Chapter Text
Eden inhaled sharply and bit her lip to stop her teeth from chattering. Iris seemed to have the opposite problem, actively peeling off layers of her clothes. Eden looked around at the other girls, all of them having their own problems with the weather. Sage was holding her failed math quiz over her head to shield her styled hair from the rain. Stella, on the other hand, didn’t have the luxury of protecting her hair. She was completely soaked and resembled a wet dog, her hair sticking to her skin. Juniper had a perfectly styled raincoat on, somehow managing to look like a ray of sun in all this gloom.
Juniper led the group, strutting ahead of the rest of them. The way she walked emulated confidence, her steps in tune to a song only she could hear. Eden felt that they all looked hideous next to her. Sage seemed to have the same thought as her math quiz dissolved from the raindrops and her hair became a frizzy mess.
They were headed to Juniper’s house, which was only a block or two away now. Rosemary, Juniper’s adopted mother, was nothing like Juniper. She was elegant, but in a much softer way, her corners rounded out and smooth. She was humble and sweet, becoming a mother-like figure to all the teens. Juniper was sharp and stunning, like a lightning bolt cracking in the sky. She was impossible to ignore, never able to hide from peoples’ mesmerized gazes. Eden wondered what that was like, living in beauty. She would likely never feel an ounce of that.
When they arrived at Juniper’s house, Stella, Iris, and Eden stood close near the doorway. Sage made a run for the bathroom, hoping to savor at least part of her hairstyle. Juniper walked towards her bedroom to change her school outfit to equally as stylish home clothes. Eden thought Juniper would draw just as much attention if she was covered in rags.
The main part of Juniper’s house did not match her at all. It was clear her mother had chosen the decor. The only places Juniper’s personality peeked through was in her bedroom, trophies and medals from various sports and competitions covering the walls. Her bed had a white canopy over it, making it resemble a place where a princess would sleep.
“This place makes me want to slit my wrists.” Eden grumbled. Iris nodded in agreement and Stella giggled under her breath. Even if this day had sucked, Stella’s laughs and enchanting smiles could always bring Eden’s mood up. Stella did not evoke stares the same way Juniper did, but to Eden she was even more beautiful.
Sage emerged from the bathroom after a moment. It was clear she had given up on savoring her hair, her choppy layers were pulled back into a ponytail, hair clips popping up from the sides to hold it into place.
“I had to steal these from June’s bathroom, but I’m sure she has extras.” Sage said. She waved a hand towards the multicolored clips. Rosemary heard the girls chatting and came from around the corner.
Rosemary was still in her light blue scrubs from work. She worked at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with Iris’s father. She was clearly tired and overworked, but her eyes still sparked and widened when she saw the four girls.
“I didn’t know you girls were coming over. Can I get you anything to eat?” She assessed the four of them in less than a second. Seeing sick kids all day had trained her for these moments. “Stella, honey, let me grab a towel for your hair. Eden, your knees are shaking would you like a seat?” The questions were a bit overwhelming, but none of them minded. It was nice to feel cared for, especially from someone so genuine.
Rosemary handed a fluffy gray towel and a hairbrush to Stella, which Stella took graciously and moved to the bathroom to fix herself. Juniper came out of her own room now. She wore an off the shoulder graphic tee tucked into a mini skirt on one side, layered necklaces and bracelets, and her hair was perfectly placed into two braids on either side of her head. It was less glamorous than her usual outfits, but she pulled it off just as well. Rosemary offered her a warm smile, and Juniper gave her sharp one in return.
“Do you guys have anywhere to be, or can you all stay the night?” Juniper asked. She lounged onto the couch in the living room, her movements noticeably less elegant than in public. Sage immediately felt more comfortable when she saw Juniper relax. She slinked into a corner chair, pulling her knees to her chest. Eden and Iris followed, each finding their own spots in the room along with Stella when she returned from the bathroom.
“My dad works late tonight, and Wilson never has a problem with me staying here.” Iris was the first to answer the question. It was the first time Eden had heard her speak since they had gotten out of classes. Her voice was a bit rough, her Russian accent poking out in certain letters, making her origins obvious. Wilson was her father’s friend, although Eden suspected they were more than friends, who had moved in with Iris and her father. Wilson was also close with Rosemary and trusted her with most anything. Rosemary smiled at the mention of Wilson and nodded in agreement. Some nights, Wilson actually preferred Iris to stay at the Bailey’s house, she seemed most comfortable there anyways.
“My mom doesn’t really care where I am, as long as I’m not in jail.” Eden shrugged, hopping off Iris’s response. Juniper’s smile widened on the ends. She would always make excuses to have her friends over at night. Sometimes, people would stay for multiple nights. Iris held the current record of staying over for twelve days straight, Sage following at four days when her family had gone on some sort of trip. Eden watched Rosemary move to the kitchen to make the girls dinner, since it was now decided that at least two of them were staying.
“Perfect, what about you two?” Juniper focused on Stella and Sage. Her eyes bored into them. It would have been intimidating if they hadn’t been friends for so long.
Stella shook her head, immediately causing Eden to sigh dramatically. “Of course, Stella can’t stay. She probably has to decorate for Christmas, then for her third cousin’s birthday, right after she celebrates her cat’s fourteenth birthday obviously.” Eden teased, but it was hardly a joke. Stella was always making promises to help her family with various things, and she never broke a promise.
“Close. My cousins are actually coming over tomorrow and I told my dad I would help clean.” Sage laughed at the accuracy of Eden’s joke.
“That’s totally lame, can’t you clean in the morning or something?” Eden asked. Although, she didn’t need Stella to answer. She already knew her response would be something about the cousins planning to show up at 4am, or maybe that cleaning in the morning was bad luck.
“I’ll have to ask my dad if I can stay, I think I can though. They have plans to do something tonight.” Sage said, resting her head on top of her knees.
None of the girls had a traditional family, but Sage’s was by far the strangest of them all. They were always planning activities, but for some unknown reason rarely inviting Sage along. She had five siblings, all of them were adopted and around the same age. Her parents looked no older than their early twenties but claimed to be midway through their thirties. Eden had only met the Cullen family a handful of times, but each time she was taken aback by just how odd they were. The strangest part though was that every member of the family was exceptionally gorgeous. Sage was not ugly by any means, but next to the rest of them she looked like dirty swamp water, her features murky and smudged compared to them. They were the only people Eden had ever met that were somehow more beautiful than Juniper, it was unnatural and creeped Eden out. Every time someone questioned Sage about her family, she avoided the questions and somehow managed to change the topic.
The other girls exchanged glances at the mention of Sage’s family making plans without her once again, but none of them spoke up. Juniper nodded and made a mental note that everyone, except for Stella, would be staying the night.
None of the girls were particularly troublesome on their own but when they were together, they somehow managed to cause problems wherever they went. They all knew that tonight would be fun.