NINETEEN

DISCLAIMER: Wow there's been a lot of these lately. Anyway,  my motivation has been in the gutter as of late (school with all higher level classes, tests and quizzes, studying, life being a bitch, etc.). Just bare with me plz 🙏.

ALSO TW: Mentions of homophobia and abuse

♥Lucille♥

All five of us are in Deven's kitchen. Deven managed to invite what Kiara referred to as the art history hottie? I don't know, it's just a guy Deven apparently has a crush on. His name is Lucas and he seems pretty sweet. Timid, but definitely nice.

Dakota is here too, of course, as well as Kiara and I.

We're all making pizza. Deven is a little nervous it's gonna explode their oven, but they're letting it happen. Kiara and I were going to split one, Lucas and Deven were too, but then both Lucas and Kiara wanted to make a typical Hawaiian pizza, so they're making a whole one together instead.

I'm not big on putting fruit—or any topping—on pizza, so I end up making mine just a cheese with Dakota, who just wants a small amount of pepperoni on her half.

Deven makes their own, smaller one, adding a motherload of various toppings, from pineapple to olives to simple pepperoni.

"How long should I set the timer for?" Dakota asks me. Our pizza is the first one in the oven.

"I am not the person to be asking." I explain. I think back to the time my dad attempted to teach me how to cook. We'd also been making pizza oddly enough. It did not go well. My dad burned his hand trying to put out the fire I'd managed to cause. Me and my mother are far too similar, he had said.

"I'd say around 15 minutes for now. It'll likely need a bit more though." Kiara fills in.

"And keep an eye on it. This oven gets too hot sometimes. My landlord is supposed to get me a new one, but I'm still waiting on that." Deven explains.

Dakota sets a 15 minute timer and we sit down at the kitchen island to wait.

"So, you two," Deven says, directed at me and Kiara, who is leaning back against the counter beside me. "How was your date?" They ask in a teasing voice.

"It was the best date I've been on—" I say.

"Sounds like a recency bias but alright."

"Oh, no, it's definitely biased but that doesn't mean it wasn't amazing." I don't bother admitting it's the first real date I've been on.

"You're all cringe." Dakota rolls her eyes.

"You're mad you're single." I argue.

"I'm single by choice. I've been asked out plenty of times, but I'm not interested in the whole dating thing." She gestures vaguely with her hand. "So I assure you, it is anything but jealousy."

"Are you aromantic?" Lucas asks, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes.

"Something like that, I think." She admits. I was not aware of this.

Lucas nods, going back to being quiet. Deven is clearly into the softer type, which surprises me considering how energetic they can be. I guess that's a lot of what Kiara and I are though...

♥♥♥

After we eat, Deven and Lucas are still in the kitchen—I think they're flirting—and the rest of us are in the living room. Kiara is setting up the movie while I lay out our massive array of snacks and candy on the coffee table. Dakota's just on her phone, talking to some friends I assume. We did say she could invite anyone she wanted, but she denied, despite simultaneously complaining about being a fifth wheel.

Eventually, Deven and Lucas enter the living room, sitting side by side on the far right end of the couch. Kiara is on Deven's left, and I'm on her left. Dakota is to my left as well. It's a little cold in here, so Deven has provided everyone with blankets. I share the largest one with Kiara.

We start Coraline. I know what is going to happen in every moment of it. I know the lines and the backgrounds and the characters and the intricate little details. I'm still shocked this will be Kiara's first time seeing it.

I sneak a glance over at Kiara, only to catch her staring at me. "Watch the damn movie." I demand of her. She rolls her eyes, smirking, as she turns her head back to the screen.

♥♥♥

"I suppose it wasn't bad." Kiara admits, clearly playing off how much she actually enjoyed the movie. It's almost 9 PM now, yet I can already tell she's getting tired.

"It's iconic. It's a little more than not bad." I roll my eyes.

"I, uh, I actually haven't seen it before either." Lucas admits sheepishly. At least he isn't handing out bullshit opinions like somebody.

"Me either." Deven confesses with much more confidence. Wow. Such an uncultured crowd.

"Dakota, please tell me you've seen it before tonight..."

Dakota laughs at my words. "Yes, I have." She assures me.

"Thank god. The rest of you, I'm glad I have changed your lives."

"It wasn't that good, babes, but alright." Deven waves me off, thoroughly insulting just about every fragment of my being.

Before I can reply they get up and exit the living room. Wow. Just wow.

"I loved it..." Lucas shrugs. He's only spoken like 3 times, but I like this kid.

Deven returns with a handful of games, like Apples to Apples, and Uno, and Cards Against Humanity.

"UNO!  LET'S PLAY UNO!" Dakota shouts suddenly.

"I second this movement." I agree.

So we play Uno, sitting on the ground around the coffee table. Lucas is able to show off his shuffling skills as none of the rest of us are actually capable of shuffling cards the fancy way. We each get seven cards, but all of mine suck. Not a single wild or any other special card. Bleh.

We go around the circle and Kiara wins so fast.

So we do another round and she wins again.

"You're cheating."

"How am I cheating..?" She laughs softly at my accusations.

"You keep winning."

"I've won twice."

"Yeah. Which is two times too many. Also, I should deal next round—"

"Why? So you can cheat?" She teases.

"No, because I'm beginning to think Lucas hates me with all these shit cards." I grab the deck, shuffling them badly and then dealing them out.

Kiara laughs again. "You are the sorest loser..."

We play another round, and Deven wins this time. Still hurts my pride, but at least it isn't Kiara again.

We play some rounds of the other two games, dying of laughter whenever the cards are so stupid.

In Apples to Apples, Dakota matches politics with sexy, and explains herself by calling George Washington hot. Lucas wins that round, though, by matching Chris Hemsworth with sexy. Deven was the judge so it was definitely biased.

Everyone is cracking up, even on some of the more unfunny cards. It seems that the later it gets, the more energetic and loud everyone is. Deven is weirdly quiet though. Not exactly quiet, but quieter. Kiara doesn't seem to notice and it doesn't entirely feel like my place to ask.

I win a single round—apparently I'm too literal—while everyone else wins much more than that. Deven only has three wins. Again, they're being weirdly quiet.

We decide to play a short game of Cards Against Humanity, and then begin to binge The Office. Halfway through the very first episode, Deven's phone begins ringing. I see them check the caller ID, but immediately decline.

"Who was that?" Kiara asks, seeing their reaction too.

They sigh. "It seems that our mothers must have a thing for reaching out unexpectedly."

"What do you mean?" Kiara's brows are furrowed. The rest of us listen too.

"My mom. She reached out to me this morning... It's been jarring. I haven't spoken to her since... Well, you know."

I'm not sure as to what exactly they're talking about, but it doesn't seem pleasant.

"Well," Kiara starts. "Like you said about my mother, you don't owe her shit. And I doubt she's gonna drive up here and suddenly show up at your apartment. But yeah, that sucks."

"Wait—I'm lost." Dakota says.

"My parents kicked me out for liking dudes when I was fifteen." They explain. Jesus.

"What?" Lucas' face reads concern. Seems he wasn't aware of this either.

"I was able to move in with my aunt and her husband, and they're great! But..." They trail off.

"Fuck, that's awful." Dakota says. I don't really know what I should say, I'm not great at providing comfort. Why do some parents have to suck so much? There's Kiara's mom, Deven's parents, and I learned recently that Brie's dad was an abusive alcoholic. I know Dakota has a single father but that's just because her mom died, and he isn't bad. I don't know about Lucas' parents.

This all just makes me sad. I can't relate to or understand any of what they're feeling.

"I'm okay, it's just really, really, really, really weird." Deven brushes it off. Clearly they don't want to talk about it all right now.

I catch Kiara shooting them a look, which they return with a weak smile. No idea what these looks actually mean but they seem to know. Our attention is brought back to the show and we all munch on the obsessive amount of snacks and treats.

A couple episodes go by and then I feel Kiara's head on my shoulder suddenly. I look over, and see that she seems to have fallen asleep. It's past midnight, and she's usually in bed before 10 PM. We also had a pretty late night yesterday, so I'm not surprised.

I hear Deven laugh, "One of Kiara's only problems is her inability to stay up past midnight."

I snort. It's embarrassing, but no one acknowledges.

"We gotta wake her up at 3 AM though. I'm gonna break out the ouija board." Deven says.

"Oh hell no, I don't mess with that ghost shit." Dakota exclaims.

"Maybe you can talk to your mom..." I suggest, joking.

"That's fucked up Lucille. And no thanks, I never even met the woman."

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Lucas asks Deven. I notice that both of their knees are touching each other. It's not the most romantic thing, but considering they aren't actually dating... I ship it so hard.

"Not fully, but I think it's interesting."

"Hm. I've never really thought about it, personally." Lucas admits.

We lapse back into watching The Office. Lucas ends up falling asleep too after an hour.

I'm getting tired too. It's nearing 2 AM. I can tell that even Deven is getting sleepy. Dakota seems just as awake though. I don't actually mind whether we actually engage in the Ouija board stuff, I'm not too strong of a believer in ghosts.

I feel my eyelids getting heavy and...