𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 !

“fucking jerks. as if their dicks were that good anyway.” she scoffed. she hated entitled men, but she loved stolen goods, even if she had plenty of money to buy her own stuff. “yes you are, kit. know your worth. a blowjob from you is worth at least five of these,” she grinned as she took the joint between her lips and waited for cricket to pass her the lighter. she lit it up and took a deep drag, feeling the smoke burn her lungs in a very much pleasing way. she even hummed. “oh– nothing much. i ran into antoni. for the first time. in six fucking years,” she rolled her eyes. she hated seeing him, hated that every single memory felt like a hole in her stomach she had not quite finished filling up, the dandelion tattoo she got in his honor burning as if it was recent. “give me that bottle,” she said, almost annoyed then took a long sip from the vodka. “fuck, this tastes like bad decisions. i love it.

“aw, hazy.” cricket coos as she gives hazel a tipsy side hug, nuzzling her friend’s neck for a moment before she’s pulling away and blowing her a kiss. “thank you, babe. a blowie from you is worth like ten at least. honestly, we should go into business together. you be my pimp, i’ll be yours?” cricket moves to take another drag of her joint as hazel speaks, which is a mistake considering the news hazel delivers immediately after. her eyes bulge for a moment before she’s exhaling the smokes with her exclamation of, “no fucking way! holy shit!” cricket can do nothing but blink in shock for a few moments as she processes the information, the alcohol admittedly making her a bit slower. “i can’t believe leave you for like, one second, and that happens!” she easily relinquishes the vodka without a fight, shaking her head slowly for a moment before she’s arching her brow and admitting, “i mean... speaking of bad decisions i did voluntarily go up to jude tonight. it wasn’t an accident or anything he just... looked really good and i’m just...” cricket winces for a second, immediately thinking of the mix of nerves and pain she put herself through all because she was a little bit drunk. “... a glutton for punishment i think.” before cricket can dwell on her own stupidity she’s taking the bottle from hazel’s hand and raising it in an enthusiastic toast, “so i guess cheers to running into our exes tonight! fuck our lives!” she takes a shot of vodka straight from the bottle in solidarity, shaking her head to shake off the burn. “god, it does taste like bad decisions... let’s get shitfaced!” 

the sound of her voice, though sweet, feels like a quick punch in the gut for jude. as of late it felt like his entire being was focused on not thinking about cricket — everything he did was an attempt to cover up his desperate urge to reach out to her, to deny himself of this terrible innate desire to call her even if it was just to listen to her voicemail message one more time. jude swallows hard and turns to look up at her, and there she stands — looking as picturesque as ever. he hates to feel so floored by her presence; to feel like a complete idiot because he can’t stop that nostalgic film reel of them from playing in his head even when cricket is standing right there in front of him and is obviously willing to engage him. as always jude is eager to erase the last painful memory of having to give a box of her belongings back to her again. is it the booze, his self hatred, or the idea that he might actually love her that makes him do this? it’s not a topic he can grapple with currently because, even though she’s calling him creepy, it still feels like a blessing. a soft “uh…” is how he chooses to respond, as he mentally tries to pick his own jaw up off from the floor. ‘fucking idiot, you gotta come up with something better than that.’ his cigarette has just about burnt itself to the filter before he finally comes to. “i guess if you’ve figured it all out, and sally hardesty is free again.” it isn’t his best quip, but he’s more interested in clearing off the empty beer cans that litter the spot next to him. “there’s a spot here, for sitting, or whatever. if you want.”

cricket is disappointed to say that the thrill of her bad decision is rapidly wearing off enough for her nerves to settle in, and the length between her greeting and jude’s response isn’t helping any. her first thought is that she fucked up. that he doesn’t actually want to talk to her, that maybe their last break up really was the last one, and she almost, almost panics a bit because of it. but luckily, cricket is a bit tipsy, and even more luckily, cricket has an ego the size of the moon. or at least she pretends to. she’s prepared to at least fake thinking she’s cool enough not to care if jude doesn’t want her here, and cry later in the privacy of her own shitty apartment. luckily it doesn’t come to that. somehow against all the odds jude says something about chainsaw masacre and invites her to sit, and despite the sudden eruption of mutant man eating butterflies swarming in her belly, cricket finds herself moving towards the seat he’s cleared before she’s even replied. “...yeah, alright.” cricket says eloquently as she settles into the seat beside him, shifting and tucking her feet under her ass as she tries to stall for something good to say. cricket never was the type to be lost for words, but somehow this weird in between stage with jude always had a way of doing that to her. it was like she was suddenly an awkward teenage girl again, obsessing over little things like the way her arm brushes his as she settles in or the familiar way he smells or the way he looked at her or how long it’s been since she last said something. she should say something. she should say something. she should--“you’re wasting that, you know.” cricket says as she nods at the cigarette between his fingers, watching it burn down slowly for a moment before she’s humming thoughtfully and unceremoniously plucking it out of jude’s fingers with a wink. she brings the cigarette to her lips smoothly, taking a long drag as she looks out at the crowd before she’s blinking in surprise. “oh shit, you can see everything from here, huh? like what everyone’s doing...” cricket cranes her neck to get a good look at who she thinks is her coworker across the party, brows arched for a moment before she’s turning to jude once again. “were you watching me from here?” cricket teases even as her heart thuds rapidly in her chest, her eyes twinkling with mirth as she takes a drag. 

who would ezra be if he were to sit and judge cricket on her life choices? by the time he could legally drink he was already dependent on booze and coke to have a good time, if he hadn’t already had the money to buy his own vices then who was to say he wouldn’t have fallen to less conventional means to get what he wanted? “nah, i don’t think it’s bad.” logically? yeah, he probably should think so, a bunch of creepy older guys wetting themselves over the chance to get a girl drunk enough to thank them for their supposed kindness? they weren’t exactly the perfect gentleman. though, neither was he. “you got what you wanted, yeah? you came out on top.”

he brings the cigarette back up to his mouth in order to distract from the familiar memory of all they shit he’d ever drank floating across his taste buds. a beer sounded good right about now, something cool and earthy. he thinks about where he could find one, how easy it’d be to go nab one from someone’s’ hands and feel that wash of relief come over him. he doesn’t make any moves though, instead his eyes remain focused on cricket as he exhales the smoke. “maybe you just didn’t make it clear to that other guy what you were offering him.”

she came out on top. cricket’s preens at a bit at the words, happily choosing to take them as praise even if that might not have been ezra’s intention. cricket would like to think of it that way at least. if nothing else, she was resourceful. and she could take care of herself. that had to count for something right? “thank you.” cricket says almost regally in reply, jokingly nodding haughtily to punctuate the words. “i did.” cricket flips her thick hair over her shoulder then, mostly to feel the relief of cool ocean air on her neck. “a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right?” 

cricket watches ezra thoughtfully as he seems to drift off for a moment. like space out or something. which maybe anyone else would find a bit rude but not cricket. honestly, she just found it even more interesting. she could busy herself for a good ten minutes wondering what exactly he was thinking about. her curiosity always could entertain her. but at ezra’s comment cricket arches a brow, head tilting as she says, “you think?” she frowns as she glances down at her bikini top and denim shorts combo, checking to see if it was just as tempting as she left it. she moves to adjust her top with a hum, finger snapping the string of her bikini against her skin as she sighs and says, “and here i thought i was being pretty forward.” cricket pouts as she moves to rest her chin in her hand, looking at ezra thoughtfully for a few moments before she’s smiling cheekily and asking, “any suggestions on how i could have driven it home for him?” 

he hadn’t seen her all night, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t looking for her. every time he saw anyone that looked remotely like his friend he would perk up like a lost puppy who’d just found his owner. and every time it wasn’t her he’d be visibly disappointed. but now here she was, tipsy and ready to go to the water. what was new? there was comfort in the familiarity of it. he nods at her idea, taking his keys out of his pocket. “i got the keys to the shop. we could grab some boards…or we could just go swimming instead.”

cricket lights up at antoni’s reply, more than thrilled that he’s game for her admittedly impulsive idea. sometimes it’s nice not to have a voice of reason in sight. made things a bit more fun if you asked her. “ooh, now you’re speakin’ my language, toni! c’mon!” cricket pinches the hem of his shirt between her fingers as she slowly begins the trek towards the shore. “i don’t care what we do as long as long as it’s fun and we can eat after. i’m thinking...” cricket tilts her head thoughtfully then, starting to walk backwards so she can face antoni as she does it. “maybe... pizza? the superior drunk food!”

with at least another couple left in his pocket, ezra knows he could very easily just light himself up another cigarette and let cricket enjoy one all to herself. he doesn’t want to do that, instead he gets as cosy as he can and lets his gaze linger perhaps a little too long. his nose crinkles at the feet plopped down in his lap but he doesn’t push them away, the boldness is something he likes.

“oh come on, you expect me to believe that? he says with a smile, the kind that makes his eyes crinkle and the dimples in his cheeks stand out. their fingers brush as he takes the cigarette back and brings it to his lips, he can just about taste the leftovers of her lip balm after he breathes out a slow drag then licks his lips. it’s easy to give all his attention over to cricket even with the last remaining sparks of the party going on around them, she’s simply demanding like that. “baby, i don’t think you’ve had to buy a single drink tonight, have you?” he holds his hand up, the one with the cigarette dangling loosely between two fingers and shakes his head. “sorry, scratch that. i don’t think you’ve had to buy a single drink ever.”

cricket is the picture of innocence even as she notices the way his nose wrinkles, half amused and half intrigued at the way he lets her feet stay where they are anyways. ezra was still a bit of a mystery to her despite the time they’d spent together, and cricket always was a fan of mysteries. not of solving them really, more of basking in the thrill of not quite knowing what would happen next. the thrilling unpredictability of it all. the more elusive something was the more interesting it was to her, and cricket had always been like that unfortunately. maybe that was why none of her relationships have ever really worked out. she always went for the people she knew nothing about in hopes of chasing that intriguing thrill, and yet as the mystery was slowly unraveled itself cricket inevitably got bored. it was a double edged sword really. but it was undeniably cricket. 

cricket tries to stifle her smile at his question but it grows despite herself, eyes sparkling with mirth even as she bites her lip coyly. “... okay, you got me.” cricket finally grins with that admission, her hand raising to twirl a lock of hair around her finger as she shrugs and easily says, “when i was underage i use to have older guys buy drinks for me and then when i became of age, there just didn’t seem to be much of a point anymore...” cricket scans ezra’s face for a quiet moment, lips curled into a small amused smile as she asks, “is that a bad thing though? i mean, i feel like they like to do it.” cricket arches a brow pointedly as she adds, “and i usually make it worth their while.”

oliver waited as cricket put on her little show and couldn’t help but laugh at the guys’ reaction at it, clearly she had them wrapped around their fingers and it was so amusing to see.  “hey i didn’t say a word about skinny dipping, is that your way of getting me to actually do it? what a smart girl.” he chuckled before taking a sip of his drink. he could see the enthusiasm in her and he gently put his hand on her shoulder. “calm down love. i just got here and i’m not even tipsy yet.” he chuckled. “but i will definitely want to race you to the beach.”

“uh-huh, i’m jedi mind tricking you as we speak!” cricket replies as she brings two fingers to her temple in demonstration, making a show of furrowing her brows and frowning as if she really could simply control oliver’s mind with her own. she drops the act abruptly to brightly smile, eyes crinkled with her grin as she asks, “is it working?” cricket frowns at the honestly, tragic news that oliver wasn’t even tipsy yet, looking at him almost sympathetically as she says, “okay, well first we’ve gotta fix that. we can’t race until your drunk, right?” cricket taps a finger on her chin thoughtfully, head cocked until her eyes light up with her epiphany. “oh, i’ll mix you a drink! i’m really good at that you know? even a bartender once told me that the drink i mixed was so strong she had to sit down.” 

“thank god!” hazel groaned dramatically as she finally saw her friend coming. she had taken her sweet time. she had been drunk and sober again already. fine– it had been a bit of an exaggeration, but so many things had happened already, she just needed something pleasant in her life. if only for a second. “oh, my fucking good– whose cock you sucked for these?” she said without much of a shame. she was not judging or accusing, but it was a valid thing both would do for some fun. no kink shame in this house. “and vodka? fuck– i suddenly feel sixteen again,” she chuckled, even more so when cricket did her best or cheapest impersonation of oprah. at this point she couldn’t tell. “you’re crazy– i’ll take this one, thank you very much,” she said, taking the fattest to her sight, and moved aside to leave some room for cricket. 

“the guy at the convenient store,” cricket shamelessly nods to the bottle of vodka, “and my drug dealer.” cricket nods to the joints. her eyes meet hazel’s again as she grins, brows arching as she says, “but surprisingly i still had to steal both of these! like are my services not enough to convince guys to give me free shit? i’m telling you, i’m going to have to start charging... i’m too cute to be free.” cricket jokes with a disappointed shake of her head, lips curling despite her best attempts to stifle her smile. she beams as hazel takes a joint, happily bringing the other one to her lips so she can free up her hand for her search for her lighter as she scoots into space hazel left for her. “bu’ thas why you lo’ me...” cricket says around the joint before she finally finds her lighter and brandishes it in excitement. she lights her joint before offering the flame to hazel so she can light hers too, waiting until her friend is finished to put the thing away. “so what did i miss? you sounded super stressed when i got here.” cricket says as she takes a long drag, which definitely goes right to her head, like, immediately but in the best way possible. cricket exhales the smoke with a bright smile, pointing to hazel with the joint as she says, “okay, this will definitely help with that! but like, still, what’s up?” 

ezra considers cricket for a moment, taking in the way she’s lounged in the chair as though any second she’d melt right into it. the orange glow from the bonfire washes over her face smiling sweetly up at him, the sound of waves brushing up against the shore rings out somewhere in the back of his mind but his focus remains namely on the bargaining offer she was dealing out and the relief of finally getting to have a smoke. he scoffs at her pleas and shakes his head in amusement, taking a glance back towards the bonfire for just a moment as though he were truly considering her offer, as though there were really any other options to chose from.

“like i could say no to that face.” he takes one last drag before handing the cigarette over as he went to make himself comfortable in the other chair. comfortable was a stretch, however, since the plastic creaks as he sits down and all he can think about is the possibility of it just snapping beneath him. nonetheless, he rests his elbow up on the armrest and places his chin is his palm, a look akin to a smug cat painted across his face. “your buddy going to be gone long? i kinda like it here.”

cricket makes sure to keep her eyes big and innocent as ezra observes her, puppy dogs eyes out full force as he seems to consider the whole thing. she knows he’ll say yes cause honestly she’s never really had a guy say no. but the moment he gives in she’s still brightening with her victory, smile widening as she plucks the cigarette from his fingertips. “nice doing business with you!” cricket replies cheerfully as she happily takes a long grateful drag. she smoked her last cig this morning and despite trying desperately to remember to get more before the party, she of course forgot. so the surge of nicotine was very much appreciated. she melts back into her seat as she exhales a cloud of smoke, eyes closing with the relief of it all for a moment before she’s turning to meet ezra’s eyes with a smile. 

“hmm...” cricket replies thoughtfully as she smoothly slips her feet out of her flip flops and into ezra’s lap, eyes crinkling cheekily with the movement as she thoughtfully tilts her head. “... i dunno. he said he was going to go and get me a rum and coke but i think it’s been a while...” cricket sneaks another long drag with that, blue eyes meeting ezra’s for a long moment before she’s pulling the cigarette from her lips again. the paper is stained pink with the residue of her lip balm when she hands it back to him, eyes twinkling with mischief as she pouts and jokingly says, “maybe he forgot about me.”

“i swear to god that guy spilled his drink down my top on purpose,” cricket whines as she wipes the leftover droplets of beer off her stomach with a shirt she charmed off a drunk guy for this specific purpose. she pouts spectacularly as she whole thing leaves a sticky mess behind, tilting her head back with a long sigh. she feels a bit bad venting to rebecca like this, but she just so happened to be chatting with the blonde before said beer incident. unfortunately she was a witness. “and fuck, normally i’d respect the play but not with beer. i’m going to have sticky tits for the rest of the night!” cricket sulks for another few moments before she sighs and grudgingly adds, “...that’s what she said.” but even the juvenile joke doesn’t quite cheer her up. having your boobs stick together with beer residue will do that to you. “god my hair is sticking to it... gross.” cricket wrinkles her nose. “who will want me now, becs? who will take me home? i didn’t come here looking this good just to end up sleeping in my own bed tonight!” cricket drops the drunk guys beer soaked shirt as she moves to grab rebecca’s hand with both of her then, gaze pleading as she asks, “will you run into the ocean with me to wash off, becca? for moral support? if i’m gonna freeze my tits off i don’t want to do it alone!” 

"i think we should go surfing!” cricket says with absolutely no warning. she’s a bit tipsy honestly, so that might be influencing her sudden brilliant idea a bit but that doesn’t make it any less brilliant. “now hear me out.” cricket says as she holds up a hand, brow arched as she flicks her tongue over her lips, tasting the remnants of cheap beer and her strawberry lipbalm as she does. “i know it’s getting late and dark and the ocean will be cold, but...” cricket tilts her head with the words, her growing smile charming as she says, “i still think we should do it. i mean, it’ll be fun! and you know what they say, we’re only young once...” 

“guess what i stole...” cricket sing songs as she approaches hazel from behind, eyes twinkling with mirth as she holds her loot behind her back. her smile widens as she waggles her brows at hazel before she’s pulling her right hand out from behind her back with a bright, “tada!” as she reveals two beautifully fat joints (if she said so herself). cricket is proud of this swipe in particular but her next one was nothing to scoff at. her smile widens as she moves to reveal it.“but that’s not all... tada!” cricket pulls her other hand from behind her back to reveal a small barely touched bottle of vodka. she shakes it with a grin as she laughs brightly, “god, i’m basically oprah! you get a joint, and you get a joint!” cricket playfully points at a couple of people passing them with the words, amusement bright as she raises her arms with a joking exclamation of, “everybody gets a joint!” the pair stops hopefully at those words, looking at cricket long enough that she blinks before replying, “oh sorry! not really, i don’t even know you! bye!” the words are as clear a dismissal as any, and maybe it’s a bit rude but contrary to popular belief cricket wasn’t oprah and she only had two joints. she turns two hazel then with happily, offering the joints in her right hand with a affectionate, “which one do you want, baby?”