S T E V E

The meeting ended shortly after introducing everyone, thankfully. Steve looks around shakily, fidgeting with his hands nervously.

"The next meeting is Friday," Jackson says. "We meet here twice a week. Monday and Friday. I hope to see all you people soon. It was nice to meet you guys."

Steve nods slightly and takes a shaky breath, starting to mess with the buttons on his blue button up. He glances around until his eyes meet Sodapop's.

Sodapop walks over and slings his arms around Steve's shoulders in a friendly manner, grinning. The older boy's face goes red at the action and he puts on a shy smile.

"Are you alright from earlier Steve," Soda asks gently. " I just wanna make sure you're all right."

"I-I-i'm okay," Steve stutters out quietly. "H-he-he's just big a-and scary..."

"Nah, he ain't nothing to worry about. He's just an asshole and don't ever let him get to you," Soda says. "You are wonderful. You are loved. You are cared for..."

Steve hugs Sodapop tight and buries his face into his shoulder. He really needed to hear that.

Sodapop hugs back and laughs gently which causes Steve to relax into him. The younger male pulls away after a minute or two and hums.

"I gotta get going or Darry is going to kill me for talking to long," Sodapop says sadly. "I'll see you at the next meeting. Promise Stevie."

Steve blushes at the nickname and nods his head slightly, giving the younger boy a twitchy smile.

"B-bye Sodapop," Steve mutters shyly.

"Bye Steve, have a good night," Sodapop says ruffling his hair gently.

Sodapop walks over to his brothers and smiles, walking to the exit. Steve watches them leave, keeping his eyes on Soda until the door closed behind them.

Steve grabs his jacket from his chair, pulling it on shakily and messing with the zipper, trying to get it pulled up. He huffs in frustration and gives up.

"F-f-fuck," Steve curses. "M-my shaky hands..."

Johnny walks over shyly and looks at steve, grabbing the zipper and zipping up Steve's jacket. He smiles a the older boy weakly.

"You seemed to have needed help," Johnny says quietly. "Right?"

Steve nods and laughs lightly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Johnny nods slightly and sighs.

"T-thank you," Steve stutters.

"You're welcome," Johnny replies. "I'll see you Friday Steve. Bye."

Johnny turns on his heel and walks out of the door, letting it close behind him. Steve sighs and glances around at the last two people in the room besides him.

The 18 year old male walks over and ruffles his hair slightly, giving a week smile. He jams his hands into his pockets as he walks to the door.

"Night Steve," Keith says before finally walking out of the door.

The door closes quietly and Steve starts walking away to leave. He feels a hand grab the back of his jacket, yanking him back slightly.

Dally walks in front of him and rolls his eyes. Steve looks at the boy with widened eyes.

"Move," Dally says before pushing the door open roughly.

Steve watches as Dally leaves, leaving the black haired boy a shaking mess (more than usual). He stands there for a minute before pushing the door open and walking out of the room.

The 17 year old makes it down the hall and past the front desk, waving a shy hand to Marcia. She waves back at him with a genuine smile.

Steve walks out the front door and outside, looking around carefully. He starts walking down the sidewalk back to his home.

He lived about a block from the rehab center and his car was busted. Steve would fix it but his hands are so shaky that he'd drop everything or break it more.

Hopefully walking home wouldn't take him forever. But at least it was quiet at the moment so he couldn't complain.

-

Steve walks through the front door to his home, looking around for his dad. He wasn't home at the time so he sighs in relief.

The 17 year old closes the door slowly and pulls the zipper of his jacket down. He pulls off the jacket and tosses it on the couch carelessly.

"S-stupid house," Steve murmurs.

Truth was, the 17 year old hated being in his house longer than he had to. His dad wasn't the best person and it wasn't surprising to see the young boy staying in his car some nights.

Steve walks into his kitchen and shakily pulls out a granola bar and a bottle of pills from the cabinet. It was a bottle of caffeine pills.

He opens the child proof bottle after much effort and spills a few into his hands. The 17 year old outs them in his mouth and swallows them dry.

For being at a rehab meeting, they didn't really make an impact on Steve a whole lot. They only introduced themselves and that was pretty much it.

"S-s-stupid," Steve murmurs to himself.

He wanted to get better, he really did... But those pills, he needed them too, or so he thought.

Steve doesn't even stay up to be productive, he just stares into space. He's also afraid that he'll wake late and miss work or miss something important.

Another problem with the pills is that his hunger decreased a lot and sleep deprivation. Those caffeine pills made him not hungry which caused Steve to lose a bit of weight.

Steve only weighed maybe 120 pounds, that's the maximum. He may not look like he would be skinny but he is.

Those stupid pills are ruining his body and his mind. Rehab is the last chance he has at getting his life back.

Steve makes his way over to the couch, sitting down and staring at the wall in front of him. His granola bar was left on the counter, untouched.

A U T H O R S - N O T E

How was this?

I think I'm going to do chapters in different points of view to give insight on the addictions?? It seems like a good idea and I'm just gonna go with it.

Some chapters though may be the same pov more than once in a row. I'm really liking this story-

I hope you guys enjoyed. If so: vote, comment, and add to your library/reading list 💕