Having just woken up from a nap that carried him through the rest of his afternoon, Roman hazily watched the sun set in the horizon. Ruby never came, and Neo didn't respond to any of his texts. It's probably a good thing-Neo always knew when and when not to indulge craziness, and this was certainly no exception. However, now that Roman checked each moment with a delicate flair that he really only cared to carry out with because he wanted to stretch out the amount of time between him and eternal ennui.

So many books of foreign language in Neo's house, and every single one of them are in languages that Roman doesn't speak. Not that Neo actually spoke any of them, but she had a lot more to do with her time than Roman, her upbringing involving becoming a ward of the state and living in a communal house that the government kept up. But after the incident that happened with her parents, she hardly even felt that she wanted to talk anymore.

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed himself off the couch. When he thought about it, Neo had went through the most amount of cripplingly horrifying tragedies but Roman had done the most to survive for himself. That is, until he met Junior. Then, the behaviors that led him to a diagnosis of conduct disorder suffered heavy criticism from Junior, who would not tolerate even a little bit having his shit burned whenever Roman threw a fit. And there were days when Roman wondered if he would have turned out any better if his parents had been around, but those days incidentally happened to be the ones when he was too drunk to make his own decisions.

The doorbell rang, and Roman's heartstrings snapped at the sound. When he regained composure, he quickly paced to the door and peered through the peephole.

Disappointment.

Neo and Junior stood in the hall, Junior's eyes glancing around before fixing on his silhouette in the tiny glass lenses, Neo leaning against the door frame with her hands in her pockets. Roman sighed and opened the door.

Junior glanced at Roman and his eyes squinted in the shape they did when he was smiling. Roman simply rubbed his eyes and stepped to the side to allow Junior inside. Neo said nothing, only pushing her weight off the wall and following behind Junior as he entered.

"We brought dinner," Junior disclosed upon stepping past Roman.

He took in the smell of hamburgers and fries as he assessed the mascara that ended up on the fleshy part of his palm. He should probably wash it off. "Smells like fast food."

"It's from that restaurant on the corner," Junior answered.

"Ah," Roman affirmed. He didn't know what restaurant was on the corner-he wouldn't to begin with-but anything in the general vicinity of this area typically lent towards expensive food or, at the very least, good eats. Roman noticed the jitter to his arm and the irritation that came with withdrawal. "Did you get me any cigars?"

"No. Why are you dressed up?" Junior asked with an accusatory tone that suggested Roman was guilty of something. Though Roman could think of no discreditable act that he even thought of committing, especially such that corresponded with his clothes. Neo squinted at Roman's clothes and frowned.

Roman ignored Junior's question, approaching the counter and crossing his arms. "Why not?"

"You're not planning on leaving, are you?" Junior asked, crossing his own arms in response.

"Answer the question," Roman seethed.

"You need to stop. Where did you plan on going?" Junior rattled off, clearing dodging Roman's attempts to initiate a conversation about his smoking habits.

Roman's hands clenched into fists. "What the fuck," he fumed below his breath.

"Roman," Junior probed.

"Nowhere!" Roman snapped. "I didn't intend on going anywhere." He turned his back away from them and stared at the wall through his shaking fingers.

"Then why are you dressed like that?"

Roman didn't answer. Instead, Neo tapped her fingers on the countertop, probably to get his attention to sign something. Undoubtedly, R-U-B-Y.

Junior sighed. "Roman, you need to get a grip."

"I agree. But I cannot do shit right now until I get some goddamn cigars."

Footfalls indicate to Roman that Junior is coming closer to him. When his hand touches Roman's shoulder, he is quick to shove it away and move as quickly as he could to his room. He runs inside and slams the door, locking it with erratic movements. He turns to the bed and paces back and forth with his hands grabbing fistfuls of his hair. Roman collapses at the foot of the bed, his whole body shaking.

He feels tears beginning to stream down his face. Junior knocks on the door. "Roman, let me in."

Roman kicked himself for being so irrational. He knew he shouldn't have acted that way with Junior, but he couldn't help himself-he was addicted, and there's no stopping that.

Wrapping his arms around his knees, Roman sobs quietly into his lap out of frustration, damming back the waves of rage trying to subdue him. It's quiet for another two minutes.

Then a voice. "Roman?"

Roman opened his eyes and looked at the door. A voice feminine and soft. There was no mistaking it for Junior. It was most certainly the last person he wanted to see like this. His chest stopped palpitating, and he took two deep breaths.

That voice came again. Soft, gentle, kind, reassuring. "Please open the door."

Roman stood, wiping his tear-stained cheeks with the back of his hand. He met the door with small steps and reached out to touch the door handle, hesitating just above it. He fought the urge to turn away and lock himself in his bathroom, biting his lip. With another drawn breath, he inhaled and opened the door. Upon the sight of who was there, he exhaled, feeling lighter already.

Ruby.

Her shining silver eyes softened. The slightly stern and commanding tone she used to persuade him to open up melted from her face. In two seconds, it was gone completely, and in its place was concern.

Ruby said nothing, reaching up and pulling his head into her shoulder. His body trembling, tears rolled down his cheek as he returned the embrace and pulled her closer, pressing his forehead to her uniform.


Note: none of the views reflected in what I write are necessarily mine. At some point during to chapter, I refer to a nicotine addiction as unstoppable. I would like to make it clear that that is not how I view addictions. In this plotline, Roman views it as a part of him, something that can't be stopped. Meanwhile, I believe that it is simply a behavior that can be corrected, despite how deeply rooted it may be into my system. I understand that not all addictions can be deterred as plainly as I have just put it, and I in no way intend to trivialize addiction. It is a real problem, and the frustration surrounding getting rid of it is valid.

Now that the serious stuff is out of the way, thank you for reading :) I get mushy in the last chapter's endnotes, so if you want to see that (or read it again), you can go back a beat and check that stuff out. Thanks again, guys!