disconnected | c.r [1]

20.

The day Thea and Jaxon arrive, it is decided they'll be staying with Sydney and Axl. The two argue they wouldn't mind a hotel, but their blonde friend insists they have enough space. So, the same night, the three are hanging out in the living room along with Axl, who's editing the video he'll be posting the next day, two large bowls of popcorn on the coffee table in front of them.

He stops abruptly, yanking off his headphones and looking at his sister, whose head is on Thea's lap, the brunette having her head on Jax's shoulder. "Did you really have to expose my teenage self to the world?" Axl asks his little sister.

Sydney scoffs. "Did you really have to expose my teenage self to the world?" She asks back, raising an eyebrow challengingly as she chews her popcorn.

"I didn't expose you, I was being a responsible older brother!" He says, a soft 'Responsible my ass.', being heard from his sister. He ignores it. "It was Thea who exposed you, not me."

"Hey!" Thea screeches, offended, though a smile is on her face as her friend lifts her head off of her lap.

"Actually, he's right. Why the hell did you post that picture?" Sydney frowns, though her tone is everything but harsh.

"I'm just giving people what they want." Thea smiles, Sydney narrowing her eyes.

"Besides, it's not like people don't know." Jaxon mutters, his eyes on his phone as he scrolls through the comment section of Thea's post.

"Don't know, what?" Sydney asks, trying to play dumb.

"Oh, come on!" Thea squeals. "Everyone knows! Literally, Syd, everyone knows." Thea states, her hands flinging around the air as she talks, her eyes wide. "Actually, you haven't cleared anything up, and if you two started dating without telling Axl and I, I swear I'll kill you. We're basically the co-captains of the Chandney ship, if you two didn't tell u-" Sydney cuts her rambling short.

"We're not dating!" She exclaims, amusement now gone from her face.

"Sure, and I'm the straightest man in the world." Axl mutters.

"I'm serious. We're not dating." Sydney states, her voice going back to a normal tone.

"Then, what are you?" Jaxon questions, his eyes now on the blonde as well, making it so that everyone in the room is staring at Sydney.

"We're... Something. I don't know, but we're not dating." She shrugs. "It's confusing but I like it." She admits, noticing Jaxon and Thea share a look, a small, bit down smile on both their faces.

"Oh my god, you've got a fuck-buddy." Axl says softly, under his breath, shock and amusement mixing all over his face. Thea releases a sound that is a mix of a chuckle and a scoff, while Jaxon's eyes widen and his jaw drops as they both await their friend's answer, expecting her to blush and stutter.

Instead, Sydney levels her brother's gaze, a tiny smirk on her face as she talks. "Can't be a fuck-buddy if we're not fucking." She states, raising an eyebrow as she grabs some more popcorn, not dropping her brother's gaze. Axl says something under his breath, and Sydney swears she hears the word 'Yet.' come out of his mouth, before she rolls her eyes. "Don't you have a video to edit?" She changes the subject.

"Nice save." Jaxon says, before Sydney reaches over and hits him with a pillow, Thea's laughter filling their ears.

_

dummy💓:
i rlly liked today

syd 💛:
😘😘

_

It's ten to midnight when the door to Sydney's room opens. The blonde's eyes snap away from her phone, and her face is slightly flushed. Thea walks in with a determined facial expression, sitting down on the bed next to her friend as she talks. "Okay, Axl is asleep, Jax is asleep, we're gonna talk. Wh-" She cuts herself off, seeing her friend's facial expression as she meets her gaze. She notices Sydney's surprise, but that's not what interests her. The fact that she's blushing is.

Thea feels a smile stretch itself on her face, her eyes gazing downward to her friend's phone and back to her face, before she quickly snatches Sydney's phone. "Tee, what are you doing?" Sydney whisper-yells, her friend lightly shushing her.

"Oh, that is so cute! He made you his lockscreen." She mutters under her breath as she sees the picture. "Okay, now we're back on track." She says, turning off the blonde's phone and placing it on the coffee table. The blonde protests, but Thea stops her. "We're talking. Not you and your not-boyfriend, you and your wife. Look at me." Thea orders, grabbing the blonde's face with both her hands. Sydney's eyes widen at the proximity of her friend's face to hers, before Thea speaks again. "Talk." She says, letting go of Sydney's face.

Sydney blinks a couple times, processing her friend's antics, before complying. "Okay, what do you want to know?" She asks, running her hand through her hair.

"Details, secrets, I want it all." Thea says dramatically, Sydney smiling. "When did you guys first kiss? Off camera, I mean."

"Uh, about three weeks ago." Sydney replies.

Thea nods. "What do you mean 'no labels'? Like, if you're not dating, but you're not just friends, but you're not friends-with-benefits, what the hell are you?" Thea questions, Sydney having to stop and ponder her question.

She's not sure. They said no labels, but everyone seems to want a label, everyone seems to have a label ready for them. But, though she knows she doesn't feel like she's ready for another relationship, a part of her still confused.

"Together." She settles. "Somehow. We're not trying to label anything, that's what 'no labels' means." She shrugs, her friend nodding. They're silent for a few seconds, before Thea gasps slightly. "What?" Sydney asks.

"Are you guys exclusive?" Thea asks back, sending the blonde on a whole new other crisis.

_