MARY JANE ━ ashtray ✓

𝗏𝗂𝗂． 𝖼𝗁𝖾𝖾𝗄 𝗄𝗂𝗌𝗌𝖾𝗌

"Your mother is in the hospital" were the words that kept replaying in her mind, over and over again like it was stuck on repeat in a broken record player-Carmen laid on the floor of fezcos' house like usual because Rue was god knows where with her girlfriend and friend as if she didn't exist. The teen girl's life was a fucking joke and she was barely in high school yet, she had good grades which shocked even her so she'd most definitely make it.

She wasn't cared about with her mom then came to live with a woman who didn't know where her daughter was or what she was putting in her nose, a mystery to some. Carmen inhaled, a single tear spilling out of the corner of her eye, dripping on the brown and yellow carpet below her; a few minutes before fez asked if she was okay and she said yes of course even though she wasn't.

Someone sat next to her, taking the half gone blunt Faye had given her out of her hands "fez told me to come check on you" Ashtray put it out, sitting it in the container the boy had been named after "I told him I was okay" Carmen responded, wiping her face.

"I don't know you like that but you don't look like you're okay" Ash studied her face, the drawing still lightly staining her face; Carmen took a deep breath after moving the pieces of hair out of her eyes "it's just family shit, I would talk to rue but she's not in her right mind" she chuckled, he looked away for a few seconds, making mental choices.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Ash regretted it as soon as he asked, feelings especially when they involved tears weren't his thing but a crying teen girl talking about her feelings would be like death by shock to him "my moms in the hospital and I've been ignoring her" Carmen looked over and answered him, he didn't seem like the type to care or even ask in the first place "and you feel like it's somehow your fault.." he responded.

"I'm guessing you know the feeling?" Carmen joked, sniffling, she did feel like it was her fault, Leslie didn't tell her how the woman ended up in the hospital or what the problem was but had been ignoring her for weeks on weeks without a call, message nothing returned "yea it's how I ended up here but this ain't about me it's about you" he smiled, it was warm.

It made everything feel a little better, Carmen hadn't seen him smile a lot but when it did it could warm up any room "no that's it, I just feel like it's my fault somehow" she turned her head the opposite way, looking at the rain pouring from the sky as she spoke "hm, why do you feel like that tho? sorry if I'm prying" he held his hands up in defense.

"You aren't if I'm being honest I haven't had anyone to talk to about this so it's kinda helping" Carmen sat up in her spot, her hands laying on her knees on the opposite end the boy had been, he waited "um, she kinda sent me here against my will so I haven't been responding to her but now she's in the hospital and I can't go and see her I texted her but she didn't respond yet so" she held back tears.

"She hasn't not responded because of you though, it's literally because she's probably sleep don't overthink it" he extended an arm, rubbing her knee as she wiped under her eyes, Ashtray wasn't usually good at comforting people but this time it felt easy "I just don't want that to be the last memory she has of me" Carmen smiled, tears still forming.

"It won't be okay? stop overthinking ma" he spoke again, Carmen huffed-she scooted closer to him and his eyes followed the girls' body movements as she pulled him in for a hug; Carmen kissed his cheek before standing up. The boy rubbed the spot her lips pressed against "thank you ash, really" she grinned.

----

In exchange for ten dollars a week Carmen agreed to work at the front while they sold whatever it was in the back, the three had an agreement the people coming to buy coke, etc would say a magic word and she'd point them to the back while the people coming to an actual corner store would just pay for shit.

And ash taught her how to open the cash register and everything was going good; her mom was still in the hospital and she hadn't heard anything other than how it happened, she passed out due to how much she was working and on how little she slept.

A familiar girl walked to the back and grabbed two cases of beer along with a blonde, the other girl who wore a hoodie and sweats came to the front "can I get a lottery ticket please?" she smiled, Carmen slid the item on the counter and took the three dollars "Cassie why aren't you dressed yet?" the black-haired girl asked.

"Because!"

"because what- oh it's you" the girl looked her up and down, she put a twenty on the counter, carmen rolled her eyes "If I was here last time why wouldn't I still be here also, you owe me another dollar fifty" the Filipino girl smirked.

"I remember being your age, don't you cass? god, we were such bitches" the blonde nodded in agreement with her friend as she spoke while speaking the dollar and fifty cents slid onto the counter "you remember that? you're pushing thirty" Carmen grinned from ear to ear.

"Look you little asshole-" she leaned over the counter "what? you wanna go what's up!" Carmen and the two began to talk over each other, the smaller girl tying her hair back while the blonde held her friend back.

"Maddy! are you really about to fight a child?" Cassie dragged her friend back, Carmen's hair sat in a low ponytail with one earring in "what? the little bitch has the mouth of a grown woman!" she defended herself, calming down.

"Learn how to do math you cunt!" Carmen yelled back; Faye came around the corner looking with shock and coming to her newly found bestie's side "what is happening?" the blonde asked while the other one dragged her yelling friend away.

"Nothing" Carmen sighed.

AUTHORS NOTE
so i'm gonna be editing this
book another update might
come out but I can't rlly write
a lot based off this episode.

Jules and elliot? this episode??

ty for reading