๐ข๐ญ'๐ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ to get sean to go up onto the roof of heather pouletteโs house with him after what heโd just done to himself at esmeโs birthday a matter of weeks ago, but the promise of weed and the appeal of getting away from the noise of the party ended up finally being enough. plus, craig was purposely annoying when he begged. heโs sat with his long legs sprawled out down the slant of the roof, a raspberry white claw that heโd poured vodka into in one hand, and a partially smoked, lit joint in the other.ย โoh, so get this dude,โ he starts in, bringing it up to his lips to have a generous hit from it and holding it in for a moment before he speaking through a cloud of his own exhalation.ย โlola comes up to me in the hall today right, iโm at my locker, and she goes,ย โhey craigโฆ i hear youโre single againโโฆโ he hands the joint off to sean as he begins to do an almost scarily accurate impersonation of lolaโs mannerisms and the way she talks, switching seamlessly between it and his own story-telling tone.ย โand iโm thinking to myselfย โrightโฆ i donโt remember being taken, but i donโt care to go there with her right nowโ. so i just say to herย โoh yeah? whereโd you hear that?โ.โ he rolls his eyes into the back of his skull as he regales it,ย โshe saysย โoh, well, i just noticed youโreย not hanging around with ellie anymore. and..โ listen to this shit bro, she goes,ย โand kendra told frankie who told me that she heard ashley telling paige, terri and hazel that you guys are never getting back together.โโ he pauses for dramatic effect,ย โbut i bet she didnโt tell themย that weโve hooked up twiceย since sheโs been back.โ he shakes his head, having a sip from his canned drink. ashley still wouldnโt publicly speak to him at school or outside of it despite being seenย going into the bathroom together at esmeโs party, and ellie hadnโt spoken to him or acknowledged him at all since word went around about it. that, coupled with the fact that,ย โand then lola asked me if we can hang out over spring break.โ have him concluding aloud to his best friend,ย โthey say iโm crazy but these degrassi girls manโฆ theyโre all fuckinโ crazy. one second they act like iโm the worst, the next itโs likeโฆโ he trails off,ย โmaybe i am the worst, i donโt know. maybe i donโt care, you know? maybe iโm a bad guy.โ he shrugs, though itโs clear to anyone who knows him well enough (and sean certainly does) by his tone that he doesnโt mean that. he reaches back out for the joint.โ
seanโs sat next to craig, knees bent a little as his heels dig into the roof. one of his hands grips onto a beer - a tame choice compared to the excess of alcohol that heโd been mixing whilst in the heat of the party thatโs still happening in the hose below. itโd been one of the reasons heโd been so hesitant to come up here in the first place. but craigโs convincing, and annoying, and sean canโt notice the way that the backyard is spinning ever so slightly as long as he doesnโt look down. so he looks up at the stars as he drinks down some more of his alcohol. itโs calming - he hasnโt felt this much at peace in a while. things are comfortably quiet between the two of them (aside from the dull, easy-to-ignore throb of the music in the home below) and sean had forgotten just how easy things could be when youโre no in a stalemate of eternal silence with your best friend. heโs still getting used to having this again, taking in every moment. when craig starts speaking, sean looks over. he takes in his side profile and how expressive he is. his own hand has been resting just behind craig, ready to catch him by the back of his shirt if he were to start falling forwards. when the joint is offered he moves to take it, eyes darting to craig every time he leans even a little forwards during his dramatic re-telling of this interaction. heโs exhaling the smoke when craig pauses for dramatic effect, causing sean to laugh and splutter out aย โwhat?โ right on cue, but sean would be lying if he said he was shocked. the way that news travels around degrassi is impressive and lola being this desperate to latch onto information about craig, of all people, is inevitable. โmaybe you just attract the worst,โ sean plays along, eyebrows raising as he offers the joint back to craig after one more.ย โwhat did you say?โ he asks, trying to make it sound like heโs asking out of interest and for no other reason at all.ย โsheโd do anything you said, yโknow. lola.โ he says before pausing to drink some of his beer.ย โi donโt think sheโd be able to keep it quiet, though. remember when she told me she was into you, like, five seconds after we met. zero chill.โ
