𝐁𝐀𝐆𝐒 | 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐌𝐈'𝐈𝐊𝐄

prologue.

the fire had lit up the small pink plush before anyone had the chance to react. eden had been watching janis for a while, her eyes wandering between regina and janis. it was a daily occurrence, janis' eyes boring into regina who paraded around without a care in the world. eden had always wanted to approach janis even before she had fallen out with regina. she'd always felt drawn to the girl, but she'd never acted on it.

she was one of the first students out of her seat once she saw janis with the bunsen burner, headed towards regina and that stupid plushie of hers that she made everyone greet each morning. eden had never participated in the stupid ritual every morning and it had made regina hate her, but eden was far past caring. she faltered a little as she stood, wondering why she was about to jump between janis and regina, she didn't owe either of them anything and she certainly wasn't about to defend regina. if eden had to have known that janis would be the one to get in trouble, she would've jumped between them in a heartbeat.

she had always been afraid to talk to janis imi'ike. mostly because she was friends with regina and even before she turned into the girl that stood before her now, regina george intimidated eden a little more than she'd like to admit. so eden kept her distance from both of them. but even after they had fallen out, eden had always struggled to strike up a conversation with janis. she'd trip over her words when she saw her in the corridors, she'd blush furiously when janis handed her back the worksheets that were being passed out. eden miller was hopelessly infatuated with janis and she didn't know how to put her feelings into words.

until she found janis sitting cross legged in the back of the girls locker rooms after she had been called to the principals office for the incident in science class. her bag on her lap overflowing with books told eden all she needed to know about how that went. eden had struggled to strike up a conversation with janis for years, but in that moment, she wasn't lovestruck to the point of wordlessness, she just wanted to know if the darker haired girl was ok. and so eden sank down onto the floor beside her wordlessly, janis raising her head slightly before looking away from the girl. "whatever you're going to say, save it."

"well i wasn't going to say anything," eden replied. "i just wanted to see if you were ok." janis turned her head to look at the girl, her eyes widened as if she had misheard the girl. "why do you care if i'm ok?" eden frowned at her. "regina's a shitty person," she shrugged. "and i don't think that you're the same, so yeah i'm more likely to check on you." janis raised a brow. "i'm fine." eden looked between janis and the books that were spilling from her bag. "well," eden leant back against the wall. "you don't look fine."

janis looked at her for a moment and eden swore she could see the girls eyes filling with tears. but in a split second she had blinked and any trace of her being upset had vanished. "do you know what she calls that damn plushie?" janis laughed bitterly, putting her head into her hands and groaning loudly. "yeah," eden frowned at her. "what, is it like some sort of inside joke that's being used against you?" janis shook her head, her head still lowered. "it means obsessed lesbian."

eden's mouth fell open a little in shock as she repeated back regina's plushie name in her head. sissy les. it clicked almost instantly, eden didn't know how she had never heard it before and her stomach lurched. janis and eden were two of the only girls who were out in their grade, but it had always been so much worse for janis because of regina. "oh my god," eden reached out to squeeze janis' shoulder reassuringly. the darker haired girl raised her head finally, a sad smile pulling at her face. "she's a bitch." janis laughed at that and even though it came out a little hollow, it made her sit up straighter. "yeah," she nodded. "she is."

that small interaction gave eden a ready made friend group. that night, both janis and damian had started following her on her social media that she most definitely was not supposed to have because her parents would kill her. she knew that janis must've told damian about the locker rooms and the next time the pair were hanging out, they had invited eden. she'd been worried that it all seemed too good to be true, that maybe she wouldn't fit in with them or that maybe they just wouldn't like her. that never happened, from the very start it was obvious to all three of them that eden was about to become a permanent fixture in their group.

nothing ever seemed as bad as long as she had janis and damian around. and she'd always assumed they'd be friends forever, that naivety that nothing could ever come between them clouded her judgement. because little did she know what exactly was in store for her little trio. or the relationship she longed for with janis.