ELEVEN BECHDEL TEST

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Helena had been absolutely self-absorbed lately, but in her defense, her sister had been actively trying to ruin her life. However, it seemed that was about to change. The next time the five of them hung out, crowded around a table at The Wreck, everyone was strangely silent about JJ Maybank and none of them dared to look Helena in the eye.

After a few moments of awkward conversation, featuring Tanya and Hailey's side-eyes and Maude stuffing french fries in her mouth, Helena had enough, "You guys don't have to walk on eggshells around me, I'm sure Hailey's already told you that JJ and I are still seeing each other. Evie, come on, you won't even look at me."

The girl looked up from her phone that she had been tapping at ever since they sat down, "Oh, shit, no I'm not ignoring you, I promise, I was just texting Sarah--"

"Cameron?" Tanya asked with a raised eyebrow, "Why would you ever talk to her? She's made it very clear that she does not like us. Didn't she literally say we acted like a cult-like last year?"

Evie's cheeks were a quiet pink under her light brown skin as she turned off her phone and put it in her pocket, "You guys know our parents are friends. Anyway, she just invited me to a party tonight. I think she said you guys could come considering she said "I know you don't go anywhere without your leader so you can bring the rest of them, I guess," so I think that's a yes."

"Why would we want to go to Sarah Cameron's party? So we can watch her and Topper get white trash wasted?" Tanya asked, tossing her braids over her shoulder. "I mean, I'll put up with her at boneyard parties, but something about partying on a plantation doesn't sit right with me."

"T, you live on a former plantation," Hailey commented with a bored tone, but Helena could see the girl was hiding her smile. They had yet to discuss anything further about what had been said the previous night, but Helena didn't mind keeping it that way.

Breaking into the conversation, Helena asked, "I'm curious which one she thinks is the leader, did she mention names?"

"Nope," Evie mused, "So we will never know. Also, Hails, it's different with Tanya because then it's like... taking the power back, you know?"

Hailey scoffed, an amazed smile on her face as she shook her head, "No, but I really don't think Sarah Cameron is thinking too hard about getting drunk on a former plantation so why should we? Besides, this is North Carolina, this whole fucking island was probably a plantation at one point."

The dark-skinned girl shrugged, considering the older girl's words as she squinted at her before finally admitting, "Okay, you're probably right, but let's circle back: Why do we wanna hang out with Sarah Cameron?"

Helena shrugged, "No one said we have to hang out with her, we just get to steal her booze."

"Sounds good to me," Maude suddenly spoke up, picking up the last fry from the basket. Helena pouted at this since she hadn't gotten to have any so, without hesitation, Maude split it in half and handed one to the blonde who smiled and took it. "It's been a while since we got drunk."

"We got drunk like a week ago," Hailey corrected, "That's all there is to do around here. It's sit around and look hot or drink like a middle-aged man who just lost his job, that's all there is. I feel like we've discussed this."

"We're all alcoholics," Evie mumbled as she sighed, running a manicured hand through her curls. "I'm still down to go, though."

"Yeah, I'm down," Tanya shrugged after a minute as she absentmindedly bit her fingernails. Out of habit, Evie smacked her hand out of her mouth. They had been trying to get her to break the habit for years, but it never worked. Helena chuckled softly at the interaction. "Anyway, what happened with JJ? We did a whole intervention just for you to not listen to us?"

Helena immediately went to defend herself, but Hailey beat her to it, "I think we should lay off of Helena. I mean, I think we're just caring too much about it because she's the only one in the group with a love life. I mean, Maude is too scared to ask Kie out and us three have already had our fun with any halfway decent boys on the island. If she wants to bang JJ or fall back in love with him, it's really none of my business."

The younger blonde scoffed, "I am not falling back in love with him. I hate him, he's just a way out of this ever-so-suffocating life."

"Suffocating?" Maude raised her eyebrows, challenging the statement, "What's so suffocating about being stupid rich and getting wasted every weekend? I quite like our lifestyle, if I'm being honest."

Helena shrugged, "I mean, yeah. Whatever, you get my point. Cut boys are where it's at because you're rich so they worship you because you represent everything they will never be. Duh. I'm in this for completely selfish reasons, he really means nothing to me."

"If he meant nothing to you, you would have been banging someone else by now," Tanya observed, her expression skeptical as everyone's eyes were trained on Helena. "It's okay to admit you have feelings for him, you know. You guys were together a while. Just because you've changed as people doesn't mean you can't fall back in love with him. He's still the JJ you knew."

The girl sighed, letting her hands cup her cheeks and drag down her face, contemplating her friends words. After a moment, she spoke quietly and would be surprised if anyone actually heard her, "I just don't know if I'm the same Helena he knew. He has made it very clear he likes that Helena more."

"You know what I think?" Maude interrupted and the attention shifted to her as they waited for her to speak, "I think both of you are scared of catching feelings again so you keep things the way they are because you both think if you admit you like each other again that it won't be reciprocated and you would rather have pieces of each other than not have each other at all. Mega-attachment issues if you ask me."

"Definitely attachment issues," Hailey tacked on with a laugh, "You are obsessed with that boy whether you wanna be or not."

"I am not!" Helena exclaimed in defense, "I wasn't even going to bring him up! We had a whole conversation that wasn't about boys before Tanya brought him up again! Is this who we are? Are we nothing more than girls who center their conversations around boys? We couldn't even pass a Bechdel test!"

All four of the others burst out laughing at this and eventually through small chuckles, Evie spoke, "Oh, Helena, only a feminist when you want to be. You only care because you know Maude and Hailey are totally right! You have no problem discussing our love lives when we have them."

"You know, I was going to pay for lunch because I've been such a bitch lately," Helena spoke, a smile breaking through her falsified harsh tone, "but I've decided I'm still on my bitch streak so have fun paying for your own lunch, assholes."

"Oh, you know we love you, Helena," Maude teased as she mockingly blew the girl a kiss. Helena shook her head disapprovingly, but she knew she loved them, too.

this is super short but here's some girl time because i missed my girls and we haven't seen them lately!! also?? this story is almost to 30k?? literally how