It's been a long, long time since I last wrote fic and oh how I've missed it.

Euphoria inspired a nostalgic binge-watch of a lot of shows that will definitely age me if I list them lol

But I hope you can enjoy the drama and angst pulled from some of my own high school antics.

Trigger warnings abound - Drugs, Disordered Eating, underage drinking, tragedies, teen pregnancies, and all of that.

Names and locations have been changed to protect the innocent - HA!

CHAPTER 1

"What the hell are you wearing?"

I pop my head up, more at the barely hidden sneer in Jessie's voice than her question.

Following her gaze, my focus lands on her bedroom doorway, where our friend Angela is standing—now changed out of her sweats from earlier and into a tight, red, bandage dress.

She looks cute, but yeah, I also have to fight the urge to ask her if we're going to the same party.

"Angela, that dress makes you look fat," Jessie adds.

My head whips in her direction and my jaw nearly drops. "Are you serious?"

I look over my shoulder and catch Angela's eyes narrow just as she stomps out of the room with a huff.

Fucking great.

I should probably follow her to make sure she's okay, but I don't. Instead, I turn to bark at Jessie. "Why would you say that to her?"

Not only was the comment unnecessary, but it was also bullshit.

She's sitting at her vanity, playing with her long, newly blonde, frizzy hair, and smirking into the mirror, when she answers with a fake innocent shrug, "What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Oh, she'll be fine." Jessie waves a hand in the air. "Angela knows I'm joking."

"Does she?"

Because we both know that she's probably in the bathroom throwing up the pizza we just ate. It's no secret something's going on with her.

Her weight loss over the past few months has not been natural. And her wild eating habits are blatant.

None of us have figured out how to bring it up.

Jessie knows this, too, as our supposed best friend.

And yet, that doesn't stop her from throwing out little digs like that whenever she gets a chance.

"Anyway, how do I look?" Jessie stands, running a hand down her short black dress.

I could drown in the irony of her question, because she doesn't look all that comfortable or like she could breathe in her dress at all.

Instead, I say, "Your hair looks like shit." Because we both know it's true. Why she tried to dye it herself—when she has plenty of money to go to a good salon—is beyond me.

She instantly frowns, turning to face the corner mirror, and pulls some hair over her shoulder, before pushing it out of the way again. "No, it doesn't."

"Okay." I shrug. What else does she want me to say?

"Plus, Edward said he liked it in Bio the other day. I think he might be at the party tonight."

"Oh, joy." I roll my eyes.

If that's true, then there goes our night.

I'm not entirely sure when Jessie decided she had a crush on Edward Cullen. But ever since she's made it obvious over the past couple of months, I've contemplated smothering her with a pillow no less than five times.

She's become insufferable.

The worst part is, the crush—that's harboring dangerously close to an infatuation if I'm being real—is 100% one-sided. From the outside looking in, it's like the more Edward doesn't give in to her, the harder she tries.

It's pretty hard to watch sometimes, and I can't decide if I'm more annoyed or embarrassed for her.

Probably both.

But I know that I'm done giving my two cents about it, because last time I tried to suggest that she go for someone else, someone who actually wants her, she turned it around as if I said that Edward was out of her league.

Sometimes I doubt if she really believes that. She's pretty, blonde, popular, always has money, and is never shy about spending it on people. She's spank bank for pretty much anyone in our school who's into girls, and yet she's insecure as hell and trying way too hard for this douchebag.

That's why I don't like him for her—the effect he has on her.

That and the fact he's not a very nice person. Especially not to her. I don't think I've actually ever heard him compliment another human being. Ever.

"He didn't say he liked your hair," I reminded her. "He asked,'' What did you do to it?"

"Whatever. He still noticed it, though." She huffs, finally giving up on her curls. "We should head out soon. Are you sure you don't want to borrow something of mine?" she adds with a small grimace.

I look down at my outfit of tuxedo-style shorts and a tank top. I thought I was cute when I was getting ready at home alone, but Angela and Jess are all dressed up now. For better or for worse. I do feel a little left out, but I wasn't feeling any of the outfits she'd offered me, anyway.

"I'm good," I say, only half meaning it.

The party tonight is at Peter's house—who is Angela's sometimes boyfriend. He's one of the few people at our school who's cool with everyone, no matter what clique you're in so that usually breeds a mixed crowd of people. By design, I hope that means I'm not the only one dressed down.

A few minutes later, Angela finally comes back into the room, and even though I keep trying to look at her to see if she's okay but she avoids eye contact with me by hiding behind her long black curtain of hair.

She stays pretty quiet and distant the whole ride and doesn't start chatting until we stop at the gas station near Peter's house to get some gum.

"You good?" I ask, turning to face her from the front seat when we're the only ones in the car.

She shrugs, then offers me a small, almost fake, smile. "Yeah, it's whatever. Just keep Jess away from me tonight. I'm not in the mood for her bullshit."

"Well, you know Edward's probably gonna be there." Code for: she's definitely going to be with the shits.

"Just great." Angela throws her head back and sighs.

Yeah, same.

Ten minutes later, and a little after 10 pm - we've pulled up to the side of Peter's ginormous house on the outskirts of town. There are cars everywhere, some people walking up and down his driveway, and the music is so loud I could feel the bass under the grass at my feet as we make our way inside.

At the doorway, Jessie, who was walking in front of us, stops dead in her tracks and I walk right into her.

"Hey, what the—"

"What is she doing here?" she interrupts.

I follow her line of sight and see that not too far from the doorway, Edward's sitting on the couch with a pretty redhead sitting on his lap. From here, their red hair is such a perfect match that I could almost ask if that was his sister. Except, he also recently dyed his hair. It's red right now, but a few weeks ago it favored a light brown.

In any case, I've never seen this chick a day in my life, so I'm not sure how Jess knows her, either. But the determined look on both her and Jess' faces when they lock eyes, and she wraps her arms tighter around Edward, tells me everything I need to know.

Tonight is going to be a shit show.

I'm also on Wattpad - Wendy L. Gee

Thank you for reading.