#my bestie looks so fucking beautiful and perfect and her now husband immediately started crying when he saw her

[ellus986]

Always knew you / chapter nineteen

Joe Mazzello x reader

Even chapter 18 did not get 30 notes, @simply-sams-things named her plant Roberto Joey Ben Gwilym Rami H/L/N, so we celebrate this event with the next chapter 🖤❤️ love you bestie I know you really wanted to read it alread so here it is for you

Comment: Y/N is corrently 22, while Joe is 36.

Summary: you knew Joe all of your life, and as best friends you two always find the way back to each other.

You walk in the gym as the kids are already running under Bella’s order, but as they see you they run to you. You have a coat on so they can’t see your bump yet. Everyone of them about to hug you so you get on your knees. “Run your laps, I will be here after that!” You let them continue with they training as you huged all of them. You speak with Bella until they all end they runs, and you put the coat what you were holding at your side on the bench as you turn to them to speak up. “Sit down kids!” They do as you told them. Some of them are looking at you with wide eyes as you put your hand on your stomach. “So I have a good and a bad news! With which one do you want me to start?”

“Good!” Comes in choir.

“So the good news is, as I see some of you already figured it out...” you wink at one of the girls who is looking at your comfortingly rubbing hand. “The Mazzello family going to have a new member just in 26 weeks!” You can see as the rest of the group looks at you in shock with wide eyes, before they run to you again and hug you, and tap your bump all over. “But sadly that means I’m going to stop teaching for now, and going to move to New York!” You end with the bad news, and you see they faces drop.

“Why moving? Can’t you stay here and meet us a lot?” Asks one girl with tears in her eyes.

“Oh darling, that does not mean I won’t show up to mess up coach Bella’s plan for the day, but it would be selfish from me if I don’t move in with my husband...” you kiss one of the girl head as she hugs you. “We made a deal, I can stay here teaching you until we start a family, and he kept his promise he lived here with me, so now it is my turn!”

“How can we know Mr. Mazzello will take good care of you?” Ask one little, with two braids.

“I will!” Joe speaks up for the first time as he was standing in the doorway. Every kid glaces at him immediately, as they weren’t aware of him being there. “I can promise you, I will take good care of my wife, and our child!” He cants on the jamb as he lets a half smile sneak up on his face. “The better question, will she take good care of me?” He chukles as he walks toward you and the kids, who all are cracking up on his words. He gets on his knees next to you and they are huging both of you.

“We gonna miss you!” Sniffes one of the girls while they are huging the two of you like a blanket.

“Yes!” Answers everyone else in choir.

You can’t help just cry in they arms. “Oh God, I’m gonna miss you too kiddos!”

_____________________________________

After 4 cried through good byes from your students you are packing in your apartment. It is the last night you will be spending here before you drive your packed car away. The last night after three years. As you are packing tears are sneaking up in your eyes, falling down on your cheek, on the other hand Joe sings all the way sometimes even dances on his own voice instead of steping.

You want to walk out with one box when he jumps up. “Put it down!”

“It is not that heavy!”

“I’m the muscle you are just the tiny helping hand!” He flexes his arms and you can’t keep your eyes away from the guns. “Wait, are you crying?”

“I had tears all day, you were just too busy in your show!” You giggle.

“I’m sorry...”

“No, no, no, atleast you kept me away from ugly crying!” You kiss him. “Really, it is just the hormones, and that I started my adult life here, I lived here three years and now I just leave...” you sniff.

“Oh Silly!” He hugs you, and you burry your face in his upperarm.

“You really worked on this in the gym” you pinch his biceps.

“You like it?”

“I like it anyway, but fuck you are buff in the american meaning of the word too!” You giggle.

“How much do you like it?” He looks at you with lust in his beautiful hazel eyes.

“Really, really much!” You admit. “If we pack in two hours I may even ride you one more time in this apartment!” You wishper in his ear before walking away with rocking hips. After your words he is really turns on fast mode, while he really tries to show off his biceps in your way everytime he lifts something up. “You daddy is really desperate!” You giggle rubbing your belly.

“Hey, I can hear you!” Yells Joe from the door as he is about to walk down with some boxes.

“Did you heared that, he can hear us!” You chuckle. “Like that ever stoped us!”

As you are about to get everything down into your car, you see your neightbor’s head emerge from her door. “Hi Y/N! What is this mad packing for?” She asks, pointing at your hard working husband with her shaky hand.

“Hi Rosa!” You wave as you walk trowards her. “I’m moving out! We find a house in New York where we can raise this little one!” You smooth the fabric on your round belly.

“Oh I see your... did you had a wedding?” She asks a little hurten, even you two only spoke like 4-6 times a year.

“Oh yes, we married in december!” You smile.

“So you got married before anyone would find out?” She giggles with conspirator look in her eyes.

“No Rosa, we did planed the wedding months earlier than my pregnancy!” Your voice is sharp, and you know that.

“I’m sorry, it was just so fast...” you can see on her face she really do. “Last time you just introduced him as your bestfriend, and now he is your husband!”

“Yes we waited for the first step too much, so now we do not want to waist any more time!” You smile at the 60 years old still rubbing your belly.

“I hope you will think like this later too!” She puts her hand on your shoulder.

“Yes Rosa, I’m pretty sure, I will!” You chuckle even before you would say it. “I called him my future husband when I was 3, I don’t think 19 years are so rushed!”

“Hi, Rosa!” You can feel Joe’s hands on your side as he hugs you and finally puts his hand on your stomach, kissing your nape as always.

“Hi, Joseph!” She nods so straight you almost laugh, she never liked his always loud laughter filled life. “Will you end this loud packing soon?”

“Yes Rosa, I think we have just two or three more rounds and we finished!” You look up at the side to meet with those shining brown eyes.

“Yes, just a few more rounds.” He lets you go and walks in the apartment, as he comes out with four more boxes in his arms you can hear as he mumbles to her. “I hope you will love your new neightbors as much as you loved us, Rosa!” He steps in the elevator so he can’t see the shock sitting on her face.

“Thank you, Rosa for everything, really! I hope we see eachother in the future!” You lie a little.

“Me too honey, bye!” She says as she starts to close her door.

“Bye!” You just keep your laughter back until she fully closes it.

________________________________________

You parked the car at your brothers house. An another sleep over, with a winter pool party, luckily your brother built the pool inside, not outside. Joe squezes your hand in his hand. “Are you ready for the sleepover?”

“To finally tell my family? Couldn’t wait more!” You nod repeating the words he said months earlier with your first pregnancy.

“I love you!” He wishpers as you get out of the car.

“I love you too Silly!”

You walk in the house hand in hand. “Still in the honeymoon stage?” Laughs your mother as she sees you. Everyone is there, you were the last to arrive, perfect.

“Forever!” You giggle burrying your face in Joe’s shoulder.

You put a box in Ginnie’s hands as you enter the living room. “This is for everyone!” You say, and watch as everyone is sitting around her.

“How could you get just one present for everyone?” Asks John and you giggle.

“Just open it!” You hurry them, but as you look up at Mary, it sits on your face you know she knows and before the moms would open the box she shrills a little, but puts her hand on her mouth before anyone would look at her.

When the box is open you finally allowed to put your hand on your stomach, and you can’t even hear as everyone is srceaming, and runs to hug you. “You kidding!” Mumbles your mom.

“No, we are not, again!” Joe smooths your bump rolling his eyes. “In 25 weeks the family will be bigger, so next time if the sleepover is in the late summer or in the autumn there will be really one more member!”

After everyone squezed you two one more time, it was time to change into swimmingsuits, and dive into the pool.

You are already in the water playing with Noah, when Joe walks in. You can see how big of a smile he has on his face. You wishper to your nephews, before walking to the side with him, where Joe was heading to. “Unca Joe!” Mumbles Noah with his tiny hands out for him, and you can see how soft Joe’s face gets. He bends down to reach for Noah, but then you grab his hand and pull him in the water.

“Good team work!” You hold your hand out for a highfive as he giggles on your side.

“You played me little man!” Walks trowards you Joe so fast not just Noah, but you scream too. “You helped your Auntie drag me into the water!” He playes the rule of the water monster, you can see it, and your nephew just screams and giggle as he nods, admiting his crime. Joe kisses both of you while you are giggling under him. “Do you want to see a flip big boy?” He asks him as he finally stops his attack.

“Yeeah!”

Joe plays the whale as he jumps out, and you can’t keep the laughter back, just like the kid on your side. He runs and jumps in, but instead of his feet he lands in the water with his back, hands flailing, so you laugh even harder, heads falling back. He gets above water like a drowning man flailing toward you. Noah chuckles so hard you can hear his breathing gets a little weird. Joe swims to you and kisses his cheek, and you can see the victory on his face as he is not rejected. “Did you liked it little man?”

Noah nods, just before he start to laugh again as Joe madly blows bubbles in the water. You can’t keep it you laugh again, so much your side starts to hurt.

“Hey love birds!” You look up to see Tyler Hoechlin walking in, with Chace Crawford behind him.

“Hey guys!” You smile up at them. “Didn’t know you are coming!”

“Yeah it was a late invitation, we bumped into John and Tom last night...” starts Tyler.

“Couldn’t say no to a pool party with you guys!” Cuts in Chace.

“Come here!” Jumps out Joe to run after him. You give your nephew to Rebecca who just got in the pool, and you follow your husband.

“Marriege made you shine like this or...” starts Tyler as you climb up on the ladder, but chokes up as he sees your torso coming out of water. Joe steps next to you pushing out his stomach his hands on his hips. “You are twining!” Laughs Tyler.

“Bloted!” Joe pulls his shoulder.

“Pregnant!” You mimic him.

“You kidding!”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” You point to your round belly. “I did eat a lot in Bali, but not this much!” You giggle.

“Congratulation!” You are huged again. Season of huging.

To be continued...

My sweet perms:

@simply-sams-things @spacedust1124719

Story tags:

@mrsmazzello

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… I Love Dick (S01E02) The Conceptual Fuck Airdate: May 12, 2017 @amazonvideo Ratings: @amazon streaming only Score: 8.25/10

***********SPOILERS BELOW**********

Just like the first episode of ‘I Love Dick’, the second is over in a flash. It happens so quickly, so ferociously fast, with these seemingly large events that have a heavy significance on these characters, that they are almost too fast to catch. There’s irony in there somewhere because I can see someone easily professing that not much is happening, but in its characterization so much is transpiring I can almost feel my neck break from the whiplash. The episode opens with who I am assuming to be the two head honchos of the Venice Film Festival where Chris’ film had to be pulled because of music rights. They are attempting to watch the film and it looks straight up awful. It’s a lot like the French-Belgian film referenced in this very episode, Chantal Akerman’s 1974 black and white, supposedly charged with raw feminism ‘Je, Tu, Il, Elle’, just without any kind of hypnotic beat, sensuality, or weird lesbian sex scene where two women wrestle around in the bed, looking like an early WWF Women’s Wrestling Match during Post-Attitude Era when women with actual talent and showmanship were actually in the ring. Sorry, I have really weird, repressed, mixed feelings towards that film. Anyway, the two Italian Men toss it because they can’t take it anymore and then we cut back to Marfa, TX. Prepare for lots of cuts, I am very well aware of the presence of editors Julie Cohen & Christal Khatib.

Again there are some really strange, very human moments in this episode. I personally haven’t read the book, but my bestie in Brooklyn raves about it, even calling it her favorite. I keep going back to three big moments in the episode and I’m running them through my mind trying to figure out where these people are coming from. The first is when Chris shows up and interrupts Dick’s seminar, much to the chagrin of Sylvere, who believes that Chris attempting to attend Dick’s seminar is crossing a line in their fantasy that he’s just not comfortable with. Chris could give two shits, obviously this isn’t really a two way street, and shows up anyway… Later lying to Sylvere about being able to get in, claiming that it was full.

She brings a laptop with her terrible film on it and she’s literally a hot mess, once again a possible reference to 'Je, Tu, Il, Elle’… Her phone goes off, she’s bumbling all over the place, Dick dismisses his class and watches a few seconds of her horrible, horrible film and she legit, *and I can’t get over it*, but she legit strokes his head as he’s bent over watching the film. The gesture, the moment, his response to immediately shut the laptop and tells Chris, 'Its not my thing,’ It all sent me into a sort-of paralyzing shock. WTF just happened? Chris freaks out and points out that he hasn’t made art in 7 years and that brick he had set out as an art piece wasn’t art at all… To which he affirmed his love for straight lines. The rich metaphor isn’t lost on me, I died laughing and am chuckling as I’m writing this but I think it’s a combination of that comment and everything that happened so fast in that scene. My love for it increases with repeat views.

Meanwhile, Sylvere is having his own awkward encounters with the woman he met in the first episode, Toby (India Menuez)… This one I had to watch twice as well. Both Sylvere and Chris might have reinvigorated their sex life with this weird sexual fantasy about the mysterious, straight line loving 'Dick’, but they are tanking in the Marfa social scene. Sylvere questions Toby’s taste in art, finding out that her project is about 'looking at hardcore porn without judgement’, and verbatim, 'So I reduce it to its shapes.’ He takes the judgement further and calls her a child and asks her why she’s obsessed with porn, then reduces her to her beauty. The ironic and stunningly ignorant comment is met with the long pause from Toby, striking facial emotional-responding realization and then she simply tells Sylvere, 'You’re awful.’ And again the scene cuts fast, it’s almost dizzying, like I don’t have time to react. The cut is to a red screen with Chris’ words appearing large in and in charge on the screen, 'Dear Dick, I will not be muzzled.’ Only later when I’m sorting out my feelings on the episode, I find myself laughing at the quick edits, and just slightly tonally jarring direction led by the great Kimberly Pierce (a woman who literally burst on to the scene in '99 with the Oscar Winning 'Boys Don’t Cry’). I don’t even know what to think.

Chris returns home after her disastrous meeting with Dick, finding Devon (Roberta Colindrez) installing a water heater or some sort of handy-woman work (see what I did there?), and after the initial shock that someone is in her house, Chris goes right to ranting. Asking her if she knows who the director Maya Deren is, saying that Maya is supposed to be the most important female director of all time. Devon replies No, which I’m guessing most people wouldn’t know her either. Deren was big in the way Indy Bands are big now, but in the 40’s. I know film pretty well, but Meren is mainly a mystery, and while I’m familiar with a lot of films in the 50’s, they are more of Monster Movie in taste (I love classic, iconic trash 50’s cinema, like 'The Blob’, 'Alligator Man’, 'Them’). Trancey, experimental avant-garde types… No the 40’s would be far too early for me to consume that type of genre, despite its cultural importance.

It’s just hilarious to me to see Chris go on and on about how she likes mainstream directors and hates Sofia Coppola, who I’ve always loved btw… Chris cites Sofia’s 'perfect chestnuts highlights’ as another reason she hates her, 'Ooh, hey, how’d you get that brunette? A lotta money!’ I’m literally dead. 😂 Devon starts to follow her around, she’s literally mesmerized by Chris’ unhinged rant. Chris is now just asking rhetorical questions and ranting on as Devon almost salivates at Chris’ crazy as a pure inhibited spectator, 'It is a wonder that any woman could think of herself as an artist.’ Devon actually responds here… 'Uhm, I’m an artist too, so…’ Chris barely recognizes she spoke, muttering back, 'Oh, I didn’t realize’, like that has any bearing on the conversation that could’ve blossomed from there. I’m usually pretty empathetic but if I wasn’t laughing so hard from her rant and the Sofia Coppola comments, who once again I’ve always been fond of, I probably would have reached through the tv and pulled Chris’ hair a bit. I wonder what kind of rant Chris would produce about the cultural cancer of Oxygen’s 'Bad Girls Club’. In a perfect world, there would be an extra scene that Amazon would allow subscribers to see an outtake of this very scenario.

I guess Chris’ interaction with Dick is so jarring that she starts to rip down all the letters she wrote to Dick from the lines strung across her bedroom. And it appears Chris’ visit to Dick’s class was so jarring we see him sitting on his porch staring intently into the Great wide Texan open, clearly annunciating her name in full, 'Chris Kraus’. The editing is fantastic in these final moments (tho to be fair it’s great the whole way through). We see Devon shirtless, confidently writing as if a lightbulb is literally shining bright above her head. Sylvere somberly mopes back through town to his home. This is when we cut to 'Je, Tu, Il, Elle’ where the protagonist speaks about taking everything she had written and spreading it out, then just laying in bed. Cut to Chris laying in bed looking up at the empty wire dawned with clothespins that once held all the letters to Dick, the same letters that had Sylvere and Chris fucking like they had just met each other. Sylvere walks in professing that he hates the town and tries to sit next to Chris and touch her, but without the letters there is no longer warmth and a red pulsing glow in their bedroom. She jerks away from him and claims her 'skin is tight’. Yeesh.

Suki & Geoff arrive at Devon’s trailer and she reveals what she was fervently writing about… A play… About a couple from New York… A woman… She wants to 'become somebody’… 'But she hates herself’… Another quick cut, God I’m in love with these editors… Chris is packing up all her letters to Dick. Cut to Dick who sees a snake, slithering in the very opposite manner of the straight lines he claims to love so much. He arranges multiple rocks in the shape of the slithering, wavy snake and runs along side of them. Is this Dick beginning to let go of his rigid nature? Cut back to Chris who is walking into Dick Jarrett’s office and drops off a box containing all the letters she had written Dick, and so passionately made love to her husband under. The box is tied with a single ribbon, and there’s a dead moth at one corner of the box with a card… 'To: Dick Jarrett / From: Chris Kraus’… Cut to RED. That’s the perfect color alright.

[sarahcassellsuniverse-blog]

Once Upon a Time..

Ari fluffed her flaming red hair into a bouffant and smoothed down the stray hairs that were determined to escape. She drew a fat bristle brush carefully along her halo of fire, her tongue poking out and resting on her lips with the intensity of her concentration.

The brush hovered in the air beneath her last split end as she drew it slowly away, careful not to make any sudden movement. She held her head stiffly as she placed the brush down on her white dressing table before her long pale fingers slipped gently around a can of hairspray. She lifted the bottle and sprayed liberally until the ticking black hand had circled twice around her clock.

With a satisfied sigh she shook the now empty bottle and threw it aside, where it clattered into a wastebin full of similar cans.

She fluffed her hair again and winked at her reflection, admiring her long dark lashes. She frowned and peered closely at the new extensions, wondering if they could have grown out in the last week. She would have to book another appointment. She couldn't possibly wait the recommended four weeks.

She pouted her perfectly shaped lips, tilting her head. She felt a stab of envy, thinking about Rose's lips. They had all warned her that the operation could go wrong, but she hadn't cared. She had booked in to see the surgeon and a week later they were done. Ari couldn't help but feel disappointed; they had turned out perfectly, beautiful even. Now she felt so inadequate. Stupid bitch, she thought. Maybe next time they would go wrong.

Ari flicked her hair back and hoisted her bra up, ensuring the creamy curve of her breasts was visible. Her short green dress sparkled like fish scales, and clung to her lean body.

Her diamond encrusted mobile rang, vibrating on the table. She flipped it open and placed it to her ear, still pouting in the mirror.

“Yello.”

“Where are you? Are you coming?” came the concerned voice of her friend Belle.

Ari sighed. Belle was a worrier. Always had been.

“I'm on my way,” said Ari, rubbing some more rouge lipstick over her lips.

“By that do you mean you're still in front of the mirror?” asked Belle.

Ari's pride prickled but she knew the truth when she heard it. She took a deep breath and finished powdering her face.

“I'll be there soon Belle, chill out. You're always too early.”

Belle was silent for a few moments.

“You're forty-five minutes late Ari,” she said quietly. “And nobody else except Alice is here.”

Ari sighed exasperatedly.

“I'm leaving now alright?”

There was silence.

“Ok Belle?”

“Alright,” said Belle, after a few moments. “Don't be too long. I need to talk to..just get here soon.”

Ari clicked her phone shut and sighed, slipping it into her bag. She glanced at her husband, whose fat body was sprawled across their bed. Great snores came out of his drunken mouth, much louder than the roars that had once come from Belle's husband. She wondered how their paths had twisted. Belle had suffered excruciatingly attempting to tame her man, but had been rewarded with a humble, kind and loving husband for the rest of her life. Ari had sacrificed everything to gain her husband's love, and now...well, she still had her looks.

She shoved the empty bottles of whiskey out of her way with her pointed high heeled shoe, avoiding the many carpet stains. There was no point in fixing up the dingy flat. Ari's love of beauty and her husband's alcoholic tendencies had put paid to that.

Ari hailed a taxi and climbed in, Chanel wafting after her. She crossed her perfect legs and gave the destination to the driver. Her phone bleeped with notifications. She pulled it out and scrolled through Instagram.

She grimaced at Rose's post. Her lips took up most of her selfie. She had a pink bralet and skirt on, her bleach blonde hair coiffed and curled.

Another notification. Snapchat. Ari opened the picture, and was greeted with a selfie of Cindy and Snow, who were in the back of a taxi. Snow's eyes were glazed, a sneaky bottle of vodka sticking out of her bag. Cindy was pulling a duckface, her hands shoving her chest up.

“BFFs. Get ready boys,” the text across the snapchat read.

Ari scoffed and clicked the phone shut. Guess Cindy still didn't know her boyfriend was coming in Snow's mouth every Thursday after work.

Throbbing music pumped louder as Ari's taxi drew up beside the club. She paid the driver and stepped out, her long legs appearing before she did.

A few wolf whistles came her way, and she glanced proudly down at her legs. They were her pride and joy, her ultimate prize for the price she had paid all those years ago. This was the true reward. Certainly her 'prince' hadn't been worth his salt.

She navigated her way through the tightly packed crowd, feeling hands on her arse more than once.

“Ari!” cried a familiar voice.

Ari glanced towards the bar, where Jaz was stood waving. Her short red dress sparkled under the lights, her shining Arabian hair halfway down her back.

Ari made her way over and grasped her in a hug. Jaz' beautiful almond eyes were framed with black and she smiled widely.

“You look gorgeous!” Jaz cried, whipping out her phone. “Selfie?”

Ari posed for the camera, as Jaz stuck her chest out. The flash blinded Ari. She watched Jaz scrutinize the photo, before clicking upload.

“Nice,” she said, nodding approvingly.

“Where are the others?” Ari asked, her eyes sweeping the room.

“Over there,” Jaz pointed. “In the corner. But you won't spend too long there. Alice is being a right bore. I don't know why she bothers coming out. It's not like any of the men come and talk to us while she's there. Unless they're paedophiles,” she said nastily, laughing loudly.

Ari couldn't bring herself to laugh and made do with a grimace. She tapped her on the arm and made her way over to the others.

Snow and Cindy had arrived just before her. Snow winked at her.

“Where's Cindy?” asked Ari, as Belle stood up to greet her. She looked classy in a little yellow dress, her brunette waves falling softly over her shoulders.

“Gone out for a cig I think,” said Snow, downing another shot. “You look good,” she said, insincerity in every tone of her voice.

Ari caught little Alice gazing at her with an expression of pure envy. She quickly averted her eyes when she saw Ari had noticed.

“Ok Alice?” Ari asked.

Alice nodded and forced a smile. Her skin was drawn, pale and tight over her prominent cheekbones. She looked like she hadn't slept for weeks.

“Hey bitches,” cooed the soft sultry voice of Rose. There was a collective gasp that got lost under the music, but Ari knew they were all thinking the same thing.

Rose was so thin! Her waist was miniscule, especially under her silicone filled double F cups. Her hip bones jutted out under her skirt, and her belly was concave. But what upset Ari the most were Rose's legs. There was no fat, no muscle, just beautiful stick thin legs. Ari's arm was bigger than both of her friend's legs. She stifled her tears and forced a smile.

“Wow,” she said, “You look amazing.”

Rose twirled. “Thanks,” she said. “I've been working hard.”

“What do you do to get like that Rose?” asked Snow, leaning over for tips. A huge grin appeared on Rose's face and she flopped down beside her, immediately launching into a full description of her eating and exercising habits.

Ari glanced at Belle, who gazed disbelievingly at Rose. She looked sick, and placed a  reassuring hand on Alice's leg.

Ari turned to get some air, feeling she might cry at any moment. She stepped out into the beer garden, and took a deep breath of smoke filled air. She caught Cindy's eye, and made her way over.

Ari wafted the smoke from Cindy's cigarette away from her and leaned against the wall, trying not to think about Rose's new figure. She had to be doing something else. Detoxes maybe. That would be it. She was completely fake. Stupid whore.

Cindy let out a long sigh with her smoke.

“I'm pregnant, Elle,” she said quietly.

Ari frowned, quite sure she'd misheard her. “You're joking.”

Cindy grimaced. “Fraid not.”

“But- jesus Cindy.”

“I know. Bummer.”

Silence fell between them. Ari couldn't digest the news. A fight broke out on the other side of the courtyard. Glass smashed onto the floor as the bouncers dragged them out.

“You shouldn't be smoking Cin.”

Cindy sighed. “Doesn't matter. It'll be damaged any way.”

“Why?”

“Because you can't bring a baby into a world where its father fucks his girlfriend's bestie every other week can you?”

Ari felt her mouth drop open as Cindy took another drag.

“You know?”

“Of course I know. I've known since it started. I don't wear that trashy violet lipstick do I?”

She sighed again and threw her cigarette on the ground, stubbing it out with her heel.

“What are you going to do?” asked Ari quietly.

Cindy glanced up at the starry sky, partly obscured by the smoke.

“Carry on,” she said. “Isn't that what we do best?”

“But-”

“There's no point trying to be perfect Ari,” Cindy said. “I was. You are. Fucking Rose can't stop,” she said with a bitter laugh. “But there's no point,” she sighed. “There's no such thing. Not any more.”

Ari felt Cindy's fingers interlace with hers before she left, disappearing back into the club. Ari leaned her head against the dirty wall and closed her eyes momentarily. She sighed and headed back into the club.

Rose and Snow were still deep in conversation, but Belle and Alice were nowhere to be seen.

Ari pushed the door of the bathroom open and headed for the mirrors. She glanced at her body, too fat now. Her legs looked like tree trunks, nothing like Rose's spindly perfections.

Jaz burst into the bathroom with a man in tow. She winked at Ari before disappearing into a cubicle with him. Her sounds of pleasure began to rise. Ari ignored her, having heard it many times before.

The door banged open again as Belle entered. She looked relieved to see Ari.

“Have you seen Alice?” she asked.

Ari shook her head, flexing her legs in the mirror.

“Well do you know when you last saw her?” Belle asked, shouting to be heard over Jaz' screams.

“Uh uh,” said Ari, still gazing at her legs. “Ow,” she cried as Belle grasped her, her fingernails digging into Ari's skin.

“Will you pay attention to something other than how you look for once?” she shouted, tears seeping from her eyes. “I'm sick of the lot of you! You haven't even noticed, you never notice. Any of you.”

“Belle-”

“No I'm sick of you. When did we start acting like this?” she shouted. “Sluts,” she said, throwing a hand out to Jaz' cubicle. “Beauty obsessed, anorexics, drug takers. Surgery addicts.”

Ari felt stunned. She had never seen Belle lose control like this.

“Do you know what I was told last week?” she said. “I was told that I had schizophrenia.”

Ari felt the news hit her in the face. Belle's lip wobbled as she said it. Her body shook but she held it together.

“But you know what,” she said, smiling slightly. “I'm not the one here who is mentally ill.”

A heavy silence fell between them, disturbed only by the distant music and Jaz's now quieter moans.

“Belle,” Ari whispered, “I'm so-”

“Don't be. I'm not. Because I feel sorry for you. And Rose. All of you. Especially Alice. Because she will never be like you,” said Belle tearfully. “You don't realise do you? How she looks up to you, how she's desperate to be like you. But she never will be.”

“She can try. A little make up, a little diet-”

“Do you hear yourself?” cried Belle, her hands in her hair. “She will never be like you because she is normal. Like me, like every other girl in this world. But we can't be the same as you, wanna know why?”

“Why?” snapped Ari viciously.

“Because you,” Belle whispered, “are fake. Not even you, can really ever match the fake you.”

Ari seethed quietly as Belle shook her head tearfully.

“You know the really sad thing?” she said. “Once long ago...you could.”

She gave her one last long look and left, slamming the door behind her. Ari faced the mirror slowly, and raised her eyes tentatively to her reflection.

She hadn't known then that Alice had been in one of the cubicles, that she had heard everything, and that she had picked up on the only sentence that truly mattered to her. Selective hearing, the strongest vice that had ensnared the women of this century.

Little Alice had been found hours later, her nose bloodied from the cocaine she had been taking for weeks. The reason why? Cocaine was purported to make one thin.

Ari sat on the sandy shore of her hometown, her feet in the water. She hadn't realised how much Alice had been struggling. How any of them had. Including herself.

Rose had been taken into hospital, after suffering a cardiac arrest. Cindy had cut ties with Snow, kicked her boyfriend out and was going to raise the baby on her own. Jaz had been diagnosed with HIV, but continued to sleep with guys in the bathroom.

As for Ari, she had moved home not long after Alice's death, had found a counsellor and was slowly but surely coming to terms with herself. She was beginning to remember her true voice, not the voice in her head that told her to be better, thinner, more beautiful.

Belle visited often, and they took long walks along the beach. Ari had deleted all her social media accounts, and the only pictures she took were polaroids.

She sighed contentedly as the water lapped against her feet. She watched the glittering ocean caressing her skin and wondered for the hundredth time if she had made the right choice. Being human wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

But what could she say? She had sold her soul to the devil long ago. And she knew there was no escaping him. If not a sea witch, then Instagram, or Snapchat. Calories, surgery, hair extensions. The devil was everywhere. But he would never take her voice again.