June 2014

On the outside, Lila Stangard seems like your typical pretty but not incredibly smart, rich-bitch college student.

On the outside, Rebecca Sutter seems like your typical drug dealing, punk-ass piece of shit.

Amazing how wrong you can be about people.

Lila struts around Middleton's campus, flipping her hair over her shoulder and smiling at anyone that gawks just a little too long.

Rebecca serves frat boys alcohol, wipes down bars, sells drugs in the bathroom, and gets her ass grabbed at least three times a day. Not for enough money, that's for sure. But along with the money she makes from dealing, it pays her rent and puts food on her table – to some degree. First, she doesn't have an actual table. Second, "food" is usually takeout. So her diet consists of takeout, alcohol, drugs, and the occasional apple.

Hey, she's not dead yet.

Her life intersects with Lila Stangard one June night. (Rebecca doesn't remember the exact date and really doesn't care to.) It's uncomfortably humid outside and even worse in the bar. It reeks of sweat, and someone's chain smoking in the back corner of the bar, stubbing cigarettes out on the table. There's been four fights so far and it's only ten, so Rebecca's willing to bet there will be at least two more before midnight.

Fucking Middleton students.

Rebecca looks up when the bar door opens. She usually does. She's surprised to see it's not another frat boy but a woman with red hair and mischievous blue eyes. Rebecca almost immediately puts a name to the face. Lila Stangard. She's dating Middleton's quarterback. She's in shorts that might as well be underwear, and her shirt's low cut; Rebecca's eyes can't help but be drawn to Lila's cleavage.

"So," Lila says, sitting at the bar directly in front of Rebecca. She smirks, noticing where Rebecca's eyes are. Rebecca quickly lifts her eyes to meet Lila's. "When do you get off work?" Lila asks abruptly.

"I – excuse me?"

"You heard me," Lila says, smiling confidently. She taps her short nails against the bar.

"Are you even old enough to be in here?" Rebecca demands, crossing her arms over her chest. She forces herself to keep her eyes locked with Lila's.

"Are you?" Lila retorts, and Rebecca opens her mouth to reply, but no words come out. It's such a stupid question; it leaves Rebecca utterly dumbfounded. Lila laughs, and Rebecca snaps her jaw shut.

"Answer the question," Rebecca growls.

"Yes, of course I'm old enough to be in here. Duh," Lila says, rolling her eyes. She slaps her driver's license onto the bar and points to her age to prove it. She's Rebecca's age – 21 – and she's exactly two months older than Rebecca. "Now you answer my question."

"Why does it matter when I get off work?" Rebecca asks. Rebecca studies Lila Stangard, searching for any cracks in her overconfident façade. Except, Rebecca realizes, maybe it's not a façade.

"I want to talk to you."

"You don't even know me."

Lila shrugs, not breaking eye contact. "So?"

Rebecca bites her lower lip, cocking her head to the side. Something compels her to say, "My shift ends at midnight. You willing to wait two hours to talk to someone you've never even met?"

Lila grins. "Well, I guess we'll see, won't we?" She leaves the bar and joins a table of frat boys that are all more than willing to pay for her drinks. Even so, she hardly drinks and is astonishingly sober by the time midnight rolls around.

(And Rebecca was right. There are three more fights before midnight. One guy smashes a bottle over the head of another and an ambulance has to be called. Rebecca bites her tongue to suppress her laughter and busies herself with cleaning up the broken glass.)

At midnight, Pete takes over, and Rebecca grabs her bag and leaves the bar. She doesn't carry much with her – keys, tampons, money, her cocaine, and the cocaine she plans on selling.

"Hey! Wait up!" Lila Stangard calls, jogging up to Rebecca. Quite an impressive feat, considering the four inch heels she's wearing. Again, Rebecca finds herself watching Lila's chest. Lila notices. She snaps her fingers and says, "My eyes are up here."

Rebecca frowns. "What do you want?"

"I waited," Lila informs smugly.

"I see that. Answer the question."

"A friend of mine told me you're the person to see for drugs."

Rebecca sighs. "What do you want? Coke? Molly? Meth? You look like a meth kinda girl."

"Hilarious," Lila says dryly. "I don't want to buy anything. I want to deal."

Rebecca raises her eyebrows. That's a new one. "What friend told you to see me about dealing?" Rebecca asks.

"It's a mutual friend. I promise," Lila says with a wink. "Does it matter? Will you help me or not?"

She should say no. She should turn the preppy rich-bitch down and move on with her life. Instead, she says, "I need a way to contact you."

(Honestly, Rebecca can use the help. Not that she'll tell Lila Stangard that.)

"Got it," Lila says. She digs into her purse and frees a black marker. She seizes Rebecca's hand and carefully writes her address and phone number on Rebecca's palm.

Rebecca reads the address and groans. "You're a fucking sorority girl?"

Lila smiles. "Yes I am. I can start whenever you're ready."

She begins to walk off, but Rebecca calls, "Do you even know my name?"

Lila spins around, now walking backwards, and answers, "Of course. You're Rebecca Sutter."

X

Rebecca waits three days before reluctantly dragging herself to Lila's sorority house. She knocks on the door, and someone that's not Lila answers. "Who the fuck are you?" the girl demands.

"Is Lila here?" Rebecca asks flatly. This was a bad idea. Rebecca knew letting Lila in could only be bad.

"Lila!" the girl shouts over her shoulder. "There's someone here for you!" The girl turns back to Rebecca. "Stay here," she commands. Rebecca rolls her eyes as Lila shoves past the girl.

"Hey! You're here!" Lila greets cheerfully as if they've been friends forever instead of strangers. "Come in." Rebecca tries to protest, but Lila gets an iron hold on her wrist and yanks Rebecca into the crowded sorority house. "It's pretty crowded in here," Lila states, and Rebecca holds in the I have eyes comment that's bursting to come out. "I have somewhere more…private that we can go."

They ascend a few flights of stairs and emerge onto the roof of the sorority house. Lila's hand hasn't released Rebecca's wrist yet, and she doesn't let go until they're standing in the middle of the roof. The only thing that sets this roof apart from others is the water tank.

"It's quiet up here," Lila says with a slight smile.

"If you like it quiet, why'd you join a sorority?" Rebecca questions. And then she remembers she doesn't care.

"It's a place to live," Lila says. "So where do I start?"

X

Letting Lila deal unfortunately means Rebecca has to see the sorority girl fairly often. More than before. Lila's not as bad as she could be, Rebecca will grudgingly admit. Except somehow Rebecca lets Lila rather forcibly enter her life.

The start of their inevitable friendship is simple.

Meet me on the roof tonight. Bring what you've got. I've got drinks.

Rebecca stares at the text for a good five minutes, trying to decipher its meaning. Lila supplies no reason, no real motive to take such an interest in Rebecca. Maybe she just needs a friend. Rebecca laughs aloud at the idea. Miss Popular Sorority Girl needing a friend like Rebecca? Total bullshit.

Either way, Rebecca sends back I'll be there at 9.

Just come on up.

Rebecca arrives ten minutes late, but Lila's just going to have to deal with it. Rebecca does as she's told and walks into the sorority without knocking. Not that anyone inside seems to notice. Rebecca heads up to the roof, coke concealed in a brown paper bag in hand, and she finds Lila already seated on a towel that's spread out on the ground.

"What's up, loser?" Rebecca greets. "Coke," she adds, dropping the bag in front of Lila.

"Beer," Lila replies, holding a bottle out to Rebecca once she lowers herself to the ground. She tosses Rebecca the bottle opener.

"So, why'd you want me here?" Rebecca asks, sitting cross-legged across from Lila.

"I thought we could hang out. Talk. We barely know each other."

"For a reason," Rebecca points out.

"Doesn't mean we can't give it a shot."

Give what a shot? Rebecca doesn't bother to ask. Instead, she asks, "What do you want to talk about?"

Lila takes a deep breath. "What's your favorite color?"

Rebecca bursts out laughing. She sips her beer and says, "Black. What's yours?"

"Pink."

Rebecca laughs again and laughs harder at Lila's indignant expression. "Of course it is," Rebecca manages to say. "God, you're so predictable."

"Oh really?" Lila questions, cocking an eyebrow at Rebecca.

"Rumor is you made a virginity pact with the quarterback."

"Griffin. And yes, I did."

Rebecca makes a face. "Why?"

"He's religious. He wanted to."

"Doesn't mean you had to," Rebecca says.

Lila shrugs. "Favorite movie?"

Rebecca isn't completely sure why, but she lets Lila change the subject. At least for now.