. more than this

[colton abernathy]

COLTON

His chest constricts as he feels herself tuck back into his side. The puffer jacket is a decent barrier between them but his breath hitches in his throat at having Mira so close, almost distracting him from his methodical task. He snorts at Mirren's attempt at a compliment, blowing smoke into the ether above them and sinking into the bed. Soon Ruby joins them and he maintains control of the precious joint. "Your compliment was so bad Rubes didn't even recognize it as one," he says with a grin, glancing down at Mirren. The joint continues to burn so he takes another toke, closing his eyes briefly as he takes a deep inhale, feeling it swirl in his lungs and bring instant comfort to the needlessly troubled boy. Somewhere he knows Jess will be looking for him, she'll probably have buddied up with Matt, who'd be looking for her even more ardently. Fuck him. "Try again."

[mirren hewitt]

MIRREN

"Ruby's drunk, come onnn," Mirren whines, watching the smoke curl temptingly into the air. It honestly felt like more of their kind of party being here, the three of them testing vices and tipping across boarders, nestled so closely someone wouldn't dare break them apart. Not Jessica, not Matt - almost on cue Mirren feels her phone vibrate once in her puffed pocket, tossing it onto the floor before leaning over to pluck the joint from Colt's loose fingers. "Nope," she emphasizes, the pop of the 'p' flickering a brief smile to her face before she takes a long drag, almost immediately coughing upon inhalation. "Fuck, the first hit always sucks," Mira rasps, swigging from her new beer to combat the close of her throat before taking another tiny drag. "Ok, I'm alive. Also, for the record, judge jury, blah blah....I've missed this."

[ruby anderson]

RUBY

Her eyes feel heavy as she closes them once more, nestling further into the space Colt granted her. Ruby slowly blinks them open when Colt reminds her that she had forgotten to compliment him. Instead doing the opposite, she teased him as per usual. "Fineeee. But you have to promise you'll not let me drown then." She arranges her body so that she's propped up on one elbow, her shoulder slightly aligning against Colt's chest. Ruby glances to Mirren and back to him before she allows the compliment to slide off her tongue. "You smell nice and your hair isn't that bad. Just give it a little trim on the top and it'll be perfect," she mumbles, as if it pained her to speak such words. The beer bottle touches her mouth again and she takes a gulp before she needs to be readjusted again. Her body slumps further down, and her head rests upon onto the side of Colt's chest. She hears Mirren inhalation and the cough that follows. She watches as the smoke pools around them. "Is it my turn?" Ruby's head pops up and she grins towards the joint in her friend's hand.

[colton abernathy]

COLTON

It feels as though they've been in here forever, though really it's only been ten minutes. It was a feeling he always felt with the two of them, and exclusively with them - a sense that their meet ups were not separate events but a continuous thread, one long hang out that was frequently and rudely interrupted by life but always continued eventually, having started practically at birth. His hand falls to his stomach as the joint is stolen from him, but he's too comfortable to care, sinking into the depths of the mattress. "I promise never to let either of you drown." It comes out more seriously than intended but he lets it. Mirren is taking a drag as Ruby compliments him and he hates that it makes him blush, expecting her to say something far more loaded. But he smiles, shaking his head at her. "You got me this cologne like three Christmases ago, so kind of a compliment to your own taste. But I'll take it."

[mirren hewitt]

MIRREN

Mirren dutifully passes the joint to her friend, lipgloss shiny on the end before it disappears behind her full lips. "Rubyy I'm starting to forget when you didn't wear lipstick," she mumbles out of the blue, now so much more accustomed to the perfectly sculpted face staring blearily back at her. It wasn't all that long ago that Ruby'd held out a liquid eyeliner and begged her to help with a cat eye - now the same flick stared icily back at her sometimes, as if trying to place Mirren before it softens with recognition. The memory brings a quick smile to her lips, widening at further memories. "Remember when we tried to give Colt a makeover?"

[ruby anderson]

RUBY

Her shoulders shrug as she resumes the position against Colt's side, waiting for Mirren to pass the joint in Ruby's direction. "I have good taste, what can I say." She's partially delighted to see the redness tinge Colt's cheeks at the compliment she'd given him. Ruby is careful to take the joint from her friend and giggles a little at the sight. She takes a long, first drag and feels the smoke settle throughout her chest. The same cough that Mirren had released after her initial drag overcomes Ruby as well. Her red lips close around the joint once more, before she watches the smoke settle in the air on top of them. "It's a staple for me now, thanks to you my dear friend," she says as the passes the joint back to its original owner. The lip gloss that Mirren left on it, was now covered up by the color of Ruby's lips. Ruby feels a genuine laugh slip out of her mouth as they reminisce on Colton's attempted makeover. "Oh my god, yes! We were so close to cutting his hair before his mom walked in!"

[colton abernathy]

COLTON

Mira comments on Ruby's lipstick and it ignites a previously dormant sense of injustice within Colton. His friends had been through remarkable transformations, one day being the gangly and cute but awkward preteens he knew so well, the next looking like models. It was inevitable that they would be beautiful when you looked at their parents, but he felt they got to cheat with makeup and hair, not just in using it but in teaching other how to. It felt like a cheat code. "Do you guys ever go without makeup? How long does it take to put on?" The questions are rooted in genuine curiosity, lacking his usual judgemental edge. He takes a drag, enjoying the sound of their laughter as it mingled over him.

[mirren hewitt]

MIRREN

"Yeah, class sees me at my worst all the time." Mirren responds breathily, reaching for the joint. Her body felt light and full of warm static, contentment settling deep in her bones as the high washes over and her voice dips in languid honesty. "Depends where I'm going - sometimes it's 10 minutes, sometimes it's an hour when we're going out, or I'm trying something new." Briefly, her mind flashes to teaching Ruby her first tricks, now unsure when the last time it was that she saw her friend fresh faced. She always came polished to class, always put together the rare times they saw each other on campus these days...Mirren's dark eyes drop, toe dragging over the flow in sullen contemplation at the obvious changes. "Skincare is more important anyway, Colty. Please tell me you don't use 7 in 1 as your face wash."