k a r r i s

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They weren't understanding.

I mean, I get it-- Chemistry can be difficult. It can be confusing, irritating, and it can illicit the urge to jump into oncoming traffic. Or in the case of Michael Clifford, bang his head against the sliding glass door consecutively while Calum cried in the corner. It was a hot mess to say the least as I gazed at the cringeworthy scene before me. Between explaining covalent bonds, electronegativity, and cations, the hockey team's attempt at a successful study date was spiraling downward at a rapid pace.

"We're doomed! That's it. We're gonna fail and die," Michael was a little over dramatic as he stared longingly out the glass door in the kitchen nook.

"I won't graduate high school. I won't go to university; I won't be able to get a proper job and I'll be living in the middle of Louisiana selling live bait with a bald-headed man named Fat Earl," Calum grimaced, dropping his face into the palm of his hands, and letting out a scream.

I sighed, gazing at the team with guilt, "guys, you're not doomed."

"Yes, we are," Michael argued, turning on his heel to look at me. He swiped his hand against the stack of books and highlighted notes on the kitchen table, causing them to fly chaotically to the floor.

"It's just too much information and I don't get it!" Luke chimed in. He was lying face down on the ground eating a mini-sized bar of Snickers.

I pursed my lips, and slumped onto one of the chairs, racking my brain with the dilemma at hand. The material covered in their Chemistry class was basic and nothing short of simple. But with half their heads preoccupied with hockey plays, and the other half filled with boyish subjects like girls, sex, partying, and...

Wait.

My vision narrowed in on the team like a hallow beam of focused light. The nerves in my braincells were exerting at full speed and full purpose as a combination of memories, emotion, and transparency surged through my mind. Then, like a goofy cartoon, the lightbulb levitating above my head (probably from the Wingardium Leviosa charm), turned on.

I bolted from the kitchen and towards the staircase. Using the excitement as the inertia to propel my body, I ran up the steps, grasping the top banister and swung into the hallway. In my room, was my open closet and in the midst of sweaters, blouses, and summer dresses, was a hidden Hannah Montana backpack.

Reaching my arm into the depths of my closet, I grabbed the Disney bag and unzipped the main compartment. I had a few things hidden inside like a small bag of Hot Cheetos, a Twix bar, and a few Polaroids of Gabe and I. But at the very bottom of the bag was a glass container.

"Gotcha," I smiled to myself, seizing the vessel and tossing the Hannah Montana backpack into the closet.

Merrily, I ran out of my room and down the stairs. I entered the kitchen, finding the hockey team wallowing in sadness and colossal stress.

"Karris, what should we do?"

"I don't know anything about fishing!"

"Can you tell me about alpaca butt holes, again?"

I ignored their calls, venturing into the pantry. I scanned my eyes back and forth from shelf to shelf until they landed on a few unopened boxes of mix. Seizing them, I walked back into the kitchen, placing the items on the counter.

"Brownie mix?" Luke lifted a brow, examining the bright blue box. "Do you think we'd be cut out to be future bakers?"

"You know, I think I could see myself selling organic pastries and having a store somewhere in Ohio," Michael nodded his head, accepting an off-kilter fate.

"I love you boys, and I will always support your dreams no matter how crazy they are," I began, smiling at each of the hockey members who listened to me speak. "But to reach whatever dreams you may have, you need to learn how to have confidence in yourself."

"I have plenty of confidence, in many subjects," Luke winked, his tone laced with overt sexuality.

I cringed at his statement while the guys celebrated with high-fives.

"Continuing on," I bellowed, catching their attention. "I figured out a way for you to learn the material and find the confidence in yourself to do things that are difficult."

"We're going to bake to learn chemistry?" Calum cocked his head to the side in puzzlement.

I nodded my head, "baking is chemistry. And we're not just going to be making any 'ole brownies."

"Brownies and ice cream?" Michael suggested with hope glinting in his eyes.

"No," I shook my head and chuckled. Instead of answering with words, I answered with motion.

I placed the glass container on the kitchen counter and pushed it towards the boys, who gazed back at me with curiosity. Luke reached forward, grabbing the box and opened it. They all gasped, dropping the canister back onto the countertop and raising their arms in fear.

"That don't look like parsley to me," Calum noted, his eyes darting from the box to me.

"Nope," I grinned, picking up the container and pulling out one of the baggies inside. "We're making weed brownies!"

I've never been high before; never taken a puff of anything besides medication from an inhaler. But as the boys and I made a batch of brownies laced with marijuana, they slowly started to understand Chemistry concepts. The bonding of atoms, learning about polar molecules, and how to turn on an oven, became understandable ideals as the hour went by.

They wanted to celebrate as a team.

And seeing that I was part of the Willowridge Hockey Team, I decided to put on my big girl panties and take a few bites of our chocolatey concoction. After washing it down with a couple of swigs of ice-cold soy milk, I was actually pretty freaking pleased with myself; proud of myself for letting loose for once.

Then it hit me.

Hard.

My entire body felt light as I laid sprawled on the living room couch. I was staring out the window; staring at the sun rays, and it was as if I could see every little particle that danced in the air. If I hadn't been flying high as a kite on a summer day, then I would've loved to examine those particles.

"Turn off the music, I can't feel my fingertips," I murmured, aimlessly gawking at the textured carpet that seemed to be merging together to create pictures of llamas.

"There isn't any music playing, dude," Michael told me. He was lying on the floor, swinging his arms in the air.

"Did you hear that? The ambulance is here. They're here to fix me. They're going to tell my parents that I consumed THC and then they're going to kill me, and feed me to my grandfather's pigs in the Philippines," words spewed out of my mouth at an uncontrollable speed and haphazardness.

How high was I?

And why did the air smell like Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal?

As I pondered the many thoughts in my head circling chaotically like a rogue tornado, a clamorous bang echoed in my ears. At first, I thought it was a hydrogen bomb exploding and wanted to duck beneath the table. But when I saw a figure materialize in the living room, I realized that it wasn't an H-bomb at all... though, I still wanted to dive underneath a desk.

"What the actual fuck is going on here? Who the fuck let this happen?!"

"Ashton, calm down," Calum giggled from the love seat, stuffing his face with Ube-flavored Polvoron.

"I won't calm down! Who's bright idea was it to make weed brownies?" Ashton was fuming as he stood in the center of the living room with his insanely muscular arms crossed above his chest.

"Karris taught us Chemistry," Luke explained.

"And you decided it would be okay to give her this stupid experiment?" Ashton rubbed his temples. "How reckless can you all be? When I left you all to 'study'," he air-quoted, "I expected you all to be balls deep in the Periodic Table of Elements, not high as fuck and documenting it all over Snapchat!"

"Stop yelling, I can't taste the air," I screwed my eyes shut.

I was spinning. No, not spinning. I was flying and I wanted it all to stop. This sensation was all too much for me to handle and I didn't like it. I went too hard, too fast. What I expected was a little high-- like chilling on the beach on a warm, Sunday morning. But this feeling in my entire body however, was ungodly in a bad way. It felt like all five of my senses were functioning at 300% all at once; like Bella in Twilight when she finally wakes up after being transformed into a vampire.

Then I felt like I was flying. Not flying high, but my body was being lifted off of the couch with ease and the sensation resembled one of free falling into an open universe... nucking futs, how high was I?

"Karebear, what did you get yourself into?" The voice was soft; gentle in my ears.

I opened my eyes and was met with a view so pretty I wanted to paint it into the sky so the Gods and Goddesses could see their creation. The sunlight from the windows by the staircase casted a gorgeous aura around Ashton and when he looked down at me with a dimpled smile, I knew he was about to ruin my life... but in tummy-turning, love-at-first-sight type of way.

"I feel so weird," I admitted to him, cowering into Ashton's warm chest.

"It'll pass," he promised, as he cradled me with care and walked up the staircase.

"I want it to stop already. I wanna feel my toes again," I whined, taking a deep exhale in and catching whiff of Ashton's signature scent.

Ashton chuckled at me as he stepped onto the top landing. Continuing to hold me tightly, he walked through the hallway and towards the upstairs bathroom. Ashton seemed to navigate through the house well and made me think about the times he used to come over to spend time with Gabe. I never saw him though, only heard his voice at the very early morning hours of the day when the two troublemakers would stumble in drunk after a party.

"This is how I used to sober myself quickly," Ashton seemed to read my mind, pushing open the bathroom door with his foot. Using his elbow, he switched on the light, and just like that the golden glow from the bulbs emitted a soft illuminance.

"Don't be scared," Ashton continued as he sat me down on the closed toilet seat.

When my bum touched the porcelain throne and the coldness of the ceramic seeped through my shorts and kissed my skin, there was a part of me that felt a gush of neglect. My arms reacted by grabbing onto Ashton's waist and pulling him back towards me. He stumbled for a moment, startled by my actions, but when I buried my face into his body and squeezed him tight, the dimpled hockey player did the same. Ashton wrapped both his arms around me, giving my left arm an assuring stroke of his thumb.

"You're going to be fine, babydoll, I promise you. You're just stupid high right now but it'll pass," Ashton cooed softly. "I don't know what the guys were thinking by letting you eat weed brownies. They're more potent than actually smoking it."

I don't know if it was the THC or if my emotions were true, but Ashton's words and caring demeanor was making my tummy flutter. The softness of his voice calmed me like a security blanket during a storm, and though I had a million thoughts running through my mind, Ashton seemed to ease them all.

I felt one of Ashton's arms let me go, and then I heard the sound of water hitting the hallow tub. I sat in silence, keeping my face planted on Ashton, holding onto him for God knows how long. And then he let me go, but for only a second to cradle me again. I kept my eyes closed as he put me in the shower, sitting me down in the tub.

The warm water hit my body like a sun-kissed afternoon. My clothes were immediately drenched, but the sensation was unreal. I sat there with my knees to my chest, hugging my legs but keeping my face upwards. The water trickled down my skin and as the minutes passed, so did my high. I don't know how long I was sitting in the tub for, but when the shower suddenly turned off and the water ceased to plummet onto my body, I was slowly regaining a sense of reality.

"How are you feeling, now?" Ashton wrapped and incredibly warm towel around my body.

"Better," I grumbled, holding onto the towel. "I'm still light headed."

"Warm shower works every time," Ashton smiled, as his hands slipped beneath my arms to help me upwards.

Once I was on my feet, I carefully climbed out of the tub. Ashton helped me walk back to my room, and for every second that passed, I grew colder and colder. I shivered in the towel and immediately reached for the dresser before me.

"Hold on, I already grabbed some clothes and put them the dryer so they're warm for you," Ashton smiled. "Hang tight, I know you're cold. I'm just going to grab them."

And with that, Ashton turned on his heel and scurried out of my room. I stood there shivering, closing my eyes and praying to God that if I lived through this, I would never ever dabble in recreation marijuana again... well, maybe next time I won't go so hard.

Ashton came back with a pair of sweat pants and a Brampcrest t-shirt. When he handed the clothes to me, I relished in the warmth that surged through my body. Immediately, I dropped the towel, and held the hem of my shirt. As I was about lift the wet garb off of my body, I realized that Ashton was still in the room. He was leaning against the wall with an incredulous smirk planted on his face.

"Can I have a little privacy, please?" I raised a brow.

"Darn, I was hoping you wouldn't notice and I'd be able to get a better look at your neon yellow bra," Ashton teased.

My jaw dropped as my eyes widened at his words. When I looked down at my body, I was shocked to see that the white shirt I was wearing was see-through from the water and my neon yellow bra was in fact, visible.

"Get out Ashton!" I yelled, hugging my body and turning around to hide from the hockey captain.

I heard Ashton laugh out loud before I heard the door shut and the knob click close. That little moment with Ashton was definitely a sobering one, and when I blinked a few times, I could tell that my high was going away even more.

I changed out of my wet clothes and into the warm ones Ashton graciously prepared for me. I picked up the comb sitting on top of the vanity and began to comb out the tangles in my hair as I sauntered over to the door. When I opened it, I found the hockey captain sitting on the floor across from my bedroom door, staring at his phone screen.

"Hey," Ashton looked up from his phone. "Are you still light-headed and feeling like Bella after her initial seconds of becoming a newborn vampire?"

I giggled and nodded my head, "yea. I still don't feel 100 percent."

"You need to sleep it off," Ashton stood up from the carpet and slipped his cell into his back pocket. He placed both his hands on my shoulder, and turned me around so I was facing my room again. Pushing me back into my safe space, Ashton rounded my bed to open the covers.

I used that as a cue and jumped into the bed, in between the mattress and the soft blankets.

"Take a nap for a few hours, and when you wake up you'll be okay," Ashton reached his arm forward and cupped my cheek with one hand, giving it a gentle stroke with his thumb. "I'll cleanup downstairs and take care of the team who are probably eating your entire pantry."

"Thank you," I smiled at the boy before me, grateful for his presence and his endless generosity to help out a little nerd like me.

I pushed myself further in the bed, and turning on my side. When I closed my eyes, that's when I felt the blankets cover me and the soft sounds of padding across the carpeted floors filled my ears. When the door shut, I soon fell into a deep slumber, unintentionally thinking about the dimpled hockey player whose smile tugged on my heartstrings.

Ashton was right.

Sleeping it off had indeed helped, and when my eyes fluttered open a couple of hours later, I was pleased to be back in a normal state of mind. My supersonic senses were no longer supersonic, and the paranoia no longer lingered in my brain. The cottonmouth however, still plagued me, but it was nothing a little water couldn't fix.

I was also hungry-- very hungry. My stomach growled so loud that even I was scared of my own tummy. So I slipped out of my bed and headed out my bedroom. From the hallway, I could hear the faint sounds of some kind of sporting game coming from the television downstairs, in addition to several muffled conversations. Descending the stairs, my nostrils picked up on a wonderful savory scent that almost sent me over the edge.

Pizza.

The aroma was demanding to be smelled and when I walked into the living room, I found several boxes stacked on the coffee table. The hockey team were sprinkled through out the living room-- some on the couches, and others on the floor while their eyes were glued to a football game.

"She's alive!" Michael was the first to greet me. With excitement beaming in his eyes, his raised his arms in the air with happiness.

"Thanks for getting me way too high," I crossed my arms above my chest as I trudged further into the family room.

"My bad," Luke held his hands up in defense. "I guess since Gabe is your brother, I kind just assumed that you guys did this type of stuff all the time."

"You couldn't be anymore wrong," I shook my head.

"Sorry Coach," Calum shot me a guilty shrug of his shoulders.

"It's okay," I smiled. "Just hand me a box of pizza and we'll call it even."

"Already got you covered," Ashton was suddenly standing next to me with a box of pizza in his hands. He opened it, revealing an untouched pie of heaven. "I saved you this, since you probably have the munchies now."

"You're seriously the best," with excitement, I seized two slices of pizza and began gobbling it down like the garbage disposal I am.

Ashton laughed at me as I scarfed down the sustenance, pleasing my tummy in the process. But my growling stomach wasn't the only organ pleased-- my heart was too. It was filled with bliss, and all the happiness in the world. My heart carried so much warmth that I couldn't forget it even if I tried. For the first time since since losing my twin, did the dark void in me finally mend itself. The monstrous hole that kept eating me inside was subsiding, and it was all thanks to them: the silly boys of the Willowridge hockey team. 

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I think I ate about 50 pieces of Ube flavored Polvoron while writing this chapter.

If you don't know what that is, it is a Spanish/Filipino dessert. It's hard to explain. It's a mix between a shortbread cookie and a very crumbly cake. Ube, is a type of traditional Filipino flavor. It's basically purple yam. It sounds weird but it's SO FREAKING AWESOME!

Continuing on, I hope you all liked this chapter. This was a fun one to read, and even though I've never been high before, I just asked my friends about what it feels like lol. Thanks for voting, for commenting and sharing with your friends.

Also, THANK YOU again for those who have nominated SLAPSHOT (and my other stories) for the 2017 Fanfiction Awards. I seriously appreciate the support. Nominations do close on January 29th, 2017 at 11:59 PM GMT+0. So if you haven't nominated your favorite stories / fanfiction authors, yet, you've still got time :)