The Anti-Delinquent System

F o u r t e e n : The Lost Boys

Quick question: Do you picture Erika as blonde or brunette? I actually haven't described her hair colour yet because I haven't decided (shocking content ik ik)

☆☆ Dedication to the lovely @EternalZephyr! We bonded over my obsession with her books and Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. She's a Pistachio type, I'm more of a Caramel Chew Chew person myself. Anyways her Sweetie series is incredible and so underrated (!) and I recently discovered that she likes TADS, so this one is for her! ☆☆

F o u r t e e n : The Lost Boys 

"Oh, Kai."

I curse before I can stop myself. Miko has frozen stiff next to me, staring at the sachet of pink pills on Kai's beside table. For a second, a brief blink of an eye, Kai looks scared. His eyes are dark and wide with anxiety, his lips parted as if he's going to speak, but no words come out. No explanation, no defence.

Then, he looks angry.

"Get out!" He yells the words so loudly that it spurs Miko from her paralysis, cutting through the silence like a bloody dagger. His tone is equally cutting, but neither is any match for his expression. I don't think I'll ever be able to remove this image of Kai from my memory: his nose pinched in disgust, lips peeled back over his teeth, eyes aflame with fury. His facial features have become primal, animal, like a threatened dog snarling in defence.

"I can't believe you didn't knock- you, you- fucking get out!"

I stumble backwards out of his bedroom and tug Miko with me. His venomous scowl and the darkness of the room are the last things we see before he slams the door shut: punctuating the argument with off-white panelled wood. I can't do anything but stare for a few seconds, my mouth agape. I can't believe this. I knew that Kai was on the road to trouble, but I never thought, could never think, that it was this bad.

I try to swallow but my mouth has gone dry.

"Miko," I croak, turning to my best friend. My hand is still on her shoulder from tugging her free of the room, and I squeeze it lightly. She looks utterly shell-shocked, but I can see the water beginning to brim in her eyes. Soon, the tears will spill over.

"No." Her voice cracks. "Not him."

I seize her to my body and squeeze as tightly as I can, as if I can absorb her pain. She doesn't deserve this. She works so hard at being supportive for Kai. She tries to push him in the right direction and encourage him to be his best self. Miko's fingers hook into my lower back painfully, and she buries her face into the crook of my neck, as if she can hear my thoughts. After a second of holding it all together, she finally breaks and her body wracks with sobs.

"It will be okay," I murmur, stroking her hair. "It will all be okay. We'll get him help. We can make this better for him, Mickey, I promise."

Minutes pass and I continue to hold her as she cries.

Her sobs progressively lose more and more power until eventually she's snivelling. She doesn't move for a while after that, and I don't tell her to. She remains cradled in my wet hair as I stroke her back to a slow beat until finally, she's ready to speak.

"I need to tell Okaasan," she whispers into my shoulder. "Something needs to be done. This is way beyond our control; he's sixteen."

I wince at the reminder. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure he's going to get through this, Mickey. He has you and your Mom behind him, and I'll help in whatever way I can."

She pulls away from our hug, running fingers under her eyes to catch the tears on her wet cheeks. Her skin is flushed, and her eyes are bloodshot and watery. As she pulls her hands down from her face, I notice that they're shaking. It makes me want to hug her more.