Liam was not necessarily someone Ave would normally trust, of course. But for now, he felt the obligation to trust the person sitting across from him on the bed. With a mane of curly hair, a toothy grin, and one single joint in his hand, he had no choice but to trust him. He was contractually obligated, at least in a moral sense.
It wasn't that he was being pressured in any way, but as he was already here, and Liam was already offering him everything he hadn't asked for, and with a lighthearted attitude, he just had to accept it.
And in this case, he had to accept the shotgun Liam was about to offer him.
"So don't have any breath, first," Liam said, as he looked at the joint. "And then I'll come in, and then you'll take the hit. Just like normal." Ave nodded slowly. "Good, alright, let's do this." Ave watched as Liam chuckled, almost nervously.
And then Liam took a hit. And leaned forward. Ave let out his breath, closed his eyes. Liam's lips. Then smoke, and he breathed it in, and Liam disconnected as soon as all was gone from his lungs.
Ave's eyes stayed closed, and though it was easier to hold the second-hand, he still couldn't shake the feeling that it was choking his lungs. Then, finally, he breathed out and opened his eyes.
"Was that alright?" Liam asked carefully, laughing as Ave blinked once, then twice, furrowing his brows.
"That was...," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully, deciding on, "weird."
"Really?" Liam simply laughed at him. "I wasn't sure, that's the first time I've ever done that." Ave was broken away from his thoughts.
"Wh- Really?" he questioned, and Liam nodded.
In an instant, both broke into hearty laughter.
"I hate you, I hate you," Ave ended up telling Liam as he held his stomach.
"You do not!" Liam retorted, nearly dropping the joint between his fingers. As both of them let go their laughter, Ave felt a bit more comfortable where he was. Liam nearly felt like his friend, and at this point, it was nice to have someone who wasn't screaming all the time.
He'd actually forgotten most of the reasons he was here. He was here to be with Liam, he knew, but he couldn't seem to remember why or how or when. There was a clock in the room, but the time didn't make sense to Ave. It was just numbers. The room was just a room. Reasons didn't seem to matter anymore, at least to Ave.
And Liam... Liam was Liam. He was Liam and he was with him.
Maybe it was the narcotics acting up, but Ave was so incredibly happy right then. He was practically melting in whatever he was feeling at that moment. And he loved it.
"Hey, Ave," Liam said after it had gone quiet a few moments later. "You want another one?"
"One what?" Ave replied. Liam held the joint to Ave, and gratefully, Ave picked it from Liam's fingers and took his own hit, and as a newbie, the buzz was even stronger. He felt the haze. He wanted to laugh so much for no reason. God, he was happy. He couldn't remember the last time he actually was this happy.
The past few months for him, even, he couldn't remember one time he had smiled. It was so easy to just not smile and not be happy when his whole life was just a pile of shit. When he looked in the mirror and saw a pile of shit. Of mistakes and regret.
He felt none of that now.
After ten minutes, previous thoughts abandoned, the joint was gone and Ave was lain down on the bed, listening to Liam play his guitar for the first time since the last time he had played. Ave insisted, wanting to hear Liam at least try. It sounded nice, even if the chords were wrong and each string had no correct intonation. The strings played individually, however, sounded musical, even if just a bit.
