Private Finished All lit up and I start to smile

Evie should have been excited.

It was December, Christmas was finally coming around, snow was falling, and the campus was abuzz with activity as the students and staff all started to make plans. Meanwhile, others simply just soaked in the atmosphere, played in the snow. Everyone was looking forward to it, everyone was feeling happy.

All it did was leave her feeling bitter.

Back in the circus, she always looked forward to Christmas. She and the rest of her makeshift family spent the holiday together. They would set up a tent, whipped up a giant meal, laugh, dance, have fun celebrating long into the night. She loved that time, looked forward to it every year. But now she'd never get to celebrate like that again, didn't want to either, not with those sellouts.

She needed to do something to take the edge off, make her forget about all that shit.

Once again her mind drifted back to that night a couple weeks ago where she'd met that weird moth guy, bought from him some less than legal produce. The baggies had been sitting in her room all this time, buried under her clothes so her roommate wouldn't find them. But her roommate was going to be out for the rest of the afternoon, possibly into the evening, so she had her dorm room all to herself. All this time she'd been too afraid to try them out, but with such perfect timing, she was so pissed she was almost ready to do it.

Almost.

Evie was still a little apprehensive about trying these new drugs. She'd whet her teeth on weed a little more, visited a bar for it and everything, but this stuff was meant to be much stronger. Maybe she'd be better off having someone with her. She laid back on her bed, flicking through her phone, eventually coming across Estella's name. Maybe it was worth getting her to try them with her, she was the one who'd introduced Evie to drugs after all. Plus, she was cool, it might be more fun with her along for the ride.

Eh, fuck it. She figured she'd see if skater girl was down for round two.

She bibbity boppity booped on her phone, sending Estella a text.

"ayy gurl u busy rn??"

@Lazzy

"just chillin in my room"

"feeling boooooored af"

Evie sent a little frowny face emoji in between her messages, then waited a few moments before continuing.

"hey so i got this cool ass shit i wanna show ya"

"its a seeeeeecret tho"

"gotta swing by room so i can show you all secretlike"

"u down or nah?"

She sent her room number to Estella, before laying back down in her bed, waiting to see what she said.

"great!"

Sending one last text, Evie plugged her phone into the wall and waited, humming to herself until she heard the knock. Huh, that was fast. She hopped up to her feet and threw the door wide open.

"Hey!" She stood in the entrance way, grinning up at the girl. Evidently, she couldn't be bothered changing out of her pyjamas, standing there wearing a pair of short shorts and a loose shirt. She flourished her hand, and gave an overly dramatic bow, holding the door open for her like some fancy butler. "Welcome to my abode~."

It was obvious which side of the room was occupied by Evie. Clothes were strewn over the floor around her bed, and her desk was covered with various knickknacks and leftover bags of snacks she hadn't thrown out yet. There was also a large armchair, one that looked like it belonged in the student louge. Evie had appropriated it a few weeks back, and no one had asked about it yet so she figured it was fine.

"Make yourself at home." She waved a hand into the room, before heading over to her closet, bending over and starting to rifle through her things.

"Ehhhh, being clean is overrated." She waved a hand dismissively behind her as she talked. "Besides, if I get any giant ass bugs I can keep it as a pet, maybe sic 'em on people tryna sneak into my room."

She giggled, before finally finding what she was searching for. She stood up straight, spun around on her heel, hands behind her back, grin widening.

"So, a couple of weeks back I met this like, weird moth fairy guy? And he bought me a couple drinks and we chatted a bit, and then he told me he sold this stuff."

She held out the pair of little plastic bags in one hand, each containing a small, green crystal. She gave them a quick shake.

"Apparently its some kinda super magic drug, just taking one gets you high as balls for hooouuuurs. Its like way more potent than the normal stuff you take. I got 'em cheap too!"

She was getting into the explanation now, voice sounding more excited.

"So, me being the kind, sharing and caring soul that I am, I figured I'd call you over when I finally try them out. Thought maybe you'd be interested as well."

She hopped over in front of the seat, bending over, leaning forward towards Estella.

"So, whaddya say? We got this room to ourselves for a long while. Wanna give it a shot?"

In the back of her mind, Evie let off a short sigh of relief. Looks like she wasn't the only one who was kinda nervous about trying this out. Despite being the less experienced one, she found herself emboldened by this knowledge. She stood back up straight, confident smirk on her face.

"Come oooooon. It'll be fiiiiiiiiiine." She said with a teasing, sing-song tone of voice. "If this shit was really dangerous I doubt the guy would just sell them to some random teenager he just met, right?"

She tossed one of the bags into Estella's lap, before walking over to her bed, plopping her ass down on the mattress and smiling over at her.

"Nothing bad is gonna happen. It's just like weed, but better. Come on, you know you're curious."

She had her eyes on Estella. Sly, mischevious expression on her face. Internally, she was really hoping she'd be down to take it, she didn't wanna try them by herself in case something bad did happen.