toxic | j. baker¹

two

✧

A day at the beach seemed like a dream, but it wasn't entirely Luna Ramirez's scene, especially since Liv opted out of going. And, Layla, had practically dragged Luna to the beach telling her that it was her duty as a cheerleader to attend. It's not like Luna disliked the people at her school but Liv was definitely her favorite, so as she pushed everyone away and distanced herself, it made literally everything less fun.

Despite her attitude about not wanting to be there, she couldn't help but check out the boys...and girls running around. Layla seemed to be doing the same except she had her eye on the new boy.

"You and Asher are still dating, right?" Luna questioned her.

"Unless you know something, I don't," Layla giggled. "Then yes we are still dating. Why?"

"Because I am not blind," she retorted. "Your eyes have been locked on Spencer James all day. I mean, don't get wrong, that boy is fine. But, uh, if I had a boyfriend, I'd probably be staring at him instead."

"But you don't have a boyfriend," Layla bit back, instantly regretting her words.

Layla and Luna's friendship had always been a bit strange. They shared the same best friend, so of course, they were bound to form a friendship as well, and they also attended the same school and they also hung out with the same friend group. But, they definitely had their fair share of issues, there were certainly times where they'd be bitchy to one another and if Luna was being honest the only thing keeping their friendship intact was probably Asher. Considering Liv and Layla weren't friends.

"That's why I said, if, " she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Layla. Break Asher's heart. Not any of my business."

She got up on her feet and brushed the excess sand off of her butt, making her way over to the boys. Spencer had been on his way to talk to Layla and stopped Luna to chat with her a bit, they weren't close but he wasn't that bad. And their conversation had clearly, hurt some egos once she walked over to JJ, Asher, and Jordan.

"So...the new guy, huh?" Jordan scoffed.

"He's nice," Luna shrugged. "Shouldn't Asher be the one upset, Spencer's clearly trying to get at Layla."

"Well, he definitely seemed comfortable enough to talk to you," Jordan commented. "Just saying."

"Because Luna's pretty, duh," JJ shrugged, rolling his eyes. "I would've said hot but I respect women."

"Dude, shut up," Asher scoffed, hitting the blonde on his shoulder. "And Luna's right, dude's hitting on my girl left and right. Knocked me out of the game last week. That boy needs to go."

"Okay, why do you sound like you're trying to put out a hit on him?" Luna asked. "You dumbasses tried to get him drunk at Layla's party to make him look bad for the boosters which failed. But, you couldn't kill anyo—"

"We're not gonna kill anyone," Jordan cut her off. "And seriously, Ash? We gave Chatsworth the tip on his transfer permit to get him kicked out, okay? We tried."

Luna's jaw dropped, hearing Jordan's confession. "You two were responsible for that! He can't go home because you guys are insecure!"

"We're not insecure!" Asher argued.

"You want him to leave because he's a better wide receiver than you and 'cause your girlfriend totally wants him," Luna scoffed. "How is that not being insecure? And Jordan...you! You're upset because your dad's ignoring you."

"I'm sure you know how that feels," Jordan snarked.

Luna frowned, crossing her arms against her chest at his words. Her dad was always a sensitive subject, he always made empty promises and was very flakey. Her father was basically a deadbeat but his daughter always saw the best in him and it was her worst trait.

"Nice," Luna scoffed. "Thanks for that, Jordan."

♡♡♡

The following night was the booster event, which was basically Beverly High's way of spending a ridiculous amount of money to allow a bunch of old people to fawn over their football players. Luna didn't really have to go but considering her stepdad was a booster and he practically had to go, she was also forced to go. Plus, the wrath of her mom was not something she wanted to face.

"You look beautiful, mija," Maria tapped the underside of her daughter's chin as they stepped foot into the event. "You look more and more like me every day. And less like your dad."

Luna groaned, eyeing the crowd of guests. "If you hate dad just say that."

Jordan walked up to the two, a sheepish smile on his face once he noticed the way Luna was practically murdering him with her eyes. "Mrs. Adams, you look wonderful tonight. Do you mind if I borrow, Luna?"

"Take her," the older woman waved them off. "I'll find your mother."

"You are such a kiss ass," Luna grimaced.

"Oh, I was just being honest, your mom's very attractive," Jordan answered. "But, I wanted to apologize."

"Don't worry about it, Jordan," she sighed, bringing her hand up to fix his collar, earning a blush from the boy. "We both have issues with our dads and we said things that probably shouldn't have been said. No need to apologize."

"True," he shrugged. "Damn, I'm such an asshole, I didn't even compliment you, yet. You look amazing but that's no surprise."

"Jordan Baker?" Luna gasped, playfully. "Are you flirting with me?"

Before he could even respond, their attention was taken by an extremely angry Harold Adams confronting Coach Baker, Peter quickly ran over attempting to be the peacemaker between the two but his anger got the best of him.

Harold had blurted out that Jordan was behind giving Chatsworth the tip about Spencer still living in Crenshaw once he saw a crowd had formed. Asher and Peter looked embarrassed and if Luna was being honest, so did she. She was technically related to them and his drunken outburst was extremely embarrassing.

So she and her mother walked out of the event and headed to their car while Peter had taken Asher and Harold home in the other car due to Asher's dad's intoxicated state.

"Your husband's family is embarrassing," Luna deadpanned to her mother.

Maria sighed, slightly fed up with her daughter's attitude at Peter. "Would it kill you to be a little nicer to Peter? He's been more of a father than your own."

"Whatever," she mumbled, stubbornly.

"He's been in your life since you were 2," Maria scoffed. "He's not going anywhere."

Luna sunk into the leather seats of the car, crossing her arms against her shoulder and looking out the window of the car.

1x02