Quick question: Do you picture Erika as blonde or brunette? I actually haven't described her hair colour yet because I haven't decided (shocking content ik ik)

☆☆ Dedication to the lovely @EternalZephyr! We bonded over my obsession with her books and Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. She's a Pistachio type, I'm more of a Caramel Chew Chew person myself. Anyways her Sweetie series is incredible and so underrated (!) and I recently discovered that she likes TADS, so this one is for her! ☆☆

F o u r t e e n : The Lost Boys 

"Oh, Kai."

I curse before I can stop myself. Miko has frozen stiff next to me, staring at the sachet of pink pills on Kai's beside table. For a second, a brief blink of an eye, Kai looks scared. His eyes are dark and wide with anxiety, his lips parted as if he's going to speak, but no words come out. No explanation, no defence.

Then, he looks angry.

"Get out!" He yells the words so loudly that it spurs Miko from her paralysis, cutting through the silence like a bloody dagger. His tone is equally cutting, but neither is any match for his expression. I don't think I'll ever be able to remove this image of Kai from my memory: his nose pinched in disgust, lips peeled back over his teeth, eyes aflame with fury. His facial features have become primal, animal, like a threatened dog snarling in defence.

"I can't believe you didn't knock- you, you- fucking get out!"

I stumble backwards out of his bedroom and tug Miko with me. His venomous scowl and the darkness of the room are the last things we see before he slams the door shut: punctuating the argument with off-white panelled wood. I can't do anything but stare for a few seconds, my mouth agape. I can't believe this. I knew that Kai was on the road to trouble, but I never thought, could never think, that it was this bad.

I try to swallow but my mouth has gone dry.

"Miko," I croak, turning to my best friend. My hand is still on her shoulder from tugging her free of the room, and I squeeze it lightly. She looks utterly shell-shocked, but I can see the water beginning to brim in her eyes. Soon, the tears will spill over.

"No." Her voice cracks. "Not him."

I seize her to my body and squeeze as tightly as I can, as if I can absorb her pain. She doesn't deserve this. She works so hard at being supportive for Kai. She tries to push him in the right direction and encourage him to be his best self. Miko's fingers hook into my lower back painfully, and she buries her face into the crook of my neck, as if she can hear my thoughts. After a second of holding it all together, she finally breaks and her body wracks with sobs.

"It will be okay," I murmur, stroking her hair. "It will all be okay. We'll get him help. We can make this better for him, Mickey, I promise."

Minutes pass and I continue to hold her as she cries.

Her sobs progressively lose more and more power until eventually she's snivelling. She doesn't move for a while after that, and I don't tell her to. She remains cradled in my wet hair as I stroke her back to a slow beat until finally, she's ready to speak.

"I need to tell Okaasan," she whispers into my shoulder. "Something needs to be done. This is way beyond our control; he's sixteen."

I wince at the reminder. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure he's going to get through this, Mickey. He has you and your Mom behind him, and I'll help in whatever way I can."

She pulls away from our hug, running fingers under her eyes to catch the tears on her wet cheeks. Her skin is flushed, and her eyes are bloodshot and watery. As she pulls her hands down from her face, I notice that they're shaking. It makes me want to hug her more.

"I hope so," she whispers. "I need to speak to Okaasan."

I offer her my hand. "I'll come with you."

"Thank you." She laces her fingers with mine, smiling weakly. "Thank you, Erika."

*~*~*

Sada clears her throat.

It's the first sound I've heard from anyone since the beginning of this meal. I've been sitting beside Miko in uncomfortable silence, listening to cutlery scrape against ceramic bowls. Sada is sitting at the head of the table, and Kai is sitting opposite Miko, although neither have looked at each other. It seems only right that Sada is in the authoritative position, given the conversation that the family are about to have.

"Can you pass the water?" Kai mutters finally, nodding his head towards the jug sitting between Miko and I. It's unclear who he's speaking to, because he doesn't look up, but Miko grips the handle of the jug possessively. She makes no move to pass it to him.

"Sure," Miko mutters. Her eyes are still red from crying, but they're angry now. "Would you like any ecstasy with that?"

Kai sucks in a sharp breath, and his entire demeanour changes. His shoulders raise like hackles on a dog's back, and he pushes up out of his chair with a hostile snarl. He's sixteen, but he doesn't look it. He looks intimidating. "Fuck, I'm not listening to this."

"Sit back down." Sada says firmly. She doesn't sound agitated or upset; she sounds numbly defeated. "Now."

She places her cutlery down on the table, and as she's withdrawing her shaking hand, it violently bumps the thin glass beside it. Her drink tips over with a thud and the water seeps through the purple tablecloth, a dark stain expanding through the material towards each of us. She presses a small napkin to the spill, but it has little effect, and she stops trying.

"Now," she reaffirms quietly. Her figure is shrunken in her chair.

Kai hesitates, glaring daggers at his sister. Gradually, he slides back into his seat, but his torso is still angled towards the exit. "I refuse to have this conversation."

"You don't have a say in this. We will have a family discussion later about getting you some help, but we are not subjecting Erika to this now. Eat your food."

"Help?" Kai echoes, and he stares at his mother in disbelief. He doesn't pick up his cutlery or make any move to eat. Nobody does. "Please tell me you don't mean rehab."

"Whatever is necessary." Sada says with a sigh.

"I don't take the drugs or deal them," he hisses, his hands balling into fists around the lip of his placemat. "I keep them safe for my friends."

"So, you'll only get arrested for possession." Miko spits sarcastically. Unlike me, she's able to touch her food. Not to eat it, but to stab it repeatedly with a knife, chopping it into smaller and smaller pieces. "What a huge relief."

"Stay out of this," Kai snaps.

I begin to shift awkwardly in my chair, fumbling loudly and clearing my throat to remind them of my presence. I really don't feel like I should be here while they're talking about this. Miko and I are close but being involved in her family arguments is an entirely separate level of friendship. It feels wrong and intrusive.

"Should I leave?" I ask softly. "I really don't want to intrude."

Sada looks up at me and her smile is sympathetic and embarrassed. She opens her mouth to speak but before she can, Kai pushes his chair backwards loudly. It scrapes against the floor and hits the wall behind him with a thud. "No, don't worry," he says angrily. He's not looking at me- his glare alternates between his mother and sister. "I'll leave."

Kicking the chair back into place, he storms out of the room. A few seconds of chilling silence pass, and then the front door slams. The minute it does, Sada seems to crumple over her bowl. Her shoulders sink further and her head bows.

Miko grabs my hand and her voice is quiet and steady. She's scared to trigger her mother's emotions further. "I'm sorry, I really am. It may be time for you to go now."

"Don't worry," I say, nodding vigorously and sliding out of my seat. I squeeze Miko's hand and grab my phone. It's damp from the soaked tablecloth. "That's completely understandable. I hope that you're both okay."

As I leave the room, I finally hear Sada sob.

*~*~*

The crisp autumn air nips at my exposed arms as I walk aimlessly through the streets.

I watch every slap of my shoes on the concrete, unknowing of where I am or why I'm doing this, and uncaring. I'm losing light by the minute. Every cold gust of wind judders through me like a punishment, and dark clouds gather like school bullies in the dusk sky. We've been due some Oregon rain for a while, but the timing of this seems like just another cry from the elements for me to stop wandering around like a lost idiot.

I don't know what to do any more.

Kaito Tamura has given me no reason to care about him. He snaps at me, ignores me, acts badly and hurts his family in turn. Yet, yet, deep down below the nasty attitude and defensiveness, he is just a boy caught up in a hunter's snare. A boy that every guttural, instinctive part of me longs to save. He and Chase Thatcher are exactly the same: just lost boys in the dark. All they need is for you to give them a hug and a compass and say hey, here's the way.

But how can I save either one of them when I need that guidance myself?

I'm torn from my thoughts by a particularly zealous gust of wind which plasters my t-shirt to my body and reignites my shivers. In hindsight, it was not a great idea to wander around the streets with bare legs and damp hair. Finally determined to go home, I slip my phone out of my back pocket. Only as the screen lights up do I realise how dark my surroundings have become.

9:39pm. I click Google Maps. I'm on...Halstead Avenue. The road leading up to the cliffs, on the north side of Lindale. It would take me at least forty-five minutes to walk from here. I purse my dry lips. Call Mom? No- she would be in a horrible mood. Miko? Nope- she's pretty tied up now.

A warm feeling ebbs through me as someone pops into mind. I force my stiff fingers to text.

Me: Hii, do you happen to know Chase's address?

Riley-poly: ...Is this for a booty call

Riley-poly: no shame!! but this gal wanna kno if you're gonna hoe

Me: the only thing I will be underneath tonight is my bedsheets. Just need a lift home

Riley-poly: ahh:(

Riley-poly: Where are you? Asking Alec where Chase lives now and if not then we can come pick you up x

Me: Halstead Avenue, near the cliffs x

Riley-poly: Alec says you're right by him! He lives a bit further up the cliff, it's called Spring House. Can you get there on your own or do you need us to come + get you?

Me: DW, I've got it, thank u! x

Riley-poly: text me when you're home safe pls xx

Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I begin to walk further up the incline of Halstead Avenue. The road winds in and out of the dense cliff forestry, as if it can't decide which it prefers. The houses here are all large and set well back from the street: large ivory structures hiding behind gates and long gravel driveways. I hadn't ever really thought about what kind of house that Chase lived in, but it's surprised me that it's one like this.

"Spring house," I mumble under my breath. "Spring House."

After about five minutes of walking, a set of birch gates appear on my right with a hand painted plaque swinging from a rusty nail. Over the top of the gates, I can see a set of children's swings in the yard and a large, cream-coloured house with a front porch. Hanging baskets swing from the grey roof, and the landscaping is immaculate. This does not look like where Chase should live.

Not trusting myself enough to enter the yard, I send Chase a text.

Me: Come outside :)

A few minutes pass, and just as I'm beginning to worry that I'm in the wrong place entirely, the front door of the house swings open. A boy in black storms out onto the porch, a human tornado. He looks completely at odds with the sweet decoration of the place: the children's swing and the pretty flowerbeds. The green door slams behind him, and he walks with pace down the yard towards me. It's definitely Chase- I can recognise that irritated expression from here.

I raise my hand up and I'm about to greet him, when he snaps.

"What are you doing here?" he asks angrily, pulling the gate open. I stumble backwards as my hand is torn from the wood. His hair is dishevelled, crescents of purple beneath his eyes that weren't so apparent in the rosy hue of the pool room.

"Riley and Alec sent me your address. I—something happened, and I really need a lift home."

"What?" He stops a few feet away from me, his chest heaving up and down with laboured breaths. He makes no move towards the car. "How did Riley know my address?"

"She didn't. Alec did."

"They shouldn't have told you." His voice is sharp.

"Right, well my apologies, I did not realise I was visiting the head of the Mafia," I reply, a little bitterly. I avert my gaze to the floor, chewing my chapped lip. "I just, I really need to get home and I thought- I don't know, I thought you'd be okay with it."

"You can't just-" Chase stops and sighs aggravatedly.

"Cleary this was a mistake," I mumble. What is his problem? He's appeared at my house, completely unannounced and smashed a window. I had thought we were past this bickering phase now. Shaking my head incessantly, I begin to back away. "I'll get a lift with them instead."

Chase groans and roots his hand in his hair. "Don't walk away."

"Just forget I even came here, okay?" I call back, clasping my cold arms to my chest and twisting to face my route back down the hill.

"Wait."

I continue walking.

"Erika, will you just pause for one second?" Chase snaps behind me. "You never let me get a word in when we fight. Just- give me a second!"

His attitude triggers my own temper and before I can stop myself, I'm twisting around to scowl at him. My limbs are trembling violently now, but I can't discern whether it's from annoyance, anxiety or the rain that's now spitting over us. I don't care anymore. "Chase, I've had a really shitty night. I came here because I...I wanted to see you, and I thought you would want to help me. It's fine if you don't, I get it, but please don't try and start a fight with me."

Chase stares at me. Finally, he mutters: "You're cold."

"What?"

His words are barely audible. "You're shivering."

I glance down at my exposed skin, flush with goose bumps. My voice softens. "Yeah."

Suddenly, Chase is walking towards me purposefully, tugging his large black hoodie up and over his head as he does. He's upon me in a few strides. His hair is even more dishevelled than before, and he's holding the hoodie up towards me with outstretched arms. I instantly step back.

My words are quiet. "Chase, you don't need to-"

Before I can protest further, he's looping the warm material over my head. The world and the lost, imperfect boy in front of me disappear entirely for a few seconds. Instead, I'm overwhelmed by the strong, familiar smell of him and the warmth of the cotton where it has clung to his body.

When my head finally pulls through the material, I'm fully aware and embarrassed by the dazed, sentimental expression on my face. My hands don't quite reach the wrists of the hoodie, and the hemline comes to my mid-thigh, longer than my shorts. Despite being oversized, stolen warmth instantly floods through my torso. After a few uncertain seconds, Chase finally looks at me,

"Chase-" I mumble.

"Erika." He tugs me sharply towards him by the strings of the hoodie. "Wear it."

Then, his bare arms lift up and around my shoulders and he tugs me the final few inches into his body. I sink into his chest with zero resistance, my arms winding around his lower back and my nose pressed to the thin white cotton of his t-shirt. I slot into his embrace like a missing piece: my head on his collarbone, his chin propped on my hair. My shoulders sag with relief at the comfort of the sensation. All this time, desperately wandering around in the dark, and all I needed was this.

"I'm sorry," I mumble into his t-shirt. "I should have asked you, before I came here. I know how uncomfortable you get when it comes to your personal life."

Chase's chin moves on my hair. "You don't need to apologise. I snapped at you."

"I shouldn't have assumed you would want to help me," I say, pulling out of the embrace just enough to look up at Chase with a weak smile. A raindrop hits my cheek and skims down like a tear.

"I do want to help you," he says, frowning at me. "The rain is getting worse. I'll get the car."

Then, as quickly as his arms arrived, they disappear again. I watch him jog back through his house gates to the driveway, clutching my arms to my body and inhaling his scent until I feel giddy. The rain is heavier now: sticking my hair to my forehead and dappling Chase's hoodie with a colour darker than black, but it is powerless to wash my smile away.

A black truck crawls out of the gates and parks just ahead of me on the right. It's plate is peeling slightly at the back, and there's a Princess on Board sticker in the back windscreen.

"Get in," a voice demands through the open window.

Smiling, I jog towards the passenger side and throw open the car door.

The interior is warm and smells of the yellow air freshener hanging from a string on the rear-view mirror. I slide into the seat, surprised at how wet I am suddenly, and shut the door behind me. Chase doesn't look at me and he wastes no time whatsoever in pulling away into the road again, before I've even clicked my seatbelt into place. "So...what happened tonight?"

My smile disappears at the reminder. "Miko's brother, Kai...we found ecstasy pills in his room. He says that he's looking after them for his friends."

Chase grimaces. "Eek."

"Yeah." I look out of the window. Chase turns us onto a busier road and falls in line with the other vehicles. The red brake lights of the vehicle ahead distort in the growing water droplets on the wind screen. "Miko and Sada...they just don't know how to get through to him."

"They should start by cutting him off from those friends."

"What?" I look back at Chase, surprised by his matter-of-fact tone.

"Cut him off," Chase repeats, his fingers wrapped loosely around the steering wheel and eyes on the road. "From the people that are leading him astray. Support him until he finds better people."

I frown. The answer seems stupidly obvious now that he's said it- the Tamuras shouldn't punish Kai for the path he's been taking, they should find a way to divert him towards people that will have a positive effect on his life. Hand him the compass and show him the better direction.

"You're right."

Chase smirks. "I'm always right."

Suddenly the answer to all of my problems is staring back at me, with eyes the colour of coffee beans and twice the caffeine content. If the Tamuras can push Kai onto a different trajectory and introduce more positivity into his life, then surely, I can do the same for Chase. Tutor him, encourage him, show him new opportunities. If I can find a way to prove to Blythe that Chase deserves to stay at school, that he can find the better path...

Then maybe both lost boys can find their way back.

A/N: aye aye, Erika has had an idea :)

 This chapter was more emotional than intended but I hope that I pulled it off! The hug scene was utterly adorable to write <3

See you later alligators,
Cherry x