god's biggest mistake.

It could’ve been worse. It could’ve been a free-for-all, so really, a few parties and people making the most of it was on the better end of results.

“It was a rough weekend. All common sense, out the window, but you see and hear a lot more of it when you’re a first responder. And when you’re filling out reports for the rest of your first responders.” One of which has been on Cam’s mind a lot more than the others. They all worked hard over the weekend, but Dallas has her worried. “How’d you do the last couple of days?”

Being a first responder sounded like a thankless job if you genuinely cared. In Rina's experience those people were few and far between.

"What's the dumbest thing you saw this time?"

While the abrupt question takes them off-guard, Rina still contemplates their answer. "I thought we all collectively agreed that Yummy by Justin Bieber was the most annoying song ever," they reply. "But I guess that is pretty obvious. For me? I gotta say it's that country version of Fast Car by Tracey Chapman? Fuckin' Luke Combs, man. Hate him."

"Nah, none taken. Although I'm sorry to disappoint that the riff-raff is in fact here." She said it with a wry grin, lifting her arms up out of the water in a mock introduction of herself. "But like I said, I at least come bearing gifts. A perk of being a bartender."

Pulling their t-shirt over their head and dropping it to the floor, they made their way over to the pool steps. The water is more tepid than normal, likely because of the generators.

"You got a name?" Rina asks as they wade through the water, drawn to the alcohol like a moth to the flame. "Promise I'm not just getting dirt for my police report."

“I have had to ask way too many people to put out their fire pits,” Camryn groans with her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose to ward off a stress headache. “Seriously, during a heat wave in California, you’d think it would be common sense to avoid a fire risk. But I had to be the stick in the mud.”

"Plus people are fucking dumb. I thought they'd be tryin' to stay cool, not heat themselves up."

where - crystal cove's pool, late friday night

"Okay, no I don't live here or even know anyone who does, but if you don't rat me out to security, I'll.....be in your debt? And share my bottle of Jack?"

"Thought generator being up would keep the riff-raff out," they say as they unzip their hoodie and drop it to the floor. "No offence."

If she'd had been there to hear the sentiment, she might not have shared the same appreciation, but Drew did mean it sincerely. Elliot was probably the coolest capital A Adult he'd ever met, and her trust in him--even if just for his Instagram skills, as possibly misplaced as it was--truly meant something to him.

Just as it once meant something to have Rina's, though these days he's unsure if he ever really did.

(She'd always had his, though.)

"I'd care." Drew mimicked their shrug with one of his own, as if the nonchalance of the gesture could hide the raw openness of his truth. "I care, Ri."

And he knew somewhere deeper down, the others did too.

Blowing out a breath, Drew attempted to at least think about the answer before ultimately nodding his head.

"You know, it's uh--" He grimaced. "Not great, dude."

He's unsurprised to hear about Mack, considering he'd been the one to alert Drew in the first place to Rina's reappearance in town, and doesn't bother to pretend otherwise.

"It's not even really that you left. I mean, yeah, that sucked obviously, because we love you and we were gonna miss the fuck out of you, but like--I was so fucking proud of you, Ri. You were doing the damn thing, that shit was awesome. It just...you didn't have to leave us behind when you left us behind, you know? That's the shit that hurt the most."

Shaking their head, there isn't any need for pity. Rina has never wanted it - not now, not ever. There was no one else to blame, try as they might. The gruelling schedules and late nights partying were easy excuses, but they weren't sufficient.

"If this was anyone else, you know I'd crucify them for acting the way I did. Suppose this is just my karma for being a dick."

Looking down at the table, averting Drew's gaze - it was easier to wrangle these thoughts with a sober mind. Rina just didn't like the heaviness of them.

"I know," they admit lowly. "I just don't know how to fix it."

“Shut the fuck up.” He says as he pushes past their one person blockade to enter the apartment, unwilling and unable to pretend to play good cop with what he fears has happened.

“What’s my problem.” He says as he tosses a couch cushion behind him with no care to where it landed, another one following right after. “I got nothing but fucking problems and you just keep adding to them.”

A stray bra isn’t what he’s looking for so he flings that too as he checks down between the bottom cushions of the couch, almost knocking the coffee table over with the back of his calf accidentally.

He shoots them another dagger-filled look before he drops to the floor like he’s about to do a push up, feeling around under the couch and encountering what felt like loose change and a charging wire before his hand settles on something familiar.

He yanks it out and leans up on his knees so he can inspect it, recognizing the white powdery remnants that the baggy once contained immediately.

The black ace on the plastic was the very same that was always present when Silas brought party favours to Oasis.

“You’re still fucking using.” He accuses as he stands on his feet again and holds up the empty baggie like it’s a smoking gun. “I knew this new leaf shit was a fucking act.”

Watching blankly as Uly scopes out her place, his attention turning directly to the scene of last nights happenings. There is an instant wave of fear about whatever he might find. The powder is gone, the last of it was snorted several hours ago, but the lingering paranoia makes Rina's palms start to swear.

"Get the fuck out!" Rina yells loudly, knowing that they'll probably be a complaint for their neighbors on all sides. With the ruckus of the yelling and the furniture being tossed around, it was a little too rock'n'roll for this place.

In their peripheral vision, there's a flash of blonde that makes it way out of the bedroom and out the front door in a blur. Which meant that whatever-her-name wanted nothing to do with whatever insanity this man was bringing to Rina's front door.

Clearly unable to find what he's looking for, Rina is just about to grab their phone and threaten to call the cops but the bluff dies their lips as Uly holds up the used baggie that must've fell the floor.

They were in such a state last night. Too comfortable in their surroundings and wanting too badly to escape the reality they'd created for themselves, cleaning up after themselves was an afterthought.

Rina's hands went up as he got all up in her face, waving the evidence in her face. "Yeah, so?" Denying it all wasn't an option but they could definitely deny that Uly had any reason to come in and kill their buzz.

"What I do in my own fucking place is none of your fucking business," Rina retorts with a pointed finger in his direction, matching the aggression that Uly exudes. "We're not friends anymore, you've made that fact pretty fucking clear. So I don't know why you're all up in here, acting like you give a shit about what I do."

where: outside rina's @ crystal cove condos

With his hand balled into a fist, Uly uses the side of it to knock on their door loudly and obnoxiously enough that he couldn't be ignored by either Rina or their neighbors, depending on which stuck their head outside of it first.

With no immediate answer or sounds of footsteps approaching on the other side that he could hear, he gives the only warning he was going to give on something they both knew he would follow through with without a further thought.

Hearing Uly's threatening voice somehow was worse than the first two options.

"What is—" a bleach blonde pokes her sleepy head out of Rina's bedroom but Rina hisses her away. "Stay in there. Don't come out." Throwing on the first shirt they found, Rina gives the apartment a quick once-over.

There's still a light white powdery film over the glass coffee table and Rina diverts from their path to quickly try and wipe it away with their hand before Uly makes good on his promise. There wasn't enough time to hide all the evidence of the night before, but it was good enough.

Opening the door, Rina guards the entrance to the apartment and gives him a confused glare.

"The fuck is your problem?"

Phoebe looks down at her shoes, kind of wanting to burn them now. "I'm just as clumsy as you are, if not more," she points out, failing to see their point. She suspected it had more to do with Uly's presence, once again. "Ah, yeah, I'm sure my imaginary date would be incredibly frustrated to see me dance with someone else. Who are you talking about exactly?" @rinaxchiron

A rare moment of truth that was probably plainly apparent. Rina had only come here for her. The other stuff that Phoebe alluded to, now wasn't the time nor the place to get into it now, so she remained silent.

Rina shrugged at Phoebe's question, as if the notion of her having a date didn't bother in the slightest. "I saw you dancing out there with some guy. Blonde. Doesn't matter."

Amidst their sparring, Rina thinks of how easy it would be to ask Phoebe to dance. It's on the tip of her tongue. And Phoebe would say yes, because despite all the terrible shit Rina put her through, she never gave up. Not on anyone but especially not them.

That thought alone was the cold splash of water Rina needed to be brought back to reality. They could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve her.

"Sorry, I've got to go—" Rina said quickly, taking a step backwards from her ex-girlfriend, the distance much needed. "But you.. enjoy your night, yeah?"