Vigilant | N.H.

Two.

December 22nd, 2015

I step out of Delaney's white Honda Civic as the aroma of cigarette smoke and smog immediately suffocate my lungs.

That's the city smell I missed.

I begin to unload our luggage and make our way to our apartment building. The parking garage isn't too far from the complex and we didn't bring much in the car with us, so the walk there shouldn't be all too bad.

"Just in case someone decides to fuck with the wrong bitches," Delaney says as she has her pepper spray ready to go.

Typically I would opt for something more durable and with a greater ability to do physical harm, but I guess this will have to do for now.

Within a few minutes, we're on the 5th floor of our apartment building, about to enter our new home.

Here we are, just two 19-year old girls, about to live on our own for the first time, together— what could possibly go wrong?

We stand in front of the towering white door and I begin fumbling for the key."Here we are, room 505," I enthusiastically state. "Here's to the beginning of a new chapter," I say, inserting the key into the lock and twisting it. Delaney slowly turns the doorknob and reveals an empty room with little-to-no furniture in it. I make my way through the doorway admiring its cold, emptiness before speaking out, "it's perfect."

"Really?" Delaney replies in shock.

"No, right now it's a piece of shit but we're known for our charity work, I mean hell, just look at our ex-boyfriends."

"That's true. With our experience and credentials, we'll have this place looking good in no time." We exchange a glance before coming together for a hug. "We're gonna be okay here, we're going to do just fine," she reassures the both of us. Honestly, in this moment it's exactly what I needed. It's odd having a place to call our own—one that isn't listed under the names of my parents or ruled by the potent smell of the incense my mother insists on burning. 

"Screw fine, we're going to do fucking amazing," I respond, and all of my worries slowly begin to fade away.

We spend the next few hours unpacking what we brought with us, and shortly after, the delivery truck shows up with the rest of our furniture. Thanks to Delaney's bank account and my shopping skills, we have decent furniture and our accounts aren't in the negative digits yet, so cheers to that. We quickly assemble our beds, the coffee table, TV stand, and put everything else into place. Everything is gradually beginning to feel more and more like our home. We snap a selfie and a few pictures of everything unpacked and immediately send them to the group chat consisting of us and our Moms.

It was tough growing up without a Dad, and I feel like that's what made Delaney and me so easy to get along with— my Dad divorced my Mother when I was 2 and quickly remarried. He was always "too busy" with his new family to even think about me, so I barely have any memories with him. Delaney's Dad left her Mom whenever she was 3, but they still talk on the holidays.

Regardless, they're assholes and I fucking loathe them both.

It's weird how similar our lives are, but our differences are well-known. We're the perfect balance, which is rare to find. I can't stand most people for more than 5 minutes, so considering I've put up with her for well over 15 years makes me think I'll let her stick around for quite some time.

"Ugh, I want to go to a party so fucking bad, she complains. "They're like oxygen, I need them to live." I have no other option but to let out a chuckle.

"We just moved in today and we know absolutely nobody here, how the hell would we even get an invite to a party?" She must've been dropped as a baby because this bitches brain is damn near broken.

"It's Friday night, Blair, and we're in one of the biggest cities in the country, we're bound to find a party somewhere. Besides, the most important parties to attend are the ones you're not invited to." As much as I hate to admit it, she's right.

"Fine, I'll make a deal with you. If you can find us a decent party to go to, I'm in."

"Fuck I think I need to go to the Doctor's and get my hearing checked! What did you just say?" she says in a smart-ass tone. 

"Oh shut up," I say as I lightly shove her shoulder. Her smile is wide and I know her heart is doing backflips inside considering this is the first time I've actually agreed to go to a party with her.

She pulls out her phone and snaps a picture of me. "This day just keeps getting better and better," she says.

"We have to start getting ready!" she says as she grabs our toiletries and throws them into the bathroom. "Grab my makeup bag, Barbie!"

"Barbie? Bitch if you don-" she abruptly cuts me off.

"You're wasting time talking, hurry up and go get showered so you don't smell like musty ass Cheetos."

"Oh like you don't," I snarkily reply. She's lucky I love her. Within 10 minutes I'm out of the shower, blow-drying my thick, dirty blonde hair, while Delaney is finishing her skincare routine. She's already laid out three outfit options for the both of us— that woman is practically a fashion God, too.

About an hour passes by and we're already out of the door. I'm wearing a short, tight black dress and Delaney has a matching red one on. We snap a few quick pictures of each other, then a few together, and before we know if we're out of the door.

"C'est la vie, B," she screams out, tossing her arms aimlessly before dragging me down the sidewalk.
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A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if it's been boring, these were just the exposition chapters to establish the setting and all of that. Things are gonna start to get heat up soon...
Buckle up, baby.
Also, I hope you all liked the Gossip Girl reference I threw in there ;)
Sending all my love as always,
T.