Booth Lane College

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At Jamie's comment about Sky's perfume Bella couldn't help but scoff slightly as she tried to sniffle a laugh as she looked over at him shaking her head. "Well, even if it's remotely sweet- I've always preferred spice, so I'm good without getting in on any of that," She replied gently leaning back and sipping from her can calmly, kicking her legs out in front of her like a child, she turned her gaze up to his for a moment when he questioned her and a moment of sincerity crossed her eyes like a thin cloud passes the sun in a strong breeze. "No but I'll hold up," She replied to him quietly, leaning towards him slightly so she could whisper her response because she really wouldn't get through a single day if anybody else ever knew. "And I don't know. I'm gonna try but I think my new nickname is gonna be Cinders as this rate," She said it like it was a joke but she didn't laugh, she wanted to but she couldn't. The whole thing with her Mother was beyond funny, she knew she was probably sensitive about it because it was directly her own problem but then again, if it was anybody else she wouldn't think it was something to joke about either. She looked at him and smiled a white but weak smile; "It'll be fine," She told him nudging his shoulder gently when everybody started swarming over the sudden arrival of pizza.

"But don't punch anybody, I'm the one that kicks ass at school," She reminded jokingly. "Has Jace's face gone back to white after I painted it purple yet?" She asked curiously because she hadn't actually seen him since the unravelling of those bitter but in hindsight slightly amusing events.

She let go of the serious conversation as the food arrived and she chucked her input of the money to Ellie before flopping back down into her previous position lazily. The smell of all the food kind of made her stomach churn a little, her Mother's new trick the previous month was to refuse to feed her or even let Bella feed herself and consequently Bella's appetite had been slaughtered because of it and it terrified her that it'd reached the point where even the smell was almost too much. She chewed her lip momentarily and sighed before throwing back another mouthful of beer and taking a deep breath. It'll be fine. She repeated the words she'd said to Jamie only moments ago to herself multiple times in her mind, no one could know anything was wrong so she had to eat and plus she didn't know if she'd be able to when she got home but that didn't make it easier to stomach the thought.

She looked at Alex as he addressed the group and she shrugged gently. "Jamie and I used to do it a lot as kids but this is the first time we've done it as group actually," She thought out loud trailing off and hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them as everyone talked and relaxed.

"The only arrangement is that I'm getting some of that god damn pepperoni," Nate joked loudly in response to Alex's query about arrangements and he moved over and looked at Ellie, holding out the money. Sky tapped his arm quickly and he took her money as well when she put it in his hand and then he passed it over to Ellie with a small but hurt smile. "Cheers," He uttered tonelessly before falling back into his place opposite Ellie and Alex but next to Sky and Bella. He wasn't quite sure why it felt so hard, just sitting there- it was the guilt. He knew it had to come back to the guilt but why did he feel so bad? He knew his intentions had never been wrong. He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before he chugged back some beer as if that would wash the negativity away before helping himself to a piece of garlic bread and offering some over to Sky also who politely declined garlic bread and went for pizza instead.

He listened to Bella and Alex's conversation and nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, we usually just go to gigs or parties around the town but this makes a nice change- so much more chill," He commented in a genuine manner.

"Bella if I give you the Bluetooth speaker can I trust you not to kill anyone with heavy metal?" He asked and Bella just smirked at him from behind the hair that had fallen in her face and she shrugged softly.

"No promises deary," She chirped before catching the small but powerful speaker he chucked her way and then she turned it over, found the 'on' button and set about connecting it to her phone and it took her a matter of minutes to begin playing 'Bukowski' by a band called Moose Blood and it was a song she really loved and plus it wasn't anything like heavy metal so no one could get pissy about it. Nate nodded in approval to the song she put on and grinned offering a thumbs up across the camp.

"Good choice child," He commented humorously.

Skylar laughed at them all joking around but her smile faded, the pastel pink became shadowed until it completely went away when she glanced over at just the wrong moment at Jamie and Bella in time to notice how a slight sorrow and darkness crawled into the brunette's eyes. People made a lot off assumptions about Skylar being unintelligent simply because of her choice to be quiet and apply herself to make-up, credibility, social climbing and fashion more than her studies but she was incredibly sharp and knowledgeable on psychology and sociology so she could very clearly see through what Bella was trying to put up and Jamie, she could see through them like a crystal clear pane of fresh glass- he cared about her, she cared about him, they both appeared scared and she was nervous. She could read that like a book but she didn't comment on it to either of them or involve herself, it was none of her business so all she could do was gloss over it all with a sparkling peony smile.

She laughed and passed her money to Nate to exchange to Ellie before she relaxed and accepted a piece of pizza, sitting back whilst she ate, some how managing to even make the consumption of fast food look reasonably elegant and graceful.

"Moose Blood?" She confirmed quietly when the track came on and Bella nodded to her and she grinned.

"Thought so, they're pretty rad if I'm honest," She commented casually and the other girl nodded once in agreement but was seemingly distracted regardless.

Jamie handed over his share of the bill as he accepted the box from Alex, grinning as he gave his thanks. "Nope," he said in response to Bella's question about Nate. "His face is quite a wonderful shade of green at the minute, it's hilarious," he said, opening the box and inhaling deeply. He hadn't found anywhere else that did vegan pizza quite like that. The fact that they did vegan garlic bread as well was fantastic. He took a bite of the pizza, sliding the box a little closer to Bella so she could grab some as well.

"Have we been to one of their gigs?" He asked Bella. He'd been to so many with Bella, he was almost forgetting which was which. They were all awesome- the atmosphere was incredible, and even when he didn't know the words to the songs, he could still sing along to some of the choruses.

"I think I've met them, actually," Alex remarked. "Moose Blood, you said? I've a feeling I played guitar for a band that was supporting them in a really small club. They were pretty cool guys."

"That's awesome," Jamie said after swallowing his mouthful of pizza. Balancing the half eaten slice on his leg, he reached over and retrieved a slice of garlic bread and a handful of fries, before taking a mouthful out of his beer.

She smiled at Nate as he handed her the money- but while there was some sadness in his expression, there was none of hers. She wasn't sad about him, about how things were. It was his own fucking fault. She put the money into her purse and grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza. The place they'd ordered from was a little expensive, but they did do vegan food, and the food was incredible quality.

She didn't recognise the song, but it was pretty damn good, even if she wasn't particularly one for pop punk. They seemed like the type of band that would be awesome live, regardless of it you knew the band or not. They were the best kinds of bands, if she was honest.

"Aw, I was half-hoping you'd say they were assholes so we could have a bitching session," Ellie teased Alex, before taking a bite out of her pizza. "Holy crap, this stuff is so good," she said around the mouthful of food. "I could live off of this," she remarked.

Alex laughed at Ellie's comment, covering his mouth so he wouldn't spray food all over them. "Oh, trust me, if you want a bitching session, I have stories about some of the greatest drama queens in music," he said once he'd swallowed the mouthful of food.

At Ellie's comments about the food, he nodded. "I know, it's so freaking good! He said, reaching for a piece of garlic bread. "Honestly, I understand. And, I mean, I'm pretty sure that you actually could live off of it. You have the major food groups right here, especially if you alternate the types of pizza," he remarked, grinning. "We're showing our punk pop side," he laughed.

He wasn't sure if it was just him or not, but he felt like the awkwardness was starting to dissipate. He and Sky had been accepted into the group almost immediately, and the tension that had originally been there seemed to be disappearing- possibly thanks to the alcohol and food. He'd been to enough parties to know that those two things usually helped get rid of any tension- until somebody got ridiculously drunk and started a fight. That was usually when Alex left.

When Jamie told her about the condition of Jace's face she laughed half heartedly resting back on her elbows and rolling her eyes softly at the thought. "Good, he deserves it. I'm proud of that punch if I'm perfectly honest," She pretended not to notice the pizza box between them because she couldn't quite stomach the thought at the minute, she ran her fingers through her hair and kept chatting away to try and distract from how she didn't dive in at the offer of pizza like everybody else.

She thought about it for a moment and then after a while, her expression lit up with excitement as she remembered. "Yeah, yeah we have- they supported Frank Iero when we went two summers ago," She told him. Bella took pride in her memory, especially when it came to gigs because although she'd been to nearly every gig to ever occur in Bristol- she remembered every one, headline acts, support and even warm-up acts like anyone who did something interesting at an open mic hour. She could often associate it back to her outfit as well.

"You met Mickey Chapman? I'm ridiculous jealous. He was like my teenage crush," She laughed jokingly before taking a swig of beer, her eyes widening slightly in fear it wasn't sitting right but she assembled herself and appeared to be just fine but she put her drink down and sat up straight again crossing her legs neatly and taking a deep breath.

Nate cringed a little at Ellie's expression and sat besides Skylar again rubbing the back of his neck glumly and taking a large mouthful of his beer and settling back, withdrawing into himself a little more than he was known to. At her comment he grumbled to himself; "I'm sure you'll find something else to bitch about," He didn't mean the words that passed his lips, he was just hurt and overly sensitive about the whole ordeal. He felt Skylar put a hand on his arm and she leaned over to mumble in his ear as to be subtler than shouting out to him;

"You okay Nat?" She uttered quietly.

Nate looked at her and smiled like everything was beautiful and grand and nodded, finishing his beer and casting it aside but he answered her.

"Yeah, yeah of course I am," He told her softly with a grin so convincing it was frightening before she finally withdrew and leaned back again leaving the subject to dissipate because she didn't know him well enough to realise he was lying.

Skylar laughed gently and nodded quickly in agreement with Ellie's statement; "It's pretty lush isn't it, god you know this might actually be like only the 2nd or 3rd time I've had pizza now I think about it," She admitted rubbing the back of her neck, back home weight and appearance had always been drilled into her mind hence she was so carefully proportioned and her diet so tight but she figured she could spare a slice of pizza without her Mother flying off the handle too much about the importance of 'monitoring her waistband' she didn't want her agent to make a deal about it either, that's why she'd brought Vodka with her in her bag, it was low calorie and wouldn't jeopardise her week's work.

"So, who have you played with or for before then?" Skylar asked Alex turning her attention for a brief moment out of curiosity and to just in general to keep the conversation going.

He laughed at Bella's comment about her teenage crush, taking a mouthful out of his drink. He could tell that she still wasn't herself, but he knew that pushing the subject would only make things worse. So instead, he just listened to the others talking as he ate and drank his beer.

"I was totally in love with Avril Lavigne for a few years. And then Hayley Williams. And then Lzzy Hale," he remarked, laughing at himself a little. There had been a while where he'd genuinely believed that he was going to marry her, and when his parents had broken it to him that that was probably not going to happen, he'd been heartbroken. He cringed a little at the memory, but mostly just laughed. Now that he had some alcohol in his system, he was relaxing more and more and could feel himself coming out of his shell.

"You've only had pizza two or three times? You poor, deprived child. Pizza is the food of gods," Jamie remarked, taking a bite out of his own slice. "And yes, that includes the vegan stuff," he said, laughing. He resisted the temptation to add something like "and it's even better because no animals get hurt!" Even though that was what he thought, he didn't want to come across as preachy, even if it was only a joke. Didn't want to overwhelm the newbies.

Ellie heard Nate's comment and arched an eyebrow. Through some miracle, though, she bit her tongue and didn't say anything. She drained the rest of the beer and stood up. "You know what? Now that we've got some lining in our stomachs, I think it's time to break out the harder stuff," she said, retrieving her bottle of vodka and the twelve pack of Coke from the car, as well as some cups from her bag.

She poured her own drink when she got back to the group, leaving the various items for everyone else to mix their own. She stayed silent for a bit, just drinking and listening to the others talk. She wanted to make some comment to Nate, something to counter his, but the moment had passed, and now it would just seem petty. So she kept her mouth shut and ate her food, listening to the others chat. She knew that Jamie and Bella were relishing the break, and she didn't really want to ruin their night, but she wanted to tear Nate to shreds.

Alex laughed at Bella's comment, before taking a mouthful out of his beer.

"Ah, nothing really that big. I'm mostly just tracking for and playing with local and smaller bands at the minute. The only time I get to meet anybody famous is if the band I'm touring with is supporting them or if I happen to meet them in the recording studio while at the water cooler," he joked. "But, all joking aside, I met Austin Carlile at a festival I just so happened to be playing at once. He's such a cool dude," he remarked.

As Ellie appeared with the stronger stuff, he leaned in to mix his drink. He didn't feel like getting flat out drunk, so it was mostly Coke. "But yeah, I'm slowly working my way up the ladder. I'm tracking for this up-and-coming indie band next week. I was doing my research on them, and apparently they're going to be the next Arctic Monkeys. So I'm definitely going to do some networking there," he said, laughing a little as he took a mouthful out of his Coke. "What about you? Had any brushes with famous people?" He asked.

"Oh Christ," She laughed when Jamie brought up his Lzzy Hale crush and she smiled at him softly. "You were terrible, I distinctly remember that because you never stopped going on about her but to be fair, I'd go out with any of them I don't care if people would take the piss about it being gay or whatever," She joked casually crossing her legs and sitting up straight and taking a deep breath to try and settle her uneasy feelings and emotion. "But I was probably far worse when I went through my Kellin Quinn, Vic Fuentes and Oliver Sykes phase," She chimed with a small grin of amusement as they discussion unfolded but her jaw physically dropped when Skylar mentioned she'd only eaten pizza a couple of times before.

"What? Are you okay? I know France is slow but I didn't think they were so slow they didn't have pizza," She chimed jokingly offering a small passing smile as she spoke. "To be fair, I actually think the Vegan one is probably nicer, Nate don't kill me," She called back dramatically but when she looked over at him she realised he was far from in a joking mood and so she didn't enforce the humour and instead fell quieter.

She kind of wanted to talk to Nate, she could see how low he was feeling and really wanted to try and cheer him up because he'd been moping around that way all week and although she hadn't seen him because she'd been of school, she'd heard enough about it and everyone had been saying he'd been smoking a thousand times more than usual and skipping his classes which he very rarely ever did anymore since he finished AS. She'd catch him at some point, she told herself and tell him to pull himself together and give him some big motivational speech teaching him how to get on and live with things but for now, she tried to make up for it by passing him a drink when he finished his first knowing he wasn't much of a spirit drinker and offered a reassuring smile.

She had to admit, she'd already taken a shine to both Alex and Sky- they both seemed really relaxed and laid back which was kind of all you needed to be to make it in this kind of friendship circle, they were both really different too and though Skylar stuck out like a black sheep, she was getting on with everyone fine and Bella was always welcomed someone who could have a drink and a laugh, she also privately reckoned Skylar had an eye for trouble and might suffice for a possible partner in crime some day.

"You met Austin Carlile? That's fucking awesome," She laughed nodding in approval. "Yeah that sounds pretty great," She commented, a very notorious drinker of coke and vodka, it would have been expected of Bella to be the first to dive in on mixing herself an almost straight glass of vodka with less than a capful of coke in it but the idea didn't at all appeal to her tonight and so she pretended to turn a blind eye to the alcohol like she hadn't even noticed it was there.

Nate was rather surprised and almost disappointed when Ellie didn't do or say anything, he'd almost wanted her to punch him just so they could get it over and done with so they could move on. It was pathetic- she hated him because he'd acted instinctively to defend her because he cared. She hated him because he cared that's what pissed him off so much. How could she treat him like he was the dirt of the Earth because he cared about her and was trying to protect her? Yes, he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself and maybe he'd been immature but it all came from a good place, everything he ever did was for somebody else and now she was taking it out on him. He was too selfless and now it was killing him because Ellie wouldn't even acknowledge him anymore. Had they been alone, he would have said something by now, questioned her, begged for answers or recognition but he wouldn't start a drama in front of everyone- he respected them all far too much to take this evening away from. Bella and Jamie actually looked half happy for once, he couldn't take that away from them simply because Ellie couldn't pull her shit together and remember Nate wasn't the bad guy she was trying to make him out to be.

Maybe he'd slept with Skylar but he had not done it to annoy Ellie, even if they were still friends he would have done it because why not? Skylar was attractive, she had a nice personality- they'd agreed no attachments and he was single. He would have done it regardless, inviting her to the camp out? He would have done that also because he'd moved around enough to know how hard it is to make friends, especially in the middle of the year. It wasn't all about Ellie and Nate sometimes wandered if she actually realised that but he recognised that thought as being an incredibly harsh one and he winced slightly with the guilt.

"Damn Skylar only twice in 18 years? You're wasting your life. Get some pizza down you for hell's sake- it's basically my own religion," He told her jokingly though strictly speaking he was Christian he wasn't the best one considering he swore, fought people and smoked but he did honour the commandments to the best he could and he went to church on Sunday the majority of the time but he didn't follow the bible literally and he didn't preach either which is why very often he could be light hearted about joking about religion. It wasn't the be all and end all to him but he appreciated having something to have faith in, even if it was occasionally quite hard to keep believing in.

Skylar smiled sheepishly at their reaction to her confession about little experience of pizza. She shrugged her shoulders because she didn't really have any decent argument or explanation for why she hadn't ever eaten it much but the excuse fell on her modelling career- carbohydrates, high fat foods, starch and diary, everything about pizza was a massive no go zone for the diet she had to follow to keep herself in shape for work. Sometimes, she found it really difficult but she never dared complain to her Mother about it or comment because nobody else would really understand- they all just thought she was shallow, unintelligent and vain but Skylar knew she was none of those things which is why she always tried so hard to prove herself and played social situations so tactfully. "I guess I have a lot to make up for them in the pizza department," She shrugged laughing lightly before she took a small proportioned bite of her slice of pizza. Listening to Alex attentively with a kind and welcoming smile.

"Oh really? Yeah, Of Mice & Men singer right? I'm not really that into them but I've read a lot about him, he's pretty down to Earth and admirable to be honest," She commented passingly as they all talked about different things. When questioned on brushings with celebrities, Skylar noticeably paused before answering of course she had close connections and new many people from the French modelling and fashion industry and many of those individuals had arguable celebrity status but she didn't want to give them that stereotypically impression of herself so she tried to think of something else, something less related to the reality of her life.

"I once saw Micky Flanagan- you know, the comedian in a museum," She shrugged with a small smile and she could recall the event well even if she hadn't probably spoken to the man other than a brief 'Good morning' as many would consider polite when passing somebody by. As she began to think about it she'd even be recognised a few times herself growing up, she could remember a French mother approaching her whilst she was eating breakfast in a coffee shop to ask her if she was the girl out of the 'Boden' catalogue and Skylar had felt genuinely ashamed to say 'yes'. She loved modelling but the stereotypes and the demographic people trapped her in because of it always made her feel so small and pathetic which is why she was going to try and keep it from a secret from everyone in Liverpool. She didn't want to carry on that burden here.

Jamie laughed at Bella's comment about preferring vegan pizza and held his hand out for a high five. "I'll convert you guys yet," he remarked, grinning as he leaned in to prepare his own drink. He put in a generous lashing of vodka, knowing that he'd probably need it by the end of the night. He sat back and took a mouthful out of his pizza, listening to the others talk.

"Aw, no way. Did you get a photo or anything?" He asked Sky, before taking a mouthful out of his drink. It was strong- a little stronger than he'd anticipated, but not in a bad way. If Ellie and Nate kept up with this whole 'barely acknowledging each other' thing, he'd need to be drunk to deal with it. Once nobody started a fight that required him to break it up, they'd be fine. His co-ordination went out the window once he was even a little drunk, which was why he so often ended up on the floor. And why he never drank before going on stage. Or, at least, never drank that much.

"Remember that time we met that actor, Bella? When we were down in London? Who was it again?" He asked, glancing over at her.

Ellie just laughed at the other's comments about Sky never having pizza, but chose not to comment, fearing that she would just end up being mean. And it wasn't Sky's fault that Nate was an asshole and was probably just using her to get back at Ellie. Ellie just wanted to take it out on him in any way possible. And perhaps getting drunk wasn't the best idea, then, because alcohol only loosened her tongue and made it sharper. But she sure as hell wasn't going to stay sober while the others got drunk. Even Jamie was drinking, and he wasn't even going slow like he usually did.

She pulled out her camera and started taking pictures again- of the fire, of the figures silhouetted against it, of the treeline, of the bags piled by the tent. Photography was her own little world, where she could relax and forget Nate for even a few minutes. She wanted to go for a walk around and take even more photos. She wished she had a tripod, so she could get even better shots. But she had a pretty good opportunity here at the fire, and she wasn't going to waste it.

Alex listened to their stories, laughing at Jamie's reaction to Bella preferring vegan pizza. He had to admit, it was better than he'd been expecting. He was still a sucker for a meat feast, but he wasn't going to admit that to Jamie. He didn't know how radical of a vegan he was, after all. But judging by how cool and chilled out the rest of his friends were, he was guessing that he wasn't completely radical.

"Festivals are a great way to meet famous people, especially when you have access to the artist's area. The trick is not to act like a total fangirl and act all cool about it. Just a brief tip for you," he said, looking over at Jamie, who laughed and nodded. "So once you don't meet Lzzy Hale, you'll be fine," Alex remarked, grinning at Jamie. "I was seven!" Jamie protested, but his laugh gave him away a little.

As Alex glanced over at Sky, she suddenly looked incredibly familiar. He frowned a little. "Hey, Sky, you didn't do a music video with a band called The Pretender, did you? I was on that shoot, and I have a feeling that there was a girl that looked an awfully lot like you there. The one with the rival band who basically steals The Pretender's lives and girlfriends, and then they pull a Fall Out Boy on it and it turns out all to be a bad dream?"

Bella laughed and weakly high fived him with a small delicate hand and grinned. "Hey, I eat vegan all the time when I'm hanging out with you, I just don't enforce it on myself as a regular life style choice because I'm so fussy," She laughed sheepishly going to bite her thumbnail and then catching herself in the action and stopping because it was a bad habit she'd desperately been trying to get a hold of since she was a child.

"You're joking? He's bloody hysterical. I'm jealous," Bella told Sky grinning softly, Bella had quite a guilty pleasure for stand up comedy, she'd dragged Jamie along to open nights a couple of times in the past but she usually went by herself if there was one going on just because it was so easy to get a bus into the city and be spontaneous about it that way. God, if she'd seen Micky Flanagan in the middle of a museum she wouldn't have stood aside so casually, she'd be diving over to meet him and try and pick a joke out of him on the spot even she understood they spent time and effort writing their sets before the gigs that she so privately adored.

"Ur...it was Hugh Dennis wasn't it? The guy from Outnumbered. I think it was at least or was it the guy who plays the Headmaster in Inbetweeners- I've confused myself now," She sighed in defeat at her own frustration and shrugged her thin shoulder sheepishly about the matter instead of trying to rake her memory for the correct answer.

Nate followed the conversations and made enough passing comments to come across as casual but didn't overly involve himself he just distantly ate his pizza and occasionally chuckled at a joke or when they were teasing each but other than that he didn't really contribute to the topic of conversation or content but he went along the best he could because he didn't want to ruin the evening for the others. He didn't really have any other friends because he weed suppliers certainly didn't count and neither did the Stoners he skipped school with- they were more there simply non-judgemental atmosphere to smoke in. They weren't his friends and so that made the people sat around his camp fire all he had and he wouldn't ruin their night because he couldn't deal with his emotions maturely and Ellie couldn't swallow her pride even for the greater good of the group.

He looked over at Skylar with a raised eyebrow of curiosity at Alex's comment about Sky and his expression filled with wander, had she? She hadn't mentioned to him about doing any modelling, acting or anything musical. She'd purely kept it to the fact she'd dabbled in the fashion world due to a curiosity about textiles but this was the complete other side of things and he did know that the music video Alex was talking about and it kind of rung a bell for him, he couldn't argue either way but it sort of made sense a little when he thought about it enough.

"No but ever since I've always wished I had," She laughed smiling gently at the group but at Alex's question, her face dropped a little. She'd only just been thinking about her desperate she was to keep that side of her life quiet and private from them, she didn't want to keep it secret in a malicious or untrusting way she just didn't want them to assume anything of her. She wanted to have real friends here because she'd never had any in Paris, their entire existence had been about sabotage, jealousy, social order and self-serving exploits of others- in that sense, Sky had always been different to a certain degree though her record wasn't squeaky clean it was polished compared to many of the girls she'd worked with in the past and called her 'friends'.

She couldn't lie because they could easily Google it and find out she had been, so she nodded slightly brushing her long blonde locks behind one ear.

"Yeah...that was me," She replied her tone significantly quieter to how it had been compared to everything she'd said previously and Nate raised his eyebrow slightly nodding.

"Really? Sounds pretty rad," He shrugged casually.