Hey guys! So I'm not sure how often I'll be posting now that the new school year is rolling around but I'll do my best! (Maybe even writing in class when we aren't really busy?) Anyway, I added a new point of view at some point during the story, so i guess we'll see how that works out! Enjoy!


(Matt)

"Where the fuck is Josh? He should have been here hours ago!" Ian says.

"Well who was the last person to see him?" Mike says.

Always gotta be the voice of reason, don't you mike?

"Last I checked he was with Brittney." I say.

"Alright, well he did this yesterday too. He's bound to show up soon." Mike says.

"Right. Well we better pack up so that we're ready to go when he shows up." Ian says.

An hour before we have to leave, he still hasn't shown up.

"Should we go look for him? Maybe he's hurt or something." Ian says worriedly.

Everyone's really starting to bug me. Of course Josh is okay. And even if he weren't, he seems to think he can handle himself pretty well on his own, so why not let him?

"Why don't we take a drive and see if we can find him then?" Mike suggests. "He probably just lost track of time."

"I'm in." Ian agrees.

"Maybe I should stay here then? Just in case he shows up while you guys are gone?" I say.

"Good idea. Come on Ian, we better get going!"

"Alright. Text us if he shows up or if you have any ideas as to where he might be." Ian says

"You got it!"

"I'll drive." Mike says, grabbing his keys.


(Josh)

Shit, how did this happen? And why the fuck can't I remember anything? The heroin needle is empty, but it's also broken and it looks like it was still full when it broke so clearly I didn't take it. Was I going to? I thought I'd decided not to take that road anymore, to let my music take over instead of the drugs. What could I have been thinking?

And in a dark alleyway of all places? Was I that desperate?

I slowly try to get up again, more carefully than the last time but I still can't put any pressure on my left leg. It's probably broken or something. Great, we have a show tonight and that will never work.

Wait, we're leaving today. Shit! I hope the guys didn't leave without me!

No, I don't think they would.

Still, me and Matt aren't on the best terms right now, he could still be mad at me and I don't blame him. But what if he figured I left without them and they left me here?

Hmm... Could I call someone? Hopefully my phone didn't get smashed.

I find my phone in my coat pocket with some cracks, but still working.

8 missed calls and 5 texts? I guess the guys did realize I was missing. 4 of the texts from the band and brett and one from Brittney.

Brittney: Hi Josh, I'm really sorry but I don't know that we should really see each other anymore. Best of luck with everything.

"FUCK" I scream, out of anger.

If Matt thought I was mad at him before...

After a few minutes of trying to regain my calm, I look at my phone again in the hopes of calling any of the guys.

I double check my phone's battery and it says 'Battery too low for radio use'. Fuck, definitely the worst part about owning a Blackberry. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if someone comes looking for me and happens to find me.

I look at the rest of the texts and see that the boys did realize that I'm missing.

I hope I get out of here soon...


(Ian)

"I have no idea where he could be! If he's not at Brittney's, I have no idea where else he would go..." I say

"Corner store maybe? He could have been buying cigarettes at one point and gotten sidetracked?" Mike says.

"Maybe. Why don't we ask this guy?" I say, walking towards a man standing in front of the store.

"Hey, have you seen a man walk by here within the past few hours? About 6" 5', short black hair with silver in it?" Mike asks.

"I see a lot of people around here. Hard to remember them all without a good reason to." The man says.

"Maybe this will help you remember?" Mike says, handing him a 10 dollar bill.

Wait... Is this guy a drug dealer? Shit, this can't be good.

"Hm, perhaps I have seen him around. He came around here late last night and I haven't seen him return the same way since."

"Alright, well that might help... Thanks." Mike says.

As we're walking away, a thought pops into my head.

"Since when do you know how to bargain with drug dealers?" I ask Mike.

"Look Ian, it's a long story and I really don't want to talk about it right now. We have to focus on Josh, or did you forget?" Mike says defensively.

Why is Mike being so bitchy? He's never like this? He must be hiding something from the band and I'm determined to find it out.

"Yeah, let's go."

We decide to walk around the neighbourhood instead of driving in hopes of having an easier time finding him. After a few minutes of walking along the street that the store was on, we pass a dark alleyway. It's hard to tell, but it seems like there's a figure crouched down in it. I start slowly walking towards the person, my curiosity slowly taking over before Mike grabs my arm, stopping me.

"What are you doing? This is how people get robbed or even killed you know!" Mike whispers angrily.

"This guy doesn't look like he's in any state to rob someone, let alone commit murder. Besides, I just wanted to look. What if this person could tell us where Josh went?" I say to Mike, my attention drifting back to the figure just a little ways in front of us.

Screw Mike, if he doesn't want to help this guy, I will.

"Ian, why don't we just keep walking? I highly doubt Josh would be anywhere too near this pla - hey, wait! Ian! What are you doing?!" Mike says while I reach the guy in the alley, but I'm not listening to him. I'm too busy taking in the scene before me.

Even in the dim light I can see that the man and the ground around him is almost completely covered in blood that's mostly dried. His body is supported by the wall. One of his legs is twisted into an unnatural position - probably broken - and is immensely bruised. His hands are clutching a broken blackberry and beside him I see a broken needle. I see a faint rise and fall from his chest that tells me he's breathing. I carefully lift up his head to look at his face and see the familiar black and silver hair.

"Ian, get over here! What are you doing?" He yells over to me.

"Mike, it's Josh!" I yell back.

He runs over and inspects the situation just as I had. I see his eyes drift over to the broken needle.

"Ian, look at that!" He says.

"Yeah, it's a broken needle. This is also an alley though, I didn't think much of it." I say with a tone of confusion.

"Did you forget that Josh used to be a drug addict? This can't be good..." Mike says, shaking his head. "Hey Josh, wake up bud."

"Mike..?" Josh says drowsily.

"Yeah, it's me. Come on, let's get you out of here." Mike says softly.

I decide to call Matt to let him know that we found Josh.

"Hello?" He says.

"Hey, it's me." I say.

"Oh hey, you guys find out anything?"

"We found him."

"Oh... Where was he?"

"Passed out in an alleyway. We're not sure what happened or anything but it doesn't look good. There was a lot of blood. And..." I break off.

"And what?"

"There was a broken needle beside him."

I hear him take a deep breath.

"Shit. That's really not good. Are you guys taking him to the hospital?"

"Probably. Mike is talking to him right now. I should probably get going."

"Yeah, alright. Bye."

"Bye."