Warning: Contains of violent language, substance abuse.

My whole body shaked violently as I waited in an alley near a very deserted Leon's Cupcakes. Everything was better at this time of night, just the streets and my needle was all I needed to keep me satisfied, but unfortunately that wasn't the case tonight. It's been about ten hours since my last high and I had never gone this long without it before. Yes, I have a 'terrible heroin addiction' as my family calls it, no I don't have any intentions of stopping. I was desperately hoping to run into a dealer who wanted something besides money because I had spent every last penny to my name. I had been kicked out of my house around eight months ago, I had nowhere to go at the moment. I usually crashed with random people I met out here that you may consider 'shady' or 'sketchy', or I'd just stay with past boyfriends who happened to be hooked like me, but my last one was just murdered and there wasn't a single soul out to help me tonight. I don't even need a place to stay for crying out loud, I just needed to get high.

"Look at the little heroin whore roaming the streets tonight." I heard a voice call in the distance. I immediately shot up, knowing I knew that voice from somewhere. I tried to make him out but he was too far away, so I shouted back as he kept approaching me.

"Don't fucking talk to me unless you can get me high." I spat at his direction.

"Come on baby, don't be like that. I can help you." He flashed that creepy smile I was so familiar with.

Noel fucking Kahn.

I almost forgot about his obsession with me, I tried to steer clear of him since I discovered his intentions but I was a different person now, and I was desperate for some damn heroin.

"What do you want 'cause I don't have any money Kahn." I said in a bored tone.

He looked over his shoulder quickly, and fumbled around in his jean pocket for something and grabbed the little clear baggie and threw it at the ground in front of me. My eyes widened at the sight of it and I frantically went to go pick it up and eyed him suspiciously once I had it grasped between my fingers.

He laughed at my actions. "You're holding onto that baggie like a lifeline babe. So I guess you can so kindly return the favor, right?"

I rolled my eyes, just wanting to get this over with so I can stop these terrible shakes. "What is it that you want?"

"For you to get on your knees and suck me off already like the slut you are." He said with a sickening smirk on his face. I just wanted to slap it off. There was no turning back now. I dropped onto my knees and shoved the baggie in my pocket as he unzipped his jeans. As he popped the button, the sound of footsteps coming from behind Noel made us not dare to move a muscle.

Shit. Please don't be a cop.

Please don't be a fucking cop.

"What the fuck?" The voice shouted. I sighed in relief, I knew that voice, I mean I wasn't exactly happy that I was interrupted but anything is better than a cop.

"What do you want Jason?" I said not bothering to hide the annoyance in my tone.

He eyed Noel as he spoke. "Get the hell out of here. Now."

"Keep the fucking heroin, all you do is fucking attract unwanted attention." Noel spat at me and turned to leave, probably looking for his next victim.

Now it was my turn to be eyed at by Jason. "Heroin? What the fuck Aria? Are you out of your mind?"

"Well I feel like I'm in the deepest pits of hell right now, so yeah I guess." I say as I reach into my pocket to grab the bag. I don't even care if Jason was watching at this point, I was about to crack and I couldn't stop shaking. I went to go get my needle until it slipped right from my fingers followed by a few clinking sounds of the contact it made with the ground.

"Fuck!" I cursed beneath my breath, dropping quickly to find it.

He stared at me for the longest time until he finally sighed. "Please tell me you were looking for that needle when I found you in that same exact position in front of Noel." His hand wrapped around my arms and he pulled me to my feet. Today was not the day to test me with my withdrawals slowly getting worse by the second.

"Maybe you should get the hell out of here before you ruin my high that I haven't even gotten yet." I said with increasing anger in each word.

"Maybe you should be thanking me from being sexually taken advantage of for some drug that gets you high for 30 damn minutes." He shouted even more furiously back at me, grabbing the baggie from my hand and tossing it in the distance.

If he was pushing me to snap, he just accomplished his goal.

"Jason, I've never had a problem with you before, but if you don't get the hell out of here-" I threaten before he cuts me off.

"You'll what? What could possibly be worse than destroying yourself Aria?" He said as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

"Um, I don't know, going ten - no probably eleven hours now without heroin. Actually wait, it gets better. Some guy I haven't even spoken to in over a year comes in and makes Noel probably out to get me now, and throws my fucking heroin out into god knows where!" I said starting to panic at my situation as I leaned against the brick alley wall and held my hands in my face.

When I noticed his lack of response and intense stare I started shaking violently again and felt nausea start to creep up on me. "Go away. Just go away." I was starting to sweat now and I didn't want to be seen like this.

"Aria, you've already been dealing with the withdrawals for hours, if you went to a clinic now-" He began to say with sympathy when I snapped back immediately.

"No way in fucking hell Jason." I said horrified.

His eyes fixated to a spot on the ground. "You'd be so much better off afterwards Aria, you don't even realize."

"It's not like you're the one going through this Jason. You don't even give a damn, just get lost." I say shutting my eyes again trying to block him out. I tried to focus my thoughts on one thing only. Heroin. Heroin. Heroin.

"If I didn't why would I be here trying to convince you there is a better life waiting for you? There's so much help out there you could take advantage of." He said this time looking straight into my eyes with his dark green ones. They were sort of beautiful.

"You sound like my Mom." I groaned banging my head back onto the bricks supporting my back.

"What are you doing?" He said as I went to rub my head where I just slammed it.

"Trying to kill myself out of this conversation." I replied in a bored tone.

"You're already slowly doing that." He replied harshly.

"At least I'll die happy." I said smiling as I try to focus on the feeling of getting high, it was almost enough to keep me calm for now.

"That's not happy, it's tragic."

"Tragedy happens to make me feel better."

"What could you possibly need to feel better about?" He said raising his voice.

"Why are you even bothering?" I shot back at him.

"I want to help, Aria."

"That's strange, I want you to get lost." I scoffed.

He started reaching for his jacket pocket, trying to pull something out. My gaze dropped to where his hands were fumbling and tried to figure out what he was doing. It was some kind of... folded up paper? He began to unfold it delicately and gave it to me and looked away as I grasped it carefully, trying to push back the shakes. I scanned the paper from left to right repeatedly.

'I know what you did.'

I looked at him for a second, back down to the paper, and then to him again.

"What did you do?" I whispered curiously.

"Honestly? I have no idea. I woke up the morning after Ali's disappearance with it."

"Why are you showing me this..?" I asked puzzled.

The look he gave me sent chills down my spine. "Because it nearly destroyed me."

"But you aren't some heroin junkie like me. You have a clean slate." I said as I looked at him ashamed.

"That doesn't mean I wasn't struggling with it Aria. I overcame it and you can too." He said with a half smile.

"How long did it take?"

He swallowed nervously. "Until the day they found her body."

I looked down to the ground sadly. I don't know why I felt upset for him having to wonder about some most likely fake note for over a year, but I did.

I don't know how he managed to distract me for those few minutes.

But he did.

Suddenly my withdrawals kicked back in and the shaking was more unbearable this time and I watched sweat form within the palms of my hands.

Something was wrong. This was bad, very bad.

I clutched my stomach as the nausea slowly formed inside me and I collapsed to my ground sliding my head against the bricks, wincing at the pain.

Before I could stop myself, I was embracing the darkness that washed over me and my every thought.