2

SARAH groaned as she made her way into the room, slamming the door and throwing herself onto the bed where Stella was sitting.

"Somebody's mad," Stella giggled, swiping another coat of white nail polish over her nails. Sarah rolled her eyes and flipped her body to face Stella.

"I promised John B I'd meet him by twelve, but the boys won't leave the house!" she hissed, pulling her phone from her pocket to check the multiple messages left from John B. "They have to fuck up everything!"

Stella tilted her head at her. "So why don't we just say we're going to my house?" she suggested, carefully walking toward her bathroom to put away the nail polish, determined not to ruin her freshly painted toes.

Sarah raised an eyebrow at Stella, turning over to face her. "Right, to 'pick up' some of your things for the sleepover," She emphasized, with a teethe smile

Stella gave a mischievous nod and skipped back over to the blonde. "Who has the keys?"

"Rafe, but you get them. I just spent like ten minutes trying to convince them to leave," Sarah replied, causing Stella to throw her head back in annoyance.

It wasn't that Stella disliked Rafe; it was more the teasing that made her avoid him. Plus, she couldn't remember the last time they'd had an actual conversation.

She knocked on his door, greeted by the stench of weed outside. "What, Sarah?" he yelled, still not opening the door.

Stella bit her lip and slowly opened the door. Three guys sat on the floor, playing poker with a bong beside them. "It's me," she said, pursing her lips as she inspected the oddly tidy room.

"What do you need?" Rafe asked, not taking his eyes off the cards in his hand.

Stella crossed her arms, feeling uncomfortable. "The car keys. We need to grab something from my house," she replied.

Rafe nodded and reached for his bedside table. But Stella caught Toppers' attention. "What do you guys need?" he asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows at his question. "Girl stuff...?" she muttered, her tone dripping with attitude and confusion.

"Like what?" he asked, looking intently into Stella's eyes.

"Tampons," Stella quickly replied, snatching the keys from Rafe and leaving the room. Why was he asking so many questions?

She went back over to Sarah's room, shutting the door immediately. "Your boyfriend is so weird" She giggled, leaning against the door and swinging the keys on one finger.

"Trust me, I know" Sarah giggled, hopping off her bed and grabbing the keys from Stella.

•••

As Stella and Sarah made their way to the chateau, paranoia set in. The drive to the Kut at night was always a bit sketchy, especially in the fancy cars that they drove.

Two girls driving a Mercedes in bad part of town, at night? It sounded like a bad horror movie.

Stella bit her lip anxiously, following the navigation now into an abandoned street. "Are you sure this is shit is accurate?" She asked, constantly glaring between the dark road and the dashboard.

Sarah double checked her phone to see her google maps, "I guess" She shrugged, holding up her phone for Stella to see.

Stella squinted at the bright phone, and back over to the navigation. "Where the hell does this guy live, Sarah" Her tone becoming more irritated within the second.

The Cameron girl rolled her eyes at Stella's lack of patience, "First of all, he's not just a guy, and second chill out, he's just around this corner" Sarah pointed,

Finally as they made a turn, they arrived at the house. Stella had to admit, the place was cozy. The fairy lights and big hot tub outside, made it really look like the place was loved.

Sarah sighed in relief as she saw John B and JJ sitting outside on the patio.

Stella had never seen the place, frankly she's barely ever had a conversation with the Pogues. She didn't care for the Kook and Pogue rivalry, but she always thought they'd never click.

"Hey boys!" Sarah exclaimed as the two girls made their way towards them. "Sorry we're late, Rafe was being an ass"

"Like more than usual, or?" John B joked, greeting Sarah with a kiss on the cheek.

Sarah rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and grabbed Stella's arm, pushing her towards them. "She is the reason we're here."

Stella gave a small smile, waving at them.

JJ raised an eyebrow at her, "You're Christopher's sister right?" He asked as he took a sip of his beer,

The Pogues knew who Stella was. Everybody on the Kut did. Not because of her, but because of her brother.

Although Stella's brother was a Kook, he was known for the parties he threw. It didn't matter whether somebody was from Figure Eight or the Kut; he could be friends with anybody.

She pursed her lips, nodding her head. "Right" She replied, sitting down on the table in front of the sofa they were sitting on.

"She's really nice I swear, just give her like an hour and a drink or two" Sarah joked, sitting beside John B with her legs on his lap.

"Let's go get you a drink then" JJ smiled, getting up and bowing down, leaving a hand out for her to take making Stella giggle.

"Thank you, kind sir" She took his hand, being led towards the kitchen.

JJ opened the fridge grabbing a beer, "This is pretty much all we got" He said as he popped the cap off with his teeth, handing it over towards the blonde.

"That's fine" She generously smiled, grabbing it and taking a big gulp. Stella looked around for a bit, taking it all in.

The couch was laid out as if it was a bed, and the counter was full on empty beer boxes and chip bags. It looked like a Frat house. JJ pursed his lips as he caught the girl examining the small house, "It's not the nicest, but it's home for the Pogues"

This caught Stella's attention. She wasn't judging the home at all, in fact she was admiring it more than anything. Anybody with the right mind could tell the place was filled with memories, and built with friendship.

"I actually like it, it's cozy" She smiled, making JJ's awkward expression fill with relief.

JJ swung his arm around her in a more friendly manner, leading her outside to the porch where John B and Sarah looked happier as ever.

"Hey love birds" JJ teased, sitting on the hammock beside them.

John B and Sarah rolled their eyes at this,