everybody's gonna notice when I'm an awkward weirdo." 

Cass laughed at her reaction if only because she could imagine Dove sitting there with Blue and holding herself back from saying a single thing. It made Cass bring her fingers up to brush along Dove’s neck for a moment in comfort. “I have the best taste possible, thank you very much. Plus, I have no doubt that if Blue was single she’d be all about it. If not then it’s her who has shit taste.” It was weird to hear those words coming out of her mouth but she meant it. As jealous of a person as she was, she thought the whole world should have a crush on Dove but for both fo their sake, she was glad that wasn’t the truth. “Do I have a groupie? Maybe, maybe I do. I think that means I’m becoming a bigger deal, right? Damn, I knew Randy had it coming.” Cass sighed happily against Dove’s lips and pulled her closer, smiling against her lips at the question. “She’s big on complimenting my outfits, making real conversation about it, I think she can tell I like fashion, you know me, such a fashionista,” she joked, not having given the other woman as much thought until now. She pressed a few kisses to Dove’s jaw, “Sometimes. Mostly when the crowd is being boring. Mm, on occassion, she can be pretty smooth. She gives off very experienced lesbian vibes.” Cass shifted slowly so that she was lying back more and pulling Dove on top of her. “Never as much as you do though. Obviously.”  

**

It felt like such a relief to hear Cass laugh; as much as Dove hated to admit it, there really was something to talking and being honest and shit even if it was like her least favorite thing to do, but she couldn't say their relationship wasn't worth it, that Cass herself wasn't worth walking through fire for. "Yeah, I guess, I don't know, it's dumb but dumber shit happens every day. I'm alright dealing with it if you're with me." Dove chuckled, "Yeah I guess it does, but better indicators would be things like frequency of inquiries, increase in bank account, etc. But sure we can measure by how many people are comfortable enough to let it be known they want to fuck you. You are basically famous though, it's only up from here."  They moved with one another easily as their positions changed. Dove teased, pulling at Cass's top while she straddled the DJ, "Obviously..." She rolled her eyes, then looked down at her, "How much I love you hasn't diminished even a little bit, you know. It won't either, whatever happens with Blue or doesn't I'm not fucking with me without you."

Adeline hadn’t spent much time outside of Tinsley’s apartment in weeks, wanting to keep a low profile for her own sake after Panic. She hadn’t exactly gotten to the root of any of the problems that the event had caused, instead choosing to distract herself with drugs and sketching on her bedroom floor until her sister called her out for dinner. But given she was running low on supplies for the latter, she found herself taking a quick trip to the art supplies store, going in and out as quickly as she could to avoid running into anyone. Unfortunately, her speed only seemed to make her just clumsy enough to barge into someone on her way out. “God, not today.” 

**

It had been a while since Dove did any tagging and with fall coming up, she figured she'd get it out of her system before the need to hibernate kicked in for her and she was slightly pissed if she had to go anywhere once the temp dipped below a certain degree, which lead her to the art supply store only because they had more of a color selection than the hardware stores. It was just her luck that someone would literally be attempting to mow her down at the entrance, "What the fu--" Her annoyance was instant, and she was fully prepared to tear into the person except of course that person would be the sister of one of her best friends, which she recognized even if Dove didn't really know her at all, "Did you knock into me with your shoulder or a fucking talon? Shit." She said, rubbing the spot on her own shoulder that made impact, the friendliest thing she could think to say in the moment.

Adrian hadn’t planned on stopping by Rosewood any time soon, but his parents had been so insistent upon realising how long it had been since they last saw him. But despite that, he knew he had to take a pit stop between the airport and home, crossing his fingers the entire bus ride that she would be there. “Dove?” He waited for some sort of response as he entered, dropping his bags and standing still until he heard her voice. “Don’t punch me for not warning you. My parents had this planned within a day or so, and I’m slow to catch up. I’m sure you were about to point that out anyways.”  @dovemitchell​

**

One would think that Dove wouldn't have been the type to be inclined to give people spare keys for emergencies, but you'd be wrong, and Adrian had been a recipient of one such key, though she never thought he'd actually use it so imagine the shock she felt when she heard a familiar voice and a key turning in the middle of her reading a book for one of her classes. "Adrian what the fuck?" She asked, bolting up off of her couch, pant-less because it was her house and why would she wear pants there if she didn't need to. "So I should be kicking your parents asses for you breaking into my house, Matt Murdock?" She couldn’t say it wasn’t good to see his stupid face regardless of how bizarre it was. The couch is straight ahead, Chucky. Let me know if you need an assist. Sit down, explain yourself better.” She told him, her way of an automatic welcome even if she didn’t say it. 

“It wasn’t an ultimatum. You can’t blame me for not wanting to be around that, even if it’s just for the time being.” Suddenly it felt like the world had flipped upside down, and she had no idea what to make of what Dove was saying. Dove had been her immediate person to turn to these days, and she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something to that. But the fact that Cass already knew and it was something worth bringing up to her continued to play on her mind. “It’s not embarrassing. I’m the last person in the world who would ever think that.” She meant it, and despite how surprised she was, she still looked a Dove with the same warm expression she always did. “I should probably go.”

**

Dove really and truly expected nothing from Blue after her revelation, even on the off chance that whatever feelings she had was reciprocated, Dove had no idea how to navigate that against her relationship she had every desire to keep in tact. She simply felt backed into a corner and giving Blue what she was asking for was the only way to at least not have her agonizing over whatever she'd made up in her head. "It's feeling pretty embarrassing so...yeah. That's probably for the best. I'll see you around, maybe I don't know, that's up to you I guess." Dove told her busying herself with taking Blue's glass and going over to her kitchen, cleaning up the small mess she'd made, waiting for her friend to take her leave.

“I suck for wanting to resolve something going on between us?” She was hoping to find some answers in what Dove was saying, but her defensive reaction only made her more confused. “What else am I supposed to think? It’s not like you’ve been giving me a lot to work with here.” Any emotion written across her face was completely wiped off at Dove’s next statement, and even after she had moved across the room Blue still didn’t know what exactly to say next. “I’m sorry. I had no idea it would be something like that.” She wanted to reach out to her, suddenly feeling bad for making her talk about it at all, but she respected her space enough to stay put. “What about Cass?”

**

"Yeah, you suck for that." She was being childish and unreasonable now, but she felt backed against the wall, and if Blue were almost anyone else, Dove would have lashed out in a much harsher manner. The last thing Dove wanted to do after exposing herself was look at Blue. It was strange to admit feelings for someone and the object not to be to shoot your shot, the very pressing question of 'where do we go from here' was lingering between them, "Yeah no shit." She snorted dryly and rolled her eyes, "Cass knows. She's been really fucking great considering how fucked up that is. The plan was to let this shit run it's course and go on about my normal life, but we're here now, thanks to your super fucking awesome ultimatum. Look this is already like super fucking embarrassing for me so you don’t have to like try and figure out some grand solution or let me down easy or whatever the fuck."

“Then maybe we shouldn’t hang out like we do until you can.” If she were anyone else, her words would have come across pretty harsh, but she maintained her even, somewhat warm tone even as she said them. Blue took friendship seriously, but more than that, she always made her own peace of mind a priority. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t like having weird energy with someone who’s supposed to be one of my best friends. Especially when that weird energy makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong. And even though you say it has nothing to do with me, I’m sorry for whatever I did to make you feel like I can only be kept at arm’s length. But if that’s the way it is, then that’s the way it is.”

**

"Wow...so you kind of suck when you drink, huh?" Blue's tone might have been casual, but Dove was immediately and fully offensive. "I don't get why the fuck you would think you did anything wrong if you haven't actually done anything--you know what, you're pushing shit that you really shouldn't be." Dove thought it was profoundly fucked up that not only was she supposed to make the choice then and now to just let Blue and the state of their friendship fuck off or changing it maybe forever, but that she also was a little wine tipsy which made making a sound choice that much tougher. "I'm fucked over regardless so fine since you're so damn curious. I keep you at arm's length sometimes because I've got a little bit of a crush on you and apparently I'm very awkward around people I catch feelings for. So thanks so much for dragging that out of me, super cool of you, Blue." She said sarcastically while she got up and polished off her glass of wine, moving towards her window just to put some distance between them and not have to look at the fallout of her revelation head on just yet.

“…I hate apple spice. And pumpkin flavored shit. And anything with cinnamon. And I know what you’re about to say — how could I hate anything? But that just goes to show how passionately I feel about it.” Blue bit back a smile. “I hope I’m not out of your good books forever, but I had to tell you the truth.” She was surprised when Dove started to back track, and she listened intently, trying to figure out why she was bringing it up again in the first place. “Maybe it’s hard for me to tell if you like me period.” Blue was unabashedly honest, with every word leaving her mouth without any hesitation. “I mean, one minute you’re praising me and then the next you’re getting all weird and pushing me away. So no, I don’t know if that’s what you really think of me.”

**

"I don't mind that you don't fuck with it, but I will have to kill you if you tell anyone that I really like that shit." Dove was taken aback by Blue's words; she didn't think the girl was a pushover by any means, but she also didn't think she was confrontational, and she really didn't expect to be called out. "We wouldn't be hanging out if I didn't like you." She mumbled, eyes focused moreso on her glass than Blue, trying to figure out what to say to her that wouldn't blow shit up more than they already were. "Look, I only think good things about you, but I can't really tell you why I get weird sometimes, just that I'm trying to cut that shit out and it's all me, not you."

“I know. It must be strange for you to find out that I’m not the weird overly-positive robot that you seem to think I am. Your girl’s got layers too.” She shrugged, not wanting to admit that she had completely forgotten about Dev for that split second. “You’re the one promising me a fun night. That warrants the first call.” She wrinkled her nose at Dove, shaking her head at herself. “Terrible. Absolutely terrible.” Without meaning to, Blue took a long swig from her glass, appreciating the slight buzz given the timing. “Well, yeah. If you needed any more ideas of weird expensive bullshit, you can head right back into Trader Joes. I’m not hating because you already know I shop there, but the amount of times I’ve gone in there high… Twenty bucks later I’m out with some random snack that I can barely identify and probably didn’t need.” 

**

"Pssh no way in hell I give off me thinking of you as a robot vibes." The 'your girl' didn't trip Dove up this time, but she did look at her for a moment, hiding it behind taking a long sip, "I'll take it. Regardless, I'll make sure we don't end the night sober. But between me and you? I kind  of fucks with Trader Joe's because it's mostly random ass snacks that slap when you're high, and it's about to be fall so hella apple spice everywhere. I fucks with that heavy. How is everything else going on with you? Am I doing too much if I say that robot comment a little bit ago seemed kind of pointed. You know that's not what I think about you. I mean I like the positive hippie vibes, like it takes a lot for someone to be as positive as you in a world like this, but I just like you for you, not because of how enlightened you can be or whatever."

“It’s not pessimism. I just don’t want to get my hopes up too much and end up disappointed. It’s realistic all things considered.” These more honest, serious conversations seemed to be happening more frequently between them, and truth be told Blue didn’t know what to think of them. But regardless, she couldn’t dwell on her worry for too long, with Dove’s swirling of her wine making her smile and eventually chuckle. “Good. Because I’ll be calling you as soon as I get out at five with an update. When was the last time you went out on the town?” Blue took another sip of her wine before she could provide much of a review. “Not in the slightest. It’s great, but $400? I think the fact that you got it for so cheap is what’s making it taste better.”

**

"Valid, super valid even, but still weird considering you're one of the most positive people I know." Feelings aside, Dove felt she owed a great deal to Blue, as the girl was the catalyst for her making friends with people outside of tracks, friends that she couldn't imagine not going through her formative years with, Blue included and  Dove tended to support the people she cared about the way they needed without thinking about it, it was just instinct, " I’m gonna be your first call? Before Dev? I call bullshit, but I get what you’re saying. Went out on the town? Wow...that's what my folks say when they go on date nights. How does it feel to be 50?" She chuckled, "Amen to that. Two things among the millions of things that get an insane price tag once late stage capitalism enters the chat are art and wine. People legit just make shit up...I almost respect it."