Solar Flares (book 2 in the D.R.O.M.P Trilogy)

Chapter Four

***LUCAS POV***

"Yo Arnold Over here!" I shout as Arnold gets out of his truck. I had ditched my classes for the day and had met up with Arnold at an old haunt of ours. The old abandoned hotel on the Highway out of town. No one ever went here and the cops pretty much gave up trying to keep kids and adults out of here. Arnold gives me a shit eating grin before pulling a large cooler out of the bed of his truck. He holds it up as he saunters over to me.

"Brought the goods" He says when he reaches me. We head over to the building and he easily picks the lock, letting us slip in. We jog up the stairs to the second floor and enter the old ballroom of the hotel. There was graffiti and litter from old parties of kids everywhere. My eyes travel to the farthest wall and I bust out laughing. Pointing to a certain tag.

"Aw Man remember that night?" I say staring at the tag. It was a puke green smiling face with a bullet hole in the head, green blood oozing out of it. I had drawn that on the wall at a crazy party one night when I was sixteen. I had been totally trashed and the only thing I remember from that night was drawing that thing on the wall. That had been five years ago and even though the green had faded and there was graffiti overlapping it the smiling face was still there. Arnold looks over and laughs as he sets the cooler down.

"Dude that night was SICK! I think I got laid by like seven girls that night." He says shaking his head. We make out way over to the dusty old couch and plop down. I look  about the room while Arnold gets up and drags the old coffee table over to us so he can put the cooler on top of it. He opens it and produces two shot glasses, a large bottle of vodka and.... four twenty once bottles of code red mountain dew. The best chaser when it came to Vodka shots. I grin as he pours us a shot each. We clink our glasses together and knock em back, quickly taking a chug of mountain dew. It's been a month since I first saw him at burger king. I hadn't hung out with him since. But I missed my old friend. and frankly I needed to just de stress. midterms were coming up soon and I have been swamped with homework and working at The Garage with Rolland. I just needed some down time with an old friend. We take Shot after shot and I can feel myself getting more and more drunk. I look over at Arnold.

"Dude got any grass?" I slur, my vision doubling as I look at him. Were there normally two Arnolds? The two Arnolds shake their heads, matching devil grins on their faces.

"No But I have something better." They say pulling out a small vial of clear liquid. I knew what it was. and shook my head.

"LSD man really?" They nod and open the vial, taking the small dropper and placing some on the lip of my shot glass. They pour me some vodka and hand it to me. Wait, Which one do I take? I reach my hand out and try to grab one, only grabbing air. Oops not that one. I reach over and grab the right one, my hand clasping around it. We clink our glasses together again and I take the shot, downing the drink and the illegal substance.

The night wears on and I start to feel the affects, things loomed out at me, the designs on the walls started to move and talk to me. I shake my head.

"Man I am out of it. what about you?" I slur looking at the now four Arnolds. Wait there was only two a few minutes ago?. He shakes his head

"Nawh I'm fine. Let me get you home." He stands up and helps me off the couch. I stumble and burst out laughing as the smiling face on the wall starts to laugh at me. The Arnolds chuckle and help me stumble down the stairs to my car. As I reach for the drivers side he stops me, plucking the keys out of my hands. "Oh no you don't, You are not driving this trashed, get in the other seat." He says smirking. I don't put up a fight. Things were swirling around me and I felt myself slipping farther and farther. I climb into the passenger side and let Arnold drive me home. All the lights in the house were off when we got there. All but the living room light. Fuck! I check the time. It was Nine at night. I Had been gone all day and I was four hours late after my last class should have ended. Double Fuck! I look to Arnold.