・Lungs・

[Dip]

"Pull THIS," Florence said, childishly. What the other was going to pull, he didn't know. What the other was going to do, though, was be a good little boy and sit in the back seat. "Bite me, Nathaniel. Rule one reigns supreme." Florence said, with a small chuckle.

For breakfast, Florence decided to have a cigarette. He groped around for one, but realized he had smoked them all. He cursed, and decided to look for the nearest gas station possible.

 

[RiniPinja]

"Oh, what a clever comeback, Florence." Nate said bitterly before shooting him a glare, but then he realized that Florence was looking around for something. At first, he was confused on what the guy was looking for, and was about to ask, but when Florence picked up a cigarette pack and realized it was empty, Nate knew. Instead of smiling in happiness that the boy couldn't kill his 'love-lungs' with more smoke, he smiled because Nate had thought of a perfect plan.

As Florence pulled over to a gas station, Nate didn't go with him. Instead, he stayed in the car patiently. When he was sure that Florence was inside and looking around for whatever to buy, he climbed onto the driver seat. Nate buckled himself in, and when Florence came back, he refused to move. "I'm driving." He said stubbornly at the guy, glaring at him. Nate kept his hands on the wheel also, and although he knew he looked like a bratty child, he knew this was for the best.

 

[Dip]

Florence pulled into the gas station and quickly fled the car. Once he was inside, he took a moment to get himself a cup of coffee. Once he was uo ath the front desk, he produced his wallet to the cashier.

"Have you seen this women?" Florence asked, pulling a picture of Valencia out of his wallet.
"Can't say I have." The man said, not looking to the picture.
Florence felt his anger boil slightly. "Look."
The man looked, and took the picture in his hand. Florence continued talking.
"And a pack of Native Spirit, please."
"Do you have an ID?" The man asked, looking deeply into the picture.
"Do I really look like I need an ID, sir?" Florence asked, rubbing his eyes.
"I didn't ask that." The man said, looking to him.
"Well, now you're just asking me to pee on all the display cases."

They both stared at eachother for a long time. Florence had his hand on his zipper, and the man had his hand on the picture. Soon, he grabbed a pack of cigarettes, rang up the coffee and cancer-sticks, and gave him the photo back.

"Yeah, I know where she is."
Florence nearly dropped his coffee.
"She lives on south avenue, in main street. It's the big apartment complex, I think? It's right ontop of a Chinese store. You can't miss it."
Florence grabbed the man by the collar, and pulled him close. "How the hell do you know where she IS?!"
"I-I swear, man, she lives with my brother."

Florence raced out of the store quickly, forgetting his cigarettes and coffee on the counter. He didn't bother asking why the other took his seat, but he crashed into the passenger side. "SOUTHACENUEINMAIN." He screamed at the other, taking his own foot and crashing it against the pedal. And with that, they were off.

 

[RiniPinja]

Well, that was a surprise. Nate thought in his head as he madly drove down the road. "They actually know where?!" He called out, making sure that he swerved fast enough to avoid any slow cars that were in his way. Nate didn't really care for his answer though, for he knew that the only thing to make Florence so excited must have been because that must be where Valencia was.

His heart pounded happily, and he was also excited. They were going to see Valencia, they were going to find her and-

Wait, how did the person know? Nate realized as they pulled up in front of a nice-looking house. If the person was a bad guy, why didn't he keep his mouth shut? And if the person was a good guy, why didn't he call 911 to save Valencia-

Unless... as Nate flew up the car door, his mind flashed to the memories of his sister's long line of relationships. "Wait! Florence!"

 

[Dip]

Florence ran like he wasn't a chain-smoker. He went up to the house, and kicked the door in happily. He felt like he was on a rescue mission! He was going in to save his lovely lady, and he was going to carry her off into the sunset. Oh, and Nathaniel would be there, too. Florence swore that he was going to absolutely kill that person.

When he kicked the door in, he heard a pair of screams. "Valencia!" He screamed, making his way into the house like a bat out of hell.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate wanted to stop Florence, he tried to reach out to grab the hot headed red hair, but he was much too late and too slow. The feeling of dread nearly suffocated Nate, and all he could do was follow in after him.

There seemed to be nobody in the house, until two mingling voices of yells came from one of the bedroom. Nate winced when Florence tore down that door as well, and what happened next... What Nate saw... Well, he knew the sight was one that would shock Florence.

Both Valencia and a man were naked in bed together. Their bodies were close, and both were slick with sweat at their... current activity. When Nate and Florence forced their ways into the bedroom, both of the people scrambled apart from one another, but the smell of the room, and the condition of the people and the large master bed... Well... It was obvious what was happening.

"What the hell?!" The man yelled, immediately standing in the way between Valencia and the two intruders. "Get out of my house, or I'll kill ya!!!" His deep accent obviously indicated that he was from the deep south, and as he stood, he seemed much older than Florence and Nate... Not to mention taller, and probably more fit.

"Valencia? What is this all about?!" Nate asked, his heart pounding. He didn't dare look at the two naked bodies in front of him, but disbelief and disapproval was certainly clear on his face. How could she do this? How could she do this to him? How could she do this to Florence?! This must be a misunderstanding... This entire thing had to be a misunderstanding... Nate almost wanted to believe that Valencia was being forced to do this... But it certainly did not seem like it.

 

[Dip]

Valencia sat there, her hair a mess and sheets covering her body. She looked like she was about ready to cry, but that was because the two had come at a very awful times. "F-Florence, leave!" She had the audacity to say, covering herself with the sheet like a goddess.

Florence looked at her, looking past the angry man. He instantly gave the large man a shove, and screamed in his face. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!" The man looked like he would kill him, so Florence didn't try to fight him. Yet. Florence looked at Nathaniel, and told him to call the police. As Florence commanded that, he nearly raced to the side of the bed.

Florence scooped up Valencia in his arms almost effortlessly, taking her in the sheets, too. But Valencia didn't like that one bit. She shoved her way out of his arms, and nearly ran to the other man. "Florence, stop! You don't understand--"
"Valencia--Vall, come on, he's going to hurt you again!" Florence grabbed her arm, and tried his best to get her over towards him.
"Florence--Florence, stop!" She called, but Florence persisted.

Out of all this anger and crazy chaos, Valencia stuck her free hand out, holding the sheets with her other elbow, and gave the hysteric teenager a sickening slap to the face. Everything was quiet, before Valencia started speaking.
"What the hell is wrong with you two?! How did you find me?!"

Florence held his cheek in his hand, and looked at her with sad and tired eyes.
"Vall..?"
"No, Florence." She interrupted him. "Leave."

 

[RiniPinja]

At Florence's hesitation, the man then shoved Florence roughly off of Valencia, making sure that Florence slammed against the wall with a loud THUD. "You heard her, GET THE HELL OUT!" He screamed, ready to attack again if needed.

Nate watched in horror. He had pulled out his phone and typed in 911, but he couldn't open his mouth to talk to the operator. As soon as Florence fell to the floor, he rushed over to the fallen and confused red head. "You alright?" He asked, helping the boy onto his feet. "We should go, Florence..." He then muttered quietly, his eyes not looking up to meet Valencia's gaze.

The man then wrapped an arm around Valencia, cooing, "You alright, Val?"

Nate frowned in disgust at the sight, and he too exploded. "What's WRONG with us, Valencia?! What's wrong with YOU. How could you just LEAVE without a single word?! How could you go sleep with this... this... Who IS this man?! He looks to be twice our freak'n age! This is illegal, you know, he'll be sent to jail."

The man glared at Nate, his eyes fueled with threat and hatred, and he seemed ready to break Nate in half. "What? Are you threatening me, boy?!"

Nate didn't back down, instead he stood up with confidence and conviction. "You heard me. I already called the police. They're going to charge you with underage sex."

The man then delivered a punch to Nate's face.

 

[Dip]

Florence was the first to push Nathaniel away. Florence used his hands, still bruised from the fight with the car, to give the other man a square punch in the jaw. As the man was confused, the other delivered a swift kick to his balls. He was terrible on his feet, due to the shove, but he still did his damnest to get his women back.

To say Valencia was horrified would be an understatement. She was hysteric. At that point, she was caught between her alleged lover and her brother. "Florence, what the hell is wrong with you?!"
"What the hell is wrong with me?! What's wrong with him! He just attacked us, and--"
"Florence--"
"And where have you been? I've been worried sick! I had to talk to Ran, and--"
"Florence--"
"And Ran surely didn't know where you were. Mackenzie was just about as worried--"
"FLORENCE."

Florence shut up right when she raised her voice at him. It felt almost as bad as the slap to his face.
"Florence... I love him. Please, just, leave, okay?"

 

[RiniPinja]

Before the man could do anymore damage, he fell to the floor and writhed helplessly. He was scrunched up in a little ball, and he clutched onto his poor damaged good. Nate held his hands to his nose, feeling blood drip onto the floor, and he was rather glad that Florence was capable of doing such damage to the older man.

At Valencia's last statement, Nate's eyes went wide. He knew the effect that would have on Florence, he knew how painful it would be to hear such a thing. The boy spent the last... How long? Trying his damnest to save her sorry ass after all, and this was the thank he was getting? Nate always loved his sister, and he believes that he always will, but that... That was just...

Despite the pain in Nate's face, and despite keeping a hand clutched to his nose, Nate reached out to grab onto Florence's hand. "We're leaving." He said with a distorted sound in his voice as his nose prevented him to speak normally, and he shot a death glare at Valencia. "Don't think you can stay here, though, I'm going to tell our parents." He threatened, and dragged Florence out of the house.

Police cars soon surrounded the house, though, before they were able to drive off. Nate waved the police inside the house, hoping they'll arrest the older man, before he finally turned to Florence. "Florence?" He asked, "I'm sorry..." He muttered, unsure of what else to say in such a situation.

When one of the police officers told Nate that she'll take Nate to the hospital, Nate shook his head. "Later." He muttered, he felt like Florence needed the supported right now; he probably needed Nate more than Nate needed an x-ray.

 

[Dip]

Florence was in denial.

Saying he was just in denial was an understatement. He WAS the living, breathing definition of denial. He didn't believe a single word that the girl said, and was slightly confused as to why he was dragged out like that. Once he was outside, though, Florence saw one of the police officers take Valencia into a police car.

Florence quickly went up to the cop, and asked quick questions.
"Why are you taking her to the station?"
"We need to question her."
"Yeah but," Florence started, "she is the victim here. Didn't you see what that guy was doing to her?"
The women rolled her eyes. "She said she wanted it to happen."
"She wanted it..? Okay, no, I don't know what he said to her, but--"
"Kid, go home."
"Excuse me?" Florence asked in disbelief.
"I have plenty of paperwork to fill out, and you need to evaluate your love-life. Go home, kid."

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate thought that Florence's questions and denial seemed almost pitiful. He knew that this must have been a way for Florence to cope with what was going on, but he didn't like it. He need to move on, he needed to get over Valencia.

"Florence!" He called out, grabbing his hand yet again to move him away from the police officer. "Valencia just... forget about her! You can do better, you WILL do better." Nate tried to convince the other boy, waving his hand around a bit.

"She wanted this, Florence... She's safe, and she's not hurt, because she willing went here..." Nate realized his words were harsh, but he knew someone has to get through Florence's thick skull. "So just... Try not to think about her anymore." He ended weakly, unsure how to help a boy cope with a very awful break up.

He kept his head down, but blood was trickling down his nose still. This entire time, Nate was trying to prevent the blood from falling, by keeping his head back and sniffling when he can. Which, as any paramedic and doctor would tell you, is the exact opposite of what you should do if blood was pouring down your nose.

Because then it leads to this: Nate suddenly felt sick and leaned over to the side, and he vomited. Blood spewed from his mouth, and not in their usual liquid form either - the blood had coagulated into bags. Needless to say, it was disgusting. Immediately, some police officer rushed over to Nate's side and took him away from Florence. "We need to rush him to the hospital." They said with worry, "Do you want to come as well?" They eyed the bruises forming on Florence's hand.

 

[Dip]

The other boy's words did little to infiltrate the barrier he had put up to the sky. Florence was sure he was just trying to make it sound better than it actually was-- maybe he was siding with the other! Sure, Florence was about to punch him in the nose, much like the other had done to him previously, before the boy said something that really caught his attention:

"She willingly went here..."

Willingly? Well, now, he was just lying. Why would she do that, now? Florence had given her everything she could have ever wanted! He gave her love, was there for her when she needed it, and she did the same for him. He shook his head, trying to believe this words when he really didn't want to. He couldn't believe this-- he was lying. Florence looked towards the cop car, and saw her, groping at the window for someone. For the other, who had been pushed into a different vehicle.

When Nathaniel threw up, he basically represented Florence's feelings at that moment. He felt sick, like someone had stabbed him in the chest with a rusty dagger and left it there to rot. Florence didn't notice the cop come and talk to him until the other had to shake him gently. He looked at the cop, with expressionless eyes, and decided to follow.

This wasn't happening. This was an enigma.

 

[RiniPinja]

As Nate was rushed to the hospital, he felt dizzy. Everything seemed... off, as if he was dreaming, and he couldn't quite coherently get himself to focus on the events that happened around him. All he knew was that the people kept asking him questions about ... well, about his health? Or something... They were telling him to do stuff. Right?

Anyways, Nate ended up in a hospital room, with some doctors probing at his nose. He would often try to calm them down, pushing them away from him. He was fine! Really! He was! But they kept insisting on their intrusive ways. At some point, Nate even yelled out in pain, immediately flinching away from them, but they hardly stopped. Instead, it made them probe more at his nose.

When the whole ordeal was done, he had a strange patch on his nose. Nate hated it, it made his nose feel stuffy, and he couldn't quite breath quite right. When he walked out of the doctor's room, he looked around, looking for someone he cared about.

His parents weren't there... And neither was Valencia. Nate felt his heart dropped. Nobody was waiting for him.

[ If Florence is waiting outside! ]

Nate was about to turn around to leave the building, when he noticed a familiar red head. He blinked, was Florence there? Waiting for him? No, he hated him, right? And they found Valencia - albeit perhaps not in the way that Florence and Nate was imagining, but that didn't matter. Florence was done with Nate, and Nate was done with Florence.

So why was he here?

"Florence?" He asked, his voice slightly distorted by the foreign object on his nose. "Um... Thanks... For waiting, but I thought you would go home."

 

[Dip]

Florence was waiting in his busted up car, sitting in the driver's seat and trying as he might to understand what had happened. He felt exhausted, and that wasn't because he almost got the absolute tar beaten out of him. He felt like he was floating through time in space-- his entire body numb to the realization that maybe the relationship wasn't meant to be.

But as of right then, he felt... fine. Sure, he felt numb, and he could hardly handle his lighter without his hand shaking to infinity and beyond, but he felt okay. He lit a cigarette, and let it hang out of his mouth. The smoke flooded his mouth and made him taste metal. He ran a nervous hand through his hair as he chest fluttered with the intake of smoke. He was fine. He was, he swore. He just felt like throwing up a little more than before.

It wasn't long until he was going through cigarette after cigarette, trying to get a good feeling come out of it like he had before. It didn't taste good, for some reason. It always tasted good, these cigarettes were Valencia's favorite! She's the one who introduced him to them, anyway. He sucked down one all the way to the filter, and flicked it onto the floor, doing the same to the next one and the next, till he was out of cigarettes.

Florence was fine.

He dug anxiously for something to give him the warm feeling of a cigarette in his hand. He looked on the floor, under the seats. He thought of Valencia, and how warm she must be, and she looked wrapped up in that sheet in the back of that police car, and Florence thought about how fine he was, and how absolutely okay he was. His shaking persisted, and his knuckles felt sore.

Florence couldn't find anything, so he simply reached into his bag, looking for a spare cigarette, but he felt surrounded in her. He pulled out a cigarette from his bag, and lit it. He felt her suffocating him, in his lungs. He breathed deeply, and filled his lungs with love and smoke. He let it sink out slowly, but something different happened when he exhaled. He began a coughing fit that was wicked in nature.

He coughed loudly, smoke exiting from his mouth and nose, only to be sicked in again in a need for some sort of oxygen. He felt like he was drowning, or maybe that he was going to be smothered. When he finally got his breath, he threw the entire cigarette out of the window, and ran both of his hands through his hair, letting his bag fall to the passenger seat.

He was fine, he swore to it that he was okay.

He felt her in every motion, even as he felt himself loosing his mind. He was fine. He was fine. He was fine. Florence began crying softly. He was fine. He grew louder. He was fine. It was unstoppable, and it erupted until he was screaming so loud no sound came out. He was fine. Florence made hideous expressions of pain and agony, until he lidded his eyes and saw him.

Nathaniel.

Florence took a deep breath, and held it. He wiped his eyes, and sat up in his chair. His face was flushed the color of blood, and it seemed to outshine his hair. Florence listened to the other talk, and he now had to explain himself. "Er, I-Uh, did bring you here," He started softly, trying to catch his breath. He was fine. "I-I thought I might as well... bring you back."

He was fine.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate looked at Florence carefully, noting his flushed face, his blood shot eyes, and his pale skin. Nate felt sick, but the other boy look like crap, and he probably felt even worse than shit. At first, Nate was at a loss for words, what was he suppose to say in a situation like this? Finally, he made a chose. There was a phrase that every typical movie denoted as the correct thing to say in situations such as these,"Is... everything al-"

But Nate couldn't finish his sentence. Instead, as he looked around in the car, he noticed an empty box of cigarettes. He froze for a bit, didn't they just bought that? Like... that morning? When they first set off? Nate thought that perhaps Florence threw it away, out of anger, but then he saw the horrid ashes and piles of dust - the remnants of freshly smoke cigarettes.

"You're not okay," he said flatly. His eyes were dark, and he returned his hard gaze onto Florence. This time, Nate noticed new details. The usually hot-headed and energetic red hair wasn't just looking like crap because of his tears, he was looking like crap because he was probably actually sick.

The boy need to snap out of it. He needed to get over his shitty sister. But how was he going to do that? As far as he could tell, it wasn't easy getting over someone you practically love with all your being. "You just smoked an ENTIRE pack of cigarette?!" Nate yelled out a bit, and he leaned in a bit closer, his hands clutched onto the car door. "That's... No! Florence! Don't be an IDIOT." Nate knew it wasn't the best thing to say, but he didn't know what else to say. What else could he do?

There had to be a better way to get over Valencia. There had to be a better way to heal that didn't involve killing yourself slowly. There had to be. There had to be!

Yes, there was. There was always one way: Warmth.

Without a second thought, Nate opened the car door. Immediately, he reached out, and pulled the other boy into a tight hug. "You're not okay, you're not..." He muttered, "but you will be, Florence..."

 

[Dip]

The yell was the first thing that caught him off-guard. The second thing was being yanked from the car and given a hug. The other was so warm against Florence's ashy frame, and even with the gauze over his nose, he spoke words that he didn't want to hear. He froze, and nearly melted into the other. He wrapped his arms around him, and fell apart. He felt like screaming. He felt like crying. Florence nearly became a dead-weight.

"T-The heart..." He started softly, between gasps of breaths and sobs. "It's-It's a terrible, terrible metaphor for love..." He choked out, falling to his knees with the other in his arms. How could he spend all his time hating someone who was so nice in the end? How could he even begin to hate the only person who could stand to be around him like that. Florence coughed, tears streaming down his face wildly.

"Love isn't a-a muscle, it can't atrophy from lack of use-- oh god, Nathaniel--Nate, I-I feel her in.... everything I do.. In every breath. I thought she loved me-- I just wanted someone to love me..." He nearly screeched, crying like a lost child. He felt so lost. He felt like the light has left his life. He really wasn't okay.

He could feeling his heart go through the phases of muscular atrophy. Florence's life was meaningless.

 

[RiniPinja]

He wasn't expecting it, even though he was the one to instigate it. Nate was actually expecting the opposite: a scream, a disgusted push, perhaps even another punch in the face. What he wasn't expecting was this.

And then, to make matters worse, Florence broke down in his arms.

At first, Nate was stiff. He was focused on trying not to fall over, and he wasn't quite sure how to react. Soon, Nate practically fell over as Florence fell to his knees. His eyes were wide, but he didn't push the other away. Instead, he did his best to try to comfort Florence. His hands rubbed Florence's back, up and down, trying to soothe the blabbering mess in his arms.

"It doesn't atrophy," Nate's voice was soft, but strong. "Because it's still beating."

At the mention of Valencia, Nate's hands tightened a bit. He couldn't believe that his sister would do this. He couldn't believe that somebody who shared the same blood - the same DNA, practically the same LIFE! - as him could do such a thing to someone they claimed to care so much for. Where was the Valencia who scoffed whenever Nate tried to shove her away from this supposedly 'awful' boy? Where was the Valencia who was so determined that she snuck out practically every night to be with a boy he never approved of?

Of course, as it turns out, Nate was protecting the wrong person. It was Florence that needed protecting from Valencia, not the other way around. But he didn't know that then, and now look what happened. Still... Nate was determined to fix it, to fix the situation he couldn't stop from happening.

"Someone will love you, Florence. Of course someone will, how could they not? You're actually... not a bad person." There was not one shred of doubt in Nate's voice.

 

[Dip]

Florence was a silent eruption for the entirety of that long hug, and Florence made him hug back for a long time. He could tell exactly where things got bag, but he just needed someone to be there for him. He needed someone who was stronger for him than his dad was for his mom. He needed someone who matched his intensity.

Dammit, he needed a friend.

It was atleast a good half hour before Florence went limp, and let go of the other. He instantly wished he didn't. He stood up, without a word, and wiped his eyes. "Let's get on the road." He said without expression. He sat at the driver's seat, and slowly started the car. Once the machine started with a kick, Florence drove off. At a normal speed limit.

He was fine, again.

He passed through another numb stage where he was okay, but there was an itch in his throat that only a package of Valencia would satisfy. He slowly reached into his pocket, and felt a ten. He knew that this would be risky, with how the other acted, but he needed a fix. Florence drove for a short time, before he headed into the parking lot of a Get-In-Get-Out.

Florence didn't miss a beat. He left right as Nathaniel began his protest, and he nearly bolted inside. He was like a bomb. He was fine.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate didn't move for the entirety that Florence needed him. He ran out of words though, as did Florence, so he didn't mind the awkward silence. Instead, he just stayed in that same spot, pressed against Florence's body. Briefly, Nate realized that the people that passed by thought they were weird. But he paid no attention to them, their imagination is far less important than the comfort that the other needed.

When Florence let go of him, Nate felt a cold breeze pass by. He wished that he was closer to his human-heater once more, but Nate would never admit it aloud, or even admit it to himself. That was weird. Guys only usually hug for a brief minute after all right? And if it wasn't for the circumstances... Nate would never want to be caught in such a weird position with Florence... Right?

At the suggestion, Nate got into the car. He wanted to offer to drive, but thought that perhaps driving would help Florence take his minds off of things. So he stayed quiet. Instead, Nate turned on the radio. Though, instead of listening to one of the set channels that Florence put, Nate turned it to a channel filled with more soothing music, ones that border on classical.

And then he noticed that they pulled up in front of a gas station. Nate glanced over at the gas meter - full. So why are they-

No...

"What?! What the hell, Florence?!" Florence opened the door, "STOP! Don't you dare buy another pa-" And he ran inside like a scared little mouse. Nate growled, glaring at Florence through the window. He COULD go in there and physically for- No, he couldn't even do that. Florence is stronger than him. And Florence was addicted to those stupid cancer sticks. And Florence was an idiot.

"Stupid... Bastard... Idiot... Who turn to lung disease when they're depressed?!" He muttered to himself bitterly, crossing his arms. Briefly, his eyes wandered down, and he took notice in the glove department in front of him.

Florence mentioned something about there only being two rules in the car... Florence being the driver is one... The other is...

Nate reached out curiously, pushing the button to open the glove department. He paused for a moment as he saw the object lay there in the middle of the container. All by itself. Nate blinked, picking it up to examine. But before he could make heads or tails of it, he saw Florence approach the front door of the gas station yet again. Without a thought, he frantically slammed the glove department close and slipped the object into his jacket.

His eyes were wide, and he felt like a horrible thief with lead weighing down his pocket as Florence reentered the car. At first, he was quiet. But as soon as he took notice of the cigarettes, Nate's guilty conscious flew out the window. "You're an idiot." He said once more, his voice was slightly shaky, but his narrowed eyes still held as much contempt for the boy and the stick in his mouth as ever.