BLACK TAR → madwheeler

four.

     Max nodded, taking another look back at the house before hurrying quickly towards her car. Xan unlocked the doors, and before she knew it, she had thrown her backpack by her feet and he was pulling out of his driveway.

     "What's he doing still asleep?" Max asked after a second, moving a strand of red hair out of her eyes before looking at the dashboard clock, noticing that the time was around 12pm, usually around the time most people would be up. That and besides, she hadn't noticed any of the others in the house. 

     Xan shook his head, flicking on his turn signal as he pulled over into the next lane. "Sleeping off his high, probably. Took another dose this morning." 

     Max's brow furrowed. "Of what, oxys?" 

     Xan snorted, shooting her a glance. "You have no idea what we all do, do you angel?" 

     "I. .  ." Max said slowly, looking at her purse where she knew her pills were kept. "I guess not. If if it's not pills, what is it?" 

     There was no answer from Xan. Instead, he simply flexed his arms, and for the first time the slightly bruised bumps that were scattered there seemed clear in Max's eyes. She looked down into the backseat and saw inside Xan's open bag were a number of items -- and on the top, glinting in the sunlight, were about six empty syringes. 

     She sat back in her seat, the realization rushing hot through her veins. "Heroin."

     Casting a look next to her, she caught Xan's reaction. A slight smirk had slid up the left side of his cheek, and he spun the steering wheel, turning right. "Bingo." 

     The sleeping, Mike's pupils, the way he had been sleepy in class. . . it made perfect sense. Heroin. If you didn't know, you didn't know. Xan and his peers were extraordinarily good at hiding the fact -- that is, until you did figure it out. 

      "Isn't that, like, super dangerous?" Max said carefully. 

     Xan was still smiling. "If you get it from the wrong people, yeah. Fuck yeah. But I don't get it from the wrong people. Reliable dealers equals happy customers." 

     Max chewed on her bottom lip, digesting this. "And - Mike does it too?" 

     Xan inclined his head. "Why do you think he's sleeping? Re-upped him this morning before he could get the shakes." 

     He raised an eyebrow, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "We're not the same with it thought. He's more of an addict than I am. Gets him differently." 

     Max considered his words, her brow furrowed. "How did. . . how did you guys get to heroin? I mean, you had to have started somewhere." 

     It was a couple of seconds before Xan spoke again. "For me, it was xans. That was when Mike really started with the nickname." 

     "And what about him?"

     He met her eyes. "For Mike, it was oxys." 

     It was like something ice cold ran though Max's veins, remembering the smooth way Mike had met her at her locker just the day before, talking to her about the oxycodone pills he could introduce her too. She had no idea he had been so involved with them before she had -- he had failed to mention it at all. 

     "Is it really amazing?" She asked him quietly. 

     Xan answered differently this time, and the answer did not tie up the rest of her curiosities in the slightest. "I can't even describe it to you." 

     She sat back in the passenger seat, watching out the window as she thought about what he had just told her. Heroin scared her slightly; after all, she had heard the horror stories. But sitting in the passenger seat with Xan as he calmly drove through traffic and retold stories about the group made her have a different opinion entirely. 

     It almost -- not quite, but almost -- made her want to experience the same thing. 

     As Xan pulled into Max's neighborhood, he turned on his turn signal, taking a left down a dirt road a little bit of a way's from Max's house. 

     She turned as her neighborhood slowly crept out of view. "Where are we going?" 

     "Somewhere we aren't seen," He answered. "Got a surprise for you." 

     He parked the car a little ways into the woods, making sure that they were well hidden before he killed the engine, digging around in pockets before producing a white tin. He dug inside, taking out two pills and placing them on the cushioned glovebox between them. 

     "For you," He said, grinning good-naturedly. "For doing so well last night. Welcome to the club, Mayfield." 

     She noticed the numbers stamped on the pills, realizing with a slight rush of adrenaline that they were in fact both 20mg of oxycodone. 

     "Just one?" She asked him. 

     He slid his hand further towards her. "Nah, both. You deserve it." 

     A slight smile of delight crossed the girl's face before she took the pills from his palm, reaching for the water bottle in the cup holder opposite her. With a slight nervousness, but not enough for her to back down in front of Xan, she placed one pill on her tongue, and washed it down with the water. 

     She swallowed, shaking her head slightly before doing the same thing to the second, her mind barely registering that she had taken now 40mg of oxys before barely even getting home. The only thing she was focused on was feeling good, and of course, impressing the blonde sitting in the driver's seat. 

     He held out his hand to high-five her. "Impressive, Mayfield! I knew we picked you for a reason."

     As he backed out of the space, Max slowly felt the effects of the oxy taking place, feeling more giddy and giggly by the second. She caught Xan's eye as the got back onto the main road, passing different houses, and as she did so the boy reached over and grabbed her hand, interlocking his fingers in her's. 

     As he pulled into Max's driveway, he dropped her hand, and the warmth from his touch left her palms as she grabbed her purse. She was filled with excitement at what had just happened, and whether it was from the drugs or the events of the night, Max was happy for the first time in forever. 

     "See you later then?" Xan asked her, unlocking the doors as he shot her a grin. 

     "Definitely," She answered, opening the car door. She closed it behind her, leaning down to peer into the open window. "Thanks again, Xan." 

     "Anytime, princess." 

     "Oh," She said, her forehead suddenly crinkling with worry. "And be sure to let me know when Mike wakes up, will you? I just want to make sure he's okay." 

     "Definitely," Xan repeated her phrase, and she flashed him a grin before turning towards her house, adjusting her purse further on her shoulder. 

     As he rolled the window up, Xan finished his sentence, his eyes flashing as he spat the word, "Not." 

     Wheeler had already ruined so many things for Xan. No way would Xan let him fuck this up too. 

⋆࿐໋₊ ♡·˚ ₊ author's note!

hi, sorry for the long awaited update but it took me a little bit longer to figure out where exactly i wanted to go with this chapter!! that being said, i think i finally figured it out and i'm super excited to keep writing black tar for you guys! things are just going to continue to get spicer and juicer as we continue on so be sure to vote and comment as i keep updating! i wouldn't still be writing without you guys and i am so grateful for all of you every single day! i love you!!  ｡:✦・ﾟ

🎱🗝📰

━━━ TW: addiction, heroin use, violence, etc
━━━ WC: 1907
━━━ DP: 03.22.22