" you said, "i'll be alright"
i knew by the look in your eyes
but anytime you want to know, i'll be the one do you feel the same or was it just for fun?
'cause... "
⎯⎯ wallows.

california, los angeles ( 2007 )

𝓢ummertime is for mistakes. it's sunburns and sticky skin, the thrum of cicadas and the weight of a boy's hand pressed against your hipbones. it's reckless decisions whispered in the heat of the night, the kind you know you'll regret but do anyway. if anyone knows this, it's mirabelle moore.

𝓢he's the girl who never misses a beat — the queen with manicured claws and venom behind her lip glossed smile. she's got the best clothes, the hottest friends, and a laugh that cuts sharper than it charms. her mom's credit card pays for it all, but mari pays for it in other ways — endless upkeep, ruthless perfection, and the constant gnawing fear that if she slips, the whole kingdom will see her for what she really is. because under the diamonds and cheer bows, she's loud. she's needy. she's insecure and desperate, and all the designer bags in the world can't hide the fact that she's unraveling. she was fine at playing the part until her boyfriend, tall, golden, picture-perfect — dumped her the day junior year ended. mari doesn't cry over boys, she swears. but that summer, she crumbled. and when she needed a distraction, james manning was there.

𝓙ames, with his crooked smile and too-long limbs. the boy next door who'd spent his life being overlooked — his t-shirts nerdy, his jokes sharper than people gave him credit for. he was smart, smarter than her, and worse, he knew it. pragmatic and quick-witted, james was the kind of guy who couldn't help but get under your skin. mari never paid him any mind, not until she found herself knocking on his door at midnight, her mascara smudged and her hands shaking.

𝓦hat started as a secret summer fling, a quick, dirty reprieve from her heartbreak — turned into something she couldn't quite control. james was infuriatingly calm, always grinning like he knew something she didn't. he saw her, really saw her, and it was infuriating. it was terrifying. it was intoxicating. because for once, mirabelle moore didn't have to play a part. not with him. in james' bed, mari could breathe. but summer ends, and so do flings. school starts again, and beverly hills high is a kingdom she rules with an iron fist. she tells james it's over, that it has to be over, and god help her, she threatens him — because no one, not her friends, not her ex, not the gossip columns of the school hallways, can ever know that mirabelle moore stooped so low as to touch someone like james manning.

𝓔xcept the problem is, she can't stop. she keeps finding excuses to see him, keeps getting lost in the way his hands feel tangled in her hair and his voice sounds when he says her name. and james — foolish, goofy, endlessly sarcastic james — keeps letting her come back, because he's never been good at letting go. and then there's her ex, begging her to take him back, promising her the security and status she's always relied on. mari's stuck. stuck between who she's supposed to be and who she wants to be. stuck between the boy who gives her everything she's ever wanted and the boy who makes her feel like herself.

𝓢enior year is supposed to be hers. but as mirabelle moore sits on her glittering throne, she feels it cracking beneath her. one wrong move, and she'll come crashing down. maybe she deserves to. maybe she'll jump herself. because no matter how hard she tries to forget, summer taught her one thing: james manning tastes like freedom, and mirabelle moore has never been so desperate to escape.

" please don't tell me that i only belong in your sheets, you said last night that you would spend the rest of your life with me. now i know that you are a liar. "
          / UNKNOWN

𝓜ARIABELLE "MARI" BEATRICE MOORE / as described

8teen. leo. unlabled. popular girl. cheerleader. vogue magazines. parties. light blue mustang. acrylic nails. insecure. girl trips. baby tops. fixed mascara. pink gloss. mental breakdowns. beach tan lines

𝓙AMES "JAMIE" SULLY MANNING / as young!tom welling && callum turner

7teen. sagittarius. bisexual. crooked glasses. video camera. half opened books. cigarettes && weed. nerd. used jorts. wired headphones. polaroid pictures. cram studying. old sneakers. messy sheets.

[MARI] don't call me. don't look at me. if you dare to breath next to me i will cut you open.

[JAMIE] i am sorry but i can't.

NICHOLAS DAVISS / as jacob elordi
JESSICA HERD / as described
NATALIE CHEN / as havanna rose lui
DAMIAN LAWRENCE / as cooper koch

✶ the following story might contain triggering topics: mature language & scenes, underage substance consumption, toxic relationships, cheating, flawed characters, mentions of abuse, violence. i will put trigger warnings before each chapter.

✶ hey guys! i have been wanting to publish this fic for a while ... and i have been missing california soooo much ( i haven't been in any other state ), plus the song quarterback does not help with my american fever. so this story will have a sort of rose colored lense with america, california and the early 2000's, because that is what we truly need rn. also correct me anytime if i am wrong about something, i am not amercian and have only been there twice.

✶ miss mari is quite messy, a little problematic and very high maintence, think regina george, emily davis and cordelia chase but i love her so much so please be nice to her, she will change overtime. jamey is a cutie patootie, very seth cohen and stiles stilinski coded, and you are going to see him yearn for her like no tomorrow, BRING BACK MEN WHO YEARN!!

✶ anyways these two have a very messy relationship because they are both messy people, there might be some cheating involved with mari's ex/current boyfriend so if that puts you off i completely understand. you might want to bang your head against the wall sometimes with these characters, but that is normal, they are teenagers and they make mistakes and grow from them. this will be a sort of slow burn, frenemise to lovers, friends with benefits and opposites attract story.

love ya'll 🫶🙂‍↕️