rosaleen channing ↠ applyfic [ongoing]

↠twenty-one

aisha, in this chapter:

-𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓽𝔂

✘ - ✘ - ✘

Aisha still didn't need no man. Or woman, for that matter.

Not a single person had asked her to dance the entire three and a half hours she'd been at prom already. But that was perfectly fine by her. In fact, that's what she tried to do.

She'd growled at anyone who'd walked up to her. Curling her lip back to reveal her teeth, she'd let out a low, threatening growl when someone got too close.

Some kid she'd met at a table in the back corner had managed to sneak in two flasks of vodka by sewing a pocket on either side of the inside of his tux's jacket. She'd hung out there for a while, snagging a sip whenever she could. Which wasn't very often. 

But the alcohol had eventually run out. And she'd left.

Only slightly buzzed from the two shots' worth of vodka she had consumed, Aisha returned to what she had been doing previously.

Brooding in the corner, searching for some way to keep herself busy.

Aisha scanned, searching for...  you all know. And, yes, she'd found another successful teen. A girl had worn a puffy, to-the-floor, princess-style dress, and she'd attached a bottle of whiskey to her upper thigh where no one could see it.

She'd gotten four shots off of the girl, despite having never spoken to her before today. The girl had clearly had one too many shots herself, loopy and stumbling around in her bright pink heels.

Then, the girl got busted and Aisha was out of there before you could say "liver failure".

Admittedly--and you wouldn't be able to tell-- but she actually wasn't having a terrible time. She just wasn't one for loud music, large crowds, or dancing. She'd always preferred solitude to the presence of others.

It was was of the plenty reasons she didn't have many friends. She didn't mind that either. Aisha was perfectly content on her own.

But that didn't mean that she hated having friends. She wouldn't quite consider most of the group to be her "friends", but she'd admit they were pretty close. Lucia was kind of a strange exception. 

That's to say she considered Lucia a friend. Aisha hadn't explicitly said this, because she realized that Lucia most likely thought of Aisha as a "useful asset to solving the crime" or maybe even a "potential suspect".

Alright, that was it.

Aisha was going for a smoke. She slipped off her high heels, carrying them with her as she slipped out of the school. She shook her head, watching as the trees swayed in front of her. Maybe she'd had a little too much to drink. Ooh, and it being dark didn't help.

She didn't encounter nearly as many couples making out as she expected to, but the two or three of them all still scattered when she walked through. Aisha guessed they thought she was a staff member or something.

She found her was to her usual spot, dropped her heels into the grass, and pulled a cig and a lighter from her purse. She quickly lit the cigarette, using her hand to shield from the wind.

She let her eyes drift closed as she inhaled.

"That's not very healthy, is it?"

Aisha's eyes flickered open at the familiar response. Lucia was standing directly in front of her, and Arthur was directly next to

"What are you two doing here?" Aisha said, shaking her ashes to the ground. She most likely would've said something rude, but the alcohol was starting to get to her. She closed her eyes again, trying to stop the world from spinning.

"Oh, about that," Lucia responded, "Evan said he needed to find Wyatte for something, and neither of us wanted to be stuck third-wheeling Lance and Sam, and Arthur saw you leaving so--"

"--so you... ffffollowed me?" Aisha suggested.

"Well, when you say it like that--"

"No, Lucia, Arthur," Aisha rolled her eyes softly. "Don't worry about it. I was only kidding. I really don't care. Not at all."

"Oh, alright," Lucia said quietly, glancing away for a moment.

"Wait, did you say 'third-wheeling Lance and Sam'?" Aisha suddenly asked.

"Oh? You don't know?" 

Aisha's splitting headache seemed to grow worse every second. She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, they're not actually together, but they might as well be with how they act. Especially Sam. She must be in love with him."

"How do you notice these kinds of things, Lucia?"

"I don't know. It's just who I am. I notice all the small details. After all, somebody has to. I always have. And I especially need to now that we're trying to solve a murder."

"I see your point," Aisha said softly, dropping the end of her cigarette into the dirt and putting her heels back on. The ground had seemed so far away, twirling slightly as she struggled to slip on her shoes. "I've never had to worry about anything like that. It just wasn't... necessary."

Aisha hesitated for a moment, allowing the silence to speak. "Well, what do you say about going back inside? I could use a water."

"Sounds like a plan," Arthur said.

The two girls who had started this mess returned to the prom, followed by a rather quiet Arthur. The moment they stepped back into the gymnasium, Sam rushed over. Evan, Wyatte, Jasper, and Lance were directly behind her.

"Hey, you three!" Sam chirped. "We've been looking for you!" 

"We're all pretty much ready to get out of here," Lance said next, "So I figured we could all go and hang out at my house. If you guys wanted to?"

That was not the kind of offer that Aisha would usually accept. It was childish, and--

However, the last thing Aisha wanted was to go home, especially to go home drunk. No one would be bothered to care, but Aisha still didn't like it.

"Hell yeah," Aisha said.

"Are your parents alright with that, Lance?" Arthur asked, just wanting to be sure.

"Oh, yeah. My parents and my older brothers are out of town for one of my brother's college basketball games. Honestly, the only reason I'm here and not with them is that I told them I wanted to to prom."

Two and a half hours before they needed to be, they were out. They ditched. They left the prom.

And everyone went to Lance's house.

✘ - ✘ - ✘

we all goin' to lance's house for the next chapter

it's gonna be... amazing

but no spoilers

-𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓽𝔂