"YOU'VE NEVER WONDERED WHY SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS?"
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Jules Peters is standing to the side of the party, leaning against a table that probably started the night being filled with snacks, but was now just a couple of discarded plates, and a white tablecloth with a pinkish stain on it, which Jules would think of as a jamaica water stain for her own sake. People come and go, leave more plates, sometimes take one to place whatever they are holding on. She scrunches up her nose at the thought of people just sharing their recyclable plates with people they don't know like that. None of them pay any attention to her, which is best for her, really. She's not particularly interested in talking to anyone, she didn't exactly come to the party to make friends.
She pulls out her phone, checks the unanswered text she sent "riri <3" two hours ago. It is still unread, and this disappoints her more than she's willing to admit. Jules would not have been seen at any party if she hadn't expected to be able to meet up with her best friend there, but evidently something must have happened, cause Riri had not shown up. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.
It's as she's once again worrying about what could've possibly happened to Riri to keep her from even letting Jules know that she wouldn't show up, that someone comes to stand next to her. It's a girl about her age, Jules is sure she's seen her before but she can't remember her name. She has brown skin and wavy brown hair, and she doesn't appear to have noticed that Jules was there at all, instead too focused on someone in the crowd of dancing people. She's pretty, enough that Jules catches herself staring for one second too long, and thank God the girl is too focused on whoever it is in the crowd, because she surely would've felt her gaze otherwise.
"Haven't seen you at one of these before," Jules finally decides to talk to her.
"Hm?" The girl proves Jules' theory that she hadn't even noticed her prescence as she looks to her side with slight bewilderment, "What was that?"
"I said," She talks a little louder, "Haven't seen you around before. Is this your first Kook party or did I miss too many of these?"
"Oh!," The girl finally fully turns her attention away from the people dancing as she turns to look at Jules as she talks, "It's my first time. I'm Sarah's friend."
Ah.
Jules turns back towards the dancing people, and there she is in all her glory. Sarah Cameron, Kook Princess, dancing with her arms in the air, probably more than a little drunk, loud laughter.
Jules knows what it's like to be Sarah Cameron's friend. She knows how kind her eyes can be, how welcoming her smiles are. She knows how freeing doing anything with her feels, she knows how unbeatable her laughter can make you believe you are. She knows what it's like to believe everything revolves around Sarah Cameron, like she's the sun itself. She knows how protected you can feel as her friend, she knows how beautiful the first hours of the morning are when you've spent all night laughing at stupid shit with her. She knows what it's like to get close, to be allowed to get close to her, she knows that Sarah Cameron only lets people get close enough for her to be able to run through them with her spikes.
More than that, Jules Peters knows that half the girls at that very same party probably know the exact sensation the same way she does. No one comes out untouched from being Sarah Cameron's friend.
"Pity," Jules says, almost to herself.
"Huh?" The girl is now frowning, and Jules thinks that at least one person should be able to get spared from the Kook Princess's curse.
"What's your name?" She asks as she leans forward.
"Kie-Kiara Carrera," The girl, Kiara, replied.
"I'm Jules Peters," Jules considers her decision for another second, then starts speaking again, "Listen, Kiara, Sarah Cameron doesn't do friends, not real ones."
"What?" Kiara's frown deepens, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means the second it looks like your friendship might become something real, something where she actually opens up or something, she'll turn on you," Jules says.
Kiara quickly shakes her head, voice cold as she speaks, "You're wrong. What do you know anyways?"
Defensive. Not unexpected. She had that effect.
"I've been there, girl," Jules replies, voice still calm, "So have a shitton of other girls in this room, trust me."
"You're wrong," She repeats.
"Oh, come on," Jules leans back, "You've never wondered why she doesn't have any friends? Friendly rich white girl like her shouldn't have any issue with that, right? Everyone should wanna be friends with her."
And Jules can tell she's hit the nail on the head with that one, because Kiara Carrera doesn't look angry at her for the first time ever since Jules started telling her how Sarah is. She looks conflicted. Kiara looks back towards the dance floor, where Sarah is still doing her dance, going in circles with everyone who will have her, then moving on to the next person.
"You're wrong," Kiara says for the third time, surprising Jules, "People going away because they didn't like what they saw when they looked too closely isn't her fault."
Jules looks at Kiara in confusion. It doesn't sound like she's talking about Sarah.
"Besides," She continues, "No one would even like her if she kept screwing people over, but look at them!"
Sarah is dancing with a redheaded girl, both of them laughing. Jules doesn't know how to convince Kiara that that doesn't change the kind of person Sarah is, so she doesn't try.
"Well, I'm just warning you," Jules says, and Kiara raises her eyebrows at her in an unimpressed way, "I'm serious! Being her friend is gonna come to bite you in the ass eventually. But, well, it's your mistake to make."
Jules begins to walk away, but then turns back and yells towards the other girl, "I'll be on my way, good luck, Kiara Carrera."
( NOTES )
first meeting !! kinda. they'd probably met before but first time really talking.
