Thawing of Hearts

This fight was a big one. Sure they had fought before. Best friends bicker all the time… right? But this one was bad. The moment the words left Shauna's mouth she knew she had taken it too far. But once she began tearing into Jackie's deepest insecurities, it was as if she couldn't stop. She kept digging and digging until Jackie broke and she had the audacity to do it in front of everyone. She felt betrayed and hurt by Jackie and all she wanted was to make Jackie feel the same way.

"Fuck you! I can't be around you. I can't even fucking look at you right now," Jackie shouted in response to Shauna's hurtful insults.

"Well that sounds like your problem, so maybe you should leave, " Shauna hissed back in retaliation.

Jackie opened the cabin door and with tear filled eyes responded, "I don't even know who you are anymore."

When Jackie walked out of the cabin and shut the door behind her, Shauna stood frozen, unable to move. Jackie had just ripped out her heart and taken it out into the Wilderness with her. The girls stared at Shauna in shock, they could not believe the front row seats they had to the fight they had just witnessed.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Misty whispered, "Well I guess they weren't as good of besties as I thought they were."

Misty's comment made Shauna burst into tears. Mortified and hurt she ran to the ladder and through tear filled eyes climbed up to her bed in the attic.

Curled up on her mat, Shauna lay silently crying and shivering in her blanket. She couldn't help but worry about her best friend sleeping outside in the cold, exposed to the harsh winter elements. She regretted ever fighting with her. She regretted everything that she said. All she wanted to do was hold Jackie in her arms and apologize. Jackie was her person, the person who knew her the best in the world, she knew her inside and out, all her secrets… well almost all. But either way she couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

Clutching the gold heart necklace that Jackie had given her on the plane, she let her tears rock her to sleep.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Jackie shouts as she runs across her dorms front lawn towards Shauna's car. "Sorry you had to wait so long I just wanted to make sure I looked perfect for our first official date."

Shauna blushes as she admires Jackie's perfectly done makeup, her sandy brown hair that is tied up effortlessly with a light pink scrunchy and the white blouse that is tucked into her matching blush pink miniskirt.

"I'll happily wait for you any day, you look beyond perfect"

Jackie wraps herself in Shauna's waiting arms, nestling her head into Shauna's neck. Shauna kisses the top of her head and momentarily allows herself to melt into Jackie's arms hugging her back. She opens the passenger door for Jackie to climb in and walks around to the drivers side.

As Jackie fumbles through her purse for her lip balm, Shauna stares at her in wonder. She doesn't understand how she got so lucky. How the breathtakingly beautiful person sitting next to her in her passenger seat was her girlfriend. She was worried that her stomach would be fluttering with butterflies but she was not nervous because she knew that this was right. This was the way things were supposed to be. Jackie was meant to be her person. So much more than just her best friend. Jackie made her feel safe, loved and valued. Her heart felt full for what seemed like the first time.

"You okay?" Jackie asks looking up from her purse.

Shauna smiles back at her. "I am so much more than okay," she responds.

She inserts her key into the cars ignition and as it rumbles to life she glances at her reflection in the rear view mirror. The gold heart that is hanging around her neck catches the sunlight and her hand instinctively reaches for it. The gift that kept her and Jackie safe in the wilderness, brought them home and brought them together.

A strong gust of winter wind suddenly blew through the attic's window and jolted Shauna awake. When she sat up and took in her surroundings she was met with an eery silence. It was the middle of the night and she was back in the cabin, her and Jackie had still had their horrible fight, it had all just been a dream.

"JACKIE!" Shauna cried out desperately, as she remembered that Jackie had left the cabin after their fight and realized that she was most likely freezing to death outside.

"Jackie! Please Jackie!" she frantically repeated as she climbed down the ladder and ran towards the door, waking up some of the girls that were sleeping downstairs.

As she threw open the cabin door gusts of wind and snow crept into the warm cabin.

Shauna threw herself down the porch steps and stumbled towards Jackie still crying out desperately. Jackie lay seemingly lifeless covered in the freshly fallen snow. Van had followed Shauna outside and together they rapidly picked Jackie up and moved her inside the cabin and placed her in front of the fireplace in hopes of bringing her back to life.

After what seemed like hours of holding Jackie in her arms, her body temperature finally began to rise as Shauna slowly nursed her back to life.

"I'm sorry Jackie. I am so sorry" Shauna repeatedly whispered to Jackie.

"It's okay Shauna," Jackie replied meekly, as she opened her eyes and stared up at Shauna.

"God, Jackie you scared the shit out of me, I really thought I'd lost you," Shauna said as she stroked Jackie's cheek. "This fight, it was so stupid. I'm sorry I ever said any of those things. I didn't mean it. I think I've realized that I just wanted to hurt you because I was jealous. I'm jealous of you and the amazing life that you have and of all the people that get to love you. But mostly I think I am jealous of Jeff and that's why I had sex with him. It's not fair that he gets to love you. Because…"

"What?" Jackie asked, taken aback. "You slept with Jeff because you're jealous of him? Seriously?"

"I'm jealous of him because I love you, Jackie. I love you more than just as a best friend."

"Shauna…"

"Jackie, I know it probably won't change anything. But I'm sorry for everything. Almost losing you tonight made me realize that I don't want to live without you, that I couldn't live without you. I love you."

"Shauna, breathe."

"Sorry," Shauna said as she reached for her necklace.

Jackie smiled knowingly up at Shauna, "I'm only with Jeff because I didn't think that you felt the same way as I do about you." Jackie reached her hand and pressed it on top of Shauna's hand that was resting on her cheek, "I love you too," she said, "You're my person, you've always been my person, Shauna, I have loved you since we were kids."

Shauna smiled back at Jackie, her heart full. She leaned down and kissed Jackie, her warm lips pressed against Jackie's frost bitten lips felt right. Jackie reached up and pulled her in for another kiss, they melted into one another as the other girls cheered them on.