The Monster in the Sky. Klance AU

Chapter 42: An Old Friend

"Hey... George," James said, voice wavering an unnerving amount. He couldn't stop himself from blinking at an unnecessarily rapid rate: it was the only way he could get rid of the tears gathering in his eyes. He was sick of crying. "Can we meet up?"

"Do you need another hit?" George's voice was a dull monotone; as if he dealt with addicts every day of his life. He probably did, considering he dealt adderall to someone he had never had a single conversation with that didn't revolve around the topic of drugs.

"Uh... yeah... I need it as soon as possible."

"I can meet you at our old meeting place in a few hours?"

"No sooner?"

"Nope. I've got another job I need to attend to. Surprisingly, my world does not revolve around you."

James used the hand that wasn't holding onto the phone to tug at his own hair. The sharp pain helped him calm down, even if the relaxation didn't last any longer than a few milliseconds. "Okay." Unable to think clearly enough to muster up a menial farewell, James hung up and threw his phone onto his bed. It bounced off and crashed to the floor with a soft thud. He didn't care to check whether it had survived the fall.

-

When James walked behind the school and his eyes laid upon George, he forced a smile with the hope that he didn't look as much of a mess as he thought he did. One glance into a small puddle on the floor told him he somehow managed to look messier. His reflection stared up at him through wide, red-rimmed eyes with hair on his head that resembled more of a mop than anything else. He glanced up at George who had his back leant against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him- just like old times. "It's been a while, hasn't it Griffin?"

James glared at his feet and nodded. Even his shoes were a mess- caked in brown mud that discoloured their usual white. "My boyf- ex-boyfriend found out and made me delete your number from my phone."

"How'd you get in contact then?"

James didn't want to admit the truth; he had the number memorised. That seemed a new kind of low that James didn't want to be known for stooping to. He had called it enough whilst in the height of his addiction that typing it out seemed like muscle memory and he had just come to remember it. "Just give me the pills."

"You know the rules. Money first."

George jut out his hand, the dim lighting of the alley not doing its dry, roughness justice. "That's... the thing..." James swallowed thickly, shoving his trembling hands into his pockets even though he was only met with empty air. A part of him had hoped that the money would have appeared on its own.

"You do have money, don't you? This is a two way deal, Griffin. No money, no pills."

"I'll pay you back later, I promise. I just- I need them. I'll do anything."

George backed up and dropped his arm to his side. He shook his head in what appeared to be slow motion to James whose world was falling apart right in front of him. "I reiterate: no money, no pills."

"Come on," James could hardly control himself as he dived forward and grabbed George by the collar of his shirt. He gripped on with all of his might, desperation clouding his eyes. "I need them. You don't get it."

"I do get it, Griffin. I think it's you who doesn't get it. I don't give a fuck about you or your prissy little life. All I care about is the money. If you don't have it, I can't give you the pills." Any other time, James would have known his actions were stupid but he was too phased by the withdrawal and the break up. He shoved George into the wall, raising his fist. It was so shaky that it hardly represented all the combat training he had had back at the Garrison. "You forget who I am."

"I haven't forgotten."

"I think you have," George shoved James off of him, using enough strength for him to stumble back but not quite fall over. "I am capable of so much more than you."

"I scored top in combat-"

"Yeah but you're hardly the same guy as you were back then. Just look at yourself. You're pathetic," George's voice was full of so much venom that James was beginning to feel nauseated. "You can't function without pills, for fuck's sake. You haven't taken them in a while and you're losing it," It was George's turn to raise a fist and James found himself cowering back. Once George's fist came in contact with James's face, his grunt rang through the air. "How are you supposed to help defend Earth when you're like this? When you can't function without pills? You're weak, Griffin. You should back down now, unless you can get a hold of the money now. Oh and thanks to your inability to cooperate, the price has gone up ten bucks."

"George-"

"I can raise it further if that's what you want?"

"I don't have the money..."

"Get the money. I wonder, are you desperate enough to steal it? I bet it'd be easy to get some money off one of those paladins you constantly follow around. Would one of them notice if some cash went missing from their wallets? I bet they wouldn't."

"I'm not going to steal."

"Then you're not going to get the pills. It's simple. I thought someone as smart as you would be able to understand that." James grunted as George aimed a second punch. Pain ran through his right eye like an electric current, half of his vision blurring so much that George was rendered a blob of colour.

"What's going on here?" The voice made both George and James turn to look at the speaker. Hunk was standing under the dim lighting of the alley, hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised.

"Nothing!" James managed to shout, shoving George away from him and forcing a smile. "Nothing is going on. Just forget you ever saw us."

"Who's this, James? A friend?" Hunk picked apart the fear in James's expression, from the darkness shining behind his eyes to the scowl across his face. He walked towards the pair so they knew to back off, knowing they wouldn't know that he wasn't willing to fight.

George rolled his eyes before muttering, "I don't need this shit." After that he stalked away, leaving Hunk and James alone behind the school.

Before Hunk could ask James any more questions, James was already speaking. "Don't tell anyone you saw us together."

"But what were you doing? It looked dodgy and..." Hunk leaned his head forward, eyes flickering to the brown surrounding James's eyes. "Is that a bruise? Did he hit you?"

"It was my fault. I was trying to argue with him."

Hunk looked sceptical but chose against pushing it. "I think you should get back inside in case he comes back." James nodded: he was much too tired and emotional to argue.