toke;

@rcggiedenvers​

Zoe smiled as she popped one of the sweet tarts in her mouth. Her date with Reggie was off to a bit of an awkward start but was now going better than expected. Zoe began to feel less and less nervous as time gone on which made it easier for her to talk to the other girl. The nerves weren’t completely gone but was starting to feel more like she could be herself. “Want one?” She asked offering the small box to Reggie. The movie had ended and she’d still had a few left over. “Thanks for buying these for me by the way, you really didn’t have to.” As stupid as she thought it was the fact that Reggie had paid for the candy made her feel a bit giddy inside. 

Things definitely hadn’t started out how Reggie would have liked, not that it was terrible or anything but it was far more awkward than she’d normally have liked. Most times when things got that way she just bailed but she didn’t, wanting to make this date work and she was so glad she had. Things were going so well now that at this point she barely remembered how they’d started, she just paid attention to the girl beside of her, her whole body practically thrumming with excitement. “Sure.” she said with a grin as she looked down at the other, reaching out to pluck one out and popping it into her mouth. “You don’t have to thank me! What kind of date would I be if I didn’t buy some candy for you?” she said giving a small shrug. “Thanks for actually coming with me, I’ve had fun.” Reggie’s dad luckily didn’t live too far from the theater and she’d called ahead to ask if she could come by with a friend, so that’s where they were headed. “To be a plastic you’re pretty cool.” she said giving the other a slight playful nudge. “Not that I totally didn’t already know that, this just definitely reinforced it.” 

“ tina “ she supplies correctively, nonchalantly, as toronto bustles in the background despite the late hour. and it’s once she senses the slight confusion on the other girl’s features that she decides to let her off the hook. “ no, you’re right, it’s tori– ” she says, laughing a little at her own joke, and in a way that maybe let’s on to how many vodka cranberries she’s had that night. still, she stands steady on her stilts for shoes, silver, six inches and complementary to the rhinestone laden fishnets glittering all the way up her thighs.

she shakes her head ‘yes’ when the girl asks if it was her first time at the crazy little hole in the wall. “decided i’d try something new. me and all my friends always go to the same old places” either rose bar, or olive or twist, or that place vanessa likes that she can never pronounce the name of. and it’s always fun, they always score drinks, and dance til’ they’re slick with sweat, make everyone ogle and whisper and wish they were young and beautiful and enjoying the night as much as they were. but tori, who’s easily bored, and enticed by the shiny and new, always craves something different, something more. 

she radiates at the compliment, does a quick spin, because she can’t help herself. “thanks” she replies, glancing down at her attire as if weren’t strategically picked to turn heads. “what about you? you come here a lot?” she wonders aloud, pink glossed lips pressing together as she tilts her head curiously.

she blinks rapidly as the other corrects her, she definitely must have been higher than she though. “my bad dude!” she said quickly before a smile break out on her face as the other continued. “you fuckin’ got me.” she chuckled, shaking her head. “though its not fair, i’m already way too drunk and high to think too hard. though it seems you’ve definitely had a fair amount to drink yourself.” she says, glancing down at the other as she stands up straighter. “how the fuck are you still even wearing those things dude? I can’t wear them sober---much less drunk.” 

“thought so. this place isn’t too bad, some of the regulars are pretty cool. just watch out for the old creepy dudes, some nights they are just here in fuckin’ droves. normally i go to one of the gay bars near here so i don’t have to worry about them but my friends wanted to come here tonight.” she said with a slight shrug, reggie tended to be not much a talker these days but when she was crossed, she was a total rambler. 

she gives another light chcukle as the other twirls, taking another hit of her joint before extending it to the other. “wanna hit?” she asks before nodding her head. “i wouldn’t say a lot but i come here every now and then. its for sure the first time i’ve seen any of the girls like you from school here though.”

ollie: can i borrow your biology notes?

ollie: i fell asleep and missed alot!

reggie: i uh

reggie: did not take notes

@rcggiedenvers​

she’s a force of nature, dressed to kill, alone in a crowd on the city sidewalk. her dress is pink and hugging her tighter than the sleazes that have been escorting her to the bar, pumping vodka somethings into her all night. but a free drink is a free drink. and she’ll take twelve if it means she doesn’t have to think about anything for a few hours.

the club is alive on the inside, deep bass making the very ends of her dark ringlets shake just slightly as she leans against the glass window and enjoys the fresh air, telling her life story to a woman whose name she doesn’t even know. 

“so i spent a whole year, seeing the world and working my ass off just for my agent to up and decide he doesn’t want me–” seems like a common theme these days, she thinks, as she shrugs and reaches for the woman’s cigarette as it’s offered to her. she hates the smell, but is sufficiently drunk and curious enough to try anything once.

but it takes only one puff for her to hand it back and decide she hates it as much as she thought she would.

and it’s mid-cough, through her cloud of smoke that she recognizes a familiar silhouette, poised to pass her by. 

“hey, i know you–” she pipes up tipsily, characteristic brightness present in her tone. like it’s the most stunning revelation of the night. “reggie, right?”

it felt like this was almost her whole life now, going out and partying almost every night to avoid the troubles in her life. things just felt easier this way, how bad could things really hurt you if you just numbed what was hurting every chance you got? 

she’pushed her way outside, already a few drinks deep and buzzing from the joint she’d earlier, another already tucked between her fingers. the friends she’d come with had long since left, all of them having other obligations but like every night, she stayed out as long as she could, avoiding her own responsibilities like the plague. she used to be good at this, used to be able to handle the pressure but now she couldn’t seem to even get out of bed without something to take the edge off. 

she was caught off guard by the voice, turning to face the direction it’d come from, eyes narrowing in on zoe, a grin of recognition brushing over her features as she gave a small nod. “that’s me!” she responded with a light chuckle, gesturing towards the other. “and you’re tori, right?” she questioned with an ever so slight tilt to her head, propping herself up against the window. and looking over the other, taking in just how good she looked, she suddenly felt very underdressed in her normal attire of jeans and flannel. she raised her joint to her lips, her lighter following as she lit it, taking a long drag from it. “i don’t think i’ve ever seen you here, is it your first time?” she asked, a plume of smoke pushing from between her lips, looking away from the other so she didn’t blow it directily into her face. “you look nice.” 

“I think all the girls at the school are pretty hot honestly. Though if I had to pick any specific ones it’d be @queenxrivas, @frankiehcllingsworth, @toriscnta and @beehavingbadly. 

“Well I can definitely help you out with that.There’s a huge sale at the mall that’s going on for the next few weeks…Flannel does look good on you though.” It made her happy that they were already talking about other days they could hang out.  It seemed like things were going well but in the back of her mind Zoe was hoping she wouldn’t do anything to mess it up. She had a tendency to self sabotage but thankfully so far everything was going well. She looked down at her phone then back up at Reggie. “It should start in 15. Did you wanna go get some popcorn or anything before the movie?”

Reggie gave a soft chuckle at the others words, giving a small nod. “Well maybe we don’t gotta get rid of the flannel completely then? Just tone it down a little.” It felt good being here with someone she liked, good being able to be sober and not have her mind flooded with everything going wrong in her life because at least in the moment, things seemed to be going very right. “I could go for some popcorn! Do you want anything? Get whatever you want! My treat.” she said with a smile giving a wave of her hand towards the concession stand. 

Seeing movement in her peripheral vision caused Zoe to look up, immediately smiling when she saw that it was Reggie. “Hey.” She put her phone on the table face down and sat up a bit straighter in her chair. “Thanks.” Zoe almost forgot what she was wearing. It was kind of funny, her spending all the time she did on her clothes just to end up with her outfit being the last thing on her mind. Zoe wasn’t paying much attention to what the other girl was wearing either. She didn’t really care. She scoffed. “You’re fine, you look great too. And maybe we could also go shopping sometime if you’re down. I’m kind of an expert in that department.”

She smiled back at the other, her hands instantly dipping into her pockets as she looked over at the other.  She gave a small nod at the others suggestion. “I’d be super down for that! i feel like I totally need to add some non-flannel and denim to my wardrobe. That’s like all it is now.” she replied with a small chuckle. “I’ve never been the most fashion inclined, even before the burnout dip, especially not as good as you.” She looked around the lobby, glancing up at the clock. “What time did the movie start again?” Part of her was hoping that it was still a little bit, she liked talking with the other. 

@rcggiedenvers​

Looking at herself in the black reflective glass of her phone, Zoe opened the door to the theatre and let out a nervous breath. Tonight was her first date with Reggie, finally, and she’d really been looking forward to it. Usually when she’d had a date her friends would be the first people she’d go to but this time was a bit different. She hadn’t reached out to the people she normally would meaning she kept all her nerves to herself, fun. Of course she felt the urge to tell a few people in her clique, but that wasn’t something she was ready for just yet. Zoe went to sit down at a table by the snack section and waited for Reggie. She glanced down at her phone to check the time.

It’d been a while since Reggie had been on a date, in fact this was the first she’d be on since her wreck. It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to go on one, she’d just stopped caring about everything in her life for a while, even romantic prospects. She was nervous, her usual not giving a shit demeanor almost completely fading away. She wore a pair of jeans and one of her nicest flannels, entering the theater with a smile. For the first time in a long time she hadn’t gotten high all day, feeling like this was actually something she wanted to experience sober. She made her way over to the other, giving her a small wave. “You look great.” she grinned, taking a seat across from the other. “Sorry for like uh-not wearing something nicer, this is literally the nicest thing I could find in my closet.” 

Ollie smiled as he glanced in the full length mirror. he and tristan had went shopping yesterday and he made a bold move and bought a skirt. it was a short black pleated skirt with silver buckles to one side. he had never felt so pretty. he knew it was a massive target for the awful bullying at school but he didn’t care at this moment. he had managed to dodge people on the way to school, maybe nobody would even care. a soft sigh fell from his lips as he walked off the bus, his bottom lip captured between his teeth. he straightened out his back and walked into the school, trying to stay confident. 

Reggie walked down the hallway, headphones in her ears. Her mom had dropped her off, like she’d been doing everyday recently since she’d got caught skipping school again. Normally she would have skipped first period, it as just a study block anyway and she honestly didn’t give that much of a shit. Her head was down, trying to keep a rhythm and not give away just how high she was. That was until she slammed into Ollie, stumbling backwards, her eyes going wide as she looked up at him. “My fuckin’ bad!” she said quickly, pulling her headphones out. “Are you okay?” She looked over the other, nodding towards his skirt. “I like your skirt. What size are you?” 

 Even the people she knew wouldn’t have a problem with it, Zoe wasn’t ready to tell. With the mother that she had growing up, she still had a lot of learning and un learning to do about who she was including this new part of herself. When this thought first floated into her mind she wasn’t sure how or if she’d find a way to deal with it but she was suddenly beginning to think that maybe it was possible after all. Zoe almost scoffed. “Please, I’m sure you get compliments like that all the time. Why wouldn’t you? You’re like…crazy gorgeous… ” Zoe tittered. She doubted that Reggie would. It was actually her who was scared she’d do something to ruin their date.  “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. How’s this weekend?”

She gave a shrug at the others statement. “Yeah I mean I do get ‘em sometimes but most of the time its like creepy dudes or like old fuckin’ men. Not pretty girls and especially not girls like you.” She gave a sigh, biting down on her lip before speaking again. “And I guess ever since my wreck I just feel---like no one wants me y’know? My body is scarred to fuck and my personality isn’t much better from what Anya has told me.” She shuffled her feet awkwardly, she’d never really been one to talk about her feelings this openly and had  barely done it at all since she’d become a burnout. “This weekend sounds awesome! It’ll give me plenty of time to plan things out!” 

She nodded. “For right now, I’d really appreciate that.” Zoe felt relieved Reggie understood. Of course she didn’t want to be in the closet forever but this was still very new to her. “That sounds perfect.” Zoe was looking forward to it already. Of course part of her was still a bit nervous but the excitement she was feeling helped muffle her nerves at least a little bit. You know you’re adorable when you blush by the way. Oh god. Of course that only made her want to blush harder but thankfully she kept it together. She let out a small giggle and shrugged. “I think you’re cute when you’re nervous.” It made Zoe less apprehensive to know Reggie felt the same way. “I’m nervous too…I’ve never gone out with a girl before so…”

“If it goes well or whatever we can wait as long as you need too.” she encouraged. Reggie had grown up never having to worry about being gay, her parents always incredibly encouraging of her. She knew that other people around the school probably wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about their date either, especially Zoe’s clique but right now she honestly didn’t care. She felt her own face grow hot with a blush at Zoe’s compliment. “Coming from you I think that might be like the biggest fuckin’ compliment I’ve had in a long time.” She gave a nod of understanding at the others next words. “Hey I understand! I’ll try and make it as perfect as possible. Hopefully I don’t ruin girls for you forever.” 

Sadie: So the group chat got a little heated last night...