Word Count: 483
Piers lights a cigarette, taking a long drag on the filter. The smoke fills his lungs as he walks down the street. He knows he shouldn't be out. It's late, and Max will worry if he knows that Piers is sneaking out again.
Piers is supposed to be over this. He isn't the same troubled kid he was when he first came to Max. There shouldn't be any more disappearing in the middle of the night because things are supposed to be good again.
But they aren't. Not anymore. Dudley and his family are gone. No note, no anything. No one has seen them on over a week.
Piers exhales, and a cloud of smoke drifts through the air, tinged by the amber glow of the streetlamp. He takes another drag, letting his feet carry him along. He doesn't pay attention to where he goes; truth be told, he doesn't really care. All he knows is that he's about to come out of his skin, and he just needs to move. The night is so goddamn lonely, and he thinks he might actually lose his mind.
He wonders if he's done something wrong. That wouldn't explain why the whole family would just up and leave, but it has to explain why Dudley was so distant. One day, he was fine. Then everything changed. He was quieter, more solemn. He started canceling plans out of nowhere.
Except that can't be it. Gordon says Dudley did the same with him. Dennis says he can't remember the last time Dudley was around.
Piers doesn't understand. They even took Harry with them, and he knows how much they all hated Harry.
He pauses at the end of the street and drops the cigarette before snuffing it out beneath his trainer. Almost immediately after, he pulls another cigarette from the pack and lights it, savoring the rich taste of tobacco on his tongue.
Without Dudley here, the others don't care much about him. As far as the gang is concerned, Piers is just dead weight, too soft to be useful.
He doesn't care; he doesn't need their friendship. What he needs is Dudley, but Dudley is not here anymore.
He tells himself he didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes people just leave. Maybe Dudley just didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Maybe...
Piers has to cling to theories and hope and try so hard to be an optimist because the alternative is too painful.
The alternative is his worst fear being realized. He is unloved, unwanted, unimportant. Dudley's off living a life that is better simply because Piers is not a part of it.
Pier lights another cigarette. The smoke is harsh on his dry throat, but he does not care. There is nicotine in his veins and stars in the sky, and maybe, just maybe, he can find a way to make everything okay.
