✸  ANYONE ELSE
chapter thirty ━━ taylor's apple bong

          THE EIGHT TEENAGERS met up in the movie room, where Jeremiah and Belly had started a movie. Julie recognised it immediately and smiled sadly at the memory of watching it with her mother as she sunk into one of the couches.

Steven hesitated for a moment before sitting himself next to her. He scooted to the far end as to give her space, but the couch wasn't very big, so they were forced to sit close either way.

The others small talked while the movie played, but Julie sat in complete silence, watching the movie with concentration. She didn't look away at all before Taylor and Belly started discussing Taylor's apple bong.

Their discussion let to Cam and Jeremiah interfering as well, and they soon decided to move outside instead as the not ruin the upholstery.

Outside, the boys ended up crammed in a golf cart while the girls walked behind them, laughing at their antics.

"This is so annoying," Taylor sighed. "Weed is not supposed to be so difficult."

"Maybe you should just give up then," Julie suggested.

"What? No! I wanna taste this shit," Taylor exclaimed.

"Can I give it a shot?" Skye stepped a bit forward as they asked.

"Yeah, sure," Taylor spoke, "have at it."

After that, the four walked in silence for a bit as they stared after the boys. Julie cracked a smile as she watched Steven and Jeremiah play-fight, but her smile turned into a small frown when the golf cart suddenly stopped.

Jeremiah laughed loudly as he got out. "Okay, this thing is officially dead," He announced. "Why don't we crash up there for the night?" He asked.

The others nodded along to his proposal.

"That would be perfect timing," Skye said as she suddenly stepped forward, holding out the apple like a trophy. "Because I have discovered the secret of the apple bong."

The other cheered and soon started making their own little camp on the big lawn.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

"TRUTH OR DARE?" Belly asked Steven.

They were now all sitting around on a big blanket, the dark having enveloped them long ago. Julie could feel the warmth radiating off of both Conrad to her right and Steven to her left, and she bashed in the comforting feeling it gave her.

"Dare." Steven answered confidently.

"Okay..." Belly trailed off as she tried to come up with a good dare. "I dare you to eat the apple bong."

They all let out a grunt of discomfort at the idea, but Steven just stood up.

"I'm not scared," He said. "I've done worse."

"Yeah, we know," Jeremiah grimaced.

Steven only glared at him before taking the apple from Skye's hand.

He took a big bite of the side, and they all looked expectingly at him.

"What does it taste like?" Taylor questioned.

"It tastes so..." he gagged. "It tastes gross,"

They all laughed as he hurried of the blanket to spit it out again, and Cam then decided to ask the next.

"Conrad, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Conrad answered.

"Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?"

Jeremiah snickered at the question, but Conrad thought about thoroughly before answering.

"Here, honestly." He smiled. "Here at Cousins,"

Julie smiled at his answer. That was exactly how she felt as well.

After a few more rounds, they decided to go to sleep.

Julie and Skye were laying next to each other, the latter already asleep, when Steven decided to approach them.

"Hey," he whispered. "I'm sorry if the whole dancing thing was weird..."

"It's fine," Julie's voice came out a whisper too. "I liked it."

"Great," Steven face broke into a huge grin at her words. "Can I, maybe if you're okay with it, lay here?" He asked, pointing to the empty spot next to her.

She nodded in answer. "I mean, if you want to."

His smile only grew. "I really want to."

The dark hid the huge smile they were both adoring, as Steven placed a blanket on the ground next to Julie and lied down, their arms only inches apart.
Julie could hear him breathing, and she felt her heartbeat increase at the sound. It was so easy to ignore him when they were hundreds of miles apart, but when he was laying only ten centimetres from each other in the cold night air, all she wanted was to turn around and hug him.

She couldn't, though. She had gone so long without help from anyone, so she couldn't accept it now. She didn't need anyone. She was more than fine on her own.

✸ author's note ✸
this sucks but nothing can drag me down because i saw louis live last night and my life is officially complete.