(A/Ns: sorry for the stupid amount of time it took me to update. i have done with exams now, thankfully. Also, the practical at the start is in A Level Chemistry. Leo in that scene really reminds me of when me and my friend did the same practical the first time :"]

Please drop a review if you get the time! :D

Content warnings: smoking, swearing, mentions of drugs/prescription drug abuse

Disclaimer: i do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)

Chapter 7

It took Leo exactly 3 days to return to normal, which was convenient, as it also took exactly 3 days for Elliot to get back approximately half of his composure.

Fortunately, Oz had stuck to his promise, and hadn't brought up the incident last Thursday. Being chased into school on the Friday morning by Lottie hadn't helped his incessant paranoia, but Oz easily distracted her. Sometimes, Elliot really didn't appreciate him enough.

His words stuck with him, as well, and – no matter how painful it was to even look at a still-grumpy Leo – he made it through that day, nonetheless. And the weekend, too. But that was purely down to the fact he downright avoided every single one of his family members with the excuse of revision.

Yes, revision: revision for the exams that were six months away. Very believable, of course.

The first lesson they had on Monday morning was Chemistry, during which it became inherently obvious that Leo was back to his old self again. They'd just began a new module, meaning it was one of the few times that Break allowed them to do a practical; all Elliot had learnt was that, when given chemicals, Leo had the mentality of a 5-year-old.

"Hey, Elliot. Tell me what this smells like."

Before Elliot could even blink and respond appropriately, the rim of a glass test tube was abruptly thrusted up to just beneath his nose. He grimaced.

"Sulphuric acid."

"Really?" Leo raised an eyebrow questioningly at him, bringing the test tube containing the mystery substance back to his nose, giving it another tentative sniff and visibly supressing a gag reflex. "It definitely doesn't smell like pineapple."

"What did you put in it?" Elliot asked, staring at the other with a blank expression.

"Ethanol and propanoic acid," Leo answered, but held his breath before the end of the sentence like he had more to say. "And a lot of sulphuric acid."

Elliot rolled his eyes and muttered a sarcastic remark under his breath. "I wonder why it doesn't smell like pineapple then…"

Leo gave the mixture another sniff. "I can't smell that much acid."

"I doubt you have much of a sense of smell," Elliot shot back caustically, instantly regretting it the moment the comment slipped out. "N-Not to be rude, or anything…"

Luckily, Leo didn't seem particularly bothered, placing the test tube with delicate fingers in the rack along with the other failed esters before wandering away again, and Elliot didn't let go of the breath he was holding until he stopped staring at the other and his every move.

After another 15 minutes of failing to do anything right, their attempts were brought to a close, Break promptly instructing everyone to return to their seats and be quiet. Once everyone had done exactly that, he spoke.

"Since you all seem to have failed that, albeit I don't know how," Break snickered, sliding onto his chair at the front of the classroom. Despite the fact he side-glanced at Elliot for most of the time he was speaking, the amusement woven into his words implied they weren't the only ones who had messed up something so simple. "It's time for a group project~!"

The chorus of overly exasperated moans from each student only provided him with more motivation to give them the extra homework.

"Work with your partners. I expect it handed in to me by this time next week, in the form of a research paper," he said. "Find out the formula, structure, reaction conditions, and uses of, let's say… 3 esters. I want at least a page and a half on each to make up for your incompetency today." Break paused for a moment, adjusting his glasses, watching the clock in the corner of the room, and then giving a dismissive flick of his left wrist the second the bell rang. "You are dismissed."

Instinctively, Elliot followed Leo as he proceeded out the classroom and in the opposite direction to the flow of students all streaming from the other classrooms. No one even noticed them wandering up to the prohibited staircase to the roof; this was something Elliot had slowly become concerningly accustomed to.

"As usual, you would follow me up here," Leo muttered under his breath, as he stuck the already rolled cigarette between his lips and effortlessly picked the lock on the door to the roof. A smirk tugging at his lips, he added another comment. "What, did you want to experience me further tainting my sense of smell?"

Idiot. Of course he would remember that. Elliot mentally facepalmed. "Tch, it's just…"

"Something you do now, naturally. I get it," Leo chuckled, lighting the cigarette with his back to the wind. "It's nice to see I've become such a prevalent part of your life."

"Sure…" Elliot murmured, suppressing the instinct to agree. He was right, after all. "So when are we doing this project?"

"Hm, today?" Leo proposed as he brought the cigarette up to his lips for another brief hit of nicotine. "I'd rather get it done now so I don't have to spend any more time than I need with you."

"Oi, watch it."

"I'm joking, Elliot," Leo grinned. "You're… bearable." Another teasing smile.

"I'm flattered," Elliot said dryly in response. "Your house or mine?"

"Woah, it's a bit soon for that, do you not think?"

"I don't mean that, Jesus! Get your head out of your pants!" Elliot yelped, smacking a hand on his face to swiftly conceal the blush and slap that thought straight out of his mind before it even got there. "I mean for the project"

"Ah, right. Mine, then. I don't want to meet your snobby parents," Leo declared, flicking the finished cigarette aside and leaving it alight in the corner of the roof.

Elliot took it upon himself to extinguish it, though reluctantly. "Yeah, you really don't. They're… hm…"

"Presumptuous? Arrogant? Know-it-all?"

"Uh, yeah… let's go with that then."

"Funny," Leo said humorously. "A bit like you, then."

The day went quicker than he'd expected, perhaps because going to the specimen which was Leo's house wasn't very exciting for Elliot. Granted, the last time he was there, the only thing he really looked at was his friend and newly-realised crush puking in a sink.

Within a second of leaving the school and turning away from where the main flock of people were, Leo had lit the cigarette, already rolled from the last lesson of the day, during which Elliot had to bite back any of the impending comments. Thus, the first 5 minutes of the walk, guided by Leo, proceeded in total silence, Elliot remembering to text his sister (she'd communicate to his father, he hoped) that he was staying out late. Being as presumptuous as they were – and as he was as well, apparently – they would just assume another aristocrat. Elliot was usually predictable.

After another 5 minutes of awkward silence, Elliot decided to initiate a conversation.

"So… what does your mother do?"

"Retail," Leo answered dryly, sticking his hands into his pockets. It was discreet, but at the mention of his mother, a look of disapproval gradually morphed into his expression. "I don't know where. I don't care. We're just poor because of it."

"I'm… sure she's trying."

Leo snorted derisively. "Hardly."

As they continued walking, warped by another silence, Elliot couldn't help but grow concerned that his mother might be awful. Sure, Leo's perception of things was certainly an interesting one, but he really didn't seem to like her, and right now, Elliot wasn't particularly keen to meet her.

"So," Leo muttered, disinterest blunt in his words. "What do your parents do? Accounting?"

"Uh, no…" Elliot answered hesitantly. "They… own a private health insurance company. My… older brothers work in medicine as well, and… my other brother studies Business at university."

"Mhm, right." He was still just as disinterested, and that led them into another silence.

The rest of the walk to Leo's house proceeded with very little verbal communication, idle conversation occasionally sparking up and dying fairly quickly. About 5 minutes before they reached Leo's house (Elliot remembered exactly where they were, in a non-creepy way), to not much of a surprise, Leo was instinctively rolling and lighting another cigarette, during which Elliot had to fight back anything he wanted to say, yet again.

What he wasn't aware of was that he replaced the comments with unconscious, interrogative staring.

"Do you have something to say?" Leo said, slightly put off but mostly unfazed by the other's seemingly expectant gawking, as he took the first drag from the cigarette and flicked the ash aside. He didn't bother looking at Elliot, already knowing exactly what the expression of fake-surprise would look like.

"Uh, no…"

"I'm not stupid," Leo rolled his eyes, shoving the other hand in his pocket and glancing down at the cigarette for a moment before fixing his focus back on the horizon. "Go on, hit me with all the crap you wanted to ask on that magical day we first met, but were too scared to in fear that I'd rip your face off."

"I'm not scared of you," Elliot lied, and they both knew he was lying. But he still did it anyway, probably out of some weird, subconscious urge to preserve what very little was left of his masculinity. In his eyes, at least. "I guess it's just sort of like… why?"

"That's a very open question you know, Elliot."

"I know, but…" Elliot tried to give an explanation, albeit it failed.

"Are you familiar with what a 'habit' is?" Leo questioned, cutting off the other's hopeless trail of words.

"Well, of course!"

Leo blinked twice, taking a drag from the cigarette whilst staring expectantly at Elliot. "… go on."

"Surely it's just… something you're used to doing, which has become engrained into your routine." As he finished speaking, it suddenly hit him that his initial question had become redundant.

"And how is this different?" Leo suggested, smirking discreetly. He knew full well he was provoking the other, and the cluelessness evident on his face only made it funnier. "An addiction is just a habit which you have to break physically too."

"I guess… that's true…" Elliot said in defeat, sighing internally when he glanced up and saw Leo's house just ahead. "But… I was more asking about you specifically."

"Oh." Leo paused, saying no more as the two walked up to his porch. Wordlessly, he bent down on one knee, extinguishing the cigarette in the ashtray before pulling out his keys. As he unlocked the door, he finally responded to Elliot's previous comment, as if he'd only just remembered they were in a conversation. "Well that's a topic for another time."

The aura of mystery woven into in his words gave off the impression that it probably wasn't something Elliot should start interrogating him on.

The house was just as he'd remembered it. Reels of wallpaper seemed to be peeling away from the plasterboard of the walls in every corner, giving the entire hallway a discreet but noticeable background odour of rotting materials, which mixed in coincidently well with the stale stench of cigarette smoke – similar to the one which clung to Leo. Furniture wise, it was minimal, the only thing being a small cabinet tucked away in the corner of the hall besides the door.

There was one thing that caught Elliot's attention, nevertheless, and that was a row of photos along the top of the cabinet. One in particular, at that, which was a picture of Leo. But not just Leo; there were two others. One of them was a young woman, with brown hair tied up neatly. The other was, presumably, Leo's father – well built and the total opposite of Leo. Despite that, their facial features were still hauntingly similar. And Leo was smiling. Smiling boldly. Albeit, he only seemed to be about eight in the photo. Clearly, those days were gone.

He wondered briefly why Leo had never mentioned his father, but before any suspicions could spiral out of control, Leo halted him, picking up the photo and placing it face down without a single word.

"Come on," he prompted nonchalantly, ignoring the brewing awkwardness between them. "Go upstairs. Did you want anything?"

Elliot almost tripped over Leo's bag, as he watched him wandering off to what he remembered to be the kitchen. "Um, no thanks…"

"Good, you weren't getting anything anyway."

With that, Leo left. Elliot almost tripped over the bottom step as well, worried he'd tried to push some boundaries by staring at that photo. There was no way he could've known that was a sore topic. Perhaps it wasn't even his father. Maybe his father had left, or even died, but Leo didn't seem like the type of person who'd lost a family member. Really, Elliot had no clue; he didn't want to jump to conclusions either, however, assuming the worst couldn't be good for either of them.

Once he got to the top of the stairs, Elliot only briefly remembered which of the 4 doors was Leo's room. And once he entered it, he only then got a realistic glimpse of the mess Leo apparently lived in.

Books. There were lots of books. Besides a bed, beside table, window, wardrobe, and desk, there wasn't much else other than books. The entire adjacent wall was completely covered in ceiling-high book shelves. The floor was covered in books. And somehow, Leo lived in that dump.

"Step on any of those books and I'll kill you," Leo threatened, barging past the clueless Elliot stood in the middle of his room to get to his desk. Once there, he proceeded to dump a pile of sugary junk food in front of his laptop, sitting down as he did so. "Take a seat anywhere, I don't care where you go."

"Uh, right…" Elliot said, scanning his surroundings and considering his options – limited options, at that. In the end, he went with the bed, watching Leo unwrap some of the food with a strange level of delicacy. It was only then that Elliot realised that he could not recall Leo eating at school even once.

"Hm…" Leo hummed idly, fiddling with the lollipop stick held between his teeth. "So, what did Break ask us to do again?"

"Tch, were you not listening?"

"No."

Elliot rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, as usual. "He asked for a mini research paper on the uses, reaction conditions – everything like that – for 3 esters; a page and a half for each."

"Hm, really?"

"Yes, really."

Leo knocked his head back, breathing out an exhausted sigh before peeling himself off the chair and wandering over to the bookshelves, scanning the countless rows of books. "I think I have a book on this somewhere."

"What a surprise…" Elliot said sarcastically. "What should we start with?"

Total silence was the only response Leo seemed willing to give at first, until he seemed to find what he was searching for, pulling out a large but only slightly tattered book. Unsurely, he examined it. "Hm… found it."

Unbeknownst to Elliot, a sly, discreet grin began to tug at his lips, and he wandered over to where Elliot was. Without the other even noticing, he dropped down onto the bed beside him, bringing his legs up to his chest before folding them in front of him and placing the book in his lap.

The very second his left thigh came into contact with his hip, Elliot freaked.

What the hell?! Elliot screeched internally, mustering up all his energy to stop the blood from rushing to his face, or, in the worst-case scenario, a more sensitive, lower region. Tch, he's doing this deliberately…

With all that had happened not even a week ago, Elliot was not ready to deal with this.

"Alright," Leo said, seemingly proud of himself. "I found one. Start making notes."

"S-Sure…" Elliot stammered. Carefully, he leaned to his left just slightly, away from Leo and reaching for his notepad.

When Leo didn't get the goddamn hint and move, he mentally facepalmed; this would be a long afternoon.

It only took them around two hours to get through two of the esters, which was admittedly faster than expected. Particularly when each of them had one single intention, of which neither were relevant to the task at hand. Yes, Leo's goal appeared to be teasing Elliot as much as possible, whilst Elliot's was trying with all his strength not to get a goddamn boner from Leo's incessant pestering. Fortunately, after discovering Leo typed at the speed of approximately one word a minute, Elliot had moved to the desk, saving himself the potential embarrassment of a certain thing happening which he wasn't really willing to exercise the thought of.

It had only just passed 6pm, and Elliot knew he'd have to leave soon, particularly when his sister was assuming he was probably only a 10-minute walk away from the school – not 40 minutes.

"What were the uses again?" he asked with a sigh, fairly certain this was the thousandth time he'd asked that.

"Shh…" Leo hushed. Currently, he was stretched across the bed on his stomach, scrolling on his phone, which was placed on top of the book. "I'm still finding the structure."

"… surely you already have that! I asked you to find it half an hour ago!" Elliot flipped. He didn't mean to, but this was getting frustrating now, and his phone was really running low on charge; with family like his, that was really not good.

"I would have it now if you didn't pick a stupid one to use that no one's heard of…" Leo muttered, totally dismissing Elliot's blatant annoyance.

"Fine… I-I'll just find it on-"

"No."

Being cut off mid-sentence wasn't really something Elliot appreciated. Leo seemed unfazed, however, the urgency to stop Elliot was really quite suspicious.

"Pardon?"

Wordlessly, Leo turned his head to face Elliot, glaring at him with an expression which promptly said 'you heard me'. "Look at my browser, and I'll kill you."

"What the hell?!" Elliot yelped. The glare didn't leave. "Ugh, fine…"

Whatever Leo was so hellbent on hiding, he was certainly determined. And that only made Elliot more concerned. He felt like a total idiot; like he was missing something really obvious.

"Do you have a phone charger I can borrow then?" Elliot exhaled, trying to stir up an excuse he could face Vanessa's confrontation with later.

Once again, without speaking, Leo stood up, dropping his phone onto the bed and sauntering over to Elliot. A sidelong glance discreetly (but not unnoticeably) checking the tabs on his laptop, he opened one of the drawers in the side of his desk – just a crack – and pulled out a single cable. Handing it to Elliot and wandering back over to the bed, he said, "Use the plug on the floor. The laptop's been charging long enough now. I think."

"Right…" Elliot muttered tentatively, doing as he'd been told before returning to the work.

"Aha… found it."

"Finally…" Elliot groaned, rolling his eyes, as usual. Watching Leo draw out the structure on the notebook beside him, he couldn't help but chuckle internally. At himself. Because he should be annoyed. He should have lost his patience by now. But… he hadn't.

A second later, he was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when the notepad hit his arm; Leo had thrown it at him, again.

"You wanted the reaction conditions?" Leo said, lethargically sitting up and flicking through the book. Attention divided, he swiftly slipped the rolling paper and fresh tobacco out from his pocket, beginning to roll a cigarette with one hand.

Elliot was fairly certain he knew what was coming next. Hopefully, they'd at least finish what they were doing first. "Yeah."

"Right…" Leo hummed in thought, fully aware that Elliot was staring at him. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him. "Perfume. That's it. It smells like shit apparently."

"Of course…" Elliot grunted, typing out something more formal than Leo's delivery.

"You done?" Leo said a moment later, bringing the cigarette up to his lips to finish rolling it and then picking up the lighter on his bedside table.

"Hmm… almost…" Elliot hummed, only half engaged in the conversation until he was done. "Okay, we have… 3 and a bit pages for two out of three esters. So… we're nearly done."

"Good," Leo stood up, flicking the book shut and sticking the cigarette between his teeth. Waving the lighter at Elliot, he proceeded to the door. "I'm going out. Are you following?"

"Tch, fine."

Leo chuckled, shaking his head at Elliot as he slipped out of the door. "You're so predictable."

Elliot pretended not to hear that; it was painfully true, really.

Just before they reached the door, the two of them were halted, a seemingly confused voice calling from the kitchen. "Leo?"

"Oh great…" Leo grunted sarcastically, keeping his gaze fixed on the open kitchen door as he said. "That's my mother."

Instinctively, Elliot began to worry. Sure, he'd never met the woman, but if what he'd heard from Leo was to be believed, she wasn't someone he was particularly eager to meet.

The moment they made it to the kitchen, standing silently in the doorway, Elliot immediately recognised her as the woman from the photo. Much like Leo, in a way, she hadn't changed at all, brown hair tied back. However, behind the same coloured eyes was an aura of… pain, it seemed. As if she were struggling, in many ways, and had been for a long time. Possibly ever since that goddamn photo which Elliot just could not erase from his mind.

"What do you want?" Leo said, with more attitude held in his words than Elliot had ever seen him display before.

"Leo," she tried to say sternly, but the light tremble in her voice almost implied that she was… scared of him? "Take that cigarette out of your mouth when I'm speaking to you."

With an enormous, exaggerated sigh, Leo did as he was told, plucking the cigarette from his lips and gripping it in the same hand as the lighter.

Then, she turned to Elliot. And smiled. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name? Leo very rarely has people over."

She seems… polite… "Oh, uh, Elliot…" he introduced, responding with the same, slightly awkward smile. "Ah, sorry, I'd have assumed someone would have told you I was coming over."

Leo pretended he didn't see Elliot glaring at him matter-of-factly.

"Yes, well… you can call me Emma," she said warmly, still smiling. And Elliot had yet to figure out what Leo's problem was with her. "As I said, it's very rare I even see Leo with anyone, really. I'm glad he's got a friend-"

"Don't jump to conclusions," Leo interrupted pointedly.

"Leo, stop," she said, her politeness faltering; Elliot could see she was trying, and began to feel… sympathy, really. "Anyway, I was going to ask Leo what he wanted for dinner, but you're welcome to stay as well."

"Oh, well…" Elliot stuttered. At first, he tried to look to Leo for a decision, but only found that the noirette had totally disengaged himself from the conversation. "I guess… we still have some of the work to do, so… yes, please. I'm not particularly fussy with food-"

"You don't need to be so polite," Leo rolled his eyes forcibly again, turning on his heel towards the front door. "It's only my mother, jeez."

"Oi, Leo!" Elliot called after him, shooting an apologetic glance to his mother – who seemed nothing short of unfazed – before chasing after Leo.

By the time he reached the porch, Leo had already lit up, and was leaning dependently on the wall, sulkily dragging on the cigarette.

"So… um, correct me if I'm wrong, but…" Elliot shifted slightly, pulling the door mostly shut. "What… exactly is your problem with your mother? She's polite, and-"

"Irritating," he added, clearly not impressed. Breathing in on the cigarette once again, he deliberately made a point out exhaling the smoke through parted lips, effectively flaunting his recalcitrance. "Always tells me what to do."

"I wonder why…" Elliot said quietly. "So, what time did you-"

"Leo!"

"Ugh, I'll be right back," Leo groaned in disgust at his mother's voice, taking another quick drag from the cigarette as he turned on his heel. Briskly, before stepping into the house, he extended the cigarette to Elliot. "Hold this for a moment."

Reluctantly, Elliot took the cigarette, holding it as far away from him as possible; if he came home with even a trace of the smell of cigarette smoke clinging to him, he'd never hear the end of it.

For the first part of Leo and his mother's discussion, all Elliot could hear was indecipherable murmurs. Nonetheless, the two both sounded on edge; his mother interrogative, and Leo just ignorant.

And then, three minutes later, Elliot still standing pointlessly on the porch hoping he wouldn't be seen, there was a sudden smash. Something had been broken – thrown, he guessed – with a lot of force.

A moment after that, Leo returned, plucking the cigarette from Elliot's fingers and inhaling with a nonchalant expression.

Elliot cleared his throat once Leo's mother had stopped shouting after him. "So… what was that?"

"She pissed me off," Leo said with an edge of intolerance in his bitter voice. "And there was a glass there."

"Right…" Elliot's words trailed off shortly after he'd asked the question. Nothing productive would come out of confronting him.

Less than a minute later, Leo was done, sucking the life out of the cigarette and dropping it in the ashtray beside the door. He grabbed Elliot's shoulder, tugging him back into the house as he brought a finger up to his lips. "Shh. I'm not getting pulled aside again. Unless you want more glasses broken."

Whatever happened between Leo and his mother earlier hadn't been resolved. And it made it very, very awkward for Elliot when they were called down for dinner, no more than an hour later.

Thankfully, they were so close to finishing the project, Elliot could almost certainly get away afterwards. First, unfortunately, he had to get through dinner.

Leo hadn't said a word when they got down there. Instead, he'd simply rolled his eyes at Elliot at the sight of his mother. Elliot really didn't see the problem; she was just standing at the sink, in total silence. Clearly, Leo still didn't approve of that.

Breaking the prolonged silence, Elliot audibly cleared his throat, sipping tentatively from the glass of water beside his plate. "Um, thank you for the meal. It was, uh, really good."

After a short pause, she turned around, plastering on a fake smile. "Thank you. My husband was a chef. It's a real shame Leo doesn't appreciate my cooking a little more."

Wordlessly, the aura of condemnation intensifying, Leo slammed his glass onto the table at that comment. Then, forcefully shoving the barely touched plate of food towards the centre of the table, he stood up, kicking the chair underneath the table and storming out.

His mother didn't even stop him, and the expression of guilt and concern spread across her face really did make Elliot feel sympathetic. This was a common occurrence, evidently.

Nevertheless, he still followed Leo, smiling apologetically at her before thanking her for the meal once again and hurrying upstairs.

Sure enough, Leo was in his room, lying on his bed on his phone. But there was something different. He almost seemed to be…

Shaking?

No, that couldn't be right.

"Pack up your stuff. I presume you'll go now," he said sulkily, dropping the phone onto his sheet, as well as a pre-rolled cigarette. With an irascible sigh, he stood up, dragging a hand through his hair and proceeding to his door. "I'm going to the bathroom."

With that, he left, leaving Elliot alone in his room.

Hesitantly, he began doing as he were told, picking up their progress so far and his textbooks from the sea of books on the floor. The last thing he had to pick up was his phone, still plugged into Leo's charger. Miraculously, there were no missed calls or angry texts from his sister. Somehow.

Without thinking, Elliot unplugged the charger as well, trying to remember which one of the drawers it came from. Because, really, he couldn't bear to leave anymore mess in his room.

Maybe it was the top drawer? Admittedly, he couldn't really see why the drawer would have a lock on it, but nonetheless, it was unlocked.

The charger in his hand, without hesitation, he opened the top drawer.

Eyes locking on the contents, Elliot lost his grip on the cable. And froze.

This is…

The drawer was relatively empty. In the front half. It wouldn't arise suspicion for someone simply checking.

It was the contents at the back of the drawer which sent a sickening feeling to the pit of Elliot's stomach. He never knew such little could be so significant.

He really shouldn't have been poking around. Really. But he'd seen it now.

Pills. A transparent bag of pills, each marked with either "40", or "OC". There were only 3 of them.

That wasn't it, though. They could've meant anything.

It was the syringes which made Elliot nearly throw up a little. Hypodermic needles. Two of them. Next to a spoon, and a lighter.

Dizziness overcame him.

It couldn't…

What?

Leo would be back any second. With the haunting image of his trembling hands trapping in Elliot's consciousness, he tried to shake off what he'd seen, as he shut the drawer inaudibly and placed the charger back on the desk, as if nothing had happened.

When Leo did return, Elliot was honestly astonished that he didn't notice the shell-shocked expression frozen onto his features.

"Are you ready to go?" the noirette asked.

Elliot was too zoned out to hear the first half of the sentence but gave a response anyway. "Er, yeah… my sister was calling me earlier."

"Heh, sorry for keeping you so late," Leo chuckled, picking the cigarette up with his lighter and leading Elliot downstairs. Once again, avoiding his mother, he clicked the door open as silently as possible, stepping out onto the porch before Elliot and cupping a hand over the tip of the cigarette. "Do you have anything?"

Not my sanity, Elliot answered mentally, biting his tongue. "I think so." Walk away. Just walk away. "I'll… see you tomorrow."

"And you," Leo waved him off with the hand holding the cigarette.

The hand that was no longer shaking?

Elliot's gaze didn't leave the road ahead, stolen by a trance, as he sauntered away from the house.

He tried to forget what he'd seen. Or brush it off as nothing.

He couldn't.

The sight of the needles, and the pills – hell, even the burst spoon – were too deep into Elliot's memories to be forgotten now.

Once he reached the next street, the overthinking began.

He can't… Leo can't be… using…

… right?

(A/Ns: so... if don't know what OC is, you can either google it, PM me for an explanation which doesn't spoil, or you can wait till next chapter - till next time!)