natalie smiled a little at your inexperience, but there was no teasing in it, she just found it adorable, the way you coughed after taking a drag from her cigarette.

the two of you had snuck out to smoke while the rest of the group was still inside lottie’s house, enjoying the party. your cheeks flushed when you saw the playful smile on her lips.

“you look cute doing that,” she said, taking the cigarette from you with ease, bringing it to her mouth and inhaling deeply before tilting her head back slightly and exhaling the smoke into the air.

how could someone look that good doing something like that? you thought it was unfair how effortlessly beautiful natalie looked in that moment.

“wanna try again?” she asked, offering you the joint.

you hesitated for a second, eyes locked on hers. the invitation sounded harmless, but there was something in the way natalie looked at you, a defiant spark mixed with something softer, almost protective.

“it’s okay, i’ll teach you,” she murmured, her voice low and husky, so close that you could smell the mix of smoke and cheap perfume clinging to her.

natalie held the cigarette between her fingers, brought it to her lips, and inhaled slowly before passing it to you. your fingers brushed for an instant — briefly, but enough to make your heart race.

you tried to do what she did, mimicking the effortless way she breathed in the smoke, but you ended up coughing again. natalie laughed, a soft laugh, not mocking, just caught in the moment.

“yeah, i don’t think this is really your thing,” she said, still laughing, but there was something else in her eyes now — something that seemed to want to hold you there, as if the whole world outside that room could fall apart and it wouldn’t matter.

you both stayed quiet for a while. the muffled music from the party sounded distant, almost as if it came from another place. the smoke hung in the air, thick and slow, and time seemed to stretch between one breath and the next.

“you okay?” natalie asked, tilting her head slightly, studying the soft glow in your eyes.

“i think so,” you said with a small laugh. “everything just feels… kind of light.”

she smiled. “that’s how it’s supposed to feel.”

you looked at her, the messy hair, the freckles, the way the light from the window traced the edges of her face and you were certain nothing in the world could ever look more beautiful than that.

natalie looked away, as if realizing what was forming in the air between you. but then she looked back, and this time there was no room to pretend it was just the weed making your heart beat that way.