Freezing Blazing

[Lister D. Reynolds]

So smoking inside your dorm can result in it smelling like a pot house. The only way to fix this is to smoke elsewhere...or stop smoking. LDR chose the former. His new place to smoke was a corner of the roof, normally in the middle of the night. So that is why he flashed his way up to the roof at 1 am, small battered tin can in his hand.

Today hadn't been good. First he had maths in which Ben ignored him and then he got confused by a new concept they had been taught. Then he was partnered up with a girl in chemistry, not managing to say a single thing past 'Ye-Y-Yeah'. Then Lunch. Lunch is one of the most detested part of LDR's day, he spent the whole time having to avoid a group of boys who enjoyed nothing than to beat the shit out of him or just to take the piss.

His feet dangled over the edge as a cloud of white smoke billowed from his mouth. Yeah this worked. No one else was up at this time and it was too cold to hang out on the roof if there was. The 'medication' kinda mellowed out the voice in the back of his head, if only for a short while.

The rollup was near the end when LDR heard the door of the roof open wide and someone stepping towards him.

[Blair Collins]

Blair could not sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning--the new bed still needed wearing into. So she got up, maybe to get a snack. That usually helped. She slipped on a hoodie over her pajamas but remained barefooted--less noise, she hoped. She knew it was well past curfew but snuck out anyway for the vending machines on the first floor.

The security there seemed to be laxing that night--fortunately for her. She looked through options--bleh, she was never one for fast food.

The staircase caught her attention. She heard it led up to the roof. She had never been there. Maybe she should. After all, some fresh air would do her good. So she went up. She opened the door and stepped through.

Ugh, what was the horrid stench? It attacked Blair's senses like needles and she coughed. Damn. So much for fresh air. And this was not normal smoke either but she was unable to identify it. She followed the waft of smoke to one source--a person at the corner of the roof.

She tutted internally--no way was she about to open her mouth. Through the white smoke, she made out the person's features. The colour drained from her face.

It was Lister. Fucking hell. He got high? Blair felt sick to her stomach. She had not seen the boy since that awkward day at the lake. And now she saw him smoking? Oh, this was just messed up.

Not only was this against the rules but it was disgusting too. She clenched her fists. There had to be an explanation. She walked up to him. "What the hell are you doing?"

[Lister D. Reynolds]

LDR almost jumped back at Blair's voice. He'd seen her about school but made sure he didn't have to talk to her, take alternative routes. Did she follow him up here? He quickly flicked the end away and looked up at her "I-I-I-I...it helps. Y-You...You don't kno-..." LDR looked back down at his feet, pulling them up and wrapping his arms around his legs.

"I-I..." What was he meant to say? The girl was obviously disgusted by the smoke. LDR dug his knees in further, refusing to look up at her "It helps, okay? It stops all the..." He gestured around his head "nerves." He shrugged, staring at his feet.

Of all the people who had to find out about it, why did it have to be her? His chest felt tight as a small silence grew again. He slid the tin back inside his pocket and looked up, eyes somewhat red from the smoke.

"Ar-Are you th-that mad?" LDR couldn't actually judge how annoyed she was. It was either head biting off mad or slightly peeved.

[Blair Collins]

The boy got rid of whatever was left of his roll-up--like that would help. He curled up, hugging his legs. Blair wanted him to look at her--so he could see how disgusted she was about this. But when his answer came, her jaw dropped. He just said a complete sentence without stuttering--well, almost... he missed one word but she got the gist of it. She closed her mouth as she started feeling smoke enter her windpipe.

She brought her hand up to her face, hoping the cloth of her jacket would filter some of the air. Lister finally looked up at her and she noticed his bloodshot eyes. Where was the cute and awkward boy who was embarrassed just to see her?

He asked if she was mad. She scoffed. "Mad" would be an understatement. Ugh, life was so unfair. She could not believe she had been falling for a pothead. Why did she not realize it before? Okay, she had never met anyone who smoked so it was understandable why she could not identify them. But she thought they had bonded. Hmph, how cliched did that sound?

On that note, what did she know about getting high? Blair sighed--and immediately wished she had not. Now she had to breathe in a little more. She instinctively took a few steps back. She wanted to yell at him. She been to enough seminars to know that weed was not good.

But... he did say it kind of soothed his nerves. And he got a full sentence out for once--almost. "So what is this wonder drug? And please tell me it's prescribed..." was all that she could reply.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

"Uh...It's..." LDR looked up, taking in her reaction. God she looked so angry, she looked kinda cute when she was angry. Stop thinking about her, just stop it. Her face look disgusted, he couldn't tell her the truth. No, he wasn't going to tell her the truth "Of course it's prescribed! D-Do you re-really think I'd sm-smoke weed if it wa-wasn't pre-prescribed? I-I-I me-mean..." He loosened the grip around his legs. Maybe she'd believe him.

His gaze went back down to his feet. He couldn't lie to her, could he? Why was he lying? His legs unfolded and went back to dangling over the edge. What was she doing up here? "C-Couldn't sleep? You can sit down, you know."

The effects of the roll-up was already leaving him. Why the hell did his side-effect always do that? His chest tightened, breathing getting a bit stressed. Eyes wandering down to the long drop, LDR considered whether or not he could survive the fall. He probably could, it'd probably scar the girl for life but he could survive.

"Uh...I-I-I..." And there it was, his stutter had returned. His chest started pounding again, about the same as a regular person so still too slow for him.

[Blair Collins]

Blair almost jumped out of her skin. He had yelled at her. She wanted to yell back but mostly she was kind of hurt. Lister yelled at her. He seemed seriously offended by her question. The girl told herself that that was just the high talking. The Lister she knew would never react that way.

But then again, how well did she know him anyway? She did not know about this.

"Sorry," she said, her voice soft. "I did not realize there was anything that would require weed as a medication--not for teenagers, at least. Sorry."

She coughed. How long was it going to take for the smoke to disperse fully? "No, I could not. I was planning to... get some air." Then he invited her to sit with him. On any other day, she might have taken the offer gladly. But she could still smell the lingering stench of smoked weed. "No, thank you. I think I'll keep my distance."

And then Lister looked down. "Oh, shit. Don't even think about that!" she blurted out. Groaning, she narrowed her eyes. "How high are you anyway? I need to know how much of this conversation you're going to remember tomorrow."

Blair rubbed her nose and huffed to clear the rest of smell from her delicate senses. At least she could breathe now--sort of. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Shit. She'd seen through his lie. Or she was poking to see how he'd react. He just gave her the shrug "Y-Yeah..." And then she refused to sit next to him, his face fell. She really didn't like the smell of weed.

The effects of it still made him a bit mellow but they were already wearing off. His chest grew a bit tighter "H-H-High enough...why?" Her question worried him slightly. What was she going to say? "A-And I'm not going to fli-fling myself over the edge...yet" The last part was muttered under his breath.

He brought his knees back up, hugging his pajama bottoms "S-Sorry it do-does kinda stink, that's why I'm up here." His gaze glanced back up at Blair, becoming interested in the way her nose wrinkled up. She was kinda cute all huddled up in her hoodie.

[Blair Collins]

"Yet? Yeah, that's reassuring." There was a sting in her voice but she breathed a small sigh of relief when he brought his knees back up. Aw, he looked so much calmer... in a gross doped up way, she reminded herself.

She shuffled her feet. The roof looked very interesting today. "I don't know how a normal person feels towards the smell but..." She gestured to herself. "I'm sensitive that way."

She looked back at Lister. Oh no. He had a slightly dazed look on. The weed. She did not like what itvwas doing to him. But he made it clear that was none of her business. So Blair tried to focus on the scenery. This was not very heard because Kallispell was quite pretty at night.

"Nice place you picked out--you seem to have an eye for that. Kind of ruined it for me though..." She returned her attention to him. Her next question had to sound milder--she did not want to drive him over the edge. "Are you addicted to it?"

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Finally registering how long he'd been studying the girl, LDR looked back down at the drop before him. The bright lights of the town reflected off his glasses as he stared off, not looking at Blair any longer. Maybe they could just do this. Stare off into the night and not say a wo- Or not. Maybe it was Blair's turn to ask the questions.

He hugged his legs harder, feeling the mellow feeling leave him. It was leaving him faster and faster every-time. Stupid side-effect. His eyes flickered back at the girl, giving her a shrug "N-N-N-No, I'm no-not addicted...i-it's ve-very har-hard to become addicted to so-something your bo-bo-body rejects li-like a virus..."

The boy looked back down at the town. This could have gone better. Why did she have to find out, of all people? It wouldn't be so bad if someone like...huh. He hugged his knees tighter, now almost hiding his knees in them. He wanted to go back to his room but doubted Blair would let him leave without asking more questions.

[Blair Collins]

"Hmph, you say that like it is a bad thing." Blair followed his gaze. Why couldn't they just admire the view? She laughed to herself but was unable to find the humour in it. "It's funny. If you had asked me yesterday, I would have loved nothing more than to sit with you on the roof way past curfew."

Go figure. The only time he allowed her to be near him was when he was influenced by a drug. It stung Blair how unfair this was. Ever since her manifestation, it had been one rollercoaster ride after the other. Could she not just have a regular day? Her grey eyes started to burn. Just great.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Lister." She shrugged. "What kind of reaction were you expecting? This is not some teen movie where a girl--or guy--is going to convince you to stop smoking. We're not going to break into a dance number and sing about how 'we're all in this together'."

She did not know what to do with the newfound knowledge. Should she tell a teacher? Or just pretend she never found out--walk away like the night never happened? Maybe she could be dramatic and attempt to try the same?

She turned and challenged him, "Look at me and tell me what you want me to do."

[Lister D. Reynolds]

LDR hugged his knees harder and shrugged as she spoke "W-W-We ca-can si-sit on the ro-roof tomorrow ni-night...if yo-you wa-want?" He didn't know what else to say, just hugged his knees tighter. A smile formed as she wittered about doing a dance number "P-P-Please don't sing...pl-please..." Even if she did mean it in a sarcastic tone. See what you did? Couldn't just keep this in your room, could you? And now you're going to lose a friend, though I guess she was never your friend to begin with, was she? Fucking loser.

He dug his head further into his knees as she started to pressure him to look at her. Why was she being so determined? Why couldn't she just leave him alone "I-I-I-I-I-...I DON'T KNOW, OKAY? I don't kn-know anything...I'm a freakin' lo-loser, in case you ha-haven't noticed. No one has ever payed me any attention, I ju-just fade into the background"

[Blair Collins]

If she did not know any better she would have thought that Lister had just asked her out. But he probably did not mean it, she told herself, he was influenced by the drug in his system. Then he burrowed his face into his knees and muttered about being a loser. Maybe she should start belting out a song. No, she settled for sitting down a few feet away from him. She crossed her legs under her and stared down at the view.

"You know nothing, Lister," she said dramatically--never let the chance of making a Game of Thrones reference escape. "Well, tough luck, mate. You have me now."

She let the silence fall over them. The smell of weed was slowly disappearing, easing her airways. She looked at the boy. The wind blew in his dark hair and she wished she had her camera then. Moments like this never lasted long. Sure enough, she felt the urge to interrupt the quiet.

"Would it make you feel better if I asked you to dance or something? I warn you though, I've got two left feet," she suggested playfully. She still did not know what to do but she knew what she could. "And I know the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody--sort of, if that's any consolation."

[Lister D. Reynolds]

LDR kept his gaze down as Blair sat down near him, his eyes felt somewhat watery. Why couldn't this have stayed as his little secret? His little getaway from the rest of the world? They were both just staring down now, the lights shining against his glasses. He was enjoying the silence and, oddly enough, was kind of enjoying the presence of another human being.

And then she broke it. His chest tightened when she offered to dance. No dancing. You know the instance that girl touches you, you're going to run away and lock yourself in your room. LDR shook his head, burrowing it further into his knees "Uh...I-I-I-I..." His face turned red, gripping a hold of his legs tighter.

Was she really going to make him dance? If there was one thing he learned about Blair from his last interaction with her, was she didn't boundaries. He shook his head again, chest getting tighter.

"Y-Y-You...Uhmm..." The boy gave up, deciding to look across at the town. The effects of his 'medication' were all but gone, the only thing that lingered was the smell.

[Blair Collins]

Oh no, not again! The boy clammed up. "Dammit, Lister, I was just kidding," she stated blatantly. Can't he take a joke? Was the idea of dancing with her that horrifying? "You really know how to make a girl feel bad..." She rubbed her nose--the stench was certainly taking its time.

Blair copied his position, hugging her legs like they were a precious pillow. She tucked her chin on the gap between her knees. Silence again. The only sounds were the nightlife from the town. And she could just see the traffic lights blinking different colors. She blinked; her eyes were starting to hurt.

Sighing, she pulled up the hood of her jacket. She leaned back and stretched herself out on the roof. A sky dotted with stars greeted her--the most welcome sight she had seen all day. She placed on hand on the other on her stomach and crossed her ankles. Her bare toes flexed themselves in an attempt to warm up.

"I'm sorry to intrude on your, uh, alone time," she said without looking at him--that seemed to make things easier. "Really, I am. I just... don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore."

The stars started to look blurry. Great. Blair blinked the salty liquid from her eyes, trying to clear her vision. A tear rolled down her cheek and she pressed her lips together, swallowing hard. For once, she was glad he did not look at her.

"Hey, Lister? If I asked you to stop smoking, would you?"

[Lister D. Reynolds]

He dug his head further into his knees "I-I-I-I'm so-so-sorry, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I..." His eyes flickered over to her as she moved about. His chest tightened further as she lay down. Was he meant to join her? No, he didn't have to join her. There was no social rule he had to obey here, right?

The boy pulled his knees closer, looking up at the stars as well. Then her question, her voice sounded sore like she was fighting back tears or something. "I-I-I-I co-could tr-tr-try...it j-j-j-just he-he-he-helps..."

His heart started to pound again, getting faster and faster. The urge to run away got stronger. Why did he always have to run away from things? He glanced over at Blair, face falling as he noticed the tears on her face. Shit. Shit. He had made her cry. He quietly cursed himself. She's crying. Why the hell is she crying? You've only known her a couple of days and you've made her cry. Fucking loser. You should just end it now. Go ahead and test that side-effect of yours.