Lulu was sitting in the middle seat, staying extremely quiet as she recalled the events of the night. On one hand, Lulu was happy Fezco was back in business and that he had beat the shit out of Nate. The guy had it coming and it had been so satisfying to watch him being powerless in front of so many people. On the other hand, she couldn't help the gut wrenching feeling creeping inside of her warning her that it would backfire on him.

She pulled down the window and lit up another cigarette, letting out a long sigh, as Fezco looked at her through the rear view mirror.

She winked at him before noticing Ashtray looking at her curiously, "What's so funny, midget?"

Ashtray rolled his eyes, "You gotta drop that nickname, I swear."

Fezco and Lulu laughed, "Oh you acting all tough, I see."

"Whatever," Ashtray grunted, "What's Zahia doin' tonight?"

Lulu frowned as she pictured the mess she would definitely be cleaning the following morning, "A party. At our house."

"Yeah?"

Lulu nodded, "You could go. She's gonna go crazy if you show up."

Ashtray flashed her a smile for a second, before going back to his usual serious face, "Yep, I could do that."

"But no selling," Lulu warned, "I swear to—"

Ashtray grimaced, "I'd never fuckin' sell shit with Z around, c'mon."

And she knew the boy didn't lie.

When they finally made it home, Lulu could tell the party was going strong inside of her house. Some teens were smoking and making out right outside and the music was loud. Very loud. But something unusual did catch her attention.

Two people were walking down the street and away from her house, as a small crowd had gathered around Zahia, who was near the front door.

"The fuck's going on?" Lulu let out as Penelope, one of Zahia's friend, looked back at the people walking away.

"Yeah, that's right, get the fuck out of here," Penelope yelled, "You pieces of shit!"

The two people were too far away for Lulu to recognize them, even when she walked out of the car, "Hey, what's going on, Z?"

"Oh, Imma tell you what's going on," Penelope started but she was cut off by Zahia.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Zahia said with a smile, "It's all good."

Fezco and Ashtray were now both out of the car as well as a massive smile drew itself on Zahia's face at the sight of the younger one, "Ash!"

Ashtray looked over at Fezco, "It's cool if I go for a bit?"

Fezco nodded and Ashtray glanced at Lulu who was smiling at him. He left the couple and made his way towards the Jenson's house as he was tackled in a hug by Zahia.

It could have been unexpected but Lulu really liked the influence Ashtray had on Zahia. They had officially met three years prior, when her family had first moved in the neighborhood after their dad had left and, just like it had clicked between Lulu and Fezco, the same thing had weirdly happened between Zahia and Ashtray.

She smiled at the thought and warned her sister one last time that she would kill her if things got out of hand before following Fezco inside his house.

Fezco disappeared in his grandmother's room for a few minutes and Lulu went in his bathroom to brush her teeth and remove her makeup before waiting for him in his bedroom.

She could hear the shower being turned on and she basked in the quietness of the house that contrasted with the faint sounds of loud music that were coming from the outside. Lulu could never quite pinpoint how calming it could be inside Fezco and Ashtray's home knowing what their lives were like.

When Fezco finally came to his room, he quietly sat on the bed, relaxing completely when Lulu wrapped her arms around him and tenderly kissed his shoulder.

And they didn't need to exchange a single word, they simply fell asleep entangled in each other's embrace.

... ... ...

The following morning, Lulu quietly got back home, expecting to find all of Zahia's friends passed out on the couch. But, to her surprise, that wasn't what she found.

Instead, she discovered Zahia sound asleep on the couch with Ashtray softly snoring on the armchair right next to her little sister.

She made a mental note to bring this up for the rest of their lives and quickly inspected the house, realizing no one else was here and that her room was perfectly intact.

She decided to make some coffee and grabbed a garbage bag, dropping all the empty alcohol bottles she could find, purposely making noise to awake the two sleeping birds.

Lulu giggled when she heard them grunting annoyingly. She brought them some water, "Tough night, uh?"

Ashtray responded by pulling his middle finger up, only making Lulu laugh harder. Zahia yawned loudly before drinking her water in one go, giving her sister a lazy smile.

"Happy New Year," Lulu said, rubbing a hand of Ashtray's head, as he yanked her away and rose to his feet, making his way out, "Leaving already, midget?"

"Oh my god," he half-shouted, opening the front door, "Ain't no one but you callin' me like this. See you later."

And he slammed the door shut, leaving the two sisters to laugh at his endeavors, "He loves me so much."

Zahia giggled, "Definitely."

Lulu poured herself a cup of coffee and sat by her sister's side, "So... what happened last night?"

Zahia's face darkened, "I found Max and Casey making out in my room."

Lulu almost choked on her drink, "What?"

"Yeah..." Zahia sighed, "I was looking for her 'cause I hadn't seen her for like... twenty minutes or something. That's when I found them."

Lulu stood speechless, definitely not expecting something like this, as she recalled the two people she had seen outside the previous night, "Wait! That's who Penelope was shouting after last night? Outside?"

Zahia nodded, letting out a small laugh, "Yeah. I had to stop her from smashing Max's face into a wall."

Lulu cackled, "She's crazy. I love her."

"She's really the best," Zahia said before the small smile fell from her face.

Lulu wrapped her arms around her sister, "She wasn't good enough for you anyways."

Zahia shrugged, "Ion know..."

"Pff, she made out with Casey out of all people?" Lulu let out, "Please, you don't need that bitch around."

Zahia laughed, burying her face in her sister's neck. Lulu dropped a kiss on her head, "How about you take a shower, I come back with big fat burgers and we, like, spend all day watching movies?"

"Fuck yeah, I want that," Zahia replied, "Uh, what movie do we start with?"

"Uh... I don't know," Lulu said, thinking for a second, "Mean Girls?"

Zahia lifted an eyebrow, "Really? Mean Girls?"

"What? It's a classic," Lulu snapped back, slightly offended, "Y'know what, find a movie yourself."

Lulu grabbed a jacket and her scooter keys but Zahia stopped her as she was about to leave the house, "He said I should go and smash Max's head into the toilet."

"Ash?"

"Yeah," Zahia replied.

"Is that why he stayed all night?" Lulu asked with a smile, "To teach you how to fight?"

"Nah," Zahia chuckled, "When everybody left, we just talked. I mean... I did most of the talking and he listened."

Lulu softened when she noticed the small smile on Zahia's face. He weirdly did have a good influence on her, "These two troublemakers really know how to do that," and she winked at her sister before leaving the house.

... ... ...

, you wanted the car ride home, well here you got it!!!!

so, as you can tell, drama's happening for zahia as well!

what did you think of this chapter??? i had really missed ashtray not gonna lie!

also, just for info, zahia's pan (aaaand max is a bitch)

and what do you want to see next???