Collins didn't even notice that Sarah had brought her hand up to hold hers, and was grasping it firmly in commiseration for the girl. Kie remained quiet as memories of her own isolation from classmates at the Kook academy crossed her mind. She glanced inconspicuosly up at Sarah, who had been her only source of consolation at the time when she'd felt her most alone, the only one who'd save the turtles with her out of anyone at that stupid school. 
Perking up, Collins brushed off any ill feelings of sadness and tried to fall back into her happy demeanor that the weed in her system insisted she stay on track of. "But you guys, I feel like I can tell you guys anything. Like, how scared I am of failing and letting Charlie down after everything he's done for me. Or that I secretly love hot dogs and they're probably my favorite food even though they're made out of all the gross parts of the animal that no one wants. I also think I can tell you guys that I feel like I'm falling for JJ Maybank way too hard, and way too fast for a normal human being, and I don't even feel remotely bad about it. You guys are just so easy to talk to. I didn't think I'd know how to handle tonight on my own but I'm glad I did it." Collins drew in a long breath after her word vomit, and she sank into the side of the boat like it had exhausted her.
A few beats passed of Kie and Sarah just waiting for Collins to get out anything else that was on her mind. It seemed like this was exactly what she needed, so they didn't want to ruin it by interrupting her too soon. When Collins made no attempt to start up again, Kie took the initiative to wrap her arms around Collins and hold her tightly. 
"You can tell us anything, Collins. Anything you want. Literally, fuck those girls. We're your friends now."
A small giggle escaped Collins's lips and she couldn't help but grin as she muttered, "Fuck," like she was testing the word out. She never swore, like, ever. 
Shared laughter began to resonate amongst the group at the sound of Collins's curse, which sounded so strange coming from her that it was hard not to laugh at all. Collins clamped a hand over her mouth like she couldn't believe she had said it herself, while Kie and Sarah just shook their heads at her and felt themselves laugh harder with each time they replayed Collins's voice in their heads, swearing like a child repeating their parent's words.
Who knows if anything that Kie said actually made it through to her. As far as Kie knew, the only word that Collins heard was the word 'fuck' and there was something so amusing about that. 
"If it's any consolation, I think you smell like coconuts and lavender, which are probably two of my favorite smells on earth." Sarah smiled sincerely at her before a devious look over took her facial expression. "But what Kie said, fuck those girls."
As the air filled with laughter once again, Collins turned to look up at the blackened sky and yelled as loud as she could, "Fuck!" 
And like a pack of wolves howling to the moon, each girl fell into a slew of F-bombs that they could feel reverberate in their lungs and die with an ache in their throats. It was a dig at the universe. Fuck the world for the existence of mean girls. Fuck the world for shitty parents. Fuck the world for poverty and global warming. Pretty much just a big fuck you to people and the calamity they were responsible for. 
But also, fuck yes for the good ones. The ones who stood by your side when you were faced with villains. The ones who hold your hand while a storm rages around you to keep you company. The ones who listen when all the thoughts that have been plaguing your mind suddenly spill out like a torrent. 
Collins felt lucky that she had found the latter. 
"You guys are friends now, right?" Collins asked, looking between Kie and Sarah after they'd recovered from their uproar. "We're all friends?"