[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210307/e1d49591dc3df8c19424a4d22b8476c5.png[/img]
[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/f9acf2c5-7ab2-48f4-98d9-28ab6d725baf.gif[/img][/center]
[center]WARNING: DRUG USE AT END OF POST[/center]
[hr]

[color=0072bc]"What're you doin'?"[/color] Phil asked, having come back out of the office to see Decky on the floor with his phone in hand. He snatched the device out of the other man's hand as he walked past. He took a moment to register the easy acquisition before reading the content of the message on screen while Decky glared at him with red shot eyes, knowing from experience he couldn't retrieve his phone from the older man's higher reach. When he saw the message on draft to be sent out, he scoffed and deleted every word before tossing the phone back to Decky, who fumbled with the catch. Phil frowned. [color=0072bc]"You were faster when you were sober, Mo-Bo."[/color]

It was Decky's turn to scoff. [color=DC143C]"Wasn' fast enough, Phil,"[/color] he muttered, avoiding eye contact by checking to see what had been done to his phone. [color=DC143C]"Why'd you delete my fuckin' text?"[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Cause you ain't bein' fair to Nolan and you should already know that,"[/color] Phil crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the man he considered a son, allowing his elation at first seeing him to fall to the side so he could properly assess the situation. [color=0072bc]"You've been usin' again, and you have shit judgment when you're usin'."[/color]

[color=DC143C]"It ain't the H 'n' pills that make my judgement shit, Phil, I was fuckin' born that way-"[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Bullshit,"[/color] Phil cut off, pushing through Decky's responding glare. [color=0072bc]"That's fucking bullshit, Mordechai Boaz, and that's the drugs talkin'. Anyone can make bad choices, and you made plenty, but I haven't once seen you be a bad judge of character."[/color] He knelt down in front of Decky and stared the boy down until he returned eye contact. Phil then gripped his shoulder-[i]scrawnier than it should have been, of course, he was already under developed [b]before[/b] he fell back down the rabbit hole[/i]- and spoke in a low and steady tone, ensuring Decky would have to listen carefully. [color=0072bc]"Now you had good judgement when you started bringin' Nolan and miss Lanie around, and you know he's a good man that wasn't tryin' to drag you back into more bullshit, so before you go losin' your only current friend by nailin' him to a cross, how's about you take down that wood and use it to patch up your bridges instead."[/color]

Decky broke eye contact as he felt his face heat up. The floor was looking suspiciously blurry and when he blinked to clear it, a tear broke out and slid down his cheek. 

[color=DC143C]"Neither of you told me shit about someone passin' out Decker's journal pages like a fuckin' paper boy,"[/color] He ground out finally, scratching his arm. He glanced over the papers spread around him before picking up the one just in front of him. [color=DC143C]"And this new one? My one fuckin' condition on coming back was that I don't have to go near that [i]fakakta[/i] place!"[/color] He exclaimed, shoving the letter a Phil, crossing his arms like a stubborn child as Phil read the letter in silence.


[color=0072bc]"...I...I didn't get this one,"[/color] Phil finally admitted, putting down the letter with a disturbed look on his face. [color=0072bc]"Most of the letters I got were either directly or indirectly about you and the Serpents."[/color] 

[color=DC143C]"Christ Phil, this is fucked,"[/color] Decky hissed, mind racing through the things Decker had said about Decky and the rest of the corner crew from Southie. He couldn't think of a single thing they'd done that he would want Phil knowing about. He thrust a hand through his greasy hair. [color=DC143C]"Who does this kinda shit?"[/color]

[color=0072bc]"I don't know, Mo-Bo, but don't let it break you. Don't let anything happening here take you back down a path you ain't gonna come back from. Now message your friend and apologize, y'hear me?"[/color]

[color=DC143C]"Yeah Phil, I hear ya,"[/color] Decky replied, swiping his nose with his arm and standing up, the latest letter once more clutched in his fist. [color=DC143C]"I'm gonna go walk around, I'll text him as I'm walkin'."[/color] Phil raised an eyebrow at the weak excuse but nodded, heading back into his office to get a start on the bills for the garage. Decky made his way out the bright open front of the building and made his way to the sidewalk. He pulled out his phone and sent out a text before taking a sharp right and speeding up his pace, throwing his hood over his head and shoving his fists into his pockets, right hand tight around the knife he had there.

[center]Outgoing Messages
To: So You Need to Learn How to Punch...
9:05am[/center]
[right][i][u]Sorry, Phil showed me the letters
I was pissed
But he set me straight
I'll come see you at the bakery later, when's you're break at?[/u][/i][/right]

The metal and wood train tracks that separate North and South Edenridge were old but well maintained, given that the tracks fell solely under North Eden's jurisdiction. Decky could feel nostalgia humming in his bones as his shoes made contact with the metal, and hunched his shoulders a bit more as if to protect himself from the feeling.

The first step into South Edenridge is like being caught in the path of a Dementor; the skies were clouded, the grass brown and dead, and the weather feeling bitter regardless of the actual temperature. Graffiti littered the weathered brick buildings, covered in everything from basic nicknames and doodles to gang logos marking territory. No one seemed to be walking the streets but there were people out loitering at every corner and building stoop. As he passed the gas station on the corner before his old neighborhood, he saw the same old man that always worked there was being held up. He shook his head and walked a little faster; the poor robber wouldn't know what hit him once Mr. Digari got ahold of his shotgun. As he came up to the corner he knew so well, he saw one of the jacket-clad figures perk up at the sight of him.

[color=F5D42E]"MOB! Is that fuckin' you?"[/color] The person asked, jumping up from his crate and moving to meet Decky at the street sign. [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/0b9d7742-125a-437a-97de-86a38de4fb5a.gif]Sonny "Sunshine" Cernis[/url] clasped Decky's hand and pulled him in for a quick hug, thumping the other man on the back with his fist. [color=F5D42E]"Holy shit man, how the fuck you been? I ain't seen you in [i]years[/i]."[/color]

[color=DC143C]"It's been shit, Sunshine, but the thought'a your pretty face kept me goin'."[/color] Decky answered with a sarcastic wink. Sunshine laughed and pushed away at Decky's cheek.

[color=F5D42E]"That hasn't worked since the seventh grade and we both know it,"[/color] Sonny replied with a blinding grin, nodding at the crew that was watching their interaction with wary interest. [color=F5D42E]"C'mon, everyone here is a newbie, s'about time they held their own without a supervisor anyway."[/color] And with that, Sonny gripped Decky's wrist and dragged him towards the house that's belonged to this corner crew for longer than any of the current members have been alive. All heads turned to them as Sonny burst through the door with him in tow, and then suddenly the music wasn't the loudest thing in the house anymore. More than half of his old crew was not only still alive, but still part of the Trip-S as well, and all of them were demanding at once to know where he'd been and what he'd been doin. He was jostled around for back pats and one armed side-hugs while everyone spoke over each other to make their questions heard. It all became one big buzz in his ears before he finally let loose an ear piercing whistle.

[color=DC143C]"Shut the fuck up! Christ, how am I s'pposed to answer you assholes if you don't calm to fuck down! Goddamn, I am too sober for you fuckers I swear to-"[/color] before he could finished, he was presented with several hands, each holding a different narcotic for him to grab. Decky paused before laughing, loud and true. [color=DC143C]"Fine, fuck, gimme a sec to get prepared."[/color] he said, snatching a familiar needle from one hand and a blunt for the other, dropping down onto the couch and lighting up. Sonny knelt down next to him with a rubber tube in his hand, staring at him intently as he took the first hit. Decky returned the look with one of confusion. [color=DC143C]"Sunshine, wha-"[/color] His words, along with the smoke that had been in his lungs and mouth, were swallowed as Sonny kissed him hard, distracting him as he tied the rubber tube around Decky's upper arm. It was a move they'd done so many times when they were teens, before Lanie. Before Decky left. When he pulled back, there was a large smile on Sonny's face as the stolen smoke curled out the side of his mouth.

[color=F5D42E]"Welcome back, Mob."[/color] He whispered before moving over to sit down next to him, satisfaction lining every part of his posture. Decky shook his head and smirked at the other man, licking his lips as he turned his focus to inserting the needle into his arm. As euphoria flooded his system, Decky leaned back into the couch and against Sonny and let out a sigh.

[color=DC143C]"S'good ta be back, w'th you at least..."[/color] he mumbled, letting himself fade away.