Gaia was at the roller rink with Lexi, Jules, and Rue. She mainly hung out with Lexi because Gaia was sad she didn't get to hang out with Lexi at the carnival. Plus, it seemed like Gaia was the third wheel with Jules and Rue. Ever since Jules came, Rue hasn't been paying attention to her at all. If they hang out, Jules was the one inviting me, not Rue.

I knew it was fucked up, but I was so obsessed with Jules that I forgot about everyone, even Gaia. Fuck!

" I think Jules makes Rue want to be better," Lexi whispered. We both looked over at the duo, being cute and joking around. They kind of made her think about her and Maddy.

Fuck that bitch!

" yeah, I agree. That may be a problem, though. She needs to be sober for herself," Gaia explained, and Lexi nodded.

Gaia looked at the ground solemnly. She had taken an edible to calm herself down. Weed always made her feel better. That's probably why she was always high. But to be honest, Gaia needed something more potent for the pain she was feeling.

The Williams girl excused herself to the bathroom and went into the stall. She took out a little baggie of crushed Xanax pills that she had asked Ashtray for. Gaia looked at the drugs, contemplating. Memories of what happened the last couple of days passed through her mind, overwhelming her again. She frantically opened the baggie and took her car key out. she put the powder on the keys and sniffed it off. the feeling of relaxation instantly hit her and released the anxiety she was harboring.

She came back out with a lackadaisical smile on her face, sitting right beside Lexi.

" Are you OK?" Lexi asked.

Gaia nodded her head slowly, making Lexi look at her suspiciously.

" Are you high?" Lexi whispered into her ear.

Gaia nodded again but this time giggling. Lexi looked at her friend with concern. She knew that Gaia liked eating edibles, but this seemed like something stronger.

" Did something happen?" Lexi questioned.

Gaia knew she couldn't lie to Lexi. Spookily, Lexi could read any emotion she was having trouble with.

" Let's just have fun right now and talk about it in the car, please?" Gaia pleaded. Lexi nodded in understanding.

She grabbed her hand and pulled Lexi up to the rink as Rue and Jules joined them. They went around and around, laughing, doing tricks. Gaia forgot all about her trouble for a couple of minutes and was just free.

After they were done, the foursome said goodbye. Jules and Rue rode on their bike, and Lexi and Gaia drove off in her car. Gaia let Lexi drive since she had taken the crushed-up Xanny.

" so, do you want to talk about it now?" Lexi said, looking at her best friend. She knew it was terrible from a gut instinct.

" Maddy and I aren't friends anymore," Gaia confessed.

" What happened? That's one of your best friends," Lexi asked in shock. Lexi knew that she and Gaia were as close as friends could be. However, her and Maddy's relationship was on the same level but different. She wasnt jealous or anything. She knew Maddy could connect with her more towards the dark side than she could.

" We were arguing about something that I can't tell you" Gaia looked over to Lexi. Lexi nodded.

Gaia continued, " and she threw in my face the Harvey Johnson situation."

Lexi was the first one that knew about Harvey johnson's shit. She was the one that took her to the hospital and found out everything. I found out because Gaia got really high and spilled her guts to me.

" that's fucked up," Lexi cursed. Gaia started to laugh at hearing Lexi curse. She thought it was the cutest thing ever. Basically, everything Lexi did, Gaia thought, was adorable.

" Yeah, and she basically called me a piece of shit. It took all my strength not to beat the shit out of her for saying that shit" Gaia clenched her fist tightly, feeling the anger boil up.

" I don't understand what made her say that to you. You guys are literally soulmates in a friend way," Lexi sighed. She knew this would fuck up their friend group. Gaia wouldn't come around anymore if Maddy was there.

" She is one of them, but a soulmate relationship doesn't mean the relationship is healthy." Gaia expressed bitterly.

All Gaia did was try to help people. That's just how she was wired. But she was starting to see a pattern that people take from her and screw her over. Nate, Maddy, hell, even me. Gaia had grown tired of caring about others who wouldn't piss on her if she was on fire.

" Enough about me? What about you? met any cute guys?" Gaia smirked.

" No. all of them are stupid," Lexi shaded, making Gaia burst into laughter. She loved how matter of fact, Lexi was with her. A lot of people didn't see the outspoken version of Lexi, and Gaia felt special that she felt comfortable enough to be herself with her.

" What about girls? Because if you do like girls, Fez is going have to be OK with being in a throuple," Gaia giggled. Lexi's cheeks went redder than a candy apple. She looked out the window to conceal it.

Gaia loved being with Lexi. It was like she was in a different world where none of the bad things happened to her. She told Lexi most of her secrets out of everyone besides Maddy and me.

" GG, you're so stupid," Lexi chuckled, trying not to sound flustered by Gaia.

" Speaking of Fez, how was your first date with Fez? " Lexi asked, trying to pivot the conversation.

" So amazing. I felt butterflies in my stomach the whole time !" Gaia expressed as her mind recalled the date. The near mention of Fez's name made her stomach produce that same intense feeling again. She rubbed her stomach, trying to calm the butterflies down to no avail.

Lexi looked at Gaia and smiled " Awe, you really like him, do you?"

" Yeah! I haven't felt like this since I was with Nate," Gaia confessed.

Lexi was the only person Gaia could talk to about Nate without feeling awkward. Cassie, Kat, and BB are both Gaia and Maddy's friends, so she doesn't feel comfortable with them. I hated Nate, so it would just turn into a Nate Jacobs is trash conversation every time. Lexi was the only one that would be unbiased and wouldn't judge her. Plus, she knew everything that went down. Even things that I didn't know.

Lexi nodded in understanding. She knew that a part of Gaia would still have some type of feelings towards Nate, despite their messy history. That was her first love.

" So, do you see a future with Fez? Do you think you would want to live that lifestyle? Would he give up selling drugs for you? " Lexi questioned.

Lexi was happy her best friend found love again. However, she didn't want Gaia to get swept up in the dream and forget reality like her sister always did.

" Fez wants to get away from that, but it's hard. How will he take care of Ashtray and his Grandma on a minimum wage job or even go to college?" Gaia explained.

" I know technically he's a "bad guy" because he sells drugs to teenagers, but he just never had a chance to do anything else. He's one of the sweetest, most supportive, caring people in my life. I just wish I could help him out somehow." Gaia added. The frustration in her voice was not lost on Lexi. She looked over to see Gaia run her hands in her hair with anxiety.

Gaia felt like she was a curse. Her parents die. She lost Maddy. She lost Nate. She almost lost me. And now she found some peace in Fezco. However, she felt the drug lifestyle he was thrown into would take him away too.

Lexi took one hand off the wheel and grabbed Gaia's hand to comfort the girl. Gaia was so zoned out she jumped a bit at the contact but eventually felt relaxed by the contact.

They eventually pulled up to Lexi's house.

Lexi took her seatbelt off, turned to her friend, and expressed, "I don't think I want you driving after you've taken something other than edibles."

Gaia knew Lexi had an intense fear of bad things happening to her loved ones. Lexi was feeling it in overdrive because of Gaia being high on xanny. The feeling made the Howard girl think back to her father.

Gaia took Lexi by both hands and said, " How about I go upstairs, and once the high goes down, I drive to Fez's house," wanting to put her friend's mind at ease.

Lexi nodded and smiled in agreement.

Gaia was at Fez, spending time together. Today wasn't the usual intimate and passionate sex they usually do. It was rougher and more detached. Like really rough. Gaia barely said a word to Fez before she started to make out with him. Fez was OK with doing more rough stuff until they finished, and Gaia went straight into the bathroom, not saying a word. He finally realized this was deeper than just wanting to spice it up.

He got up from the bed to get something to drink from the kitchen.

Gaia came out of the bathroom and lay on Fez's bed. she had done a line of Xanax in the bathroom to calm her emotional state. She reached down for her purse and grabbed the edible jar. Gaia took two more to intensify the feeling of mellowness.

She laid on her back and looked at the ceiling, feeling better after getting her anger out during sex.

Being high in Fez's room made Gaia realize how much he was the only person she could talk to besides Lexi. He was the only one who felt comfortable enough to see the good and evil in her and didnt judge her. Fez took care of her without wanting something in return. How he never abandoned her or picked someone over her. And most importantly, he had never intentionally hurt her.

Fez came into the room and looked at Gaia. He knew she was in pain and wanted to help, but he wanted to be careful in how he communicated with her.

He lay next to Gaia, who was already feeling the effects of the edible. He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her from behind.

" I'm so fucking high right now," Gaia chuckled.

" how many you take?" Fez asked.

" Two more. I just didnt want to feel sober. I can't be right now," Gaia admitted. That sent a chill down his spine. He didnt like that she felt like she couldn't be sober.

" You gonna tell me what happened to make you feel this way?" Fez asked.

Gaia stayed silent. She knew if she talked about the fight, the whole truth might come out.

Fez sighed. He took Gaia by the shoulder and turned her around, so they could have eye contact.

" Yo, you know I'm always here for you, ma. What you tell me stays between us" Fez rubbed her cheek to make her feel safe.

Gaia contemplated whether she should tell Fez. She knew he wouldn't tell a soul and that she needed one person to talk to about it, or she would go crazy. She looked at his beautiful blue eyes and made a decision.

She took a deep breath before she said, "So do you remember the night at the carnival?"