neon lights ❧ jj maybank

one.

"You're the only one who'd call me from a number like this. It's a pay phone, I'm betting my life on it. Anyway. Why are you calling?"

Isla hesitated for a second. She looked down at her nails as she picked at them.

"Isla?"

The blonde rested her head against the rickety wood walls of the gas station. "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry," she said. "I just wanted to tell you that I left."

This time, it was Kiara's turn to hesitate. "You did? For real this time?"

Isla wiped the tear that dropped down her cheek. She looked up to see the bright sunset dipping below the horizon. "Yeah, for real this time."

"Well, where are you now?"

Isla took the phone away from her ear to turn and read the city sign: Welcome to the Outer Banks; Paradise on Earth. A small smile etched its way onto her face as she propped the phone back into her neck.

"I'm, uh..." Isla paused. "I'm back in town."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Kiaras SUV pulled into the parking lot of the old gas station, her eyes looking all over for the familiar mop of blonde.

She spotted Isla sitting against the curb, a cigarette in her hand. A thick puff of smoke left her mouth as she exhaled the nicotine, right before another hit was put into her lungs. The thing about Isla was that she never savored the taste of the smoke; sure, she liked the feeling of it slowly burning her from the inside, but Isla was never taught to savor. The cigarettes always felt too drawn out for her; too much, too long. It didn't really make sense, even in her own head. But at the same time, it did.

Isla looked up from her shoes to see Kiara, leaning on the hood of her car with an unreadable look in her gaze.

The blonde took one more hit of her cig before ashing it on the pavement. Standing up and dusting her shorts off, Isla sent a wave in the girl's direction.

Kiara walked up to her almost too quickly.

"Kie, I—"

The blonde felt arms around her neck as she was pulled into a hug. It was a tight one; one that said 'i missed you' without words.

Isla wasn't used to physical affection. It felt foreign to her, but even she couldn't deny the fact that Kiara's hug was extremely comforting. Kiara let go of her friend, her hands resting along Isla's arms. She eyed Isla, taking in her dirty top and ripped shorts.

"Let's get you home."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

The two girls sat on Kiara's porch, each sipping a glass of sweet tea. The warm summer air felt nice on Isla's skin as she relaxed against the railing. The girls sat in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company. That was until Kiara broke the silence.

"What made you leave for good, Isla?" She turned her head, gazing at the pale blonde. The way the sun hit her skin made it almost shimmer. It lit up the slight imperfections that dotted her skin, but Isla managed to make her dark under eyes and textured skin look astonishing. As if they were just meant for her. And the way her eyes glistened made Kiara realize how beautiful the girl actually was. She missed seeing her face, almost a little too much.

Isla hesitated for a moment. Her eyes darted towards her friend. "She lied. A—" the blonde was interrupted by the beeping of a car horn. Both girls eyed the rickety van pulling up into Kiara's driveway before it slammed to a stop. The doors flew open to reveal two boys Isla remembered all too well.