tw: drug use.

Bali never liked parties. She likes the music, and the drinks, and a few of the people, but the crowd of sweaty and horny teenagers was living hell to her. Sarah always likes them, Topper has usually been the one to host them in the first place. She'd been the only reason Bali came, Sarah was the only reason Bali did a lot of things.

The Cameron girl ran off with Topper not too long ago, leaving Bali to wonder through the large house. She's always loved Toppers house the most out of all the homes on Figure Eight. It seemed so new, so up to date with everyday life. Bali didn't prefer it in her own home, but it was pretty to look at in another's.

"Is that Bali? Hey, Bali!" the dreadful voice came through the living room. His voice made her think of so many times before, so many times she wasn't herself. Bali wanted to pretend she hadn't heard it, but she she was sure the people all the way on the other side of the island heard him.

"Hi, Rafe." Bali said with a tight lipped smile, avoiding getting into too much conversation but simply couldn't help herself, "Are you really partying with a bunch of teenagers?"

"Oh, come on." he flashed her a smile, "Toppers my boy."

Bali gave a hum and walked over, her eyeing setting on the lines of coke on the table. Her breath caught and she wanted to walk away but was frozen. Kelce came up from snorting a line, "Kelce, are you serious?"

"It's like... bananas." Kelce laughed as he threw the dollar on the table.

Bali looked in disbelief before making eye contact with Rafe. He gave her a grin, "Want a line? For old times sake? It's on me."

Bali looked at him and the table again hesitantly before she gave a shake of her head, turning and leaving as quick as she came.

freshman year.

"My nose feels like it was set on fire." Bali laughed as she leaned back on the couch, the faint white powder along her right nostril, "I've been doing this for months now, why does it still burn?"

"Because you're doing more then you should be." Rafe laughed, whipping her nose for her, "Try the other nostril and get you some nasal spray."

Bali leaned on his shoulder and rubbed her nose, a harsh sniffle coming from her. Bali hadn't slept in three days and was having bad mood swings with her parents. She'd spent the last forty-eight hours with Rafe, in his room, and all the coke he had on him. She felt fine when she was here and avoiding going home at all cost.

Bali had known Rafe all her life, but being three years older then her always seemed like such a big deal. When she was in sixth grade, he was a big eighth grader and she still seemed like a baby. Now that they were both in high school, it wasn't so weird for them to hang out. So when Bali showed up a little early for a sleep over with Sarah, she found Rafe instead.

They didn't have much in common and she didn't even like him that much, but the feeling of talking to someone so much older was something she did like. Rafe told Bali he didn't see her as a shadow to Sarah like everyone else, mainly because he couldn't stand Sarah and thought everyone was better then her. After that, when Bali and Rafe began hanging out more then they did before, he introduced her to her worst nightmare.

Cocaine.

One line slowly turned into three, then six, then eight, then suddenly she was awake for four days and would snap randomly at the smallest of things. Bali became addicted to the drug and slowly was sinking off the deep end. Her grades slipped, she didn't go to school for weeks at a time, Sarah had met Kie at the beach were she was suppose to meet Bali, but was stood up. She fell bad off into drugs, and it wasn't until this exact afternoon that she finally hit rock bottom.

"Bali? Hey? Bali?" Rafe asked as he realized she hadn't been moving. He leaned across the couch and shook her harshly, "Bali, wake up, hey, open your eyes. Sarah! Sarah!"

Sarah got to Rafes room in five seconds and saw her closest friend unconscious across the couch, and what appeared to be not breathing.

After the over dose, Bali took the fall for Rafe and said she'd been the only one using that night and that it was all hers. After her time in the hospital, she went to a rehab facility for a few months before coming home, made up all her missed school and caught her grades up again. Bali was thankful the Cameron's kept what happened to themselves and didn't cause any talk around the OBX, what happened would have truly destroyed Bali and her family's reputation. It was a hard part in her life, the worst she'd ever experienced.

After that, Bali avoided Rafe as much as she could. She tried not to blame him, considering he didn't force her to take drugs and get addicted. But sometimes it was hard for her not to when he's introduced them to her in the first place. It's why she got so angry each time she spoke about him. A lot changed for Bali after that. She had a lot of guilt for what she did in those few months she was so deep in cocaine.

Bali wouldn't say if our loud, but it was the main reason she never expressed her annoyance and sadness for being in Sarah shadow all the time. She felt like she deserved that, for being such a horrible friend to the Cameron girl all those months. Sarah loved Bali endlessly and never once said anything about what happened, because she didn't blame her, not like Bali did herself.

"Are the four of you insane?" Bali asked in disbelief as she walked behind the chateau and look at the Pogues, "You almost gave me a heart attack! Who was that guy?"

"A touron." Pope said as he looked toward JJ, "I told you that was a bad idea."

"Being attacked by a random guy I don't know and then him yelling at me that I needed to meet you four?" Bali asked in disbelief as she raised her eyebrows at JJ, "A horrible idea! I almost bit that guy."

Kie tossed Bali a beer and nodded for her to drink it.

John B pulled himself out of the hammock with a point her way, "So, we've been thinking about something."

"By the way, he's just been thinking, i've been on board the whole time." JJ cut in with a knowing look Bali's way, reserving a disbelief one from Pope.

"So you've got a lot going on up here." John B said as he pointed to his own head, "And Pope can't really hold all the brain cells for us."

"I don't know, he handles it pretty well." Bali said honestly as she looked his way before back at John B, "Is there a endgame to this story or.."

"And you're good at coordinates, which we really need." John B went on with a raise of his eyebrows, "And you're the only distraction we've really got."

Bali tried not to smile as she looked toward JJ. He gave her a nod, confirming her thoughts, "I'm gonna make you say it."

"You're gonna make me say it?" John B asked her in disbelief.

"You've gotta say it, John B." Kie said to him.

John B sighed as he looked at her, "This doesn't mean anything."

"Right." she confirmed.

"We just need a distraction so no one knows what we're doing." he went on, staring at Bali's beaming face, "You wanna..."

"Yeah, I wanna." Bali said back with a shrug of her shoulders and a half grin.

"Told you she'd say yes." JJ cheered as he got out of the hammock, "Bali-ali. welcome."

"So does this mean I can finally know exactly what's going on or.." Bali trailed off as she looked around.

"Your cut of the money is coming from JJ." Pope informed her with a nod of his head, "It was his idea to bring you in."

Bali gave JJ a soft look, getting a grin in return.

"So, you remember my dad?" John B asked her as Kie waved Bali over to sit next to her on the swing, "So this is what we know so far-"

•

kylie speaks

aw, welcome to
pogue life, bal!

also a look into
bali's past, which
i was extremely
exciting to write
about and get into
her character more
based on who she is
and all her demons
she's fighting off.

kylie stop editing
bali on her insta as
if she didn't just start
the book yesterday.