"Okay, so I come over when the birthday's over," Lulu said, "You okay with that?"

Fezco said as he held his girlfriend by the waist, sitting on the couch as she was standing up in front of him, "Why wouldn' I be?"

She shrugged, looking at him playfully, "I don't know... maybe you got bored of me."

And, for the first time in her life, she witnessed an eyeroll from the man, "Stop sayin' bullshit."

Lulu chuckled, looking over at Zahia who was sitting on the opposite couch, next to Ashtray, "You call me if there's a problem."

Ashtray raised an eyebrow, "She in no trouble with us."

Lulu looked at him up and down, smirking, then glanced at her sister who was looking away, visibly embarrassed, before snapping her eyes back at Ashtray, "I hope so."

"You're so fuckin' embarrassing," Zahia whispered, which caused Lulu and Fezco to chuckle.

Lulu collected her purse, "Okay, I'm going. I'll be back in a few hours," and walked away from Fezco's gentle hands but he caught her wrist and spun her around, tugging on her arm as she leaned forward and dropped a kiss on his lips.

Before she could turn around again, he left a small peck on her exposed belly, Lulu melting at the amount of affection she was getting from him.

Because physical contact was Fezco's love language and she couldn't get enough of it.

"Ya'll are fuckin' gross," Ashtray commented.

"Shut up, bitch," Lulu bickered sarcastically, "See you!"

And she walked out the door and made her way to Cassie and Lexi's house, totally oblivious that she had crossed the path of the exact same black SUV that had been following her around —this time, she was not going to her house, but the car definitely was.

... ... ...

Everybody was already at Cassie and Lexi's place when Lulu walked in. Balloons were scattered all around the living-room, food was already set on the beautifully decorated dining table and all the girls wore their prettiest outfits to celebrate Maddy's birthday.

"Hello everyone!"

Suze popped out of the kitchen with her arms opened wide, "The superstar is here! Come here, angel!"

Lulu chuckled in her embrace, noticing Maddy smiling widely at her best friend, "I'm no superstar tonight, Maddy is! My birthday girl!"

And she tackled her in a big hug as they both shrieked in excitement, "Happy birthday, my love!"

"Thank you!" Maddy replied, pecking her cheek, "I'm so happy you came!"

Lulu furrowed her eyebrows, "Of course! Why'd you always assume I'm not gonna be here? It's your birthday, hello?! I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Maddy shrugged, "Cause you're, like, busy all the time. And things are getting huge for you and I'm so so happy for you..."

Lulu faltered, recalling the conversation she had with Mary a few days ago. She recalled turning down a job, how Enolla hadn't called her yet to tell her if the producers had agreed to postpone filming. Things were working out amazingly well for her but, maybe, it was all about to end before she even had the chance to experience it fully.

"And, maybe I'm a little selfish," Maddy added, "But I'm scared you'll forget about me when you leave this place and go to be like a crazy successful bitch."

Lulu wiped the tear that had rolled down her left cheek, hitting Maddy lightly on the shoulder, "I could never forget you, you dumbass! You're my best friend for fuckin' ever, you ain't getting rid of me."

Maddy giggled, now wiping a tear that had slipped out of her eye as well.

"And I don't plan on leaving this shit hole any time soon," Lulu said, "Now, tonight's your night!"

Dinner finally started, with Lulu sitting right next to Lexi. Now, the two girls hadn't been hanging out as much as they had wanted to.

But Lulu did help Lexi on one thing though.

"You want me to what?" Lulu asked, as Lexi had chased her for a whole day at school, trying to talk to her.

Lexi scratched the back of her head, feeling embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, that was stupid."

"No, no, no!" Lulu jumped in, "I'm just... not sure that I'm the right fit for that..."

Lexi glared at her, "I originally wanted to give you the lead of the play, Lulu."

"Yeah, well, if I wasn't so busy I would've said yes," Lulu chuckled, "But, like... I'm not a casting director or whatever. I don't know how it works."

Lexi raised an eyebrow, "You literally spend your whole life auditioning, if one person knows how it works, it's definitely you."

Lulu contemplated Lexi's offer, feeling like it could be a great opportunity to see how her job worked from another perspective. This time, she wouldn't have to be nervous about impressing anyone, she would actually be one of the people to be impressed. And she liked the sound of that.

"Okay, count me in."

Lexi joyfully clapped, giving her a quick hug, "You are the best! Okay, so meet us at the auditorium after last period!"

And Lulu laughed as she watched the girl running away, "Okay! Hey, wait, Lex!"

The girl spun around, "What?"

"Next time, just ask me straight up, I would've read your play and helped you out a long time ago," Lulu said, "Cause you freaked me out at the New Years party, thought you were after my man."

Lexi's eyes popped out, "W-What?"

Lulu giggled, "You got all flustered and shit when I showed up, I thought you were tryin' to flirt."

"I... I wasn't—"

Lulu nodded, "I know. Fez told me. I'd kill you if you tried."

Lexi stopped breathing, as if Lulu had a gun pointed in her direction.

"Okay, see you later, Lex," Lulu said, popping her lips together and winking at her friend before walking away.

Lulu was there for every audition in the auditorium, sometimes taking over to deliver Grace's lines to the girls, allowing Lexi to fully concentrate on the performances and, therefore, on making the right decision for each part.

And, watching Lulu deliver the lines that were the perfect representation of herself, Lexi realized that, maybe Lulu was successful, softly bathing and glowing in the spotlight, but she had perfectly understood Grace's personality. And every time Lulu was portraying Grace, Lexi felt like she was looking at herself through a spotless mirror.

Because, just like Lexi, Lulu was also an observer. Hell, maybe even more than Lexi.

"Want some wine, Lulu?" Suze asked, lifting the soon-to-be empty bottle.

Lulu shook her head, "No, thanks!"

Suze pouted, surprised to see her turning down an offer to drink some liquor, "Are you sure? Honey, it's a birthday, I ain't saying a word to your parents, you can have fun!"

All the girls' talks abruptly ended at the mention of Lulu's parents. It was known all across town —especially now that the cops were involved, that both of Lulu's parents were gone and missing. Now, it wasn't something that Lulu talked about a lot but everybody knew.

However, at that moment, Lulu hadn't picked up on the mood shift in the room. She actually had her eyes glued on the wine bottle and she couldn't help but think that she had been keeping herself away from alcohol since the Winter formal. And she had actually been handling it quite well.

Had she thought about buying some alcohol and drinking it in her bed at night every once in a while? It would be a blatant lie to say she hadn't. Of course. And some nights had been tougher than others. But she hadn't lost her mind at the absence of liquor in her life.

"You know what, fill me up," Lulu beamed, trying to repress the eery feeling inside her stomach, "One drink can't hurt, am I right?"

But, as expected, Lulu didn't stop after one drink.

... ... ...

, yeah... maybe lulu doesn't want to admit it but she does have a problem... yet.

so, your thoughts on this chapter?? what do you think will happen next?

also, lulu and maddy are literally my favorites

and lulu and lexi being the observer duo!!!!

i really LOVE the comments so please don't restrain yourself !!!