Downers [Andrew Graves X Male OC]

Chapter 10: Veridis Quo

Andrew groans as he gets into the car, shooting daggers with his eyes at Ashley. "Soo where to nex-" "Check if he has anything interesting in his car." "But fingerprints-" "We already touched the handle and the wheel and the seats so just fucking check." She can tell from the way he's holding his hair that she should just agree, Ashley checks inside the glove department and reads aloud a letter about 'washing laundry' aka the trio. Andrew's only half paying attention while he feels weird with the lack of another male voice. "We're the 'laundry'??" "Seems so..." Ashley puts on her seatbelt and gets comfortable in her seat, "Welp... Let's go." Andrew leans against the wheel and watches, "Let's go where?"

She nonchalantly shrugs, "We're off to somewhere, right? Got the car and everything now!" "This isn't exactly the best situation to go joyriding in a stolen car. We don't have Omen or any money." He taps the steering wheel, the guilt sinking in, "Fine. Let's go take mom's-" "For fuck's sake! Does everything I say go in one ear and out the other?? We're never going to talk to anyone we know ever again! Remember?? And thanks to you we can't even talk to the only one who defended us." She looks at him in disbelief, "Thanks to me?? So what- we get quarantined and suddenly you're desperate enough to like a guy?" "Why do you care so much?" "Why do YOU care so much? He's gone. Get over it. This just proves I'm the only one that-" He turns to her, giving her a look that makes her go quiet. "What the fuck were you two arguing about earlier?"

Ashley hesitantly catches him up on everything, a smirk at the end, "...And it's just us now, Andy." He's silent as he thinks and degrades himself mentally. "Stop calling me that. What did you want to do at moms?" "We'll just rob them. Break in while they're at work, get some money, and then get lost.... But I don't know where they live..." She taps her chin, "I know the place but I don't remember the exact address." He starts the car and Ashley puts her feet above the dash, "...She actually told you the address??" "...Yeah?-- Feet on the floor!" He turned to smack her feet off. "My god! It's not even your car, Andy!!" "Shut up and put your seatbelt on, I'm serious, Ashley. We're looking for him first." He puts his seatbelt on and gets prepared to drive for the first time since the diner incident, two years. "Boo!! Why?? What if we miss them being gone?" "Then it's your fault. And we won't miss it if you'd behave, I'll be goddamned if we get caught in a dead man's car by getting pulled over 'cause of you." She crosses her arms and smiles, "Make me, Andy."

If his eyes could die more, they did. "..What do you want?? If it's to piss me off then you're nailing it right now." She slightly pokes his chest and giggles, "Oh, c'mon! It's just a joke. You get so mad it's funny." He shakes his head and rubs his eyes, "I know you, Ashley! You always go 'Andy Andy' until I get tired of correcting you and suddenly you have me wrapped again! I'm tired of it. I want my own fucking life." She's genuinely hurt and tries to find comfort in his eyes but can't, "...I was honestly just joking around." "Well then it's not funny and you're going to stop..." She turns away to face out the window and plays with her sleeve, he hums and begins driving, going extra slow to adjust to being behind the wheel again. "Nothing is funny to you anymore." "I'm looking out for all three of us." He doesn't care, really not finding it funny. "You don't have to be such a hardass about it." He smiles and shrugs, "I do when you're such a dumbass about it." "You're happy?" "When you're quiet." He laughs a tiny bit at himself and she goes silent again, feeling frustrated that he keeps rejecting her. Andrew's content with quiet from his sister and puts on the radio, on the way to search for his boy to apologize to.

⋆★⋆

The clock inside the empty pharmacy reads five in the morning, your body feels like it'll give up on you any second but you walk past the window and around a corner, deciding to wait to sell some of your pills to buy a good breakfast. You only have to wait for several minutes before a sketchy guy walks close to you, asking if you have anything. "I have Oxy for ten each." You shake a bottle and he groans, "You're expensive..." "It's from a doctor." He reaches in his pocket and lights up from finding a few bags, "I have rocks or acid, want to trade?" "Uh... no thanks... I smell alcohol on you... what do you have?" You can tell he doesn't want to give it up, "I'll give you seven pills for a bottle and thirty dollars." His eyes flash with your offer and he quickly pulls a bottle of semi cheap straight bourbon out of his bag along with a few crumbled bills and you hesitate before holding a napkin out with seven pills counted.