All about the Girls Ch. 01

Prologue

Where do I even begin in trying to describe my friends? How does one even pick a single point that might possibly give you even the smallest idea of what these bitches are really like? Don't get me wrong, I adore them all, each and every one of them, they just drive me crazy sometimes. I've known a couple of them for most of my life, the rest kind of filtered in over the years in one way or another and just hung around, got attached to the group and never left. We're a weird mix and always end up with some very strange looks whenever we're out together, simply because we don't look like we should all be friends. I guess maybe the best way to go about this is just mostly chronological, so we'll start with my best friend, the girl that's been by my side my entire life.

Angel and I have been best friends since birth, well okay, maybe that's a little bit of a stretch, but her family moved into the house next door to mine when we were four. It was an older neighborhood then, mostly elderly retired couples so we were the only kids in the neighborhood regularly. This meant that we were friends by default fairly instantly but it actually worked out and we clicked and became inseparable by the time school started. When all the other kids in our kindergarten class were being weird and trying to make friends, we had each other and it was great. My dad used to say that we were connected at the hip, I guess in a way we still are, even though a lot has changed in the years we've been friends. I'll get into all that later because it's a long, detailed and slightly sordid story that needs more time than I'm willing to put in right this second.

Angel was always that cute kid, you know the one, all the parents loved her, all the boys pulled her pigtails because they had crushes on her and all the girls wished they could be her. This became worse when we hit seventh grade and puberty hit because it hit Angel full on and damn did it do a good job. She was always the tallest in the group even before she hit her current five foot eleven inches and that height gives her legs most girls would die for. Even at one hundred and sixty-five pounds, not that she would ever admit that she was such a weight, her height means that she carries it perfectly and I will personally give two hundred dollars to anyone who can find extra fat anywhere on that girls body. If nothing else, looking for it would be a hell of a lot of fun, but we've all looked, believe me, it's not there.

To top all that off, you have perfect skin with the perfect tan, perfect waistline, perfect teeth, silky blond hair almost to her waist and stunning blue eyes. Okay, okay, maybe I'm a little partial, she is my best friend after all but it doesn't make those things any less true, or less appealing. Unfortunately for all the guys out there who are constantly staring at her, she and I both came out of the closet at twelve years old. That's a whole different story though, and I'll make sure I get into it later on at some point or another, hopefully, maybe, it's possible. Anyway, that's Angel in a nutshell physically, as for her style, well, imagine your typical popular girl, fitted jeans, adorable tops and expensive shoes and you've got Angel. Sometimes I just look at her and ask if she's sure she's gay, just to be certain, she always just laughs and says she is and to stop being an ass.

Next on the list is Jamie, James we all call her and she joined our little posse when it was just Angel and I back in around the fourth grade. She was a riot even then with her goofball ways and unending antics, a class-clown if there ever was one and always able to make everyone laugh. She's a little spacey sometimes, more ADHD than anything else but it make hanging out with her hilarious since she's never on one subject for more than a few minutes. She's the shortest member of the group at only five foot two inches but she has a personality big enough for us all. With a joke for almost everything and a one line zinger where she lacks jokes, the group really wouldn't be the same without her. She also happens to be loyal to a fault and one of the best friends a girl could ask for, always around to pick you up and make you smile when the world knocks you down.

She's the dude of the group and don't even give me that look, she's the first to admit it and she damn well likes it that way. Dark brown hair always in a faux-hawk and forever perfectly styled, typically with a bleach blond streak in the front, just to the left side. That streak and a single piercing in her left eyebrow are her form of rebellion, that and perpetually dressing like a high school boy. Baggy jeans and either a polo or jersey are her uniform of choice, typically finished off with boots of some kind. Her deep brown eyes always seem to twinkle with a hint of mischief that the rest of us can't seem to keep up with. She's damn cute and she knows it, uses it to her advantage and is almost as bad as I am, almost, but not quite. Occasionally she'll settle down into something like a relationship, but those are rare and typically don't last long, a few weeks, sometimes four or five months.

The next to join our little group, which really isn't very little anymore but it's small enough for us, was Rascal, no, that isn't her real name but she's the youngest of the group, a year younger than the rest of us. Not to mention the fact that she's forever in some kind of trouble and can't seem to stay the hell out of it to save her life. Her name is actually Rebecca and she joined the group when we were in sixth grade, she was the little geek that skipped a grade and ended up in middle school with the rest of us. She's fairly average at five foot five inches with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes but she's a riot with her pain-in-the-ass ways. Forever in and out of juvie in our early years, the only thing that allowed Rascal to even graduate with the rest of us was the fact that she was damn smart and was always able to test circles around the rest of us.

Damn genius IQ of hers, let me tell you, it's all at once sexy as hell and irritating as all fuck but, we deal with it since she was willing to help us with homework when we needed it. She's a bit of a tomboy, not nearly as bad as James of course, but rarely seen in anything other than jeans and a tank top. If it's cold she'll add on a hoodie of some kind, but that's about as far as it goes and she always finishes the look off with a pair of skater shoes. She's best known for her escapades in shoplifting and minor assault, though she stopped getting into as many fights once she hit eighteen and it became a serious offense. The rest of us have always just sort of rolled with it since she's never turned those fists of fury on us, so we just tended to sit back and watch the show she put on.

Next on the list in the fun parade is Zara who is like a group all her own within our larger group of friends and doesn't she just know it. She joined the group in seventh grade and even then she was absolutely stunning, Jamaican on her fathers' side and Vietnamese on her mothers, perfect complexion that we all hate her for, except Angel, who has skin just as nice, both of them without even trying, the bitches. Her skin is the color of a smooth caramel mocha and her eyes are so dark they're almost as black as her hair, which, by the way, is perfect too. Yeah, I know, want to slap her already don't you? It's okay, so do we but we refrain because even though she's gorgeous at five foot seven and a size five, she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. She's our good egg, the one that's never been in trouble and always tries to see the good in everyone, even when the rest of us swear there's no good to be had.

She's the only one of us that's been in any kind of decent steady relationship over the past few years and while we give her a hard time about it, we love them both and would feel like something was missing if they ever broke up. She's our fashionista and will eagerly tell the majority of us what; exactly we are doing wrong in our wardrobes, myself, Rascal and James more than the others. She's also our conscious, our sounding board and will always tell us when we're being ridiculous or talk us down from whatever craziness we're thinking about getting into. She spends a lot of time telling us to calm down and see things from each other's perspective and has actually managed to diffuse quite a few spats within the group that, without her, would have been total blowouts and probably ended friendships.

Now we might as well follow Zara up with her girlfriend, Danielle, who graced the group with her presence the same year as Zara, right after we came back to school from Christmas break. The two couldn't be more different, like night and day in so many ways that only begins with the physical and goes from there. Where Zara and dark and exotic, Dani is a pale Irish girl through and through, white as can be, almost unruly red hair and green eyes with just enough freckles across her nose and cheeks to make her cute rather than gorgeous. She's a sweet girl in her own right, as long as you happen to be Zara, otherwise she's a bit rough around the edges. She's snarky, sarcastic and has an insult for everything, we love her for it though since she rarely turns it on us and she's normally right on. Zara attempts to keep her from going off the deep end but, hey, you can only keep a girl from her sarcasm for so long, right?

We think she's damn hilarious but, Zara tries to keep her from 'embarrassing us', if only she knew that we're all already thinking everything Dani says anyway. She's only half an inch shorter than Zara and roughly the same weight though a little less curvy than her girlfriend. They make a rather odd pair, admittedly but then when you really stop and watch them, definitely when they don't realize that you're watching, they're cute as hell. Which, if I'm being completely honest, makes me want to puke half the time. Anyway, whatever, not talking about my hang-ups here, we're getting to know the group so we'll wrap this one up and move on. Dani is around a lot and we're fine with that, they were both part of the crowd before they started dating and we support them completely, even when we're giving them crap.

Now we'll move right along to Courtney, or Court, the only member of the group I haven't fallen into bed with at some point or another. Don't judge me bro, seriously. Anyway, Court is our virgin, yep, you heard me right, group virgin, not that I haven't tried valiantly over the last few years. She's waiting until she's married, yeah, good luck with that Court, let me know when that one happens. She's an adorable blond with slightly longer than shoulder length hair and hazel eyes that looks like your typical sorority sister. She's five foot eight, slim built with curves and muscles in all the right places, not that I've looked or anything, you know, maybe just a little. Whatever, she's a cheerleader, shocking in this group I know, but it's true and she's damn good. She's also a gymnast and a dancer, something that we're all made painfully aware of whenever she goes to the club with us and dances circles around us all.

She's actually fairly shy, painfully so most of the time and only ended up in the group when she transferred to our school in eighth grade and I developed a massive crush on her. She didn't know anyone and so we invited her to sit with us at lunch, and by us I mean me of course, who else? She ended up opening up a little around us after a while and even though she refused to return my flirting, already onto my game even then I'm sure, she grew on us and we adore her. She's our moral compass, not that some of us really listen to the advice she gives us, but we appreciate the thought all the same. At least she cares enough to worry about our eternal souls since most of us couldn't care less about such mundane things. Maybe someday she'll talk James, Rascal and I into going to church with her, then again, maybe not, definitely not, I'd hate to have the place burst into flames when we walked through the front door.

I guess that leaves me now and that's just a path that I hate to even start down but, I promised so here we go anyway. I'm Lux, yes, that really is my name, I swear with everything in me. My parents are a little weird, my father teaches Latin at the local university and my mother Mythology so here I am, Lux Artemis Marks. Laugh and I'll kick your ass I swear, not even joking. I got my mothers' practically bleach blond hair which I keep fairly short, kind of punk in style and my fathers' eyes that can't decide if they're blue, green or something between the two. While they flip between the two colors sometimes, most of the time they just look kind of pale gray which gets me a lot of attention, which I am the first to admit that I like. I'm a little bit of an attention whore, though most of my friends will tell you I'm just a flat out whore. Haters.

I'm five foot six inches tall and top in at somewhere around one hundred and forty pounds, more athletic than anything and carry myself as such. I'm a tomboy, though not nearly as bad as James, tending to lean toward skinny jeans, tank tops or muscle shirts and a pair of Converse. I'm a sports nut, though only the playing, not the watching, give me a ball and I know what to do with it, normally. I've been out and proud since the summer before eighth grade started and by the time we all started high school, I was busy making my way through the female population of Phoenix, Arizona. I'm the first to admit that I have a bit of a commitment phobia and the word 'relationship' scares me shitless, but hey, I'm not the only one! That said, I feel like I should walk you through a few months in the life of me, and of my group of friends and let you judge us and our antics for yourself.

Chapter 1

Friday, February 10th, 2012 - Mill Avenue, Tempe, Arizona

I found myself standing on the sidewalk out front of yet another bar, or club, or whatever they called this damn place, smoking. I really should try to quit, hear it's really bad for me but, hey, too much effort for the moment and besides, I'm no quitter. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes, letting the smoke fill my lungs and actually smiling a little. It burned which just made the smile wider; okay I might be a little bit of a masochist but, we all have our issues. The music in the place behind me was intense, the crowd even more so and I had just needed a break for a minute. I would head back in soon and rejoin my friends, had to get a jump on the sad, lonely, just-broke-up-with-my-loser-boyfriend-and-don't-want-to-be-alone-for-Valentine's-Day straight girl crowd before James got her hooks in them. She's almost as good as me, and that's saying something since my track record is pretty damn good.

I pulled in the last of the Camel in my fingers, flicked it into the middle of the street and then turned to head back into the crowded place. I honestly can't even remember the name of it and really couldn't care less, never really cared since we just went where the mood led us most nights. I slipped between bodies on the dance floor and made my way to the bar to get the attention of the bartender. Once I managed to order and had my drink in hand, I headed toward the table my friends had taken over, taking a look at them all standing there and grinned. James was sitting against the wall on the backside of the table as usual, Zara and Dani to her left, Court and Rascal to her right and Angel standing right beside Dani.

I loved my friends and any chance I had to hang out with them all was a good night in my book, even if Zara and Dani were wrapped up in each other all night and Court looked like she needed a month of church afterward. I chuckled as I walked up to the table, giving Rascal a wink when she saw me and holding up a finger to tell her to keep quiet, to which she grinned, nodded and winked back. I transferred my drink into my left hand and smacked Angel hard on the ass with my right. She jumped a little and turned to see who had laid the offending slap on her and grinned when she saw me but immediately rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you supposed to be picking up a girl tonight?"

"Who says I wasn't doing just that sexy?" She hit me with another eye roll and James and I both laughed a little, this was just the way Angel and I were with each other.

"Mmm, you wish babycakes."

"No need to wish, hit that already, remember? More than once as I recall." She looked offended for a moment, punched me in the shoulder and then leaned over and kissed my cheek with a little grin.

"You're damn lucky I love you bitch."

"I know I am gorgeous. Anyway, who you got your eye on James?" I glanced across the table at James and watched the slow grin spread across her face, one of my eyebrows arching up a little. James just pointed out onto the dance floor and I followed her finger to the girl she indicated then laughed and shook my head. "Yeah, good luck with that buddy. Leave here with that chick before I take someone home and I'll give you fifty bucks tomorrow. But, I win, you owe me fifty."

"You're on bro." With that James was up from the table and heading for the bar, never one to approach a lady empty handed. I had taught her well and she had been a model student, not to mention damn adorable with an easy to fall for charm about her. She gave the bottle the girl had in hand a glance and then ordered two at the bar and made her way onto the dance floor, both bottles in hand.

"Looks like you're out fifty bucks babes."

"Oh am I? Guys... Rascal thinks I'm out fifty bucks. What do you think?" Angel just shook her head and Courtney pretended to be very interested in her drink as I grinned at the girl next to me, accepting her challenge as well. I leaned over and planted a kiss on my friend, leaving her to roll her eyes and turn a glare on the giggling Angel as I left the table and made my way out onto the floor.

"Hey, don't glare at me girl. You asked for it, besides, don't even pretend you don't love it when she kisses you as much as the rest of us do." I heard Angel responding to Rascal's glare as I left the table and just chuckled to myself a little knowing that Zara and Dani were about to argue and Court was already ten shades of red. I had gotten a decent eye on what was available on my way back in from my smoke break and I already knew exactly where I was headed. James had made her life difficult by picking the happy, dancing, fun girl that appeared to be out with her friends. She was hot as hell, sure, but that wasn't everything in this game and she should know that by now.

I wove through the mass of bodies and approached a table in the corner, settled mostly in the dark and as far away from everything as you could get and still be in the building. The girl at the table kept glancing out at a small group of girls on the floor dancing together and then sighing and staring down at her half empty drink for a few seconds. She had been nursing the same drink for a while I had noticed and seemed less than happy to be in the place. "Hey. You don't look too happy to be here." I waited until I was close enough that I didn't have to shout at her but still far enough away to not be all up in her personal space. She looked up at me confused for a moment and then seemed to realize that I was talking to her and just shook her head.

"Lemme guess, friends dragged you out against your will then got all bent outta shape when you didn't wanna dance with them. Am I right?" She offered me a somewhat sad little smile, glanced out at the group of girls I'd seen her watching all night and just nodded slightly. "I know the feeling, been there myself. I'm Lux." I offered her my hand and after thinking about it for a moment she reached over and shook my hand.