“Look, Hel, it’s really scary. I mean, really. I don’t know what to do”.

Helena waved her hands in the air. Smoothly, easily.

“Just go with the flow, Shane. You always say that to me. Now it’s time for you to take your own advice”.

Shane shifted in discomfort.

“You know what I’m doing to her, Hel. You know it, right?”.

Helena nodded.

“You know that I respect you. You also know that I don’t dig this tester thing at all. But it’s your choice and as long as you’re fine with it, so I am. But you better figure out your feelings for Carmen. If you don’t, it’s gonna end bad and bloody”.

Shane bit her bottom lip and looked down, and Helena turned to the door and smiled, hearing the ringing bell.

Carmen smiled back at her.

“Hi, Helena”.

“Hey, Carmen”.

Shane looked up and her eyes softened immediately.

“Hi”, she just murmured as Carmen stopped right in front of her. She ducked her head to a side, like she always did, and massaged her neck.

“Hi”, she replied, beaming that sunny smile of her – the kind of smile that could easily turn a day from wrong to right in a millisecond -, “Are you ready?”.

Shane grabbed a small traveling bag from one of the bar stools.

“Sure. Let’s go”.

**

Sixty minutes later, Shane tapped her fingers on her knees and threw Carmen an amused look.

Carmen kept driving in silence, and Shane’s look became lopsided, funny. With her eyes still fixed on the black road in front of her, Carmen decided that it was time to smile.

“Finally…”, Shane considered with a smirk.

Carmen didn’t turn her head.

“What?”, she asked, acting confused and knowing well the meaning hidden in Shane’s words.

“You’ve been avoiding me since we left DEW”.

Carmen scoffed at her.

“I am not”.

“You are”.

“I am not”.

“You so are”, Shane laughed, and Carmen bit her bottom lip.

“Tell me, Shane. How can I avoid someone who’s sitting right beside me in a car? Tell me. I’m curious”, Carmen asked, trying to repress a wider grin.

Shane shrugged.

“I don’t know. Pretending that she’s not there, maybe?”, she teased.

“I am just concentrated on the route, that’s all”, Carmen replied raising her eyebrows.