The Addict's Weakness

Chapter 2: Princess & Puffs

"We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our paths for a reason." ~Unknown.

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A simple hello could lead to a million things.

She looked at him; he looked at her. There could've been more words to that "Hey", but there wasn't.

No words maybe, but there was another puff of smoke leaving Lukas's lips. That simple, casual aspect made the girl twitch. She couldn't stand smokers.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to live a little out here? Alone?" Lukas questioned her accusingly, his lips now shaped in a grimace.

"I don't want anything," she replied, sneering, "I was just wondering why you're at my place."

"Your place? I don't even know where the fuck you live!"

The girl's small hand smacked her forehead. "My place, stupid, as in the back wall of school."

Oh, he thought. "You never claimed it, so you have no right to say that, Princess." Lukas smirked at his successful argue, which made the other teen glare at him. His tone of voice was ticking her off and if he didn't get out of her place in tee minus two minutes, she knew hell would break loose.

Demanding to prove herself right, her little black boots marched right up to the back door. At first, Lukas thought he would be free of this little, ignorant brat, but then she began to feel along the frame.

She knew her scrawled handwriting from freshman year was along here; the exact date she had founded this place for herself was inscribed with it; 09/24/10.

The boy stood motionless, confused by the girl's random, yet persistent touching on the wall.

"Ah ha!" She suddenly exclaimed. Turning back to Lukas, she continued, "Feel right here. 09/24/10."

His eyebrows arched up to the point where they were invisible, them blanketed by his stark, raven hair. Lukas knew better than to argue, especially with the fiery persona she possessed. If someone asked him to do something, most of the time Lukas refused, his stubbornness and laziness key components. But when this girl asked, she demanded. No question asked.

As his nicotine-scented fingers traced the edges of the door frame, he did feel something, something scribbled in: 09/24/10. This back hideaway was hers.

Lukas's expression to her screamed surprised, but she wasn't surprised; in fact, she was satisfied her place was still claimed by its rightful owner and not some cigarette addict.

"Alright, alright," he said defeatingly, "so this place is actually yours." It was hard to admit she was right. Again with his stubbornness. "But, where else can I escape to breathe a little?"

"Maybe, oh, I don't know, to a place with an oxygen tank? Seems like you need it," she retorted, her dry humor completely serious.

He chuckled quietly followed by a slight cough. "Ha, ha."

"Seriously dude, leave my fucking getaway." She narrowed her eyes threateningly at the trespasser.

Lukas started walking up to her, all close up in the girl's face. Once he stopped, he was close enough for her to smell the sickening cigarette scent that lingered on his tongue.

"And if I don't?" He questioned, a hint of teasing in his tone. It was things like this that made Lukas halfway appreciate living.

Her chocolate eyes widened a little, unexpecting that response, but she replied harshly anyway, "I will kick your ass out of here, and report you to the principal." A smirk replaced her grimace.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, crossing his arms smugly. "You know, I can report you to the principal also. You're not in the school building either, Princess."

"Honestly, with the Princess shit? Why the hell are you calling me Princess?" Tiny balls of fury produced, her pupils as angry as a bull about to run.

He waved away the simple, aggravating word. "The point is: if someone's going to tell on someone, they'll both know we were back here. Right?" That shut her up real good. "Right. So what's the point in tattling? We'll both be in trouble."

"Urgh." The girl glanced over at a fly buzzing its way to her ear. She snatched it and carefully trapped the insect inside her hands, incarcerating the pest. "So what are we gonna do?"

Lukas snorted, "You know, there's this thing called 'sharing', ever heard of it?"

"You're such a bitch."

"Eh, I'm used to that by now." His latest joint was still fixated between his fingers, and he brought it back up to his lips. Lighting it up once again, his mind turned back to the happy, hippie daze.

"You know those will kill you sooner rather than later."

"Your point? I enjoy it, it he-" He cut his words short, and instead finished the sentence by shaking his head.

"My point is I'm disgusted by that."

"I'm not."

She rolled her eyes, her voice dripping of sarcasm. "Of course not." There was a slight crack when her last syllable was spoken. Lukas looked at her, and barely, just barely, he could make out the cloudiness forming within her warm eyes as her hand released the insect to fly away, free.

The fact that he could make people depressed and annoyed didn't faze him at all, no. Of course he was a little sorry, but sorry was a weakness. A weakness that fought not to be seen. There was nothing he could to the fix it; it was like Type 1 Diabetes, you were just born with it. A few things may help to exceed the limits, but nothing could fully destroy it.

He stretched his hand across his face, slowly feeling guilty and surprised. The surprise from the guilt he was feeling.

He tried reaching out to her. "Look, for whatever happened in your past, I'm sorry. Okay? I can stop for a second," No, I honestly can't, "but seriously, I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, her eyes a cloudy mocha like murky water covered by fog. Lukas thought she resembled the night this time of year; snow surrounded by darkness, the shadows lurking behind every corner. There was no way for her to hide.

The girl snapped, "You don't have any say in my past. The past is the motherfucking past, okay?!" With that, she turned on her heel and left the boy standing there in the chilly, approaching autumn air.

As he continued his luscious indulgence, her words kept chasing circles around his head. The past is the motherfucking past, okay?! But to Lukas, it wasn't. The past formed him, shaped him in a barrier that was impenetrable; his little bubble was now made of diamonds rather than a simple solution.

He puckered his lips to an 'O', pushing out the last of his smoke and his thoughts. Of course, Lukas thought this would be one of his normal, go-in-the-back-to-smoke-during-class-then-get-the-hell-out-of-here days, but no, it just didn't go that way.

Fate was never on his side anyway, it seemed. Not like it ever would be.