WARNING: This chapter contains mature content that includes, but is not limited to; drug use, use of illegal substances, profanity, underage drinking, and other illegal activity. Please do not attempt anything mentioned in this chapter.

I scramble to pick up the phone. Was my mind playing tricks on me? My vision was blurry, but I could tell it was my moms number. I run to the bathroom and take my emergency blood addiction medication. My vision returns to normal. The phone is still ringing. I answer it. It couldn't be my mom.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end says.

"Hello?" I say.

It wasn't my mom.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You sound like you've been crying." Bad Boy Marcus says.

"Nah, I haven't. I've just been chilling." I lie.

"Oh well, I called because you finally gave me your number, and I'm bored." He says.

I nod, even though he can't see me.

"I'm coming to pick you up." He says.

"For what?" I ask.

"I don't know what it is, but you sound like you could use a drink." He says.

I definitely could.

"So where are we going?"

"We can go over to Jackson's house. We can hang out in his basement. He texted me. James is already there."

"None of those other people are there, are they?" I ask.

"Nope." He responds.

"Okay. You know where I live." I say.

"Me and my baby will be there in 10." He says.

"Okay."

His baby is his car. His 1970 Ford Capri.

I put on some black high waisted jeans, and a black tube top. I put on a long sleeved black over coat. This doesn't look good on me, but I don't care. My thighs burn and itch, but I ignore it. I pile makeup onto my face so you can't see that I just got beat up. It burns, but just like my thigh pain, I ignore it. My body is still sore. I ignore that too. I brush my hair, and leave it down and wild.

When he pulls up, he texts me. He's smart enough not to honk the horn. I go out on my balcony, and I climb down. I crawl over the edge, crawl down, put my legs on a chair that's on the porch, and let go.

I climb off of the chair and run to his car. I had my phone with me, and that's it.

"Hey. Why the red eyes? You been getting high without me?" He asks.

"I thought you don't smoke." I say.

"I don't. I drink." He says.

My therapist doesn't want me to do anything illegal. Especially drugs and alcohol. But I don't care.

Since when do I care what they say?

But I can tell you this, mistakes were made that night.

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We arrive and we go inside. We immediately go to the basement.

"Shut the door."

"What are y'all doing? Trapping the smoke in the room?" Marcus asks, coughing from the smoke of the marijuana.

"You know it, bro." James says, taking a hit.

He passes it to Jackson, and the pattern continues. I drink more than anyone else in the room. Jackson and James get stoned, I get horribly drunk, and Marcus gets somewhat drunk.

"Do your parents know your out, Brianna?"

"Nah. My dad doesn't know. I snuck out." I say slowly, slurring my words.

I tilt back my head and gulp down the rest of my drink. I get more.

"Oh, guess what." I whisper to Marcus.

He raises his eyebrows at me.

"Misses 'I only date old guys' broke up with my dad." I say quietly.

"Wow." He chuckles.

"How'd your dad take it?" He asks.

I shrug, and drink more to try to forget what happened when I got home.

An hour and a half later, I am completely stoned just from staying in the basement with the door shut.

I forgot what it's called.

Is it Hotboxing?

I don't know.

I am drunk, and I am high. Wow. Marcus doesn't seem phased by the smoke. Second hand high. Hm. Not so bad. But I already have a memory problem, marijuana probably isn't the best thing for me.

But I've never done things in my own best interest.

Why start now?

"So anything interesting?" Marcus asks.

"I'm trying out for a play." I slur.

Trying out? Isn't it, auditioning? Wow, my mind is really standing on its head right now.

"Cool." He responds.

"Surprisingly, I'm going for the main role."

"Can you act?" Jackson asks.

"Kind of." I respond.

"Do a British accent then." James demands.

"What the hell does that have to do with acting?" I ask.

"If you ever had to play a British part." He says.

I love British accents. I used to practice them with my mom.

"Mate, I think if you don't return home, your mum is going to beat your arse with a shoe." I say, in my best British accent.

"What the bloody hell was that? If that was a British accent impression, it was horrible." A deep, thick, British accent says. I look around for the source of the noise, and find it.

There's a dude who looks the same age as all of us. He has thick, curly, black hair. His skin is an olive color. His eyes are a dark brown. He's wearing a black T-Shirt and black ripped jeans. He has one sleeve of tattoos, in greenish ink. He has a lip piercing, eyebrow piercing, and a hoop in the left side of his nose.

"There you are Noah." Jackson says, greeting him.

"Hey idiots." He says, in a thick British accent.

"And hey stranger." He says, focusing his attention on me.

"What part of you made you think it was okay to insult me like that?" I say, slurring my words.

"The part that figured that you're too stoned to care about what I said." He replies.

"Even if she was completely sober, she probably still wouldn't care." Marcus says.

"No argument here." I say.

"Well I'm Noah. I don't like people. I hang with these assholes because they are able to put up with my shit." He says.

"Well that's fair because I don't like people either, and I hang out with Marcus because him and his friends are the only ones who tolerate me." I say.

Noah nods.

"Where the hell is Lily?" Noah asks, referring to the halfway naked girl that was here last time.

"I don't know. Probably some dudes house. Why?" Jackson says.

"She owes me $50 for beating up that preppy boy for her."

"What the hell did the preppy boy do to you?" I ask.

"Nothing. But Lily had something against him. And as much as I hate Lily, I won't pass up a chance to release my anger, and get paid to do so." He explains.

"That's why he got suspended." Marcus explains.

"Do you go to Bolding?" Noah asks me.

"Yes, I'm new. Got there a week ago."

"Okay. I have a question though." He says.

I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Are you gothic?"

"Are you?" I snap, looking at his black attire from head to toe.

Noah's lips turn up in amusement at my sign of annoyance.

"Are you Marcus' girlfriend?" Noah asks.

"No." Me and Marcus both respond emotionlessly.

"Oh, so you're a one night thing?" He asks, trying to annoy me.

"No! She's my god damn friend. Learn to shut the hell up, Noah." Marcus yells.

Noah smirks.

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Eventually we leave. Marcus walks me home since I'm too drunk to even walk correctly. I go home and go to bed. I was exhausted. Noah made sure to bug me the entire time I was there.

His British accent is hot, though.

He bugged everyone now that I think about it.

And my British accent was great. I don't know what he's talking about.

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(when you picture Noah, picture Samuel Larsen But with a British accent) Not when he had the locks, but the black hair 😻

ALSO: THIS CHAPTER WAS CREATED BEFORE E-BOYS EVEN EXISTED SO NO NOAH IS NOT AN E-BOY AND NO GIRL CHARACTER IS VSCO LMAO 😂 (laughing my abdomen off)

AHHH 😍🤪

also I know absolutely nothing about drugs. I had to google this: "slang words for marijuana"

So yah don't come for me 😚

ily ❤️