donghyuck nervously walked down the stairs, trying his best not to wake his mom. she was currently napping on the couch, snoring loudly. he took her snoring as a good sign and he hurried down the stairs, slipping on his shoes, and carefully opening the door. he stepped out into the cold night and shivered before he quietly closed the door. donghyuck sent a quick text to yukhei and then began the walk to the gas station, or as yukhei liked to call it, the 'secret hideout.'
"donghyuck, you're here!" yukhei shouted as he saw a small figure approaching him. he outstretched his arms, wanting a hug from the younger boy.
donghyuck beamed and ran over to yukhei, giving him a tight hug. he soon backed away when he could smell the faint trace of cigarettes. he gave yukhei a suspicious glance before walking over to jeno and jaemin, who were sitting up against the back wall of the gas station. he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a little white stick in jeno's hand.
"jeno, what is that?" donghyuck pointed to the item in jeno's hand even though he knew what it was.
"cigarette. want one?" jeno lazily tossed him a small cartridge.
donghyuck held the box in his hands, staring at it in wonder. he flipped it over a few times, shook it, and opened it. he was just a few words away from making a bad decision.
"sure, why not."
donghyuck took one of the slim sticks out and held it in his hand. it was oddly heavy, or maybe that was just his imagination. he felt the box being taken away by yukhei and he watched as the the taller boy took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. yukhei took out a lighter and looked at donghyuck expectantly.
"come on, i'm going to light yours." he said, the cigarette still hanging out of his mouth.
donghyuck hurriedly put a cigarette in his mouth and got closer to the older boy. there were a few small clicking noises before a flame appeared, illuminating both of their faces. they both leaned in, sticking the ends of their cigarettes in the flame.
jeno and jaemin watched in amusement as donghyuck started coughing violently, almost dropping his cigarette. once he recovered, he gave yukhei a weak smile.
"how is it?" yukhei asked, looking down at the boy in front of him.
"it tastes like shit." donghyuck sputtered, trying to keep his voice steady.
"well, yeah, it's not supposed to taste good." jeno called out from his spot against the wall.
donghyuck gazed at yukhei, his eyes following the trail of smoke that left the boy's lips. his tan skin looked pretty in the pale light coming from the moon and his blond hair seemed to be almost glowing. donghyuck's eyes lingered on yukhei's lips for a few seconds before he was brought back reality by his own coughing.
"do you want something to drink?" jaemin asked.
donghyuck nodded and took his cigarette out of his mouth before walking over to his two other friends. jaemin took a water bottle out of a backpack beside him and tossed it to donghyuck. the three boys watched as he unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and spit it out.
"what the hell!" donghyuck wiped his mouth and glared at jaemin. "that's alcohol!"
"keep it down, will you? and yeah, it is." jeno retorted as he blew a cloud of smoke.
"you don't have to drink it if you don't want to." yukhei reassured donghyuck with a small smile.
"no, i'll drink it. it wasn't even that bad." donghyuck lied as he brought the bottle up to his mouth again. he took another sip and shivered as he swallowed it. it was so bitter, but he didn't want to seem weak in front of his friends.
jeno, jaemin, and yukhei all clapped and gave him quiet cheers as they watched him drink the alcohol. the bottle was soon empty and donghyuck smiled brightly at them, as if he had just accomplished something. he didn't even realize that his new friends were leading him down a dark path.
btw i love lucas with all of my heart and i'm not trying to hate on him so don't come at me 🤧
