inferno • lrh (ON HOLD)

two - cigarettes and coffee

whisps of smoke floated in the air in front of her as she took yet another drag of her cigarette, inhaling deep and holding it in her lungs for a few moments before she exhaled.

she had gone through two packs of cigarettes since friday night, and that was a frightening amount for her seeing as it was only monday morning. zara would have hit her over the head if she knew how much she had smoked, but for some reason the world was on malory's side in this instance, meaning that zara had barely been home that weekend, deciding instead to work and party her life away like she always did instead of studying.

sometimes malory envied the care-free nature of her best friend. not once in the two years they had known each other had zara stressed over college or any aspect of her life for that matter. she did what she wanted whenever she wanted, which included partying anytime they both weren't working.

zara dragged malory along with her on occasion, and honestly, the girl didn't mind that much. yes, partying wasn't exactly her scene, but she loved to watch zara in her element. there was just something so ethereal about her in those moments that it even made malory forget about her upcoming exams and assignments.

"why the fuck are you smoking at six in the morning? are you trying to give me a heart attack?" looking up from where she had positioned herself on the ground outside her apartment building, malory locked eyes with a more-than slightly hungover zara, trudging up the pathway with her high heels dangling from one hand. her mascara was smudged slightly on her eyes, her hair was slightly frizzed and her lipstick was smeared across her cheek, a clear sign that she had gotten laid mere hours before.

"hm. i don't think i could give you a heart attack in your satiated state right now. good night i assume?" putting out her cigarette on the ground, malory gestured for her friend to sit down on the spot beside her. the blonde plopped herself down beside her, laying her head on her friends shoulder as her eyes closed, a ghost of a smile on her mauve lips. "don't get makeup on my shirt you bitch, i just put this on."

both of their shoulders shook with laughter at malory's comment, smiles becoming more apparent on their lips. "i know you're just trying to change the subject away from your habits, so don't think i didn't notice that." lifting her head from malory's shoulder, zara shot her a look that screamed 'we'll talk about that later' before she continued speaking. "but i do want to tell you about my night first.'

and with that, zara flew into a detailed description of her night out, describing the bar she had gone to with a few old friends from high school where they had done so many shots she couldn't remember before they had danced the night away. it was on that dance floor that zara had met her guy of the night, a 'fucking god' apparently. they had danced for a while before she had gone back to his place, where her night had finished. "mal, that man... mm i would fuck him again any day of the week, that dick was-"

"yeah, no. thanks z but i do not need to know any information about that mans dick." shoving her best friends shoulder, malory finally stood back up, stretching her arms over her head as a yawn escaped her rosey lips. she had been sitting outside for just around an hour before zara had arrived home, smoking away her lack of sleep. some nights she was able to sleep over eleven hours and others she could barely get three, and unfortunately for her the night before had been the latter. "come on, lets get you inside. you have a lecture at nine and you smell like stale alcohol and sex."

holding out a hand, malory pulled zara off the ground, wrapping her arm around the other girls waist as she lead her inside the apartment, the front door clicking shut behind them.

-

"i hate you mal, i seriously, seriously hate you."

"yeah, yeah. shut up and order your coffee before i change my mind about paying." after a long day of lectures, and rather hefty string of complaints via text message from zara, malory had taken the hungover girl to get coffee. the last thing either of them needed this evening was for zara to still be complaining of her headache.