#teadocs

FaceTiming sucked. Skylar once heard a line in a movie that said that doing long distance was like dating a ghost, and if he was honest with himself, that line held more true with each passing day that he had spent away from Kai. He knew it was only short-term, he had to help his parents in the zoo nearly 9,000 miles away from his new home, but each day seemed to drag on when time zones meant that he had to stay up late after a long day of work just to spend an hour on FaceTime before Kai had to go into his own work shift.

Which is what he was doing now. Waiting for Kai to wake up and call him, nervously fiddling with the string on his hoodie. What if Kai slept in? What if Skylar fell asleep before he called? The anxiety piled in until his phone began to ring.

Skylar picked up the phone, a rush of relief washing over him, “Kai.”

“Hi Sky,” Kai said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the morning voice cracking slightly.

“How’d you sleep?”

“Alright. Bed is kinda lonely without you, but,” he yawned, “You already know that.”

Skylar nodded, “Feels weird being back in my parent’s house again. Like I’m a little kid. At least they’re not making me bunk with Ethan again.”

“How are your brothers, anyway?” Kai sat up, stretching.

“Ethan’s been moody, apparently having to work at the zoo is too lame for someone like him,” he sighed, “Makes mom and dad frustrated.”

“He’s too cool,” Kai snorted, then laughed, “Yeah, right.”

Skylar thought about it for a minute before sighing, “I told him I was done with the spotlight. Ugh.”

Skylar chuckled, shrugging, “What he said. Keeps trying to get me involved in his TikToks. Not sure why.”

“You were on Total Drama, you’re much more famous than he will ever be. He’s just trying to ride your coattails, ya know?”

Kai got up out of bed, propping Skylar on the bathroom sink as he began to brush his teeth.

“But Harry is just a grumpy teenager. Busy studying for exams,” Skylar shrugged, “But that’s pretty much it.”

Kai nodded, saying something with the toothbrush in his mouth, which just came out muffled. Skylar could hear Kai’s phone buzz before it fell into the running sink.

“SHIT!” Kai said, mouth still full of toothpaste, just before the phone hung up.

“Kai? Kai?”

It was silent. The ghost of Kai was gone once more. He texted him, but to no reply. Skylar felt a pit of sadness hit him and he laid down in bed, curling up into his covers and sighing. 

None of what happened was something Cassie ever expected to happen. She never thought she’d fall in love with one of her best friends, so the idea of falling in love with two of them was the shock of a lifetime. It started with some drinks. Some flirty comments. Some gentle touches. Then… nothing.

As time moved on, she kept in touch, but things had changed for her. One night she found herself wrapped in Hayden’s shirt that had mistakenly ended up in her luggage, strumming at her guitar in bed.

Tell me I'm not on my own

Tell me I won't be alone

Tell me what I'm feeling isn't some mistake

Words poured out of her as if it was divinely written. She hadn't felt this strongly about anyone for a while, and honestly it scared her. She scribbled things down in a notebook, working and reworking phrases.

Show me that good things come to those who wait

She sniffed, a tear coming to her eyes. A single drop landed onto the page and she tried to compose herself.

She got out of bed, setting her guitar away, pulling off Hayden’s shirt, folding it up. She was walking back towards her bed when she spotted the crocheted blanket that Paige had made her draped on the chair in front of her piano. 

It felt like a gravitational pull. She sat at the piano, pushing the power button and watching as the screen lit up.

A chord of notes found her fingers. She played a few times before humming a melody.

There are these nights when

I sing myself to sleep

And I'm hoping my dreams bring you close to me

Are you listening?

The second song rushed out of her. A different love song for a different friend. Her chest ached. Stuck between two of them.

Her phone buzzed, pulling her from her thoughts with a text from Hayden and Paige. They seemed to be having a drink, looking a little too friendly.

She felt a pit in her stomach, they were into each other, not her. She grabbed her notebook, tossing it across the room. How could she be so stupid?

She went to splash her face with water in her bathroom, but ended up staring at herself in the mirror. What had happened to her?

---

That night of realization had come nearly a year ago. What followed was messy conversations, spending a lot of time being absent from the public eye while she figured everything out.

The night her 4th album “Scared of My Guitar” was released, she went live on Instagram with her two friends turned partners. As they played acoustic versions of the songs one by one, Cassie explained that night, and how it had inspired so much of this album.

Next morning, the headlines all read “Cassie Caulfield comes out as polyamorous on Instagram release stream, what does that mean for her career?”

As she snuggled in bed with the two of them, ignoring her phone, she didn't give a care in the world to if people didn't care enough to understand what made her truly happy, all that mattered was laying in bed beside her.

(BONUS: Album art for this fic that I made for funzies hehe)