The headache of last night's good time rolling over was inevitable. Ellie sat up, looking at her phone, and the time. It was seven o'clock, meaning she'd slept the entire day through. She opened her texts.
Holly (29).
Matty (2).
Her heart skipped several beats in her chest, she quickly opened the chat to read.
"Hey, how did it go?" ten o'clock in the morning.
"Are you busy?" twenty minutes ago.
She responded, "I just woke up...lol. It went fine, only person who caught me was Alex. No I'm not busy, why what's up?" Then tossed her phone aside, with a smile so true it became hard to rid. She got up to look in the mirror, the bags under her eyes were terrible, and her with the way her hair looked you'd swear she had survived a twister of some sort.
Her phone's vibration buzzed against the bed sheets. She quickly made her way back to the bed and grabbed it.
"Me and the guys are just rolling around, was wondering if you wanted to come?"
Ellie hesitated, her parents rarely let her out when it was touching dark, since the last time she'd gotten caught stealing when they did. She didn't understand why they wouldn't let it go, she was thirteen years old and it was a pair of earrings for crying out loud. If they'd just given her money, she wouldn't have had to steal in the first place...and she was following that Stacey chick around. She was known for shop lifting all around their private school at the time.
She didn't want to tell him she had to go ask her parents, she didn't want to seem like such a kid. She fixed her hair a bit and headed downstairs to see her parents at the couch playing chess. They were so boring, she never wanted to be in a relationship like her parents' when she got older. Playing chess on their off days and doing work in the offices all the time. It was sickening, they had no lives.
Jean Moore, was a rather tall and lanky woman with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. She had a large smile, and always wore the color pink. James Moore, was a tall and lanky man, with dark brown hair and green eyes...who both Alex and Ellie had gotten their own from.
"Mum?"
Mrs. Moore turned around, "oh look James she's finally risen." She laughed.
Mr. Moore smirked, finishing off his move and looking up to see Ellie.
Ellie refrained from rolling her eyes, she faked a smile and sat down at the opposite couch. "Mum, uh, can I go out?"
"With who?" She asked, "Holly's not home we talked to her parents and they told us you two went out with Alex last night?"
"What?" Ellie sighed, why would Holly tell her parents?
"You heard me." Mrs. Moore raised an eyebrow, examining the board before her.
"Can I just go? I'm going with some friends from school."
Both her parents looked at one another, "Ellie, it'll be night soon. Your grades aren't necessarily the best, maybe you should consider opening a book instead." Mr. Moore said.
She sighed heavily and stood up, "fine." She headed back upstairs and slammed her door.
She went to the closet and pulled out something to wear, a halter with ripped jeans and her cardigan sweater. "Guess I'll just have to sneak out." She mumbled. She was tired of her parents always securing her and trying to tell her what to do.
In no time she'd be done with school and not need them at all. She wanted more freedom, and to be treated more like an adult than a child. Being the youngest in the household, that absolutely never happened...
"Definitely. Park down the street and I'll be there in five."
She took a deep breath as the message sent.
----------------------------
The sky hued of yellows and oranges as the sun was just beginning to set, allowing the moon and stars to take over and cast the darkness of night over the city. Ross' car sat parked down the street, as Matty, George and Adam waited for Ellie who they could now see from the rear view mirror jogging up to them, noticing Ross in the driver's seat of Matty's van.
Ross unlocked the doors right away, as she pulled open the ones leading to the backseats. Matty scooted over to the middle, letting her in.
"What took you so long?!" He asked. They all laughed, watching her as she breathlessly shut the door and put on her seat belt.
"My parents wouldn't leave me alone! I had to act like I was going to Holly's house so they could let me be free." She laughed too, sitting back in her seat.
Ross started the car and headed off into the city, in search of a decent place to park for them to smoke.
"You need to just be like mum, dad, fuck you." George leaned over to face her, she laughed and rolled her eyes.
"They're my parents for crying out loud." She shook her head and looked out of the window, a bit paranoid.
"How about we go to that one place, from last time?" Adam asked.
"Oh yeah that's right, the hill, no one was there." Matty added.
Ellie looked at them, "oh...you guys are doing that again?" She asked.
Matty looked at her with a smirk upon his face, "that, as in smoking? Yeah."
"It's just weed." George laughed.
Ellie rolled her eyes, "its just weed," she mocked, "you're gonna get addicted, watch. Like those people they show you in school on the drug education videos."
The car filled with endless laughter, even Ellie couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
Matty rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "you're such a kid."
"I'm not." She crossed her arms, still laughing.
"You don't get addicted to weed," Matty said.
"You're never gonna quit it if you don't stop smoking it," she said, "pretty much like addiction."
The car built up speed as they finally approached the hill, which overlooked the city and provided a clear view to the sunset.
"I can already kind of smell it...who has it?" She asked, looking around at each one of them.
"George." Adam turned around from the passenger's seat.
Ross parked the car and took his seat belt off. Ellie too took her's off, as well as her cardigan sweater. Matty looked over at her, unable to help but notice how attractive her body was in the black halter top she wore underneath it.
Her arms were the perfect tan, he watched her brunette hair sweep over her shoulders as she pushed it all to one side. She noticed and smiled at him, raising an eyebrow. He quickly tore his eyes away, she was too young...he didn't understand how he could look at her in the first place. She looked out of the window, he could tell she too felt awkward about it.
"Alright," George took his seat belt off and pulled out multiple dime bags from under his coat. Ellie leaned over a bit to watch him.
"Wait who has the papers?" Matty asked, he knew, he just desperately needed to escape the moment with words.
"I do." Ross said.
"Alright." He nodded.
Ellie propped her legs up and waited, looking out at the sunset ahead. She wanted to speak, but she didn't. She just enjoyed for a moment, the beauty of it all. She was sure they noticed it too, but maybe it wasn't as important to them as it was to her...being that they were guys and all...older ones at that.
George broke down the weed and took the papers from Ross, preparing what looked like was soon to be a particularly fat joint. He grabbed the lighter and lit it as he held it up to his lips. Ellie watched him, he made it look so easy. He inhaled the smoke, held it in momentarily, and exhaled...the smoke flowing smoothly from his mouth.
He passed it to Matty, who did the same. She watched him too, until he almost looked done and she returned her eyes to the sunset, feeling strange.
He handed it over to her slightly, she looked at it and then up at him.
He let the smoke out of his mouth to speak, "you don't have to if you don't want, just an offer." He said.
She wanted to. If it was as easy as it looked when they did it, and they weren't ready to take a leap off of the hill, it couldn't hurt...could it?
She took the joint and held it up to her lips the way she watched the guys do it, inhaled the smoke, a bit too hard because it led to her choking like crazy. She quickly passed it up to Ross and struggled to stop herself from coughing.
"That was a good one!" George laughed.
Ellie smiled as she finally caught her breath, "does anyone have water?" She asked...but inside begged.
"No..." Adam turned around, feeling sorry.
The joint went around multiple times, and sooner or later George rolled up another. Ellie's tolerance was so low she soon would let them skip her in the passes. It didn't feel like she thought it would, all chilled out and everything like she often saw her brother when he did it...instead everything was just hilarious. She almost couldn't breathe from laughter, and then would forget what she was laughing at in the first place.
"Oh shit..." Ross turned around.
So did the rest of them.
"What?" Ellie asked.
"There's cops down there." He said.
Ellie's eyes widened, she sunk down in her seat, paranoid.
"Well I think we better go," she said, panicking, "serious...you better go." She looked out of the side windows to see if they suspected them for anything. Her parents and her brother especially would kill her if she'd have to make a call from jail tonight.
"The car smells like weed if we drive past them and they do stop us that'll give us away." Adam said.
"Think about what to say if they do come over here." George said.
"Just play it cool." Matty said.
To their relief the cops continued on their way, passing up the vehicle. Ellie sighed, "fucking hell," she looked at them.
"Open the windows and air this bitch out." Matty said, he was almost certain the cops would come to question them on why they were parked where they were, but they hadn't.
Ross rolled the windows down, George took the baggies from his coat and placed them in the glove department.
"I'm gonna go get some air." Ellie said, opening the door and getting out. She looked around, scoping the view. They all followed, as it was better than sitting around and being stuffed in the car.
She looked over to see Matty, though with his large black hoodie draping over his face, she couldn't really see any of him. She walked over to him hesitantly, looking back at Ross, Adam and George.
"Matty, they're not gonna tell Alex that I was here, right?" She asked, still paranoid as her eyes wandered in every direction and she could soon hear her own heartbeat as the high took over.
He shook his head, "I told them not to."
"Why'd you invite me today?" She asked.
"Here you are, asking questions again." He smirked, looking over at her.
"I'm just wondering." She couldn't help but laugh, everything was funnier because she was so high.
He shrugged and waited a moment, "I was bored."
Her heart sank in her chest, that's it? Because he was bored?
"I came, because I wanted to hang out with you." She said slowly.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, she stepped in closer to him.
"Well I wanted to hang out with you too of course, I just meant that sometimes I get tired of being with just guys so much and you're the only girl I can hang out with that I don't feel obligated to impress.
Ellie laughed slightly.
"I mean, you don't feel like you have to impress me, do you?"
She shook her head slightly, lies, a head shake full of lies she hoped he wouldn't see straight through.
"Exactly." He too hoped there wasn't a lie she couldn't see through.
"You guys ready to go?" Adam asked from the car, getting in.
They both turned around and made their way, getting in the car.
"Alright, I guess we can drop you off first, Ross, we're closest to your place." Matty said, taking the wheel. Ross sat in the passenger's side, Ellie, George and Adam in the back. The skies had already gone dark, and the time had flown even faster than it had last night.
-----------------------------
On the way home Matty andEllie had both agreed it was a good idea to stop and at least get some food as their high's hunger took over and the car's only sound brimmed with the growling of their stomachs. They sat parked in the lot, finishing up their drinks. Ellie propped her feet up, looking ahead at Matty from the back seats.
He turned around, laughing, "you know, you can sit in the front now." He suggested, taking the remains of their uneaten food and opening the door to throw it away.
She smiled, "I'm comfortable here." She mumbled, "you can sit in the back now." She suggested sarcastically.
He laughed and got out, shutting the door behind him and coming to the back seats. Ellie sat up, "I didn't really mean it." She laughed.
He shrugged, running his hands through his hair and looking at her as she took off her shoes.
"This is gonna sound so funny but I had the biggest crush on you when you used to come over." She said, looking out of the window.
With eyes fixed on her, he chuckled, "I know."
She turned around and looked at him at last, resisting the shyness that never seemed to leave her alone around him, "really?"
He nodded, "you and Holly always giggled when I walked through the door." He shrugged, rolling his eyes.
"Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed." She laughed, "so, since I'm already embarrassed I have a new question for you." She smirked.
He sighed and sat back, getting comfortable, "there's only minutes before I drop you off, go."
"If all guys want from girls is sex-"
"Oh Gosh." He laughed, seeing where she was going with her question.
"What?!" She laughed too.
"Again, I don't want sex from you, alright." He shook his head.
"That's not what I was going to ask." She sat up, a smile forming across her face.
"All we seem to do is talk about sex...so I thought...I dunno" He laughed, "continue."
He was right, Ellie stopped herself, "never mind." She chuckled, feeling embarrassed.
He sat up and leaned in close to her, stopping at her lips as they brushed against them softly. Everything in him asking what the fuck he was thinking. She looked at him nervously, leaning in. Their lips crashed into one another's.