Freaks

3- Delusional

꧁☀︎︎꧂

Last summer, the summer after Harper's sophomore year, she and her family traveled to a huge water park resort which consisted of hotels, skies filled with slides, the ground with other rides, and tons of people. A majority of these people were here because they had the money. A handful were from her school, the rich kids of course.

This summer was when Harper was still dating Jackson, Jackson Scott. Curly, side-parted, honey blonde hair, almost yellowish. To Harper, he never meant much to her. She was with him because she wanted him as an accessory, she wanted what everyone else had. She didn't want to look alone or seem as if she didn't fit in. She did this because she had to, to please everyone around her.

Her first kiss was from Jackson...that also meant nothing to her. It was what she had to do, she had to make it realistic. Everything was fake. The way she would hold his hands wherever they went, she would tell him she loved him when others were around. For Jackson, it was slightly different in his mind but for her...well she can barely remember any of it. It went on starting freshman year, she spent two years of her life doing this and it wasn't bothersome to her because at that time he never made her feel anything, not sad, not happy, angry, or confused, just neutral, he was just there.

They spent weeks at this resort for a good amount of the summer. Long, hot, boring weeks. The only thing the rich kids found exciting to do was to sneak up to the rooftop of the hotel at night, taking the ice coolers leftover from their families. They passed around beers or other bottles of alcohol.

Specifically, one girl would bring out and sell obnoxious drugs. Harper met her on that rooftop one night, her dainty hand shook Jackson's first as she introduced herself, "Alice."

Alice only ever told people that she moved from another state, no one knew exactly where. No one knew where she would get those drugs either. But no one cared, she was their own personal source for that temporary freedom. They took whatever she gave them, never asked what it was or what it would do, they just took it and later looked like the most miserable teenagers on planet earth.

With Alice's looks, she could draw any boy to do what she wants. All of them fell for her ruby-red waves that shimmered in the sun and her freckled, sun-kissed skin. Her icy eyes would dart from boy to boy in under a minute, making their faces drop. She made it look easy because it was easy. She could touch them once and they would tremble, right before her.

Harper would catch herself laughing as she watched her chatter up around the crowd and even though those boys had their companions beside them, they wouldn't fail to look like they've just seen god. When in reality, they were experiencing the devil. She knew exactly what kind of power she held and she used it well.

Ten months later in April, only a couple of weeks ago in real time, Harper was invited over to Jackson's house. She was a little confused because they never usually hung out unless it was with other people or in public. That's what she expected anyway, for him to be alone. But he wasn't, Alice was there. Turns out they became friends throughout the year and they just decided to let Harper know about it months later. They wanted her to join them.

"Join you?" She asked them in response. Both of them looked at her with large eyes as they sat quietly in his room.

Alice lowered her voice, "If I tell you, you can't say anything to anybody else."

"Okay...? What is it?" She asked again with more curiosity.

Without a change in expression except for a small smile, she moved her hand underneath Jackson's bed and brought out a big metal briefcase. She sat it on the bed carefully, Harper felt sick to her gut, she saw those drugs, she knew her suspicion level was high because she was so secretive over everything—even her friendship with her boyfriend.