─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

theo monitored as his sister moved over to an isolated area of the room with her renewed cup of vodka lemonade. he gave her a friendly wave, which she returned with a curt nod. the boy then stepped over to the kitchen aisle to grab a cup of water, he wasn't feeling too well and was hoping it would help him feel better.

"you okay?" theo questioned. sam looked up at him with surprise, "yep."

"okay." theo nodded. he reached over to seize the unopened bottle of water and as he did, his arm gently brushed against sam's. he quickly pulled it back with embarrassment.

"you gonna tell me to slow down on the drinking too?" sam joked, feeling his eyes still on her.

theo shook his head. "if there's anyone i should be telling to slow down it would be my wonderful sister."

"wonderful." sam scoffed, bringing the red solo cup to her lips. "i genuinely cannot believe you two are related. or that she's the same girl i was friends with."

"people change." theo shrugged. "she's been through a lot."

"yeah, everyone has a sob story." sam pointed out. "doesn't excuse the way she is."

"you know that's my twin sister you're talking about." theo questioned. "just because you're drunk doesn't mean you can talk bad about her." sam was surprised at his tone. he had been training at miyagi-do for almost a week and yet she had never seen this tone with him.

"right. sorry." she mumbled.

"i think i'm gonna head out soon." theo spoke. "take care of yourself, okay?"

"yeah." sam nodded, watching him walk away from her and over to the back door. the boy stood in the space beside demetri and sighed. "everyone is absolutely wasted and yet i'm the one who feels like ass."

"you and me both, brother." demetri sighed, "i've been shitting my pants since i got here. i'm one hundred per cent sure he's gonna kill me if i look at him the wrong way."

theo chuckled, thinking he was being dramatic. "i think you'll be okay. he seemed pretty chill when i spoke to him."

"pretty chill?" demetri scoffed. "have you been at this party with your eyes closed? his ex-girlfriend has a new girlfriend and they are currently making out in front of him!"

theo glanced behind him to see exactly what demetri had described. "huh. didn't even notice."

"you must be really ill if you hadn't seen." demetri shook his head.

"yeah." theo nodded, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "i think i'm gonna go home. you want some advice?"

"please."

"get to hawk before he gets to you." theo explained. "like talk to him, try to rekindle your friendship."

"will do, thanks teddy." demetri patted his back. "get well soon."

"thanks man." theo smiled, walking away. "tell moon i said thanks for the invitation once she's... done."

"where are you going?" tabitha questioned, looking up at her brother from the ground.

"how did you-" theo started.

"you've got your keys in your hands and you're sweating like a pig."

"gee, thanks." theo rolled his eyes. "i don't feel too good so i'm going home. i'll send you some money for an uber, okay? and don't forget you have a job interview tomorrow after school."

"yes, dad." tabitha groaned. theo smiled, tapping her head before gently removing the cup of alcohol from her hold. "hey!"

"you'll thank me in the morning." he told her.

"asshole."

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

"you need to stop." a familiar voice spoke. tabitha smirked, standing to her feet to face him. "stop what? drinking?" she asked innocently.

"stop terrorising sam." robby clarified.

"where's the fun in that?" tabitha questioned.

"what do you gain from being like this?" robby sighed. "i mean, it's like you're a completely different person."

"i was a different person when you met me." tabby shrugged. "i wanted to score drugs, not make friends."

robby's face fell. "so you used me?"

"uh, no. i paid you." tabitha reminded him. "and i thought you were cute."

"what changed?"

"are you flirting with me?" tabby chuckled, playfully hitting his shoulder. "stop that, we're both in relationships."

"i am not flirting with you." robby shook his head. "i just want to know why. i want to understand what i did— what sam did to you."

"she hasn't done anything to me." tabitha shrugged, telling a half-lie. "she's just an easy target."

"you're a terrible person, you know that?"

tabitha nodded. "trust me, you are not the first person to tell me that. and you definitely won't be the last. now if you don't mind, i'm going to find my boyfriend." she pushed past him, leaving him standing alone in the corner.

tabitah pulled her phone out of her pocket and called miguel. when he didn't pick up she frowned, deciding to send him a couple of text messages as she walked up the stairs.

-

brooks :)
heabing upstairs
met me here?

brooks :)
helloooo?
wyere r u?
haveut seen u

-

tabby entered what she assumed to be moon's bedroom as she sent miguel the text messages. she perched on the bed, waiting for his response. when about ten minutes passed, she sighed and got to her feet. leaving the room, she bumped into tory, who was heading to the bathroom. "hey, have you seen miguel?" she asked.

tory shook her head. "no, not for a while. why? what's up?"

"nothing." tabby mumbled. "we were supposed to meet up here but i think i left it too late. i'll try and find him." she said, making her way downstairs. the effects of all the alcohol she consumed were definitely hitting her. her vision was growing blurry and her balance was steadily declining.

"and he bawled like a baby when dobby died." she heard demetri speak into the microphone. rolling her eyes, tabitha manoeuvred through the crowd, pushing past people to try and locate her boyfriend. she checked every room downstairs before realising it was getting too stuffy and she needed fresh air.

when she reached for the door handle leading to the backyard, tabitha saw something that left her heart dropping to her stomach. samantha larusso and her boyfriend. kissing. her jaw slacked at the sight and tears welled up in her eyes. she quickly turned around, making her way to the kitchen island.

outside, miguel immediately pulled away once he registered what was happening. "no, sam... we shouldn't have. i'm with tabby and i-i really like her." he began to ramble, panic evident in his tone.

"i... i'm sorry. i-i have to go." sam shook her head and rushed away, leaving the guilt to overtake miguel."

back in the party, everyone was scurrying away. tabitha ignored the flashing red and blue lights, clearly in her own world, sitting behind the kitchen counter. tory rushed over, placing a hand on tabitha's shoulder.

"tabby, i've got to tell you something." tory explained, yanking the now-empty bottle of vodka from her hands. "but the police are here, we need to go."

"miguel... k—kissed sam." tabitha cried, her voice cracking with emotion. tory's heart dropped, she had seen it too. no one had in the valley seen tabitha cry and the fact that samantha larusso was able to make her so upset brought a feeling of fury into the blonde girl.

"i know." tory explained. "come on." she tried to help the girl to her feet. "come on, we have to go."

"you know?" tabby hiccuped as tory put her arm around the girl's waist. the pair rushed out of the house, swiftly walking away from moon's residence.

"yeah, i saw." she explained, reaching into her pocket. "we need to call teddy. what's your password?"

"our birthday." tabby spoke. "but he's sick... he can't come."

tory didn't have to think about what the code was, she immediately typed it in and called tabitha's twin brother. during the phone call, theo could hear tabby sobbing from beside tory and explained he would be there as soon as he could.

"i thought he actually liked me." tabby said as the two were now sat on the edge of the pavement. it was an empty street and pretty dark, so they knew no cars would be coming. "i'm so stupid. i should've known he'd always like sam."

"tabby."

"i mean, we weren't even together." tabby rambled. "it was all fake. it was all for sam. i don't know how i didn't see it before. samantha larusso wins again. i mean, she's—she's perfect. i can't compete."

"sam is an awful person." tory told her. "who cares if you and miguel were fake, she thought you two were together and she still kissed him. and don't even get me started about miguel." tory scoffed.

"miguel." tabby repeated softly, tears streaming down her face.

"tabby." tory rested her hand on her knee. "you remember what sensei kreese taught us? you take this pain and sadness and—"

"and turn it into anger." tabby remembered, sniffling. "do something practical with it." she glanced up at tory, the moonlight shining on her skin. the two sat in a peaceful silence for a while but then suddenly, tabby leaned in closer to her. tory shut her eyes, everything in her wanted to kiss the girl. but she couldn't.

tory gently pushed tabitha's body away. "tabby." she said softly. "you and miguel— if you do this, you're no better than them."

"but—"

"and you're drunk, you downed a bottle of vodka. and you're probably high too." tory persisted. "you're upset and you're not thinking straight." she stood to her feet and brushed her jeans, seeing the bright lights illuminating from the car approaching them.

"i'm so sorry." tabby shook her head with humiliation. "i shouldn't have—"

"don't mention it." tory shook her head, watching as theo exited his car and rushed over to his sister's side.

"are you okay? what—what happened?" he asked her. tabitha's lips began to quiver and she broke out into a sob. theo glanced back at tory in bafflement. tory shook her head and the boy turned around, pulling his younger sister into a tight hug.

⎯ ❃ jania speaks!
poor tabby... and poor tory tbh. seeing your crush cry over another boy and then try to kiss you? yeah that would kill me idk