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.
He shivered a bit and looked at the wound he'd made on Ryan's arm, slightly distracted. Ryan took this opportunity to pull his arm back and smack Arctic into the brick wall of the alley, clawed hand shredding the front of his suit and tearing his synthetic skin a little. Oil leaked out of the front of his uniform, and he sparked a bit, disoriented by the impact. Trying to get up, he only grunted when Ryan smacked him back into the wall again, feeling oil leak from the new tears in his suit and skin. Now forcing himself to stand, Arctic picked up his katana and ran at Ryan. As the fight continued, he'd slashed and hacked at Ryan-as little as possible, this was still his friend after all. He didn't want him seriously injured. Ryan had gotten a few strikes in as well, and Arctic barely stood, covered in oil and his helmet cracked. He noticed his friend's red eyes flicker and start to fade, watching Ryan gaze at him with slight anger. He was coming to. Arctic couldn't be here when that happened. Sheathing his katana and picking up his throwing stars, he ran from the scene, pain coursing through his body with each step. Ryan grunted and held his head, leaning against the brick wall of the alley as he lost consciousness. As he woke from blacking out, the mental fog and physical changes slowly faded and he was finally back to normal. He could feel the high from the drug this afternoon slowly fading-but the alcohol was still in his body-he could tell. He was bleeding, but could barely feel the pain because of the intoxication. Lumi had been watching this from afar, a slow grin crossing her face. Oh so that was why the boss wanted to keep him. She noticed his high was wearing off, and decided to have a little...unauthorized fun. Activating her hologram and shifting programs, she checked herself in her compact mirror, Odis's face reflected back at her and smirking. Good. It still worked-the part in her body hadn't burn out yet. Looking down at herself, she chuckled-but it was Odis's voice. It'd disguised her whole body, face, and voice perfectly. Coming out of the shadows, 'Odis' came into Ryan's view, walking slow and covered in oil from the fight. "Ryan..? Are you alright?" Ryan's head turned toward Odis, confused. How long had he been out?
Odis came closer, green eyes watching his face. Reaching up, he placed his cool hand on Ryan's cheek and frowned. His other hand rested on the bleeding wound on Ryan's arm, gently squeezing it. The way Odis spoke confused him. In fact, his whole demeanor was strange. Ryan opened his mouth to speak, but he shook his head. "Odis..why are you covered in oil? How did you get hurt, Snowball? You know I told you to take care of yourself, who did this?" Odis looked to the side, shaking his head. He didn't want to talk about it-that was fine. Ryan understood, he knew some fights were best not spoken of. "It's okay." He said, shutting his eyes for a moment. 'Odis' took that opportunity to dig a vial out of his pocket, opening his mouth and dumping the powder on his tongue quickly, shutting his mouth when Ryan opened his eyes again. He raised an eyebrow when Odis reached up and pulled him down by his collar. "What's wrong man? I-" He was cut off when Odis kissed him, soft lips pressed carefully against his and parted slightly. His eyes widened in surprise and a heavy blush crept into his cheeks. Something was off. Had the fight Odis was in scrambled his brains a bit? He never acted like this. Ryan's worried thoughts dissipated in an instant when he felt Odis slip his tongue past his lips, eyes slowly closing as he reached down and picked Odis up, having the blonde droid wrap his legs around his waist so he wouldn't have to keep leaning down. The powder dissolved unnoticed between them, and Ryan slowly broke the kiss. "Odis, are you sure-" He shushed Ryan and carefully cupped his cheek in his hand. "But Odis, you-" Odis shushed him again and smiled as Ryan bit his lip, looking to the side.
"You shouldn't, I'd just hurt you, and your dad would-" He frowned, watching Ryan. Moving his head back to him, Odis gave him another kiss, slowly pulling away. "I love you, Ryan." He felt his heart speed up, watching him in disbelief. "What did you say?" Ryan got closer, swallowing the pain in his chest. "Say it again." Odis tilted his head to the side, giving him a smile. "I love you, Ryan." Ryan kissed him and shut his eyes for a moment-until the thought of Odis mangled on the floor popped into his head-his deepest fear. Hurting Odis like his mother had been hurt by his father. He slowly pulled away, worried gaze watching the blonde droid. The powder would take effect soon, and Ryan would be out of it enough that Lumi could slip away unnoticed and could finally stop this Odis facade. Ryan's pupils slowly dilated as the drug took effect and he bit his lip, watching Odis and shaking his head as he carefully set him back down on the ground. He made sure he could stand, gravelly voice speaking in a pained tone. Doubts settled into his mind once again and preyed on the heartache and new emotions running rampant in his heart from the kisses and Odis's confession. "No, I.." He shut his eyes and shook his head, taking a breath and opening them to watch the confused droid. "You shouldn't. I..love you too, but you shouldn't. Mom got lucky, but I'd never want you to-" Ryan felt..strange again. Maybe he was still drunk. "I'd never want you to hurt that way. Your dad would kill me, Snowball." He scratched his cheek, heartbreak clear to be seen on his face. "Or your mom would. I'm..not worth it. Not right now." Odis frowned, watching him. "But..Ryan..-" He took his hand, carefully holding it. "Odis..-" Ryan was tempted to lock their fingers together, and just stand there in the rain, holding him for a little while. The image of Odis mangled on the floor forced it's way into his mind again and his eyes watered as he slowly let go of the blonde droid's hand, shaking his head. His voice cracked as he watched Odis. "N-No. I'm sorry, but I can't risk hurting you." Odis rolled his eyes, a sharp edge to his tone as he began walking away, leaving Ryan behind in the rain.
"What happened to you? You've changed."