Harder Than It Looks

High Afternoon

At 2pm, they were all on a break in Sawyer's backyard. The grass was lush and green, rare for New York, and he had a huge climbing tree that provided shade, seating, a swing, and low visibility. They were passing a joint between them, Jude and Phoenix on the swing and Sawyer, Etai, Henry, and Pearl sitting in the tree. It was hot out. 87 degrees. Phoenix had taken off her turtleneck and had tied her Rick and Morty shirt up, so it only fell to the bottom of her ribs, letting her skin breathe.

"So Jae brought 7 of his incredibly famous friends to your house?" Etai snorted.

"I don't know if they're famous-"

"What other friends would he have?" Sawyer frowned. Phoenix hit him. "Sorry" He mumbled.

"Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp are from Stranger Things. Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, and Jack Grazer are from IT. Finn Wolfhard is from both" Pearl piped up.

They all stared at him.

"What? Sorry I watch TV" He rolled his eyes and they all burst out laughing.

They went back into the garage a few minutes later and started working again. Some of their best stuff came when they were high... and sometimes it was complete shit and they laughed about it when they sobered up. However, today, the group seemed focused as they jammed. They opened the garage door up and the sound flooded out into the street. They lit another joint and started passing it around. They built on each other, switched tempos, and Sawyer, Jude, and Phoenix mumbled lyrics into microphones as they came. They were so happily, hazily focused, that they didn't even notice when Jaeden and his friends showed up and stood there, watching and listening for a solid five minutes before Jaeden shouted at them.

"HEY GUYS!" He yelled.

Sawyer startled and looked up immediately. The others looked up.

"Hey Jaeeeee!" Jude smiled.

Phoenix took her guitar off and put it on its stand before running to hug Jaeden. He caught her unexpectedly and spun her around once due to her sheer momentum before setting her down.

"Woah!" He laughed at her. "You're excited!"

"Just missed you. These boys are draining me!" She shouted back at them from the driveway.

"Shut up Phoenix!"

"We are not!"

"You suck Nix!"

"Liar!"

She stuck her tongue out at them.

"What's that smell?" Sophia grimaced.

"Yeah... it smells kinda weird" Noah frowned.

Jaeden raised an eyebrow at Phoenix. She grinned at him. Caleb laughed outright, Wyatt and Finn smirking to.

"Wait... you guys don't know what weed smells like?" Pearl asked as the boys came out of the garage to meet the group.

"You guys smoke?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"The artistry's gotta come from somewhere" Pearl chuckled.

Out of the group, Pearl smoked the most: almost everyday and constantly in the bathroom and back hallways at school. Etai, Henry, and Sawyer only did with the group on occasion; Sawyer got dissociative, which they all knew could get dangerous quickly. Jude and Phoenix smoked for fun often enough, Jaeden joining them sometimes too. Of the stars, Finn probably smoked the most, though he was the one who needed it the least. Then Jaeden, Jack, and Caleb, who smoked recreationally. Wyatt did when everyone else did; he claimed it didn't do much for him. Sadie had smoked twice but didn't like it. Noah and Sophia were completely substance unexposed.