Zarek was playing the hero, yet Evangeline assumed the worst of him - as fucking usual.

He pushed his way through the high teens - all the credit went to Hunter - needing fresh air mixed with a cigarette. His stomach was practically nonexistent due to his lack of eating and bad health habits, but he didn't care. The world is better off without me, he kept repeating to himself.

Zarek was sitting on the steps of the porch, looking at the cars that were nowhere near as elegant as his own. If his father found out he left then he would be like that dude in the corner who was practically drooling as he stared at the Mustang. Zarek reminded himself to get home soon.

Having his most needed Nat Sherman between his thin lips, Zarek profited to analyze the situation all over again. Justin was planning on raping Trudy. Zarek shouldn't care, yet he wasted his time, effort, and knuckles. It did feel great to let his frustration on Justin - he had been asking for it for a while now - but that wasn't an enough reason to trigger him. Surely it was his impulsiveness acting, and not his protectiveness towards Trudy.

Zarek only realized he had probably hurt Evangeline too, pushing her and making her head hit against the wall. It was what snapped him out of his violence stance - he expected it would satisfy him further, instead he felt like shit.

Someone opened the front door, the blasting music that leaked made Zarek's dead brain throb in his skull. A few seconds later, the infamous player - Hunter Adams - sat next to the ruthless dick - Zarek Black - on the stairs.

"Damn, that fight was epic." Hunter's swollen lips - from making out with who knew what slut - was grinning, satisfaction all over his dark facial features. "Thanks, man, people will talk about it for days."

"Is that why you told me?" Zarek's electric green eyes widened, the smoke stuck in his lungs. He swallowed it down, taking in the increasing burn so he wouldn't lash out on the gossip girl next to him. "Did you manipulate me so that people would talk about how great your party was?"

Zarek's blood was boiling, hating his impulsiveness even more. Is this how it feels to be manipulated? If so, it sucked.

Zarek could sense Karma smirking at him as she sipped out of her mug of satisfaction.

Hunter shrugged, his bulky hands running at his extremely short - almost a buzz-cut - black hair. "I didn't exactly force anything on you, I just steered you in the direction I wanted."

Hunter was right, he never instructed him on what to do. Why did I fall for the trap though? He shouldn't have cared, Trudy was a poisonous snake and she deserved everything that was coming her way. Still, even Zarek knew that no one - no matter how fake, evil, and wicked they were - deserved rape.

Zarek rubbed Justin's dried blood off of his bruised knuckles, stopping it from attacking Hunter as well. He needed to grasp more control over his actions, or else he would do something he would never be able to take back, rolling in his own web of regret and self-despise possibly forever.

"Stop doing that," Hunter's thick voice was closer to a whine than ever before, "You're getting the blood all over my front lawn, it took me a lot of money to get it."

The smallest twinkle of satisfaction swirled in Zarek's stomach, rubbing his knuckles more. "You're acting like it's not my money you bought it with."

Hunter's black eyebrows knotted, grey eyes serious and petrifying. "Don't talk like I'm a charity case. We had a bet and you lost. You're a big boy, deal with it."

Zarek stilled. "I'm not talking about the bet, I'm talking about the drugs."

It was a well known fact that before Hunter Adams became the rich, popular kid he was now, he had been just a wannabe who lived in the slums. Hunter wanted to fit in so badly in the superficial world that he seeked the extreme - he dealt with drugs to offer himself and his single mother the life they would've never been able to afford otherwise.

Hunter looked away, his Adam apple tense. "You paid for my services."

"And apparently you offer your services to fucking anyone," Zarek hissed, throwing his consumed cigarette on Hunter's lawn to his dismay.

Hunter's grey eyes shifted, eyebrows frowned as if he was confused. "What are you talking about, Zarek?"

"I can't believe you sell that drug to begin with," Zarek stood up, preparing himself to leave - dad is going to kill me and this party sucked anyways. "Let alone sell it to Justin."

"Oh - fucking - god, you mad about that?" Hunter pulled at his short, black hair. "I didn't sell him the rape drug, Zarek, I'm not immoral."

Zarek eyed him, trying to decipher whether Hunter was faking it or not, but he came up with nothing. Hunter was one of the few people that were too good at what they did that even Zarek couldn't figure him out sometimes. "So you didn't sell him anything?"

Hunter averted his gaze, his hand brushing at his head. "I did sell him a drug-"

Zarek's defined jaw ticked. "I knew it."

"-but it's not the rape drug. It's the same shit I sold you in the parking lot. It will hardly effect her, it didn't effect you, right?"

Zarek paced around, his fist throbbing for Hunter's face. "Holy fuck, you gave her that shit?" Not only did it mess with Zarek's memories, it also made him do things he wouldn't have done in his normal mind - he slept with his stepmother again. "That shit messed me up and I'm used to drugs, man."

"I bet she stoned before so relax, it will hardly do anything to her. I mean, that girl is a fucking legend, man," Hunter's dark eyes were glinting, the gossip girl having crept back in him. "Rumors around says that she lost it to-"

"Cut the fucking crap, Hunter." Zarek stormed to his car, leaving Hunter mid-sentence. Zarek didn't know if he was sore because he lost the bet or if Hunter was being a pain in the ass - either way, Zarek couldn't stand Hunter right now.

Zarek glanced at the right, about to make a turn. He took a double-take to make sure what he saw - is that Eva getting in Ryan's car in the middle of the fucking night?

Zarek bit his bottom lip too hard, his electric green eyes lethal. He had no idea why he was so mad at Evangeline - maybe because she acts like a fucking saint when she's spreading her legs for every fucking guy? And to think he actually cared about her, taking his time and pacing things slow - he fucking held back from kissing her just so she could have her perfect 'first kiss'.

Her and Hunter are fucking perfect for each other, Zarek grumbled, both of them are faking the innocence when they're the biggest hypocrites in the planet.

Zarek followed Ryan's rusty Toyota all the way to Trudy's house, keeping a fair distance so they wouldn't notice him. Zarek didn't care about Trudy's drugged behavior since he was too occupied following the interaction between Eva and Ryan inside the car.

He watched as Ryan ranted - probably about his pathetic feelings. Zarek's eyes widened when Ryan leaned in - is he going to fucking kiss her? If Ryan got to press his lips on her then Zarek was going to fucking kill them.

Ryan's disgusting hand stroked Eva's hair, his disgusting fingers brushing at her silky strands. It took all of Zarek's common sense to stay in the car and not drag Eva to her house by her hair because he had no right - she wasn't his sister or girlfriend to get so protective over her, so why the fuck was he?

Zarek waited, his lean body on needles, until Ryan finally drove off and Trudy and Eva were inside the mansion. Zarek pulled away from his hiding spot and went after a running down Toyota, honking like crazy after Ryan.

The Toyota driver noticed the angry Mustang behind him and, almost hesitantly, parked his old car. Zarek stopped with a holt, getting out of the running car and reaching Ryan before he got to step out of his vehicle.

"What the fuck was she doing in your car, Ryan?" Zarek hissed, towering over his former best friend.

Ryan wasn't fazed in the least, glaring back at Zarek. "Was I supposed to leave her in the street?" Despite his anger, Ryan was discouraged to talk with him; his forest green eyes were dead, his eyebrows were frowned, and his cheered voice was flat - almost as if he got his heart broken. Good.

"Why are you so obsessed with her anyways?" As if Ryan grew more balls than he owned, his sad face turned angry as he looked up at Zarek's accusative gaze. "What did she ever do to you that made you hate her so much? I heard about all the bullying, Zarek, so it better be a good reason."

"That's none of your business."

"No, it is my business." Ryan took a step forward, forcing Zarek to back away. "She's my friend, I care about her."

"Yeah, exactly, she's your friend," Zarek smirked, tucking his hands in his pockets as he enjoyed the triumph. "And that's all what you'll ever be, so stop playing boyfriend and wake up Ryan."

Ryan's eyelid twitched, his straight jaw tightened. Zarek knew he ticked him off but - unlike Zarek who was driven by his impulsiveness - Ryan controlled himself. "Look at you, so desperate for attention," Ryan's voice was filled with venom and hatred - a sound so strange coming out of him. "You think that if you hurt her you'll stop loving her, but you're so deep you can't find your way out."

"No," Zarek interrupted because love was a feeling and Zarek didn't support that.

Ryan nodded, getting the message because even though him and Zarek weren't on the best terms, he was still respectful enough to know when to drop it. Zarek didn't know whether to respect him or pity him for that.

However, the next words coming out of Ryan's mouth were the last thing Zarek expected from his sentimental best friend.

"Why don't you leave Evan and fuck your stepmom instead?" Ryan's lip curled, the smile nothing like the warm ones he used to offer. "Doesn't that mean you secondhand fucked your dad, though? That's pretty messed up if you ask me-"

Zarek punched Ryan. All what it took to drop Ryan on the ground like the pussy he really was was one punch - pathetic. Zarek glared down at his former best friend, an unfamiliar feeling too similar to regret mixed with satisfaction stirred in the bottom of his nonexistent stomach. "Your sister won't save you now."

Zarek could swear he caught a few tears rolling down Ryan's soon-to-be black eye even though Ryan covered it on instinct. Zarek turned around, jogging back to his abandoned car. He couldn't stand to see Ryan's downfall because even though they weren't best friends Zarek still knew his limits - yet that didn't stop him from mouthing you off and you from punching him.

"W-we're no longer friends!" Ryan rushed after Zarek, barely standing on his wobbly feet.

Despite the painful lump in Zarek's chest, Zarek forced the upcoming words; "Weren't in the first place."

wanna see a magic trick?

poof! ten years of friendship is vanished.