Remedy

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟶: 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟹

Megan gently swirled the ice around her virgin blackberry mojito. The ice clinked against the glass repeatedly while she glanced around the crowded VIP section in great disinterest. She didn't know many people in the section since most of them were there for Cardi, it was her song after all.

"Hey sis," Jaeliey sat next to Megan somewhat breathless. She had just finished grinding on Justin and had put on quite the show. "You seem a little down. What's wrong?"

"I'm bored," Megan admitted. This was the first time she was at a club without being drunk and it felt severely different. Being around a bunch of drunk people while sober was not the move, Megan was learning this the hard way.

Jaeliey's eyes traveled to Megan's cup and then back to her face. She simply nodded in understanding. "I know this must be hard for you—"

"I don't want to talk about my therapy or my sobriety in front of all these people, Jaeliey."

"We're sitting on a couch in the back of a large VIP section. There's not necessarily anyone around that could hear us talking. What do you want to do, then?"

"Leave." And go spend time with Normani.

Megan had been missing Normani like crazy since they last seen each other. She felt that they had gotten closer for one, because they had amazing sex, and also because they had much-needed vulnerable conversations. Their emotional intimacy was at an all-time high, which made Megan very hopeful about their future.

"Are you for real? Cardi didn't even give her speech yet. Wait forget that, the party just got started a good forty-five minutes ago. And you're tryna leave already?"

"I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but I can't drink. Sitting here sober while you guys are all buzzed is boring as fuck. Half the shit y'all been laughing at all night I didn't even find funny because there's not an ounce of alcohol in my system. Fuck this, I'm 'bout to go."

"Wait," Jaeliey placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder, preventing her from standing up. "The whole point of coming out tonight was to support Cardi, right?"

Megan nodded with a groan. She could already see where this conversation was headed. Jaeliey, who was the most level-headed, mature, and most empathetic of her friend group, was going to attempt to convince her to stay for moral support. It's not like Megan didn't want to support Cardi, because she really did, especially because Cardi has been nothing but kind to her. However, she felt staying the whole night would be an absolute snooze fest. Why would she stay at an uninteresting and unseasoned party, when she could be cuddled up with Normani right now? It wasn't logical to stay at all.

"That means you should at least stay until after she deliver's her speech. Then, you can leave and do whatever it is you've been itching to do."

The rapper's shoulders relaxed as she leaned back against the couch, waiting for the night to quickly pass her by.

"Itching?" Megan questioned her friend with a raised brow.

"Yes, itching. I understand that you are sober so that could change how you turn up, but your energy is lower than the pits of hell. You've also seemed out of it the whole night, like you were here but not here. I know we had a discussion about boundaries so I'm not going to push you to tell me anything. But I will say to be careful with whatever or whomever you're trying to get into tonight. Be safe and be smart."

"Okay, mom." Megan answered with quite a bit of sarcasm, followed by a light chuckle.

Before Jaeliey could respond with a snarky comment, Cardi appeared in front of the two women with a lanky light-skinned man who had a well-maintained beard. His jet black hair was curly at the top and faded all around the side of his head. His outfit matched from head-to-toe: on his torso was a white and black leather jacket that covered most of his black t-shirt, around his legs were black skinny jeans, and on his feet were black Prada sneakers. He actually looked a bit familiar but Megan couldn't remember where she knew him from.