‘ those other movies you named are way, way better than drumline in my opinion. maybe i’m letting my disdain for nick cannon ruin the movie for me, ’ she placed her finger on her chin, tapping it a few times to signal her thought process. ‘ ooooh, hot wings ? you know what, i don’t need to steal from you too. you should enjoy your food and have it to yourself because there’s no telling when i can stop when you offer me some. ’ she soft chuckled before continuing to eat on her candy. once she felt like she had too much of a sweet tooth, she moved on to her bag of chips. the smell of the wings made her head turn just a little bit before she shook her head. ‘ no, no. have it to yourself ! ’ she insisted with a hand wave. ‘ oh, brother. i’m a film critic on the low. you should follow my letterbox account. ’ she responded with a head nod. ‘ ummm, i don’t think i can tell you that because i won’t be subjected to the slander that comes afterwards. ’ she reached up and patted his shoulder before giving him a warm and wide smile. her smile faded once she heard the sounds of the protestors and the people around them commenting on the situation unfolding ahead of them. ‘ uh, i think we should get up now.. ’ her voice remained low before she raised up from her seat then gathered all of her belongings as quick as she could. before she could get any further, a police officer approached them and she exhaled through her mouth. instead of putting up a fight, she complied with what the officer wanted.

the femme knew the conversation would get out of control once she told how she really felt about her and her brother’s relationship. although she was under the influence, her feelings were valid, it was her delivery that was fucked up. the facial expressions on AVERY’s face went from angry to enraged once she mentioned her incident once again, negating her former attempts to check in on the brunette. ‘ did you really just fucking say that to me right now ? really ? after all that fake caring you just fuckin’ did ? ’ AVERY stared at the other woman in pure shock. throughout the duration of their friendship, they only had one major blow up and this didn’t feel anything like that one. the dame pressed her hands together, resting her hands against her mouth. as the individual next to her continued to speak, she just couldn’t believe the words that would coming out of her friends mouth. inhaling deeply, she exhaled then dropped her hands to her side. ‘ everything revolves around avery ? bitch, since when ? i would love to live in that world ! ’ the woman was shocked that her friend even felt that way since if anything she thought it was the other way around. she was more social than her and had more friends, in her mind it just didn’t add up. a smile of disbelief crept onto the brunette’s features. ‘ you chose to take me to the hospital, how fucking noble of you ! let’s applaud juelz for doing the bare fucking minimum. ’ by this point, everyone around the table could see that things were tense between the two. AVE leaned forward, speaking in a low tone but loud enough for JUELZ to hear. ‘ i went with you because i trusted you, because i look at you like a fuckin’ sister but it’s good to know where i stand to you. ’ she allowed the fake smile to remain on her face for a few seconds before the expression turned into disgust. ‘ if being my friend was such a fucking burden, such a gotdamn chore, why did you stay around for so damn long ? the last thing i need is some muthafucka who doesn’t wanna be around me sucking up all my energy. we could’ve saved ourselves the time and the energy. ’ AVERY was truly hurt by the words of someone she considered to be her closest friend, sending her through a whirlwind of emotions. ‘ oh, don’t try to sit here and act like cheer is the only thing that matters to me. i’m glad you’re finally doing what the fuck you wanna do, i just hate that something i thought we both loved got cut in the process with it. ’ as she ranted back at JU, she motioned between the both of them. ‘ is it such a fucking crime that i wanna start this shit how i ended it ? with you ? my so called BEST friend. to possibly win a championship ring with my best fucking friend ? no, i’m asking for too gotdamn much. what the hell was i thinking about ?! unbelievable, ’ the femme reached up with her hands and rubbed her temples slowly as she felt a headache from the entire situation brewing. allowing both of her hands to fall, she looked at the woman in front of her with a questionable expression. she couldn’t believe that she was actually questioning the validity of her friendship. ‘ and i noticed that you weren’t feeling the shit no more, but i never for one second thought that your ass would leave something that you felt so passionate about. forgive me for believing your own gotdamn words ! like what the fuck is that shit, really ? ’ her patience for the conversation and the twisting of her words were running extremely thin, causing her to throw the part of her that wanted to know if JUELZ really meant what she said to the side. her ego was front and center in the conversation. ‘ cry me a fuckin’ river about the real juelz. you probably just found out who the fuck she was the other day so save me the melodramatic bullshit. ’ getting up from her chair, she tapped her fingers against the tabletop as she waited for the water to come back with her appetizer. ‘ you know what, it doesn’t even matter. i’ll let rid you of my presence so you can be in delusional land, but do not running back to me when you finally pull your head out of your own ass. ’ she spoke to the girl next to her without making any eye contact with her. as she grabbed her food and scooted the chair back so she could walk away from the bar, AVERY heard the last series of statements leave JUELZ mouth. turning to look at her former best friend, she hit down on the flesh inside her bottom lip. since they caused such a scene, she wanted to drop it and just got to her suite, but her bringing up the number one person she didn’t like on campus and her shortcomings up reignited the fire in her chest. ‘ you don’t have to waste your time doing a fuck thing for me since all you’re gonna do is throw my faults back in my face later. fuck you, fuck the coach, and fuck keli. how ‘bout that shit ? all of y’all can kiss my muthafuckin’ ass ! ’ with that, she turned around and stormed past everybody to go back to her resort room.

‘ you’ve never heard of people waking up to eat and going back to sleep ? i wasn’t sleep the entire day. ’ by this point, JUELZ could probably not only see the irritation on her best friend’s face, but in her tone as well. for a moment, she paused to inhale and exhale through her nose. it wasn’t right of her to snap on her closest friend for acting like the only sister she ever had. her concern was appreciated and also something she wasn’t that too familiar with. she only had been experiencing this kind of love and care from friends when she moved out to Trinity Hills. after she regulated her nerves and breathing, she gave a calmer response to the other woman. ‘ yeah, we still talk. i saw him before we left, actually. and he’s not a loser. lanky, yeah, but i like him like that. ’ the mention of TRENT made her smile some to herself before she rolled her eyes at her partner in crime acting as if she never lied about anything before. she could recall a few times where they would play and trick people but she didn’t want to pull her card at the moment. she was still coming off the nervous fit of laughter she let out about her JU claiming to have quit cheer. during the ups and downs they both had on the cheer squad, they would threaten to quit several times but never actually did it. with all that had been going on this semester, she was afraid that her best friend might up and quit but she always told herself she was crazy for even thinking that could happen. to take her mind off of it, AVERY finally ordered herself an appetizer off the menu. not only was she hungry, she wanted to get JUELZ off her back about eating and taking care of herself. she didn’t want to give anybody any ideas when it came to her personal business and she did not like to be hounded like she was at the moment. it took awhile for her food to come out which just left the pair to sit in silence. AVE’s eyes looked around at everyone else who came to the dinner before she heard her best friend finally speak up about what she had said earlier. out of everything she said, her brain singled out the fact she brought her brother’s name up as an excuse to why she was quitting the sport. ‘ rashaad ? ’ a baffled look settled in on the girls features. with furrowed eyebrows, she lightly scoffed and shook her head. honestly, she didn’t know why she thought this time between the two of them would be different than the last. it was the same old song, just a different tune. reaching up with her hand, she used her acrylic nail to scratch at her temple. ‘ oh, okay. so this is what this is. ’ a loud laugh emitted from the dame’s lips, causing her to shake her head at her own stupidity. as the laughter continued, she clapped her hands together then shook her finger at her friend. ‘ so let me get this straight, ’ the liquor coursing through her body gave her the courage to finally address something about their friendship that had been rubbing her the wrong way. ‘ now that you and him are back to doing whatever the fuck y’all do and now it’s time for you to dump avery, again. ’ the femme frowned the corners of her mouth and nodded her head. ‘ seems on brand. ’ scoffing through her nose, she stared at her best friend with anger burning in her irises. before she caused a scene in front of every, she closed her eyes and took another moment to herself before she opened her eyes and continued her spiel. ‘ i think this conversation would go a lot better if you’d actually tell the truth. you can juggle more than one thing at a time but you don’t want to. your relationship comes before everything else. and i do mean everything and everybody. ’ a year ago or so, AVERY would’ve kept her true feelings about her brother and best friend being together. but since everything felt like it was blowing up in her face, she just finally snapped and she had to get her entire feelings out about everything JUELZ had said. this was just the icing on the cake and pushed her over the edge she was flirting with. ‘ and dramatic ? i’ve been cheering with your ass for four years, so excuse the fuck out of me if i’m shocked that my best friend is dropping something we bonded and became friends over. man, ’ she brought the glass up to her lips, taking another long sip of the drink. her leg bounced against the bar handle of her chair as she zoned out, trying to calm her nerves down. she continued to down the rest of her drink before slamming the glass down on the countertop. ‘ that’s great, ju. i’m happy for you. you got anything else you wanna drop on me tonight, or is that it ? because i’m gonna take this shit togo. ’

she could tell that JUELZ was bothered by whatever was going on in her personal life. with a few glances in her direction, she placed her drink down to give her the attention she needed. ‘ oh, i definitely understand that. just brush it off. i don’t let shit my mama say to me ruin a good day. and we’re in jamaicaaa, nothing but good vibes and good times. so cheer up, buttercup ! ’ the femme reached over and lightly pinched her best friend’s cheek with a big smile on her face. she dropped her hand down and tapped her acrylic nails on the tabletop. she could tell that JU didn’t completely believe what she had to say and wanted to know more but something within AVERY told her to keep the conversation short. the brunette was still embarrassed by the fact that she ruined a routine for the first time in her four years of collegiate cheering — the fact that it was in front of the entire student body and the guy she liked, just made things even worse. ‘ yeah, i know, i know. ’ AVE closed her eyes for a brief moment and exhaled through her nose. ‘ you and T are gonna kill me. ’ she brought her fingers up to her forehead and rubbed it slowly, feeling some slight irritation coming on from the questioning. she knew they meant well, but she couldn’t stand being looked after this hard. ‘ i’m gonna do better, i promise. you won’t have to feel that ever again and there’s no reason to worry. i ate twice today already. ’ she added before looking in her dear friend’s direction, forcing a smile on her face. the fake smile grew into a real one once she heard the compliment. the dame playfully rolled her eyes and batted her eyelashes. ‘ i just liked the compliment. and you’re fibbing right now but i’ll let you slide since you’re buttering me up, ’ AVERY giggled with a wide smile on her face before she lifted her hand up and latched her fingers around the plastic straws, twirling them in her drink once again. the woman’s face scrunched up in confusion once JUELZ brought up not being able to show off any new stunts or skills. ‘ what are you talking about ? you’re off suspension. you honestly should’ve cheered last game, but i’m guessing you wanted more time to practice. ’ she rambled on moments after she spoke about not being able to show off. her body froze once she heard her say she was letting go of cheerleading. the sincerity in her voice concerned her, making her head snap in her direction. ‘ woah, woah, woah, ’ she let the drink go and pushed it forward on the table top with furrowed eyebrows. tilting her head to the side with a confused and irritated look on her face, AVERY stared at her best friend quietly. ‘ you’re quitting, what !? ’ she exclaimed with pure confusion and anger. her multicolored orbs remained on the other woman’s face then the serious expression broke, releasing a loud laugh. ‘ that’s a great joke, ju, for real ! i almost believed you, whew. ’ she shook her head while laughs continued to fall from her glossy set.

once the bartender came back with her glass, her smile widened before she stirred the two straws around in the glass. ‘ to look fine even when you’re fresh off the couch is a skill not many have. ’ the femme raised her glass of clear liquor in the direction of her best friend. her head tilted off towards the side once she mentioned the rough days she’s been having. furrowing her eyebrows together, she stuck her bottom lip out. ‘ who’s been messing with my baby. you wanna talk about it here, or ? ’ AVERY never wanted to push someone to talk about things they didn’t want to because she knew how that made her felt. ‘ this trip is a thousand times better than the cabin trip already. look at how beautiful it is out here, ’ she looked over her shoulder at some other resort residents walking along the bench before JU mentioned the mess she made the other day. she paused for a minute, wondering whether or not to speak on it but since everyone was having their own conversations, she figured no one would be listening. ‘ yeah, i’m fine. i just… forgot to stop and get a snack and some water. stupid, i know but i’m juggling a lot. ’ while explaining her situation, AVE could barely look in JUELZ direction. she didn’t want to see the look of disappointment or sadness on her features and she damn sure didn’t want a lecture. her head turned towards her confidant once she complimented her cheer routine. ‘ really ? i mean, i thought i did pretty great but to hear the cheer captain say that must mean i’m lookin’ pretty good right about now. ’ bringing the straws up to her lips, she took a slow sip of the alcohol before making a face. ‘ we can learn some new stuff when we get back home. i’ve been practicing some other stuff i didn’t perform for the tryout, i wanna see what you think. i have a feeling our squad’s gonna be looking great this semester. ’