Author's Notes: GUESS WHEN THIS WAS WRITTEN. Takes place anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months after the second chapter.
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"Sucks to rehab. I don't need it."
Steffen nodded in an uncommitted response, not one to argue. They were lounging by soggy boxes in the back of a dirty alley, the only place they could do what they wanted and not have anyone complain. He watched as Jack pulled a cigarette out and lit it.
"Give me a light?"
Jack flipped the lighter open and watched as flames briefly consumed the end of Steffen's cigarette. For a few minutes they sat there, puffing in silence. Finally, Steffen broke the quiet.
"Hey, Jack…" Steffen paused, figuring out how to word his question. "Why…what was the reason you started cutting? I mean, I know you had some shit in your past that you don't want to talk about around the councilors, but, just between friends…"
Jack took a long draw on his cigarette and watched the smoke stream out of his nose before answering. "I wanted to make sure. If I could still get hurt, if I could still bleed…I wanted to make sure…I was still human."
"What else would you be?"
A beast. "I dunno. I just don't feel like anything is anchoring me here. I feel like I'm losing my emotions." My soul. My mind.
Steffen watched his blue eyes flash, troubled. They did this often. He searched for some way to comfort him. "I…I believe you're still human."
"Oh, what do you matter?" he snorted, turning his head away. After a beat, he muttered, "But thanks, I guess." There was a tiny piece of humanity that still had faith in him. Maybe that was enough.
But he knew it never would be.