“it’s the golden rule, treat others how you wanna be treated. you’re nice, but you’ve got the whole cool and tough going for you too!”

“so are you saying cool and tough can’t coincide with NICE. . .?”

“hey, kim’s got a nice back from what i’ve seen.” she laughed, shaking her head slowly. “but i get what you mean. they are pretty fuckin’ annoying. i just, like… don’t understand what half of the people are even here for. there’s NO way all the people that come are famous.”

“she does, I can’t argue with that.” rafi said as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “half of em’ are famous and the other half are chasing the famous or want to be famous.”

“i feel like that should be illegal. i never got how paparazzi never counted as stalking.”

“i don’t understand either, i thought you had to give consent for someone to take pictures of you and post them online.”

“the fashion week people too prim and proper for ya?”

“ i just hate the fact they run around looking for celebrities , they literally make our already crowded ass city, ten times more crowded because they want to see two seconds of the back of kim kardashian. ”

“what’s so bad ‘bout ‘em? i know they’re annoying, but like, they spend a shit ton of money and tip good.”

“ true. . . BUT the fashion week crowd just irritates my entire being. they only come to stalk the celebrities. ”

“i’ve always just tried to be nice to them and they’ve always been relatively nice to me. but you’re right, they are slow. it’s probably just because they want to take in all the sights and stuff like that. i’m sure i’d be the same way if i didn’t live here. i don’t have a problem with their attitudes until they try to make me feel dumb and like i haven’t lived here my entire life.”

“ sounds like you’ve met way nicer tourists than i have. . . but then again i think you, yourself, are a much nicer person than me in general .”

“d’ya really think it was that bad? i’ve seen worse around here.”

“it was definitely THAT bad, all i heard on the subway for a week straight was teenage girls trying to figure out where to stalk kim kardashian.”

“really? i never minded the tourists because i know that most of them are just trying to have a good time. the only time i get annoyed with them is when they’re mean to me and act like i know nothing about new york.”

“lucky you, i don’t have the best of luck with tourists if i’m being honest.” he shrugged. “they’re slow, you can spot them instantly because they don’t keep up with the crowd, and they love to stare, and then their attitudes, i HATE their attitudes.”

“tourists are only too terrible when they act like locals don’t know anything. a google search doesn’t mean shit.”

“which is like eighty percent of the time, they have the worst attitudes and will stop in the middle of people walking to take a fucking picture.”

“I love fashion week with every fiber of my being, but I agree. It’s already packed here enough as it is.”

“you can spot tourists from a mile away here, i avoid em’ at all costs.”

“you’re awful.” she shook her head, smiling even though she didn’t want to. “that’s how it was when i was little and lived with my biological dad, but my parents now like to keep a relatively close eye on us. i snuck out a few times though, i don’t think they ever found out. grounding never works.”

“oh c’mon, i’m only teasing ya.” he winked at her, a little nudge to her side. “a lot of shit parents do never works, yet they continue to do it, it blows me.”

she practically leaps into the building, hiding out against the wall as the door was shut. ‘nothing too terrible.”

“really? because the way you just jumped in here says otherwise.”

“d’you think you could hide me for like, five minutes?” she doesn’t offer any other explanation. this is what you get for picking fights that you can’t win, bella.

“what the hell did you do this time kid?” rafi muttered as he opened his door for her, motioning her to get inside quickly.

“nah, i’m sure it’ll help. but you can’t make fun of me if i say weird shit.” she laughed softly at his answer and shook her head, “i don’t know, i just…” she trailed off, still laughing to herself. “you’d be surprised how quick word travels between these parents. they found out i snuck out and went to a party once in high school and i was grounded for like, a month.”

“i can’t promise that.” he smirked. “grounded for a month? wish i could say i could relate, but my mom let me run the streets as long as she didn’t have to take care of me. i’ve never been grounded a day in my life.”

“ i don’t really have any friends here yet. i’ve only lived here for a few months. “ she shrugged. “ and i’m still not really super close to my siblings. i still feel bad bothering them. “ nebraska never really knew how to describe her current life situation, as even she was still confused by it. 

“siblings are a good place to start, even if you aren’t very close, i’m sure they will look after you if you just ask.” he encouraged her, he was sure her siblings, at least one of them, would watch after her if needed. “family is important, don’t feel bad, i bet you’re worrying for nothing.”

“mm, i haven’t for a while, but i’m down to try anything if it’ll get this demon to go away.” she laughed softly, “but i swear, if this gets back to my family i’m gonna have t’kill you. they’d probably shit themselves if they heard i was even in the same vicinity as a drug.”

“i mean, only do it if you wanna, but i think it’ll make you feel better.” he shrugged. “i’m no snitch, how would it even get back to them? not like i’m gunna knock on their door and say ‘hey zenia and me just finished a fat ass blunt’.”