Fezco has to go to a parent/guardian meeting at Ash’s school, and he really doesn’t want to. Ash has had some problems with fights but does well in his classes.
But then Fez meets Ash’s English teacher, Miss Lexi Howard and….well being dragged into school doesn’t seem like a bad thing anymore.
Funny when you think how Ashtray, A CHILD, is on discord chatting to people probably about goods etc and keeping an eye on stocks. When Fez, an older teen, is sat on the sofa watching Stand By Me, laughing, crying, and fucking singing.
They spoke every single day. Every. Single. Fucking. Day. About anything. Fezco would call up Lexi to talk and she would do the same. Laughing, smiling, sharing personal stuff. They consoled one another. One night Cassie didn’t come home. Lexi felt bad that she started to not even worry about her sister. To tell the truth, she didn’t feel like her sister anymore… Lexi missed the old Cassie. And Fezco was always there for her to talk to. He would sometimes just close his eyes and lay back, listening to her voice. He could listen to her forever. And she would do the same. As if they were meant to be there for each other.
————
Lexi laughed as she sat on her bed, knees up with a book faced down on her legs. Long forgotten as soon as she saw her screen light up with Fezco’s name.
“So what book was you readin’?” He asked.
Lexi actually forgot the item was still in her lap and blinked down at the book and then smiled.
“Oh! Erm…it’s just a collection of short stories from various writers.”
She looked at the cover and closed the book, putting it at the end of the bed and moved back to leaning against the headboard.
“You really are smart you know that?”
Lexi felt her cheeks burn. He would always do this. Compliment her, and she wasn’t used to it but the feeling she got was intoxicating.
“Fezco, I just read-“
“Nah, I remember when I first met you. And I thought, ‘damn.’ Especially when you started to come by more with Rue and hang out more. The shit you would say would just blow my mind shawty.”
Lexi smiled and bit let lip to hearing her nick-name. He started saying it a week ago and she loved it.
“You remember that?”
She heard and huffed laugh come through.
“Course I do. How can I not? Ya kno?”
————————-
Lexi thought back to that day.
Rue has asked her to hang out and of course she obliged. Rue told her they would just walk around, here and there and maybe get some food and watch a movie.
Sounded grand to Lexi.
“Can we stop by here? Get some things for…you know later and stuff?” Rue asked and shrugged a shoulder, narrowing her eyes from the bright sun, trying to see Lexi in the daylight.
Lexi nodded and walked towards the store. “Yeah sure.”
Her eyes went to the ice cream freezer and a drinks cooler that was outside.
“Hey, you want an ice cream?” She asked.
Rue was more focused on getting inside and talking to the dude she was told about but she didn’t want to go alone and thought well if Lexi did see anything she wouldn’t say anything.
She quickly looked at Lexi and let out a, “yeah, sure, yeah.”
And went into the store.
Lexi was looking over the freezer and cooler, wondering what to get.She opened and closed the door after struggling to open it for a bit and then looked up through the window right in front of her.And there he was.
She saw Fezco talking to Rue but only saw him properly when he stood up and opened the freezer door.
She was just staring at them wondering what Rue was doing until he leaned in as if being handed something and then handed it to Rue quickly.
Fezco said something to Rue and motioned his head to Lexi as he was looking at her. She quickly looked away from his stare and walked into the store to buy the ice cream she grabbed.
She walked in with an awkward smile and lifted her hand with the ice cream.
“I grabbed us these.”
Fezco looked up and down at her and he nodded his head.
“Good choice.”
Lexi looked at him and smiled.
“Lexi this is Fezco. Fezco this is Lexi.” Rue introduced them and shifted awkwardly as if she felt a little awkward.
Little did Lexi know why at the time.
“Lexi Howard.” Lexi pushed her hand forward and then cringed at herself.
“Sorry, I don’t know why I did that.”
Fezco let out a laugh and shrugged one shoulder.
“Nah, you got manners and shit. S’all good.” He went to shake her hand but was too slow as she brought her hand up to hide her embarrassment briefly.
“Do we need anything else Rue?” She asked her friend who stood there watching them. She shook her head, hiding her smile.
Lexi walked closer to the counter to pay until Fezco lifted a hand.
“Nah, you good. My treat.” He let out.
Lexi smiled and lifted her brows.
“Oh… thank you! …you-you sure?”
He nodded and grabbed a neatly rolled joint that was hidden behind his ear that she didn’t see. “Ye.”
Was all he replied and he shyly looked away.
“Anytime you guys wonna’ drop by, feel free, kay?”
Rue smiled to this and told him she would.
Lexi just smiled and nodded her head and looked away from the glances he was giving her.
———————
“Luckily you liked those ice creams….’cause it got you to keep comin’ back.” Fez laughed.
Lexi looked at the phone in her hands. “It wasn’t the ice cream.”
She swore she heard him chuckle out “aw shit”
“Well…for Rue it was something else….” Lexi’s voice went sad at the thought of her friend. Rue’d sudden loss of her dad and turning to anything to take her away from the pain she was feeling. To feel anything other than the pain or nothing at all seemed to be her goal most of all. She just wanted to see her dad again.
And so did Lexi.
And that was probably why she didn’t tell anyone about Rue. She was also missing her dad. But her circumstance was way different to Rue’s. Her dad was gone forever, no way to get in touch, or just the thought he was still around.
Lexi’s dad disappeared, yeah he wasn’t around but the thought that he was still breathing, that she knew of, was one of comfort compared to the thought of her dad no longer even existing.
“You….you know I was always hopin’ you would come back with her to the store ya’ kno?” His voice sounded so soft and quiet.
Her stomach felt like it dropped to hearing that, but in a good way. “Really?”
“Ye. Every time Rue would show up…I….I’d be like lookin’ for you. Times when you wasn’t there, damn Lexi I’d be so hurt.” He laughed at the end which made her laugh too.
He really liked her from the first time they met.
“Remember when I tried weed?” Lexi randomly let out. The memory was burned into her brain.
She cringed thinking about it. She though why the hell not when Rue suggested it.
They headed to Fezco’s house one day, but just sat in the living room. Not seeing the rest of the house, not that she can remember that really other than waking up to Fezco and Rue laughing, calling her Bobby and saying there was a fire.
She didn’t know Rue drew a beard on her face until she got home and Cassie said, “Nice new look.”
Fez giggled down the phone.
“Yeah, I was worried about you tryin’ it. Didn’t want you to feel like you had to…”
“…..I dressed up as Bob Ross for Halloween because of that day.” She confessed.
She couldn’t tell because she obviously couldn’t see him. But Fez was grinning widely now.
He knew she did, and he saw her at the party when he arrived dressed as Tony Montana.
He saw Rue and Lexi sat on the sofa at the party and went to go over and join them until some guy grabbed his elbow and asked him for some pills.
He glanced back over to them before turning his back to make the deal, but by the time he turned around he saw Rue and Lexi both stand and make their way over to the other side of the room to another sofa, watching Rue bend down and talk to some young kid and girl sat down.
Fez thought he best just find a place to chill since he just came here to deal and relax, choosing to go sit outside near the pool with less people. He took one more glance of Lexi stood there, blue shirt, fitted jeans, that wig on her head and he smiled to himself before heading outside.
“I saw you. I wanted to come say ‘hi’ but….you guys were busy and I had some shit to deal with. But I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you how cool your costume was Lexi.”
She was blushing again. “Thanks”
She wanted to tell him she saw him too. She spotted him in his suit, the white substance over the front of it resembling Tony from Scarface. She wanted to go up and tell him he looked great and she liked that movie too.
She wanted to tell him she liked him all those years ago.
But she was just happy they were able to reconnect and feel as if they’d been talking every day since he looked at her through the window.
“I guess they say nobody’s perfect… But they’ve never met a devil like you.” - Orville Peck, Roses are falling
Description: Carcrash, coma, drug usage, partying, heartbreak… You’ve been there. After 18 months of “corrective” stay at your grandmother’s in Minnesota, it’s time for you to move back to East Highlands. Yet, it was to be expected that while some things change, some stayed the same.
A/N: I am so sorry for disappearing, but I was ill, sick, and then I wasn’t able to write a single sentence when I wanted to. I hope this will make up for it a bit. I’ll try to get back into writing now, I had to get all my shit together first, but I’m hopefully doing that and we can move to more interesting part of the story now. PS: I know the chapter is weirdly worded, but I still tried to give it my best.
Sure, you texted the girl back an hour after Rue hit you up. You were sure that you’ll have the time. Your meeting was to happen the other evening since Archibald wanted to spend some time alone anyway. He just wanted to take a break from the town, from what was happening in the town, from all the people he had met over the last week, he wanted to take a break from the entire world; which, you had to say, was more than fair. To be honest with yourself, you understood what he meant by that. East Highlands could be way more than a person in their right mind would ever ask for, especially after they got to meet the residents. Living in the town wasn’t easiest on its own; the town had a high rate of assaults (of all kinds), there were a lot of people hooked on drugs, even more people that had overdosed, there were bullies, beaters, those who illegally possessed various guns… Fucking hell, you were sure that this wasn’t even all of the shit happening under the dark of the night. The list went on and on, this wasn’t at all of the offenses, crimes, or vandalism that people around the town committed to.
That led to your boyfriend being very glad to hear you’ll be leaving the flat for an entire evening. He needed space and time to think about what was happening in the town. The boy also wanted to look for some job opportunities and buy books for his next year in college, which was something you had to also do… Yet, on the other hand, you still had an entire month ahead of you and you were fucking lazy. So you se.t on meeting up with Rue. But that didn’t mean that you were exactly enthusiastic about being with her the entire time. Fuck, did you even know who she was? Last time, before even bumping into you at the party at Barbie’s, she had to be under the hard influence to even look at you and approach you several hours later. Did you two have anything to talk about? Did you two still see eye to eye? Were you at least acquaintances? Because you weren’t friends at all.
Rue asked you to meet her at the park. It wasn’t just a random park, it was the park.
Walking through the open space, seeing the known environment, memories were surfacing at the back of your head. This was the place where all of you used to hang out throughout the summer. Your favorite spot was the picnic table hidden behind the playground. Turning your head around, your head fell on another spot you knew - there was this tree Rue tried to climb on back in the day, making both Gia and your small bro cry as they laughed. The girl fell flat on her ass, laying in the grass as she grinned at you. You still remembered the exact spot where you and Fez used to unfold your old picnic blanket. Laying there, you were relaxing as you lay on your stomach. The entire time you were trying to study and he, as per usual, fell asleep with his head on your ass. That one time when Ash tried to own a dog, it ran through one of the bushes. The animal ran away and no matter how long you tried looking for it, you never saw it again. After that, Ashtray didn’t ask Fezco for another dog ever again.
And now, arriving at your favorite spot, there was Rue-Rue. She was leaning her ass into a small stone fence as one of her ankles bounced around; she always did this when she was nervous. The girl was dressed in her old red hoodie and a pair of washed-out jeans. As usual, Rue had her hair messily laid around her face, framing it perfectly. Before, at the time when Rue was at least seemingly clean, her hair was silky and fluffy, looking like a halo; especially when she smiled at you. The angelic being was now gone for the most part. Now, her deep brown eyes were hollow and spiteful, the skin on her cheeks was breaking out, her hair was super fucking messy and greasy. Bennett looked like a fucking wench and when you looked into her eyes, goosebumps formed at the back of your neck. Honestly, this shit was making you cry.
“Hi, Morgan!” - You exclaimed in Rue’s direction and despite everything, you tried to keep your tone cheerful and voice loud and clear. This shit was so fake that any normal person should have been able to hear it from a mile away. But to Rue, it seemed genuine and so, so familiar. It almost felt like having that old Y/N back, right before the car crash… Right before Mouse ended up dead. - “I was looking forward to seeing you, so much.” “You’re looking good, Y/N, yeah, you’re looking fucking great.” - The girl mumbled as she jolted closer to you. She wasn’t high just yet since she was nervous as fuck - but you could only guess that it won’t take too long before she’ll use some drugs.
Just when you least expected it, the girl walked right in front of you, hugging you very abruptly… Almost bringing you down to the ground. After a second, you gave into the hug with a small smile - yet it wasn’t a happy smile at all. The smile was full of sadness and memories of the past you lived through together.
“Someone’s excited to see me, aren’t they?” - You mumbled with a quiet giggle, stepping away from Rue to take another long look at her… Breaking your heart even more apart. - “Whatcha wanna do, Rue? I heard Cal is visiting Gia at your place, would you wanna…” - “No.” - Rue dismissed way too quickly. What could she be up to? Maybe she wanted to walk around the town and be reminiscent of your past… Bullshit, that was pure bullshit. Maybe she wanted to hang out at Jules’? Another piece of bullshit, these two weren’t talking for at least a fucking year. What about Fezco? She seemed to be talking with Ash and Fezco. And for the most part, you would be cool with hanging out at their place or the gas station; it was a relatively safe space to be at, especially if you were to hang out with Rue. But to your surprise, that didn’t seem to be the plan either.
“Okay, that’s cool. What are we up to, then?” - With that, you pushed both of your palms deeper into your jean jacket, looking around the park. “Figured I could introduce you to one of my friends, someone I’m hanging out with recently… Cause he heard a lot about you and your time here… Remember that?” - Rue giggled suddenly, looking at the tree in the distance. You could still see the moment the girl fell right on her back, gasping for air while she laughed. Rue was laying there with her palms on her thorax, looking at both your younger siblings. Her eyes shone with happiness. But now, there was none of it inside her eyes. - “How could I fucking forget?” - With that, you both laughed.
“Anyway… New friend, yea?” “He’s a good guy. Would catch a bullet for me for sure.” “Never said he wasn’t. How did you guys meet?” “Yannow, we were at a party together… It was new year’s, I think. My memory is kinda acting up lately.” - Rue admitted as if it wasn’t clear as day that her memory and possibly her entire personality and character hadn’t shifted ever since you last talked to her when she was sober. “I see. Well, let’s meet the friend, I’m curious about who it is and how he’s like.”
Just getting to the friend’s house took you around half an hour. Sometimes, it appeared that Rue is paranoically looking around you to see if there was anything suspicious. In your mind, it was whatever shit she was getting high on, but Rue mumbled something among the lines of: - “Wild, wild shit happened after you moved out. Nate actually seems to have his shit together most of the time, Maddy went through a mental breakdown, Cassie went nuts, Lexi started dating Fezco… And even more shit with the police, but I can’t talk about that.” - As if you knew what exactly the shit with the police meant since it could mean anything on the range of a drug deal going wrong to police fucking around Mouse’s sudden murder. In the most probable case, it simply meant that Rue was making everything up.
The house you were about to spend your evening in was really nice. The exterior was neatly put together and the small garden in front of it was very nice; among a few bushes of tomatoes and bell peppers you noticed something that bore similarity to marijuana tree, but you didn’t anything. It couldn’t be a coincidence. The interior had its charm, but you could tell that the friend is definitely not living alone in the house. Sure, there was an undeniable stench of weed in the air, soaked into the air, but it was nice and pretty much tidy overall. As you entered the small hallway, a young woman nodded your and Rue’s was, smiling at the both of you. The house was colorful and full of life, which you liked. How did Rue come across someone like that?
Sure, these people smoked a bit of weed, but they were just… Everyday people. There was lemonade and some sweets on the dinner table, the dust was neatly wiped, the walls were colorful and there were millions of paintings, decorations and former school successes hung on them. Somehow, you doubted that weed is the only thing Rue’s friend is doing. With a smile, you nodded back at the woman, leaving her smiling too as you followed Rue upstairs. From quite a distance, you could hear the familiar strumming sound. Someone was playing the guitar. And by the difficulty and speed of it, you knew that the person is fucking good at playing guitar. The closer you got to their room, the more the weed stench intensified, making you grin a bit. Back in the day, you sometimes smoked weed with Fran and Fezco when it was offered to you. In your heart, you wholeheartedly believed that these two will take care of you in case anything goes wrong. Then, there was that time when you used hallucinogens right before fucking… And boy, oh boy, the shit was wild.
The thing was - you hadn’t smelled weed in a long time, so the familiar stench made you grin and your head hurt a bit. And then, after taking a turn at the staircase, you noticed him. Rue’s new friend was… He was quite something. As soon as he heard your footsteps in front of the opened door, the boy smiled at you and put both elbows on the upper side of his guitar that was not resting on his upper thighs. As suspected, he was holding a joint in his right palm, but overall… He wasn’t anything that you’d imagine after hearing Rue say “I wanna introduce you to my friend”. He had blonde, obviously bleached hair, nice swarthy skin, and a small smile as he let his dark brown eyes roam from your head to your toes. The boy, whatever his name was, was a particular person. There was this kind of… A cheeky half-smile on his face as he looked at you before scratching his something of a goatie. At the same time, you wondered about the small tattoos on his face and his neck. No matter what kind of person expected, and your bar was set fucking low, he was something so out the realm of it that you were actually… Pleasantly surprised. Yet on the back of your head, you felt like you’ve already met the guy somewhere.
“So, this is the girl I’ve told you so much about.” - Rue smiled in her typical manner, bringing back even more memories. There was this small flash of one of her Morgan Freeman moments that you’ve seen in her eyes, but it was gone before you properly grasped it. - “Y/N. We used to be best friends. Now, we’re just friends.” “That’s right, I’m Y/N, hi. It’s very nice to meet you.” - With a smile, you offered the guy your palm. Repeating after you, the boy smiled and offered you a handshake.
“Name’s Eliott and… I don’t wanna be that kind of a guy, but we already know each other from way back in the day.” - The boy smiled, leaving you kinda clueless. With your eyebrows raised, your gaze jumped from him to Rue, who was now laying on the bed with a lazy smile. “By the way, your knees look fucking rough. They looked much better back in the day. Whatcha been doing? Fucking hell.” - The boy snickered, still holding your palm in his. While finally leaving his palm to fall back on the instrument, you looked at your somewhat patched knees. Shrugging your shoulders, you decided not to talk about how you somewhat of a younger brother got stabbed in his abdomen.
“Wait, where do I know you from?” “Bio… And Spanish, I think. Was sitting at the back of the class and we never really spoke. Until now.” “Fuck, that’s embarrassing.” - There was nothing to do other than to laugh. This was embarrassing… Cause Elliot clearly knew who you were and you’d swear you had never even seen him. Not like he was something that could be missed easily, with his bleached hair and face tats, was he?
“Not if you won’t make it embarrassing. Put some music on, will ya?”- Elliot asked you as he put the guitar away, leaning it into the side of his bed as he laid himself down next to Rue, taking a long ass drag from the joint. - “I love judging people based on the first song they play.”
At that, you smirked. This entire exchange carried a distant memory of the easy-going flow you remembered - Rue was laying on the bed with a small smile, sober to some degree, and Elliot just acted like one of the typical high school students. Judging people based on music taste… You couldn’t hear that shit anywhere else. Respecting his wish, you plugged your phone into the speaker, deciding to play one of the Orville Peck songs you learned to listen to during your Minnesota stay. It was a slow romantic country ballad and you danced to it with Archie many times before. Yet it seemed to surprise Elliot as the first guitar chords sounded through his room - at that moment you have already sat down again with a smile.
“I expected a lot from you.” - The boy said with honesty, leaning into his elbows as you sat down into a plushy chair with a small smile. - “But this is a very nice surprise. How did ya find this guy, he’s great.“
Just as you and Elliot debated about the mysterious cowboy artist, joking around and pointing out the similarities linking him to other artists, Rue decided to go to the bathroom to "pee”. Whatever she was doing there, it wasn’t peeing at slightest and you were dead sure about it - while she was gone, there was two Peck and three 2Pac songs before she came back. As you still chatted with Elliot, you immediately knew that Rue is fucked up. While still trying to keep your eyes on Elliot and struggling and stumbling on your words, you realized that while the lights were on, there was this unsettling emptiness under Rue’s eyes. Her eyes were glassy, unfocused, and misty as if she barely kept in touch with reality around her. Her skin was paler and weirdly sweaty once again, making you furrow as you still tried to keep laughing at Elliot’s jokes.
Just when you were about to ask Rue what’s up, you saw something you definitely weren’t supposed to see. But in all fairness, Bennett was too far gone to realize that you’re even looking at her. It was a small moment when she was slipping her hoodie down her shoulder and just before she abruptly pulled it back up because she realized you were looking at her. But you stared at the small spot even if it was already covered - making Elliot realize you didn’t know about any of that. What was the think that had taken you back? What made your breath shallow? it was the small bruises, droplets of blood, and pricks in her elbow hole… Both elbow holes to be exact since Rue obviously wasn’t able to locate her veins immediately - that was what caught your eye. Bennett grew a bit paler as she realized she just divulged one of her biggest secrets.
This was a game-changer. This was something so profound and gross that it immediately burned all the bridges you two could pretend to build back up together. Now, you were sure you wanted to stay away from her. This shit scared you. Who were you kidding? From the beginning, you knew that Rue was a junkie. But as far as your knowledge reached, she only took pills. Which, yes, was still fucked up… But intravenous shit? That was a new low for Bennett. It was a low spot from which you weren’t sure if she can ever climb out of. Realizing Elliot knew what happened in the bathroom made you exhale as you started to laugh hysterically. Quickly, you got on your legs and started packing your shit, leaving Elliot’s place immediately.
“So this is what you’ve been up to after I left?” - You asked with tears in your eyes. - “Hard drugs? Bennett, you really fucking outdone yourself. Does anyone know? Does Ali know? Jules, Leslie, Lexi… Fezco? Did you fucking tell anyone except Elliot, huh?” “Y/N, you should really calm down.” - Elliot said quietly and slowly, standing right in front of you with his palms up. With a sneer on your face, you looked at him as well. Elliot. Fucking Elliot, eh? A new fucking friend. Was he doing this shit as well? Was he the one showing Rue this shit? Boy oh boy were you mad at that moment. “Listen, dipshit, she’s fucking pricking herself in your fucking bathroom.” - At that moment, you were almost screaming - you tried to make Rue know how disappointed and annoyed you were, but you didn’t want Elliot’s family to come to check on you. God knew if they had any knowledge about what Rue was doing inside their house. - “And you dare to look me in the eyes and tell me to calm down? Where did you get it? And what it even is this time? Heroin or fucking metamfetamine?”
You tried to wait for any sort of an answer from Rue… And while you did so, you felt the tears gathering in your eyes - your eyes were shaky, you tried to get your shit together; but the girl just stood there, leaving the hoodie falling off her shoulder with her lips opened and tears rolling on her cheeks. So that was it. Deciding not to lose any more of your time, you turned on your heels and put on your jean jacket so you could leave the house. Sprinting out of the door, you didn’t even spare a look at Elliot’s family member still sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Not even knowing where you were going, you just aimlessly wandered through the town just to kill a bit of time. You didn’t want to stay in Rue’s presence, but you didn’t wanna go home either. As the time passed, with each step you took, you realized that you weren’t even mad at Rue… You were just fucking scared - you were worrying about her. It was obviously to be expected that if she had ever started with doing gateway drugs… Then she started to abuse opioids… Then, sometime in the future, she had to take the step forward. And even though it shouldn’t have surprised you, you were still taken back. Did anyone know about the dangers Rue was going through by using drugs intravenously? Did she tell anyone except Elliot? Could that be the reason she stopped talking to Jules altogether? What about the other people you named? Did Rue have any other friends? What about Maddy, Cassie, or Kat? Who was left to still listen to Rue and to take her seriously? Who was there to pull her out of the deepest of shit? Did she have anyone to call in case she’d be in danger?
Pushing your palms deeper into the pockets of your jean jacket, you took a turn and stopped yourself to look around for a second, taking in the surroundings. Thank God, you knew where you were - just two blocks away from the gas station and if you’d continue in that direction, you will soon arrive at your parents’ house. Your parents’ house wasn’t exactly the place you would love to be at, but it was something. Taking in a long breath, you set on the road, still thinking about what Rue was doing with her fucking life. As you were about to cross the road next to the station, you heard someone yelling at you. Stopping in your tracks, you took a small bit to look around - just to see Lexi, it was her of all people, running to you with a smile.
“Hey!” - The young woman waved at you, her smile growing even more. Stopping next to you, Lexi leaned her palms to her knees to take a small breath. The girl must’ve run to you from the store just to talk to you. - “I wasn’t sure if it’s you, but I wasn’t wrong. It’s kinda late, whatcha doing here?” “I was hanging out with Rue.” - It was a mere whisper above your breath telling Lexi all she needed to know. She and Rue were still kind of talking, but it had been a long time since the two of them properly hung out. - “It didn’t exactly go as I planned and now I’m… I don’t even know what I’m doing. I was just walking, thinking, not doing anything.”
Lexi, being the sunshine she was, smiled at you and bumped your shoulder. - “I was getting bored out there. Would you wanna grab some sweets and watch a movie with me?” Looking at her, it wasn’t easy to name what was going on in Lexi’s head. Seeing her eyes and smile, you knew there was no ill intent hidden inside that question; maybe she could’ve seen how upset you were, maybe she did know what was going on with Rue, maybe there was some other bond that connected the two of you… But you decided to agree with the offer. - “Come on then, let’s grab some food and leave.”
Fez is the GOD of aftercare. He is so sweet, no matter what. If you want a bath, he’ll get it ready for you, if you wanna eat, he’ll order something and take it to you, so you don’t have to move.
If all you want are cuddles, then he’s down for it. He really loves to hold you in between his arms, caressing your skin and whispering how good you were and how much he loves you.
If he didn’t love the sex so much, aftercare would probably be his favorite part.
B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)
Ask him this and it will legit take him hours to answer. Fez wouldn’t be able to choose just one thing about you because in his eyes you’re flawless. Utterly gorgeous. He loves all of you.
His favorite part of himself… he’d have to say his hands. They bring you so much pleasure, and he uses them to keep you safe. It sounds odd, but it makes perfect sense to him.
C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)
He is pretty responsible, let’s state that. He knows that getting you pregnant is literally the last thing you two need at the moment, so normally he’d use a condom.
And even if you happen to be in the pill, he doesn’t like to take much risks, he may cum inside you once or twice, but most of the time he does it on your chest, your thighs, your back, or your mouth. It’s hotter that way.
D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
Since you two are really secretive about your affairs, he can’t help but wonder how thrilling it would be to fuck in a place where you can get caught.
He’ll never admit that, though, he respects you too much to put you out in the open like that.
E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)
Fez hasn’t really had the time to go fucking around and having lots of sex, but he knows enough to have you moaning his name.
Still, he’s a quick learner, it didn’t take him long to pick up on what you liked and get really good on it.
Like really, really good at it. Fez has positively ruined you for other men.
F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying)
Any position that lets him look at your face while he fucks you, it feels more intimate, and yes, it does wonders for his dick to see your eyes rolling to the back of your head while he thrusts into you.
G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)
Fezco being Fezco will definitely say a funny thing or two, but wouldn’t turn the whole thing into a joke though. He likes the intimacy of it, it’s very important for him.
H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)
Being honest, he doesn’t really care. He’ll trim it just so it won’t bother you.
He has no problem with body hair. It’s natural. He likes natural. So all it matters to him is that you’re comfortable.
I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)
Your lives can be pretty hectic at times, so when you are having sex is one of the few moments where you two are completely alone and able to enjoy each other’s company. So it is a pretty big deal to both.
He’s not sweet to the point you cringe, but he is sweet enough to have you blushing the entire time.
J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)
He’s never had much time to do it. Before he met you he did it to blow off some steam and relax after a long day.
He doesn’t do it so often now that he’s with you, he knows that if he’s ever in the mood, you’ll welcome him with open arms. Or legs, for that matter.
K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)
Fez is kinky, but not too much, y’know? He doesn’t consider himself a freak, but he does have some kinks he’s afraid to voice in case you get too freaked out.
He’s into praise, both giving and receiving. It makes him feel even better when he knows you like what he’s doing to you.
And on a more… kinky side, he’s slightly into overstimulation or orgasm denial, having complete control of your pleasure drives him crazy. Marking your body with hickeys, also a bit of bondage, but that one is reserved for when you’ve been teasing him for too long.
And for sure, he can really turn into a teasing bastard when he combines bondage with orgasm denial, to then switch to overstimulation.
L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)
No matter what, his bedroom or yours will always be god tier to him, nothing compares to the comfort and privacy you have there; it allows him to truly do whatever he wants to you, to not hold back.
But if the urge presents, he’s willing to fuck in other places too, like his car, a bathroom during a party, an empty room in the store if things are really heated. May Ash forgive him.
M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)
It’s not hard to turn Fez on. It goes from little things like biting your lip, to doing a whole show, like striptease.
Simple things get him going, like knowing you want him as badly as he does. Seeing you wearing his clothes.
Also, knee socks really do it for him, especially when you’re wearing nothing but his shirt and a pair of knee socks.
But truth? The one thing that will make him give in no matter the situation, is neck kisses. Fez lives for neck kisses, those are his kryptonite.
N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)
Sharing. He really, really doesn’t like to share, especially not you. It doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman, the answer is still no. You’re all his, he’s all yours. That’s the end of it.
O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)
Fez loves to receive, but more than anything he loves to give. He’s simply a giver and that’s it.
If it were up to him, he’d spent the rest of his life between your thighs, making you cum again, and again, and again, until all that leaves your mouth is his name.
P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)
It depends a lot of the mood and the type of sex.
If he’s making love to you, then he’d be slow and deep, whispering softly how much he loves you and how good you make him feel, caressing your skin.
If it’s jealous/angry sex, then he’d be rough most of the time, pounding you to the mattress or whatever surface you’re on, while reminding you you’re his and his only, marking your body with little love bites and hickeys.
Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)
He’d rather have his time with you to do things right, but if the opportunity presents, Fez will never turn down a quickie. At least not when it’s on a decent moment.
R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)
He’s willing to experiment as long as you’re not at risk, if it involves harming you, he’s not really down for it unless you promise you’re completely okay with it.
And yeah, for you, he’s willing to experiment. Who knows? Maybe you’ll discover new kinks together.
S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)
Fez will last for two rounds, three when he’s feeling restless. But do not worry, those two rounds will last a loooong time, rest assured, you’ll be completely worn out & satisfied by the time he’s done with you.
T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)
He doesn’t own any, but if you do, then he’d be down to use them only with the purpose of teasing the life out of you, but he’d never, ever let you cum because of them.
He’d tease you until you’re begging for release, and he’d help you finish by burying himself deep inside you and finishing the job himself.
U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
As calm and innocent as Fez looks, he can be such a teasing little shit. He knows exactly what to say, where to touch you and what to do to get you turned on. And all while pretending to be oblivious to what he’s doing to you.
If you’re into that, then he can tease you until your begging for him to fuck you senseless.
V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)
He’s not loud. But he’d whisper things in your ear, whether it’s praise or dirty talk, and would often let out a groan.
W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)
Fezco has like… the dirtiestmouthever. The first time he talked dirty to you, you genuinely let out a gasp, getting caught off guard.
And ever since that moment, Fez knew dirty talk got you going, and oh boy, doesn’t he enjoy making you blush and wet your panties left and right.
X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)
He’s a good 7.5 inches, which is really impressive. He doesn’t really like to brag about it though, he’s the type of guy that only smirks when asked.
Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)
It’s pretty high, there’s no point in lying. There’s days where he wakes up and the only thing he can think about is fucking you.
And even on normal days, the thought of having sex with you is on his mind at all times. After all, he’s still young and his hormones are all over the place.
Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
He never falls asleep before you do, he wants to make sure you’re comfortable and happy before sleeping, and mostly, watching you asleep in between his arms—most of the times with your head against his chest—, is what eventually lulls him to sleep.
࿐ ˚ . ✦ summary: fez & you have been best friends for years, and you’d never gotten high together, until now. what neither of you two knew, is that it would change your lives forever.
࿐ ˚ . ✦ warnings: drug mention & consumption, cursing. sexual tension, manhandling, dirty talk. (high) sex, oral sex (f receiving), fingering. kinda dom!fez [this one is FILTHY, fr]
Fez could’ve sworn that you would be the death of him one day, you got him feeling all sort of shit he couldn’t put a name to.
He felt his heart racing as you looked up at him from the couch, your hand carefully holding his wrist, not letting him go.
You were giving him your best puppy eyes, those you knew got Fez weak as hell. Looking up at him though your lashes, pouting your lips just a little.
“Please, stay,” you asked your best friend. “You barely spend time with me anymore.”
“’s not because I don’t wanna, I’ve been busy, that all.” Fezco replied, looking down at you with his pretty blue eyes.
“Well, are you busy now?” you raised your eyebrow at him.
“Well no but—”
“Then stay, please, Fez.”
You missed hanging out with him. Lately he’d been really busy and barely having time to do anything else. You missed having him around, but couldn’t exactly explain why to him.
“What you wanna do?” He asked, eyeing you suspiciously, as he was getting an idea.
࿐ ˚ . ✦ summary: fez & you have been best friends for years, and you’d never gotten high together, until now. what neither of you two knew, is that it would change your lives forever.
࿐ ˚ . ✦ warnings: drug mention & consumption, cursing. sexual tension, manhandling, dirty talk. (high) sex, oral sex (f receiving), fingering. kinda dom!fez [this one is FILTHY, fr]
Fez could’ve sworn that you would be the death of him one day, you got him feeling all sort of shit he couldn’t put a name to.
He felt his heart racing as you looked up at him from the couch, your hand carefully holding his wrist, not letting him go.
You were giving him your best puppy eyes, those you knew got Fez weak as hell. Looking up at him though your lashes, pouting your lips just a little.
“Please, stay,” you asked your best friend. “You barely spend time with me anymore.”
“’s not because I don’t wanna, I’ve been busy, that all.” Fezco replied, looking down at you with his pretty blue eyes.
“Well, are you busy now?” you raised your eyebrow at him.
“Well no but—”
“Then stay, please, Fez.”
You missed hanging out with him. Lately he’d been really busy and barely having time to do anything else. You missed having him around, but couldn’t exactly explain why to him.
“What you wanna do?” He asked, eyeing you suspiciously, as he was getting an idea.
You’d called him earlier, asking for some hallucinogens, and since you’d had a crappy week and needed to unwind, Fezco had agreed to give you some.
“Well…”
Surprisingly enough, Fez and you had never gotten high together, so you weren’t sure of how to bring it up or even imply the thought.
So you did what seemed easier to explain it, holding the tiny plastic bag he’d given you earlier in front of you, raising an eyebrow to question him silently.
“Oh no, ma…” Fez trailed off, not knowing what excuse to give.
“Please?”
“Ion get high with my own stuff, y'know dat.”
“Technically speaking it’s not your stuff anymore, I already bought it, so it’s mine now.”
“Stop playin with ma'head.” he said, huffing in amusement. There was no flaw to your logic.
“Oh, c'mon Fez, this one’s on me,” you said and he just looked at you. “Last time you paid for my shit, let me invite you this one time.”
Fezdid want to get high with you. But there were several things that made him wanna say no, especially with the drug in question. It heightened everything, and he was afraid of the shit he may say in his high state.
But it’s not like he could say ’no’ to you either. You’ve been best friends for years, and Fezco always gave you what you wanted— except when it put you at too much risk, that’s when he’d say no.
He’d never give you something bad, which was highly hypocritical considering he was a drug dealer, but Fez promised to himself to keep you as safe as he could, despite the money he could’ve been making if he sold you harder stuff.
“Alrite,” he accepted with a small sigh, sitting down next to you on your couch. “Jus’ this one time tho.”
“Yeah right,” you said with a small snort, taking two pills out of the small bag.
You gave a pill to Fez, who popped it in his mouth, leaning back on your couch to let it hit. His eyes were attentive on you though, of the way you placed the pill on your tongue and swallowed, closing your eyes and letting out a sigh.
He had to force himself to look away to interrupt the thoughts forming in his head, wondering why the hell he agreed to this.
You too laid back on the couch, staring at the ceiling as you waited for the pill to make effect. You felt Fez’s eyes on you, and it was making you nervous, not in a bad way tho.
He felt it first, you knew as you heard him sigh heavily. You chuckled at his state, and just when you were about to tease him for being a ’lightweight’, you felt it too.
It felt like a sudden wave of peace. All the sounds around you drowned out, replaced by silence. As for your body, it felt like when you’re laying back on water, all your limbs relaxed and mind calm. The colors of everything around you seem brighter, more alive, almost like they had a life of their own.
The relaxed sound you let out made Fez turn to look at you, sitting there in pure bliss. He felt almost hypnotized by how you looked. Your skin seemed to be glowing under the light, your lips looked softer than ever. You looked gorgeous, and he wished he could somehow remember this moment forever.
“What?” You asked with a giggle, deciding to acknowledge the staring. “Do I have something on my face?”
“Nah, you just look…” Fez trailed off at the lack of words.—It’s not that he didn’t have a word to describe you, since about 10 crossed his mind— it’s just that he didn’t wanna screw things up.
You turned to look at him and understood why he couldn’t explain it. He looked… god, his eyes looked as blue as the summer sky, the freckles on his skin seemed like galaxies. Fez looked… ethereal.
“Oh shit…” you muttered, still admiring him. “You look so, so pretty Fez.”
Fezco felt dumb as fuck already, so definitely the blood that rushed to his neck and cheeks with that statement didn’t make it any better.
“You kiddin me?” He rasped out, still too hypnotized with you to look away. “You be lookin like a whole angel rite now.”
“Oh don’t be silly.” you giggled, looking away so he wouldn’t notice your reddened cheeks.
“I ain’t playing with you,” he assured you. “You look like a fuckin’ angel, with the halo and shi’. For real, you glowing.”
Fez always said nice things to you, being as sweet as he is; but the way he’d said it now had you feeling a whole fucking butterfly sanctuary in your stomach.
Not trusting your own voice with an answer, you inched closer to him. He didn’t move away, instead, he leant closer to you. Slowly, you moved your hand so it would rest on his cheek.
He exhaled heavily, the feeling of your soft skin touching his had him feeling all sorts of crazy shit. His eyes met yours, and by the look in them, Fez knew you were feeling the same.
With the tips of his fingers, Fez began to trail over your skin, the back of your hand, your wrist, and up your arm. It was nothing more than subtle touches, but they were more than enough to make your nerves feel electrified, excited in anticipation.
It felt so good and you wanted more.
You moved even closer, your body so close to him you could feel his warmth. With your thumb, you softly caressed his face, his cheek and getting dangerously close to his lips.
Fez kept trailing up, enjoying the feeling of your skin under his fingers, noticing how you got goosebumps as his hand got closer to your face.
Soon, his hand was in the side of your head, his eyes staring deeply into yours as he wetted his lips. Slowly, the space between both began to reduce, until your faces were inches away from each other. You could feel his lips brushing against yours, enough to have you wanting more.
And that’s when the thread holding both of you back snapped.
Fez’s lips crashed against yours roughly, while his hands held the sides of your face, cradling it. You welcomed the kiss by reciprocating it, your lips moving over his as you placed a hand over his.
It wasn’t just any kiss. It was passionate, emotional, hungry, desperate, lustful.
Your bodies were pressed close as his tongue slipped into your mouth and you grabbed a handful of his shirt, tugging at it. One of his hands was now firmly placed on your hip, right over your clothes, his fingers gripping tightly as if trying to touch through the material as he pulled you closer.
A bite on his lip was all it took for him to completely lose himself in the kiss, completely forgetting everything else. All that existed to him was you. Just you.
The kiss turned even more intense once you straddled his lap. It was all teeth and tongue, desperate and filled with lust, you kept tugging at his shirt, trying to take it off and he grunted over your lips as he drew your body closer, wanting to feel more, to feel what the clothes were keeping away from him.
The realisation was kicking in, but instead of making you want to stop, it only encouraged you to keep going.
You were kissing Fez. Not just a peck on the lips or a small kiss. You were actually kissing him, a teeth-crashing-tongues-fighting-kiss.
He was the one to start the kiss, and he was the one to break it as well. Fez kept his hand on your hip so you wouldn’t take it as a rejection, his eyes seeking yours immediately.
For a couple of seconds, the two of you did nothing but stare at the other, why? Hard to tell. It was as if you were waiting for Fez to pull back; and he expected the same thing.
His eyes moved from your eyes to your lips, to your neck, your cleavage, and then his eyes met yours, darker than before and carrying a question within those blue orbs.
Without a word needed, you nodded your head at him, giving confirmation. You wanted it. You wanted him.
That’s all he needed before crashing his lips against yours with the same desperation as before.
Things moved quickly from there, still with your lips pressed, you tugged at his clothes in an attempt to blindly take them off his body as his hands slowly but surely moved to the edge of your floral dress.
His jacket and shirt were off his body and your dress fell to the floor, his eyes trailed hungrily over your body before he smirked and pressed his lips back to yours, your hands immediately moving over his biceps and his back muscles, trailing the warm skin.
Slowly, you two had began to lay down on the couch, Fez gave you small kisses, constantly pulling away to throw the cushions away from the sofa, to make more room for both.
Your back was pressed against the couch as Fez crawled right on top of you, his lips pressed against yours as his arms caged you against the soft sofa. Anxious to feel something, you moved your hands to his back, trailing your nails down his muscles in a way that made him groan over your lips as his hips buckled into yours out of instinct.
The feeling of his sweatpants’ material making friction with your core elicited a moan from your lips, dying on top of his lips as he swallowed the sound with the kiss. Since you’d arched your back, Fez could easily unhook your bra and get rid of it.
His lips started moving soon, kissing the edge of your jaw and down your neck, making a trail of kisses along its side and down to your collarbone, the valley of your breasts and even lower.
All you knew vanished when you felt his beard tickling your stomach, getting rid if your panties as his lips pressed softly against the insides of your thighs, up and down, kissing and licking everywhere except where you neededhim.
"Fez…” you whispered a plea as his lips kept pressing softly against the inner side of your thighs, sucking messily enough to leave a mark.
“Yea’?” he asked, his breath tingling your skin.
Fez knew what you wanted, he wasn’t blind, your wetness basically glistened, and he could smell how aroused you were.
But where’s the fun in giving in? He wanted to hear you beg at least once.
“You know what.”
“I-” he left a kiss just below your knee, on the inner side.
“dunno-” higher, at the middle of your thigh.
“what,-” so close you could feel his beard tickling.
“ya’-” his lips were back on your inner thighs, his tongue trailing over a bite he’d left earlier.
“mean.” you could feel his breath against your folds, his lips probably inches away from where you desperately wanted him.
He was being such a fucking tease, and as much as it made you desperate, you had to admit it felt amazing. He was unbelievably hot.
To annoy him, or encourage him (you weren’t sure), you closed your legs with a smirk, or attempted to, but Fez quickly placed one hand in each of your thighs, opening them again as his eyes moved to your face, where he caught sight of your playful smirk.
And when he smirked back at you… fuck, you knew you were in for a long night.
His lips finally pressed against where you needed him the most, his lips wrapped around your clit, twirling it around before sucking it, eliciting a moan from you.
One of his arms kept your legs spread, while the other one slowly moved along your skin, the tips of your fingers reaching one of your nipples, twisting it as his tongue slid inside you.
If possible, your back would’ve arched in pleasure, but Fez was doing a very good job at keeping you under his mercy.
His mind worked so clearly under intoxication, it was amazing.
One of his hand slid between your legs, his tongue flicking your clit as his thick fingers slowly slid inside you, pumping their way in as he slowly stretched you open.
“Fuck-” you mumbled, biting your lip as your back arched either way, your head pressed against the back of the couch as your eyes shut in pleasure. Fez’s eyes were fixed on you, and he was sure he’d never been harder in his entire life.
His fingers fucked you while his tongue sucked and twirled around your clit, making you feel completely overwhelmed by the pleasure, moans escaped your lips without control and it encouraged Fez to keep going, his fingers curling against your special spot, and his tongue moving quicker.
In no time, your walls started to clench, you were so tight his fingers were slowed down, which only turned him even more. Your breath was erratical, walls clenching around his fingers, thighs shaking and nothing but his name escaped your lips.
You were close and he knew it. So he kept going, he didn’t stop until you came so hard your entire body shook, it was such a pretty sight to see, Fez thought.
You opened your eyes and stared at him, your breathing still erratical and messy, your skin glistening with sweat.
The cocky smirk that appeared in Fez’s wet lips caused a tornado inside you. You were barely recovering from one orgasm but that damn smirk made your walls clench around nothing.
You attempted to move away to return the favor, but his hands quickly took a hold of your hips, getting you back into place.
“I ain’t done with you yet.” he assured you with a rough tone and husky voice, though the smirk never left his lips.
His lips started to trail up your body, your inner thighs, pressing a kiss against your core to tease you further, his kisses were slow and tantalising, trying to get a reaction out of you.
His lips trailed up your lower stomach, he softly bit skin and licked after to ease the pain. He eventually made it back to your lips, where you tried to let him know how much you needed him by sliding your tongue in his mouth, your left hand holding the back of his head while the other one aimed to unbutton his jeans.
Your fingers worked quickly in getting rid of his lower clothes, after the relentless tugging on his hips, Fez decided to part his lips from yours to stand up, taking off his pants and boxers all in one. Your eyes trailed his body without shame, all the way from his broad shoulders, strong chest, the V line that directed to his dick, it was big. But you suspected that already (not that you’d admit you’d given thoughts to it)
Fez wanted to make a teasing comment about you, ogling his body, but all his remarks faded into a cloud of lust when you opened your thighs again, giving him a perfect sight of your arousal.
He quickly leant back on the couch, positioning himself on top of you as he trailed his warm tip over your folds, to get himself wet in your arousal and yes, to keep teasing you as well. He knew you were still sensible from the orgasm he’d caused you; you squirmed under him and hid a moan behind your bit lip when his tip grazed your entrance.
Just to make sure you wanted this, Fez glanced at your face again, eyes meeting yours as he raised his eyebrows. “You sure you can handle me, ma?”
“Get inside me already.” you assured with a playful smirk, placing a kiss on the edge of his jaw.
“Whatever my girl wants.” he mumbled over your skin as with a simple thrust of his hips, he buried himself deep inside you. Your hands automatically moved over to his shoulders to have something to hold on to, as your eyes widened in surprise. He was big, and he was stretching you out in a way that stinged, but in a good way.
Sensing the way you immediately clenched around him, Fez stood still, giving you time to adjust to him, his breath tingling your neck and his arms trapping your body against the sofa.
“What?” he couldn’t keep himself from teasing; this is something he’d been dreaming of for years. “Too big for ya’, Y/N?”
A sassy comment was about to escape your lips, but all it took to replace it with a moan was for Fez to thrust again, sliding out of you and thrusting inside you, pulling out and burying himself inside you again; setting up a pace and slowly but surely stretching you with his dick.
Your nails buried themselves in his strong freckled shoulders as he kept thrusting, you moved your hips slowly as well, meeting halfway with his, you clenched your walls just as he moved his hips back, making the thrust feel a thousand times better.
The pace was fast and rough, the couch squeaked underneath both, its wood and springs squeaking every time his body met yours with a thrust of his hips. He gripped the edge of the sofa and lifted his body up, so this way he had a new angle, the tip of his dick hitting your g-spot with every thrust as he used the edge of the sofa to pull himself up and down with more strenght.
He was completely ravishing you, leaving you speechless. You’d dreamt of this moment, and it definitely didn’t compare to the real thing.
Your legs wrapped around his hips as you pushed your body against his, his dick going deeper now and reaching parts of you no one had ever touched before, his pelvic bone pushed against your clit with every thurst of his hips against yours.
“Fuck, Y/N,” he mumbled over your skin as his hips kept their merciless rhythm. “You feel so fuckin good. Being so good t’me, angel.”
You wanted to say something in return, but no coherent sentence managed to make its way out of your lips, all you could do was moan and repeat his name like a prayer, which only encouraged Fez to move faster, even if he felt close to finishing.
His hips moved against yours, your hands held onto his shoulders firmly as you tightened your walls around him, letting him know you were close to finishing.
He kept going until you were screaming his name into the crook of his neck as you came undone around him, nails scratching down his back, walls clenching, thighs shaking and hips jerking into his.
He followed you shortly, and you felt him finishing inside you, his warmness filling you as his hips kept moving erratically, riding the feeling out as he panted in your neck.
Eventually, he stilled. Both took deep breaths to regain your composure, his body was slightly pressed on top of yours as he regained his strenght, two minutes later at much, Fez raised his body from on top of yours and pulled out of you slowly, taking a seat next to your body on the couch.
Your back was still pressed against the couch as you regained your breath, your eyes fixed on the ceiling while you recovered. It had felt so fucking good, and even though you wanted to, you didn’t regret it in the least.
Fez let out a small sigh as he pressed his back against the backrest of the sofa, his head against the edge of the sofa as he closed his eyes for a few seconds.
You were completely spent. Too exhausted to move again, so you were almost falling asleep on the couch.
Fez noticed and sighed, getting up to clean himself and put on his boxers, walking down to the couch to clean you up as well, finding you asleep.
He couldn’t just leave you there, so he picked you up on his arms and took you to your bed, where he carefully put you down, covering your body with the sheets.
He didn’t know what to do, but luckily, you made a decision for him by holding onto his wrist, still tired but now awake at least.
"Stay the night,” you mumbled, barely audible. “Please, baby.”
’Baby.’
You woke up to an empty bed. Your memory was clear, and you remembered the previous night to such detail that you blushed immediately.
Where was Fez?
Right as you were about to get out of bed to look for him, the door of your bedroom opened and Fez walked in with a tray in hands.
He froze when he noticed you were awake, but eventually kept walking to you while you sat down. He placed the tray softly over your thighs, standing awkwardly next to the bed.
There was fruit, water and some chocolates on the tray, you smiled softly at Fez and mumbled a thank you, picking up a piece.
The silence was… awkward, to say the least. Even looking at Fez brought back memories of the previous night, of the way he’d quite literally fucked you to oblivion.
“Look…” he trailed off as he thought, taking a seat next to you.
Oh god. The worst scenarios crossed your mind. He was gonna tell you that it was a mistake. Or a one time thing that would never repeat. Or blame it on the drugs.
“I kno’ we was high as fuck and shi’ happens…” he nervously licked his lips. “But Ion want this to just be a fuck, y'know? I want more, like… more than just sex,” he said, careful of his words. “S'somethin I been wantin’ since I saw you for the first time.”
“Really?” you said, hoping the surprise would cover the genuine relief you were feeling.
“Shit, of course,” he assured. “You the prettiest girl I kno’. And the smartest too. Bein’ ‘round you makes me happy, makes me feel chill, on fuckin’ cloud 9,” he was being so sweet. “I wanna be with you, for real, all in, if you want me.”
It took you a few seconds to speak, because even though Fez had just confessed his feelings to you, confessing your own feelings for him was scary, admitting out loud that you were in love with your best friend. It would definitely change everything.
Fez took the silence as a negative answer, and it sure hurt like a bitch that you didn’t feel the same way, but he wasn’t going to force anything to happen. You two fucked, and that’s it. He’d just have to get over—
“Of course I want you, Fez,” you admitted with a shaky breath. “How could I not?”
Relief washed over both. The cat was out of the bag, finally. No more hiding feelings, no more pretending to not want to kiss the hell of each other. No more secrets.
Fez had never been good with words, they tripped on the way out and fucked things up; actions, however, were his thing. Which is why he smiled softly and leant closer to you, pressing his lips against yours.
The kiss was soft, his lips moving carefully and slowly over yours in devotion. A few seconds in tho, you felt him smiling in the middle of the kiss.
“What is it?” You asked in amusement.
“Nothin, I’m just happy,” he replied with a little smile, and a light in his eyes that you’d never seen before. “I’m 'appy to finally get a chance to be with ya, you feel me?”
“Yeah, I ’feel ya’.” You nodded, mimicking his voice and the way he spoke.
“With how we fucked last nite, bet yo’ ass you do.”
“Oh my— Fez!” You exclaimed, feeling the blood rushing to your cheeks as he started giggling like an idiot.
“Just sayin’ you gonna be feelin me for days, angel.”
“Oh, shut it now, you cocky little shit.” You complained with a laugh, shoving a piece of fruit in his mouth to shut him up.
Fez bit the fruit and quickly swallowed before leaning down and pressing his lips against yours sweetly, trying his best to not smile again in the middle of the kiss.
“No, sorry.” Fez’s voice was soft, yet firm. He didn’t want the rejection to sting, but he didn’t want to encourage you either.
“Please, just 5 more minutes.” you said, holding on to him, trying to keep your boyfriend in bed.
“Sorry baby, can’t,” he denied, trying to break free from your hold as you peppered kisses down his neck, a sigh leaving his lips mid sentence. “Gotta go, I’ve got lotta clients tonite.”
“I know…” you trailed off, the tips of your fingers caressing his skin as your lips pressed soft kisses down his neck. “But five minutes won’t make a difference, will they?”
“If we do this, it ain’t gonna be ‘just five minutes’,” he closed his eyes and groaned, feeling the blood rushing down to his dick. “and I really gotta go to this thing ma, gotta earn my money and shit.”
“Fine,” you agreed in a half-defeated tone, leaning back on the bed, removing your body from on top of his. “Go.”
Fez hurried to get out of bed, if he spent any more time with you, hearing your voice and touching your skin, he’d stay. And as much as he wanted to, he really needed the money.
“Look,” he spoke, putting on his clothes as you stared at him from between the sheets. “Imma come back in a few hours, and promise Imma spend the rest of the nite between yo’ legs. Doin’ whateva you want me to.”
You came in swinging like Apollo, I’ll be feeling it tomorrow, No, I ain’t seeing straight, hyperventilate, Knees begin to wobble, you cut my breaks and hit the throttle, I couldn’t stop it if I wanted, Just your silhouette makes me break a sweat, I’m in trouble.
Summary: New to town, you didn’t need a friend, you needed a dealer. Thankfully, a girl from your Narcotics Anonymous meetings knew just the guy.
Characters:Fezco (euphoria) x Non-descriptive Reader
Words: 2,540
Chapter Warnings: References to drug use, references to past threatened sexual assault, swearing, talks of guns, Rue being manic
Series Warnings: Addiction, sexual themes, cursing, abuse (various), smut, drug use, teenagers being fucking idiots. 18+ only, minors DNI
You sat across the room from Rue, watching her as her eyes darted around, often hovering over Fez’s grandma as if she expected the woman to turn her head and stare back.
Your leg bounced as you thought of the man in the next room. He was what you’d always imagined a drug dealer to be like. Pushy, threatening, and hard.
Sure, your old dealer wasn’t anywhere near as bad. He didn’t push drugs, but he definitely wasn’t to be fucked with, and although he was much less creepy than Mouse, you knew that he didn’t only take monetary payments. If you were pretty enough, he’d let you suck his dick for a bump of cocaine. He was intimidating and seedy, and ready to stab a bitch for looking at him the wrong way, but still… He was a legion above Mouse.
Fezwas the real anomaly.
Deciding that you needed to keep your shaking hands busy, you began to re-dress Fez’s Grandma before Rue spoke in a hushed whisper,
“Yo, what are you doing here anyway?”
You tried to shush her, not wanting Mouse to hear either of you. You’d experienced the guy once, you weren’t looking for a reunion any time soon. But your own curiosity prevailed;
“What are you doing here?”
Rue watched you for a moment, before shrugging, “Just needed Fez’s help for something. But he said no so… Don’t matter.”
You both remained in silence for a little while longer before you noticed Rue’s eyes squint, looking over towards the small bed tray. It wasn’t until further inspection that you noticed what exactly she was staring at.
Marie’s pills.
Watching her closely, you were ready to intervene if necessary. You’d done a lot of fucked up shit for drugs, but stealing them from an old lady wasn’t on your list.
“Rue, don’t even fucking think about it,” you warned, watching as her chest began to rise and fall much quicker than before. It took you a moment to realize she’d stood up, but instead of making her way towards the pills, she slipped out of the room instead.
Mumbling under your breath, you quietly followed after her, but she was already making her way towards the exit.
“Even if I wanted all this shit, bruh, I don’t got the money for all this man.”
Watching as Rue quietly crept across the hallway, thankfully out of sight of Mouse and Custer, your eyes fell on the bags upon bags of pills, spread out on the coffee table.
“Ten percent on the vig, and I’ll collect in a month.”
“I’m not tryin’ to do all that shit, man.” Fez was visibly uncomfortable, his eyes meeting Rue’s across the room.
Mouse laughed, shaking his head, “I ain’t asking, bruh. Step yo shit up.”
Fez rubbed his head, thankful Rue had managed to get out completely undetected. You stood on the other side of the hallway.
Mouse could sense Fez’s uneasiness, almost thriving off it, “Your bitch here? Maybe it should be her I’m talkin’ too-”
Fez’s eyes darted towards you, watching as you slunk back into the shadows more, slowly stepping back into his Grandma’s room in hopes of staying hidden.
“Nah, she ain’t here.”
Mouse rubbed his hand over his thigh, looking down at the couch where he’d last sat, you sprawled out across it, high as a kite, “Shame. Maybe she could take some off your hands. I’d be willin’ to give her a few payment options-”
“A month, right?” Trying to steer the conversation back on topic and away from you, Fez looked back down to the mountain of pills. No amount of teenage house parties would move this shit.
Fez barely waited for the door to shut before he was making his way back to his Grandma’s room.
If he was honest, Fez walked into that room ready to lose his shit. He’d told you both to stay in there, sit down, and shut the fuck up. And apparently, neither of you could follow that simple instruction. But as he stood in the doorway, he watched as your chest heaved, your shaking hands lay flat against the vanity that housed his Grandma’s perfumes and spare pills.
“Yo, you alright?”
You didn’t respond… Shit, you didn’t have to. The moment a sob escaped your mouth, he knew the answer, “It’s OK, ma. He’s gone.”
Fez slowly made his way towards you, watching you carefully in the vanity mirror. Once he’d reached you, he placed both his hands on your hips, dragging you backward before turning you and pulling you to his chest.
“I ain’t gonna let him do shit to you again, alright? I got'chu.”
One hand held your shoulders, keeping you close to his chest as the other rested against the back of your head. He placed a chaste kiss against your forehead before squeezing you a little tighter. As he looked up, he spotted Ash standing in the doorway, watching with knitted brows.
He fucking hated Mouse too.
Fez had fetched you some towels, allowing you to shower before changing into a pair of his pajamas.
Your hands were shaking as if your body was still full of adrenaline, and you could still feel your heartbeat in your ears in the silence. One glance in the mirror had confirmed to you that it was obvious you’d spent the majority of the hot shower crying, and you only hoped Fez was polite enough to not mention it.
“You gotta eat somethin’,” He tried, standing in the kitchen against the counter, watching as you stood with folded arms across from him.
“I’m not hungry, Fez.” You could barely make eye contact with him, embarrassment bubbling under the surface of your skin.
He turned, opening a few cupboards and pulling out what he needed, “Just somethin’ small, promise.”
When you didn’t reply, he pulled out two boxes, “You like ‘Lucky Charms’, or 'Captain Crunch’?”
Realizing you wouldn’t win this fight, and maybe a few spoonfuls of sugary cereal would pacify him enough, you shrugged, allowing him to choose for you whilst you made your way to the small table.
He joined you only a few moments later, a bowl in each hand. Taking his place at the table, he gently pushed your bowl towards you and spent the next couple of minutes darting his eyes between his cereal and yourself, trying in vain to covertly make sure you were eating.
After stirring the spoon around the bowl – much more of a time-wasting tactic than anything else – you ate a small mouthful, seemingly satiating him enough to stop watching you every few moments.
“You wanna watch somethin’ on TV, or you tired?” He asked a little while later as he collected the bowls, taking them into the kitchen and placing them in the sink to wash up later.
“I just want to go to bed,” you told him truthfully. You were more than ready for this day to be over.
Once you were settled in his bed, Fez collected a pillow and hesitated in the doorway, your voice stopping him, “Where are you going?”
“Im'a sleep on the couch, I didn’t-”
“I’m not going to put you out, Fez. C'mon.” You pulled back the duvet cover, watching as his glance danced between the comfortable bed, and the hallway, “I don’t really wanna be alone right now.”
His eyes returned to you, searching for something. The gentle haze from the hallway light behind him darkened his features, but he watched as they made yours glow. Seemingly finding whatever he was looking for, he closed the bedroom door and made his way back towards the bed.
The light from outside the window guided him around the room, and you felt the bed dip slightly as he settled himself down next to you.
You were both silent, the only sounds to be heard were your exhaling, and whatever shit Ash was watching on the TV.
“You cold?” he wondered, shifting slightly on the bed to look at your darkened form.
“I can’t stop shaking.” You told him simply, omitting the real reason why.
“I uh, I could – if you want – you know, move closer?” It was endearing how nervous he sounded as if one wrong move would cause you to leap out of the bed and run home bare-footed.
“OK,” you mumbled, turning so your back was towards him. You could feel his body heat before actually feeling him, warming up your goose-pimpled skin.
His arm pushed under the pillow you were resting on as you felt his chest press against your back, arm awkwardly resting over your body as his hand pressed against the mattress.
Lifting said hand, you linked your fingers before moving it towards your front, resting against your stomach and essentially caging you in against his body.
His body tensed for only a moment, before he released a sigh, allowing his muscles to relax.
In the silence, your felt your eyes drooping slightly, sleep pushing at the corners of your mind.
“You know that time at the store when that Jacobs kid came in? He ain’t been buggin’ you or shit, right?”
His husky voice was taut, making you stiffen slightly. Hoping you could pass it off as him startling you, you shrugged, allowing the hand you were resting on to slither its way under the pillow, meeting his own and playing gently with his fingers,
“What makes you ask?”
“Jus’ remember he was rude, that’s all. I know he’s been causing some trouble for Rue and her friend, jus’ wanted to make sure you was alright.”
Inhaling deeply, you tried to force the threats from the boy down deep, “Did Rue say something to you earlier?”
He was quiet for a moment, trying to determine whether or not he should keep his mouth shut, or just tell you that the girl had told him about Nate making you leave in tears on Halloween, “Nah, I just uh… I was wonderin’, that’s all. I know you was close with his brother and-”
Holy fucking Hell, you wanted to throw up.
“It’s not like that, Fez.” You rolled over to face him, just about able to make his features out in the dark. Your fingers had unlinked, but he kept them over your hip, gently resting there, “Aaron was just… what it was. We don’t really speak now. And everything is fine with Nate. He’s a colossal dick, but it seems like a hereditary thing. Really, I’m good.”
His somber eyes observed you for a moment before he nodded and released a sigh, “OK.”
The uncertainty in his voice made you a little nervous, and you could only pray that Rue had kept her mouth shut. The last thing you needed was word getting back to Nate that you were shit-talking him. Not with the secrets that he held.
A strained exhale forced its way from your lungs, and you found your hands involuntarily shaking once more. Thankfully, it had distracted Fez enough, his dubious eyes softening as his hand wrapped around you tighter, a warm hand pressing against the middle of your back.
You tried to control your breathing, squeezing your eyes closed as you counted to 10, inhaling deeply. Your forehead felt sweaty, and your body clammy, yet the chill from the rain on the evening you’d first encountered Mouse remained under your skin, bonded into your bones.
You felt sick with guilt. But not from lying to Fez about Nate, or what he might do had he found out you’d partially told Rue, about Nate’s blackmail, or even about the money Mouse had all but forced Fez to pay to keep you safe…
No, the reason you felt sick to your stomach was that you knew no matter what you did, for the rest of your life, you would never find a high like you had that evening. You’d never find peace like you did when your body had graciously absorbed Fentanyl.
You knew how dangerous that night had been, or at least, you knew how easily you could’ve OD’d. But you also knew with everything going on, if Mouse had offered you it again, you might not have needed his threats to take it. And that scared you.
You’d been searching for highs all of your life. As a child, the world was full of wonder and happiness. You could find it by climbing to the top of a tall tree, going over the bar on a swing set, spinning around and around on a carousel, certain that your fingers would slip off and send you hurtling across the playground.
Those innocent highs were never met as a teenager. They transformed into something darker. Something that always came with repercussions.
You knew you wouldn’t be able to find something as gratifying. Yet, you were willing to chase it, in any small capacity you could find, regardless of the consequence. Like a moth to the flame.
Shuffling yourself closer to his warm body, you placed both hands on his cheeks, gently stroking his beard, “Everything is fine, Fez. Trust me.”
He nodded, unable to deny that your soft hands were soothing his worries as his eyes slowly wandered your face, and as your gaze roamed his own, you realized this was the closest the two of you had ever been.
“You know I’m here for you, right? Don’t matter what it is, I got'chu.”
Maybe it was the stress and trauma from the day’s events, memories being forced to the forefront of your mind, or the constant, never-ending search for that new high, blackened with guilt and shame. Or maybe it was Fez’s softly whispered words, spoken into the secrecy of the night, but something in that moment changed.
And that was exactly why you lifted your head slightly and pressed your lips delicately against his.
Although tentative and fleeting, you knew that even in years to come, you would still be able to perfectly describe the softness of his cushioned lips, the slight gasp as he inhaled, right before he held his breath. The way you pulled away, just before he was able to reciprocate the kiss.
Watching each other in silence, the moment seemed to last a lifetime, both of you hanging on the other’s move.
You watched as his tongue grazed against his lips, savoring the taste of you, before a large hand was placed against your jaw, pulling you down and once more connecting your lips, only this time, the kiss was deeper, more passionate, yet still only lasted only a few moments before he pulled back, placing a few stray, chaste pecks to your lips before guiding your head down and placing a gentle kiss against your forehead.
“We should get some rest.”
The pang of rejection was sharp but quickly quelled when Fez pulled your body towards his, making you rest your head on his chest, his heartbeat pounding, ready to burst from his chest.
His hand stroked your back, easing you into a deep slumber. Once your breaths evened out and he could tell you were fast asleep, Fez rubbed a hand over his hair, letting out a small sigh.
Sometimes when you’d wake up, you almost forgot how far you had come. To an outsider, that might’ve sounded like bullshit, hell, to youit sounded like bullshit most days.
From leaving your old school, old friends, and old life, you couldn’t help but feel relatively settled in East Highland. Shit, compared to some, you even seemed fairly fucking stable.
If there was one thing in life you were sure of, it was that just one, small moment, can change everything. Whether the effect was minuscule or had the impact of a fucking hurricane, you could never be sure. But those shitty little moments that you wished you had hindsight for… Well, you attracted them like flies to shit.
Maybe, if you hadn’t tried so fucking hard to get a good grade on an English test, your teacher wouldn’t have suggested you apply for the AP English course.
Then you never would’ve met Liam. He wouldn’t have written stupid little notes in your textbook or waited for you outside of your other lessons. You’d have never kept a picture from your first date in your locker.
You wouldn’t have dabbled in drugs, dropping any of your past friends for the popular, older group who frequented an old abandoned warehouse where they’d smoke weed and drink. They would’ve never had the chance to offer you pills, or coke. You wouldn’t have spiraled. You never would’ve allowed Liam to press a hot kiss against your lips right after he pressed a sharp needle into your inner elbow.
Your behavior in school wouldn’t have changed, and you might’ve been nicer to your mother whilst you still had her around.
Maybe then, she would’ve stopped working away so often, leaving to only fly home on the weekends. Your dad might not have spent his evenings drowning his lonely sorrows in a bar across town. He wouldn’t have crashed his stupid fucking car, got arrested, and lost his job.
Your mother wouldn’t have packed a bag, leaving for Boston, staying hush on the fact that she was never going to return. The last you’d heard from her had been the divorce papers through the mail. Maybe then, your father wouldn’t have continued his downward spiral, and you wouldn’t have found yourself up on the school roof, leading to your expulsion.
A fucking chain reaction that led to your father having to haul your asses to another suburb, away from everything you knew.
But you’d been better, right?
Sure, you still fucked around with drugs and attended high school parties, but it all felt so much less sinister than before.
Granted, back then you had Liam. But you never really had him, did you?
Throwing parties at the warehouse, you turned a blind eye whenever he’d disappear, deciding instead that drowning yourself in pills and powders would hurt a lot less than cutting him off and relieving the Liam-sized weight he had on your heart.
Because you always were a glutton for masochism.
And yet… Here you were, once again. A half baggy of cocaine was concealed in your shoe, thrown across a room you didn’t recognize.
Like a bad habit, you’d called your old dealer the night before, noting the slight shock in his voice when he’d realized it was you.
He’d driven to meet you – you were certain he only agreed out of sheer curiosity – and even though he’d heard rumors through the grapevine about your very sudden disappearance from town, he was more than willing to deal to you.
“Heard rumors you were dead.”
You sighed as you closed the passenger side door of his range rover. Sending him a forced smile, you simply nodded, “Well, clearly I’m not”.
He didn’t actually care what happened to you, but it had been discussed by a lot of his customers, some of them being from your friend group.
He’d mentioned a few of the rumors that had been floating around, from your death to leaving to find your mother… But you didn’t care, either. You weren’t here for a reunion, and the longer you sat in his car twiddling your thumbs, the more likely you’d be to back out. And Devon didn’t like people wasting his time.
So after a very brief and awkward conversation, you’d passed him the money and he handed you a baggy. After slipping back out of the car – the cocaine hidden in your cleavage – you had one last request for him,
“Just uh, you never saw me, alright? Far as you know, I’m still dead."
He’d chuckled at you, shaking his head with the audacity that you thought he’d even spare you a second thought once he began to drive away.
And then you’d loaded up your contact list, clicking the first name and awaiting him to answer.
"Hey, Aaron, it’s me. Can you come pick me up?”
Between using your phone and a dollar note that was crumpled in your bra before calling Aaron, and waking up, you didn’t remember much.
Giggling as he led you up the stairs, you tripped after the first few, barely acknowledging him shushing you as you leaned against the half-wall, pulling him closer to your body. Whilst he kissed you, his arms wrapped around the top of your thighs and lifted you easily, carrying you up the rest of the stairs and towards his bedroom.
You tried opening your eyes, but the bright sun shining through was enough to make you push your face into the pillow, mumbling out incomprehensibly.
A large hand moved from your hip, wrapping around your front, and pulled you backward, your back now pressed against Aaron’s chest, and honestly, you couldn’t think of anything worse.
Although the sun was obnoxiously bright enough that you wanted to burrow under the duvet, your body was covered in a hot, sticky, layer of sweat.
“What time is it?” You questioned with a hoarse voice.
Aaron barely replied, simply making a noncommittal noise as he nuzzled himself closer, his nose pressed against your hair.
It took a while and many groans of protest, but you eventually unraveled yourself from the man’s long, muscular limbs and pulled on a strewn shirt from the floor before looking around for your phone.
Finding it hidden under your ripped skirt, you grabbed it before perching on the bed.
Frowning, you looked through your missed call log, noticing an unknown number.
You could feel a warm hand caress your thigh, soft slow circles being drawn on it as his fingers danced higher and higher, causing your skin to break out in goosebumps.
You moved your leg a little, trying to jostle Aaron’s hand off as you read through the text messages you’d received,
unknown number:
yo where u at?
unknown number:
everything good?
unknown number:
its fez btw
unknown number:
aight imma head out lemme know if ur ok
“Shit,” you mumbled under your breath, fingers hovering over your phone as you thought of what to text back, “Can you stop?”
You didn’t mean to be so harsh, but you were currently stewing in regret, your body feeling sweaty and weak from the cocaine and the last thing you needed was someone touching you.
“C'mon, you’re joking right?” He asked, his hand skimming further up as his grip tightened.
Shoving his hand off your body, you sent Aaron a glare, “Do I look like I’m fucking joking?”
He watched you for a moment in disbelief, his jaw clenched in anger before he grabbed your phone from your hands and threw it across the room,
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” You turned on him with wide eyes.
“What the- What’s wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong with you?! This is the third time you’ve done this shit-”
His hand wrapped around your wrist, pulling you back to the bed when you tried to stand, “Done what shit? What the fuck are you talking about?”
If the comedown of cocaine didn’t put you in a shitty mood, dumb-ass men definitely would’ve.
“This shit,” He placed your hand over the front of his boxers. When you tried to pull your hand back, he only gripped yours tighter, “You’re all over me, then just stop. I’m fucking done with you giving me blue balls.”
“I don’t owe you shit-”
“I’m fed up with you using me, then fucking running off whenever you want. It’s fuckin’ disres-”
His words were cut off the moment your palm collided with the side of his face, and you could tell instantaneously that it had stung, his cheek warm with the faint print of your hand. He let go of your other wrist, his own hand coming up to soothe his face as he watched you collect your clothing from around the room.
“I’m fuckin’ sorry, alright? I just… Come back to bed and-”
But it was too late. You pulled up your skirt, almost certain that you still had your Halloween make-up all over your face but you couldn’t find it in yourself to give a shit. Pulling off his shirt, you threw it in his direction before tugging on your own top, grabbing your phone, and making your way out of the door.
You could hear him stumbling about in his room, trying to untangle himself from his bed sheet.
You came to a sudden halt the moment a voice spoke out,
“Not staying for breakfast?”
Fucking shit.
Your hand on the doorknob, you took a deep breath. Turning, you came face-to-face with Cal Jacob’s who was perched on a stool at the breakfast bar, his wife buttering some toast on the counter.
“Uh, no. No thank you. I’ve uh… I need to go.”
You heard Aaron call your name from upstairs, leaning against the banister as he watched you, remorse written over his features. A movement in the corner of your eye pulled your attention away from the boxer-clad man, turning to see his younger brother standing against the wall, a fixed, condescending smirk sat on his lips. Next to him, stood Maddy – who had most likely also sneaked in – wearing nothing but his shirt.
Feeling like you couldn’t physically inhale, you slipped out of the house, making a break down the driveway, running as fast as your fumbling legs could go.
Three whole days passed before you were bothered by anyone. You had messaged Fez back once you’d got home, a simple text telling him you were fine, apologizing for ditching him, instead of telling him there was an emergency at home.
He’d checked both you and your father were OK, offering any assistance with the latter, but you’d fobbed him off with an excuse, telling him everyone was fine, but you had also come down with something.
You’d avoided school for as long as possible, your body finally coming down after going so long without cocaine in your system. You fucking hated the feeling it left you with, your body often experiencing uncontrollable tremors. And the fucking vertigo. Shit, at least that was your excuse to stay off school.
You made your way through the hallway, your body swamped in an over sized hoody, pulling on your bag strap as it slipped down your shoulder. You’d felt like absolute shit still, but your dad was starting to get suspicious, and your behavior was starting to get a little too familiar to him.
So here you were, in this hell-hole, hoping to God you wouldn’t throw up in the middle of your history class.
You made your way down the hallway when you were stopped in your tracks. You knew they were back together – obviously – but seeing them marching down the hallway made you feel sick.
Sure, her bruises were all but gone now – whether from time or make-up you couldn’t be sure – but it felt like you could still see the dark purple mark around her neck whenever you’d look at her.
As they made their way down the corridor hand-in-hand, your eyes connected with the Maddy’s and you saw her face drop slightly, forcing down a lump in her throat. She looked as if she was going to greet you, but one sharp look from the not-so-Jolly-Green-Giant and you had your back to her, hand pressed against a locker.
Once they had passed, you turned to watch them go, only to connect eyes with the Devil himself. His grin was wide and haughty, and you wanted nothing more than to smack it right off his face. Keeping his eyes glued to you, he lifted a finger, swiping it under his nose as he inhaled deeply.
Turning back to the lockers, you felt your heart pounding, feeling like it would beat right out of your chest. As you made your way through the halls rushing to get home and hide back in your bed, you felt like the whole school was watching you.
Unfortunately for you, Rue was the only one to notice.
You’d remained in your bed the next few days, but by early Friday morning, your phone would not. Stop. Ringing.
Finally giving up, you answered the call, “Rue, what the fuck do you want?”
“I’m outside, can I come in?”
Pulling your phone from your face, you couldn’t help but glare at the girl’s contact, “It’s half 4 in the morning, Rue. What the fuck do you want?”
You could tell from her tone alone that she wasn’t in the best state of mind. Sober, maybe. Manic? Most definitely. Ignoring her incessant ramblings, you quietly made your way downstairs and opened the door.
You hushed her before she could even utter a thank you, and led her upstairs to your room. You saw her stare into your father’s room as you passed, her brow pinched together as she saw him passed out on the bed, still in his work clothes and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s still in his grip.
Thankfully, he’d left you the fuck alone tonight.
It didn’t stop you from quickly closing his bedroom door and sending the girl a pointed look, however.
Once you were in your room, you returned to your bed and waited, watching her as she almost burst just waiting for you to ask her to explain. After rolling your eyes, you nodded towards her, indicating that she had your full attention.
“What did Nate Jacobs say to you the night of Halloween?”
It took a moment for you to stop vacantly staring at her, “You came here at 4 in the morning to ask me that? Rue, you could’ve just texted me.”
“I did, you didn’t answer.”
Well, that was true. You’d seen the 20+ texts from Rue, but they all simply stated your name, that was it.
“You haven’t been in school, and Fez said you haven’t been at the store-”
“Rue, seriously.”
“Just tell me what Nate said to you, and I’ll be out of your hair.” Rue grabbed the desk lamp on your bedside table, turning it on and pointing it full beam at you.
“Jesus shit- what the fuck is wrong with you?!”
“It’s OK, this is a safe space. Anything you tell me stays between us… And Maybe Howard. Lexi, not Cassie.”
Reaching down the side of your bed, you pulled the plug from the socket and glared at the girl. Or at least in her general direction. You still had bright ring lights floating about in your vision, “Considering you just blinded me, I don’t feel so safe.”
The two of you watched each other closely, unblinking. Finally, your resolve broke, “How do you even know we-”
“-I saw you both leave a room. You were visibly upset. So… what did he say?”
Sighing, you realized that Rue’s manic self wouldn’t bow down to your half-conscious fight. “He just… He told me to stay away from Maddy.”
“Why would say that? I mean, we were all shocked when they walked through the door together, and all of the charges against him have been dropped but-”
Ignoring her tangent, you laid back down in bed, pulling the duvet up to your chin, “Rue, is this going anywhere?”
She stopped her pacing, turning on you quickly as if she’d forgotten you were even there, “Did he threaten you?”
“Why would you even think that?”
“You and Maddy aren’t close. I haven’t seen you interact much. He’d have absolutely no reason to drag you off to a room and tell you to keep away from her unless you knew something he doesn’t want you to. And there are only three ways Nate Jacobs knows how to get rid of a threat. Violence, intimidation, and blackmail.
You had to hand it to Rue, even if she was manic, she was fucking observant when she wanted to be. Or rather, when she was sober.
Rue spent the next half hour telling you hers and Lexi’s grand idea of how Nate Jacobs was suddenly let off for his violence, and in return, you very briefly gave her the low-down on your conversation with Maddy, which led to the not-so-pleasant conversation with Nate. You kept some of the parts to yourself; you weren’t sure you could trust this version of Rue with a secret like that.
After Rue had finally left, claiming she had to go meet Lexi at the school to ’discuss the case further’ you’d tried to go back to sleep but found yourself tossing and turning.
You were meant to head out to school, but instead found yourself kicking stones along the familiar path that led to Fez’s store.
It was still early, but he’d already started working, loading the large crates of delivery up by the door, taking them through a few at a time.
Shuffling your way over to the remaining crates, you grabbed one and carried it in, watching as he tried his best to keep his eyes to the floor whenever you’d pass each other.
Once the crates were emptied and the shelves were restocked, you found yourself watching him as he went through the audit.
His eyes would dart up every now and then, as if checking to still see if you were there, the silence between you only broken when he garnered the courage that you were yet to find,
"Ain’t you got no lessons today?”
Your mouth opened and closed a few times before your brain seemed to remember you were fluent in English.
“Haven’t really been feeling it this week.”
He nodded his head, “Yeah, Rue said she ain’t seen much of you.”
You could tell he was trying to initiate a conversation, and you knew exactly where it was heading, but it seemed like he just couldn’t quite get there.
You were still uncertain about how he was feeling after you’d checked in with him, neither of you had spoken since, and considering you’d spent a substantial amount of time together at the store, it felt like you’d almost returned back to the first few weeks of knowing him, where conversation didn’t flow so freely.
“Fez, can we talk?”
“Ain’t that what we doin’?”
You felt stupid, but having this conversation in the middle of the store felt… weird. It wasn’t exactly a middle ground, and Fez seemed much more relaxed than you, even if his eyes still darted in your direction every now and then.
“Somewhere private, maybe?”
His eyes scanned the store before returning to the order in his hand, “Ain’t exactly bustlin’ in here-”
“Fez,please.” You made your way to him, placing a hand on the paper he was holding. He was silent for a moment, before he finally shrugged and made his way out of the store, you following closely behind.
You weren’t sure where he was going at first, but as he led you to the roof of the store, you almost regretted not just doing this in the fridges aisle that was ground level.
Fez, however, seemingly did this enough times to be comfortable enough to sit himself down, looking out at the cars that passed by.
You slowly made your way over to him, standing above him as you silently berated yourself for not planning this conversation in advance.
“I’m sorry.”
He remained silent, his fingers twiddling as he contemplated how to reply. It took Fez a minute, as it almost always did. Sometimes it was reassuring, knowing he’d put thought into what he was saying – unlike yourself and your motormouth – but at times like these, it was overly daunting. You almost wanted to hit Fast Forward on him.
“You ain’t got nothin’ to apologize for.”
You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped you, “I mean, I flaked on you at the party, then I flaked on you all week here… It was shitty of me, and I am sorry Fez.”
His knee bounced as he inhaled deeply, finally turning to meet your eyes for the first time since you’d arrived, “Why’d you bounce?”
Your mouth felt dry and just the thought of that night sent a sharp shooting pang through your right nostril. Taking a seat next to him, you kept your backpack on, fiddling with the strap, “I just… I was overwhelmed. I needed to get out of there and I just wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry, I should’ve gone back to find you.”
Nodding his head, Fez’s eyes remained on you, watching as your eyes darted away from him, “I’m real sorry if I made things awkward-”
“No-shit Fez, it wasn’t you. I promise. I actually had a really nice night. I just… I don’t know. I spent so much of my time at shitty teenage parties and every now and then I just… I feel like I’m back there, and it makes me fucking hate myself, you know?”
The weight that was sitting on his shoulders seemed to lift, finally allowing the man to relax a little. He sent you a small, winsome smile before looking back out to the road, “Shit ma, I thought this whole time it was something I did.”
“Is that why you didn’t keep texting me?” You bumped his shoulder lightly with your own, unable to keep the sweet grin from your face.
“Me? I thought you was avoiding me.”
“Maybe we’re both just fuckin’ idiots.” You grinned, a small laugh escaping you.
Fez looked to you once more, his eyes full of affection, “Maybe we are.”
The longer he stared, the more your smile dropped as you found yourself studying his features. Biting your lower lip, you watched as his eyes followed the movement, struggling to swallow a lump in his throat.
“You got my number now anyway, so anything like that happens again, just call me. I could’ve dropped you home.”
His voice was barely loud enough to hear, and if any car’s had passed by, they’d have drowned his words out completely,
“You care about me, Fezco?” You said it in jest, but his answer seemed instinctive, almost involuntarily.
“Course I do. We friends, right?”
Unable to find the words, you merely nodded at him, a placid grin pulling at your lips.
“So, whatchu get up to after you left?”
“Hmm?”
“Halloween. Where you go?”
Your mouth opened, but words failed to come out. Which was probably for the best. Fez watched, curious but patient.
“Oh, uh… I just went home. Went to bed.”
“Word.”
As Fez sat smiling at you, you felt crushed under a weight of guilt. You don’t know why you lied. Really, it was none of his business what you did, or who you did it with. Sure, he would probably be unhappy about the cocaine, but shit. Fez was a dealer. He was your dealer, in fact. He didn’t have a fuckin’ leg to stand on if he tried to get on his high horse.
Yet here you were, unable to look into his eyes for longer than a split second. Tugging at his hoody sleeve, you motioned towards the back of the building, “C'mon. You got work to do.”
You’d helped a little longer at the store before Fez sent you on your way. Standing outside the school, you took a deep breath before pushing the doors open and heading straight for the bathroom.
You could not handle school sober. So instead, you’d pulled out the little baggy from an inside zip, emptying a little onto your phone screen and pulling out a note from your pocket.
You knew your high wouldn’t last too long, but if it got you through your first lesson that you sat a few seats over from Nate, then it would do the job.
You hadn’t seen Rue, or Jules for that matter in school, and you’d avoided Maddy like the fucking plague – not that the girl had much intention of speaking to you either. Her eyes would follow you like a little lost puppy, but she stayed right by Nate’s side the entire time between lessons.
You’d been texting Fez throughout the day, begging him to come and pick you up, that you too could drop out of high school. You’d offered to work full-time at the store, hell, you’d even be his Grandma’s carer if it meant you could ditch this hell-hole.
Of course, he’d refused, claiming that at least one of you needed some sort of education. Why the fuck he couldn’t go back to school and get one instead was beyond you. You’d have settled with a GED.
“Everything good?” You asked Kat as you walked up behind her, watching as she stared after Maddy.
Jumping a little, she quietly acknowledged you before opening her locker, “Everything’s fine. What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing I-”
“Holy shit, are you high right now?” You covered her mouth, completely disregarding the dark lipstick she’d applied this morning.
“Don’t fucking say that shit so loud, Kat, someone might hear.”
She let out a little laugh that almost sounded patronizing, “Or they could just take one look at your saucer-sized pupils and fucking guess. Do you know how much trouble you’d get in for this shit?”
You sent her a condescending look, “I don’t think you can comprehend how much I literally don’t give a shit.”
“I didn’t know Fez sold that kinda shit.”
“I- Look just. Keep it quiet, OK? I don’t give a shit, but I could really do without the lecture from my Dad, alright? I don’t need to be kicked out of another school.”
Turns out, a drug-fueled you couldn’t keep your mouth quiet. So before she could answer, you quickly changed the subject, “You, Maddy. What was that look for?”
“We just had a falling out, that’s all. It’s fine.”
“I thought you two were like, super close?”
“Yeah well, shit happens. I’ll get over it.”
Unable to bring yourself to care all that much once your high had hit, you shrugged and walked off towards your next class.
Attending ‘Narcotics Anonymous’ wasn’t necessarily required for you, not twice a week, at least. You’d hoped by attending both meetings, you’d be able to get signed off a little quicker but you just really weren’t feeling it that Friday.
To sit in a room full of people, patting each other on the backs and crying about their pasts made you feel a little shitty when you were silent, knowing damn well you had the remaining cocaine in your back pocket.
But after heading back to the store after school, Fez was busting your balls about not attending.
“It’s an hour session, it really ain’t that long.”
You sat outback, perched on the desk where Ash was currently glaring at a school book. You sipped from your can of coke, doing your best to get the eldest brother off your back, “Exactly. It’s an hour long. I won’t be missing anything.”
“They know you ain’t sober?”
The comment caught you off-guard a little, the fizz from your soda coming out of your nose, burning the same nostril as the cocaine did earlier that morning. Wiping the liquid away with a disgusted face, you glared at Fez, “I’m sure half the people there aren’t actually sober. If there is one thing addicts are good at, it’s bullshitting.”
“Takes one to know one,” Ash mumbled under his breath, dodging your swiping hand, “God fuckin’ dammit.”
Throwing his pen down, the boy snatched the can from you, gulping down a mouthful.
Turning your attention to the stressed-out 14-year-old, you moved his book around, peering down at the question. Picking up his pen, you handed it back to him, “Feudalism helped protect communities from warfare and violence after the fall of Rome and the collapse of central government in Western Europe. Knights protected the King and Serfs in exchange for land and labor, restoring trade.”
Ash watched you for a moment, a skeptical gaze on his face before he finally accepted the pen, “What was the first part?”
Fez eyed you as you repeated yourself to Ash, the younger boy scribbling down the answer. Feeling his perpetual gaze, you turned your attention to him, an eyebrow cocked in question.
“Thought you didn’t like school?”
Swiping your can and pushing past the older brother you sent him a haughty smirk, “I don’t like it. Doesn’t mean I’m not good at it.”
You sat in your usual seat, almost certain that everyone in that room knew you’d taken cocaine earlier in the day. You wanted nothing more than to excuse yourself to the bathroom and rub the rest of the powder on your gums, but a lady called Monica was currently a little teary as she spoke about how a meth addiction had caused her to lose her son in a custody battle, and Ali was watching you like a god damn hawk.
As soon as the session was over, you pushed your chair out, ready to grab a coffee for both yourself and Fez – who was waiting outside to pick you up – and leave. Ali, however, stood directly in front of the door, guarding it.
“Didn’t feel like speaking tonight?”
You wondered how much trouble you’d be in if you threw the coffee in his face and made a run for it. Somehow, you didn’t think that would even stop him, “You know me, Ali. Public speaking isn’t really my thing.”
“Apparently neither is responding to text messages or voicemails.”
He had you there.
Any time you saw the man’s name pop up on your phone screen, you were inclined to hit the block button. You thought you had shown great willpower in merely watching your phone ring until he would inevitably send him to voicemail.
You hadn’t even bothered to delete them, let alone listen to them.
“I’ve been busy.”
Ali cocked a brow, staring down at you with a mildly entertained expression, “I’m sure you have. Still workin’ at the store?”
“Still in everyone’s business?”
He allowed you to walk around you but ended up beside you as you both exited the building. Thankfully, Fez was parked right out front, and you bolted towards the car.
“Hey,” Ali’s deep, yet soft voice stopped you as you waited for Fez to lean over and open the passenger door, “You might not answer, but I always will. Alright?”
You stared at him for just a moment before sending him a short nod.
“You sure you OK with this?”
You nodded but tried to keep your eyes anywhere other than on the unresponsive woman in front of you. It wasn’t that she creeped you out but… She was just led there. Unseeing. Unhearing. You couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy, knowing you were in this woman’s house and she’d never know.
“You don’t have a carer for her?”
Fez squeezed out the sponge before washing over his Grandma’s face, “Nah. Family takes care of family, you know? Plus, can’t really have just anyone running through here.”
“I guess.”
You almost wanted to applaud Fez for how nonchalant he was about giving his Grandmother a sponge bath. Hell, you felt more embarrassed about the woman having her tits out than he did.
But as you leaned against the vanity on the far side of the room, you couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartbreak for the guy. He should’ve been off enjoying his life, partying at college, or traveling.
Instead, he was stuck in this town running both of his Grandma’s businesses whilst caring for her and trying to bring up a teenager that shouldn’t have been his responsibility. And he took it all on the chin.
“How long have you been doing this?” You asked, watching his slow, gentle movements, as if he were afraid of hurting the woman, “Caring for her, I mean.”
Shrugging, Fez continued to soak the sponge, wring it out, then wash his grandmother, “Dunno. Since 'bout Ash’s age, maybe younger.”
“They’re real lucky they have you, you know?”
Fez looked towards you, his repetitive movements halting for only a moment to send you a tender smile.
A knock at the door pulled his attention away, and although you offered to open it, he declined. Deciding the least you could do was to help him, you began to dry his Grandma with the hand towel at the bottom of the bed.
When he returned a moment later, you could hear Rue before you saw her. She was mid tangent before she’d even realized you were there but continued regardless.
“-Morgan is hyper-focused. Because he can see beyond the little details. He’s looking for the big fuckin’ picture. Because all of this shit? It’s connected, Fez. And it is way bigger than any of us can even fucking see.”
If you were honest, bar Morgan Freeman, you had no fucking idea what she was talking about. Rue had been absolutely manic at the beginning of the week, and you really weren’t certain she’d calmed down much.
“She can’t hear me, right?”
“She can’t see you, either.”
“OK, good. Cause this is like, some real top-secret shit.”
“Trust me Rue, she ain’t gonna gossip,” Fez said monotonously, continuing his previous motions.
Rue’s attention turned to you, staring expectantly. Unsure of what she wanted, you raised your brows, “Do you… You want me to give you a minute?”
“I don’t know how much you know. Top. Secret. Shit.”
You didn’t really want to tell the girl that you literally had no one else you considered a friend bar the guy she was telling the shit to, so you couldn’t gossip, even if you wanted to. Placing the towel over Fez’s leg, you sighed and made your way towards the door.
Throwing yourself onto the sofa, you pulled out your phone and tried to distract yourself from listening in on their conversation.
“What you worried about my guns for?”
“OK, well, I was thinking… that maybe you could use one to scare Nate Jacobs.”
Fez’s movements stopped as his blue eyes turned to Rue, staring at her in disbelief, “Are you serious?”
“I mean… I’m not not serious.”
“Rue, that must be the dumbest shit you’ve said all fucking day.”
Holding her hands up in front of her, Rue tried her best to persuade him, “You don’t have to fucking point it at him. You could just… You could, like…”
She began flapping up the bottom of her over-sized shirt and showing her waistband she lifted her eyebrows at the same time, “You could flash it.”
Fez shook his head, “You really have lost your fuckin’ mind, Rue.”
“Fuck, it’s a bad fucking idea, OK? I was just spit-balling, here. I mean, he fucked with me, he fucked with Jules. Shit, he even fucked with your new best friend out there. I just… I want fucking revenge, OK? Sorry.”
Fez watched the girl for a moment, her words still sinking in. You hadn’t told him anything about Nate. Sure, you’d had the weird stand-off at the store the first time you’d met, but he’d witnessed that. Surely, if anything else had happened, you’d of mentioned it to him, right? He knew he’d have to ask you about it later.
Before he could ask Rue for any more details, his phone dinged. Swearing under his breath, he threw the cloth into the bowl and made his way towards Rue, calling your name. As you walked into the room, he pushed past you, grabbing the door frame,
Is this the start, the start of something? Out of the dark, born out of nothing, Oh, what a rush, I didn’t see it coming, Is this the start, the start of something?
Summary: New to town, you didn’t need a friend, you needed a dealer. Thankfully, a girl from your Narcotics Anonymous meetings knew just the guy.
Characters:Fezco (euphoria) x Non-descriptive Reader
Words:4,250
Chapter Warnings: Comments referring to drug use, thinly veiled threats, reference to attempted suicide
Series Warnings: Addiction, sexual themes, cursing, abuse (various), smut, drug use, teenagers being fucking idiots. 18+ only, minors DNI
Daniel’s Halloween party was the first party in East Highland that you’d properly attended.
You didn’t count McKay’s, solely because you’d spent the majority of the night passed out on too many benzos, and although you hadn’t planned on staying stone-cold sober all night, you knew that Rue was struggling with her sobriety. Especially since she was trying to herd a 2-drinks-too-drunk Jules – who never normally drank like this, apparently – around the crowded living space.
You’d offered – albeit lacklusterly – to help her, knowing Rue wasn’t equipped for the shock of being the sober one.
Rue had assured you it was fine. She didn’t expect anyone to stay sober around her just because she couldn’t control herself, but you shrugged anyway and handed your cup to another student who passed you.
Begrudgingly, you wouldn’t let Rue do this alone. She was doing so well with her sobriety, and quite frankly, you cared more about hers than you did your own. So instead, you filled a new cup with water and cheers'ed her, pushing your way through the crowd, finding Jules on the dance floor, and joining her.
You were used to parties like these. Hell, a year ago you’d have been in your element; some kind of drink in your hand, some kind of pill under your tongue, and some kind of powder up your nostril. You really weren’t fussy.
Yet as you pushed your way through the crowds, Jules now dancing with another girl, a part of you was begging to go home. Heading outside, you needed some fresh air to try and soothe the headache that the thumping bass was giving you. It was much easier to ignore and even enjoywhen you couldn’t see straight.
You saw the cloud of smoke before you’d seen the man himself, almost like a signal. X marks the spot, right?
You slowly made your way over, watching as he spoke with Rue, the two seemingly making up from whatever fight they’d recently got into. Rue – who had noticed you first – said something, causing him to turn in your direction, before returning his attention back to her, continuing a much lighter conversation. You decided, now they’d both acknowledged you, it was safe enough to head over and join them.
You less than gracefully threw yourself onto the sofa next to Fez, the man puffing away on a joint, as if it was the last one on Earth, “Rue already told me ‘bout your little pact. I said I wouldn’t-”
“I’m not here to try and convince you, don’t worry. I’m here because I’m sober.”
“Whatchu mean?” He questioned, watching the people as they stumbled around.
“I don’t have the patience for drunk people.”
You couldn’t even bring yourself to glare at him when he’d chuckled. It sounded ridiculously hypocritical to yourself, too, “You don’t remember much of the last party, do you?”
“Not at all. And it was much more fun,” turning your attention to Rue who was standing by the side of the couch, you sent her an apologetic smile, “No offense.”
“None taken.” She smirked.
“Nice costume,” Fez said, his eyes trailing from your shredded skirt to your red, glittery face, “Little red riding hood, right?”
“Aftershe slaughtered the wolf.”
Rue squinted at you for just a moment, “I don’t think that’s how the story goes-”
You waved your hand, cutting her off mid-sentence, not all that fussed in the fairy-tale lore. Patting the cushion next to you, you watched Rue as she finally took a seat, “You look good, Rue.”
“Oh, thanks.”
You brushed some dirt off her shoulder, fixing her lapel and sending her a small smile, unaware of Fez’s watchful eye.
“So, she kills the wolf in your story then?”
You turned your attention back to Fez, a devilish smirk gracing your lips, “I don’t need some strong, handsome man to save me. I can skin the bastard myself. Even get a nice new rug out of it.”
“That’s fuckin’ sick,” he chortled, nose scrunching up a little.
“Bloods a bitch of a stain to get out, but I think it adds to the design.”
He shook his head, but his attention was quickly pulled away by Jules, who had drunkenly stumbled right into the pool, “Yo, ain’t that your home girl?”
Rue sighed, both a little annoyed and a little concerned with Jules’ behavior. Forcing herself up, she made her way to the pool area, ready to drag the girl out.
Fez watched them for a second before the hand that held his joint moved towards you, offering it up on a golden platter, “I won’t snitch. Promise.”
Your eyes looked between him and the offering, and you’d wanted nothing more than to accept it and smoke the whole damn thing. Fez had good drugs, but even better weed. Probably why he smoked it all the time.
Yet as your eyes darted towards Rue – who at this point would honestly have no idea if you took a hit or two – you turned your head, meeting his blue eyes, “Promised her I wouldn’t. I don’t wanna go back on that when she’s been trying so hard.”
Fez shrugged as if it was nothing, before placing the joint back to his own lips. His cobalt eyes, however, still observed you.
“How long you been doin’ this shit for?” Turning your body to face him a little better, your quirked brow made him explain himself, “Drugs.”
You were quiet for a moment, and he could only assume you were trying to calculate.
“Not that long, actually. A couple of years, I guess. How long have you been doing it?” You asked, watching as he stumped out the roach.
“Dealing? Shit, I dunno. Feels like forever.”
“And it’s just you and Ash, right?”
He took a little longer to reply this time, as if thinking through his answer, “Uh, yeah, kinda. My Grandma still lives with us, but-”
“Oh shit, really? And she’s like… Cool with you dealing and shit?”
Fez couldn’t hold in his chuckle, “She’s the one who taught me how. Man… My Grandma was the best fuckin’ dealer you’d ever meet.”
Although you could tell Fez clearly adored his Grandmother, his voice was tinged in a type of sadness you were unaccustomed to, “So why isn’t she dealing anymore? I mean, no judgment here, like at all. But leaving you and Ash who’s what, like 14, to deal with the drug side? Seems a little-”
“She ain’t really have the choice. Had an accident a couple years ago. She’s uh… Not really how she used to be, you know?”
You’d never seen, or even heard a peep from his Grandmother any time you’d spent at Fez’s, not that you’d remember either way. But you did remember the door that was cracked open. Was she… Was that her room? It felt too private to ask him.
“What’s her name?”
Fez licked his lips, taking a sip from his beer before answering, “Marie, but everyone called her Kitty.”
“Kitty. I mean, why the fuck not. There’s already a Fezco and an Ashtray, at least hers is normal.” You nudged his side gently, the man sending you a smirk in response, “And what about your parents? They not around, or…”
Fez’s face turned stoic, the smile quickly dropping from his lips, and you could see his shoulders tense slightly. Clearly, it was a pretty sore subject to him.
“Dunno my mom, and my Dad’s a piece of shit. Not much else to tell." Rubbing his hand over his head, he sent you an apologetic smile, "We’re both way too fuckin’ sober for this conversation.”
You were both quiet for a moment, enjoying the slight thumping that could be heard from the closed door, “What about you? I mean, I know your dad’s around, but where’s your Mom?”
If Fez’s shoulders had tensed at the mention of his family, yours damn well locked up, “She uh, she packed up and left a couple of years ago. That’s why my dad’s the way he is-”
“What, a piece of shit-”
You turned on him quickly, eyes full of fire, “Don’t, alright? You don’t know what he’s been through. You haven’t got any fuckin’ right to judge him.”
He knew he could fight you on this, and maybe he should’ve fought you on it, but the look in your eyes… Shit, he knew that look, and it was one he’d never be able to wear down, let alone win against. Fierce, unyielding loyalty wasn’t an easy thing to crack, and now wasn’t the time to start chiseling. If he’d go to war for Ash as a brother, he could tell you’d go to war for your father as a daughter.
So instead, Fez placed his hand over your thigh, giving it a small, reassuring squeeze. A silent apology.
Untwisting your figurative panties, you sent him a quick smile, watching him for a moment before sipping some of your water.
A splash from across the garden pulled your attention away, both you and Fez watching as a now drenched Rue pushed herself from the pool and forced her way back inside through the throngs of people. You went to stand, but the hand on your thigh squeezed gently once more, causing you to turn your attention back to Fez.
“She’s alright. She just gotta get used to being on the other side of the problem.”
“I still don’t think she should-”
Patting your thigh, he sighed, “Go if you want, but she need'a go through this. She’s probably more upset knowing this was how she acted than anything else.”
His words hit you right in the chest, making it a little harder to breathe.
Leaning back in your seat, you placed your own hand over his that was still settled on your thigh. It felt much warmer than your own.
“I don’t think I ever said thank you for that night at McKay’s. You didn’t even know me, and I was a total bitch to you, but you still made sure I was OK. I don’t know many people who would do that. So, uh… Thanks.”
He remained quiet but nodded in acceptance of your apology. But you’d opened your mouth and now you suffered from a serious case of not being able to shut up,
“And shit, everything with that Mouse guy. I had no right to even come around that day, and it was all myfucking fault, and you kept me safe and shit. I probably cost you so much money and you’re letting me pay it back by literally sitting in the store for a couple of hours a day, and I’m damn sure that it isn’t paying you to have me there and-”
“Ay, ma?” You stopped, your wide eyes turning to him, cheeks feeling warm with embarrassment, “It’s aight. Really. Shit happens, ain’t no point crying over spilled milk, right?”
Watching him for a moment in total awe, you didn’t know how to thank him properly, or if you ever could. He could sense your nerves as your fingers vacantly toyed with his own, feeling the expanse of the back of his hand,
“I have never met a dealer like you before. Shit, I don’t think I’ve had a friend like you before-”
“Oh, we friends now, huh?”
Your brow wrinkled as he let you stew in confused, anxious silence for a moment, “Thought you didn’t need a friend, jus’ a dealer?”
Swatting his chest as a relieved smile crossed your face, you couldn’t help but smirk, “Yeah well, I’m sober tonight. A dealer ain’t gonna do shit for me. So I guess a friend will have to do.”
You sat outside with Fez for a while longer, enjoying the cool breeze that passed through every once in a while, minding your own business whenever he’d attend to a deal. Or at least, until one annoyingly familiar voice put the first crack in your peace.
“You sell pre-rolls, man?”
Looking up, your eyes watched the boy with disdain as he merely smirked down at you, “Hey there, stranger.”
He paid Fez the money owed, the older boy watching him closely when he walked away, eyes glancing back at you every so often.
“Old friend?” He questioned, watching as the younger boy sat across the garden on a lounge chair, his weasel-like little face still turning every now and then as he sat with the McKay twins.
“Not really,” Placing your cup of water down on the floor, you sent Fez a small smile, “I’ll be right back.”
Although you could feel Fez’s eyes on you as you walked over to the younger boy, you refused to turn around, and instead, you held eye contact with the boy ahead, “Wes. A word?"
The McKay twins turned, watching the encounter as Wes blew out a puff of smoke, "Whatever you say, sweetheart."
When it was clear he wasn’t going to move his ass, you grumbled, grabbing him by the ear and quite literally pulling him away from his friends. When you were far enough away from their nosy little ears, you turned on him.
"What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I was invited-”
“By Daniel? I’m pretty fucking sure you weren’t.”
“No, by Troy and Roy. Shit, did you have to drag me away like that.” He moaned, attempting to soothe his sore ear.
“Look, Kat’s here, and I know damn well she wouldn’t want to see you. The shit you pulled? You’re fucking sick, man.”
“Shit, send a girl to public school, and suddenly she cops a conscious? It’s like I don’t know you anymore,” he smirked.
He might’ve only been a junior, but damn did you want to backhand the little prick, “Get your shit and go. Seriously, before she sees you.”
Turning to march away, his voice stopped you dead in your tracks, “You know, Liam asks about you sometimes. My cousin said he still bangs on about you every now and then. I thought I recognized you at the last party. Drugged out on someone’s sofa… Definitely your style, right? But I wasn’t sure. What I am sure of, is that Liam would be very interested to know you’re here, not even an hour away.”
You were certain you could feel the blood in your veins thicken and chill, slowly crawling through your veins and causing your heart to somehow both beat erratically and stop altogether.
Spinning around, your eyes flashed with fire, “This isn’t a fucking joke, Wes-”
“I’m not fucking laughing.” He told you, stepping closer, forcing himself into your personal space.
His eyes darted behind you before he quickly stepped back with a sardonic smile, his eyes taking in your body before he spoke,
“It was nice to catch up. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.”
You watched him with bated breath as he made his way back towards the McKay twins.
“Everythin’ good?”
Fezco’s voice was soft, almost as if he was scared you’d flee like a scared animal. When you didn’t respond, he placed a hand on your back and gently led you to the sofa.
“You sure you don’t wanna hit? I don’t even know where Rue is no more.”
You wanted to rub your hand over your face but stopped just in time to keep your make-up intact, “I don’t think weed is gonna do shit for me tonight, Fez.”
He remained quiet for a moment, fully aware that the tone of the night had changed. Your eyes kept darting towards the group of younger boys, rowdy and loud as they puffed out clouds of smoke.
“That your sworn enemy or somethin’?” He joked, lighting up another joint.
“Hmm?” Snapping out of your thoughts, you turned to Fez, eyebrows raised.
“You been starin’ at him like you tryin’ to set him on fire with your mind.”
Sending him a feeble smile, your fingers began to toy with the hem of your skirt, “His cousin went to my old school. He was uh, good friends with an ex.”
“Oh shit. It bad?”
Watching the smoke that fell from his mouth, you took a moment to really think about it. The world wasn’t black and white, and neither was your previous relationship. It was full of grey, too.
It was good. Sometimes. Especially in the beginning. But isn’t that always how the story goes? That’s how people like that get their claws in you. Because if they were an asshole from day one, you’d never entertain them in the first place.
But the bad times?
Holy fucking hell, they were bad.
“I mean, he’s an ex for a reason, right?” You mumbled, inspecting your fingernails.
Fez said no more, his eyes soft as they watched you fidget. Placing his hand over yours to halt their movements.
“My Grandma, she uh… She always told me not to fall in love, you know? Said it’s the one instinct you can’t trust.”
Cocking your head, you blinked a few times, taking in the words he’d said, “Surely you don’t believe that?”
Fez shrugged his shoulders, “Never really had anyone to prove her wrong.”
“So what, you just… Don’t date? Just on the off chance you’ll fall in love?”
Even in the low light, you could see Fez’s cheeks burn a bright pink, “I mean, I ain’t never really had time for it, you know?”
You watched Fez as he continued playing with your fingers, both your hands resting on your lap. He only looked up once your hand squeezed his.
“You doin’ well tonight,” Fez peered up at you through his long lashes, clarifying when your brow furrowed, “The whole stayin’ sober thing. It was nice to actually be able to converse wit’ you at a party for once.”
“Yeah well… Don’t get used to it.” You sent him a feeble smile, suddenly feeling bashful under his denim blue gaze, “I’m much more fun when I’m unconscious.”
He let out a huff of laughter, watching as your eyes twinkled in the low outdoor lighting, “You really not enjoying tonight?”
A loud laugh from the other side of the garden pulled your attention away, and Fez watched as your smile dropped, watching the group of kids from earlier smoking a joint as a group of girls joined them, “I was.”
“Yo, you uh… you wanna get outta here or somethin’?”
Turning your attention back to him, you sent Fez a timid smile, “Sure. Let me just go find Rue, make sure she’s OK first.”
You pushed your way through the crowd, eyes darting around as you tried to find Rue. Eventually, you spotted her, standing next to a panic-stricken Jules, the two staring out into the crowd. Before you could make your way over to them, a large hand clamped down on your shoulder,
“Hey, can I have a word?”
Turning, you lifted a brow at Nate, unsure of why, or how he was at the party. Especially with Maddy standing only a few feet away sipping on a drink. As you tilted your head towards the girl, she dropped her eyes, refusing to make contact with yours. Unsure of what you’d done wrong, you returned your attention back to the boy and nodded, allowing him to maneuver you through the waves of people.
He walked you towards the end of a hallway, past some people who were waiting for the bathroom, and into an empty bedroom.
“What’s up, Nate?”
He stood, leaning against the closed door for a moment, watching you in silence. Although you’d both seemingly put any hostility behind you, you couldn’t help but feel yourself cower slightly under his cold gaze. Any understanding between you both had seemingly vanished.
“Maddy told me you’d spoken to her.”
Shaking your head a little, you tried to recall the conversation you’d had with the girl, “Uh, I mean yeah… I don’t understand why-”
“You’re right, you don’t understand. You’ve been here what, a couple of months? You don’t know me, or Maddy, or anything about our relationship,” Nate pushed off the door, moving into your personal space and backing you up against a chest of drawers on the other side of the room, “For everyone’s sake, I’d butt out.”
“I know you think you have some kind of hold over her, but one day Maddy is gonna realize that you’re a piece of shit, Nate.” You did your best to hold his eye contact, but you couldn’t help the tremble in your voice.
A malignant smile pulled at his lips, his dark eyes raked over your face, “It’s sweet that you’re trying to look out for her, really. But I think the last thing Maddy needs is advice from some pill-popping junkie, who got kicked out of private school because she was so high she tried to throw herself off the roof.”
“You don’t know shit.” Your chin wobbled as you tried to keep from crying.
“You know, you private school kids are all the fucking same. Offer up some drugs, and they love to fucking squeal.” Tucking your hair behind your ear, Nate’s other hand was placed on the drawers next to your body, caging you in.
“If you don’t want your business getting out,” Nate’s hand dropped from your hair, grabbing your jaw as he turned your face up towards him forcefully, “Then I suggest you stay out of mine.”
His face was so close, you could smell the alcohol on his breath and you finally couldn’t hold in the tears any longer. He pushed off you, finally making his way out of the room.
Your chest heaved, feeling like you hadn’t been able to take a real breath since you stepped inside the bedroom.
Tears were streaming down your cheeks as you pushed the door open, shoving your way through the crowd, your previous attempt at finding Rue now far from your mind.
She’d found you, though.
She was unsure of what happened between Jules and Nate, but the moment the blond saw him strut into the party like his shit didn’t stink, her whole demeanor changed. Rue didn’t know what was wrong with Jules, she’d been standoffish lately, but she knew whatever was running through the girl’s mind was about more than just her.
Before she could question the girl, the bedroom door swung open again, and Rue watched as you high-tailed out of there, tear stains down your cheeks as you forced your way through the dance-floor, and although Nate was now standing with Maddy again, his eyes were trained on you, a haughty smirk as he watched you leave.
He knew. Maybe not everything, but if there was one thing you’d learned about this shit-hole of a town it was that somehow, everything got out. Whether it was the truth, or not.
You could feel yourself spiraling. Vomit was crawling up your throat and that shitty voice inside your head that you’d managed to force down all these months was now loud and proud at the forefront.
The one telling you that you weren’t good enough. Because if you were, your Mom would’ve stayed, right? Your father wouldn’t fucking hate you, forced to find solace at the bottom of a bottle just to get away from his disappointment of a daughter.
A pill-popping junkie. An addict.
That’s what everyone thought of you, right? The moment you passed out on the couch at McKay’s party, the rumor was set in stone. But it was happening long before then. Pills were the least of your worries.
So if they already had this preconception of you, who the fuck were you to disappoint?
Pulling out your phone, you dialed a number that you’d unfortunately never forget. No matter how desperate, or high you were at the time.
Fez had grown tired of waiting for you to come back and had decided to just go find you himself.
At first, he was worried maybe something had happened between Jules and Rue, and that’s why it had taken so long to say goodbye, but when he saw the two of them together, Jules seemingly sobered up, a frown settled on his face.
Gaining Rue’s attention, he’d asked her where you’d gone.
“I uh, I’m not sure. I think she left.”
Rue wasn’t sure why she didn’t tell Fez exactly what she’d seen. Maybe she was still trying to comprehend it in her own mind. In fact, what had she seen?
Either way, she was a little too distracted by Jules’ sudden shift in disposition to concentrate on more than one person at a time.
“Ay, what’s her number? I’ll try to ring her.”
And he did. Multiple times. Each and every time, your phone simply rang and rang, until he was connected to your voicemail.
He tried not to worry too much; you were stone-cold sober and able to make a conscious decision. Maybe the night had just taken its toll, and somewhere between trying to find Rue and pushing your way through the crowd, you’d said fuck it and left. You didn’t have his number, so he tried not to take it personally.
As he took one last look around the crowded room, his eyes met Nate Jacobs. He sent Fez a cocky smile, watching from the other side of the room, but shit… That wasn’t any of his business.
I found the Devil, I found him in a lover, And his lips like tangerines, and his color coded speak, Now we’re lost somewhere in outer space, In a hotel room where demons play, They run around beneath our feet, We roll around beneath these sheets
Summary: New to town, you didn’t need a friend, you needed a dealer. Thankfully, a girl from your Narcotics Anonymous meetings knew just the guy.
Characters: Fezco (euphoria) x Non-descriptive Reader
Words:2,001
Chapter Warnings: Comments referring to drug use, comments referring to dub-con, comments referring to violence/abuse
Series Warnings: Addiction, sexual themes, cursing, abuse (various), smut, drug use, teenagers being fucking idiots. 18+ only, minors DNI
After your weekend come down from the molly Aaron Jacob’s had bought for you, you really, really didn’t need to be sat in principal Hayes’s office, repeating your weekend fun to him.
“So you understand why you were called in here?”
Fiddling with your backpack strap you shrugged.
“It’s come to my attention you were seen at the Jacob’s chili tent when an incident between Miss Perez and Mr. Jacobs occurred. Now, do you know why Maddy and Nate were fighting?”
“I barely saw either of them all night.”
“But you did see them at the chili tent, correct?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“And what happened?”
You exhaled deeply before rubbing your palm over your clammy forehead. You hadn’t moved from bed on Sunday, and you were really feeling your come down, even now.
“I dunno, OK? She pushed over some chili, Nate grabbed her and pulled her away. That’s all I saw.”
“And his brother, Aaron Jacobs; you were spotted with him that night. He didn’t say anything about-”
You almost laughed, “I barely know him. We went our separate ways right after Maddy and Nate left."
Either Principal Hayes was satisfied by your answer, or he’d realized you weren’t much help, and he dismissed you from his office.
In truth, you hadn’t even seen Maddy or Nate today. You were right in the ass-end of withdrawal to be able to pay attention to either. You were barely aware of what lessons you’d attended, let alone who else was there. Pulling out your phone, you could’ve cried.
It wasn’t even lunch.
Heavy footsteps alerted Fez to someone’s arrival in the store, his head turning from where he sat at the register.
Eyebrows raising, he watched your tired body as it slumped next to him, all but ready to push him off the table and curl up like a cat.
"Ain’t you got a class to be at?”
Barely mumbling out a cohesive reply, you scooted yourself up next to him, resting your hoody-covered head on his shoulder, “I think I’m dying.”
“Dying, really?”
“Yeah. Really, really slowly.”
Fez rolled his eyes, before grabbing the joint he kept behind his ear, placing it in his mouth and lighting up, “You just crashin’. You’ll be fine. When was the last time you ate?”
He hopped off the table, causing you to send him a glare – you were barely able to keep yourself upright without his assistance – whilst he made his way towards the fridges. Grabbing a can of soda and a bag of chips as he passed them, he handed them to you before sitting back down, allowing you to replace your head.
“Take them, you’ll feel better.”
It may seem dramatic, but you could’ve cried, “The last thing I want to do right now is eat.”
“I ain’t giving you more-”
“Calm down, I don’t need anymore. I still have some at home.”
You could feel Fez’s blue eyes watching you from his peripheral, and almost feel his judgment from where you were sat, “Chill out, I can’t exactly turn up to my NA meeting rolling.”
“What time you gotta be there?”
“Uh, Monday nights are earlier, 6.30 I think.”
Fez took the soda from you, cracking it open and taking a sip whilst you fished out your beeping phone from your backpack. Opening the message, you read and reread it a few times before sighing and throwing it back into the bag.
“Lemme guess, not the guy from the carnival?”
Taking the can of coke from him, you sent him a small, half-hearted glare, “Actually, it was.”
“Oh yeah, what he want?”
Swallowing down a few sugary gulps, you watched Fez as he watched you, unblinking.
Handing him back the can, you sighed, “It’s not really your business, Dad.”
“It is my business when I’m told someone buys my drugs, gives it to a girl, stays totally sober, and then I find them fallin’ outta an alleyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” You didn’t intend to get so annoyed but shit, the drop in serotonin was playing fucking havoc with you right now. Forget the ‘Terrible Tuesday’ you were experiencing ’Moody-Bitch Monday’.
“All I know is ain’t nothin’ good coming from a one-sided-sober hookup.”
“Oh my god, are you really going to try to slut-shame me-”
“Ain’tyou I’m shamin’.”
Fez pushed himself off the table, opening the bag of chips and handing them to you once more before quietly reshuffling the shelves.
Realizing it wasn’t a battle you were going to win, you cautiously nibbled at a potato chip as you watched him silently work. After taking another sip of the coke, you finally broke the silence,
“He was just asking about whether the police asked to speak to me.”
That got his attention.
“What the police wanna speak to you ‘bout?”
“Nothing drug-related, god, don’t have a fucking coronary. They didn’t even speak to me, just thought I might’ve witnessed something at the carnival. But I didn’t so… end of story.”
As you sat and continued to nibble at the snack, you watched Fez work wordlessly. You had to think; was your working here really paying him back?
Sure, he didn’t pay you, there was no exchange of money on either side, so you couldn’t be certain, but the store was never exactly busy, it almost seemed stupid to have two staff on, as Fez was always at the store when you were, and failing that; Ash was.
Did it really take two of you to stack a couple shelves and restock some cans of soda? It barely took 5 minutes to sweep and mop the floors. Surely, Fez was at best level on the money, and at worst; Still down a couple hundred bucks from whatever he paid Mouse.
4 days later, you were still feeling the comedown from the molly as you slouched in your chair watching as Rue stood proud – and probably mildly embarrassed – as she told the rest of the group about her lies. By now though, she was 13 days sober, and she was certain that was because of Jules.
Even though you sent her a timid smile, you couldn’t help but think that her sobriety shouldn’t, and more importantly couldn’t rely on someone else. You had to forcefully swallow the lump that had formed in your throat as you watched her from your own seat of deceits.
Sure, you hadn’t technically lied to any of the group. You’d never told them your sob story, nor how long you had – or hadn’t – been sober. Didn’t want them prying into your relapses. If they could even be called that, anymore.
But you still dutifully collected your ’X days sober’ chips. Thanked the group with a shy smile as they congratulated you. Shit, for a bunch of ex-addicts you were almost astonished that they hadn’t been able to see you were in the vast stages of a comedown.
And if they did notice, nobody had the balls to call you out on it. Nobody, except Ali, at least.
He was yet to straight-up call you a bullshitter, but he knew. And he knew that you knew.
Which was exactly why – still bundled in an over-sized jumper that may, or may not, have been the one Fez had lent to you weeks prior – you avoided his dark, all-knowing eyes and darted from the hall before he could hook his talons in.
Since Friday meetings were later, you had originally planned to just head home, check in on your father and then crash for the rest of the night, but a speeding black car halted your plans when it nearly ran you over, the breaks screeching as the car came to a sudden halt.
You were all but ready to scream out at the asshole when you recognized who the driver actually was. You made your way closer to the now stationary car and knocked on the passenger window.
It only took a few seconds, but Maddy pressed the button to wind it down.
“Uh, You know you almost killed me back there, right?”
“You were the one on the road.” She huffed, only at half her usual level of sass.
Sighing, you took a moment to really look at her. Eyes red and puffy from crying, tear stains not even dry on her cheeks, “You look like shit.”
She turned her attention towards you, her sad eyes peering over your frame just the same, “Yeah, well so do you.”
“Touche. So, what were you doing that was so captivating that you almost turned me into roadkill?”
Sighing, Maddy returned her attention to her phone that she’d shoved back on her lap, “I was calling Kat. I just… Shit, I don’t know. She’s busy, and Cassie is like, 30 fucking minutes away at McKay’s and I don’t have anyone else that I can talk to.”
You watched her as she started to cry, her chest heaving as sobs forced their way up her throat. Unsure of what to do, you opened the passenger door and slid in. Once you were close enough, you pulled Maddy into your arms, rubbing her back as her body racked in pain.
It didn’t take her long to calm herself down, and even though her whimpers had ceased, her tears seemed almost endless, a constant on her waterline, ready to escape at any given chance.
She was quietly driving back to your house, her cheeks feeling like they were on fire from embarrassment. It wasn’t like you two were friends; you barely even knew each other. Yet here you were, sat in her car that was parked outside of your house as she tried to keep herself composed.
You fiddled with the cuffs of the jumper for a moment, eyes unfocused as your forced yourself to remain present, “Listen, Maddy. I know you’ve probably heard from everyone and their fuckin’ mother about how Nate isn’t a good guy or whatever.
I don’t really know him, shit, I don’t really know you either. But I know that whatever happened to you, is fuckin’ traumatizing, especially if it’s done by someone you love, and nobody is doubting how much you love him. But if he put his hands on you then… He needs help. Like real, psychiatric help, because you don’t do that shit to someone you love. That isn’t passion, it’s abuse. If he did put his hands on you, then it’s only the beginning, and it’s all downhill from here, Maddy.”
Your eyes darted towards your house, grateful that the lights were off and your father was seemingly asleep and hopefully sober.
When you returned your attention back to Maddy, her eyes were flitting between yourself, and your house. She didn’t utter a word but sent a tremulous smile your way instead.
Getting out of the car, you leaned over the rolled-down window, “You can stay the night, you know if you don’t wanna go home.”
Maddy was about to respond before a text from Cassie came through. Scanning the message, she couldn’t help the broad smile that tugged at her lips. She quickly downloaded the app Cassie had mentioned before replying, “Oh uh, that’s OK. But thank you. Really. It was nice to just talk and you know… not be judged or told what to do.”
You nodded, before standing and patting the roof of her car, “See you later, Maddy.”
You knew she was most likely driving somewhere to meet Nate, and you just hoped she’d be OK. You knew first-hand how much people trying to force your hand only made you dig your heels in deeper.
High school boyfriends weren’t the be-all and end-all of toxic relationships. But as you peeked your head into your father’s room, watching as his chest rose and fell, you realized you and Maddy were both loyal to the people you loved.
I’m fucked up, I’m black and blue, I’m built for it, all the abuse, I got secrets, that nobody, Nobody, nobody knows, I’m good on, that pussy shit, I don’t want, what I can get, I want someone, with secrets, That nobody, nobody, Nobody knows.
Summary: New to town, you didn’t need a friend, you needed a dealer. Thankfully, a girl from your Narcotics Anonymous meetings knew just the guy.
Characters: Fezco (euphoria) x Non-descriptive Reader
Words: 3,886
Chapter Warnings: Drug abuse, sexual themes (but baby i am so sorry it is not with who you think), dub-con KINDA i guess? reference to physical abuse
Series Warnings: Addiction, sexual themes, cursing, abuse (various), smut, drug use, teenagers being fucking idiots. 18+ only, minors DNI
Staring at your reflection in the mirror of your vanity table, you applied one last swipe of lip gloss before standing and straightening out your outfit.
You hadn’t delved into that side of your wardrobe since you’d arrived here, confident that you were leaving that part of you behind.
But tonight was the yearly carnival, and if you didn’t dress up for it, then when would you? At your first East Highland party, you’d shown up in jeans and a hoody… So you swallowed the nervous lump that had tried to settle in your throat, grabbed the brown paper bag that you were hoping to surprise the boys with, and made your way downstairs.
Your father sat on the couch, flicking through TV channels as you came down the stairs. Timidly, you called out for him, garnering his attention.
Turning, he only met your eyes for a beat before he turned his head away in shame, “You heading out?”
“Uh, yeah. Just to the carnival. You sure you don’t want to come?” You grabbed your jacket from the peg, putting it on as you watched him continue to aimlessly scan through channels.
“No, I don’t wanna cramp your style. You go, have a fun time with your friends. You deserve it, kiddo.”
Playing with the cuff of your jacket, you watched him for a moment, switching your weight between each foot, “What are your plans for the night?”
You heard him sigh, mildly annoyed with your hesitance to leave, but he understood. He always did, when he was sober.
“I’m just gonna find something on TV, maybe order in. You want me to get you anything?”
You placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a brief squeeze, “No, I’m good. They have food stalls there.”
Your father nodded, returning his attention to the TV, “Alright well, uh… I won’t wait up, but don’t be back too late.”
You made your way through the carnival, the bright lights, and screams from the Gravitron filled your senses, and by the time you found Fez and Ash, a wide grin had settled across your lips.
“Hey boys,” You grinned, making your way into their pretzel stand, “You ready for tonight?”
“Should be good. Let’s get this money.”
“Oh, wait! I got something.” You opened the bag, pulled out two hats, and handed one to Ash, the smile never leaving your face even when he refused to take it.
“The fuck is that?”
Ash stared at you like you’d grown another head as you placed the cap over his head, “It’s a hat.”
“I know it’s a fucking hat, but what the fuck is it?”
“Pretzel Mania, right? You wanna front as an official business, you may as well look the part.” You winked at him, placing the other hat on your own head.
Ash glared at you for a moment but kept the hat on nonetheless.
“You didn’t get one for me?” Fez asked, pretending to be put out.
“You’re not working the shop. So no.” You told him with nothing more than a brief smile as you inspected your nails.
Shaking his head, Fez said his goodbyes, before passing through the crowd to find a good spot to wait.
An hour later, you were sat at the front of the shop watching as the Gravitron span around, screams echoing throughout the large carnival. You’d seen a few kids from school – Maddy and Cassie purchased some Molly – but stayed with Ash, occasionally handing out some pretzels to the unsuspecting adults.
But you were getting bored. It really didn’t need more than one person manning the small pretzel store, and you’d spent most of the time there swinging your legs back and forth sighing, causing Ash to grumble.
“If you’re bored, why don’t you just go enjoy the carnival?”
You continued watching the swirling lights, hearing loud laughter from the Ferris wheel, “I said I’d help you guys out.”
“I don’t really need you holdin’ my hand as I pass out pretzels. Seriously, just go have fun. It’s cool.”
“Yeah, somehow riding the Gravitron alone doesn’t sound all that fun, or cool.”
“I’ll ride with you.”
Both yours and Ash’s heads snapped around, staring at the stranger who sent you an almost bashful smile.
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
Your eyes gazed over the tall stranger, his dark hair making his blue eyes stand out more, “Oh, uh my names Aaron.”
You were silent as you watched him for a moment, your face pensive as he pushed his hands further into his pockets.
“You here to buy?” Ash asked, his brow lowered as he too watched the guy.
“Uh, I was looking at the pretzels. Kinda sick of the chili, you know?”
Your thoughts were interrupted by more screaming in the distance, making up your mind. Jumping from the small window ledge and next to the stranger, you sent him a brazen smirk, “Fine, Aaron. You gonna win me a prize?”
You turned, ignoring the pointed look Ash was sending you, and smiled innocently at the boy, “Hey Ash, any chance I can get something before I go?”
Rolling his eyes at you, he let out an exasperated sigh, “Depends. You got the money?”
“Wanna maybe put it on my tab?” Tipping your head to the side, you hoped Ash would be susceptible to your puppy dog eyes.
He wasn’t. "I don’t do tabs. $20, or scram.“
Prepared to turn around and march off in the other direction, you were quickly stopped by a hand on your wrist, "I’ll pay.”
Cocking a brow at the guy, you freed your wrist from his grasp, “You sure?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s no problem. Pretty girls deserve what they want, right?” Digging through his pocket, he pulled out a $20 bill.
“Only one?” Ash questioned, his face still frowning.
“Yeah. I’m good, thanks.” Handing over the $20 bill, Aaron kept his eyes on you.
Ash studied him for a moment, before handing you the pretzel. Taking out the powder, you handed the snack to Aaron before sending a quick thanks to Ash.
“Hey, just remember, you need anything, Fez is out there, alright?”
You nodded before ripping off your cap and throwing it towards where your jacket was laying on the side, more than eager to snort some of the powder. Dragging Aaron behind the closest trailer, you promptly opened the little baggy, sticking your finger in to get enough powder on your nail and breathing it in.
Somewhere between Aaron telling you about dropping out of college, and you talking about your move to East Highland the molly hit you.
“You wanna go get some chili?”
Your face melted into a content, easy smile before you grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the Gravitron, “No.”
Even though you were strapped into the ride, you were convinced you were flying. The wind blew through your hair, and the sheer force of the ride made your lungs feel compressed like you couldn’t quite catch your breath.
But it felt fucking marvelous.
Closing your eyes as the world around you was spinning, you never wanted to get off. If you could stay on this ride – this high – for the rest of your life, you’d agree in a heartbeat.
Aaron had grown a little bored after the 3rd time and instead insisted on letting other people have a turn, dragging you as you pouted at him.
But your body still shook with adrenaline, goosebumps forming down your arms as your legs tried to re-adapt to the ground.
You linked your arms with him, giggling as you allowed him to pull you away from the rides. Pushing your way through the crowd, you finally stopped once you’d reached an alleyway between a few of the trailers.
Leaning against one of the trailers, you chuckled a few times, trying to catch your breath.
“Do you uh, do this often?”
Your eyes were sealed shut, enjoying the colors that whizzed past, and you were sure you could hear them, too. Maybe even taste them, if you tried hard enough.
“Not always. But I do fucking lovemolly.”
Aaron stood next to you, watching as your chest heaved, eyes closed and your face held the most joyful smile. Your head nodded a little, dancing along to a tune only your ears were attuned to.
“How does it make you feel?”
“Free. I feel like… Like everything is good. Everything is good, you know? I feel so good.”
You could sense his body moving closer to yours, his warmth pressing into your arm as he bent down a little to whisper into your ear, “I could make you feel good, too.”
A soft chortle escaped your lips, “Oh yeah? I’m not so sure, big guy.”
Your eyes remained closed as his lips connected to yours, a little rough but full of hunger. Passion. Want.
His body shifted in front of yours causing him to tower over you as you gripped his shirt. Pulling him by the lapels of his brown jacket, he pressed his body close to your own, caging you against the trailer.
His kisses remained eager, moving from your lips, down across the span of your neck as he sucked a little too harshly, causing you to hiss out, jerking away. Getting the hint, he refrained from leaving any marks on your neck, his lips instead grazing over your pulse as his hand wandered down the side of your body, pushing up the hem of your skirt a little.
His fingers danced along the expanse of your thigh before finally settling on your lace underwear. Upon hearing your wanton moan, Aaron pulled them to the side, one finger pushing into you before he quickly added another giving you no time to adjust, lips finding yours again in hopes to stifle your moans.
He would never be prepared for the shit his father would give him if he were to be caught hiding at the carnival, knuckle deep inside of a girl he’d met barely a few hours ago.
Your body was filled with nothing but pure, unadulterated delight as you chased your end, lips barely able to keep up with Aaron’s as he continued to place fervent kisses on your almost swollen lips.
Just before you hit your high, your tongue darted across his lips, tasting him.
Pretzel. That’s what he tasted of.
Your mind wandered, still a little hazy from the molly and the upcoming orgasm, thinking of how the previous evening you’d helped Fez bake a shit ton of pretzels.
Well, you’d reheated packs of them that he’d bought in bulk, but still.
Aaron’s lips tasted of the warm, baked dough that filled the kitchen whenever you or Fez opened the oven up to check if they were browned enough.
With that memory at the forefront of your mind, you dived headfirst into pleasure, your shaking legs struggling to hold you up.
Aaron wiped his fingers on the front of his trousers, hoping that by now the tent that had formed in the front of his jeans was less evident.
Sure, he might’ve hoped you’d repay the favor, but the sheer bliss from your orgasm and the molly had you in an almost euphoric state, full of lazy smiles and doe eyes, and you’d delved back into the little baggy for another hit, grabbing his hand and stumbling out of the alleyway before he’d even had time to mention it.
Your legs wobbled a little as Aaron tried to calm you down, hushing your giggles by placing delicate kisses against your lips, his hand attempting to fix your skirt.
“Yo, she alright?”
Fez’s familiar monotonous voice filled your ears, causing you to send him a wide smile as your Bambi legs carried you towards him, still pulling Aaron along with you.
“Fezco, I have to say, your choice in molly is…” Unable to find the right word, you simply sent him a chef’s kiss before placing your hand on his face.
Fez was well aware that molly could have those kinds of effects on people, but he was certain if there was a real-life equivalent of heart eyes from the animated cartoons his brother watched, it would be you at this moment.
Your pupils were dilated – unaffected by the bright flashing lights – as they tried to focus on his own eyes, but they roamed his face almost involuntarily, your hand moving from cupping his cheek to stroking his ginger beard.
“How much she took?” He asked, leaving your hand to explore his face as his eyes darted to the man he’d just seen you pull from between some trailers.
“Uh, just two hits. She’s fine, really,” Aaron turned you a little, bending down to speak quietly, “I really need to get back to my parent’s stall. You wanna come with? I’ll get you some free chili?”
Your whole body twisted away from Fez, Aaron now your sole focus, “I love chili.”
Fez watched as the guy lead you away, back towards the food section of the carnival, a concerned frown settling on his brow.
You perched on one of the folding chairs in the middle of the tent, practically inhaling the chili as you continued to praise it to Aaron’s mother.
“We’ve won 5 years in a row. We’re hoping this year will be the 6th.”
Nodding along, you sent her a wide grin, “Oh, totally. It’s in the bag. Really, this is delicious.”
Marsha moved closer to her husband, a timid hand on his arm. The man flinched slightly as if her touch burned him before sending her a smile and moving away to stir the chili.
“So,” Cal began, turning his attention towards you, “How long have you known Aaron?”
“We’re…new friends.” You told him, stifling a giggle, causing Aaron’s cheeks to redden a little as he avoided eye contact with his father.
“Really? See, I would’ve thought that a young, pretty little thing like you would’ve been much more… interested… in my son, Nate.”
“Dad, c'mon.” Nate rubbed the back of his neck, keeping his head low.
“No, I mean, he’s dating Maddy, right?”
Nate sighed, knowing where this conversation would lead.
Cal’s eyes darkened a little, his disdain for the girl was palpable, “Yes, well. She’s just a phase we’re all ardently awaiting to conclude. He’ll grow out of it. Eventually.”
Eyeing the man over the cup of chili, you sent the man a skeptical look, “Really? I mean, Maddy seems like a pretty sweet girl.”
“Just ignore him, you won’t change his mind, believe me.” Aaron took the now empty cup from you, throwing it in the bin, “So uh, can I get your number?”
Sending him a playful smile, you pushed your hand into his front pocket, pulling out his phone. He didn’t have a lock, so you opened up the contacts list, and added your number.
“Guys, c'mon! They’re going to announce the winner.” Marsha smiled, ignoring the tension that suddenly surrounded you all.
Of course, they won. It would be almost blasphemous if they didn’t.
You sat, still perched in your chair as Maddy approached the family, yelling something about being a hooker.
“Maddy, get out of-”
Nate was interrupted by the large pot of chili being knocked off the side, splattering all over the floor. Maddy, clearly quite happy with herself, kept her eyes trained on Nate’s, “Oops.”
“What in God’s name is your problem?” Marsha yelled.
“You, cunt.”
Marsha looked around, her wide eyes searching both her husband and eldest son’s face, but didn’t have time to respond as Nate was already pulling Maddy away.
The crowd remained hushed, nobody daring to break the silence.
Turning towards you with eyes full of amusement, Aaron leaned down, whispering in your ear, “Sweet girl, right?”
Looking at the chili that steamed away on the floor, you turned your attention back to him, “Do I have to help clean this up?”
Taking a sip from his beer can, Aaron shook his head, “Probably better you head off. I’ll text you later.”
Grinning, you pushed yourself up, placing a sloppy kiss against his lips before taking your exit.
Stumbling around, you almost lost your footing as you were shoulder bumped by someone rushing by. The girl turned, an apology on the tip of her tongue when she realized it was you,
“Shit, you alright?”
“Rue!” You grinned, grabbing the girl around the neck and pulling her in for a hug, “I am so good.”
“Great, alright. OK. Have you seen Gia, my sister?”
You pondered the idea for a moment but shook your head, “No but uh, I can help you look for her?”
“That would be great. Uh, text me if you find her. Stay safe, alright?”
Rue rushed off, shouting for her sister, and had already passed by the Ferris wheel by the time you’d realized you had no idea who Rue’s sister even was.
So you bumbled around, yelling out her name and hoping that Rue would at least find her.
Walking backward as you watched the Ferris wheel slowly rotate, you were almost knocked to the ground when you hit the sturdy wall behind you.
Except it wasn’t a wall.
“Shit, you alright?”
You were about to tell him what you were doing there, certain there was something you should’ve probably asked him, but the Ferris wheel distracted you once more, the feminine shouts garnering your attention.
“Hey Fez, you wanna go on that with me?”
He observed you for a moment, before sighing, “Nah, I don’t think that’s very safe.”
“Oh c'mon, Fez. Don’t tell me the big, bad dealer is afraid of heights-”
Fez pulled your wobbling frame closer to him, moving you out of the way of a group of rambunctious pre-teens, “I don’t mean that. I mean you goin’ on it, strung out on shit. Who you even get it from, thought you didn’t have no money?”
Patting his chest with your hand, a small giggle escaped you as you lowered your voice as if you were telling him some dark, hidden secret, “My friend got me it. It’s OK, though. I gave him the pretzel.”
Fez wouldn’t lie, he didn’t trust the guy as far as he could throw him. He didn’t like the idea of someone supplying you with drugs, even if they were originally from his stash, “You know that was real stupid, right? You don’t even know him-”
Interrupting Fez, you sighed deeply, looking into the crowd, “I’m sure he’d go on the Ferris wheel with me.”
Sending you an unamused look, Fez stubbed out his cigarette in defeat, “Fine. But only so your dumb ass don’t fall out and get killed.”
The rickety wheel didn’t seem at all safe, but from your little corner of heaven, you barely noticed, “Did you have a good night?”
Swallowing and trying his best not to look down, or listen too much to the creaking noises, Fez shrugged, “Business was good, always is at these types of things.”
Turning to face him a little too quickly for his liking, you sent him a glare, “God Fez. That’s not what I meant. Did you have fun? Eat some cotton candy and shit? Not just work.”
“Not everyone has the privilege to go to this shit for fun.”
An idea formulated in your mind, sending you into a fit of giggles as you excitedly jumped around in your seat,
*Ay, shit. Sit the fuck down, you’re gonna tip it.“
Leaning one knee on the seat, you raised yourself up, hands placed on his shoulders as you continued to giggle. Fez, however, had no intention of dying that night, and he quickly shoved you back down to a seated position, albeit this time a little closer to him, just in case.
Leaning your head back, your laughter had subsided a little, your chest vibrating with a silent chortle.
Feeling his eyes on you, you turned your head, watching as the white and red lights on the frame softly lit his face.
Scooting over so your thigh was pressed against his own, you rested your head on Fez’s shoulder, watching as the fireworks lit up the sky, bursting with colors you were sure you’d never seen before.
Your voice was quiet, and if you weren’t sat so close together, it would’ve been totally drowned out by the noisy fireworks, "I have an idea.”
Fez looked down at you, a cocked eyebrow being the only hint of curiosity.
“You think Ash will shut up shop early?”
“Not a god damn chance.”
Less than 10 minutes later, you were wide-eyed, staring in awe at the lights on each booth you passed, sipping on a blue slushy that you were sharing with Fez. You’d convinced Ash to close shop, offering to help with the clean-up, easily his least favorite part of the night. Patting him on the shoulder, you pointed over to the booth once you had his attention,
“Nah, that’s for babies.”
You couldn’t control the laugh that escaped you. Sometimes you forgot Ash was practically grown. But sometimes, you also forgot he was just 14. You weren’t sure which hurt your heart more.
“Hey, look. If your aim is shit, there’s no harm in just saying so. Ain’t gotta be a pussy about it.”
Your words had goaded him, and within moments he was shooting down targets that were strapped to ducks.
The owner of the booth rang a bell when his time was up, announcing he’d won. Ash began to wave off the prize, not really interested in some stupid teddy bear.
Cutting him off, however, you asked the man for the bear that was wearing a boxing getup. Ash wouldn’t accept the bear, refusing to carry it around the rest of the carnival, so you clung to it as if your life depended on it.
Once the clearing up had been done, you sat in the backseat of Fez’s car, your ears still thumping from the noisy carnival sounds that you could no longer hear.
Pulling up outside your house, Fez looked over the unlit building as you struggled to unbelt yourself. It was quiet, but that didn’t always mean safe, “You gonna be alright?”
“I’ll be fine, Fez.” You smirked, leaning over the console to place a kiss on his cheek, repeating the same on Ash’s before grabbing your jacket, climbing out of the car, and all but skipping up the path.
The two boys watched as you moved a large flower pot from near the front door, grabbing the spare key and letting yourself in. Waiting just a few more moments, the boys watched as your bedroom light turned on, Ash spoke up, “Whoever’s in that house… They do that to her face?”
Fez grumbled, starting up the car again as he pulled away from your house. Ash would take that as a yes.
“Fuckin’ asshole.”
Glancing behind him as he watched the house fade into the distance, his attention was pulled to the backseat where the stupid, childish boxer teddy sat in your previous seat.
He’d keep it safe, and give it to you when he inevitably saw you next, Ash told himself when he placed the bear on his bed once they’d arrived home.
As Fez rolled up outside your house, all the lights were off except one.
At first, you weren’t sure what your neighbor was doing, standing outside your front door at midnight, banging their fists against the door and shouting. But as you pushed open the car door – oblivious to Fez doing the same thing next to you – you could hear the irate shouts that belonged to your father, along with the smashing of glass and the banging of objects being thrown around the room.
You’d seen this before, more times than you cared to admit. On occasion, your father would drink his own body weight in alcohol before tearing the house apart. He’d destroy everything in his path with little regard, looking for some kind of sign.
He’d never explain what exactly he was looking for, what he expected to find… He was far too drunk to be coherent and too full of shame by the morning to even speak on it.
So instead, you both bottled it up inside, and you’d spent the last few years walking on eggshells, hoping you wouldn’t toe a landmine and set him off.
At least volcanoes were predictable. Your father’s lava hot anger and grief burned too harshly, being much too volatile to foresee.
“Hey, what’s going on?” You asked your neighbor, feigning innocence. This was the first time he’d bear witness to your father’s temperamental outbursts and lack of consideration for anyone except himself.
The man turned on his heel, marching up to you in his slipper-clad feet, “What’s… What the fuck is going on? How the fuck would I know?! But you better tell him to shut the fuck up before I go in there myself and-”
“Ay, we get it, aight. We’ll sort it.”
Fez stepped next to you, his face stoic, but his eyes seemed a shade or two darker as he watched the man move back out of your personal space.
“Yeah, well… Make sure you do. Next time, I’ll be calling the cops. Or a fuckin’ psychiatric hospital.”
You made your way towards the door, dropping your keys in your haste before you even realized Fez was still behind you.
Turning quickly on your heel and causing him to step back a little, you sent him a tight, grim smile, “Thanks for the ride, Fez, but I can take it from here.”
A loud smash could be heard from above you, your father’s ranting and rambling becoming less coherent the louder he got.
Fez’s eyes darted between yours, and the brightly lit window above, before shaking his head, “Nah, ain’t happenin’. I ain’t leaving you here with this shit.”
Before you could argue back, a loud crash could be heard, and you darted inside the house and up the stairs towards your father’s room.
You shoved the bedroom door a few times, trying to unjam whatever it was stuck on, and squeezed through the gap. Inside, the bedroom was turned upside down; not a single piece of furniture was in its original place.
“Dad, you need to calm down-”
“Calm down? Fuck you. You calm down.” He was pacing around the room, eyes wide as he ran his hand through his hair repeatedly.
You knew Fez was behind you – you could feel the warmth of his body radiate as he stayed close to your back – watching the scene unfold. To an outsider, it probably looked like your dad had lost his mind.
But you knew what it was. He’d lost his heart.
“C'mon, dad. Next door said they’ll call the cops and-”
“Call them then,” he ranted, making his way towards the window and banging his fists against the glass, “Fucking call them!”
Certain he was going to put the glass through and really hurt himself if he continued, you stepped over the fallen furniture, glass crunching under your shoes as you made your way to him slowly.
Almost how you’d approach an injured, wild animal.
“You need to stop.” You tried to keep your voice low, but you heard it waver, coming out much more like a pleading whisper.
He finally turned, unfocused eyes taking a moment to find you, and grabbed at your arm, dragging you across the small distance between you. Your knees buckled, and you yelped as you felt a kneecap land on a broken picture frame.
Fez stepped forward, face uncertain as he watched, unsure of what was going on, “Hey man, get off her.”
Your father’s eyes snapped to Fez, his drunken mind unsure and untrusting of who he was. When his frenzied eyes turned back to you, you shook your head, “It’s OK, he’s a friend.”
Your father started shouting, and although you were unsure of what he was actually saying, you could tell by the look in his eyes that he felt betrayed.
He grabbed you by the hair, dragging you upwards to him, his blood-shot eyes and vodka breath only a few inches from your face.
Trying to force his way between the both of you, Fez shoved your father hard, causing him to let go of you and land against the dresser. In his drunken haze, your father rushed at him, fists swinging before connecting with what he thought was going to be the boy.
Instead, your father caught your nose, just as you side-stepped in front of Fez.
You couldn’t help the pained grunt that escaped your lips as you crumbled to the floor, eyes already watering as your hand darted up towards your nose feeling it begin to gush.
“Shit-” A wide-eyed Fez tried to make his way closer to you, but you held up a hand, stopping him in his path.
Your father’s anger quickly transformed into sorrow, his head in his hands as he began to sob.
Fez watched as you crossed the small space to him on your knees, disregarding the glass that littered the floor, and held him tightly to you, his body wracked with sobs. He still had no idea what was going on, but the helpless ’Why’s coming from your Father was enough to hurt his heart, too.
You rocked him back and forth, gently shushing him before Fez began to speak. You didn’t turn to face him, nor did you stop the soothing motion for your father. With a quiet, broken voice, you asked Fez to leave.
You had hardly slept.
After your father’s bender, you had finally settled him downstairs on the sofa before making your way to his room to begin to tidy.
A few hours later, you had turned all of the unbroken furniture upright, swept the glass, and placed the now broken photo frame inside the bedside table.
Your own eyes reflected back at you, only in someone much older.
No wonder your father could barely stand to look at you, some days you couldn’t even stomach your own reflection.
You were barely able to drag yourself into the shower, but you couldn’t deny feeling at least a little better afterward. You’d checked on your father before leaving for school that morning, leaving a glass of water and 2 Tylenol on the coffee table before grabbing your backpack and making your way out of the door.
“Holy shit, what happened to you?”
Even while sober, Rue lacked tact.
“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” You tried to shrug her off, but you knew how bad your face had looked in the bathroom mirror this morning. It was too tender to touch, so concealing it with make-up was a no-go.
“What the fuck happened between leaving last night, and this morning? Shit, you get jumped on the way home?”
“Rue,” you sighed, running a hand through your hair as you stopped in the middle of the hallway, “I am begging you, please, just drop it.”
She watched you for a moment, eyes full of uncertainty before she eventually nodded, “Fine. But uh, give me your phone.”
Your eyebrows furrowed, but you did as she asked, fishing your phone out of your pocket, unlocking it, and handing it to her. She fiddled with it for a moment before handing it back, “You got my number now. If you need anything, uh… just text me, alright?”
You sent her a slight nod and made your way towards your last class of the day.
You walked into the room with your head down, trying to ignore the mumbling of your classmates. Sitting down in your seat, you could feel a set of eyes on you. Making the mistake of scanning the room, your eyes connected with Nate’s, the boy peering at you from his own seat, eyes wide with curiosity.
Nate was sure he was probably one of the last people who saw you last night, and you definitely didn’t look like this then.
Swallowing the ever-growing lump in your throat, you opened your textbook, hoping to bury your head in it.
“You lost a fight with the fridges last night?”
Keeping your eyes focused on the page you were pretending to read, you hoped Nate would take the hint and leave you alone. Unfortunately, it seemed the more you ignored him, the more Nate Jacobs craved your attention.
“Look, I’m sorry if I was out of line last night. I didn’t mean to be such a-”
“An asshole?” You finished for him, causing him to huff out a small laugh.
“Yeah, alright. I deserved that. But really, I’m sorry. I should know not to listen to gossip in this place.”
You lowered the book a little, watching him from the corner of your eyes, “Apology accepted, I guess. And I’m sorry too, I didn’t need to be such a-”
“A dick?” He smirked, finally causing you to turn and look at him as he perched on the desk next to yours.
You tried to hide the smirk that was pulling at your lips. Shaking your head, you returned your attention to the textbook.
“So, how’d you get the panda eyes?”
Slamming your book closed, your eyes returned to him, “You’re still being an asshole, Nate.”
He held his hands up as he stood from the desk, sending you a mischievous smirk, “Sorry for giving a shit.”
He made his way back to his own desk, his smile still wide and his eyes still focused on your as he sat down, ready for the lesson to start.
A few hours later, you could be found in the convenience store – or rather, outside of it – sat in a white plastic chair, sharing a cigarette with Fez.
“How’s the face doin’?"
Blowing the smoke through your lips with a little more exasperation than necessary, you handed him back the cigarette, "It’s fine, Fez. I really don’t wanna talk about it. It’s all I heard at school.”
“People be nosey.” He shrugged.
“And you’re not?” You asked, kicking haphazardly at a stone under your sneaker.
He watched you for a moment, face remaining deadpan before the two of you were interrupted as Kat walked up.
“What’s up?” She smiled at you, stopping a few feet from your chair,
“Oh, hey Kat. Whatcha need?”
“Gotta see Ash about something. Wanna come with?”
You shrugged your shoulders before pushing yourself up, grateful for the buffer between yourself and Fez.
Following her into the store, you waited until you were alone to ask what she was there to buy.
“Oh, no. I’m not buying anything. I uh… I use bitcoin. Ash transfers it, changes it into cash.”
You stopped, sending her a quizzical stare, “I have no idea what you just said.”
Maybe it was because of your vulnerable disposition, or maybe she just needed someone, anyoneto speak to. Kat really wasn’t sure, "Can you keep a secret?“
Nodding, you weren’t expecting her to tell you what she did. Kat was ballsey, you’d give her that, "Wait, so that was you in the video?”
“Yeah. Some asshole from St. Mary’s posted it. Fucking Wes.”
“Literally,” Your smirk quickly dropped when you realized Kat didn’t exactly appreciate your joke, “I kinda knew of him from my old school. He was a piece of shit back then, too.”
“Wait, you’re an ex-private school kid?” Kat’s face was full of glee as she giggled.
“Yeah, alright. I know. I don’t exactly look like one. But yeah… Westfield-”
“Holy shit, Westfield?! So you’re like… rich, rich?”
“Uh, no. Not anymore, at least.”
Thankfully, Kat didn’t press to hear anymore. Instead, she pulled open the fridge and made her way toward Ash, sending the payment.
After Ash had explained his 20% banking fee, you walked back out with Kat who asked if you wanted to head to the mall with herself and Maddy, “So, why are you working here anyway?”
“Uh, I owe Fez some money.”
“Oh shit, for drugs?”
“Something like that.” You sent her a timid smile before heading back to the plastic chairs outside.
“You know if you’re still short on money, you could always cash in on what I’m doing. I’m sure you’d make a killing.”
Hearing that, Fez’s curiosity was peaked. Normally, he didn’t give two shits over other people’s business, but this involved his money, right?
“Uh, thanks for the offer, but I’m good. It’s not really my style.”
“And stacking shelves is? No offense, Fez.”
Fez remained silent as you and Kat said your goodbyes, waiting for a moment before turning to you, “So, what’s her master plan of making a quick buck?”
“Yeah, I can’t tell you that. But from the money she got today I could pay you back a lot quicker than at this minimum wage dead-end job. Wouldn’t have to do any heavy lifting, either.” You sent Fez a playful smirk, ignoring the slight pain from your bruised cheeks.
“Hey, you the one with the addiction, not me.”
Huffing, you kicked his shoe with your own, “It’s not an addiction, asshole.”
“Yeah, that’s what all the junkies tell me. Now c'mon, get your ass back in there and actually do something at your minimum-wage, dead-end job.”
As you shuffled the tray of Coke cans over towards the fridge, Fez perched himself on the table where the till was – his usual spot, “So, you heading to the carnival this weekend?”
“Oh, I kinda assumed I’d be here.”
“Nah, we shut up shop for it. No point opening, everyone’s there.”
“Oh, OK. Are you and Ash going?”
“Yeah, we got a pretzel stand,” upon hearing your snort of laughter, Fez rolled his eyes, “We deal outta it. Make good money there too.”
“You need any help with Pretzel World?”
“Uh, it’s Pretzel Mania, actually. But Nah, we good. Go, enjoy some time with your friends.”
You really didn’t want to tell him that you didn’t really have any friends to go with.
You’d restocked the shelves and fridges, swept and mopped the floor, and wiped down the sides by the time a truck pulled into the parking lot, beeping its horn twice.
“Shit, I’m so sorry, I forgot I have this… Thing. Is it alright if I go?”
Fez nodded, knowing any jobs you’d be doing had already been finished, his stare instead focused on the pick-up truck outside, “Who’s that?”
Your mouth opened and shut a few times, showing Fez your best impression of a goldfish before your brain finally caught up, “Oh, uh… It’s just, someone from NA. You need me to come back later, or?”
“Nah, it’s cool. I’ll be closin’ up in a bit anyway.”
Fez watched as you jogged across the parking lot and practically threw yourself into the truck.
It didn’t take long to drive to the coffee shop, but the tension between yourself and Ali could be cut with a knife.
In fact, neither of you spoke a word until you were sat down, sipping on your hot coffee.
“You know, one of the biggest recommendations for addicts is to not get into a new relationship during the first year of recovery.”
You felt Ali’s eyes on you from across the table, deciding to take a big gulp of the too-hot beverage to hold off – even if only for a few seconds – on whatever bullshit Ali had to say.
“I’m not in a relationship.”
Placing his mug onto the table, he sighed, “You’re not in recovery, either.”
You rolled your eyes, turning your attention to the world outside the window.
“So, who is the guy then?”
You continued staring through the glass, watching as a mother pulled her screaming child along the pavement, clearly in a rush, “He’s just some guy. He uh… He owns the convenience store, gave me a couple of hours after school.”
“That’s good, really. It’s a good step. You managing it alright?”
You send him a wry smile, placing your own mug back onto the table, “I mean, it’s taken a while for my minuscule brain to know which end of the broom to use when sweeping the floor, but I’ll get there. In fact, tomorrow he’s going to show me how to stack cans.”
It was Ali’s turn to roll his eyes, his own attention being drawn to the outside world, “You know what I mean. There’s a lot of stress that comes with a job, especially when you add school to that mix. I just don’t want you to overdo it.”
Well, now you felt like a piece of shit.
“It’s fine, Ali. I don’t do much there anyway.”
Returning his attention back to you, he rested his chin on his hands, “You talking ‘bout school or the store?”
Sending him an impish smile, you lent back in your chair, feeling a little more at ease, “Both, I guess.”
There was a fraught silence between the two of you, and you knew Ali would inevitably mention the elephant in the room.
“So, how bad is the other guy?”
There it was.
“It’s really nothing to worry yourself over, Ali.”
“Then you wouldn’t mind telling me what happened, you know, if there’s nothing to worry about.”
“I got into a stupid fight in school, alright. Really, it’s nothing. It’s sorted now.” The lie came easily enough.
Ali nodded, accepting her excuse but not for one moment believing it.
“How’s life at home?”
You could feel your face heat up, and you prayed to anyone who would listen that Ali wouldn’t catch on. The timing of his question put you on edge, making you much more defensive than you already were.
“It’s fine, why?”
“Just wanted to make sure you had a good support system at home. I know it’s just your dad and you.”
“Well, he’s fine, we’re fine. It’s all good on that front, thank you.”
He watched you for a moment, and you bit the inside of your cheek in an attempt to stop any nervous gestures he could catch onto.
“You know, my dad was a piece of shit. Grew up watching him beat on my Momma-”
“What’s your point, Ali.”
“I’m just saying, there’s help. Sometimes, that help comes from yourself. But there are always people that care about you. People who-”
Ali’s words were cut off when you slammed your almost finished coffee onto the table, causing a few other patrons to turn around and watch you both.
“Listen, Ali. I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re onto, but you’re grasping at straws. I don’t need help, and I don’t need anyone to fucking care about me. My mom didn’t just pack up and leave my dad, alright? She fucking left me too. So beg my fuckin’ pardon if I don’t quite believe that anyone gives two shits about me when the only person in the world who should, doesn’t.”
Without giving him a moment more, you pushed your chair out, storming out of the coffee house door. He was going to follow you when his phone buzzed, a call coming through from another lost teenager.
Stomping down the streets, you held your anger in your chest, refusing to allow yourself to cry all the way to the dealer’s house.
Knocking a little too hard, you paced in front of the door, heaving deep breaths in an attempt to calm yourself down.
“Who is it?”
Hearing his voice, you leaned your forehead against the door in relief, “Fez, it’s me. Open up, please.”
You were certain you heard him mumble under his breath but couldn’t find it in yourself to care. Not when you had more pressing matters at hand. As he pulled open the door, you all but barreled through the entrance, anger clear on your face from your clenched jaw.
Fez watched in silence as you threw yourself onto the sofa where he had been sitting, crossing your arms in front of your chest as your shoulders heaved, “The fuck is wrong with you?”
“Look, I know I owe you like, a shit ton of money or whatever, but I really need you to do me a solid right now-”
“I ain’t selling shit. Not today. Sorry.”
“Fez, I am fucking desperate. Please, I will get on my hands and knees and fucking beg you. I just need… I just need something. Anything. Please.”
By this time, you’d stood in front of the man, grasping his shirt in your hands, sweat dripping down your forehead as he watched you with despondent eyes. Pulling your hands from his shirt, he nodded back over to the sofa, “Just go sit your ass back down.”
And like an obedient little puppy hoping to get a treat, you followed his demand, watching him with an almost pleading look.
Sitting down next to you, Fez sighed and grabbed the blunt from behind his ear, lighting it before handing it to you.
He could tell from your frown that weed wasn’t what you needed, but you took it nonetheless, inhaling the smoke a little too quickly and causing yourself to choke.
After a few moments of passing the joint between you both, Fez finally spoke up, “It not go well with that guy? The one from NA?”
You closed your eyes, leaning your head on the back of the sofa as you exhaled a lungful, “Understatement of the century, Fezco.”
“You wanna talk about it-”
“No.”
Another instant passed between you both, and the blunt was almost down to the roach before he spoke again,
“How you get into drugs, anyway?”
If anyone asked you, you’d tell them that the weed had calmed your mind and lowered your inhibitions, and that was the reason why you’d said anything at all to him.
“The drug scene was pretty ripe in my old school, and my ex-boyfriend liked to… dabble.”
“Yeah? What was the dealer like?” Fez joked, sending you a small smirk.
“Well, he never let me smoke weed on his couch, so I’d say you’re winning on the courtesy front.”
Rubbing his hand over his head, Fez avoided your gaze knowing damn well most people wouldn’t hold the same opinion, “You uh… Do you ever blame him? You know, for gettin’ you on this shit in the first place?”
“Who, my old dealer?” You asked, leaning down further into the couch, “Nah. If I didn’t get it from him, then I’d of got it from someone else, right? He just sells it he ain’t pushing it on anyone.”
You didn’t fully understand where this was coming from, but you knew Fez wasn’t really that interested in your ex-dealer. It was a little more personal than that.
The truth was, Fez had taken your words from before personally. Could he really sit and say he cared for Rue, damn well loved her like a sister, if he was still feeding her habit? She’d already OD’d once from his supply. If he continued selling her drugs knowing her dependency, then her next OD would be on him. So he’d cut her off.
She’d screamed, cursed him out, cried even. But Fez didn’t give in. Her life depended on it.
Tucking your legs under yourself and turning to face him completely on the couch, you sent him a soft smile, “I don’t know who’s said what to you, Fez. But I do know you’re a good guy, regardless of your day job. Just because someone does something a little shitty, don’t mean they’re shitty, alright? You gotta do the best with what you’re given.”
His own gentle eyes flickered between yours as he remained quiet, watching as you rest your arm on the top of the couch, face resting in your palm, much calmer than you had been upon your arrival.
Your other hand hovered over his hand for just a moment, as if you couldn’t decide whether or not to do it before you gently placed it over his own. Giving it a reassuring squeeze, you stood to take your leave.
Well, even though I’m depressed I’m not sorry, I don’t wanna leave this bed at all, I’ve got a brick on my chest, And hell is gripping my legs, And there’s a demon, he’s 10 foot tall, But honestly, He doesn’t seem like much of a threat, yeah.
Summary:New to town, you didn’t need a friend, you needed a dealer. Thankfully, a girl from your Narcotics Anonymous meetings knew just the guy.
Characters:Fezco (euphoria) x Non-descriptive Reader
Words:4,542
Chapter Warnings: Mentions of addiction, very brief mentions of overdosing. Reader is also a lil bit of an asshole in this.
Series Warnings: Addiction, sexual themes, cursing, abuse (various), smut, drug use, teenagers being fucking idiots. 18+ only, minors DNI
For the second time since you’d met you’d awoken on Fez’s couch. The only difference was this time; he was there with you. Head back and mouth slightly ajar, this was the first time you’d seen him actually look somewhat peaceful.
You pushed yourself up on shaky arms, brow furrowed as you looked around the room. You were drowsy and wanted nothing more than to go to bed and sleep for 12 hours. Unfortunately, your shuffling awoke Fez, who sat himself up quickly, eyes connecting with yours immediately.
Once convinced that you were not, in fact, dead, he settled a little more, leaning back onto the couch, “Wasn’t sure you were gonna make it.”
“Was I that bad?” You questioned, voice raspy where your throat was so dry. If Fez told you that you’d run through the Mojave Desert last night eating sand, you’d have taken every word as gospel.
Rubbing his hand over his eyes, Fez tried in vain to wake himself up, “That shit is bad enough; you ain’t supposed to mix it. ‘Specially not with benzos.”
Letting yourself lay back down – your frail arms no longer able to hold up your weight – you sighed, “Don’t think I had much choice.”
“I told you, you shouldn’t have been here. Guys like Mouse… Shit, they don’t fuck around, you get me?” When you didn’t reply, Fez tried a different approach, “How you feelin’ now?”
“Honestly… Still pretty fuckin’ blissful.”
Hearing him sigh in defeat, you couldn’t help but feel bad. The guy – drug dealer or not – had been minding his own damn business when you’d wrecking ball-ed your way into his life.
Your life choices up until this point hadn’t been great, and this wasn’t the first time your shitty decisions had dragged someone down with you… But it seemed you just couldn’t help the collateral damage during your self-destruction.
You were happy enough to sabotage your own life, destroying it with one stupid fucking decision after another but once again, you’d dragged someone else along for the ride. Someone who wasn’t exactly a willing participant. Shit, you didn’t even fucking know the guy.
“I am so fucking sorry, Fez.”
He was silent for a moment as if he was rehashing the night, deciding whether or not your apology was genuine. Eventually, though, he released another sigh and turned his head towards you, “Shit, ain’t nobody know it was gonna go down like that. I’m just glad you’re not dead.”
Part of you wished you felt the same.
Taking in his features, you thought he looked older than he was. Not in a 'more mature' way, but more so in a ’Sisyphus rolling a boulder up a hill repeatedly for the rest of eternity' way.
You knew he was a 20-something-year-old high-school dropout. Rue had told you as much. Something about his Grandma being the drug pin of East Highland, before Fez – and Ash – took over.
She’d never told you why, just shrugged her shoulders and continued to her class.
“Why was you here last night?” He asked, voice low and husky.
The memories of your fight with your father flooded your brain, and you had to swallow down the lump in your throat, “Just shit going on at home, you know. Needed something to take my mind off it.”
“Shit… Got more than you bargained for there.”
“Yeah, next time I might just go for a run instead.”
The small rumble of laughter that left Fez’s lips made your own pull up into a bashful grin. Had you ever heard him laugh before?
Fez pushed his chest out slightly, rotating his neck as he tried to work out the kinks, “You didn’t have to stay out here with me.”
“Can’t really tell if someone’s ODing from down the hall.” He countered, resting one arm over the back of the couch, the other gently resting over your blanket-clad legs.
A little while later when your legs were finally able to carry your own weight – though you were walking like Bambi on ice – you followed Fez down the hallway and back to his room. Fez pointed out the bathroom as you passed, but mentioned nothing of the other door that was slightly ajar.
Trying your best to not appear nosy, you peeped in as you passed, but you couldn’t see much. Fez picked up your shorts and hoody, handing them to you with a slight frown. Whilst the bottoms had dried out overnight, the hoody was still damp because of the thick cotton.
He was about to leave, ready to give you some privacy, when he turned to his drawers, pulling out a green jumper. After throwing it at your head – knowing damn well you wouldn’t have your normal reflexes – he made his way towards the kitchen.
Forgoing your damp hoody for his soft forest green jumper, you tried your best not to snuggle down into it. Sure, it was California and it wasn’t exactly cold in September, but the chill from the previous evening’s rain had settled in your bones, leaving its mark.
After dressing and using his bathroom, you finally made your way back down the hallway, noting Ash sat on the couch, eating cereal and watching cartoons.
“Shit, so you are still alive.”
You sent him a tight smile, nodding your head. You didn’t fully remember what happened last night, at least not after taking Fentanyl. It was all a little foggy; like everything was in slow motion. If you were completely honest, it felt fucking beautiful.
“Yeah, sorry about last night.”
Ashtray watched you for a moment, then simply shrugged his shoulders and continued shoveling spoonfuls into his mouth, “How you gonna pay him back?”
It took a moment for you to register what Ash meant, eyes widening as you turned your attention to Fez, “He made you pay for that shit? I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”
“Yeah well, Mouse is a cunt. I couldn’t not spot you, you get me?”
Although unaware of the situation that could’ve occurred last night had Fez not had your back, you felt guilty. Sure, Fez was a drug dealer, but he seemed like a pretty decent guy, just trying to make money and live his life like anyone else in the world. And you were a stranger to him. Nothing more, nothing less. He didn’t owe you shit.
“Fez don’t spot no one. How you gonna pay up?”
You could ask your father, but his answer would depend entirely on his mood and level of sobriety. Which – just like yours – hadn’t exactly been great recently. Like father, like daughter, right?
“I uh… I can help out at the store?”
“We don’t employ junkies,” Ash grumbled, placing his bowl on the coffee table.
“He’s right,” Fez sighed before holding the palms of his hands out towards you when your eyebrow shot up, “Not about the junkie thing but… Having someone who does drugs selling drugs… That shit ain’t smart for business, you feel me?”
Exhaling sharply, your glare bore into both brothers, “I didn’t mean that part of it. I meant the legal side.”
The two brothers were silent for a moment as they exchanged looks that you couldn’t even begin to read. Ashtray rolled his eyes before grabbing his bowl and putting it in the sink, seemingly giving Fez his blessing.
The older brother turned to you, “Fine. Come in this evening-”
“I actually have plans until like, 8pm.” You interrupted him, sending an apologetic smile his way when he frowned, “Narcotics Anonymous. I kinda can’t miss it…”
You heard a laugh escape Ash, and honestly… You couldn’t blame him. You were attending the meetings, sure. But like hell were you implementing anything that they tried to teach you. You weren’t sober, and you had no intentions of being so any time soon.
“OK. Well, we’re open late. Meet me after. I’ll get you set up.”
Fez offered you a lift home, knowing your body was still coming down from the Fentanyl, and motioned for you to go wait in the car.
As he packed up the drugs he’d purchased from Mouse, ready to take them to the store and wash his hands with the memory of the previous night, Fez heard Ash tut. Continuing to pack his bag, Fez side-eyed the boy, “You got no fuckin’ manners bro, you know that?”
Ash eyed him up and down, an unimpressed expression settled on his face, “And you got no fuckin’ game, bro. You know that?”
Ash turned on his heels, making his way to his room to get dressed, leaving his brother to watch him go, brows pinched together.
The ride home was quiet enough; Fez put some music on low and you were thankful that it drowned out the silence, and hopefully prevented any further conversations.
You felt like shit, the effects of the Fentanyl wearing off, leaving your body weak and your mind a little groggy, and to top it all off, you now owed Fez a shit ton of cash.
As he pulled up outside your house, he sighed, rubbing his hand over his head, “You gonna be 'aight getting to the store tonight?”
Turning, eyes widened as you peered at him, you merely nodded, “Yeah, it’s cool.”
As you made your way towards the front door, you could hear Fez’s car still rumbling behind you as he waited for you to enter the house before he drove off. You could only hope that the engine noise didn’t disturb your father, who was most likely passed out on the couch after a long night of doing fuck all but drowning his sorrows.
“The fuck you been?”
Because of course, life couldn’t just give you a break.
Making your way past him and towards the kitchen, you tried to keep your wobbly legs strong, “Just stayed with a friend.”
He hummed in reply, before passing you and grabbing himself a mug, filling it with coffee, “Well, let me know next time. I was worried.”
As he made his way toward the stairs, every fiber of your body was tempting you, begging even, to scream at him, tell him to go fuck himself. That he wasn’t worried, that he never cared. But the guilt welded your mouth shut, dragging your words back down your throat, holding them tightly in your chest, and leaving you with a weight that could drown you.
Because your father did care. Just… Only sometimes. When it benefited him, or when he was able to stay sober for more than a few days.
And that’s why you remained loyal to him, despite the neglect and abuse. Because sure, he was a grade-A cunt when he was drunk. But when he was sober? He was a different man.
When you were younger, he’d take you out for ice cream, to the park, to the zoo… Anything your heart desired. You had been enrolled in one of the best private schools on the East-coast, and as you got older, your father paid for piano lessons and art classes… Life was pretty fucking great. You were privileged, and you knew it. Unfortunately, at the time, you also fucking acted like it. You know what they say, though.
The higher you climb, the further you fall.
Andshit did it feel like you hit every god damn branch on the way down.
“Hi, I’m Rue and I’ve been clean for 60 days.”
Forcing your lips into a firm, straight line, you thought it was a little hypocritical of you to laugh. You weren’t all that different, were you?
So instead, you kept your face stoic and clapped along with everyone else, listening as Rue told her story to the room.
“The hardest bit has been… Feeling like I owe it to myself. And, maybe that’ll get easier. I hope it will. Thank you.”
Rue walked back to her seat – the chair in front of yours – and settled back in with a sigh.
“60 days? Well done, Rue."
She turned in her chair, but her eyes darted everywhere except at you as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Leaning forward, you placed your hand on her shoulder, offering her a small, genuine smile, "Really Rue. No matter how long it’s been… Well done.”
You’d spoken a little in school, and she had introduced you to a few of her friends. She’d mentioned one lunch that she had remained sober for a little while now.
You made your way over to the table where Rue and Jules sat, both chatting as they looked at the latter girl’s phone.
Placing your tray on the table, you opened your mouth ready to complain about the day-old, hard pizza you’d just paid for when Jules’ phone was thrust into your face.
The image was blurry at first, and you had to push the girl’s arm away a little to be able to see it. You took a moment, eyebrows furrowed and eyes darting between the picture, and Jules, the girl looking at you smugly, “Is this, or is this not, a huge dick?”
“Fucking hell, Jules. It’s too early to be showing me pictures of people’s dicks.”
Rue smirked as Jules huffed, rolling her eyes and shoving the picture in your face once more after you’d sat down, “It’s like 1pm. Now… Big dick, right?”
You sighed, sending the girl an exasperated look before peering back at the photo, “Uh, yeah. Sure. Big dick… Why is there an Evian bottle in the picture?”
“Size reference,” Rue shrugged before taking a sip of her drink.
Jules continued grinning down at her phone, seemingly distracted by a text. Turning your attention to Rue, you sent her a small smile, “You look good, Rue.”
“Oh, uh. Thanks. Probably due to the lack of illegal substances flowing around my body.”
Placing a hand over hers, you squeezed it once reassuringly, “Well, whatever you’re doing… It’s a good look on you.”
You’d left pretty soon after Jules asked Rue to help her with something top secret, throwing your pizza in the bin as you passed.
“Two weeks,” She mumbled, her voice croaky as she sent you a feeble smile.
“That’s fucking great, Rue.” Patting her on the shoulder, your attention was quickly pulled to the front of the room as the speaker called your name, a gentle smile on her plump lips as she offered you the stage.
“Uh, no. I’m good for now, thanks.” Sending her back your own strained grimace.
Feeling your chair jolting forward slightly, you turned as the man’s smooth voice filled your ears, “Seems like you got a lot to say today. You sure you don’t wanna take a turn?”
Sending the man a stern glare, you moved your chair back to its original position, hoping to hit his knee or land on his toe… Whatever. “I said I’m good, Ali. Drop it.”
To anyone who had attended these meetings for long enough, they would know that you’ve spent almost every session sitting in your normal chair – not too far in the back, but nowhere near the front. You liked being in the middle of the ocean of people. You were less noticeable there – sitting quietly until the end of the meeting. You clapped along with everyone else, sipped coffee from the polystyrene cups, and made small talk with the other attendants, but you’d be damned if you’d open your mouth and tell them anything about your life.
You were here solely to keep people off your back. To look like you were trying, and if those people were unaware that you’d walk home smoking a blunt, or pop a few pills before you’d pass out and finally get some sleep… Then that was their problem.
Ali had given you space for a while, watching from afar whenever you’d decline to share your story. At first, he’d thought maybe you were just shy, embarrassed, even. But it didn’t take long for him to realize you were just full of shit.
You made your way out of the building with Rue, the girl quietly speaking as you took a sip from your hot coffee, hissing slightly as it burned your lip. She was planning to head home, and you had a moderately short walk to the store to meet Fez. You weren’t sure what you could do there at this time, but if it meant paying him back every dollar, you’d mop the floors until sunrise.
“Yo, 60 days… No small feat.”
“Thanks.” Rue began to unlock her bike as Ali continued to ask her questions. About her overdose… About her sister.
You were ready to head out – you’d put up with Ali’s shit for long enough, Rue was on her own for this one – but the man pulled out a cigarette box, holding it out to you. Though he was someone you purposely tried not to interact with, he could read you like a book sometimes.
Taking one, you barely listened to him drone on at Rue. Ali Muhammad, the man with the almighty mouth!
Shaking your lighter a few times, it flickered before burning out, and you knew you’d have to get another one. Accepting Ali’s – who had barely stuttered during his speech to Rue whilst he held it out – you inhaled deeply, letting the smoke sit on your chest for a moment.
You watched as he handed Rue a card that you had been all too familiar with, “Let me know when you want to stop trying to kill yourself and eat some pancakes.”
Leaning back against the wall, he waited for Rue to unchain her bike, telling her as she turned to you, “She’s good, we need a word.”
As if he had provided the last piece of the puzzle your dad had given you before, you squeezed your eyes closed and huffed, head tilted towards the sky, “Shit. Not you. Anyone but you.”
A fucking sponsor.
“Sorry, girl. Your father rang me, thinks it would be a good idea. We both do.”
“I already see enough of you twice a week, I don’t need to add to that.”
Ali chuckled, blowing the smoke out of his mouth and towards the sky as you watched him. “This shit is hard, I get it. Getting sober was damn near the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But to get there you gotta start somewhere, and it’s always easier having someone in your corner who’s been through the same kind of bullshit you have-”
“-You don’t know what bullshit I’ve been through-”
“-And I’m not gonna force you to tell me. That’s your private shit, I get it. But having someone to talk to can do a world of good.”
Giving you a card – you’d already had three stashed away at home, and you were now certain that was where your father had found his contact details – he made his way back inside, leaving you to stare at the stupid, white card, before shoving it in your pocket and beginning your walk.
“You get many people this late at night?” You inquired, pushing a heavy carton full of drinks across the floor with your foot until you got to the right fridge.
“Nah, but we get the restock out the night before, saves doing it between customers.”
“So it’s just you in the day?” You propped open the fridge, using your hip to keep it open as you bent over, grabbing a few of the bottles and putting them in their place.
Fez watched you from a distance, sitting on the table next to the cash register, “Yeah, til Ash gets outta school. You in Rue’s grade?”
“Nah, senior.” You finally closed the fridge door, wiping the beads of sweat from your forehead.
“How was the meeting?”
Shrugging a single shoulder, you grabbed the plastic packaging and rolled it into a ball, making your way back to Fez’s side and throwing it in the small bin by his legs, “It was fine. Saw Rue there again, seems like she’s doing well.”
“Yo, can I ask you somethin’? But like, I don’t want you to get mad…”
Leaning against the red racking that homed the bags of share-sized chips, you cocked a brow, silently allowing him to go on.
“Why’d you go to the meetings, if you ain’t staying sober? Like, ain’t that the whole point of 'em?”
You watched him for a moment, trying to process the politest way to tell him to mind his own damn business. Instead, you settled with “You know, you’re either the worst or best dealer I’ve ever met.”
Fez watched you as you grinned at him, but he could tell the smile was for show, “Whatchu mean?”
“You’re a dealer, do you really wanna get involved in your client’s rehabilitation? Do you want them to get sober?”
Fez was quiet for a moment, thinking over his answer. Just as you turned, ready to grab some more stock, his voice stopped you, “Some of 'em, yeah. Rue, for one.”
Your fingers fiddled with the handle of another fridge, this one needing to be stocked with beer, “You and Rue… You close?”
“Yeah man, Rue’s family.”
“And you want her to get sober?”
“I don’t want her to die, so yeah…”
“Yet, you’re still dealing to her? Makes no sense to me.”
You didn’t mean to sound so rude, but you were yet to meet a drug dealer who actually gave a shit about someone he was supplying. Because as soon as Rue stopped buying, that was one customer less for Fezco. Yet the longer he did supply her with drugs, the worse she was going to get.
Fez remained silent, his eyes vacant as he seemed lost in his thoughts.
After a while of watching you potter about, becoming accustomed to the layout of the store, Fezco was ready to shut up shop when a truck’s engine grabbed his attention. It was the only customer he’d had in a while, and, of course, it was right as he was about to close.
“What’s up, Fez?”
Fez knew who it was as soon as the guy had entered the store, watching him in the convex mirror.
“Sup.” He responded with his usual nonchalant tone.
Nate stopped, halting for a moment as you bent over to grab the last pack of beer before scooting around you, his hand brushing past your lower back as you stood up.
The aisle wasn’t the widest, but it was wide enough to keep his hands to himself, Fez thought as he watched Nate send you a disarming smile,
“Sorry, just uh… Need to get in here.”
A small ’Oh’ was released from your lips as you quickly side-stepped further away from him, allowing him space to open a fridge door and grab a bottle of water from it,
“Thanks. Hey, uh… Aren’t you new here? I haven’t seen you around much.”
Sending him a small, but friendly smile back, you nodded, “Been here a couple of weeks now.”
His eyes lit up with recognition as he looked over you, “Oh yeah, shit. Didn’t you go to McKay’s party? I remember something about a new girl almost OD'ing on the couch?”
You wanted to correct him, tell him that whilst yes, it was stupid to take two pills whilst drinking, you were far from overdosing. Shit, you were just tired. You didn’t know who had started the rumor, nor why, but you’d heard the whispers around school just as much as Nate had. Instead, you kept your smile in place, keeping it wide and innocent,
“Yeah, I guess that was me. Hey… Aren’t you the guy whose girlfriend fucked another guy in the pool in front of like… everyone?”
You could feel Fezco’s eyes on you from the register where he was still perched, unsure whether or not he needed to step in. To say the air was filled with a thick, uneasy tension would be an understatement.
It was Nate’s dark eyes that held you captive at that moment as you refused to back down from his staring competition. His smile dropped, and your eyes darted to his throat, watching as he struggled to swallow a lump that had formed in his throat, but as quickly as it had disappeared, his smile was once again plastered over his face.
Only this time, it was much more sardonic, “I mean, we were broken up at the time. But yeah. Guess that’s me, too.”
His eyes washed over you, taking in your whole body from head to toe as if you amused him in some way that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. It wasn’t condescending, but it was… something.
Nodding his head at you, Nate made his way to the register, placing the bottle of water down next to where Fezco had sat, fishing for his wallet as he ignored the other man’s eyes on him,
“Some rolling papers too, man.”
“That’ll be $2.50, playboy.”
After Nate had left – Fez closing the shutters behind him – you’d both remained quiet for a while. He counted up the cash in the register, locking it away as he watched you from the corner of his eye.
“You uh, you never told me why you still go to those meetings.”
“You never told me how much you paid Mouse.”
“And you never told me how you got that cut on your head.”
It was like a dick swinging contest. You knew he’d meant it to come off as nothing more than polite conversation, something to ease the tension that had been left in the wake of Nate Jacobs. But it had been a long day, and you were tired of people trying to stick their nose in your business.
First your father, then Ali and Nate, now Fez.
You turned around abruptly, eyes sharp as you failed to hold your tongue, “Listen, Fezco. I’m really grateful you’re letting me pay you back by working here, and I’m still not sure why you’ve been so nice to me, but I don’t need nice. I don’t need your pity.”
He couldn’t lie, your tone cut him a little. He’d been nice enough – perhaps a little too nice – and whether that was for your sake, Rue’s sake, or simply because he was brought up with a lot of respect for women, he couldn’t be sure.
Either way, your tirade had caught him a little off guard, “Go the fuck home then. We’re done here 'til tomorrow anyway.”
It was a little before midnight when you stormed across the small car park, ready for the long walk home. Fez had turned off the lights and locked up, already halfway to his car when he shouted to you,
“Ay, get the fuck in the car, I ain’t letting you walk your ass home alone at this time.”
Fez couldn’t be sure why he’d offered to drive you home that night, even after you’d been a bit of an asshole.
And when he’d finally pulled up outside your house, you’d wished he never offered in the first place.
