hold no grudge, euphoria

two

t w o
never not

MADDY HAD BEEN the one to answer the door for Rue and Lexi. She greeted them kindly, giving them both a quick hug. They stepped inside, lingering in the doorway. Poking her head out of the door curiously Maddy asked, "Who else is with you?"

"Fez, Ash, and Lexi's boyfriend."

"No way! Fez is out?"

Her voice traveled loudly enough that the other girls in the living room turned towards them. Rue tried to avoid eye contact, she never really enjoyed when the attention was on her. She nodded silently before mumbling, "Yeah, he just got out."

When she finally looked up she locked eyes with Jules. There was five seconds of quietness. She was thankful when she felt someone's presence behind her and she could finally turn her head away. She quietly moved out of the way for Fez and Aries to bring the bags inside.

The loud music that had been playing on the tv when the door was first opened was now paused. Lexi turned to Maddy, "Hey, where's Cass?"

"Uh... I think in the kitchen?" Maddy replied.

Lexi nodded and walked off to find her. Ash finally walked in, shutting the door behind him.

"Who are you rooming with?" Rue asked Maddy.

"Jules," she responded. "There's like three rooms left for you guys."

Rue did the calculations in her head. Lexi would obviously share with Aries. She imagined Ash and Fez would be okay with sharing if they had to. Which left her alone. Truthfully she didn't mind it.

She let her eyes travel between the people in the house. Rue was a generally curious person, she liked knowing what was going on. She knew that all of them staying for the summer would not end well. There was so much unfinished business and she knew it was only a matter of time until somebody broke down. If she hadn't missed it already.

"Hey Maddy," Rue leaned close to her. "Uh... is everything gonna be okay?"

Maddy didn't respond, causing Rue to continue rambling.

"I just mean... before I knocked I heard a lot of yelling. Did you beat her ass? Are you planning to beat her ass?"

Maddy began to laugh, shaking her head silently.

"No," she rolled her eyes. "I haven't beaten her ass."

She pointed to the TV, where Rue could see it was paused on a shot of people in a club. She raised an eyebrow, doing her best to decipher what they were watching.

"Jersey Shore." Maddy said with a small smile before walking off, her attention elsewhere.

Rue nodded, it did explain both the yelling and the loud music. However, she still had a feeling that things would not be fun and lively for long. She began to walk through the house, finding her way around. Truly it was mostly just to stay as far away as possible from Jules. She much preferred watching other people deal with their unfinished business rather than acknowledging her own.

By the time Rue had made her way to the kitchen Lexi was nowhere to be seen. It didn't bother her much being in that setting alone, she knew how to act and she knew how to handle herself, but she was slightly worried about who she'd be at the end of the summer.