𝐒 𝐄 𝐕 𝐄 𝐍
many moons ago

If you are to know one thing, it's that Meredith Waters is a spoiled bitch. She knew it, everyone knew it, and it was no secret. She, unlike anyone on the island, was hell in the form of a teenage girl. Every word spewed from her venom lined mouth held a cold meaning. Meredith knew how to be straightforward and merciless; she could hold grudges like no other all because her inability to forgive and forget.

She could cut deep into someone's skin and twist blade-sharp words without drawing blood. But, sometimes, it almost felt that way. She knew - hell, everyone knew - it was no front. Meredith Waters was as vicious as it could get.

Yet, as shocking as it may come, Meredith Waters wasn't always that way. Truth be told, she had a heart, many moons ago. She didn't always weird sharp blade in the form of hateful words or use her dark eyes as lasers.

At a young age, she had a heart. She even made her own friends without wrapping them around her finger like an item of jewelry - she was good-natured, even. She never used to care much about money or how expensive her clothing items were, until her parents hardwired it into her brain ( at the ripe age of ten ).

But, now, her walls were built around her and nobody was aloud to enter. She, no longer the little girl who let people play with her barbies or trade lunches, was now the teenager who would stab you with insults if you even thought about coming close.

"This is bullshit!" Meredith shouted over the booming music, practically vibrating every organ in her being. A red solo cup was under her tight grip. "There is no way Topper has this many friends!"

Meredith, holding onto Caleb's hand as he pulled her through the erotic crowd, couldn't help but voice her opinion. When didn't she?

When Caleb had called her over the phone to invite her to a party he wasn't even hosting, she obviously had to change into a suitable outfit. She had put on a lavender colored dress that had buttons running on the entire front of the dress, suiting it with a few golden items of jewelry littering her hands and neck. It hugged her curves nicely, and she had decided to wear simple white chuck Taylor's, knowing she would be far too uncomfortable in heels all night.

Her umber colored locks were swaying behind her back, half of it clipped up, and the other half down.

Caleb chuckled at her remark, but he had to admit she was correct. "People only come to this shit for booze, sex, and drugs." He shouted over the music, which was much too loud for the amount of noise already shaking the three story house.

He had led her to the kitchen where trashed solo cups littered the floor and counters, and full bottles of alcohol sat on the island. Leaning against the marble counters was Harper, cup pressed against her lips.

To the side of her was Dakota, who was on the other hand, enjoying a travel sized pack of chips, no doubt of which she stole from Topper's kitchen pantry.

"Hey, guys!" Caleb shouted over the music, dropping Meredith's hand and advancing towards the two girls while the ebony-eyed girl was reaching to refill her almost empty cup.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd come!" Harper cheered, raising her arms and running towards Meredith, sporting a grin. "Hi, Meredith!"

"Hi, Harper," She smiled, wrapping one arm around Harper's figure, the other holding her cup up as the Vereau girl hugged her.

"What changed your mind?" The blonde questioned, hopping onto the counter and sitting on top of the marble.

"Eh, didn't feel like staying home." She shrugged, closing the cap on the alcohol and bringing her cup back towards her.

"Well, you're in luck, because there is some cute guys here," Harper wiggled her brows mischievously. "Maybe you can find one?"

Confused by the sudden offer, she turned to the girl, pinning her with a perplexed stare. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You never have fun, like, go out and have fun with someone." Harper shrugged, aiming towards the rowdy group who were all chanting and engulfed in a game of foose ball. "Just hook up with someone!"

Meredith scoffed at the suggestion, rolling her eyes so hard they might've started to actually hurt. From behind Harper, she could hear Caleb and Dakota laughing mockingly, but she didn't find it funny in the slightest.

"Please, like anyone wants Mer-" Whatever Caleb was jabbing at was quickly cut off when Meredith tossed an empty solo cup into the air, letting the plastic come in contact with his torso.

He chuckled humorously, swatting the cup out of the way and ducking his head down, reveling in her anger.

"I'm not hooking up with anyone, Harper." She scoffed. "It's rich coming from you."

"Excuse me?" The blonde scoffed, staring at her incredulously, in hopes that it was a simple jab, but Meredith's cold-hearted features stayed set in stone.

"You heard me." She spoke, grabbing her cup and walking to other side of the island. Caleb, who sensed uncivilized conflict coming, stood up from his lean against the fridge and grabbed Meredith's shoulder, walking her away from the kitchen and towards the crowd.

"Why'd you say that?" Caleb chuckled. He found it humorous, but wanted to know her point nonetheless. Truthfully, Meredith knew exactly what she said it. She wanted to get under the girl's skin, hit her where it hurt, but, instead of saying that, she simply shrugged.

"Mm." She hummed, shoulders coming to a rest.

"Jesus, Mer." The tall boy laughed, planting his large hand on her shoulder and shaking her slightly. "You're rutheless."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad." She laughed with him, shoving her brown locks over her shoulder. "Unless you want me to go back?"

Unable to tell whether or not her words were laced with seriousness or witticism, he shook his head, turning her towards the stairs. "No, no, let's not do that."

With one last glance towards her two friends, Meredith walked off with Caleb, who followed after her. He knew her tendencies to drink, usually a little too much, so he felt the need to look out for her, no matter how badly she asked him not to.

But, Caleb DeGraw was loyal. Anyone who had one working eye could see that.

"Hey, let's go look for Topper." Caleb suggested, and he tried pushing past the sour expression that appeared on Meredith's makeup baked face. "It'll be quick, I just wanna see what he's up to."

"Fine, sure." Meredtih shrugged, taking a swig from her cup and following after the tall boy, knowing she had nowhere else to be.

He had led her to the second floor of the house with large windows and dancing teenagers, but that's not what caught her eye. What caught her eye was the group of adolescence that were huddled around a table, seats and discarded couch cushions sprawled across the floor.

But, what made her sour expression return was Rafe Cameron leaning against the table, girl's smothering him as he sniffed a line of fucking cocaine.

Her brows pinched together as he took a deep breath in, trying to swipe away the remaining powder coating below his nostrils. She knew of his use and she figured he would spend most of the night doing so, but no matter how many times it was revealed to her, it still made her uneasy.

"Caleb!" Topper called out from beside Rafe, his smile wide and eyes slightly glossed over. And it dawned on her that Rafe had influenced it on the blonde. "My man! Glad you could make it!"

"Yeah!" He chuckled, patting the blonde on the back. "I even brought someone along!"

Pulling her next to him, Meredith made an appearance beside Caleb, her purple outfit and long locks coming into view. Topper looked at her, a simple smile plastered on his face at the sight of her arrival.

"What's up, Mer?" He chuckled, giving her a sloppy side hug before pulling back away. As much as she was used to it, the sight of Topper so... disordered... almost caught her off guard. "How's it going?"

"Good," She smiled, taking a sip from her cup. "Doin' good."

"Good." Topper nodded, eyes loosing sight of her and back to where Rafe was. From their spot, they could see him throwing his arms up in the crowded air and laughing loudly. Dropping his arms, he pulled two girls in, their smiles wide and full cups of vodka in hand.

"Hey, man, do you wanna join us?" Topper catechized Caleb, aiming his arm towards the group of burnouts, but the DeGraw boy quickly shook his head in consideration to Meredith; he also would never be caught doing drugs in his simple free time.

"No, no, I think I'm gonna go catch up with everyone else and hang out with Meredith," he informed. "But, I'll come find you later, man."

Without another word, Topper vanished into the crows of teens, his loud voice shouting out to Rafe and the other money/drug-hungry teens.

When Caleb looked down at the sable-haired girl, he noticed the way her brows caved in slightly and she had a incessant need to down the liquid in her cup. "Hey, you good?"

Glancing up to meet his gaze without letting her lips leave the cup, she nodded, curls bouncing slightly.

Just as she was about to swallow more liquid, the cup grew lighter in her hand and nothing met her tongue. Quickly, she pulled a pout on her lips, causing Caleb to chuckle humorously.

"Okay, give me that." Forcing her to empty-handness, he snatched the cup from her hands with a smile. "Let's go find Harper and Dakota."

Usually, Meredith would only hang around the two girls if it didn't benefit her, but seeming as she had nothing better to do, she sauntered to find them beside Caleb, the two occasionly would point and whisper harmless jabs about people they found doing ridiculously obnoxious things.

Just when Meredith was about to follow Caleb down the stairs with flooding teens, her eyes caught sight of a certain blonde girl. What made her stop in her tracks, however, was the way her brows creased and her hands found themselves wiping aggressively at her own cheeks, almost as if there were tears to dry.

Unbeknownst to herself, Meredith's chocolate colored eyes softened at the sight, and her hand fell from Caleb's. "What's wrong?" He questioned, noticing the way her eyes locked with something down the hall.

"Look," She pointed to Sarah Cameron, who was fighting to keep the spaghetti straps of her floral dress up on her shoulders. "Hey, uh, why don't you go and find Harper and Dakota? I'll be right behind you."

But, the truth was, she wouldn't be right behind him, and she sure as hell wasn't going to leave Sarah Cameron alone and vulnerable in a house filled with teenagers by herself. Yes, she absolutely despised the girl for their tragic past, but if Meredith Waters followed any rules, it was girl code.

So, with one thing on her mind, she left Caleb DeGraw in the sea of teenagers by himself, and followed the sight of a certain blonde girl down the hallway.

She knew he would be pissed for disappearing without so much as a goodbye, but he would just have to deal with it. Besides, it was practically clockwork by now.

authors note!
im over here imagining caleb as noah centineo, harper as leighton meester and dakota as, like, lily james or smt but brunette? catching my drift??