Gonzo & Mach2 Collab (Kind of Long)
James stepped out into the cool night air and smiled. It was one the single refreshing thing he had felt that night, since leaving his flat to go to The Spit. James turned to his left and started walking. He didn't know where he was going to walk, but he needed to cool off. There was a nice restaurant a couple blocks away, or maybe he could hit a club he actually wanted to go to. He looked up at his watch, and the time showed up in the air. There was still a few hours until sunrise, so that meant that Solaris, a higher standards club than Eclipse, was open. And if anything was more certain in James' mind, it was that he needed a good lay.
"So that's it, then," James mumbled to himself, as he started walking in long strides. "Solaris is the spot of the night."
He hadn't even made it to the end of the block when he heard his name being called.
"James!"
James turned around and cocked his head to the side, confused. The name call of course didn't go unnoticed, getting a couple of disapproving looks from the night-life crowd walking along the streets. He saw the figure approach him, and as the figure got closer, he was able to make out who exactly it was, and that made his face go white.
"V-Vander... Yeah.. I'm uh.. I'm alright. Thanks for asking." He looked up as a young couple, who had been smiling and laughing about some trivial thing, fell silent as they passed the two, staring at Vander in particular with some disgust. James turned from looking at the couple, back to Vander. "Do you want to go back to my flat? We can talk more in private, there."
She immediately regretted her lack of judgment as the disapproving stares were cast her way yet again. Only now, they were looking at James as well. She realized that showing up in District 1 so shortly after the events in the Spit was probably not the most brilliant of ideas. Embarrassment, combined with Lucid, seemed to add a filter to her vision. Harsh and disapproving stares turned vile. Expressions distorted, until the faces of the pedestrians became almost nightmarish.
"I'm sorry, I should have waited or given you some warning or something...not just shown up out of nowhere," she apologized sincerely, trying to ignore the stares they were receiving. Returning to James's place, escaping the twisting faces of the people on the streets, was appealing. "We can head back to your flat."
"Okay, come on. Let's go." He reached out, grabbed her hand, and led her back to the apartment building. They silently made their way to the lift, and stepped inside. A drunk couple stepped inside right after them, and proceeded to have a little fun in front of the both of them. James turned his head in Vander's direction and gave her an apologetic smile. Finally, the lift doors opened on his floor, and he grabbed Vander yet again. After pushing past the couple and waking a few feet, he approached his door and walked inside.
Mason turned his head and quickly put down his self-lighting bong. His eyes widened at the sight of Vander and he bolted upright. His glossy eyes narrowed in the direction of his brother and new guest. "What is she doing here!?"
Vander let her fingers slide out of James's hand as Mason caught sight of them, almost regretfully. She'd enjoyed the feel of his hand, against her currently hyper-sensitive fingertips. She looked at Mason, hair hanging over the right side of her face, unsure of how to react. Vander was good at handling conflict...or she had been, at least. Back in the days when she'd still been an active dealer, she'd rarely had a deal turn sour.
But looking at Mason now, this was a type of situation she was unprepared to deal with. His facial expression seemed to twist, becoming angry and vile like the people on the streets. It was a mild hallucination, she knew, but unsettling nonetheless. Vander fixed her gaze on the wall behind him, not wanting to make eye contact, but not wanting to resign herself to staring at the ground either. "I can leave," she said simply. "I'm not trying to cause a problem by being here. I just don't want to be at my own place right now, and James had invited me to stop by sometime...probably not quite so soon. I'm sorry."
She apologized again, the rambling mess of words spilling out of her mouth before she'd even fully thought of what she was going to say.
Mason stared at his brother as the girl began speaking, his glossy green eyes never leaving his brother's cold, brown ones, except once, when he stared at Vander in utter disbelief. Once she was finished speaking, Mason nodded. "Yes. You can leave. Door is behind you. You made it here yourself, I have no doubt you can make it back yourself, as well."
"Mason!" James stepped forward shaking his head. "We do not treat guests that way. You heard her. She didn't want to stay at her apartment, so she came by. I said it was fine for her to do so. Lighten up, will you?" He turned back to Vander and shot her a small, reassuring smile. "You can stay here, Vander. You are our guest. I'll go fix us up some drinks, you can take a seat on the couch over there."
Mason stared at his brother as he walked into the kitchen. Not even an hour after his father left saying not to do anything stupid, and James brought the girl who had started all of this into the apartment. Normally, this would be his type of behavior, not James'. Wordlessly, he turned his head back to Vander, then picked up the bong. He needed a hit, that was for sure. He began to lift the bong up to his mouth, then stopped when he caught glimpse of a bruise on her face.
"So," he said lifting the instrument in his hands to his mouth and taking another hit, blowing the smoke into Vander's face, afterwards. "What's with the mark on your face?"
Vander sat herself down on the edge of the couch James had indicated, looking decidedly uncomfortable. It was obvious that she wasn't wanted here by Mason, but James also made it clear that she didn't have to leave. She made a face as the smoke was blown in her direction, turning to look at Mason after it had cleared. The scent, thanks to the Lucid, was overbearing.
"Took a wrong turn on the way home," she said. The cover story was spoken robotically. If possible, she looked even more uncomfortable than she already had. "Ended up going through an unmarked gangland in District 15. Small fight, nothing major."
She reached up, running a hand through her hair and brushing it back into place over the right side of her face. It didn't entirely conceal the bruise, but it came close enough.
As Vander began explaining what had happened to her, Mason placed the instrument down on the table and picked up a small tablet. He pressed the button on the bottom, and the screen sprang to life. Moving his finger to the right a couple times, he came to a song, Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was an ancient song now, but still loved by him. He had come across it at a friend's party while he was getting high, and instantly fell in love. He pressed play on the screen, and the music began playing, somewhat softly, from the sound system around the living room.
Mason gave a small head nod as he picked up the bong again, as if to say he believed her, although the look on his face definitely said otherwise. He took another hit, and tilted his head back. His eyes took a fresh coating of gloss as the drug, a more potent, chemically enhanced weed, took effect once again. Time slowed, and the ceiling began to crawl and pulse with the music. A smoke crept up on Mason's face, and he tilted his head back down. He offered the instrument to Vander, then spoke.
"Sure you did. Look," he said, his words coming out slow, "it doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice when someone is lying, but I won't say anything. I will say something, though; you look different, more alive, happier. So tell me, what kind of drug are you on right now?"
Vander took the bong as it was offered, debating for a second. Lucid didn't play well with other substances, not that it had stopped her before. She would doubtlessly feel like shit in the morning. But until then, she could enjoy the high. And a hell of a high it would be. She took a deep inhale from the bong. The flavour of the weed coated her tongue, intensified by the drug she had already consumed.
She exhaled slowly before answering Mason. He was right. It didn't take a genius to see through her lie, or to see that she'd gotten her fix. The lie could remain unacknowledged for all she cared. He didn't care enough to push her for the truth, and she wouldn't have told it anyways. As for her drug...
"Lucid," Vander answered. The name of the drug rolled off her tongue like one might say the name of their lover. "It sort of kills you in between doses...It had been over a day since I'd had a hit when I was in the bar."
"That explains a lot."
James walked in carrying the tray of coffees, along with milk and sugar, and set them down on the small table in front of the couch. He picked a mug up after pouring in some milk and sugar, and shook his head as he made his way to his spot on one of the couches. Once seated, he took a sip, closing his eyes as the warm liquid made its way down his throat.
"That's why you look like how you look," he mumbled, more to himself than anything, "Tell me, how did you get your fix, Vander? The guy who could get you anything?"
Vander looked up as James walked in again. The mix of drugs was starting to take full effect, and her head was spinning slightly. Adding even a small amount of caffeine to the mix would probably be overkill. She cringed visibly as James spoke, as though the words were physically painful.
For a few seconds, she sat silently, simply grinding her teeth and inhaling the rich scents of coffee and weed. She didn't want to think about how she'd gotten the Lucid anymore. But when you were a terminal drug addict, you stopped worrying about lying. It would be less effort to admit to it. "Yes," she reluctantly answered.
Mason turned his head in his brother's direction, watching as he took yet another sip of his drink. The song started to speed up, and with it, so did Mason's trip. The walls, and even James' skin started to pulse and crawl faster. He took a deep breath and turned his head back at Vander when she had answered without skipping a beat. He let out a small whistle, but other than that, remained quiet.
James set down his mug on the table then tilted his head to the side. His stomach dropped. He should have known better than to expect anything more from this girl. He mentally kicked himself after having the thought. He was a better person. He always tried to see the best in people, so why would she be any different? She wouldn't. However, there was one question that kept playing over and over in his head. "How did you get it? Did you have to sleep with him?"
She looked James in the eye, and the answer was visible on her face well before she spoke it. The Lucid, combined with the weed and lingering alcohol, was causing the entire room to spin and move around her. But his face held steady, and she could make out every subtle nuance in his expression. It seemed to take a great effort to force her head to nod. Yes. She had slept with him.
Before James had a chance to react, Vander could hear the words tumbling out of her mouth again, trying to reason her actions. "I've never done that before, and I'm not ever again. I didn't want to. But...I had a migraine, and I couldn't think, and I was going to vomit if I didn't get Lucid soon...I needed it, and he had it right there." The shame, embarrassment, and regret were clear in her voice. "I didn't do it because I wanted to, I swear."
"You did it because you needed to. Yeah, I know. You don't have to swear anything to me, Vander."
James stood up slowly, and looked at the sound system. "Music off." The music stopped, letting the room slip into silence. James looked at Vander and shook his head. "Look. I don't know you, and you seem like a really good person, but I can't really associate myself with people who don't respect themselves. I hope you can understand that much. You know the way out, and back to your District. Good night." And with that, James turned and walked to his room.
Mason stared at his brother in utter disbelief as he walked away, then turned his head to face the girl on the couch. Now it was his turn to urge her to stay. "Look, he isn't always like that. I think he's just bitter about the fact that he got his ass kicked. That's all. Don't sweat it, Vander. You can stay here if you would like, and we can continue talking. Maybe he'll snap out of it, and come out of his room..."
James's words hurt nearly as bad as a day of Lucid withdrawal. In an instant, he had turned from the first decent guy she'd talked to in a long while...to cold and unsympathetic. His words stung. Partially because they were true, and partially because he couldn't possibly understand they really had on her. She was dying, and she had allowed herself to hope for the briefest of moments that she might have been able to have a friend until the Lucid ate away what was left of her. No such luck.
He left, and she listened to Mason's offer for her to stay. Vander shrugged, truly unsure of what to do. "I...I should probably go home," she admitted, starting to stand up from the couch.
A wave of dizzying vertigo hit her, and she staggered a step before continuing in the direction of the door. It had been a while since she'd had Lucid in combination with anything other than alcohol. She forgot how hard it hit her.
Mason shot up the moment Vander staggered. There was no way that he was letting her go out into the world, not when she was doped up as bad as she was. He took a couple of long strides, closing the gap in between him and Vander, and grabber her arm lightly. He may not have favored this girl, especially since she had caused the fight between his brother and that fighter, but he wasn't about to just throw her out onto the street like his brother. He gently led her back to the couch and sat her down.
"You wait right here. I'll get some spare bedding and whatnot, and a couple of pillows, and you can spend the night. If the cops pick you up, there's no telling what they will do to you. Plus, the streets in your district aren't safe at this time. It's the least I... I mean, we, can do." He gave Vander a small smile before retreating into James' room, and closing the door behind him.
****
A pillow hit James on the head, and he got up from his spot on the bed. James glared at his brother, who was glaring right back at him. Another pillow came sailing through the air, and hit James in the face.
"The fuck was that for!?" James hissed.
"For being a fucking prick, that's what!" Mason walked closer to the bed, his voice low and menacing. "She is spending the night. Okay? And you are bringing her the bedding and pillows for the couch, and you will apologize. What you did was childish. It was stupid. Something I wouldn't have expected you to do. That was something I would have done. You are the older brother for fuck's sake. I don't care if it is for a few minutes, so don't you get smart with me." Mason picked out the bedding from the closet and hurled it at his older brother. "Now, get over your little pity party. You lost. Big deal. She needs help. I can't believe that you, the 'nice guy,' would outright deny someone help."
James stood up, gathering the pillows and bedding, and walked out of the room. He saw Vander sitting on the couch and sighed silently before walking over. He set the stuff down next to her and took a seat on the couch next to her. "Look, I'm sorry for being a jerk and all that. I'm just a little pissed about this... I brought you this. Like Mason said, you can stay the night..."
