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Blood rushed to my head and made my entire face glow bright red as the rest of my body began to feel numb from the lack of circulation within my veins. My head felt heavy and my mind was spinning with racing thoughts appearing and disappearing into the depths of my brain. I couldn't hold onto a single concept or idea before it slipped out of my mind.

Sharp pains took stabs at my skull, making it begin to throb against my crimson skin. When my eyes slowly fluttered open, my vision blurred and focused in random patterns. Shades of purple and blue swirled in my eyesight from the projector that shined onto the ceiling above. I saw white specks that twinkled in the starry galaxy on the ceiling. As I tilted my head to the side, the vision faded together like paint droplets mixed with clear water.

My breathing was quick and uneven. I often found myself inhaling a large quantity of air just to try and fill my lungs, but no matter how much I tried it still wasn't enough to lift the weight pressing against my chest. I felt as those I was underwater. My body moved slowly and my breath was held. As I can out of oxygen, I tried breathing in but the water around me filled my lungs. If I didn't swim to the surface of the ocean soon, I would continue to sink further into its darkness and drown at the sandy floor.

I had lost almost all feeling in my legs now as they were laid upon the silky blankets that covered the bed. My dark hair halted a few inches above the wooden floor as I hung my head upside down off of the side of the bed.

"Check," I whispered. My own voice sounded unfamiliar to me. It was like I was hearing myself in a million different ways, but none of the tones were my own.

A hand was placed on my wrist and I felt two fingers press down softly between my bone and tendon. The skin on my own felt cold, making me gasp at the touch.

I had swam towards the sunlight that was shining through the ocean. When my head reached the surface, I remained floating on top of the salty water. Rays of bright light hit me from all different angles. My tanned skin was glowing and sparkling with radiance that the sun brought to me.

"Your BMP is way over one hundred," Reina spoke in slow motion. I couldn't tell if she was talking slowly or if I was just hearing her slowly. Her voice sounded so far away, almost like we were miles apart. I could just barely make out her words.

As I floated on the ocean, small ripples of water circled around me. Although I had just been submerged into the sea, my body was untouched by the water. My clothes and hair were still dry.

"Time," I asked quietly. My voice sounded so raspy. I felt like I had been projected into an astral state where I was hearing an echoed version of myself from a faraway distance.

There was a moment of silence before I heard Reina reply, "You're nearing seven minutes." My lips pulled upwards into my cheeks as I began to laugh to myself. The blue sky above me was beautiful. There were no clouds blocking the sunlight from myself and the ocean. There were also no plants or animals. I was completely alone. "Look, Mar, this means a lot comin' from me, especially right now 'cause I'm blazed as hell, but I don't like this shit you got goin' on. I know you got this weird quirk where you like to hang upside down when you're trippin', but I'm tellin' ya it's not a good combo."

My arm flopped off the bed as I pulled my hand up to my head. I placed a finger over my lips, shushing my friend. "Are you even high?" I questioned her. Even my blinks felt like they were moving in slow motion.

"Not as high as you," Reina remarked. She moved into my eyesight as she laid down on the floor, directly under my head. Our faces were only a few inches away. I could feel her warm breath fan across my face as she spoke, "I'm serious, girl. I heard that people can die hanging upside down and shit."

"Only after two minutes," I reasoned with her. I felt myself smiling again. I couldn't decipher what was real and what wasn't at this point. My visions kept flashing back to Reina's bedroom and the ocean, where I laid alone on the seawater.

Reina hummed in response. "Yeah and it's been seven," she said. "If the hanging doesn't knock ya out then Lucy will."

My eyes widened all of a sudden. "Do you see that?" I asked Reina. She followed my line of sight but turned back to me in confusion. "Rain, I think I see the light. The one they're always talking about in the movies."

All of the sudden, the sun in the clear sky above me began to grow brighter. The light didn't bother me at first, but the longer I stared at it the more it began to make my eyes burn.

"What? Where?" Reina glanced forward again, thinking she might have missed it the first time. "Girl, you're probably just havin' one of those spiritual awakenings. Go see what Big J wants up there."

I nodded. "I'm gonna go now," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I closed my eyes and was met with only darkness. The sun that I had seen before faded away, leaving me staring into a black void of nothing.

Reina's cold hands pressed onto my cheeks as she rolled my head side to side. "Yo, Mar, come back to Earth girl."

When my eyes opened, I was face-to-face with Reina. I flashed her a wide grin as I said, "Jesus told me that we should pay Lucy another visit." Reina shook her head as her eyes rolled. I burst into a fit of slow laughter.

I allowed my body to fall off the bed and onto Reina's lap. She scooted backwards and pulled me onto her bedroom floor. The wooden planks were cold against my skin. Everything was always so cold in her house.

"Cool it on the LSD," Reina said. "I still gotta deal some tonight at McKay's party."

"I forgot about that," I spoke up. "He's so irrelevant."

Reina smirked as she nodded. "Girl, we've been pre-gaming for an hour and a half now." My mouth formed an 'o' shape in realization. "This drug shit's really messin' with your brain. Whatcha gonna do when your mind's all fried, huh?"

I lolled my head left-to-right while I shrugged nonchalantly. "There's no rehab for stupidity."

"Damn straight," Reina retorted. She carefully lifted my head from her lap and placed it on the floor. My dark hair acted as a pillow on the hard ground. I watched as she crawled over to her bedside table and pulled the bottom drawer open. "You feelin' adventurous?" She held up a silver spoon in between her fingers like a cigarette.

I groaned as my eyes flickered towards the galaxy projection that was still spinning on the ceiling. "Come on, Rain, you know I don't do that hardcore shit."

"So, you'll spend hours hallucinating but won't try the other shit?" Reina exclaimed. She sent me a look mixed with disbelief and disappointment.

"I live for the high," I told her. The hallucinations were the best part about drugs. If I could stay in those fantasy worlds forever, then I'd leave reality behind instantly.

"Lucy's not the only one who can take you there," Reina said with a smirk. "Just one try." She twirled the small spoon in her hand and raised her brows.

"I've told you before," I huffed in irritation. "I don't wanna damage my nose by causing nasal blockages, ischemia, inflammation, infections- the short term and long term effects just go on and on."

"Since when are you a fuckin' doctor?" Reina asked.

"I just know a bit about drugs," I explained simply.

"You'll study up on drugs but not in school," Reina pointed out. "No wonder you failed your sophomore year."

"Hey, hey, hey.. I'm a junior now," I said.

"A junior who's nineteen," Reina muttered.

Her words flew right over my head. "I'm moving up in the world, going places this time around."

"You really wanna go places?" Reina asked. She held up the spoon again and dangled it over my eyes.

"Nose," I stated, tapping my own.

"You saying my drugs ain't good enough for you?" Reina asked. Her brows tilted downward as her face turned into one of anger. I couldn't exactly tell whether she was joking or not though. Drugs really fucked up perception.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" I questioned her. "I. Don't. Want. To. Fuck. Up. My. Nose."

"Fuck your nose!" Reina declared.

"No," I sighed. "That's exactly what I don't want to do.. I feel like there's a miscommunication here."

"Yeah, all the sudden, you comin' at me 'cause of my drugs," Reina said. Her voice was low and she spoke slowly, but her tone sounded like she was mad.

I shook my head. "You're not picking up what I'm putting down."

"You callin' me stupid now?" Reina gasped dramatically. She placed her hand over her heart. "I'm not lyin' when I say this, you're probably the dumbest bitch I know."

My eyes narrowed at her as my lips parted. "Probably?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "I definitely am." I shakily got to my feet and stared down at her. "How dare you."

"How dare me?" Reina repeated. She stared up at my as I looked down upon her. "How dare you."

"Yeah, that's what I said," I spoke with furrowed brows. "I'm seriously confused now."

"Fine, then you can just find a new dealer!" Reina declared.

"Wait, what-"

"And, a ride to McKay's party tonight!"

"I'm gonna be honest, I'm not exactly sure how we got here," I admitted. I glanced down and saw that my hand was already turning the doorknob on Reina's bedroom door.

Whenever I'm on LSD, I always lose track of what I'm saying or what I'm doing. I'm almost never aware of anything that's happening until I take a moment to look around. "Are we fighting right now? I can't tell what's real or not.. Lucy's got my mind all-" Suddenly, when I turned around to face Reina, she wasn't there. I wasn't even in her bedroom anymore."Fuzzy..?"

I felt wind blow through my short hair. As I looked forward once again, my eyes stared off into the distance and at my surroundings. I passed houses and watched as the outlines and colors of them began to blur into one another.

The full moon was shining brightly above in the pitch-black sky, but the grey clouds were shielding the sparkling stars from my view. I reached for the night sky above in an attempt to touch the sky. My fingers were able to dip into the darkness above. It felt like I had stuck my hand in a bucket of paint. I pulled my hands back down and let my arms drift to my sides.

I felt my leg push off on the ground below, and realized that I was riding my skateboard through some random neighborhood. I couldn't exactly tell where I was because it was almost too dark out to make out any of the writing on the street signs. It could've been late at night or early in the morning but I had no idea. I wasn't even fazed by my inability to determine the time or my location. I didn't care about anything right now. My mind couldn't comprehend any thoughts because there were so many swirling around in my brain.

I wasn't even sure how I got outside in the first place. The last things I could remember were confusing memories of Reina and I in her bedroom. It was like one second we were high off of LSD and then the next I was transported outside. I could kind of recall our conversation from earlier, but none of the words formed in my head. Everything was all a jumbled mess. I was completely void of my thoughts and unable to form any memories.

Suddenly, there was no more wind blowing through the tangles within my hair. My were glued to the ground as I stared at my beat-up, black converse that were stood on grass. I noticed that I wasn't riding my skateboard anymore. Instead, the old board was held loosely in my right hand. I felt my eyebrows pull downward in confusion.

Loud music began to play in my head but it was coming from right in front of me. When I glanced up, I was stood before McKay's house. There were a few people stood outside, but most of the party was being held inside. I was in way too deep with the hallucinations from the LSD and I could already tell that this was going to be an intense night.