5Lori. Seventeen. The bookworm. The smartest one of the group. Tall. Long, straight, jet black hair, just like Alisa. Not the most popular one, though. The innocent one. Surprisingly, she was the one who had started it.
Alex. Fifteen. Lori's guy. The shortest one, and often teased for it. He had a round chubby face, and baby-like curls. He was lively, and fun to be around, and always ready to try new things.
Then, there was Sean. Alisa's man. He was a lot like her, really. Gothic, much in the same way. He didn't really contradict her. He was the hottie. At fourteen, his tanned skin was almost flawless, and his beautiful autumn brown hair, accented his features. The way his lips curved for his smile fit his tender eyes well, just above the cute little nose. And his adorable little ears were just irresistible! He was the tallest one, too.
How had they come to meet, you ask? Well, Alex and Sean had been together for their entire lives, as had Shyrill and Lori. So, when Alex and Lori got together. . .it all fell into place. That was three years ago. They had been best friends ever since. They could look at one another, and read exactly what the others were feeling. That was how close they were.
Then, Lori had tried it. She liked the feel of the pain. The emptiness that came with the blood. They had all been hurt. And as they were best friends, they all tried it with her. Addictive. It had become casual for them. And then there was the hard part. Shyrill didn't like it, anymore. She felt she was still too innocent for this. All the others, they were older. They were into all the parties, and drugs, and everything. Shyrill was always trying to pull away, and stop. But no one else wanted to, and they had to stay together. And so, they did. And that made it all that much harder.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shyrill, Lori, and Alisa smiled as they softly pushed and shoved each other away from the large mirror in the bathroom. The guys outside were calling to them to get ready and go. Guys just didn't get it. To dress, do your hair, and perfect your make-up took more than 5 minutes. What planet where they living on? They were getting ready to go to the major party of the month. Correction: they were getting ready to throw the major party of the month. Shyrill's birthday bash. She was so popular, her parents let her invite anyone she wanted, unsupervised. (AN: I sure wish my parents were like that) And, oh, did she invite everyone she wanted.
Alisa wore skin tight capris' and a (of course, black) belly shirt. Purple lipstick, blue eye shadow, a little mascara, and a pack of cigarettes thrown in her denim purse - the perfect look!
Lori pulled out a lighter and tossed it towards Alisa. Alisa caught it in midair, giving Lori a slightly questioning look.
"Well?" Lori spoke.
When Lori outstretched her arm, Alisa took her cue, and produced a cigarette from the pack. She then lit it, took a whiff, and pressed it down on the delicate skin before her. Lori smiled and nodded her head in acceptance.
It was now that Sean smelled the smoke. "Hope your not dressed," he said, throwing open the door, and then extending his arm as well. Alisa sighed, burnt herself, took another good whiff, and handed it out to the boys.
Shyrill merely held a look of plain disgust at her friends behavior. She highly disapproved of it, even though she did it herself, sometimes, and they knew it. Yet, they still had the nerve to do it right in front of her, knowing she was trying to quit. "Sometimes, teenagers can be so inconsiderate," she thought, then caught herself realizing she was talking, well, sort of talking, about her friends. "Even if that is mean, it isn't untrue, and I should just ditch them now. They're nothing but trouble for me. I can still live a better life." Her thoughts betray her, and she let them. She would have to contemplate it later though. Right now, she had a party to host, and all the guests would be arriving soon. Besides; her 'friends' were waiting.
Sean and Alex lie napping in the bedroom. They awoke when they heard shuffling in the bathroom, the next room down. Alex was the first to realize. The party. The boys jumped up, threw on the first shirt they saw on the floor, and ran a comb quickly through their hair.
Sean ran out of the door first, seeing, to his dismay, that they could still be sleeping, as the girls were still in the getting ready. Oh well. Too late now. Then he smelled the smoke. He not-so-gently swung open the door that separated the group. Just as he had thought. Alisa holding a cigarette, and Lori with a burn on her arm. He wasn't going to pass this up. He held out his arm to Alisa as well, his lips curling in anticipation. Alisa held it to her own flesh, first, inhaled the last of what she wanted, and handed it over.
Sean decided to have a little fun. Alex was turned the other way, and he turned every head in room when he howled as the heat touched his unsuspecting flesh. It was. . . cute.
Lori and Shyrill rolled their eyes at the immature behavior. But Alisa broke out laughing. Sean hugged her, glad that he could fill her eyes with that sparkle, put a ring on himself, and threw the tool out.
That was all it was. A tool. A tool, that meant the joy of their existence, but, yet, a tool. It was all that mattered. Nothing mattered really. Not even that. Some people say, that wanting something is good for you. And maybe it was. Maybe wanting that sting was the best thing in the world. But they didn't want it. And needing it - well, that's different. To need. What did it mean. A necessity? Yes, that was it. It was a necessity for them to live their lives. And yet, it was more than that. Some also say, that to live, you need something to live for. You have to have something. It's a necessity. And they did live for it. But they weren't happy. They weren't happy, but nor where they sad. They were numb. And they didn't care. Because they were having the best time they ever had. Which in itself, was just pitiful.