𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄 , 𝐣. 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 ⁽¹⁾

𝟑𝟎. 𝐇𝐘𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂

Elle and Kiara glanced at each other unnervingly as they climbed into the HMS Pogue. The only person there was Pope, and he was insisting that they had to come "for mechanical purposes."

As they pulled up to a slightly bigger boat, Pope turned the wheel. "JJ and John B are up in the Alp" he mumbled.

"Can you guys do anything without us?" Kie asked as the two girls hopped into the bigger boat.

They walked into the cabin to see John B and JJ on the ground, messing with the alternator. "What's going on?" Elle asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Uh, the alternators, not alternating anymore." JJ said as if it were obvious. John B glanced up at the two girls. "It's not charged."

Kiara stepped forward and leaned down. "Did you check the plugs?" Elle stood next to her and looked down at the machinery.

The two boys exchanged glances before standing and insisting that they had to do it.

As they looked at the boat, they slowly realized that nothing was actually wrong. It was when Elle heard a splash in the water, that she stood and ran onto the bow.

Kiara quickly followed behind her before they both heard a bang come from beneath the boat. As they opened a small latch, a beach blonde looked up at them, her eyes wide.

It was Sarah.

The three of them looked utterly confused before they ran to the edge of the boat. The guys were laughing and climbing onto the HMS Pogue, acting as if this were the funniest thing ever.

"Are you joking?"

"Guys!"

"Get your asses back here!"

John B looked back as he slowly stumbled onto their boat. "We cant. Not until you three figure it out!" He called.

"You can't just leave!" Sarah yelled, stuttering on her words.

Pope pointed down at their boat. "There's food in the cabin and JJ rolled a blunt!"

"Hydroponic!" The blonde coo'd.

The three girls struggled to take their clothes off, revealing the swimsuits that sat underneath. Sarah was the first to jump in, ignoring Kiara's warnings about the oyster beds.

"You assholes!" Elle yelled as she stood next to Kie.

JJ looked back and laughed. "Love you guys! Bye!"

As the boat rolled away, Sarah suddenly screamed. The two Pogues on the boat glanced down to see her thrashing around. "What?" Elle asked, a slight annoyed tone in her voice.

"I got stung by an jellyfish! Shit!"

————-

Now, the three girls were sitting on a ledge. Elle next to Kiara, and Sarah on the other side.

Kiara pulled out the blunt that JJ had rolled and lit it. "For the pain."

She pulled it to her lips and took a hit, ignoring the heavy breathing coming from Sarah. She nodded towards Elle, silently asking if she wanted it, to which she responded with a slow head shake.

As she went tk hand it to Sarah, she quickly rebounded and Kiara brought it back towards herself. "Actually.."

"Seriously?!" Sarah asked, grabbing the blunt from Kie's hands. She brought it towards her mouth and inhaled. Once she was done, she brought it down and started violently coughing.

There was an awkward silence between the three as Sarah's coughing continued. So not really that silent.

———-

Night had fallen, and Elle was leaned against one of the sides of the boat. She had a raggedy old, white, crotchet, blanket pulled against herself.

She glanced over at Kie as Sarah laughed to herself. She'd been doing this for hours. Asking questions then laughing at them until she thought of a new one.

"Hey, guess what?" She asked, looking at Kiara. "Would you rather...have—- I was imaging you like this just now. It was pretty funny. Would you ima— would you rather.. have nipples for eyes or eyes for nipples?"

Elle struggled to hide her laugh as she stared at Kie's blank face. Nonetheless, Sarah continued. "Imagine if you get really old and your nipples— your boobs get saggy, and your nipples, if they were your eyes, you could see if your shoes were untied."

Kiara judgmentally looked over at the girl. "Is this your first time smoking or something?" She asked.

As much as Elle didn't really like Sarah anymore, she felt like Kie was being extra meaner than usual.

"No.." Sarah mumbled, looking forward.

Elle was tired of the petty arguments. She figured that the only way to figure their differences out, was to start talking about the important stuff.

"Sarah." She started. The blonde immediately turned her head to face Elle. "Why did you do it?"

Sarah looked stunned, like she wasn't expecting such a strong question so soon. "I— I don't..."

"You know what i'm talking about. Why did you do it? For Topper? For your family? You broke me for months." Elle said, her voice shaking. "And you never even gave me a real reason as to why."

Sarah stared forward, contemplating what she should say next. "Elle. You loved me. And that scared me. That scared me more than anything, and honestly."

It was Elle's turn to be stunned. She leaned her head against the wooden railing of the boat as she breathed out heavily. "But you loved him more."

Sarah sucked air through her teeth. Silence filled the air as the warm, July breeze crept through the sky. Honestly, she wasn't sure if Elle was right. I mean, she was never sure if she, truly, loved Topper. She wasn't really sure what love was. To Sarah, the word love was something far too complicated to understand, so she never used it. Maybe she had loved Elle. Maybe she had loved Topper. Maybe she did love John B. Maybe she would love Kiara.

"I'm sorry, Elle. I don't think it was ever right for us. For me." She stated, earning a sharp inhale from Kie.

Elle nodded. "I know."

————-

AUTHOR SPEAKS !

selle closure 😔

happy elle got her apology !!

elle didn't light sarah on fire u guys don't be afraid

anyways i love u guys ok bye

xoxo, kenn