"Hey Raina, love the shorts" a girl complimented Raina as she walked by them.
In return, she thanked the girl as she walked past her, offering her, her usual glimmering smile.
At high-school, Raina could be described as the "it-girl'.
Not the archetypal one, that was a complete bitch or rained hell on everyone beneath her type.
No, Raina was actually the kind of girl that was friends with everyone, and that everyone wanted to be friends with her, aside from the few that envied her, but that came with even the minor bit of popularity.
She was kind of girl you would do a double-take for.
Her long brown hair, cascaded down her back in waves. She had a tanned complexion, making her hazel eyes look all the more lighter. Raina wasn't supermodel good-looking, but her confidence made it seem like she was.
Being popular does come with its' disadvantages, with people not liking you being at the top, but that wasn't really something that Raina concerned herself with. She couldn't care less about people's opinions of her.
Only the ones that meant something to her, were the ones that she genuinely cared for.
Being at the top of the social hierarchy at school, came with a certain kind of power, which meant she could call those out who deserved it.
Someone a lot like Gael Barton, when he tried to berate a Fiona Keplar for wearing a crop top because in his eyes, she didn't have the 'figure' for it.
Another thing about Raina was that at times she could have no filter. It could be early in the morning and that wouldn't deter her from yelling or swearing.
Although she was one of those friends that would tell you the truth, to your face. She was real.
Raina walked through the hallway, and towards her two best friends, Rue and Ariel.
The three had met in kindergarten, basically when they were babies. The three became friends with each other there.
It all started when Ariel was playing with building blocks, making some kind of unconventional castle, and then some kid knocked it over with his truck, laughing in the process.
Raina was there, and saw what happened. Straight away, she leapt to her feel, and was scolding the guy like she was his mother, and took his truck away, making the boy cry. She wouldn't give it back to him, until he gave Ariel a proper apology. Raina and Ariel became instant friends.
They became friends with Rue, when she was trying to recreate the castle that Ariel was working on. She was never asked to do it, but was doing it anyway. Rue then gave Ariel as smile and a hug, and somehow it became impossible to not be friends with her as well.
The three of them became inseparable to this day. Like a little family of their own.
Out of the three, Rue was the athletic one, an avid swimmer, with a swimmer's body. Guys would always hit on her, but Rue wouldn't give them the time of day, unless they actually seemed genuine.
Her dark complexion was absolutely flawless, literally not a pore visible. She had blue eyes, which stood out against her skin tone. Rue often kept her hair in some form of braids, since it made it easier for swimming, other times, she'd let it out.
Ariel was more of the innocent one. She was definitely more shy than the other two, and would be classed as a good girl. Her grades were always high, teachers loved her, and basically a model student.
Despite sharing the same name as the Disney Princess, there weren't many similarities between them, however Ariel did have strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes, with a pale-complexion.
"Morning bitches" Raina greeted her friends, as they stood by her locker.
Rue came to lean against the lockers, as Ariel clutched her books in her hands, holding them against her chest.
"Hey Rain" they both greeted her with a smile.
Everyday usually started with the three of them, as a sort of tradition. When the three started high-school, the very first day, they made a kind of pact to always see each other in the mornings, which would make their days go well.
They stuck to this pact, even now, whilst in their last year of high school.
"Oh so guess who texted me last night?" Rue asked excitedly.
"Who?" Raina asked curiously, waiting on her answer.
Rue smirked. "James" was all that she said, and both Raina's and Ariel's eyes widened.
James was part of the group of popular boys at the high-school. He was a certified player, and one of the guys that would always hit on Rue.
He was an athlete too, a track star, fast runner. Him and Rue were forced to have interactions as they would be chosen, among others, when representing the school in competitions against other schools.
Since their first interaction, James was keen to pursue Rue, but unfortuntely it didn't mean he wasn't pursuing others as well.
"What did he say?" Ariel asked Rue.
Rue paused for dramatic effect. "So I have a heated pool" she revealed what James texted, which had the girls confused as they looked at each other.
"Seriously?" Raina then bursted out laughing.
As her laughter died down, she looked back at Rue. "That's all he said?" she asked, amusement still in her tone, knowing full well what James was insinuating with that kind of message.
"Yup" Rue replied, laughing to herself.
Ariel's face scrunched up a little. "He actually thought that would make you come over?" she asked.
"Apparently" Rue snorted. "Not exactly the words you want to hear" she added.
Ariel carried on to look at her face confused. "What are the right words?" She asked.
"I want to fuck you senseless" Raina then replied, suggesting the 'right' words, and Ariel nearly choked on air, whilst Rue laughed.
Again, Raina really had no filter.
Ariel shook her head. "You're impossible".
It was a miracle that Ariel was still innocent with a best friend like Raina.
According to Raina, Ariel should be protected in bubble wrap, since she was probably one of the few innocent girls in their high school.
"I'm joking" Raina then said, but both the girls gave her a look, knowing full well that she really wasn't.
"Okay, I'm not" Raina laughed.
A curious Ariel then looked to Rue. "What did you say to them then?"
"I told him, I'm hot enough to heat the pool on my own and to go find a new line" she smirked.
Raina raised her hand to high five Rue. "My girl" she said, seeming so proud.
"I bet he'll be sulking today" Ariel then mentioned.
Generally girls didn't really turn down a chance with James, with him being who he is. Like Rue, he also had an athletic body and the good looks, which made girls fall to his feet like they were apples on a tree, and he was Newton.
Rue then let out a snort at Ariel's words. "I bet he won't" she said.
This wasn't the first time that she had refused to go out with James.
Rue did like James, but not his player-ways. Part of her hoped that when she had refused him, it would make James work harder to be with her, but unfortunately he just seemed to move on to the next girl, making it known to Rue that he didn't really want to be with her.
"He probably texted another girl anyway. A guy like James can't be trusted" she stated, shaking her head.
"None of them can" Raina then added.
Despite being the it-girl, and a lot of guys wanting to be with her, Raina stayed single. There was only one guy she truly wanted to be with but unfortunately for her, he didn't want to be with her.
Rue put both her hands up in the air. "Preach!" She shouted causing the other girls to laugh.
***
The bell for the end of school finally rang, signalling for the end of the day, something that everyone seemed to be desperately waiting for.
"If I actually use trig in my day to day life, I will buy Mr Sanchez a house" Raina muttered in a seemingly bad mood as the girls walked out of math class.
They were leaving the school building, heading towards Raina's car, when their path was suddenly blocked by Brad Luiselli, one of the guys in their year. He could be described as a real tool. He wasn't the bad boy of the school, he just wasn't a good guy most of the time.
"Hey hot stuff" he greeted Raina with a smug-filled smile.
Brad stood right in front of Raina. He raised his hand a little to stroke her arm with the tip of his fingers, whilst her eyes followed the movement of his arm and then settled on his face, not sharing the look he had.
"Fück off" Raina replied with clenched fists and narrowed eyes, trying to control her anger.
With the reputation of a popular girl, some guys would make the move on Raina assuming that because she was at top of the social hierarchy, being seen with her would help their social status as well.
Some didn't just stop at being seen, and Raina was quick to understand that they wanted to use her, so when someone made unwanted advances towards her, Raina would lose her temper.
Brad, didn't seem to get the message clear enough, and although he removed his hand, he still stood in Raina's path.
"Harsh baby" he replied, the smirk still on his face, Raina wanted to smack it off.
Keeping her eyes trained on Brad, she then gave him a smile. "No, me kicking your little dick is harsh" she told him, lower her eyes slightly and Brad's hand moved down, going to cover his lower region, not too discreetly.
"Get the fück out my face" Raina then told him, shoving him out her way and carried on walking towards her car, with Rue and Ariel behind her.
Brad stumbled slightly, and once gaining his balance again, he clenched his jaw.
"Bitch" Brad then shouted from behind the girls.
Rue and Ariel looked at each other, thinking Raina would blow her whistle, and possibly attack him being sworn at like that, but instead, she raised her hand, flipping him off without even looking.
"Thanks" Raina then shouted back, as if basking in bliss at being called a bitch.
Although people liked Raina, she was called a bitch because of her unfiltered ways, no matter who was in front of her.
"That was a bit much Rain" Ariel told Raina, with a frown, thinking that she might actually have been too harsh on Brad.
Ariel was the kind of person that always looked for the best in people, even if they didn't deserve it, and this was often a cause for people to question the friendship between Raina and Ariel.
Raina then looked at Ariel like with a brow raised.
"No darling, it was just enough" she replied and Ariel looked at her a little confused.
Rue then placed a hand on Ariel's shoulder from the back seat, causing her to turn around. "When a guy touches you without your permission, you let him know not to" she said sternly.
Both Raina and Rue would always worry for Ariel. They found her innocence endearing, but they also worried about it, concerned if anyone would try and take advantage of that, and both girls made a point to always warn Ariel of guys just like that.
Ariel had never dated a guy, especially when she had a crush on Kayden Matthews, another popular guy in the school. She had always liked him, but he often teased her, but it was clear he never meant this in a flirtatious sense, and how she wished it was.
"Okay" Ariel then nodded, agreeing what Rue had said.
As Raina started driving off, Rue have her a curious look, noticing the smile that was now plastered on Raina's face. "Why do you seem in better mood after that?"
She shrugged in response. "Eh, shutting down idiots like that makes me happy" she said and the girls laughed.
***
This chapter was mainly for introductions for Raina, Ariel and Rue.
The friendship of these girls kind of makes the story, and how they're all connected.
This will be a short story, but the chapters will be long.
Hopefully you enjoyed the read x