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"It's for the pain." Estrella says pulling the blunt out.
"JJ, bless." Sarah breathes. They all sit together. Estrella lights it and takes a puff herself before she goes to pass it to Sarah.
"Actually..." Kie says before she takes it from Estrella. The girl sighs as Sarah groans.
"Really ?" She says before she snatches it from Kie. She takes a long puff as she closes her eyes.
"Go easy. It's JJ's cousin's cripple." Estrella says. Sarah immediately starts coughing. Estrella laughs as Kiara becomes annoyed.
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It had been a couple of hours and the girls hadn't made much progress if any at all. It was dark out now and the girls were high. Sarah more so than the other two.
Kie had put her button up back on as she sat by herself. Estrella had thrown her (JJ's) t-shirt on as she sat between them. Sarah was giggling to herself.
"Wow." Sarah gasps, "Hey, guess what ? Would you rather... have..." She clears her throat, "I was imagining you like this just now. It was pretty funny. Would you ima... would you rather... have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples ?"
Estrella furrows her brows as she turns to Sarah.
"Imagine if you get really old and your nipples... Your boobs get saggy, and your nipples, if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied." Sarah chuckles
"Is this like your first time smoking or something ?" Kie snaps
"No." Sarah mumbles. She looks down before looking back up, "Hey, Kiara-"
"Oh, my God. Enough of the "Hey, Kiara!" bullshit ! Why'd you do it ?"
"Why did I do what ?"
"We were best friends. We... we stole beers from your dad's fridge, we watched movies together, we cried about boys. And the next thing I know, I'm watching your birthday party happen from Instagram."
"It was one party."
"You invited everybody except me. And then you told everybody I was the reason that the party got busted."
"Okay, well, who else would've called the cops ?"
"You never asked. You just let the rumor go that I was a rat. You were my best friend, and then you ghosted me, and I don't even know why ! I mean, really, what did I do ?"
She and Estrella wait for Sarah to speak up. The blonde looks forward. "You liked me."
"What ?"
"When... people get... close to me, I feel trapped. And... I bail. And then I blame them for it. I'm really sorry..." She takes a deep breath, "and I miss you. Do you think there's a chance that we could be okay again ?"
"Honestly..." Kie shrugs, "I don't know."
Estrella looks to Sarah and gives her a small smile.
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The girls now laid down looking up and stars. A calm silence falling over them.
"Hey, Sarah." Kiara says quietly
"Hey, Kiara."
"Promise me that you won't bail on John B. He's not just... some other guy. And he really, really likes you."
"I won't."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
Kie sighs, "Also, I'm sorry I called the cops."
Estrella laughs as Kiara smiles to herself.
"I knew it." Sarah giggles, "I knew it, you bitch ! I told you !"
"You... you should've invited me." Kie laughs
"So you called the cops ?"
"Yes !" Kie exclaims as the girls all laugh together. Their laughter starts to die down. "Thanks, Estrella."
"For what ?"
"For being here. Can't imagine how awkward you must've felt."
"Oh, very awkward." She says as the girls chuckle, "Thank god for JJ's hydroponic."
"I actually wanted to ask you something about him."
"JJ ?" She says as Kiara hums. "What about him ?"
"Have you guys ever.." She trails off, "You know ?"
"Hooked up ?"
"Yeah."
"No." Estrella chuckles. "He's my friend, Kie. That's all."
"I'm just asking," Kie shrugs, "You guys are really close and we all know how JJ is."
Sarah chuckles as Estrella rolls her eyes. She looks back up at the sky as her heart pounds in her ears.
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The pogues had decided to all get together. Summer had just started and they couldn't be more excited for it. It was late at night as they all sat in the front yard of the Château. They couldn't count how many beer cases they had gone through, but they didn't care. They were having fun.
John B and Pope were wrestling in the grass as Kie sat in a chair laughing at them.
"I'll be back." Estrella says as she stands up with her empty bottle
"Okay." Kie says before she turns her attention back to Pope and John B.
Estrella stumbled a little as she made her way to the Château. She opens the door and walks straight to the bathroom. She uses it and washes her hands before she comes out.
As she walks into the living room, JJ walks in from outside.
"Getting another beer ?" She asks
"Yeah, my round with Pope is next and we all know how he gets when he's drunk."
"Yeah." Estrella chuckles. She goes to pass him, but is stopped when JJ grabs her wrist gently.
She looks up at him with confusion on her face.
"You're really pretty, you know that ?" He says softly
Estrella rolls her eyes, "You're drunk, JJ."
"I'm really not." He says, "I haven't had that much. Honest."
She raises her brows at him as he steps closer.
"I'm being serious. You're really pretty."
Her head falls back further as he steps closer. He looks down at her lips as she scans his face.
"Why are you telling me this now ?"
JJ shrugs, "Liquid courage ?"
"You've never needed it with anybody before."
"Yeah, but you're not just anybody. You're Star."
Estrella sighs softly as he looks her in her eyes. She hadn't realized how close he'd gotten. Her eyes go down to his lips and that's all he needs. JJ kisses her hard. She stumbles back from the force, but JJ's arm goes around her waist to keep her up. Estrella's hand goes to his cheek as the kiss deepens.
Her nails scratch the nape of his neck softly as JJ kisses her. His hand sneaks under her shirt and touches her side.
Estrella pulls away and breathes heavily. She looks up and him and notices his eyes are a bit of a darker shade of blue. She kisses him again before he starts to lead her down the hall to John B's guest bedroom.
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