Okay, the curse words and feels might be kind of 'wtf phea'. Also, there's gonna be a bit of punching. If that's not your cup of tea, then whoops. This is my favorite chapter so far- try to see why uvu

-----x

Adam hasn't felt this way for a while. A new man, he is- really. His hair re-dyed to a mint new green, confidence returning to his walk and eagerness finally back in his eyes. He felt like a new person, and maybe he is. Maybe he's turning into someone else, and all he could do is hope that whoever he's turning into would please Grace.

"Is that acid-washed skinny jeans?" Andy spoke, honestly hoping that the bleached-white spots are smeared cocaine. Adam gave a coy nod. The girl gave him the same look she would give a loud baby on the airplane."Your usual jeans are already fucked up, you don't need to buy a pair that looks- you know what, go look like a desperate scrub who takes bad toolpics. I don't give a fuck." Seriously- first the hair, now the overpriced piece of shit jeans? For someone who 'doesnt try' this looks like a lot of trying.

The male sighed, swinging a leather jacket around his shoulder and cocooning himself in it. "Come on, Andy. I thought you'd care a bit more."

"You look like discount James Dean. And not a good discount, a discount in the clearance aisle of Wallmart where they try to get rid of moldy socks." She answered sharply, though genuinely annoyed. "You're too busy fawning over Grace; its getting kinda annoying. Like shit, don't trade your integrity for shitty blowjobs, Adam." She scoffed, sinking further in the sofa.

Adam rolled his eyes, making sure Andy saw. "Jealous much? Don't worry babe, you're still my favorite girl." Chuckling, he slicked his hair back once more while Andy gave a sickened look.

"I'm like thirteen, fuckass. Go break hearts, hopefully one of them's your own." The blonde stuck her tongue out, throwing him a pillow on his way out.

A certain ginger, the kind who had been eavesdropping, leaned against the kitchen frame with hot tea on both hands. "Aww, Doll. You lonely thing."

"How do we activate the selective mutism; because seriously don't fucking speak." She growled, head-butting the cushion.

Ale placed one of the hot cups down on the coffee table as he sat comfortably next to her. "Okay, you talk then."

The blonde lets out a sigh before a rant quicker than Adam could inhale air properly. "Like, do you realize how everyone is leaving for girls- Not you, gay boy," She paused to diss Ale before the resume, "like the pussy-chasers. Adam is off chasing that Disney princess-ass bitch, and Merlin is off chasing the one that will never be featured in Disney. Do you get it? Because I fucking don't. Like, I'd date someone who isn't a pain in the ass to take care of; not the one with fucking ebola-cancer-diabetes but noooooo, that's Merlin's type." She huffed.

"You know I'm not gay, right? I just kinda don't care. I don't think gender matters that much but-" He gulped, feeling slightly more nervous now that he's spoken more words than he'd usually say in a week. Of course, Andy doesn't look too annoyed aside from her normal resting bitch face syndrome, but Ginger Ale still felt a little guilty though he really shouldn't. "Anyway. We're used to Merlin not coming home for days, and this had only been one night-" The boy ended.

"Yeah." She cuts him off, hitting his lap with her head and resting it there. "But usually its from him overdosing from fucking LSD or something, not addicted to some girl." Ale's brown eyes looked away passively, though its obvious he has something to say. The girl's tongue click against the roof of her mouth. "What? You think I'm selfish and ableist or something? Its not a secret that the girl is gonna fucking die in like a week, and I've never seen Merlin this happy. What do you think is gonna happen when she dies, Ale? How's he gonna be happy again?".

Unknown to the both of them, amidst the heated confession, the door creaked open. It didn't swing enough for it to be too obvious, but enough for the boy in question to hear everything. Enough for a bright-eyed youth to have his heart shattered. "Shit, Doll. First Jimmy; now you. Ale's probably on the boat, too, since he's secretly jacking off to your baby pictures every morning." Merlin gritts his teeth.

He stormed in, slamming the door shut before he does the same to the door of his own room.

Ale averted his eyes, not speaking. His pale lips are trembling and his nervous fingers wandered on the flesh of his palm.

"You see what I mean?" Doll whispered, firmly gripping the boy's hand. "He's feeling things, Ale. If he doesn't like what he feels, what do you think he'll do? Write his feelings out on a diary or snort coke?" She sighed, ironically chortling. "And I'm the bad guy."

-----x

The smoke gave off a calming aroma; the way they swayed in the air for a while before disappearing is almost soothing. Especially when they're the kind that kills slowly. It burns his young throat, fills his lungs with toxic; makes his cheeks feel dry. The TV is on; nobody could hear him sob. Ugh, he's sobbing. And Merlin wants people to take him as a man- he wants to be man for Dee-Kay but he's no better than a baby. His pale hands took another cigarette, lit it up, stuck it between his lips and inhaled a long drag.

Everyone seems to share the same opinion; Dee-Kay is going to die. Hell, even she agrees. It's sad, but nobody seems to see it the way he does. Even from his own fucked up perspective; Merlin could see the logic in his own wishful thinking. Even he understands that it's wrong to vomit the truth in someone's face when their opinion is not asked for. He could understand if it's Jiminy; the kid is a sociopath with no regard when it comes to the feelings of others. But Ale and Doll is someone he thought still have the slightest bit of empathy needed; enough to support the idea stuck to his head about Dee-Kay's survival. They could at least fake it.

She makes him happy. Dee-Kay; with her sunken-in eyes, pale lips and purpled nails- all that makes her sick makes her perfect. She's so different from the other girls whose biggest issue is if 'he' is going to text back, or if their Uggs match their streaky highlights. She's not shallow. She doesn't care about a trip to The Hamptons, or a retweet from her favorite singer. She's dying; and she loves every little thing. She sees something special in every mundane thing- she even sees beauty in Merlin. His demons are put on mute, even for just a second when she smiled, that it became what he wanted to keep her happy.

His door opened with a slow and hesitated swing.

"Go the fuck away-" He growled, wiping tears from his eyes as grey smoke escaped his lips. Barely a quarter of the cigarettes are left in the box, though he wouldn't need to offer his visitor any.

Jiminy poked his blonde head in, nervously smiling. "I have Valium." He smiled, showing his friend a single pill.

"And clearly too much free time. Leave the pill and fuck off, Blondie." Merlin sighed, putting the cig out using the skin of his hand. The circular wounds are overlapping the ones he's done previously, but the teen doesn't show even a wince from pain.

"Stop-" Jimmy suddenly barged in, moving the lighter and cigarettes away. "Stop burning yourself- Deus fuck, Merlin." His small hands reached to give his friend a slap. Merlin returned it with a cold stare, then a grimace.

"Harder, Daddy." He mocked, trying to retrieve the confiscated cigarettes.

"I'm not fucking tolerating this, Mark Angelou." The younger one spoke, sending Merlin to a spiral of rage.

"Hey fuckass, you don't fucking call me that anymore." He spoke, now standing up to corner Jiminy. "Do you want your fucking ass beat? Because holy shit, I'm in the mood for some stress-relief."

Jimmy, though clearly intimidated, doesn't show fear. He wouldn't mind getting bruised- maybe he deserved it. Maybe he shouldn't wish ill on Dee-Kay. It's good for Merlin to release all this anger, even if on him. "You said you wouldn't burn yourself anymore." The boy spoke sternly.

Merlin swung a fist; just hard enough to make the blonde's lip bleed. "And you said you wouldn't be a fucking cunt." He was about to throw another fist or ten if it weren't for the curious, worried eyes on the door.

"Merlin, what the fuck?!" Doll cried, removing Jimmy from the situation but not without throwing a punch at the male's jaw. "You fuckass, he's just a kid."

Ale watched, though when he decided that enough is enough, he brought Jimmy to the couch with him. Away from danger- since typically, that's what two hot-headed people in one room is called.

"You're a kid too, Andy. In addition to being a complete pain in the ass. You know, maybe there's a reason your slut-mom hasn't gone looking for yo-" Another fist to his jaw. The blonde girl is now clearly tearing up; her blue eyes more than watering.

"You're a fucking monster, Merlin- You don't say shit like that." She whined, rubbing her bruised fist from hitting so hard. The male's lips is watered in blood; his skin purple. It hurts, and he wanted it to. He didn't fight back; he would never lay a hand on Dollie. He knew words would hurt more.

"But its okay to call your retarded friend a mute fuck? He's silent now, but I bet he screams your name real hard in bed-" He screamed, making sure Ale could hear past the hands covering his ears. "Did you rip your voice box from deepthroating too much?" He yelled again before Dolly threw a fist right at his mouth.

"You don't fuck around with Ale!" She screeched, pouncing him and throwing random punches wherever there is a part to hit. "I'll fucking PUNCH YOUR NOSE IN SO YOU'LL DROWN IN YOUR FUCKING BLOOD-" She growled, striking his cheekbone with one hand and gut with the other. Merlin, worse, took it willingly with a twisted grin.

"Yeah, bitch, but you do." He growled despite the violent hits that's drawing blood from beneath his skin. "You guys fuck around a lot."

Ale rocked himself on the couch, unable to move a single muscle with his eyes locked on Doll throwing violent fists at Merlin who does little to nothing for self defense. He could see the blood on the wall, and he cant look away. His teeth chatters, gnawing on his bleeding fingers as he mumbled unintelligibly. His lungs felt dry and lacking air, while his head spun to places he'd rather escape. Jimmy winced, feeling the blood pulsate where it hurts. Moving his mouth hurts, and his milk teeth felt as if it was about to fall out. Nonetheless, he has enough initiative to phone Adam despite his spinning head.

Unanswered.

Unanswered.

"Come on... dickrod, pick up, pick up.."

Unanswered.

User busy.

Hi! You've reached Roux's mailbox, and I'm either super busy or hate your guts. Leave a message and-

Fuck.

"Pretty sure the only reason you're close to Ale is because you're both good at taking dicks-" Merlin slurred between punches, and Doll is slowing down. She's getting tired. Tears served to be grim decoration to her reddening face, so bad that even Merlin couldn't appreciate it.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you-" She growled through chattered teeth, standing up above his bleeding face.

Merlin managed a scoff, green eyes piercing her blue ones. "I hope you like prison food, skank."

Devoured by wrath, Doll planted her shoes firmly on his neck.

-----x

God, she looked stunning.

The brown in her hair looked almost golden if Adam looked hard enough, and he's doing exactly that. The cerulean eyes are captivating, and he found himself comparing them to the depth of the sea. Her pink lips are naked, and he couldn't wish for anything more than his own upon them. She doesn't just speak out of her ass, too. She spoke of kind words with just enough humor to keep him entertained, though the width of her smile kept him distracted. And then she stopped, moving back on her chair.

'Shitshit- Did I do something wrong?'

Grace smiled, then it broke to a giggle. "Don't stare at me when I'm eating."

Adam tugged his lips to a slick smile, taking a sip of his sparkling water. "Cant help it. You're so- you know." He shrugged nervously. "I don't know, I like your face." He chuckled awkwardly, but Grace did the same. She values his candor, and found his neon-street style something she's newly interested in. Otherwise, she wouldn't even think about giving him a shot.

Adam felt his phone buzz, and as if reflex, his thumb pressed the 'Ignore' button. It buzzed again, and it was ignored again. Buzzed; ignored.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Grace asked, not hiding concern as she saw how his attention is split between her and his phone.

Adam, feeling bad, shuts off his phone completely. He's this close to winning over the girl of his dreams, and a phone call isn't going to take everything he's worked so hard for. "No, babe. Just checking for the time."

After all, here he is in the nicest café on the street, eating the best food with the perfect girl. She's smiling, he's charming- the both of them are having the time of their life. What could possibly go wrong?

-----x

"M-Merlin? Merlin I'm sorry-" The blonde girl gasped, backing away slowly with bloody hands over her mouth. He's not moving; a contrast to how he was writhing in pain when he choked on his own blood just seconds ago. She's trembling, and all the anger she bottled up is now replaced with fear and worry.

He could be dead, and none of the three knew how to say it to the dying.

-----x

Dedicated to @descartez  because I've only discovered them so recently and jfc I'm addicted. Its crack cocaine and I cant. Like the way the words are put together are just- WHY. WHY IS IT SO GOOD. ITS BEAUTIFUL AND OMFG. Like I contemplated so INTENSELY because 'dude theyre gonna see this and go wtf she tryna do did a cat jump on a keyboard or'. They're senpai as fuck and U G H.

AHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAHA HOW WAS THAT. I don't know, I just feel like this might be boring if I didn't write a chapter like this one.

Its kinda violent, yeah I guess. But I want to write a badboy story that stays true to the badboy aspect and not just 'I skipped a class and drank beer holy shit I'm a badass'. Cliches are good, I incorporate them sometimes, but idk. I just want mine to be more mean and dirty than just a clean-cut boy wearing a leather jacket, calling themselves the town badass. So yeah, I need them to be actual people and not just a one-dimensional stereotype. Like, I don't want Adam to just be Mr.StealYoGirl and Merlin to be the misunderstood depressed kid. I want them to be onions.

Wow, Phea, bad comparison but onions. Like there are layers, and they're supposed to make you cry and feel feels and idek. I'm still not A+ in romance, since I kept thinking that a good story doesn't always need a good romance but uh. Whatever, I'll try. BUT YEAH IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME WITH MAKING IT MORE ROMANCE-Y PLEASE DO THIS IS A CRY FOR HELP.

Anyway. Kay. I hope you like it :'''''>