Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to their rightful owners.

Warning: The following chapter contains: coarse language, mature humor, suggestive adult themes, drugs and alcohol use. YOU have been WARNED.

Out Looking (Part 2)

Scarlett and Gwen stood staring at each other in the driveway. Scarlett gripped the bag of booze she was holding tightly. "What are you doing here?" Scarlett demanded.

"I'm here to visit for the weekend. You knew I was coming," Gwen remarked with a smile. She reached into the back seat of her car, and pulled out a leather jacket, putting it on. "Aren't you glad to see your older sister? You don't look too pleased."

"But at this hour?"

"I'm about to head to a party. Thought I'd drop the car off here first. You know, being responsible and shit. Last thing I need is a DUI." Gwen walked up to Scarlett, and pulled out one of the bottles from the bag in Scarlett's hands. "I think I might need some of this too." She unscrewed the top, and took a swig. "Now. What's my perfect little sister doing stealing our parent's alcohol?"

"I'm not stealing it. They told me I could use it," Scarlett insisted.

"Bullshit. They are my parents too. There's no way I am going to believe that. I bet you were planning on putting the blaming on me, weren't you? Just like how you made me take the fall when they found that pack of cigarettes in the house."

Scarlett was silent.

"Look. I kind of dig this whole cool thing that you're going for. It's a lot better than the stick in the mud you used to be, but it is getting a bit much. You know, if you keep acting like you're better than everyone you meet, kicking them under your shoes at every step, you're just isolating yourself. Maybe if you treated everyone else with a little more respect, you might actually get some friends."

In the bushes, Max and Rodney watched the altercation silently. Max was not doing well. He was beginning to gag, only a step away from vomiting. The alcohol was threatening to come back out again. Rodney rubbed Max's back assuringly. "It's okay. You can make it," he whispered, terrified of what Scarlett would do if they were discovered.

Max pressed his hand over his mouth, desperately trying to hold back. Rodney, in a panic, took off his baseball cap, and handed it to Max. Max grabbed it, placed it up to his mouth, and violently vomited all over it. Once he was done, he handed it back to Rodney. Rodney stared at it for a moment, before dropping it in disgust.

"I've been... I've been... I've been poisoned!" Max struggled to speak. "They are trying to kill us! We must get out of here." His eyes were wide and crazy.

"No. No!" Rodney tried to calm him down.

"Come! We must escape!" Max exclaimed. He grabbed onto the white picket fence, and desperately pulled himself up. Near the top, he slipped slightly, losing his balance, and fell into the neighbor's yard. He hit the ground with a real thump.

"What was that?" Gwen asked, turning towards the noise. Rodney laid flat on the ground, keeping perfectly still, hoping to stay hidden behind the hedges.

"It was probably a racoon," Scarlett suggested, trying to turn Gwen's attention away from there. "A big, stupid, fucking raccoon," she remarked infuriated.

"Wow," Gwen acknowledged. "You really don't like raccoons."

"Nope," Scarlett spoke deadpan.

"Well. I have to go meet up with some friends and then head to my party. I'm not sure what you're doing, Scarlett, but please do it responsibly. And I'll take the fall this time, so long as you promise to make a friend out there. Or get laid."

"Fine. Whatever."

"Good!" Gwen walked up, hugged her sister, and began walking down the street. She continued to take liberal sips of the liquor she took from Scarlett.

Once Gwen was reasonably far away, Scarlett placed the bag on the ground. She stormed over towards Rodney. "Where is that little rat? I will flay him alive!"

...

Beardo and Amy walked down the street while Beardo unwrapped one of the packs of cigarettes. He put a smoke between his lips then offered one to Amy. She hesitated for a second but after the night she'd been happening she accepted it. Beardo lit the tip of her smoke before lighting the tip of his. They then sat down on the curb. "Well that was just the worst." Amy said. "In every conceivable way."

Beardo shook his head. "You should have heard Ezekiel rap when I first met him. He's gotten way better."

"How can you even go to a place like that? It's disgusting." Amy asked.

"Clean and nice places don't sell cigarettes to minors." Beardo said matter of fact.

"I guess."

The two of them sat in silence. They were on a residential street without any other signs of life. Beardo looked up at the cloudy night sky. He took a long drag from his cigarette. He looked over at Amy who was silhouetted from the light from the lamp post nearby. "Why do you treat your sister so poorly?"

"What?" Amy called out. "I don't treat my sister poorly. What are you talking about?" Amy asked defensively.

"I know it. Everyone at the party knows it. Everyone at school knows it. Even you know it. They all just go along with it because of your high social standing." Beardo told her.

Amy stood up violently. "And what makes you so special that you're able to confront me about it?"

"I'm the school beatboxer, so I'm beloved by everyone." Beardo replied.

"That's a good point." Amy conceded, sitting back down.

"Why are you even here at this party?" Beardo asked.

"Because it's the play wrap party. And in case you forgot, I was in the play."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean you had to come. We're all friends. Except for Sugar of course but that's an entirely different thing. Even Samey's good friends with Jasmine. It's Friday night. You're the captain of the cheerleading squad. There has to be a party or something going on with them." Beardo guessed.

"Do you want me to leave the party or something?" Amy asked.

"If I wanted you to leave, I wouldn't have invited you to come along. I'd have left you alone with Leonard. There's no way you would have stuck around after just two seconds of Leonard retelling his last DnD session, trust me."

"Then what?"

"I dunno. I want to know why you are here. You're clearly not enjoying yourself. What are your friends doing?" Beardo asked. Amy took a deep drag from her cigarette. There was an awkward silent pause. "You do even have any friends?"

"I have friends." Amy countered.

"Not the fake friends you have at school. They only cling to you for the status, just like how everyone goes along with your attacks on Samey. I mean real friends, like Samey and Jasmine."

Amy lowered her head and stared down at the ground. She took a deep breath. "My image doesn't allow for real friends"

"And you think your image is more important?" Beardo questioned.

"Yes!" Amy exclaimed.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to be a nobody. I'm terrified of it." Amy admitted.

"Is that why you're so mean to your sister? Why you diminish everything she does?"

"Yes god damn it!" Amy cried out. "Fuck!" She wiped away the water that was building up in her eyes. "Because she's better than me! I know, I've known it since I was a kid! If I let her have the spotlight everyone would realize how much more talented and interesting she is and completely forget about me! I've sacrificed too much to get where I am."

"Is it worth it?" Beardo asked. "To keep your status but lose your sister?"

"I can't go back. It's too late. I've been doing this for too long."

Beardo reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. Amy looked up stared into his eyes. "It's never too late." Beardo spoke softly.

Tears began to fall down her face. She buried her face in his shoulder. Beardo wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They stayed like that in silence and in the darkness. Sitting on the curb of a quiet suburban street.

...

Jasmine and Samey stood in front of a large 7-Eleven. Neither one was talking and they were both looking down at the ground. Soon Sky and Ella approached them. "Hey." Sky spoke in a solemn voice.

"Hey." Jasmine and Samey said back in unison quietly.

"Any sign of Sugar?" Sky asked. They shook their head. Sky and Ella picked up on that something must have happened. The awkwardness was palpable.

"Shall we go in then?" Ella spoke with forced excitement. The others all stared at her with defeated unhappy looks. "Okay! Let's go!"

The four of them walked into the store. They walked over to the large rack of chips. "Anyone have any preference?" Ella asked. No one said anything. Sky reached over and just grabbed four random bags not caring to look at what flavours she grabbed.

They walked over to the cash register. There behind the counter, a young man sat lounging on a chair with his feet kicked up reading Chomsky. He looked to be college aged. A stereo behind the counter was playing the band TV on the Radio. Sky dropped the four bags onto the counter. The guy did not immediately react; it was another ten seconds before he glanced up from his book. The first thing he noticed was the gloom shared by all four girls. "Well aren't you four the most cheery bunch." He commented.

"Listen." Sky spoke. She paused and read his name tag. "Noah. Just ring up the stuff."

"No can do." Noah made clear as he put his book away. "This job requires minimum four lines of banter before a sale. It's essential for me to keep sane, otherwise I'll just go postal and kill everyone." He sat up and got a good look at all their unhappy faces. "Now let me guess the reasons for the low moral present. There was a sale at American Apparel and you missed it? The latest season of the bachelor ended and the girl who won is a total bitch? What's going on in Darfur?" He chuckled to himself about that one, as if there was no way they would know current events. "Couldn't get Justin Timberlake tickets?" Noah covered his mouth, "Oh my god, you all just found out New Kids on the Block broke up! I know it must be hard for you all to take, but it's been over ten years. You can do it." Noah started to beat his chest. "I believe in you!"

The girls all glared at him with disdain, not liking being mocked. "Just ring the stuff up." Sky said deadpan.

"Come on, I've got like ten more of these." Noah spoke with a smirk.

Jasmine reached over the counter and grabbed the front of Noah's shirt. "Ring the stuff up mate." She said in a threatening tone.

"Okay okay." Noah said as he began to ring up the bags of chips. "Definitely not international news then, no you girls just had some internal conflict." All the girls winced at the comment. "Bingo! Probably tried to leave one you behind, or one of you tried a lesbian hookup." All the girls turned and looked in opposite directions. "Either way I find it hilarious!"

"Can you stop being an asshole? Is there someone we can complain to?" Sky asked.

"Oh for sure." Noah spoke as he reached over and pulled out a card. "This is my supervisor's card. Number's right on there. Give any complaints to him. Although, good luck convincing my boss to fire the guy who's his weed hookup. You know how hard it is to get people to work these shifts? You should have seen the last guy who worked here, Ezekiel."

Sky thrust the money to Noah who was still smiling greatly, at that moment the door of convenience store shot open. A college aged girl with blue hair, pale skin, and a leather jacket walked in. "Noah! Come on! Let's bounce. We don't want to be too late for the party."

"I know Gwen. Shift's done in five. Help yourself to the Slurpee machine while I finish up with the spice girls over here." Noah called out to her.

"Na too cold. Ring me up some Paul Martins." Gwen instructed as she walked over and butted in front of Sky.

"Course." Noah said, grabbing the pack of cigarettes, handing it to her and taking Gwen's money.

"What the hell! We were here first!" Sky protested.

The cash register popped open and Noah grabbed Gwen's change. "So were the Palestinians, but you know what? World isn't fair little girl." Noah commented. He handed the coins to Gwen who walked away towards the door.

"Who you calling little!" Jasmine cried out in frustration. She reached over and grabbed Noah's shirt again lifting him up.

"You want the chips or not? Cause you know what's really going to help you get them? Threatening me." Noah spoke sarcastically. Defeated Jasmine dropped Noah. "Good." He grabbed Sky's money and opened the cash. He dropped the coins onto the counter. "All done."

Sky grabbed the coins and Jasmine grabbed the bags, all four of them stormed out of the 7-Eleven. "Come back anytime!" Noah called out to them as they left. "I felt like we really connected!"

...

The basement of Duncan's house was converted into a small apartment. There was a bedroom resembling a closest, a bathroom, and a kitchen unit at the end of the living room. All of the lights were covered with red screens, bathing the whole place in a deep red light.

Shawn, Topher and Dave all sat next to each other on a couch.

Across from them, Duncan opened a drawer under his coffee table. He pulled out a large bag of weed. "You should have called me ahead to know you were coming. I could have had this all set up for you," he spoke. He took out a scale, and began to weigh clumps.

"Sorry about that man," Shawn said, "this was a last minute decision. The party we were at ran dry. We had no other options."

"I understand," Duncan said, paying close attention to the work at hand. "You know, I'm going to a party later. A frat boy's parents are out of town, so we're going to trash the place. If you ditch your loser friends here you're welcome to come along."

"Thanks for the offer man." Shawn then put his hands on Dave's shoulders. "But I already promised my buddy here I'd help him hookup with this chick."

Duncan burst out laughing. He had to hold his sides he was laughing so hard. After a solid minute he was finally able to recompose himself. "Good luck with that!" To which Dave sunk back into the couch.

"So you and Shawn are friends?" Topher asked.

Duncan looked up from the scale. "Oh yeah man for sure. This fucking kid, best high conversations you can have. Period. Everyone wants to talk about their troubles, how much they got smashed the last time they went out, or debate the fall of the American empire. But this motherfucker! Four straight hours of Zombie evacuation plans, survival techniques, and strategies!"

"Holy shit! Is that cocaine?" Topher pointed at a couple lines of powder on the table.

"Sure is," Duncan said smugly. "It helps to perk me up before I go out."

"Could I, like, buy some?" Topher asked.

"No problem. An eightball's a hundred and fifty."

"A hundred and fifty!" Topher yelled out. "Could I get, like, one ball?" Duncan stared blankly at him. "You know what? I'm okay."

Duncan began to look around for his little baggies to collect the weed into, but could not find any. "One sec." He let out a sigh, and stood up. The three of them watched him on the couch leave the room.

Just then the backdoor burst open. It startled all three teenagers. Dave was so spooked he almost jumped up and ran out. "Duncan you son of a bitch!" They heard yelled out from the other side of the door. Two figures entered. A goth girl with blue hair, pale skin, a leather jacket and a guy with medium brown hair, burgundy cardigan. The guy walked over and sat down on the seat Duncan had been sitting on. He crouched down and snorted one of the lines of cocaine. He sat back up fast and shook his body. At that moment he noticed the three teenagers sitting close together on the couch opposite him. "Who the fuck are you?"

"They are clients Noah." Duncan spoke walking back into the room. "They're cool. At least that one is." He said pointing at Shawn. Duncan's attention turned to Gwen. "Hey babe." Duncan walked up and embraced Gwen. They locked lips and began to make out heavily. Duncan reached his hand up her shirt, pulling it up as his hand went higher, until her bra was visible.

"Come on guys! There are kids here!" Noah commented.

Gwen pulled her face away from Duncan's. He in turn started to kiss her neck. "Yeah, the same kids you just snorted coke in front of. Plus, you're just jealous."

"Pfft. Sorry but the Mohawk clad druggy alpha male is not my type. I like scrawny wet blanket boys I can impress with a little Sartre." Noah commented. Noah looked at the three teens and his eyes focused on Dave. Dave felt a little vulnerable in his gaze. "Hey, didn't I tutor you back when I was in high school? Dave right?"

Dave was taken aback but then he slowly remembered his tutor from a few years ago. "Holy shit, yeah. I remember you."

Noah nodded. "Glad to see you're not as much of a pathetic square anymore."

"Uh, thanks," Dave remarked, unsure about whether to take it as a compliment.

Duncan let go of Gwen, pushed Noah off his seat, and sat back down with the weed. Gwen walked beside the couch, and picked up a four foot long bong. She pulled out a lighter from her back pocket. She lit the bowl, quickly pulled it out, and took a hit. A cloud of smoke climbed out her mouth. She passed it to Dave next to her.

Dave stared at it for a second, unsure about what to do. Duncan gave him an encouraging nod. Shawn nudged him a little. Dave looked back up to Gwen, who handed him her lighter. A little off nerve, he put his mouth to the rim. He lit the whole bowl with the lighter, and then panicked. He forgot what to do next. Shawn quickly reached forward and pulled out the slide. Dave inhaled a full hit.

"Holy shit! The kid's got balls," Duncan joked. He walked up to Dave. "Everything in here," he pointed at the full four foot bong, "is now in here." He patted Dave in the chest. Dave instantly coughed out endless amounts of smoke. He began to cough uncontrollably. Duncan turned to Shawn. "Here you go." He handed Shawn three small baggies. "One's on me."

"You're the best," Shawn responded, handing Duncan money.

"Great. Now get the fuck out of my house."

Topher stood up abruptly, and made a clear line for the door. Shawn had to help up Dave, who was still coughing. They headed out of the door, and Duncan slammed the door behind them.

"Is he okay?" Topher asked, pointing at Dave.

"Everything is spinning," Dave muttered.

"Yeah. He'll be fine," Shawn commented. The three of them began to head back towards Leonard's place.

...

Shawn, Dave, and Topher walked back towards the party. Dave was having trouble walking straight. "I can't feel my hands!" Dave commented as he began to stare at the palms of his hands as he continued to stumble forward.

"Are you sure he's going to be alright?" Topher asked.

"Yeah, yeah. We just need to get him some glasses of water when we get back and he'll be fine." Shawn shrugged.

"Cool." Topher said as he lit the tip of the joint he had rolled as they were walking. He took a long toke. "This is some good shit man." They walked up to an intersection.

"Yo check it out." Shawn said pointing to their left.

"Hey!" Rodney called out. He carried two large cases of beer under one arm and he carried Max under the other. Max still looked queasy as well as battered and bruised. Scarlett walked beside him carrying a bag filled with bottles. "You got the stuff?" Rodney asked.

Topher nodded, he then placed the joint between Rodney's lips since both his hands were occupied letting him take some puffs. "You got the drinks?" Topher asked.

Rodney nodded holding up the two large cases of beer with ease. "You know it!"

"What's wrong with him?" Scarlett asked referring to Dave who was now clinging to Shawn, caressing the side of Shawn's face.

"What's wrong with him?" Shawn asked referring to Max who looked nearly passed out with the start of two black eyes.

"Yo dudes!" Everyone turned to see Beardo walking up to them from the right of the intersection with Amy closely beside him. He walked up to Topher. "Be-Be-Be-Beardo Delivery." He whispered placing the pack of cigarettes discreetly in Topher's back pocket.

"You're a good man." Topher said patting Beardo on the shoulder. Beardo took some steps back. The others all noticed that Amy was standing quite close to Beardo. Before someone could say anything they heard footsteps coming from behind them.

They all looked down the bottom road to see Ella, Sky, Samey, and Jasmine walking towards them. None of them looked to be acknowledging each other. All four of them looked extremely awkward and uncomfortable being in each other's presence. They walked up to the others.

Everyone was taken aback by their solemn mood. It took a second for Shawn to even notice. "Hey, where is Sugar?"

"Oh." Sky realized. "We, ah, lost her."

The whole group of teens stood there in silence. The mood immediately turned to jubilation. Everyone began cheering and frantically giving each other high fives.

It took a couple of minutes for them to arrive at Leonard's house. In front of the door, there stood two figures. The group paused at the driveway in surprise.

Leonard stood with his arms around an older girl. She wore a dark grey pullover sweater over a dress shirt and short green pants. Her long brown hair was tied back in pony tail.

"I'll see you later," Leonard spoke softly.

She leaned in, and kissed him on the lips. "Okay. Bye babe. Try not to have too much fun." She headed down the steps, and began to walk down the empty street.

The group of teens stood in complete shock. They were wide eyed with their mouths open, except Max and Dave who were having trouble standing. Leonard noticed them in the corner of his eye, and waved. "Hey! You guys grab the stuff? I was able to clean it up a bit down there."

Topher barrelled forward from the group, and grabbed the front of Leonard's wizard cloak. "Who was that?" He asked frantically.

"What? Courtney?" Leonard responded, playing it cool. "She came by to say hi before heading to a party. I think she was feeling uneasy because her jerk ex-boyfriend is going to be there. Apparently he's a pretty intimidating guy. He's got a Mohawk and everything."

"Are you two dating?" Sky asked, as the group approached the house.

Leonard nodded. "Yeah. She's my girlfriend. We met at camp when we were both CITs. She's doing pre-law, so I only see her when she comes to visit."

"A girl like that is interested in you?" Amy asked bluntly.

Leonard scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. I'm really lucky. She's awesome. Wish I could see more of her though. It'll be easier next year when we're in college together."

"Why have you never mentioned this before?" Shawn asked.

"No one's ever asked. I must say I was relieved when Sky took the dare. I was worried I'd hurt her feelings by taking the dare. But anyway, shall we continue the party?" Leonard looked over the whole group. "Wait, where's Sugar?"

Just then a jeep pulled up, blaring 50 Cent. The jeep was overly packed with college aged guys who looked like frat boys. They shifted around to allow the door to open and Sugar stepped out. In her hand was a bottle of vodka. After taking a step away from the jeep she lifted the bottle up and began chugging the whole thing. "Sugar! Sugar! Sugar!" The frat boys cheered her on. When she finished she tossed the bottle down the street, where it shattered loudly.

Sugar turned to the jeep. "I'll see you losers later! Especially you Geoff and DJ!" The frat boys continued to cheer Sugar's name as the jeep pulled away.

All the teens stood there on Leonard's lawn dumbfounded at the sight. "Sugar? What was that?" Topher asked.

"Well, after I found myself alone!" She then glared at Sky, Jasmine, Samey and Ella. Those four all turned away and tried not to look at her. "I walked around for a little bit before I discovered this house party. Decided I'd have myself a little fun. And let me tell you, those boys understand what it means to have fun. They were hesitant at first, but after I won twelve rounds of beer pong in a row I was queen of the party!" Sugar declared.

"Then why did you come back?" Sky asked.

Sugar walked up to Sky, grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her in close. "Cause Sugar ain't no quitter! I still got a turn." With that Sugar grabbed a bag of chips out of Sky's hands and walked past everyone and into the house.

Slowly everyone filtered into the house and back down the stairs into the basement. "Wait, who's turn is it now?" Samey asked.

"Right, I guess we haven't picked the next name yet." Topher grabbed the cap with the names in it and handed it to Ella. "Well Cinderella? Who's next?"

Ella reached into the hat and pulled out a piece of paper:

Rodney,

All the females collectively groaned.

...

Afterword:

Next chapter we're back to spin the bottle. We hope you liked this little side adventure. It was a lot of fun to write. Hopefully it was equally fun to read. Thanks everyone for your reviews!

Please Leave a Review.

Till Next Time - Nyhlus and BJ