Yay, swearing! 8D (well, one word, but there's swearing in this chapter nonetheless -_-)

Once, when I was a little girl, I had spilled ice cream all over the front of my clothes. Kids had laughed at me for the entire day, calling me names such as 'Messy Pig Sooyun' or 'The Pink Blob'. Of course, being the delicate young child I was, I'd cried a bit and hid behind the playground tunnel. I was a mess, I stunk of melted strawberries, and my mother would probably scold me later, never liking when I got myself dirty.

'Everybody's so mean to me- why are they laughing so much? I'm not a pig, I didn't mean to drop my cone! It's not my fault... It's not my fault! Stop laughing! And Mommy's gonna yell at me at home, too! It's not fair; she's always telling me how I should do things good and properly. And trouble, I'm gonna get into so much trouble with her, and if I try to tell her I didn't mean to do it, she won't listen, she never listens to me-'

And then Sungyeol had showed up, like a messiah in the darkness to comfort me.

"It's okay." He plopped down on the grass beside me. Handing me a new ice cream cone, he took a bite of his own and hummed in sweet satisfaction. "Don't listen to them, they're just being dumb. Anyways, you still look pretty. I think pink is a nice colour on you today."

I sniffled, wiping away tears with a sticky hand. "You think so, Yeol? You really mean it?" Sungyeol took another bite and grinned, showing dimples in his chubby cheeks.

"'Course I do," he said, nodding for me to eat up my own icy treat. "I don't just say things for no reason, silly.

"After all, I wouldn't ever lie to my best friend."

Looking back now, ten years later, I had to wonder: Had his childhood self honestly meant what he'd said to me?

Sungyeol gaped, letting the bag of illegal drugs slip through his fingers. It made a small thump as it landed on the ground, resonating through the quiet of the night. "S-Sooyun? Is that you? What are you doing here? Why aren't you at home? How'd you find this place? Did you follow me after I left school? I told you that I had things to do, why would you- Wait, is that blood? Are you bleeding? How did you get hurt?" His rapid-fire questions made it hard for me to focus my thoughts. A part of me wanted to deny everything, another part wanted to yell at him, but another wanted to just stand there and nod my head sadly. Because I knew. I knew that there had been something he was hiding from me.

I just didn't know it would be as mind-numbingly painful as this.

Opening my mouth to respond, I wasn't surprised to find that nothing was coming out. An annoyed voice spoke up at that moment, saving me the trouble of answering. "Hey, are you gonna sell me the stuff, or what? I didn't come here tonight for nothing, and I sure as hell ain't leaving empty-handed."

Hearing these words, my dealer of a friend jumped in place, as if he'd forgotten about the client he was attending to. His confident air appeared visibly shaken; there was no trace at all of the smooth and charming tone I'd heard before. "Huh? Sorry, what? Your stuff?"

The ragged man his teeth and took a step closer. "I said, are we gonna make a deal or not? I came to get something good to smoke, not to watch your little teenage drama." He stepped forwards again, his threatening advances making it clear that he had no intention of leaving without his 'goods'.

Sungyeol only blinked, though, and glanced hastily back at my silent form. "Err, I don't know if now is a good time to do that-"

"It's fine."

A dark figure stepped out from behind the scowling man, smooth and fluid as if he'd been there from the start. When I saw who it was, my breath hitched in my throat, jolted out of my frozen state. My dark knight. My saviour. The mysterious boy from before who'd saved me with such ease, but led me here knowing that it would only bring me confusion and pain.

'Confusion, pain, but mostly pain. Why, Sungyeol? Why would you lie to me...?'

He turned to Sungyeol in an impassive, yet strangely acquainted manner. "It's fine," he repeated quietly. "Finish what you started. Come back to the warehouse when you're done. She'll be waiting for you there." With a tiny jerk of his head, the boy beckoned for me to follow him, walking away from the startled dealer and his impatient customer.

I hesitated, staring after his receding back. To follow, or not to follow? Should I chase after him again, like I had before? Did I even want to? After all, just look where that had gotten me last time- in a dark alley somewhere, with a bleeding head, crackheads for company, and the truth of knowing what dark things my best friend was involved with. Should I just go home and pretend none of this had happened today, and wake up to blissful ignorance tomorrow?

But when I looked at Sungyeol's still shocked expression again, I already knew what my decision was going to be.

"Sooyun-" the pale-faced male began, but faltered when I shook my head at him. Without a single word, I slowly began loping to where the boy had disappeared, stepping on the fallen bag of MDMA along the way.

No, I wasn't sure if I could handle anymore of his lies today.

------------

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Listlessly, I lifted my head to see the boy tossing small baggies on the table in front of us. They landed right next to a half-eaten chocolate bar, filling the empty space around it (XOXO's Finest Dark Chocolate, the label read). "I suppose it'd be redundant for me to ask if you're a dealer, as well...?"

"..." He kept his silence as he continued to mechanically empty his pockets. Taking advantage of the moment, I let my gaze roam freely over him. With the warehouse's lights hanging above, I could clearly see each of his features in better detail- his nose was straight, his jawline was sharp, and his complexion had a ghostly white tint to it, even paler than I had seen outside. And his eyes. They stared back at the world as if they could see everything that was a lie, but didn't give a single hint of his own thoughts and feelings.

'What are you thinking about, behind those empty eyes of yours?'

The boy threw the last bag down and suddenly turned to me. Surprised by his abrupt movement, I automatically lowered my eyes down to the table, taking in the sight of the little bags. I stiffened up when I saw what was in them.

Pills. Powder. Crystal. Leaves. Drugs of every shape, size, and colour, lying innocently just an arm's length away from me. Slowly, almost hungrily, I shifted my eyes through the mess of transparent bags. There was a lot of them, enough to scatter the surface so I couldn't see the chocolate bar anymore. One in particular caught my gaze. I unconsciously leaned forward to get a better view. It was filled with tiny, rainbow-coloured pills, much like the ones Sungyeol had been offering before. MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy. What was it that he had said about it again?

"One dose of this, and you can forget about all the troubles weighing you down. One dose of this, and freedom and happiness will be yours to command. Yes, a single dose is all you need to feel what this stimulant is so named after: ecstasy. Just say the word, good sir, and this beautiful escape from reality can be yours."

Forgetting about the troubles I had to face everyday... Being able to command freedom and happiness at my own will... Having a beautiful escape from reality... It all sounded so wonderful, so tempting, so alluring. What did it matter, that I would have to succumb to drug use for all of that? As long as I got that release from my life, I didn't care... That release, just an inch away from my reach...

"Don't."

I froze in my seat. Hearing the boy's flat voice seemed to wake me out of my trance- I looked down and saw that my hand was outstretched, fingers reaching for that little bag of escape. Quickly, I made to bring my arm down, realizing too late what I was about to do. I stopped, however, when a sudden thought struck my mind.

"Why not?" I stuck out my chin and glared defiantly at the boy. "Why can't I have these?" I asked, motioning towards the drugs. After all, wasn't he a dealer? Wasn't it his job to find people who wanted to buy the happy stuff off him? Although I was by no means rich or loaded with cash, I still had some money I could have used in my bank account. "I'll give you however much you want for it. Just name your price."

Curiously, my words appeared to have a strange affect on him. His stare grew colder and his eyes darkened, even more than I thought was possible. He clenched his teeth slightly. It was almost too subtle for me to notice, but I saw it. Like the clouds before a storm, his emotions were finally starting to come into play, creeping in before unleashing the fury that would follow.

'Huh, you're not as dead as I thought you were...But why now? What's making you show your feelings at a time like this?'

The angular male spoke through barely gritted teeth. "You don't know what you're talking about. Someone like you shouldn't get mixed up in things like that. You're probably the type of girl who does everything right and perfectly, with happy friends, parents, and maybe even a boyfriend looking after you. Why mess that up for yourself? After you finish talking to Sungyeol, just go back to your ignorant, carefree life and forget this ever happened."

His answer slapped me square across the face. So, he was one of them. One of those people. Just like my classmates, teachers, friends, and family, who all thought I could do no wrong in life, he saw me as a perfect little miss as well, too 'innocent' and 'good' to mess in his world of drugs.

I clenched my fists in anger. The scorn and rage on his face reminded me too much of what I had gone through that day: Shock from my classmates, jeers from Himchan, and disapproval from my mother, all reminding me of how I had to live as Choi ing perfect Sooyun.

"I never wanted any of that. I never wanted a life controlled by demanding parents, a cheating bastard of a boyfriend, or the need to do every little thing perfectly. What I want is a way to end this all. To get away from it. Just give me an escape from reality."

He stared at me, unblinking with those cold, glaring eyes. When he spoke at last, his words were like ice, cutting through the still of the air with the sharpness of a razor-edged blade.

"You want an escape from reality? You mean the quickest and most crudest way out there is possible?" He gestured fiercely at the little baggies lying in front of him, and I couldn't help but flinch at the movement. Where had the quiet and reserved boy who'd saved me just earlier that day disappeared to?

He continued in the same angry voice, raw emotion raging across the blank expression he'd worn before. "This is probably the first time you've ever felt low enough to sink to this level of desperation, isn't it? An innocent girl like you, what would you know... You think that getting high today will help you forget your problems for the rest of your life? Well, let me tell you something.

"This is never ending. Once you get hooked into the world of drugs and addiction, you can never go back."

An icy, tense silence fell upon us. It was broken only by the harsh breathing of my companion. But before I had the chance to think of a response, the back door suddenly burst open with a bang. Jumping in my seat, I whipped my head towards the sound. The boy merely flickered his glare at it.

"You're late."

Sungyeol stood in the doorway, cheeks flushed and chest heaving for breaths. He had to support himself against the doorframe as he retorted back to his friend. "Whatever, it's not like you ever do things on time." Taking a few more breaths to steady himself, he raised his head to meet my eyes, a funny mix of fear, sadness, and determination in his own.

"Come on, Sooyun. We need to talk."

HAY GUISE, I'M BACK 8DDD Ahaha, I'm so happy~ I have almost all of my exams out of the way (just bio torture on Tuesday -_-). So, I decided to celebrate with this update ^(^ o ^)^

Anyways, there's FINALLY some interaction with Myungsoo and Sooyun going on! I know you were waiting for that, and I cannot apologize enough for how long I'm taking D8 SOWWIEEEEE~

By the way, and did anyone else catch that little nameplay I did with the chocolate bar's name? :3 (I'll give you a clue: They're hot, seperated into 2 sub-units K&M, and have fun ROLLIN' LIKE A BUFFALO~ <333)