Chapter Text
“I don’t date actresses,” Shaw seethes, “And what I mean by that is I don’t do crazy, I don’t need that kind of drama in my life. Seriously, what are you, Zo, my manager or my pimp?”
Zoe doesn’t let up. “Shaw, as much as it sucks, we need to reform your image,” shooting her a killer glare with that last word because Shaw knows what she did.
“I don’t care about my ~image~… Fuck, I thought that was the whole point of being a goddamn rockstar—that I didn’t need to worry about shit like that.”
“And as true as that may be in most cases, unfortunately for you, you also happen to be female and openly bisexual. And the adoring public is, as usual, a little slow on the uptake and quick to condemn, so yes, your image. Matters.”
Grudgingly, Shaw glares back up at Zoe through her scowl. “Fine. I’ll go on this date with… Root…” (God what kind of name is that?, Shaw thinks. Who does she think she fucking is, Beyonce?) “But I’m not gonna like it.”
…
Oh god, she’s not just an actress, she’s one of those actresses who eats like a bird and picks all the egg out of her cobb salad (and has the nerve to order a damn cobb salad at a steakhouse in the first place!) and asks the waiter to make a special exception in the no substitution policy just for her, and somehow it works because apparently eyes that are huge and golden brown and sparkling are magic or something, and then she walks around like she’s the hottest shit in the room and she knows everyone’s eyes are on her and her ass in that dress and her legs that should not be allowed to be that long and—
Shaw’s gonna fucking kill Zoe.
…
It’s possible that Root’s putting on a little bit of a show just to fuck with Shaw, but honestly it’s only because it’s adorable how flustered she’s getting (and how transparent she looks when she tries to pretend she’s not). And she knows Shaw’s only here because Zoe asked her to be, which is totally fine because it makes how easy it is for Root to play her like a game of Oregon Trail that much more enjoyable.
Root did her research on Sameen before their “date,” though, and she really is a huge fan—particularly of Shaw’s… extracurricular activities. No wonder Zoe’s worried about her image. Good thing Root can think of plenty of ways to keep Shaw in line.
…
Zoe told her to make this fake dating thing look good, and Sameen Shaw doesn’t do anything half-assed, so she damn well is gonna make this look good. For the publicity. That’s the only reason. Why else would she let Root climb up on stage from the front row during The Machine’s final song of the night?
Okay maybe Shaw pulled her up on stage. Who knows, concerts are super hectic, a lot of shit was going on, the audience was going wild and on stage they were all running on a heady mix of adrenaline and the fucking waves of energy coming from the crowd and when that happens Shaw can’t be held accountable for her actions, jeez get off her jock.
Well, not Root. Root can stay on her jock all she wants.