Oh hai. I'm back. This is just another standalone fic. Eventually, I will set up a 'verse to base my fics off but not quite yet!

I do not own FTWD or anything affiliated with it.

Every Time We Touch

Nick was absolutely spent. He picked himself up from laying on one of the many pews in the church, glancing around the empty room. His eyelids were heavy and red rimmed, pupils dilated. As far as he was concerned, life was pretty good. The male scuffed on his bare feet, getting ready to head back to his room. What stopped him, however, was the sound of muffled whimpering. Since when was someone else here? That was the point of Nick staying here, anyways. His addict buddies would stop by every now and then. For the most part, though, he was always alone. It was just what he preferred.

The elder Clark sibling staggered ahead, following the sound that only got louder as he approached. What he found visibly took him aback. It was a young woman, probably right around his age. She wore long sleeves that stopped right at her fingertips and a tattered pair of jeans. She had long blonde hair that touched the floor where she sat. The woman picked her head up as soon as she realized someone was closing in on her, dragging a way too long sleeve across her cheeks. She must have snuck in through the window, where he found her leaning against with her extremities tucked against her torso.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, sniffling slightly as she rose to her feet. "I thought I was alone…"

Nick wore a look of concern on his face as he took in the girl before him. "Hey, wait." He slowly approached her, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Why're you crying?"

The blonde shook her head, bringing up a sleeve to cover her mouth. "I'm fine," she lied. "Was just… looking for somewhere to be by myself."

His shoulders rose for a brief shrug, a sigh escaping his lips. "You're more than welcome to stay here. I'm gonna crash for a little bit so you'll kinda be alone."

"Thanks," she offered a small smile behind the fabric covering her lips. "I'll be gone by the time you wake up, I promise."

Nick brought a hand out of his pocket, ruffling his own hair some, regarding the obviously troubled girl's comment. "Don't worry about it. You need a place to stay?"

The blonde girl nodded, brown eyes slightly widening. But with what? Fear? The male addict had to wonder what her deal was.

"Consider this your home too, then," Nick told her. He just couldn't let her leave. She was obviously fighting something. No matter what it was, the elder Clark sibling didn't feel right about sending her away. He knew too well how it felt to deal with something all alone.

"Thank you—"

"I'm Nick, by the way."

"Gloria." She let her hand fall to her side, allowing Nick to see the next smile to grace her features. Gloria didn't know how long she would be here. She literally had nowhere to go to. Her parents had pretty much disowned her after learning of her slippery slope into drugs. It didn't matter why Nick let her stay here; the blonde was just as grateful.

o—o—o

When the male addict woke once more, he forgot all about his new houseguest. It wasn't until he came up on Gloria sprawled out on a pew, contently sleeping, that he was reminded of her presence. Nick didn't mean to stare. But as soon as he noticed one of her sleeves riding up, curiosity overtook him. Along her wrist and forearm were decorations of both faded and fresh scars. On the crook of her elbow was what looked like a swollen, collapsed vein. So, she was a user too? Or maybe she just had a bad visit at the doctor's office. Without a doubt, though, those scars were self-inflicted. Nick knew that she had to be hiding something under those long sleeves, especially in the dead of summer here in Cali.

Eyelids began to flutter as Gloria finally came to once again. She did a double take, seeing her host standing before her. The blonde drew her sleeve back down, a soft scoff escaping from her. "How long have you been standing there, creeper?"

"Just long enough to see your arm," he muttered under his breath, meeting his eyes with hers. "What happened to you?"

"That's a long story. Maybe I'll fill you in one day," Glo spoke, sitting up as she drew her long legs to her chest again.

Nick decided to drop the topic, simply shrugging his shoulders. "You hungry? I've got some pizza—it's a few days old but still good."

Before she could object, her stomach growled loud enough for both of them to hear. Guess she couldn't lie now. "Sure. Pizza sounds fine."

He offered his hand out to her, hoping he could eventually get her to warm up to him. "C'mon then," Nick spoke in an assuring tone, seeing the look of contemplation on the girl's face.

Gloria pursed her lips into a thin line, slipping her hand into his as she rose to her feet. The contact felt nice. It made her feel not so out of sorts. She felt a slight spark rise from deep inside her belly, but she chose to ignore it. Being without human contact for a while was bound to make you feel that way. Right?

o—o—o

He noticed quickly that she had the jitters. The cold sweat that aligned her forehead, he knew that all too well. She was withdrawing. Whenever he needed a fix, Nick would just head to his room. Seeing how he really didn't know this girl, the last thing he needed was for her to be a tattletale. Now, though, the male was pretty sure he understood at least part of what she was going through.

"You need something, don't you?" Nick pressed forward, looking at the trembling blonde before him. They sat on atop one of the countertops in the church kitchen; the silence between them was beginning to drive both of them wild.

Gloria's eyes flickered over to him, licking her lips twice. Her arms were tucked tightly against her chest. "I don't need anything," she lied, feeling her guts swirl around to a sickening degree.

The brunet addict just nodded some. "Okay. So, if I were to tell you that I had something that could make you stop shaking, stop feeling sick to your stomach and actually let you relax, you'd completely deny it?"

She remained silent, the color slowly draining from her already pale face. Glo wasn't going to admit to anything. Not until she knew exactly what he meant. She let her arms fall, now tapping her fingers against her thighs.

Nick, in return, hopped down from the countertop, casting a glance back at Gloria over his shoulder. He knew what she needed, 'cause he needed it too. He was beginning to slip, just in the short period it had been since he last used. The elder Clark sibling disappeared long enough to grab a syringe full of his next fix. Whether he was going on this trip alone or not, that much didn't matter.

Gloria found herself watching her new companion very closely. She studied not only him, but the needle in his hand as well. Glo tried her best not to squirm where she sat but the anticipation was overwhelming. Sweet release in such a small amount of time. Every worry of hers would wither away to nothing.

"That's more like it, huh?" the male addict smirked coyly.

"How do I know you're not trying to sedate me?" the blonde countered, her eyes now glued solely on his. "You could knock me out; have your way with me…"

Nick just laughed at that comment, hopping back up on the counter. "If I wanted you," he added, brown eyes raking her up and down, that smirk never faltering, "I'd want you to be awake. 'Cause I'd make you scream for me." It wasn't like he hadn't thought of that before. Gloria was a babe. He'd kill to get in between those long legs.

Glo's cheeks began to flush beet red at that comment. She couldn't say that she would object.

"Heroin," he added after a beat too long of silence, gesturing to the syringe in his hands. "I'll even go first, if it'll make you feel better."

The blonde only nodded, prompting Nick to flex out his elbow. With a slight grimace as the needle pricked into his vein, he pressed down on the syringe. And, just like that, it was done. Gloria watched his every move, meeting her brown eyes with his own as he took hold of her arm. The brunet gently rolled up her sleeve, taking quick note of the scars on her opposite arm as well. He ran his fingers across her soft skin before taking the needle to her vein. She exhaled through her nose at the minor sting of the injection into her bloodstream. The quick pain was always worth it, every time.

Nick set the syringe down, but he had yet to let go of her arm. He gently traced a few of her faded scars, feeling her tremble slightly. "You did this to yourself, didn't you?" Meeting with her gaze once more, a soft expression was written across his face.

"I started when I was twelve…" Gloria spoke softly, closing her eyes. "My mom—she would always keep me from seeing my dad. She said he never wanted me anyways. So," a rough sigh escaped her lips, "I took my frustrations out on myself. Hoping one day I would finally cut deep enough to end it all."

He was watching her closely, gently running his thumb against her forearm. Nick looked down at her arm, "what about the fresh ones? Are you still looking to—?"

"Those are from when I went through my first withdrawals not too long ago. My mom found out… she tried sending me to rehab." Gloria just chuckled oddly, "I felt so numb. I needed to feel something." She took her arm back, rolling her sleeve back down across her battered wrist. "It's stupid. But it's all in the past."

Nick kept an eye on her as she hopped down from the countertop, sprawling out on the floor instead. He scooted off the counter as well, lying down beside her. "How do you feel right about now?" he asked, seeing a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Alive, thanks to you."

"Good," he propped his head up on his elbow, glancing up to the ceiling. "Alive is good."

Gloria flipped over to lie on her stomach, her eyes on Nick again. "What's your story? Why did you resort to all of," she paused, gesturing to their surroundings, "this?"

A heavy frown came across his face as the memories of his dad came flooding back. He averted his gaze from the ceiling to back at the blonde. "My dad. He uh—he died. When me and my sister were growing up."

"Nick, I'm sorry," she genuinely spoke, placing one of her hands over his free one.

The brunet laced his fingers through hers, squeezing her hand gently. "It was quite a while ago. But—after," he averted her gaze again, looking back to her every so often, "the rest of us just fell apart. My sister just ignored us all—for as long as I can remember. She still does. And our mom moved on." Nick sat up, turning to face Gloria once more. "I was just there. Didn't know what else to do. My friend Calvin hooked me up." In a way, he had lost so much more than he had gained in this endeavor. But as he sat there with Glo, Nick came to realize that he was beginning to gain something so perfect. "And now here I am," he finally added.

The two sat there in silence once more, neither of them not sure what to say next. Both vulnerable. Both in the very early stages of their high. The next time they exchanged glances, it was extremely obvious that they wanted to forget all about why they were addicts in the first place. Nick pulled Gloria into his lap, initiating the first kiss. His hands traveled down her thin frame, stopping long enough to unfasten her jeans. Their lips picked up a jagged like pace as he began to undress her from the waist down, slowly lowering her back to the floor.

o—o—o

Time flew by before either of them knew it. They had been dating for the past two years now. After a while, Gloria began to think of how life would be if they were to get clean. They could get an actual home, maybe think of settling down. Nick wasn't too keen on this idea, however. He avoided the question every time his girlfriend brought it up. Sure, maybe one day they could. But how would it work? Drugs were all they knew. That was what founded their relationship in the first place. To take that away, where would that leave them? Nick feared he would fuck everything up.

Without his fix, Nick was nothing better than a scared little boy.

Without her fix, Gloria dealt with her inner demon telling her she was better off dead.

Together? They could make it work. Together, they could make a better life. It would just take time.

But there was never enough time. In the blink of an eye, your whole world could get turned upside down.

He always wanted to argue that getting clean wasn't the answer. Not yet anyways. The day that he lost her, though, Nick Clark desperately wished that he hadn't been so fucking hardheaded.

There was no turning back time. No second chances. Gloria was just gone.