• This section is for roleplays only.
    ALL interest checks/recruiting threads must go in the Recruit Here section.

    Please remember to credit artists when using works not your own.

Realistic or Modern ๐’ฏ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐‘”๐“๐‘’๐’น ๐ป๐‘’๐’ถ๐“‡๐“‰๐“ˆ & ๐ป๐’พ๐’น๐’น๐‘’๐“ƒ ๐’ž๐“๐“Š๐‘’๐“ˆ



















Sorry, wasn't listening





โ€œYou like rich guys? But you date Mason?โ€ Nickie blurted.


"Only until I go to New York, or LA, or Miami, or wherever," Adriane corrected. He was kind of a means to an ends -- kind of. "He's going to graduate with a scholarship, we're going to move away, I'm going to be a model and he's going to be... I don't know, whatever it is he wants to be. And we'll be rich and maybe still together."

Their relationship was already fairly toxic and Adriane could never remember if they were or weren't together anymore -- but something kept her coming back, and something kept Mason wanting to come back. She figured once they were off, though, they'd both meet much better people and end up moving on.

Or, at least, Mason finally would.

Adriane kind of saw herself being alone, floating through life on a single paycheck with no kids in a flat in the tallest building in New York City. For her, that was the dream.

"Also he's really good in bed," she added, because Adriane couldn't admit that maybe she was putting up with him because some part of her liked him.

"Dedicated? Please. The two of you will break up within the week when you catch him with some other girl."

What? Adriane was nothing if not blunt.

โ€œYou know thatโ€™s Ian Hansen. Like, Roryโ€™s brother. You know Rory, right? Like, wasnโ€™t she in something with you? Anyway, he runs like a freaking chicken with its head cut offโ€”itโ€™s hilarious. And he looks like heโ€™s seven, even though heโ€™s, likeโ€ฆtwelve or something. I canโ€™t believe they let him be the water boy.โ€

Rory rang a few bells, but so did Ian -- Mason complained about him a lot.

"Rory used to lend me cigarettes," she said simply. "I think we made out once, too, or something. I can't remember." Adriane added with a sigh.

(She'd definitely been with Mason at the time.)

"He looks like a loser," she said. "Why do you even know who he is? Don't you have anything better to do than memorize random people's names and gossip about them?"

Again, the irony tended to be lost on her.

























fast car








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















if i could, i would feel nothing.





โ€œBullshit,โ€ Mike said dismissively
about West walking to school for fresh air. West didnโ€™t give a shit about fresh air. Still, Mike wasnโ€™t feeling much like pressing for any deeper answer.

โ€œIs itโ€ฆbetter?โ€ West asked.

Mike raised an eyebrow. โ€œWhat? Driving?โ€

โ€œBeingโ€ฆgraduated, ya know?โ€

Shit, why was that always brought up? Youโ€™re past your prime, youโ€™ve already failedโ€”youโ€™re graduated and working at a fucking gas station. Mike sighed deeply. He pulled his toothpick out of his mouth and gestured to West with it, bouncing it a beat as he thought for a moment, his face full of a muted sort of anger. Finally, he sighed, heaving himself off of the crumbling red leather stool that he was leaning back on. โ€œListen, Piss,โ€ he started, coming out from behind the counter, โ€œIโ€™ve got to go clean the bathrooms, soโ€”โ€œ

โ€œDo you ahโ€ฆhave you listened to blink-182โ€™s album?โ€ West asked.

Mike stalled. โ€œWhat the hell even is that?โ€

โ€œItโ€™s notโ€”I mean, itโ€™s new, but itโ€™s not likeโ€ฆnew new. Came out over the summer, but ummโ€ฆโ€ West shrugged. โ€œI dunno, Iโ€™ve been ahhโ€ฆIโ€™ve been listening to itโ€”a lot, actually.โ€

Mike looked him once over, not filtering his scrupulous, judgmental facial expression. At the end of a long day, Mike was justโ€ฆtired, and he didnโ€™t really want to hear something aboutโ€ฆ โ€œIs this some, likeโ€ฆnew band?โ€ Moving once again toward the cleaning supply closet and popping his toothpick back in his mouth, he said, โ€œThatโ€™s a lame fuckinโ€™ name. Let me guessโ€”metal or something?โ€

Mentioning metal made Mike grin to himself. โ€œYou know, Karmaโ€™s Touchโ€”โ€œ Woods and his โ€œbandโ€ that never was. โ€œโ€”was the best fucking metal band out there, and we didnโ€™t have a single fucking song. So panty-dropping that we didnโ€™t even need to pick up a guitar to be flooded with all kinds of the hottest chicks. My fucking saxophone skillsโ€ฆโ€ Mike had never played saxophone, but the Karmaโ€™s Touch pickup line worked a surprising amount with, ya know, getting some in high school.

He grinned over his shoulder back at West. โ€œYou should learn to play an instrument, West.โ€ He chuckled, pulling on a pair of gloves. โ€œMight finally get ya some pussy.โ€

โ€œDoโ€ฆgirlsโ€ฆlike boys that play guitar?โ€ West asked. โ€œDo ummโ€ฆlikeโ€”I thought they were supposed to, butโ€ฆโ€

Mike sighed, his smile falling. Heโ€™d forgotten that West was already sort of, well, trying to play an instrument. He shrugged. โ€œEh, they do if youโ€™re hot. That might be what youโ€™re missing there, West,โ€ he said, the fleeting moment of fun gone as he picked up a bottle of cleaning solution and paper towels. He looked down at the gum in Westโ€™s hand. โ€œYou wanting to buy that?โ€

























double








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















i know you want me.





โ€œYou smoke?โ€ Nickie asked, instinctively crinkling up her nose in disgust.
She was the president of the smoking prevention clubโ€”Squash Smoking. Which was ironic, since her dad was a smoker, but in her opinion, her dad was old so, like, he was a lost cause anyway.

(If you couldnโ€™t tell, Nickie didnโ€™t really have much of a sense of what old actually was.)

โ€œI think we made out once, too, or something,โ€ Adriane continued. โ€œI canโ€™t remember.โ€

Nickie felt her cheeks tinged pink. โ€œOh, uhmโ€ฆโ€

Making out in general was a very awkward conversation topic for Nickie right now. Kissing was one thing, butโ€ฆlike, it was a different vibe.

And Adriane had, like, made out with a girl?

(It was the early 00s.)

Nickie had only ever, likeโ€ฆmade out with, like, Saint three times, maybe, and then, likeโ€ฆthe boyfriend before him a few times. But she was fourteen, so even that was extreme behavior in her eyes.

Ninth grade was a wild time.

โ€œHe looks like a loser,โ€ Adriane said, obviously indicating Ian, and Nickie looked back at the boy, who desperately tried to hand water to the football players who werenโ€™t even sweating yet.

Nickie snickered. โ€œHe is such a loser, duh,โ€ she said.

She didnโ€™t know the kid.

โ€œWhy do you even know who he is?โ€ Adriane asked, and Nickie looked over at her, her eyebrows knitting together. โ€œDonโ€™t you have anything better to do than memorize random peopleโ€™s names and gossip about them?โ€โ€จ
Nickieโ€™s cheeks turned a bit pinker. Defensively, Nickie straightened up, insisting, โ€œIโ€™m not, like, gossiping or anything, likeโ€”Iโ€™m just saying. And, like, I know who he is because, like, in our, like, Squash Smoking club, we, like, had, like, mentor someone from the elementary school or whatever, so, like, I was assigned to him because, likeโ€ฆlike, I guess alphabetically he was one of the first last names, and, like, mine is Abrams, and likeโ€ฆโ€

Nickie tended to ramble whenever she was in a state of heightened emotion.

She ran a hand over her hair again, making sure that no hair was out of place, and she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and mirroring Adriane. โ€œBut anyway, likeโ€ฆโ€ Nickieโ€™s eyes scanned the field, looking for someone else she could talk about to keep the air from being awkward again. She found the one quickly enough.

She snickered, gesturing with a pinky toward the field, where the boy wearing the jersey reading KILLOUGH pounded his chest, she guessed as a way to hype himself up. โ€œKeegan Killough is such, like, a freaking idiot, isnโ€™t he?โ€

























What Was I Made For?








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















Just getting by





No, Mason didn't step into line alongside everyone else.
Instead, he crossed his arms, remaining strictly beside CK as he bitched and moaned about Coach this and Coach that, and explained the basic ass fucking drill that everyone already knew, but snobby ass Freud had to go into too much detail about the whole ass--

Pick your partner, right--

Mason turns towards the team, but most of the team had already wandered off with their chosen partners -- even Killough, who Mason typically liked as a partner because well... he was fun to beat up on. Fuck, even Taylor, one of the newer members of the team, had managed to find a partner which left Mason and--

Fuck.

Annoyed, he glared in Freud's face before he yanked his helmet on to try and cover the glower in his eyes. "No one else, huh?" he asked, even if he already knew the answer, and he briefly wondered if they could just break up one of the other pairs. You know. Captain shit, except that'd probably be bad for team morale and shit.

Out of the front of his helmet, he saw the coach approaching, and Mason clapped his hand into Freud's shoulder roughly. "C'mon," he said, before backing away into position.

























superman








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















smile





Why was Nate still talking to him?
He supposed he didn't really know -- except that when he was smoking, Nate got very talkative. Or well, more talkative than the single word guy typically was on a day-to-day basis.

(And since he was high a majority of the time, Nate was a chatterbox a majority of the time.)

"Weed," he explained, his voice strained as he held the smoke in his lungs a moment longer, before he exhaled slowly. The smoke billowed towards the young boy, and Nate held the joint out to him. "Try it."

It reminded Nate of when he'd been a young boy -- around thirteen at the time -- and still at home in Kansas. He'd been hanging out after school one day, waiting for his older brother and sister to show up so they could go home, when some older guys had come by. At first, he'd turned down the joint, but damn, if public humiliation from peers wasn't a hell of a drug.

So, he'd accepted and the rest, as they say, was history.

"It'll chill you out," he explained, which was evident by the lazy look in Nate's own eyes. "Be careful, though -- don't want you choking too much."

























superman








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Fuck off





She should've fought harder against having him as a partner.
Because yeah, Ava had laid into the teacher, begging for her to give her a different partner or just allow her to do the entire project on her own (which, obviously, she was going to be doing on her own either way). Mrs. Henderson had adamantly refused because Ava needed to "learn to work in a group."

Dumb, right?

But not as dumb as the boy before her.

She did her best to ignore how much he made her blood boil, though, so that she wouldn't make the situation worse than it already was. But it was difficult to bite her tongue, when all that ever came out were spiteful words.

"If you're so smart," she started, her voice dripping with annoyance. Ava leaned back in her seat, her arms crossing over her chest. "Then I guess you could just... do your entire half, right?" she asked and then, once again, she tapped the paper in front of him. "Why don't you start by writing your name, Einstein."

At this point, it was a demand, not a suggestion.

























fast car








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Is there anyone?





Although Mike's statement hurt, Jace knew he was right.
He didn't exactly stand out, instead fading into the background of everything.

His dad had tried to get him interested in sports, claiming that it would fill him out. But Jace was terrible at it, and he simply didn't like it -- so he'd stopped with sports when he'd grown old enough to say no.

"No," he responded, going to drop the gum back onto the rack -- except he didn't want Mike to leave just yet. "Actually uh... yes." He said, instead tossing the gum onto the counter.

"Why didn't you move away?" Jace asked, as he casually took his time pulling out cash from his wallet.

























tik tok








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Nothing less than perfection...





What the feck?


โ€œItโ€™sโ€ฆweed?!โ€ Trevor asked incredulously, his eyes wide and moving to study the strange rolledโ€ฆcigarette (or whatever the weed equivalent wasโ€”he didnโ€™t know). Hearing what it was sent him into another (overly dramatic) fit of loud hacking, and the hand covering his nose moved to covering his whole lower half of his face. Finally, he stopped โ€œcoughingโ€ and lowered his hand, glaring at the man with a confused expression on his face. โ€œWhere did you get that? Isnโ€™t it, like, really feckinโ€™ illegal?โ€

The man held the cigarette out to him. โ€œTry it,โ€ the man offered.

โ€œTry it?!โ€ Trevor repeated, his voice cracking in his utter shock.

โ€œItโ€™ll chill you out,โ€ the man said. โ€œBe careful, thoughโ€”donโ€™t want you choking too much.โ€

โ€œYou want me to try it?โ€ Trevor repeated, still reeling from that fact. He shook his head vigorously, stepping back, his lips curling up in disgust. โ€œWe just feckinโ€™ met, and youโ€™re a grown man whoโ€™s sitting in a playground, and youโ€™re offerinโ€™ meโ€”youโ€™re offerinโ€™ me drugs?!โ€

This whole situation rang alarm bells in Trevorโ€™s headโ€”though, to be fair, most other situations when he was in public rang alarm bells.

He looked at the cigarette, and then back at the manโ€™s face. The manโ€™s eyelids sagged; he looked relaxed, tired almost. Trevorโ€™s disgusted look faded slightly as he looked from cigarette to dude, cigarette to dude, cigarette to dude.

He came out here to destress, after all. And Trevorโ€™s whole fecking lifeโ€”his whole fecking existenceโ€”all it was was misery and feckinโ€™ idiots, and he never got any rest, and his head always hurt, and he hated it, he hated it, he hated it.

And this would help? Really?

No way that it would.

But would it? Could it?

No.

Maybe?

Maybe.

Maybe?

Heaving a deep sigh and jutting out his hand to take the cigarette, Trevor averted his eyes and said, โ€œEh, fuck it.โ€

But when he held the cigarette in his hand, he coughed again, and he stared at the used end of it. Usedโ€”how many feckinโ€™ germs did there have to be on that thing? His lip curled up in disgust, and for a moment, he held it out from his body and back toward the manโ€”but, determined to at least give it a try, he squeezed his eyes shut, put it between his lips, and did what he thought you were supposed to do with a cigarette: breathe in as deep as possible, then blow it all out at once.

This did not go well.

His reaction was slightly delayed and only set in once he had taken his very fast, very deep drag.

And his reaction was to go into a coughing frenzy.

His fingers clasped the joint for dear life as he pounded his chest. His eyes watered.

IMGONNADIEIMGONNADIEโ€”

























pick your poison








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















if i could, i would feel nothing.





โ€œDidnโ€™t think so,โ€ Mike said as West placed his gum back on the rack,
and he tucked the cleaning supplies under his elbow and closed the cleaning supply closet door and brushed past West on the way to the bathrooms, gnawing on his toothpick.

โ€œActually uhโ€ฆyes,โ€ West said abruptly, and Mike heaved a sigh and turned back toward him.

He worked his jaw for a moment, sighing deeply. Westโ€”for fucking real? Headphones around his neck, ill-fitted clothes, fucking rich kidโ€”and West had failed as a protรฉgรฉe, that was for fucking sureโ€”there was no way any girl would ever want to touch him. What could he possibly have to say that was worthwhile at this point in his life? Mike was on the clock, couldnโ€™t the kid understand that?

(Mike was antisocial unless he was talking to someone hot.)

โ€œYou just want my attention, donโ€™t you?โ€ Mike said gruffly, plopping the cleaning supplies down on the counter and running a gloved hand through his curly hair. He crossed his arms, sighing and leaning back against the counter. He chewed his toothpick, looking up toward the ceiling, then sighing deeply. โ€œWellโ€ฆspit it out, kid,โ€ he said tiredly. โ€œYou got something important to say?โ€

โ€œWhy didnโ€™t you move away?โ€ West asked.

Mikeโ€™s muscles tensed, his eyes widening just slightly. For a moment, his fight or flight instinct told him to fuckinโ€™ punch the dude in the face.

What kind of fucking question was that? Why didnโ€™t Mike move away?

Because no fucking matter where he moved, he wouldnโ€™t ever be anything more than who everyone always said he would be. His mom was born here, and so was he, and he would die here because here, as much ass as it sucked, was the only place that would have him. Here didnโ€™t want him, but here took him him, let him hang around its sleazy bars and breathe in its stale breath, slapped him on the face and grinned, knowing that he couldnโ€™t do anything, because here was the only place he could stay.

But Mike just rolled his eyes, chuckling. โ€œIโ€™ve got too many bitches here, Pisskid. If I left, who would keep them satisfied?โ€

He reached for Westโ€™s wallet. โ€œNow pay up. And tip me.โ€

























double








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.





Donna didnโ€™t know who this girl thought she was,
and he also didnโ€™t know who this girl was in the first place.

โ€œMy nameโ€™s not fucking Einsteinโ€ฆwas that your attempt at insulting meโ€ฆ?โ€ There was a flash of anger across his face. โ€œDonโ€™t fucking try to insult meโ€”I donโ€™t have that kind of patience. And if you insult meโ€ฆcome up with something better.โ€ He looked down at the paper, and then bit down aggressively on the pencil that heโ€™d been keeping too close to his mouth. โ€œAnd donโ€™t compare me to fucking Einstein. He was a fucking metaphysical idiot...but I doubt that you know what Iโ€™m even talking about. You donโ€™t strike me as veryโ€ฆsmart.โ€

Donna was unendingly blunt.

He took the pencil from his mouth and threw it on the table in the direction of Ava; it started to roll toward her. โ€œI donโ€™t know how you managed to get me here to work with you,โ€ Donna said dully, โ€œbut youโ€™re not doing a good job at making me want to stay. Have you ever fucking spoken to another personโ€ฆ? Especially someone like me?โ€ It was difficult to tell if he was being sarcastic or facetious or if he was being entirely genuine. โ€œGive me one good reason why I should do this projectโ€ฆand maybe Iโ€™ll think about doing something, but not because you asked me to.โ€

























hell is where i dreamt of u and woke up alone








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















day by day...





CK Freud watched the other players fall into line,
pairing up with this person and that person. Taylor with Fitzgerald, Killough with Bentley, Langford with Lincolnโ€ฆthe team had already gotten so much tighter, so much smoother, and if things continuedโ€”

โ€œNo one else, huh?โ€ came the grating fucking voice that always interrupted CKโ€™s meditative moments with its unwanted and frankly fucking irritating presence.

CK turned his head toward the source of the voice and found Rivera, fucking helmeted up already, clearly expecting CK to want to be his fucking partner like this was kindergarten. CK stared at him with a glower.

Rivera clapped his hand on CKโ€™s shoulder. โ€œCโ€™mon,โ€ Rivera said, his eyes focused on a spot behind CK.

Chelsea turned his head and glanced with the side of his eye and found the coach to be the spot in question. Well, fuck. With a deep sigh, CK pulled on his helmet.

It was time to fucking get this on with.

โ€ข โ€ข โ€ข​

โ€œYou canโ€™t just fucking go for my head,โ€ Chelsea growled under his breath as he rolled his neck, โ€œnot in fucking practiceโ€”are you a fucking idiot? Youโ€™re going to get both of us hurt.โ€

He was sweating, panting. This was the sixth or seventh time that heโ€™d said this so far, and it never seemed to get fucking through that trying to fucking paralyze him during practice wasnโ€™t doing shit for practice or modeling for the team how things were supposed to fucking be done.

CK was going to fucking kill him after practiceโ€”but this was practice, and practice wasnโ€™t about just them.

โ€œGet fucking over yourself, asshole,โ€ CK commanded. โ€œWeโ€™re practicing fucking tackles that wonโ€™t get us fowled, okay? Tackles, got that?โ€ Picking up the football again, CK walked back over into position. Reluctantlyโ€”and trying to conceal the fact that he was absolutely fucking pissedโ€”CK said, โ€œLetโ€™s run that shit again.โ€

























this fffire








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















Is there anyone?





Well, Mike's response just felt like a big excuse.
And Jace supposed that it likely was, because surely there wasn't any good reason for Mike to want to stay around.

Unless, what, he really liked working as a gas station employee?

"I'm going to move," he stated. "I wanna go somewhere... cool. I dunno. Chicago, maybe. Somewhere big." And then he bit his tongue before he could continue blasting his dreams -- which were actually less dreams and more goals, because they were going to happen, he was determined.

But he didn't want to rub his future success in Mike's face, and remind his older best friend how Mike's life might've been over, but Jace's was just beginning.

"How much is the gum?" he asked, as he flipped open his wallet and started flipping through the bills. "Five dollars?" He suggested, before holding out the five dollar bill.

























tik tok








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















smile





Another hit from the joint,
and Nate let out a happy sigh.

โ€œYou want me to try it?โ€ the kid said. โ€œWe just feckinโ€™ met, and youโ€™re a grown man whoโ€™s sitting in a playground, and youโ€™re offerinโ€™ meโ€”youโ€™re offerinโ€™ me drugs?!โ€

Perhaps if he was sober, he would be able to realize that the kid had a point, and offering drugs to children on the playground was a typically frowned upon experience. (Granted, he wasn't a kid kid, he was a teen kid, but offering drugs on the playground was probably generally frowned upon no matter what.)

The kid ended up choking on the smoke, and Nate took the joint back with one hand, while he used his other hand to pat the scrawny kid's back.

"You're okay," he said absently as he took a hit from the joint with one hand, while the other hand kept on patting the kid's back. Nate glanced over his shoulder. "You think my girlfriend didn't actually wanna meet at the playground?"

Being distracted was kind of Nate's thing.

























superman








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Sorry, wasn't listening





"You're part of Squash Smoking?"
Adriane laughed with a roll of her eyes. She remembered their annoying little seminars all too well in school,, where they'd preach these ridiculous statistics and attempt scare tactics to get the students to quit smoking.

Of course, Adriane would always be one to sneak out and go smoke in the girls' locker room, because the door was always left unlocked and could be propped open to smoke without any of the smell staying in the building.

"I should've known," she continued with a breathy sigh. "You do look like one of those dumb little tattletales. I bet if you were at a party and someone, like... started smoking or something, you'd go tattle to their mommy, wouldn't you?" Adriane sneered.

It was smart of Nickie to attempt to change the conversation from... who were they talking about again?

โ€œKeegan Killough is such, like, a freaking idiot, isnโ€™t he?โ€

She followed Nickie's gaze to find the guy in question, but it didn't take long to see him, pounding his chest like the primitive creature he was. Adriane's nose wrinkled up. Yeah, she definitely recognized the boy -- or well, she recognized his name. He was yet another one of Mason's self-proclaimed arch enemies.

"He is," Adriane said, truthfully agreeing with Nickie for the first time ever. "What's his deal?" she asked, head tilting to the side. "Like... he's going to be absolutely doomed when he graduates, you know? I bet he'll be living off of his parents for the rest of his life." Her lips pressed into a frown. "Such a shame, too -- he's kind of cute."

























fast car








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Fuck off





Her lip curled back in disgust when he bit into her pencil.
Eww. She was going to have to throw that away -- which was such a shame. It was brand new, freshly sharpened, and she'd wasted it on the druggie burnout.

Donna threw the pencil down, and it rolled in her direction. As it rolled to a stop by the edge of the table, Ava used her finger to push it off the table. The librarian could deal with cleaning that up later.

โ€œI donโ€™t know how you managed to get me here to work with you,โ€ Donna said dully, โ€œbut youโ€™re not doing a good job at making me want to stay. Have you ever fucking spoken to another personโ€ฆ? Especially someone like me?โ€

"I don't want you to stay," was on the tip of her tongue, but Ava managed to bite it back. Alongside: "someone like you? Like a usless burnout?" amongst a thousand other responses that would surely not give her to the answer that she requested. Which was just... simply... his name... written on their paper.

Someone in hell had wished this on her, and they were laughing up at her. Ava just knew it.

โ€œGive me one good reason why I should do this projectโ€ฆand maybe Iโ€™ll think about doing something, but not because you asked me to.โ€

"Give you a reason..." she echoed slowly, to make sure they were on the same page, of course. "To sign the paper... and not have to do any work...?" Ava huffed, letting the steam roll out through her nose instead of bursting out in some poorly timed insult. "I don't know... because I asked? Because this way neither of us fails the class? And you're not stuck repeating this year?"

What? That was the nicest Ava could be.

























fast car








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















if i could, i would feel nothing.





โ€œBig city?โ€
Mike laughed coldheartedly. He used to have those kinds of dreams, tooโ€”but they were the kinds of dreams that guys like him couldnโ€™t ever even fucking admit aloud without having his balls busted from all sides. โ€œPisskink, thatโ€™d chew you up and spit you out. You ainโ€™t even making it [ii]here[/i], hotshotโ€”what makes you think you will in a place like Chicago?โ€ He sighed deeply, and he instinctively reached for the cigarettes in his pocket as he waited for West to retrieve his money, if he ever effing would. Before he recalled the whole, Itโ€™s been law for the last eight years that you canโ€™t smoke inside, sonโ€”what the hell is your deal? speech heโ€™d gotten from the owner of the joint just last week after some tightass old hag had complained to the boss aboutโ€”what Mike made clear were simply allegationsโ€”Mike smoking indoors on shift, he already had the cigarette lit and poised between his lips.

After taking a deep breath of the nicotine and heavy metals, Mike shook his head, the humor falling from his face. โ€œBut good for you, West. Get out while you can. Youโ€™ll be doing better than me already if you do that.โ€

โ€œHow much is the gum?โ€ West asked. โ€œFive dollars?โ€โ€จ

Mike tried not to guffaw as the kid held out a fiver. Five fucking dollars for gum? God, the kid really was a helpless idiot. Imagine where heโ€™d be if Mike hadnโ€™t taken him underwing. Probably dead, Mike concluded.

Still, Mike took the five dollar bill for the fifty centโ€”fifty-five cent after taxโ€”pack of gum. โ€œYep,โ€ he said, opening the register and subtly removing $4.45 and pocketing the four dollars with one hand as he handed West the forty-five cents. It was just a bit of sleight of hand, and neither West nor the boss would be any the wiser. โ€œPleasure doing business,โ€ Mike said with a little grin, moving his cigarette to the other corner of his mouth with his tongue and taking a puff.

























double








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















Nothing less than perfection...





Trevor tensed as the manโ€™s hand hit his back.


Strange man hitting a handsome, strapping young manโ€™s back in an empty playground would generally spell one three-letter word: RUN. But, for some reason, he didnโ€™t really want to get upโ€”and in a couple of moments, he felt a sort of wave of gentle lightness pass over him.

Was lightness the right word? Or relaxation?

Whatever it was, it made, for a moment, his tense shoulders relax and the colors of his world brighten slightly.

He blinked, and then let out a soft chuckle.

This was probably the best feckinโ€™ two seconds of his lifeโ€”because what the hell? He could feckinโ€™ breathe without worrying thatโ€ฆhuh? What was he even worrying about usually?

He let out another soft chuckle, then turned to look at the manโ€”

The strange manโ€ฆ

In theโ€ฆ

He felt a weight in his chest again, and he exhaled deeply. โ€œWhat the hell am I doinโ€™ hereโ€ฆ?โ€

โ€œYou think my girlfriend didnโ€™t actually wanna meet at the playground?โ€ the man asked.

Trevor half-scoffed, half-laughed. โ€œI sure as hell wouldnโ€™t want toโ€”the feck, you thought she would?โ€

He closed his eyes and breathed out a deep sigh, and the poking anxious thoughts seemed now even bigger than they were before.

But, just moments ago, he had felt soโ€”

Hesitantly, Trevor, with a miserable look, turned back to the man. โ€œGive me another hit, Mrโ€ฆahโ€ฆwhateveryourfaceisIneverasked.โ€

























pick your poison








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.





โ€œFailing the classโ€ฆ?โ€
Donna restated in boredom, his half-closed eyes glazed over in a seeming daze. Mostly to spite the irritating girl in front of him, his eyes moved to the whiteboard, whereon had certainly been written some words. He spent the next half minute trying to make out what the words on the board said with squinted eyes and slightly parted lips. โ€œX is equal to y/12โ€ฆ,โ€ he said flatly. He tapped his finger lightly on the desk. โ€œHow fuck is x equal to y? Theyโ€™re different lettersโ€ฆโ€ He worked his jaw. โ€œFuckinโ€™ chemistryโ€ฆโ€

He looked back at Ava. โ€œStupid reason. Iโ€™ve failed this class already. Give me another reason.โ€ He was just being a dick to be one at this point.

























hell is where i dreamt of u and woke up alone








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















i know you want me.





Nickieโ€™s brows furrowed in offense,
but she quickly smoothed them out, because, like, Adriane was def, like, joking with this whole, like, acting like she hated her thing. Like, Nickie knew that, but it was easy to forget.

โ€œUhm, Iโ€™ve, likeโ€”!โ€ Never gone to a party, so, like, thatโ€™s irrelevant, she almost said, but she stopped herself short of saying that, because, like, it wasnโ€™t very cool to admit that she hadnโ€™t really ever gone to a party beforeโ€”especially someone like Adriane. โ€œIโ€™m not, like, a tattling little, like, bitch chick, Adriane, cโ€™mon,โ€ Nickie dismissed with a forced little chuckle, though she was totally a tattling little bitch chick. She flopped a hand as if to swat away the idea. โ€œActually, Iโ€™m, like, Iโ€™m such a party girl,โ€ she gabbed to compensate for her actual lack of party experience. โ€œLike, I am the life of the party, likeโ€”you can ask anyone.โ€ Her eyes trailed all the way to the body wearing the jersey that read Rivera. โ€œI bet you could even, like, ask Mason.โ€ Except he probably wouldnโ€™t even know who she was. But, likeโ€ฆsheโ€™d totally seen him staring a couple of times at school, she swore to God (though her friends all denied it), so maybe heโ€™d, like, mistake staring at her in school for, like, having stared at her at a party and, likeโ€ฆno one would ever know that Nickie was a total, like, cool-things newb.

Adriane regarded Keegan, and Nickie felt a slight thrill from her agreeing with Nickieโ€™s estimation of him. โ€œUgh, right?โ€ Nickie said in agreement, nodding emphatically. โ€œHot face, but, likeโ€ฆliterally no brains. Or, like, negative brains, if thatโ€™s even possible.โ€ (Nickie was basing this off of rumors that sheโ€™d heard about the guy; sheโ€™d never spoken with him in person.) โ€œHe got, like, an F in freaking Home Economics because he, like, couldnโ€™t get the bobbin threaded to sew and so he, like, went total, like, 'roid rage and broke the machine and, like, tried to square up to Mrs. Reeseโ€”โ€œ Who was 60-plus years old. โ€œโ€”and his parents had to, like, pay off the school so that he wouldnโ€™t get, likeโ€ฆlikeโ€ฆโ€ That was where her memory of the rumors ended. She shrugged. โ€œSo, likeโ€ฆtotal effing idiot. Also, his blonde is definitely from a bottle.โ€

























What Was I Made For?








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















Fuck off





The amount of stupidity that rolled off his tongue was hard for her to comprehend.


She just glared at him. "You know what? Forget it. I'll get you dropped, or forge your name," she snapped as she stood up from the table, grabbing the paper from the table, shoving it into her notebook, and then started shoving all of her things into her backpack. It was a lot harder when one was angry, of course, so took far too much fumbling around -- which just pissed her off more.

After it was all placed away -- and Ava had done plenty of cussing -- she rose up out of her chair, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. She paused, as if maybe she was going to say something, but ultimately thought better of it as a million different insults rolled through her head, each one just causing her to grow more annoyed.

"You suck," she grumbled half-heartedly, before finally storming away.

























fast car








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Is there anyone?





He lingered for a moment longer,
wanting to continue the conversation with the guy that he viewed as his best friend. But Mike clearly wanted some time to himself, and he was keeping on an air of professionalism.

So ultimately, with a heavy sigh, Jace pocketed the gum and headed out of the gas station. The bell clanging behind him as the door fell shut behind him was the last sound he heard before he put his headphones back on, and started the CD once again. The player started to skip, so he adjusted his hold on it.

And by himself, with shoulders kind of slouched down, he started walking home. He should've driven his car, really, so he wasn't out here looking like a loser walking by himself, but...

Well, then he wouldn't have an excuse to stop by Mike's gas station every day.

























tik tok








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















smile





His eyebrows raised up in surprise as the boy started begging him for another hit,
not that Nate could really blame him. Once it hit and you realized how much better life was with it, it was hard to go back.

"Here you go, kid," he said, as he proudly passed the blunt back over to him with a kind of sleepy grin on his face. "You know what... you keep it."

Nate paused, watching the kid for a moment. "Something tells me you need it more than me," he said. It didn't seem too healthy for a kid like him to already look so stressed out, but Nate was sure that weed would be the answer to all of his problems.

"Nate," he added absently. "Your name?"

























superman








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Just getting by





Football was supposed to be a release.
A time of the day where he could freely knock into someone without having any (real) repercussions. And it happened to be one of those things that he was good at.

And it was going to be his ticket out of this hellhole town.

Or at least it would've been, if Freud wasn't standing between him and his goal.

The word asshole kept replaying in his head, again and again, as he came towards Freud. Sweat dripped down his face, and the cold air did little to cool him through the stupid football helmet. But at least the helmet somewhat concealed his distaste, and the constant rolling of his eyes as CK babbled on about bullshit.

His hands balled into fists by his side, and Mason brought his hands behind his back to hide that -- because if Freud kept up with his shitty ass attitude, then Mason was going to send a fist flying into the fucker's face.

"I am tackling," he snapped back. "Maybe if you'd stop being a whiny little bitch, you'd know how to take a hit." A hit. A tackle. Same thing, same difference.

His voice had risen a bit louder than intended, but no one seemed to notice -- everyone else was too wrapped up in practicing with their own partners to notice. Assholes, the whole lot of them.

(Assholes solely because they'd left him facing off against Freud, of course.)

Again, they slammed into each other in the stupid football training. But this time, something happened.

They stumbled, and Mason found himself losing his balance -- along with Freud.

And then he heard a resounding crack, and soon, pain shooting up from his leg all the way through his body.

"Fuck," he yelled out, his voice cracking.

























superman








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก
 


















Nothing less than perfection...





Trevor was doing drugs with a strange grown man in a park.


Oh Christ, how had he come to this point in his life?

But he needed that relief, and the drugs were doing it for him, and so with a soft, miserable little groan, he took the joint back and sucked in a deep breath, which was followed promptly by much more hacking and then a release of the smoke, and then a deep, relieved sigh.

โ€œYou know whatโ€ฆyou keep it,โ€ said the man.

Trevor blinked. โ€œEhโ€ฆ?โ€

โ€œSomething tells me you need it more than me,โ€ the man stated.

โ€œYou can feckinโ€™ say that, yeah,โ€ Trevor agreed glumly, though his logical mind protested everything that was happening right now. His mind was screaming, This thing reeks, your grandmother is going to kill you, this is probably laced with meth, this guy is going to snatch you up and sell your organs on the black market, look at his face, he looks like a scary pervโ€”, but his whole body appreciated it all very much, and for once, Trevor was ignoring what his mind was saying.

โ€œNate,โ€ said the man, and it took Trevor a second to realize that the man was telling him his name. Nate. Sounded like the name of a park perv, yeah, that checked out. Trevor drew in another breath from the joint. โ€œYour name?โ€

โ€œTreโ€”โ€œ Trevor coughed, then finished, โ€œโ€”vor. Some people call me Trev.โ€ He paused. โ€œCallaghan,โ€ he felt the need to add, like a sketchy man like Nate would recognize Trevorโ€™s name from the school newspaper columns that bore his name.

























pick your poison








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 


















day by day...





CK was going to fucking kill Rivera,
but what was new? The asshole, youโ€™d think, would learn over the course of time not to fuck with CK, but apparently he could never get it through that thick skull of his who was really fucking in charge here.

CK looked around, checking over his shoulders to see if anyone was getting a fucking load of this bastard here. Unfortunately, no one was lookingโ€”or, perhaps, fortunately. Riveraโ€™s raising his voice was like a fourth-grader, bawling and clenching their teeth when their teacher confiscated their GameBoy.

CK gave a forced laugh, stepped closer to Rivera, and, in a quieter, monotone voice, said, โ€œYou think youโ€™re funny. Your comebacks sound like they came from a fucking knock-knock joke book.โ€ He put his helmet back on. โ€œWhatever. Get over yourself, Rivera. Youโ€™re not the only fucking person on the field, and if you hurt one of my players, then Iโ€™ll fucking slaughter you, got that?โ€

CK walked back into his position, gave Rivera the nod, andโ€”

CRACK!

The sound of a loud noise, a moment of stars, and CK, with the wind knocked out of his lungs, realized that he was lying flat on the ground. He gasped for air, rolling onto his side, as the other players gradually seemed to noice the goings on and gathered around the bodies on the ground. Somewhere in the collision and him falling on the ground, CK had lost his helmet, which his black-rimmed vision noted was on the ground a few feet away from him.

โ€œRivera, Freudโ€”you boys okay?โ€ It was the coachโ€™s voice.

CK managed to roll back onto his back, now finally managing a deeper breath of air, and he mumbled, โ€œYes, Coach.โ€

โ€œShit,โ€ the coach muttered, and he leaned down over the two boys.

CK felt something wet on his forehead, and he reached up to wipe away the sweat. He came away with something thicker than sweat, and far more tacky. With a furrowed brow, he held his hand out in front of himself, and he felt his stomach grip as he recognized the dark red color.

โ€œTaylor, go get the nurseโ€”Hansen, water,โ€ the coach commanded, and he bent down next to Rivera. โ€œYour leg, sonโ€”can you move it?โ€

























this fffire








โ™กcoded by uxieโ™ก

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top