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CHAPTER SIXTEEN :
BUNCH OF FOOLS
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Star and Simone started dancing with drinks in their cups since music was playing throughout the large ass house they were in. Royalty was just with them, but she excused herself to go to the bathroom. Star was unsure where Hakeem was. There's way too many people in that house.
Simone moved her body with the music, circularly rotating her cup, the liquid inside swooshing around. "I'm glad Ms. Carlotta isn't coming. She would not be happy with me right now."
Star gave Simone a stern stare as Simone downed her drink. Carlotta would be furious if she saw her drinking. That's why she chose Angel to be her babysitter, so where is he? "Isn't Angel supposed to be watching you?"
"Yeah, but with all these people in the way, he's probably not going to find me."
That's true. That house was jam-packed. Why did Hunter invite so many people? How did he get so many friends? But fuck them. The only person who mattered was Hakeem, so Star searched everywhere for him but couldn't find him. She did, however, see a certain shady bitch with her man. "I can't find Hakeem either, but look at who I did find."
Simone's gaze followed hers, and they both grimaced as they watched Alex and Derek dance not far away. They appeared to be having the time of their lives, which irritated Star because that fake bitch doesn't deserve happiness. That's why she was going over there to beat Alex's ass like she had promised.
She started running towards Alex, but Simone stopped her again. Her defending Alex was becoming tiresome. "Woah! What are you doing?!"
"Beating her ass!" Star tried to twist her arm free from Simone's grip, but she was holding it too tight.
"No, Star! Fuck her! Let's just turn up!"
Turn up? How can Star turn up when her enemy is only feet away? The fans now believe she and Simone are bullies because Alex painted them as villains, rather than admitting her one-sided crush started their feud! That bitch deserves to suffer. "She's messing with our money, Simone! I'm not letting that slide!"
Simone huffed, remembering what Cotton had told them the day before. "Look, Cotton is right, okay? We need to stop caring about that bitch. She abandoned us, and beating her ass won't bring her back."
"It'll make me feel good, though."
"Yeah, I know it will." Simone rolled her eyes amusingly. "Let's just focus on having fun tonight."
"Yes. Let's," a well-known man said. A vexing one at that. Hunter, the birthday boy. Star couldn't help but sigh in frustration because here comes his ass. She was already stressed. "What do you want, Hunter?"
Hunter was annoyed by her harsh attitude. "Damn. You're not going to show some love to the birthday boy?"
"Look at all of your friends here." She moved her hand around. "Surely they can show you some love."
He corrected her. "These aren't my friends. It was an open invitation."
Star's heart began to race. "As in, there are strangers here?" What the fuck? She didn't want to be trapped in a house full of strangers with no security. They'll be fucked if some crazy shit pops off. "On second thought, I think we should go home, Simone."
She should've known Simone wouldn't leave until the party ended. "No. I want to have fun. And drink," she said as a lady carrying beverages passed by. Simone took another cup and looked into it. "What is this? This is most definitely not Hennessy."
Hunter's eyes widened, amazed by her understanding of alcohol. "What do you know about Hennessy?"
Her gaze was drawn to his. "I'm not the sweet, innocent girl you met years ago, Hunter."
Those words seemed to turn him on. He flirted with Simone, and Star wanted to fuck him up as well. "I like the sound of that, baby. I like my girls wild." He stood beside Simone, his arm around her shoulders as if she were his girl. Star wasn't having any of it.
"First of all, she's not your baby." Star pushed his arm away from her sister. He needs to go somewhere with that shit. "Second, why in the world are you inviting random people here? Whose house is this?"
His dumb ass had no idea. "I don't know. I rented it for the evening. But don't worry. Nobody's going shoot up the place. Everyone was checked before they entered."
Star and Simone exchanged a puzzled glance because they hadn't been checked. "Uh, no we weren't."
"Because you're my girls!" Hunter exclaimed, putting his arms around their shoulders and bringing them closer. He smiled as he glanced between them. "I love y'all."
Simone didn't love him. She only had one true love, and her name was Royalty. "Ugh." She took his arm off. "I have a girlfriend I need to find."
"Wait, you're into girls now?" Hunter examined Simone thirstily. "Damn, you're really not the same Simone I remember. I like it."
Simone sighed and hurried away, trying to escape his desperate ass. "Bye, Hunter!"
"Talk to you later, baby!"
Star also took his arm off and hit him. She was tired of his shameless flirting. "Stop calling her that!"
Hunter laughed, rubbing the spot where she had hit him. "Relax, Star. You already know you're my main chick."
Star didn't even bother to respond to that. She simply rolled her eyes because it was pointless to reject him. He has no idea what "no" means, which is concerning. "How old are you now, anyway?" she inquired.
"24. I'm only two years older than you, right?" In response to his question, Star nodded, and he added, "Well, it doesn't matter, baby. We're both adults."
"I'm not your baby!" she exclaimed for the thousandth time.
"Which is a shame. We'd make a good pair. And our children—"
Noah interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. Star was thankful for the rescue. Hunter's fantasies about impregnating her were the last thing she needed to hear. Her stomach twisted at the mere thought. "She said she's not your baby."
Hunter turned around slowly, his ears perking up at the sound of Noah's voice. "Oh. If it isn't Noah Brooks. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Noah made a gesture toward Star. "Why are you bothering Star, man?"
"Why do you care? You aren't her man."
"But he's my son's father," Star hastily added, trying to get Hunter to move on. Knowing him, it's unlikely.
Hunter arched his brow at her, not knowing what she was talking about. "Wait, you have a baby with him?" He shook his head, dissatisfied. "Damn, Star. You're out here cheating?"
"Y'all ain't together, homie!" Noah exploded. "What don't you understand about that?"
Hunter fired back with, "And you're not together, either!"
"It doesn't matter. She has a man, and he's a little crazier than me, so you should leave."
Hunter snorted, clearly not believing it. "Oh, really? Who's her man?"
"The belligerent drunk over there."
Noah pointed across the room, and he wasn't lying. Hakeem was completely intoxicated and trying to start shit with a random man. The guy wasn't even looking at him, but Hakeem screamed, "Pipe down, pussy!" in his face. Some partygoers were shocked by his inappropriate conduct. Others were laughing and filming the incident. Hakeem was humiliating himself, but Star also, so she needed to end this shit.
"Hakeem Lyon is your man?" Hunter couldn't believe it for a moment.
"Yes." Star left Hunter alone because Hakeem was far more important. She dashed up to him, Noah close behind her. Hakeem began repeatedly shoving the man to get a rise out of him. He truly wanted the guy to fight him for some reason, and the man was about to punch Hakeem in the face, but Noah instantly grabbed the man's hand, putting himself between them.
"Don't!" Noah begged. "He's drunk. Ignore him."
The guy put his hand down, grilling Hakeem hard before choosing to leave before things got out of hand. Star was grateful for his patience. Hakeem is extremely lucky because things could've turned out differently if it had been anyone else. So she chastised him for his out-of-control behavior. "Hey! You need to relax! You're angry and intoxicated right now!"
"No...I feel fucking good, bae!" Hakeem stumbled around, unable to maintain his footing due to his drunken state. "I'm real good."
"Not from where I'm standing!" Star shot back. "Why are you even drinking?"
She was furious when he replied, "Jamal said drinking helps him escape his problems, so that's what I'm doing."
"Oh, really? So Jamal is to blame for this shit?" Star was eager to see his ass. Of all the advice he could've given his brother, he tells him to get drunk? Idiot. "Alright. Hakeem, it's time for you to go home."
Star grabbed his upper arm, but Hakeem writhed free, claiming he didn't want to leave because he had just arrived. Then he stumbled over to the lady carrying the tray of drinks and grabbed a red cup. Star snatched the cup from him before he could put it to his mouth. "I don't care if you just arrived! You need to get your act together! Right now, you're a danger to yourself and everyone else!" She looked up at Noah, her eyes begging. "Noah, can you please take him home?"
Noah gave her a 'you have lost your goddamn mind' look. "You want me to take my enemy home?" He emphasized the enemy part.
Star let out a heavy sigh. "Please. I need to find Jamal's stupid ass."
Noah, thankfully, complied. Even if reluctantly. "Fine. Let's go, Hakeem."
"I'm not leaving!"
"Let's go!" Noah seized Hakeem, and unlike with Star, Hakeem was unable to escape. Noah dragged him out of the house while Star looked for Jamal because this wasn't cool. He had her man acting like a fool.
The house was so large that it took her a long time to find Jamal. He was with Cotton when, without warning, Star stormed up and slapped him across the cheek. The sound resonated so loudly that partygoers flinched, fearing it was a gunshot. Jamal stroked his sore cheek, giving her a look that said, "What the fuck?!"
Cotton was also irritated. "What the hell, Star?!"
Star ignored her. Jamal was in her sights right now. "Why are you encouraging my boyfriend to become an alcoholic?!"
Jamal acted dumb, which irritated her even more. "What are you talking about?! I didn't say that!"
"So you didn't tell Hakeem to drink his problems away?!"
He realized what she meant now. "Well, I guess I did—"
Star slapped him again, interrupting him. As Cotton quickly restrained her, there were gasps all around. "Okay, stop! What's the matter with you?!"
"What's the matter with Jamal?! Because of his dumb-ass advice, Hakeem is acting like a belligerent fool!" She couldn't even believe Cotton was portraying her as the villain. Jamal started this, and she was finishing it!
Jamal's eyes were clouded with guilt. He let out a sigh. "Where is he?"
"Noah is taking him home, even though it should be your job! You caused this, and we had to fix it, so you're welcome!"
Cotton gave her man a frown. "You should go and check on him."
Star immediately objected. "Na. Jamal is welcome to stay here. He'd be better off staying away from Hakeem."
Jamal opened his mouth to apologize, but she refused to hear him out. "Fuck off, Jamal!" She then walked away from the both of them since she was too done with Jamal Lyon.
Simone had been hunting for Royalty for five minutes and couldn't find her. She checked the bathroom, but there was no sign of Royalty. Unless she went to a different bathroom, because there had to be more than one in that house.
Ugh. Simone was clueless. She was going to check the backyard, and if Royalty wasn't there, she was going to call her. Maybe she got lost.
She opened the sliding door that led to the large backyard. She was surprised to see there was no one in the pool. Maybe that's a good thing because everyone seemed completely out of it tonight. They didn't need this celebration to turn into a crime scene.
Aside from the pool, the backyard was mostly empty, aside from one girl seated at one of the round dining tables. Simone recognized her right away since she was a familiar face. It was Jaylen—Royalty's ex.
Jaylen returned Simone's look with a sly smirk. It's as though she was waiting to be discovered. "Hello there, Simone."
Simone didn't return her greeting. She despised Alex, but she hated Jaylen even more. She should go home and stop stalking. "What are you doing here?"
Jaylen shrugged and looked around. "This is a party, and I love parties."
"Or maybe you want to keep an eye on my girlfriend."
"Whatever you say." Jaylen then leaned over the table and started eating something? Simone shifted to get a better angle, and her eyes widened because Jaylen wasn't eating. She was snorting white powder from a rolled-up dollar bill. That was unmistakably cocaine.
"What are you doing?!" Simone screamed in horror as she charged up to her enemy.
"Cocaine," Jaylen replied casually, holding the bill up to Simone. "Would you like to try?"
"I'd rather not snort that shit."
Jaylen shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's freaking incredible." Jaylen snorted again as Simone hovered over her, watching. She couldn't figure out why Jaylen was getting so much pleasure from the coke. She never understood the appeal of drugs in general. You're just fucking up your body for a quick high. It's stupid.
"I didn't know you liked drugs."
Jaylen stopped ingesting the white substance to laugh. "How could you not have known? Remember, I was the one who corrupted Royalty?"
"Yeah, but she's not into hard drugs. All she does is smoke and drink."
"Well, I do hard drugs."
"But aren't you afraid people will find out?"
Jaylen raised her head slowly. "Is that why you're afraid to try? Because you're worried your adoptive mother will yell at you?"
"Shit, she probably will." Ms. Carlotta doesn't even like her drinking, so imagine if she started doing drugs.
Jaylen tried to persuade her. She encouraged her to join the fun. "Come on. It's a party, Simone. Aren't you a party girl now?" Simone gave a nod. "So give it a shot! Just once. Who knows? You might enjoy it."
Jaylen held the dollar bill up to Simone again, suggesting she try some, but Simone was still unsure. She didn't do drugs, but she was a wild party girl... "I don't know...Royalty—"
Jaylen abruptly cut her off. "Royalty isn't here. And what she doesn't know can't kill her, right?"
"So you're not going to tell on me?"
Jaylen vowed she wouldn't tell anyone. "Your secret is safe with me."
Okay. Simone supposed she could try it then. Royalty can't be upset because this is a one-time thing. After all, isn't this what people do at parties? Simone was simply following tradition.
She sat next to Jaylen, snatching the rolled-up money to snort with. Let's just say it wasn't a great time. Her nose felt like it was on fire, and her expression of distress drove Jaylen to laugh and mock her. "Damn. You're an amateur."
Simone chuckled at herself, the burning sensation slowly subsiding. "I've never used drugs before in my life. I feel good though." Yeah, she felt terrific actually. She felt alert, energized, and most of all, euphoric.
"Yeah?" Jaylen's smirk returned. "Snort some more. I have plenty to spare."
Simone did, finally comprehending why people loved drugs. It made her feel...alive. She felt more alive right now than she had throughout her twenty years of life. She wasn't going to stop snorting, or maybe she was because a guy yelled, "What the fuck?"
Simone flinched, hastily rising and spinning around to see Angel staring at her bewilderedly from the sliding door. She laughed to hide her nervousness. "Oh! Angel! What are you doing here?"
"Remember how I promised to keep an eye on you? And it's a good thing I did because...what the fuck?" His gaze was drawn to the white powder on the table, and Simone moved to the right to block his view of it.
"Angel, it's not what it looks like."
"Really? It looks like you're snorting coke."
"Coke?!" Simone forced a laugh, as if it were the most ridiculous thing imaginable. Her? Doing coke? Not possible. "That's not coke."
"The powder on your nose says otherwise."
What? Simone wiped her nose and noticed the coke residue on her hands. Oh, no.
Jaylen stood up and collected her coke since Angel looked like he was about to curse her out. "Okay, that's my cue to leave. We'll be in touch, Simone?" Simone didn't have time to respond because Jaylen was already on her way back inside. Simone was now left to face Angel's wrath.
"First and foremost," he began angrily. "Who in the hell was that?"
"My girlfriend's ex."
"And why are you doing drugs with your girlfriend's ex?"
Simone huffed, irritated that he was questioning her. "Angel, it's a party. This is what people do. They do drugs. They get lit."
"You don't have to follow them, Simone. Come on. This isn't you."
"This is me," she said, an offended tone in her voice. "I've been this way for a month now."
"Well, it has to come to an end. I'm going to take you home."
Simone remained firm. "I'm not going home until the party is over."
"You're going home right now because Carlotta needs to talk some sense into you." And Angel wasn't playing. Simone became concerned as he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the sliding door. She didn't want Carlotta to find out.
"Wait, Angel! Please don't tell her!"
"Why wouldn't I?!" he argued, stopping and whirling around to face her. "You're now doing drugs, Simone! That's dangerous!"
"All I want is to be free! You have no idea how it feels to be the innocent angel all the time! I'm tired of it!"
"So I'm supposed to let you endanger yourself because you want to be 'free?'"
Yes, he was. "If you care about me, you would."
"I do care about you, Simone! That's why Carlotta needs to know!"
"Carlotta needs to know what?" said a third voice from the door. When Simone saw Royalty, her heart sank. Shit. She had no idea Royalty had come outside.
Royalty squinted between them, waiting for an answer. Angel seemed to want to snitch, but he didn't because Simone gave him a desperate look, silently urging him to keep it between them. Angel shook his head in response to her actions before responding, "Nothing. She's all yours." He went inside, stopping in the doorway to give Simone one last look of disappointment. "See you at home, Simone."
Yes he will, and it won't be pleasant.