Haley or Star turned up at three in the morning, reeking of alcohol and barely able to stand, meaning she was either drunk or hung-over. Maybe both. Kate had dealt with this so many times that it broke her heart to see her best friend go through it.

She was barely coherent as she slumped on the sofa. Rambling nonsense and curses. It looked like she was still in character. Kate couldn't stand by and watch her friend destroy herself for the thrill of it. Not anymore.

She needed to know why. Figure out why she was acting this way.

It felt like her past held the key. It was the answer, maybe even the solution. Anytime Kate would bring up her early morning pop-ins Haley blew her off. Told her this was how normal seventeen year olds act.

She was so convincing it made Kate doubt herself. Was this normal behaviour? She wouldn't know; she was too straight-laced.

Haley wouldn't listen to her, but maybe she would listen to someone else; someone that knew her before. They could snap her out of it. It didn't seem like her parents were the answer. Haley seemed too estranged from them.

With the amount of times Haley's never come home, they probably already knew. She was reckless even back in tenth grade, but not to this extent. She never roped Kate into it. She knew how much she disapproved.

Back then Kate remained oblivious, blissfully filling beakers and solving quadratic equations. But now her world was off kilter. This was the first problem Kate couldn't solve with her smarts.

How the hell to save her best friend from herself?

For all she knew this was normal. She could have been doing this ever since eighth grade, but didn't feel comfortable enough to show Kate this side of her until now. It was like how she waited until Halloween to tell her about her interesting past time. The girl had so many sides Kate loss count.

What was real? What was fake? Something that used to be so clear had gotten lost in translation.

"Haley?" Kate questioned cautiously when she had safely passed out on the sofa.

Her eyes rolled back into her head fighting the fatigue. "Bitch, call me Star." Kate froze, she could feel her heart beat accelerate.

So, the infamous Star. We finally meet.

"Star... don't you think this has gone too far?" Kate continued her arms folded over her chest to form a protective barrier. She felt intimidated, but she didn't want Star to know that.

"Maybe you should tell your parents?" she suggested.

Star snorted, the sound sounded painful like it got stuck at the back of her throat. Kate jumped at the sound, her arm-shield faltering.

"Look, honey, they don't mind as long as I'm not passing out under their roof." Her speech sounded rough, slurred; similar to the girl they had met on the street corner.

"They don't want the trouble."

[A/N] Okay so good news everybody, we are at the halfway mark. Whoop whoop.

I know, for a short story it's not really that short. So...yeah. Comment, vote, the usual. Feedback. I love me some feedback.