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What Happened To You?

It had been a few months since Ryan came to stay with his new..friends, and Atom had warned him to check into school every now and then to make sure there wouldn't be any suspicion put on anyone. Alcohol occasionally had turned to nearly every other day-sometimes a two or three day space in between, but Lumi and the others had started offering him other things to keep the heartache at bay. Drugs of a sort..nothing heavy, at least not yet. It was powdery and grainy, yet tasted sweet-with a tangy, tart kick. All Ryan knew is that it knocked him for a loop every time and he felt invincible yet emotionless while he was on it.  As he opened the doors to his high school, he waved at his friend Sky. He didn't notice Sky watch him suspiciously as he walked away, arms crossed in thought. As Ryan headed down the halls, he had to stop in the stairwell and take a breath. He was currently on the powder and drunk-Atom had let him drink-claiming he was 'skilled' enough to hide it in public. Readjusting his glasses, Ryan managed to sit through the whole school day and check in with the school counselor-telling her that he'd be absent sometimes due to using the school's Alternative Education Programs. He was lying his ass off-but the counselor bought it. Taking a breath and heading through the halls to leave school, he paused when he saw Odis waving at him, giving him a small smile. Ryan felt his heart rate speed up a bit. God, even now his heartache wouldn't subside. He loved this clueless droid, and it hurt. Seeing Odis get closer, Ryan walked toward him and decided to try and hold a conversation. "Hello, Ryan-" Odis frowned, watching Ryan's relaxed stance. Interesting. Ryan wasn't very expressive, or so it appeared to Odis. "You've missed classes..are you ill?" He shook his head, chuckling shakily.

"Nah, Nah Odis I'm alright. I just decided to take up the Alternative Education Programs the school has to offer. I study off on my own sometimes. Listen, I.." He could tell Odis. He could tell him everything right now. Pour his heart out and tell Odis how he felt..how much it hurt knowing that he loved him but he knew he might get hurt because of the curse. Mentally urging himself to speak, Ryan opened his mouth, then shut it again. In an instant the story his mom told him of Zane defending her against his dad popped into his head. Doubt settled into his already clouded mind, and he took a breath. Zane would never allow it. Watching Odis for a moment, he chuckled and ruffled his blonde hair. "I want you to take care of yourself, alright? I may not be around much because of the program, but I'll still look out for ya. It's what friends do, right?" Odis nodded..but internally, he was a little concerned for his friend. He would never outwardly express his concern, but maybe..he should check on him later. "Of course, Ryan. You take care of yourself, too." Ryan seemed to tense up at these words, then slowly relaxed. "Yeah..I'll try, Snowball." He patted his shoulder and began to walk off, letting out a sigh when he was out of Odis's earshot. Looking at Lumi as he left the building, he rolled his eyes at her. "I'm walkin' back by myself. Tell Atom I'll be back when I'm ready to do the job." Lumi huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine! The high from that stuff you had this afternoon will last for quite a few more hours. But you better come back!" She walked off and Ryan shook his head, walking the streets of the city for a while. As the sun began to set, he sighed and walked toward the part of the city where Atom and the others resided. The job. The job Atom wanted him to do. A simple heist, robbing a droid parts store. Why? He had no idea, maybe they wanted to sell the parts and make some cash.

Taking a breath as it began to rain, Ryan ran a hand through his hair and stepped into a nearby alley, taking a shortcut. He grunted and held his chest, trying to steady himself. Something hurt, and badly. Vision blurring briefly, he shakily gripped the brick wall. He was fine, right? When his vision refocused he heard a thud, then running footsteps as Arctic Cheetah now stood in front of him. Arctic tilted his head to the side, carefully coming closer. He knew Ryan would know it was him under the helmet-but wouldn't say anything. Ryan felt sick, holding his chest and cringing. "Arctic.." His voice was a strained, painful growl. The shift happened in an instant, and Arctic barely had time to move away. The curse had fed on his weakened state, the heartache and the doubt in Ryan's mind. The lean, towering beast cracked his neck as he looked around, gaze soon fixated on the vigilante. He lunged at Arctic, who slid back a few feet as he was shoved. Could he get Ryan subdued and snapped out of this before he ran off and seriously hurt someone? Running at Ryan and tossing a few throwing stars at him, he watched him recoil in slight pain-but only briefly. Arctic jumped when he was swung at, dodging and landing nearby. He might have difficulty subduing him-Ryan was much bigger and taller than him at the moment. Arctic flinched back when the beast pulled the stars out and threw them down, snarling directly at him and narrowing his solid red eyes. He couldn't panic, not now. He couldn't afford to lose focus for even a second. Pulling his katana from the sheath on his back, he brandished it at Ryan-who let out a defensive growl. Swinging the blade when Ryan didn't back down, the helmeted vigilante sliced his arm and earned a pained hiss in return. Would pain make him snap out of it? He didn't know. Arctic pulled the blade back to his side, looking at the blood on it. His best friend's blood.