𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 , 𝐚𝐮𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧

𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲.

it was a miracle in the way zia madden maintained above average grades with the amount of alcohol that diluted her systems and wrecked her kidney. her brain fried with the various drugs she never spared a second thought taking. it was addictive. the high. the prickling feeling she would get throughout her body as every sense was dumbed downed to a perfected point of numbness. that ever word said, every thing that unfolded throughout the night wouldn't matter.

her body chased that relief. it yearned for its touch and salvaged for even a moment of silence in her buzzed mind that ceased a second of peace. only when she felt that taste returning to her tongue is when zia could hideaway from the normalities of her reality.

so as she sat leg bouncing against the bottom of her desk as she desperately tried paying attention to her stats professor. his mouth moving far too quickly and the words incoherent to her ears and her face felt inflamed with her mistakes.

thoughts of aubrey re-entered her mind. a smile rippling itself onto her lips as she remembered their hours of talking. even if she didn't remember what they were talking about. zia just knew it felt good to be around someone without the judgement. she couldn't remember the last time she felt so free, out of touch with the rest of the world as it faded into blue.

aubrey was an intriguing character. in a way that theres a certain demeanour in how she carried herself. always beamed with a grin, her eyes wide with wonder filled with purity. how shy she would get when they would talk in large group settings...when they were sober... but in the hue of the night. within the darkness when it was just them. aubrey talked more, she shared every inner most thought. she was so much funnier than zia would've guessed.

it was a blessing that zia could even remember this. especially considering she never really remembered anything when she smoke or drank. but now that she does, it's the only thing she can think about.

mindlessly zia walked out with the rest of her class. far too deep in thought to notice her best friend speeding into her direction.

"hey there." ada rested an arm over her shoulders. gently resting her head into the nape of her neck before standing high again, facing zia with a bright smile.

"aren't you just a ball of sunshine?" zia chuckled, gently pinching the shorter girls cheeks as they headed towards the food hall. empty stomach grumbling at the mere smell of food.

"a very hungry ball of sunshine. how was stats?" ada grumbled, dropping her things onto a nearby table as did zia as she tucked her things into her bag before chasing after ada.

"i couldn't even tell you. my mind was in a completely different universe." zia shook her head with a heavy sigh.

"i know, the day has barely started and i'm just about ready to sleep. but i gotta go down to the girls basketball practice, wanna come?" ada offered, setting her food down roughly onto the table as zia sat on the other side. feasting happily on hers.

"yeah, sure. is it just normal practice or?" zia was more than delighted at ada's offer. not for any particular reason of course, zia always wanted to experience the behind the scenes of their practices.

"media day. but i just gotta be there to help around and maybe take a few video interviews." ada did in fact notice the beaming smile on her best friends face. it was impossible to miss with those pearly white teeth being reflective.

"what are you so happy about, hm?" ada teased, kicking zia's feet underneath the table as she questioned further.

"just excited to see my celeb crush in real time." zia halfheartedly joked.