TW: Caleb and Pierce will be using weed in this chapter, if your not comfortable with that skip this chapter.
PIERCE'S POV:
Amber had dragged Oscar away into the cafeteria/office/clinic leaving me and the tree hugger alone in the kennels with nothing but her flashlight.
Caleb sighed. His face was riddled with a mixture of resentment and curiously enough hope.
"Your in high school right?"
"Yeup." I tried to make my voice playful to ease the tension, maybe gaslight him into forgetting that he was mad at me.
It did not work.
He rolled his eyes.
"Your parents probably want you home like yesterday." He muttered.
"Nope." I studied his face, he was curious.
"Why? It's like 1:00am."
"I live with my older sister, she works three jobs, one of them is a night gig. She's basically never home."
I internally slapped myself. Usually I didn't tell people anything about my living situation unless I absolutely had to. But here I was airing my dirty laundry out for him to analyze. The words had escaped my lips without me thinking.
"Oh." His response was sharp but neutral.
"Well, I guess since your already here I'll give you a rundown of the place." He stated matter of factly.
"What about you? Your like twelve shouldn't your parents be calling the police by now or something?" I couldn't help but tease him a little more.
I don't know why but his reactions were so... if he was a chick I'd say cute but he's a guy so that would be gay.
I don't know what it was but I liked causing them.
He glared at me through his emo bangs. God how does he even see?
"I'm eighteen."
I didn't actually think he was twelve, but I was surprised to hear he was eighteen. I would've guessed sixteen maybe seventeen at the oldest.
I shrugged it off.
"Hmm so your in high school, how come I never see you around?"
"I used to go there-" he stopped himself abruptly. It seemed as if he regretted telling me that. Good to know I wasn't the only one with butter lips.
He crossed his arms tighter and puffed his chest out a bit.
"I used to go there but I'm homeschooled now."
"So your parents are just ok with you being in the middle of the woods with some smoking hot guy at 1:00am?"
His glare shifted from malice to done with my shit.
"I homeschool myself, I live alone."
He didn't argue with my self flattery, maybe he just couldn't be bothered.
I leaned against the kennel next to Lady's, the poodle in side looked up at me with it's tongue hanging out.
"Why?"
He looked slightly shocked.
"Non of your business." he retorted.
"Touché."
He sighed yet again. He really did like doing that.
"Anyways, we might as well get this over with."
Just then his phone buzzed. He pulled it out from the pocket of his neon green basketball shorts.
He groaned.
"What? Your boyfriend dump you?"
He glared at me yet again.
"No Amber and Oscar have left."
I bit back a smile. Why did I want to be alone with this twerp?
"Well we don't need them do we?"
He sighed before shaking his head.
"Come on." He turned around motioning for me to follow him with his other hand.
We walked out of the kennels onto the overgrown grass outside. The prison/dog pound was situated in the middle of a giant clearing.
We seemed to be headed towards another tunnel hallway thing about fifty feet away.
The grass crunched under my sneakers as we neared the kennels.
He turned around to face me. I halted in my tracks.
The flashlight which he held near his chest cast shadows upon his smooth pale skin.
"So the kennel where you tried to start shit with Lady was the big dog kennel. That's where we keep the adult dogs over thirty or forty pounds." He paused for a second waving the flashlight in my face.
"Pay attention." I then realized I was gawking at him.
"Yes sir!" I said jokingly saluting him.
He raised his eyebrows at me before pulling something out of his pocket.
A weed cart? He took a few massive hits before he started hacking up his lungs.
"Bro what the fuck!"
He raised his hand up at me his glare shutting me up.
"Your so insufferable I'm gonna need to be high off my ass if I wanna survive you."
"You just have that on you?"
He shrugged.
"Don't you have asthma?"
He nodded before raising the thing to his lips again.
I reached forward and snatched it from his grip.
He grabbed me by the shirt and tried to knee me in the crotch.
I shoved him off of me easily.
"What the hell man!"
"Do you have any idea what this shit does to your lungs???" I sounded like a mom but I didn't care.
"Why the fuck do you care!"
"Why the fuck do you not!"
He was silent for a minute. I examined the thing, it looked like a portable science experiment.
He reached his hand out.
"Give it back." He growled. It seemed to bother him that he couldn't physically overpower me to get it back, so he resorted to verbal aggression.
I realized how stupid I was being. I wasn't his mom why did I care if he smoked his lungs out?
I huffed before holding it out for him.
He snatched it back.
"But no more." I mumbled through my teeth.
"Yes sirrrr." He was mocking me. But he looked cute doing it. Er, not cute, whatever the guy version of cute was, the not gay version of cute.
The high had hit him, his face was extremely relaxed except for a stupid grin on his stupid face.
"Come on prick, I wanna get this over with." He gave a slow laugh.
We walked into the kennel. Once inside he leaned against one of the kennel bars and slid down to where he was sitting on the concrete floor.
This was much more relaxed behavior than I was used to from him. Maybe I liked zooted Caleb.
"This is the small dog kennels, that side-" he pointed to the side opposite of him lazily.
"Is the adult dogs less than twenty or thirty pounds-"
"Like you?" I interrupted cheekily.
He glared at me, but his heart wasn't in it.
"Uh huh sure. Anyways, this side." He patted the floor next to him.
"Is for the puppies."
"What about the third kennel?" I motioned out the opening to the third kennel about a hundred feet away.
He repositioned himself, swaying as he moved his mouth agape.
"That's the non dog animals, mostly cats but we've got a few parrots and some rodents."
I nodded. I thought for a second. He looked like he was enjoying himself, he was more relaxed and completely at ease. The words that came out of my mouth next surprised me.
"Can I hit try your weed thingy?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"I thought it was soooooooo bad for your lungs-"
"Whatever! Stop being a hypocrite."
He smirked at me holding the cart out.
I sat down across from him taking it in my hand, our fingers brushed together but he didn't seem to mind like he had before.
I on the other hand felt queasy from it. Why did I feel this way? I didn't like it, I'd never felt it before I wanted it gone because I didn't understand it.
I put it up to my lips.
"Make sure you actually breathe it in and hold it there for a second." He advised.
I took his advice and immediately felt like my lungs and throat were going to explode.
I was soon on all fours hacking up my internal organs. He started laughing, I grimaced at him after what felt like a lifetime of constant coughing.
"Your such a light weight!"
"Shut up!"
I didn't feel anything yet, we sat there in silence when suddenly my brain felt like it had dissolved inside my skull.
An internal buzz washed over my body like hot carbonated water.
He laughed yet again. But now I just found it cute.
"You alright man?"
I nodded lazily, the world seemed like the frames per second had been set to the single digits.
CALEB'S POV:
Maybe getting high wasn't the best decision. I thought it would help me calm down but I must have taken to many hits.
I was up there, and I would regret it when I crashed back to earth later.
I forgot how flirty I got with guys when I got high with them.
For the past year or so I'd only done it with Amber and Oscar, and Oscar was like a brother to me so I'd never flirt with him no matter how high I got.
Sometimes I flirted with Amber but that was different we didn't really like each-other we were just horny.
I liked Pierce, and trust me I'm not stoked about it but the heart wants what it wants right?
I stood up, immediately my legs burned and I sat back down.
"You alright?" He asked lazily, his obsidian hair was parted in the middle reaching his ears in length.
"Yeah, somethin weird happens to my legs when I smoke too much. When I walk they feel like they burning and then they give out."
I slid my back farther down the bars of the kennel behind me to where I was laying on the ground.
"I don't feel too bad I could help you." Pierce suggested, Pierce picking me up and carrying me? I was terrified of how I would act in that situation.
But then again I was high, it would take a lot to make me upset right now.
I stood up again.
"I think I got it." I took a few steps, my legs burned and the world was slow.
Pierce walked up behind me, I could feel his presence before I felt a dry yet warm hand entwine it's fingers into mine.
If Pierce held hands with sober Caleb he would have absolutely died.
But this was high off his ass Caleb, it didn't bother me, I didn't get defensive, I just enjoyed feeling his skin against mine.
"I'll make sure you don't fall, aight?"
He was now standing next to me, our hands still entwined.
I nodded, before walking again. Pierce's grip on my hand did not help my legs, but it's the thought that counts right?
The tall grass swayed against my thighs as we walked. The moon was almost full giving us some light, I turned the flashlight off and slid it into my pocket.
My legs felt fine now, I was still high but I guess the leg issues go away after I walk a bit.
I glanced at Pierce, he looked back at me. I didn't look away, why would I?
I didn't have the familiar sense of panic and he was nice to look at. I didn't give a fuck if he knew I liked him.
I knew I would later.
We finally reached the third set of kennels.
I let go of Pierce's hand, I felt a slight tension, as if he didn't wanna let go.
That was sweet, maybe he wasn't as straight as I thought?
I turned around to face him, my feet were planted on the concrete of the inside of the kennels and Pierce was still standing on the grass.
I motioned for him to come inside, he stepped next to me.
I turned to face him, I giggled, the stupid kind of giggle that you make when your state is altered.
I grabbed the sides of his shirt near his hips.
He wasn't as high as I was so he probably thought it was weird but I didn't care.
He grinned at me. I let my arms fall off from his shirt and swing by my side, they felt like they were made of led in the best way possible.
"This is the non dog kennels." I laughed.
"Then why are you here?" He chided.
"Wha'd'you mean? I'm not a dog!" I retorted jokingly.
"Coulda fooled me with those eyes." He winked
I could feel my face blushing even through my high. I giggled at him before looking away.
He leaned forward and ran his fingers through my hair, at first it felt intimate, a buzz of euphoria erupted in the depths of my gut.
Then he tried to save it by ruffling my hair jokingly.
I explained the rules to him for awhile and showed him a few of my favorite animals in the non dog kennel.
After what felt like five minutes I checked my phone.
5:32am
"Shit!"
I could feel my high fading. God damn it, my plan was to be high up in-till I got home. How was I supposed to function around him after this shit?
Would sober Pierce get defensive? Would he hurt me? Spread rumors? what did I even care I barely interact with the people in this town anyways.
"Whats up?"
"We really need to get home, its almost 6:00am."