The first time Edith Tozier gets high with Stanley Barber, it's in his old ass car, the 1978 Ford Fairmont. 

      Edith's heard a lot about marijuana. About how it can get you high and shit. But that sometimes they can help deal with anxiety.

      And boy was she always anxious.

      The only time where she was truly relaxed in public was when she was with her dads. And now Stanley. He naturally had this calming aura around him.

      Or maybe because he always smelled like weed and she was getting high by contact.

      Either one could've definitely worked in all honesty.

      "I wanna get high." Edith said out of nowhere as she sat down in front of Stanley in the cafeteria, dropping her sandwich on the table.

      The taller boy paused from his chewing on his burrito, looking confused and a bit startled. "And you're telling me this because...?"

      "No seas tonto, I can smell the weed in your car and your shitty attempt to cover it up with cologne." She responded in Spanglish, taking her ham and cheese sandwich from the paper bag.

      He blinked in confusion. "What the fuck was the first part?"

      "'Don't be a dumbass'." She translated simply, staring down at him. "So, you gonna get me high or do I have to find someone else?"

      "No offense Edie, but I am literally the only person you talk to in this school. And I'm pretty sure in general. Besides your dads, of course." He seriously wasn't wrong. He caught on that after only two weeks of friendship, she kept her head down around everyone except him.

      Edith's light green eyes narrowed slowly at her best friend, making him fumble over his next words to make sure she didn't snap at him. "I-I just mean, you know, I've never seen you interested in getting high before. Until now."

      She didn't say anything for a moment, picking away the crust of her sandwich before sighing loudly. "I have to do an oral presentation tomorrow for English and the thought of it makes me think I'm gonna puke in front of the class mid speech. Maybe if I get high, I can be relaxed enough to present without humiliating myself."

      Stanley softened, giving her a reassuring smile before she felt his foot lightly nudge against her leg. "Anxiety does suck. I mean, getting high a few hours before I present usually helps. But some people react differently to smoking weed." He explained. "They get paranoid and shit like that. And I don't think you wanna get even more paranoid while presenting."

      She huffed, slouching forward and pressing her cheek against her open palm. "I just wanna be chill enough to present my project but I don't know how. I've tried that meditation shit but I'm too impatient to actually get fully involved."

      He chuckled, mimicking her action and putting his cheek on his hand as well. "Look, we can get high after school to see how you do. Is that cool with you?"

      She smiled at him, nodding as she tried to contain her excitement. "Sounds good with me, Stanny. Thanks."

      The taller boy nodded as well, the two teenagers eating their lunch until—

      "I can't believe you called me a dumbass in Spanish."

      "Get used to it, tonto."

      And that's how they ended up in his Flintstone's car, leaning her back against the seat as Edith watched him take out a blunt from a tin container he kept in his pocket.

      "Why am I not surprised you keep that shit on you during school?" She asked playfully as Stanley chuckled, giving her a little smirk before taking out his lighter.

      "You ready?" He asked her, the girl quickly nodding before putting the blunt between his lips and lighting it up.

      She watched him, almost finding herself distracted by the way his curls fell over his forehead as he inhaled deeply and exhaled the smoke.

      It was almost pretty how the smoke came out of his pink lips, but she shook the thought away.

      He handed the blunt to her and the shorter girl took it between her thumb and first finger. She looked at it for a moment before putting it to her lips and slowly inhaling. She could feel the smoke entering her lungs, slowly exhaling to make sure she didn't cough.

      A slow smile made her way to her face, looking at Stan. "That feels nice."

      He giggled, nodding in agreement before taking the blunt back and doing another hit. They passed it around like this for a while, Edith's brain going almost foggy and she felt somewhat on cloud nine.

      No wonder the government wants this shit to be illegal.

      They finished the blunt together, Edith's green eyes closed as she tried to ignore her heart that felt like it was racing in her chest. Other then that, she felt fucking great.

      "You good?" Stanley asked her and she kept her eyes closed, not moving until she finally nodded since she forgot how to for a moment.

      "Heart's just pounding in my brain. Pretty loud, but I'm good." God, speaking felt so weird now. It didn't feel normal how the words left her tongue.

      She then felt a hand over hers, gently squeezing. "Just relax. Take deep breath and just let it happen."

      The curly-haired girl took deep breaths, focusing on the hand that held hers. He was warm and soft, slightly calloused. She slowly moved her hand so their fingers were intertwining and it felt like their hands were tingling.

      Edith finally opened her eyes, lolling her head to the side to see her best friend staring at her. "This...this feels fuckin' great."

      A goofy grin made its way to Stanley's face, the both of them now giggling. "It does feel nice, huh?" She nodded again, the both of them going quiet for a moment and didn't let go of each other's hands.

      It was silent until a loud, growling sound that came from the girl's stomach intruded. "Jesus fuck, I'm hungry...but I just ate!"

      He started giggling, snorting a few times. "That's the munchies for ya," he explained, "c'mon, let's go to my place. I've got plenty of junk food to help you out."

      When Stanley pulled his hand away from hers to start the car, Edith couldn't stop the whine that left her lips, now pouting. He paused, now looking concerned. "What's wrong?"

      The curly-haired girl grabbed his hand again. "You're warm. Drive with one hand, coward."

      Jesus Christ, did she seriously just say that out loud? Yup, she did, holding onto his hand like she was afraid that he would slip away.

      The taller boy laughed softly. "Eeds, this is a stick shift and I'm as high as a kite. I need both hands to drive." He explained, but she just growled under her breath and leaned closer to press her cheek against his shoulder.

      She was always a 'cuddle monster', as her daddy so eloquently put it, she craved attention and physical affection. But the girl knew when to refrain at times.

      However, all thoughts on stopping and letting the poor boy drive went out the damn window because she suddenly wanted nothing more than to cuddle Stanley Barber.

      Dear god, if she was a cuddle monster before, she was a cuddle demon lord now.

      "Edie, I am absolutely adoring this aside of you, but I'm getting hungry too and need to binge on junk food. So please, for chips and cookies, let go. I promise we'll cuddle when we get to my place." Stanley compromised with her.

      Edith thought about it for a moment before huffing and finally pulling away, releasing her death grip on his hand.

      Truly desperate for food, the Barber boy didn't hesitate to start the car up and immediately began driving to his house.

      As he drove, the windows were slightly rolled down and her forehead was pressed against it. She could feel the cool air coming in, sticking her tongue out and lifting her head.

      "The air tastes purple." She said randomly, causing Stanley to burst out laughing as she started giggling as well.

      "You're even more hilarious when you're high. I had no idea that was possible." He told her, looking relaxed as he continued driving.

      They were quiet for the rest of the car ride, Edith only speaking random shit that came to her head or just giggle out of nowhere, before they finally pulled up to his house.

      The two teenagers were quick to get out of the car, giggling and scrambling to the door in order to get to the food. God, she felt like she hadn't eaten since dinner the night before! They finally made it in, Edith swaying on her feet and staring up at the ceiling as Stanley pulled out half a dozen large bags of chips, barely fitting them all in his arms.

      "To the basement!" He spoke, the both of them stumbling and giggling all the way down there.

      And then they collapsed on his couch, ripping open bags of chips and munching like ravenous beasts. That is what most teenagers were, anyway.

      As they were feasting like this was their final meal and they chose junk food, Edith could feel the urge to be closer to Stanley kick in again. Too high to even resist it, she inched closer until the side of her face was against his chest, a leg draped over his lap as she shoved a handful of Doritos into her mouth.

      Stanley looked at her, a bit surprised before laughing softly. "You're like a fucking koala bear!"

      "Shut the fuck up, bamboo tree." She deadpanned, making him laugh again before wrapping an arm around her and pulling the shorter girl closer to his chest anyway as he continued binging on chips.

      There was something so absolutely comforting about cuddling him. He was practically radiating warmth and he smelled nice. Cologne and weed. Something that probably wouldn't smell good together, but it did to her.

      "You have your speech memorized for tomorrow?" Stanley asked her after all of the chips were gone, slowly feeling the high beginning to come down as she fiddled with the soft fabric of his red vest between her fingers and mumbled a quiet 'mmhmm'.

      He nodded, twirling one of her wild and unruly curls around his finger, twisting it upward before releasing it as he watched it spring down. "Alright. Let's practice."

      And so Edith began her speech, feeling calm and pausing a few times when they were blanks in her memory before picking it back up. By the end, he was smiling down at her so proudly it made her lungs lurch.

      "I think you got this. If we get you high about an hour or two before you have to present, you should have this in the bag!" He told her with a big smile, neither of them moving from their cuddling position.

      She never realized how much she would like weed..but damnit, the Tozier girl loved it.

      She loved the feeling of getting high, even if it turned her into a huge starving and cuddling freak. To feel her anxiety disappear and not worry about if she was freaking her best friend out by how suddenly affectionate she was.

      The curly-haired teen moved her head so she was resting her chin on his shoulder and facing him. "Can we smoke again?" She asked and the sly smile that made its way to his face was all the response she needed.

      So that's what they did. They smoked and binge ate more chips and chocolate cookies until their stomachs felt like they would burst and played the most random game of Would You Rather ever.

      When she was fully sober, she would definitely need to ask him more about his jellyfish obsession later.

      But for the first time in so long, she wasn't riddled with nerves. She wasn't anxious and had that tinge of fear that the damn clown was still out there, right behind her, waiting for the exact moment to strike.

      Because this time, she was having the time of her life cuddling her friend and getting higher than the Empire State Building.

      So she didn't care when she walked home, reeking of weed that was horribly masked with cologne that didn't belong to her, making her papa scold her and demand where she got weed and her daddy laugh and look proud while saying that she was truly a Tozier.

      How could Edith care when she finally found something to cope with her anxiety and a new hobby with Stanley?