FLAWED // Ralph X Reader

origin

A shaky breath exited your lungs as the remains of a memory flooded your mind. "Ralph still would like to know... if the human doesn't mind...". You looked up at him, eyes wide. "Ok.... one night years ago....".

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You stumbled out the door with a bag on your arm. You cried out, landing on the wet grass of your shabby house on the outskirts of Detroit.
"I will NOT have a failure as a child!", your mother screamed, cigar hanging from her lips. "But I- but", you couldn't say much, a fear and sadness was now embedded deep into your very soul.
You had failed high school. Failing a year in high school wouldn't have been so bad for most people, however you didn't have the time or funds to retake an entire course again. On top of that, you were the last hope of a working person in your family.
Your entire family tree consisted of bums and jobless hicks. They had fallen victim to the harsh world fresh from school. It seems you are following in their footsteps.

You screamed angrily through your teeth, flipping the bird to your formal parent. "FUCK YOU!", was the last thing you ever said to her. You slung your bag with a very little clothes you owned over your shoulder and charged as fast as you could away from that double wide hell.

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How long had it been? A day? You had somehow made your way into the city. You watched solemnly as a few cars bustled down the road and chatter arose from street corners. Even a homeless man ran his fingers over a precious penny he had gotten from pedestrians.
You, however, were not happy. You had nothing and no one. You'd never be happy again. You continued walking, but the sun was almost gone in the sky.

You made your way into a damp alleyway and threw your bag down besides you. You slid down the wall, pulling your knees to your chest. Why couldn't you have just had a happy ending? Like in the fairytales you read as a child. But that's just what they were. Fairytales.

Stuck in your own little world, you barely heard footsteps approaching. "Hello there...", a voice said, "(Y/N), right?". You looked up, face and eyes a splotchy red. "How did you- Josh?", you said without belief. Joshua Hooke was the school bad boy. He had always been getting himself stuck in detention with some fucked up pranks or smoking in the bathroom.
"Kicked out, huh?", he said unpitying. He took a seat beside you. "Been there done that... say, would you like a place to go?", he said, turning to you with a malicious smile.

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You had followed him. Sure.... it wasn't your best idea, but what else was there? The two of you made your way into an abandoned warehouse. He opened the door in false chivalry. "This way, m'Dude~", he laughed out obnoxiously.
You sighed, entering the building. The air was thick and foggy, almost as if someone had been smoking. The weirdest part however, was the slight red hue it gave off. Strange, but still breathable.

You continued following him through double doors. On the other side there had to be at least 20 people. Your eyes widened in shock as you looked around. Josh clapped a hand on your shoulder. "They're all run aways and drop outs, or abandoned by their family... just like us. But now, we've formed our own little family, you could call it."
You were slack jawed. The walls were covered in many shades of colors and graffiti and chatter arose in the air like the wafting smoke.

"I think.... I think I'm going to like it here".

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"(Y/N)?", Josh called. You looked up from an old magazine as he walked into the room. "I think it's time I show you how we make money around here..".
He put a hand on your arm and walked you into a small side room. In the room were bags and buckets of a shimmering, hard, red substance.
"What is this?", you questioned. His lips twitched as he lit a cigarette and inhaled the smoke greedily. "Red Ice", was all he said before taking another drag. You hummed and looked back down at the substance. "We sell it", he coughed, blowing smoking and watching it waft into the air.
"So... I'm guessing you want me to do that, too. It's a drug though, isn't it? Like cocaine?", you blinked at him. Of course, you've seen many of your friends smoking or getting high. Especially this masked girl named Abigail. She seemed to always be on something. It didn't bother you anymore like it did at first, however you would never do anything more then a cigarette sometimes.
Joshua raised an eyebrow at you. "Yea...", he said with a breathy laugh, blowing smoke in your face, "It goes for big bucks. You're sneaky, right? Make like a fox and.... Just don't get caught".

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It had taken you six years to catch on. Six years. You quickly lit the lighter, catching fire to the supply of drugs Frostbite had with them. You watched as the steady flame grew into a raging fire. This horrible drug will never hurt another person in your side of Detroit again.
Large plumes of red smoke filled the air and the old fire alarms let out a struggling scream. The doors kicked open. "(Y/N)!", Joshua screamed, grabbing you by the hair and dragging you out of the wear house with the rest of the group.
He thee you on the ground in the middle of them. "YOU LET THE FUCKING SUPPLY CATCH ON FIRE?!", he screamed in rage, kicking you in the stomach. Abigail raised a hand. "Josh...", she sighed out. Was she going to be your saving grace? "What if this low-life bitch set the supply on fire themself?". Apparently not.

He looked at you, fire in his eyes. "Is this true, (Y/N)?". You looked down, hands digging into the gravel. He spit on you. "Beat them up. Don't kill them, they'll do that themselves once they realize what they've done."

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You lates on the ground, face cakes and blood and body broken and bruised. The fire was taking over the building now.
Hearing sirens blaring in the distance, you forced yourself up off the ground. Finally standing, you lurched forward and spilled the contents of your stomach into the ground.
You wrapped an arm around your stomach and hobbled into the streets.

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You were crying now, looking down at your hands. You formed your fingers into fists. "And that's... my story".
You didn't expect to feel arms wrap around you, however it was nice. Ralph had pulled you into an embrace.
You wrapped your arms around him in return, burying your face in his shoulder.

"Ralph promises he will never let that happen to you again...". You smiled into his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ralph".