GOLDEN HOUR, hailee steinfeld

002. afterparty

march 2020

THE smell of marijuana alongside tobacco filled the black SUV as the friend group made their way to the highly anticipated gala afterparty. Carson was in the backseat, rolling up as Knox slammed on the breaks. The car came to a screeching stop, as the Darik girl lifted the blunt to her lips, and lit it.

Knox made his way to the passenger seat, opening the door for both Carson and Madison, then pretended to close it as the boys started to climb out of the back.

Carson let the taste of grass consume her, as she walked into the afterparty slowly. Security let the group walk right in, recognizing them from the pictures provided.

Strobe lights flashed around the small venue, the smell of both drugs and alcohol surrounding the girls.

"We're gonna do some shots. Kay?" Jaxon grabbed Carson's shoulders gently and dragged her over to the bar. In all honesty, the young rockstar wasn't really into hard liquor. She preferred the fruitier drinks. Carson just preferred weed over all of it. She was a stoner.

The dark haired girl pulled herself up onto a stool, crossing her legs as Knox ordered a bunch of shots. The girl took another long hit of her blunt, blowing the smoke up into the air.

Madison already had a drink in her hand as she stood in between Carson's legs. The Darik girl had her head leaning back against the chair, her perfect jawline on display as smoke poured from her mouth.

"Don't look now but Sydney is over there. With Alexa and them." The name of her ex-"fling"made Carson sit up suddenly, tapping the end of her blunt as char fell off. Carson pulled down the sunglasses from her eyes, taking a long look at the Euphoria star.

Truth be told, Sydney was one of the only girls Carson could stand coming back to. Sure, they were only fuck buddies, but Carson held respect for Sydney. She was for one, a great actress, but she also had an amazing personality. A personality that made Carson fall, which ultimately led to their sudden "break-up".

"You're staring Carson. And she is looking back." Carson didn't even realize, as she took another long hit of her blunt. From across the room, she saw Sydney raise her hand a little, sending Carson a small wave. Carson didn't even flinch at the kind action, but rather blew out smoke towards the girl in response.

"Look who it is!" The familiar voice of a blonde model startled the stoner a little, as she almost dropped the blunt in her hand. Carson turned slowly, seeing Gigi, Taylor, Selena, and Hailee. Carson's bloodshot eyes stayed on Hailee longer than they should of, the intoxicated girl allowing her eyes to run down Hailee's defined figure.

The rockstar felt her mouth go dry, as Taylor snickered a little.

"You're rolling hard." Selena stated, snapping her fingers in front of Carson's face. Carson jumped a little, smiling weakly at the older singer in front of her.

Hailee smiled back a little, internally, her heart melted. The younger girl had a beautiful smile, the smiley in her upper lip becoming apparent to Hailee for the first time.

"Selena I don't trip. You know this shit." Her voice was raspy, sending Hailee's nerves haywire. She sounded so good.

In all honesty, it would be a lie for Hailee to say Carson wasn't on her mind. After the whole interaction at the gala, Carson was all her friends would talk about.