・Lungs・

[Dip]

Florence shrugged. "if I did, my mom would be wearing it." Maybe the other could use more of a feminine wardrobe. But if he needed that, he might as well go to Valenc-- no. No. He wasn't going to think of her. He grabbed Water-Lou's lease, and looked to the other, trying to distract himself. "Just, un, tuck it in. Roll up the pant-legs, or something." He shrugged, before the dog began pulling him towards the place he desired to go.

Florence had to follow. The dog was huge, and demanded to be pampered. The other did as he advised, and he kept on the sidewalk. Florence felt in his pocket for a cigarette, and sighed when he found one that was in usable condition. Once they were out of the way of Florence's house, he lit it up, and took a breath from the crooked cancer-stick. "Where tooooooo, Water-Louuuu." He sang out smoke.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate sighed and did what he was told, then he quickly followed, trying not to trip over the rolled up pant legs. He felt embarrassed by the sheer size of the clothes, but he tried to ignore it as he walked beside Florence.

When Florence took out the cigarette, Nate immediately went to glare at the other boy, ready to grab it once again. "How and why do you still use those?" He wasn't yelling, as he normally was, because he was still feeling the after effects of their fun. But still, he was annoyed and he kept his distance, as he truly disliked the smell of the smoke.

He glanced at the dog for a while, watching in amazement as the dog dragged Florence along like he weighed nothing. He was sort of glad he didn't have to deal with the actual leash holding.

 

[Dip]

Florence shrugged. "I guess it demands to be smoked. I used to just have a casual smoke, but now I just need it." He guessed. He recalled one of the logs that he had made when he smoked his first cigarette ever. It was with Mackenzie, and he wasn't too upset with himself afterwards.

"Star date, July fifteenth, two-thousand-thirteen. Mackenzie gave me a pack of cigarettes, and I smoked one of them today. I'm not sure if they expire, but they tasted horrible. I had to take a shower afterwards, I felt sticky. It tasted almost like diet soda, but vaporized. I know the next time I see him, he'll want me to smoke with him. I think I might, just to make him happy. Over."

Florence let the dog drag him to the direction of the dog park as he sucked on the end of the filter.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate shook his head, knowing that his argument would have been a losing battle, "I still think you should try to stop." He muttered anyways.

After a few minutes, Nate noticed a familiar car. It looked like one of his parents car, and he blinked. "Mom?" He said aloud, wondering why his mom car would be down here for any particular reason. But as it pulled over in front of a small store, Nate saw another familiar face.

"Isn't that..." He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to focus on the figure to get a better look at. When he confirmed his suspicion, he paled. He immediately turned to Florence and grabbed the other's arm. "Hey! Let's go this way instead!" He tried to steer the other away, but he was probably too late.

 

[Dip]

Florence was immediately anxious when he heard about the other possibly seeing his mother. Oh, god, she looked just like Valencia. And she hated him just about as much as Nathaniel did. He kept himself in check, and didn't look. Oh, god, if he saw her, he knew he'd probably flip his switch. He sucked on the cigarette like it was going to save his life.

It wasn't until the other began stalling that he actually turned to look.

 

[RiniPinja]

When Florence looked, he can easily spot out a familiar small figure. A small girl with brown curls was waving goodbye to a figure in the car. "Florence!" Nate called out once again, trying to drag him along. Sadly, he was less unsuccessful than the beastly dog, as the dog began to pull Florence forward. "Go the other way!" Nate tried to convince the pair, but was unsuccessful.

Ran, on the other hand, heard Nate's cry out towards Florence, and look over at the two. She pulled herself away from the car, which was still parked at the side, and she waved at them. "Birdy!" She called out, smiling, "and cute little Nate!" She then walked over to them, although rather slowly. "How are you two?"

Nate froze as their names were called, and he tried once more time to pull Florence back. "Come on, Florence. It's not worth it, let's go!"

 

[Dip]

Florence finally turned, and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was her! Ran! He wanted to smile, and hug her, but she didn't look the least bit worried! Sure, he was happy to see her, but it was strange. She should be relieved that her best friend is safe. She should be happy! Florence scoffed as the other walked near.

Water-Lou threatened to drag him off as Florence stood still. "How are we? Well, I just had atleast twelve mental breakdowns within the past twelve hours, thanks for asking. What are you doing here?" He asked. "And why were you with Mrs. Cross? Shouldn't you be with-with Valencia?" He asked, threatening to crack at the sound of her name.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate winced as he saw his mother's gaze through the window, but he said or did nothing. Instead, he stood there, watching to make sure Ran doesn't do anything funny or out of the ordinary.

Ran frowned at Florence's answer, and she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm actually here because of Valencia! She wanted some orange juice, so I offered to pick some up- she can be sooo troublesome sometimes. Mrs. Cross just dropped me off before going to work!" She explained, her voice showing no signs of concern or remorse for any of the previous events. At the mention of his mother, Nate glanced over at her again.

Despite wearing sunglasses, Mrs. Cross was staring down at Nate and Florence. Her gaze was harsh, and Nate could practically feel the waves of glares coming off of her. She was angry. No, she was livid. Nate knew she was probably going to scream at him later, but he tried to cast the thought from his mind. Instead, he went back to focusing on Ran.

"Anyways, I'm sorry 'bout before. I had to like lie and stuff, because Valencia refuse to let me tell you!" Ran pouted a bit, crossing her arms. "Forgive me?" Nate desperately hoped that Florence wasn't going to forgive Ran that easily.

 

[Dip]

Florence's eyes were about the size of dinner plates. He tried looking over her, to see if there was any sign of any body language to show for any real forgiveness. But there wasn't. Florence's dog, at the sight of a stranger, stood guard and kept watch. Water-Lou watched her about as closely as Florence watched her. It wasn't long before his eyes began watering, as if there were still paint specks in there.

"A-Are you serious?" He asked, trying not to raise his voice. He was on a coaster of emotions, and he was sure that this ride didn't have any seat-belts. "No, I don't forgive you, Ran! Do you know what kind of hell I went through-- that she put me through? My heart is about as black as my lungs are! I've gone through five packs in two days!" He didn't want to admit it in-front of Nathaniel, but hell, he was hooked and there was no getting off.

"You were my best friend. I went to you first! I thought I could trust you. I loved you like family-- I told you shit my mother doesn't even know about!" Florence wiped his eyes. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't going to turn to her in any time of need again. He had a new friend for that now. He had Nathaniel. "How could you betray me like that? I felt like dying. I told you the light left my life, Ran, didn't you understand how much she meant to me?!" He raised his voice gently, but brought it back down. He looked at her with cold blue eyes, and turned away.

"I don't forgive you, Ran. I never will."

Florence wanted to push her into oncoming traffic. He wanted to scream and kick, and punch and be mean to her. He wanted to rip her apart with his words, but he had a feeling he already did. "Come on, Nathaniel. Water-Lou, let's go."

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate eyed Florence a bit at the confession of how much he smoked. He kept it in the back of his mind though, he will make sure that Florence stop that ridiculous habit before something insanely bad happens to the boy's health... Other than that, though, Nate felt a sort of pride in Florence, as he was able to step away from Ran and even yell at her. Of course, he knew how much pain the other had to be going through, but one step at a time, right?

Nate glanced over at his mother for a brief second, and immediately looked down onto the ground. He then nodded as Florence told them that they were leaving, "Yeah, sure."

On the other hand, Ran's face showed one of pure shock, and she immediately grabbed onto Florence's arm. "Wait! No, I'm sorry Birdy! Vally asked me to keep quiet, because she didn't want you to know..." She muttered a bit, looking down onto the ground, "I didn't want to lie to you... Really, Birdy." She tightened her hand on his arm.

Nate felt that flash of anger surge through his head again, and he immediately stepped in between Ran and Florence. "Stop it." He glared a bit at her, causing Ran to step back. She was stunned. She didn't know what to do. "Birdy..." She whined a bit, looking over at him. "Please..."

 

[Dip]

Florence gave her once last look, before he turned around and walked away, his dog lazily leading the way back towards the dog park. He let out a breath he forgot he was holding, and felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest. He turned gently to Nathaniel, and sighed. "Maybe I was being too mean to her," He started slowly.

"I mean...I would have done the same thing." He started. It wasn't long before they were at the park, and Florence let his monster dog off of his leash.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate just scoffed a bit, shaking his head. "No. You wouldn't, you wouldn't do that to your best friend if he broke down like that in your living room." Nate said darkly, his anger still prevalent in his mind.

He watched as the giant dog pranced away like an excited puppy. Probably to pee, he figured, or something along those lines. He was also quite surprised that the dog didn't eat the smaller dogs as they approached, perhaps the beast was a gentle one after all?

"You weren't being harsh at all..." Nate said after a few minutes, "I would have done a lot worse if I was in your shoes."

"Now... About your cigarette problems..." Nate crossed his arms against his chest, eyeing Florence carefully. "I know they make you... feel better, or something like that. But you really need to stop. 5 packs a day?! That's just getting ridiculous!"

 

[Dip]

"You sound like my mother." Florence rolled his eyes. "Really, it's not that bad. I buy filters and everything. I pay my mom for them and everything." He played it off well, like he didn't have a problem. Like he wasn't addicted, or like it wasn't one of the things that were keeping him together. But he figured he might as well stop, because Lacrosse season was coming up.

Florence saw Water-Lou come back with a stick, and he happily threw it a distance. "Plus," He started. "The tobacco company stared sending me coupons." Florence looked at the expression the other gave, and rolled his eyes. "Okay, look, I'm trying to make the best out of the situation, okay? Sure, they're bad, but it's not like I'm going to drop dead tomorrow."

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate couldn't find any fault in being compared to Florence's mother, she seemed like a pretty awesome one! But he didn't mention that. Instead, he shook his head. "You might not die tomorrow, but it's going to cause problems at some point... Your lungs being 'black' might not be an exaggeration anymore."

He didn't look angry anymore. He didn't even look annoyed. Instead, he looked sad and anxious. As if the thought of Florence's death, or even the thought of Florence going to the hospital, was such a heart-wrenching thought to him. His eyes weren't even looking at Florence anymore, instead, they were gazing off into the distance, almost as if watching Water-Lou, but not focused.

 

[Dip]

Florence decided that this would be a bad time to pull out a cigarette. He found himself doing that often, when he tried to avoid social situations. Florence stuck his hand in his pocket, and sighed. "What do you want me to do? Bad habits are the hardest ones to break." He said the last bit absently, thinking about how hard it would be to stop thinking about Valencia.

Florence watched the other come back, and he quickly threw the stuck farther that time.

 

[RiniPinja]

Silence filled the air between them for a while, as Nate tried to think of different solution to break one of the hardest habits to break - addiction. He heard countless stories of people who had went through their entire lives not ever breaking their habit. And one day, their habit ends them in the most horrible way imaginable.

But of course, there are still people who broke their habits. And what did they do? "There are... programs." He started out quietly, biting his bottom lip on concentration. "Or something of that sort. I'll help you go to them, I'll support you." He said, now looking over at Florence again. He could see a slight bulge in the guy's pockets, knowing full well that a packet of cigarettes were hidden in there.

"And besides..." He paused once more, debating whether or not he should mention the next part. "Focusing on breaking your habit will help keep your mind off of my sister."

 

[Dip]

"I'm sixteen years old," He started, breaking attention away from talk of Valencia. "And besides, I'm too young for one of those addition programs. I think this will just wear out eventually." He shrugged. "It usually happens with kids my age-- I've seen it happen. I'll get tired of it eventually. I mean, I'm not a real addict."

Florence watched his dog pounce around with some smaller dogs, nearly being abrade of them. It felt like now he was making excuses. If Valencia was here, she would know what to do. Florence kicked at a clod of dirt. "When do you have to be home?" He spoke up. "It looked like your mom was about ready to kill you."

 

[RiniPinja]

"You're a sixteen year old that smokes 5 packs per day!" Nate exclaimed, not understanding why Florence couldn't understand that he was addicted! Nate then remember back in psychology class, there were the 5 stages to recovery right? And the first one as admittance. He sighed, Florence was going to have a hard time going through that hoop.

"Don't just change the subject." He muttered, a little annoyed. He was still looking over at Florence, now unable and unwilling to look away. He hoped the boy can feel Nate's gaze bore into his head and perhaps that would get some sense into him. Maybe. What? He could dream, couldn't he? After a few minutes of staring, he finally answered. "I don't care. I'll go home when I want to." This was rather uncharacteristic of Nate. He was usually the 'good' child, at least compared to Valencia. He always followed the rules. He never disobeyed any of his parents, even when their rules were sometimes ridiculous.

But he was dealing with so much shit lately. And Valencia was home. And his mom was going to lecture him about Florence. It was going to be hell the minute he step through the door. He certainly didn't want to hasten that experience.

"So... You're going to be stuck with me for a while." He muttered under his breath. "Sorry."

 

[Dip]

Florence nodded, and watched as his dog rolled with some smaller ones, barking happily. He wished he was that happy right then. Florence recalled when he got his dog for his birthday, and it has been one of his best friends since. It has been one of his only friend since. "That's okay." He decided. He turned to the other, and sighed. "Wanna get some food?" He asked.

If you asked Florence if this was an excuse to get some cigarettes, he would say yes. But he wanted some slushies, too. He was so hungry, he could go for a processed burrito or something. Florence soon placed two fingers into his mouth, and whistled loudly. It was a bad idea, because nearly four or five other dogs flocked to the other.

"No, no, Water-Lou," He protested, as the other dogs began jumping onto them.

 

[RiniPinja]

Nate nodded in agreement, after all, his original goal was to get Florence out to eat! Mission accomplished-ish! "Sure, where did you want to go? I still want a nice fast-food hamburger. McDonald's is close by, I believe."

Nate laughed as Florence struggled to gather only Water-Lou. The other dogs refused to leave, their bodies bouncing up and down, their tails wagging, demanding for some sort of attention from Florence. "Someone is popular." He smiled, grinning a bit. Nate didn't offer to help though, he has never been quite good with animals. Sure, he liked them well enough. But that didn't mean he understood them.

Not to mention, a giant dog like Water-Lou did intimidate him. He's quite sure if the dog stood up, Nate's height would be inferior to it.