₁ 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐄

𝐄 𝐈 𝐆 𝐇 𝐓

As the year progressed, Abi became closer to Casey. They hung out mostly every weekend, whether it was a party, a movie, or a restaurant. They became almost inseparable. Pretty much the only time they were apart was when they were with their boyfriends or when Abi was hanging out with Stu's friend group. She had become close to his friends and she wasn't complaining because they were so nice and they were funny people. She had made a decent number of friends. Many people that wanted to be her friend only wanted to be her friend to boost their social status. She was one of the most popular girls in the whole school. Abi was with the most popular boy in school and her best friend was Casey Becker, another popular girl.

All Abi did was hang out with her friends and boyfriend, go to school, go to cheer practice, and games. Her life was normal and she had a good routine. After all that had happened with her dad, she craved normal.

The school year was coming to an end. Abi and Casey were so excited about the summer parties. They were gonna try to go to everyone they heard about. The two girls loved to have fun and get drunk. They would get drunk at Casey's house every two Saturdays. Typically, Smirnoff was Abis's absolute favorite. Sometimes, Casey would get wine too. They always had fun together and they rarely got into fights. Everything just came easy for their friendship.

The two girls finished off the school year with good grades. They did the work together. They had been planning on how they were going to spend the first day of summer and they chose to go swimming in Casey's pool all day.

When Abi left her house for the pool day, she wore a black high-cut bikini with rainbow stripes. When she got there around noon, she grabbed the key that was under the doormat and walked in. They were so close that they knew where each other's keys were, so they didn't have to bother knocking.

"Casey?" Abi yelled as she walked through the door, knowing Casey's parents were at work.

"Coming!" Casey yelled as she ran downstairs in a blue ribbed string bikini. "Ready?" Abi nodded and they swam the day away. Abi slept over for three days after that, then they had dates with their boyfriends.

And that was how the rest of their summer was; happy, sweet, and most of all, simple.

When school started back, they were seniors. Abi was turning seventeen in a month, Casey was turning eighteen in a week. Abi had a big birthday party. Her parents helped and offered to use their house. They were very relaxed people. Pretty much the whole school was invited. Abi was sure that Casey had no clue and she could barely contain herself.

Casey and Abi had most classes together, and the classes they didn't have together, Abi had with Tatum or Stu. She wasn't complaining. Abi barely saw Sidney anymore. Apparently, over the summer, she fell into a slump over her dead mother. Abi felt bad, but if Sidney wasn't gonna help herself, what could Abi do? Sidney already had Tatum. She knew that sounded harsh, but when her dad died, she kept going, made friends, and continued her life as a normal teenager. Sidney didn't. Sidney felt bad for herself and bummed herself out.

Abi had two free periods, one of which she had with Casey and the other with Tatum. She and Tatum had grown rather close.

The first day was a breeze for most of the seniors. Casey and Abi had disappeared for the sixth period as they had a smoke break. Casey started smoking after that day. They shared that first cigarette. Abi liked that she had someone to smoke with. Casey loved the freeing feeling.

When the party finally rolled around on the first Saturday of senior year, Casey had spent the day with Steve. Abi had finished setting up around six, so she popped in a mixtape titled 'Casey's Eighteenth!' It had all of her favorite songs. People started arriving around seven. Casey and Steve were supposed to be there at seven-thirty. Abi had someone keep a watch out for Steve's car.