The smell of cigarette smoke and sweat filled the main room of the club. To one side of the seizure inducing lights of the dance floor sat Warren, drinking coke with rum at the bar and trying not to think about anything at all.

Presently two girls approached the bar beside him. One had long, silky, outrageously red hair, on which was perched a fluffy plastic tiara. Her friend was blonde and skinny and began to giggle when she noticed next to whom she as standing.

"Two Bloody Mary's please" The first girl said to the barman, lilting with a slight Irish accent. Her blonde friend nudged her openly, indicating the dark young man who was pointedly not looking at them. The girls whispered to each other, stopping frequently to burst into giggles. They got their cocktails and wandered back to the flock of similarly giggly girls they had come from in the first place.

Finally. Thought Warren.

But just when he was relaxing back into his solidarity once more, he felt a presence at his right shoulder. He looked up from his drink to see the redhead, alone this time.

"Hey there" she said warmly.

Warren pondered slowly as to whether he should bother replying. Did he want to encourage conversation with this girl? Perhaps. The truth was, as much as he liked his personal space, he had been feeling a desire for human interaction, of the female sort. Maybe it was because of his disappointing relationship (which had just reached its 3 week mark) but for whatever reason, it was this night, out of all the nights he spent at that club, he decided to make the effort, and see where it led.

"Hey" he sighed, looking back into his drink. If she wanted this conversation, she was going to have to work for it.

"I'm Jess"

"Warren"

"Nice to meet you. What's a guy like you doing sitting here all by yourself?"

He shrugged "drinking"

"Drowning your sorrows huh?"

He looked up involuntarily, to see if she was mocking him. Instead she seemed genuinely sympathetic. He smiled a little "something like that"

"Well you know" she edged closer to him and leaned her forearms on the bar "my friend over there" she jerked her head to the blonde girl "Mia, she fancies you a bit. I'd bet she'd be more than willing to help you forget your issues, whatever they may be" She gave Warren a lusty wink.

He raised an eyebrow derisively, and looked over in the direction of this friend. He saw her hastily glancing away from him, as if she had been staring.

"You know what? I think I can manage without her" he sneered, draining his glass and requesting another, which came promptly, cheers to the barman.

She sighed, seemed to drop a façade with it. Then she smiled at him "I figured you'd say that. I promised I'd ask though, so I had to give you a try"

"Well, sorry to disappoint you" He retorted sarcastically, already tired of this pointless conversation. But it seemed she didn't want to give up.

"Anyway, she really isn't your type"

"And you know this how?"

"You strike me as the type of person who needs a little more…personality in their partner"

"Maybe"

"Nice girls? Not your thing. Ditzy girls? Definitely not. Blondes? No way. Tequila, double shot thanks" she added to the barman "I'm close, aren't I"

Warren stared at the girl in from of him. Everything she had said hit home. His thoughts strayed to Kate. "You don't know anything about me" he said, more scathingly than he intended.

"And that's what fascinates me" She breathed.

He sat still watching her. Eventually she spoke again, a little more casually.

"It's my birthday, you know. Eighteen today"

"Happy birthday"

"Thanks…" she fingered her shot glass, then downed the double tequila in three short consecutive gulps. "Listen Warren. I always speak honestly to people. The thing is, you're a refreshing change from all the other metro sexual, whipped, try-hard-cool excuses for men I know. There is something intriguing about you, and frankly, I'm attracted to that. I like you" she added with finality

Again he sat watching her, lost for words. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him so openly. It was, to use her word, refreshing. He nodded slowly, showing her he understood.

"I like you too. But don't let it go to your head" He finally conceded.

She gently laid her hand on his. Her nails were covered in chipped purple nail polish. Strangely, it was turning him on. "I don't know what type of person you are" she said bluntly "But I'm a forward person. If you don't like that, leave now"

He could hardly concentrate because of a sudden awareness of close her lips were to his, how insignificant those inches seemed. He inclined his head to just about cover the distance, then stopped "You mean you're a slut" He murmured in a last test of her endurance.

"nuh-uh" she smiled "Just experienced"

Warren's eyes flicked open to a dark room. He disentangled himself from the sheets around him. Sitting up, he slowly reacquainted himself to the surroundings.

It must have been late night, early morning sometime. He didn't look at the watch sitting on his bedside table; he didn't want to know. His mum was probably home, in bed asleep. He though about the afternoon, and turned to the other side of his bed, knowing what was going to be there.

And she was, as she always was, still sleeping beside him. She always stayed the night when they…got up to things. She was wearing his t-shirt, probably being the first thing she could find on the floor. She wasn't big on sleeping nude. Watching her chest gently rise and fall, warren suddenly felt incredibly guilty. And ashamed. And pathetic. He had a girlfriend. Even worse, Jess knew that. They both knew it, but regardless this always ended up happening. So he did what he always did when he started feeling like this. He climbed out of bed, naked, but not caring enough to put something on, and went over to his cupboard, pulling out a paper bag from under layers of junk. He took the back to the bad and sat down, pulling the doona over his lap and using this as a surface to spill the contents of the bag onto.

The movement of the bed caused Jess to stir, opening her eyes groggily.

She sat up in bed with him, and watched while he prepared. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible"

"I hate to touch on touch a sensitive area, but why Warren? Why are you still with that kid?"

"Because" He slapped the crook of his elbow hard, and watched the veins rise under his skin.

"Because isn't an answer"

"I just can't. People get used to things, and I can't just go changing everything. It's complicated, ok?"

Jess stared at the bed cover glumly. "It's just…" looking back at him, she saw he was barely listening to her "Warren! You know" she swallowed and blundered on "you know I really like you. You know that. I'm so sick of sharing you with someone else… and while I do share you this relationship is going nowhere. I might as well not bother; I could go and get myself a real boyfriend" she accused

"You know I need you" he said without looking at her. He shook the syringe, then drew in a breath and forced the needle into the outstanding vein. She scrunched up her face

"I wish you would give that shit up. You're gonna end up dead"

He looked at her as if to say: and would that be such a bad thing? She narrowed her eyes and grasped his shoulder "Don't you dare think like that. But honestly, you need to decide what to do with yourself before you lose everything, including me. Now" she lay back down and snuggled into the covers "I would make a dramatic exit but I don't really want to walk home in the middle of the night wearing just a t-shirt."

He smiled at her, a rare genuine one. "I wouldn't want you to" he said, putting aside his various impalements, stowing the needle so he wouldn't step on it in the morning. He lay back down with Jess, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her back close to his chest, laying his head in her hair. Now he felt drowsy, and so much better…

She reached back and stroked his cheek. Inwardly, he appreciated her affection, especially because she gave him so much of it and received so little in return.

Jess was gone the next morning, and checking his watch, Warren knew why. Her school had already started. Furthermore, he had missed the bus, again. It seemed to be happening a lot lately. His teachers were going to kill him.

He sat up on the edge of the bed, and then fell back again, groaning. The induced euphoria from last night was gone, and now he just felt nauseous. Shaking slightly, he heaved himself from bed, pulled some pants on and stumbled to the bathroom to lean over the sink. Looking back at him from the mirror was a pale, sleep deprived person who looked on the verge of spewing. He raised a trembling hand and combed hair out of his face, kicking himself for feeling so shit.

Then he noticed a person behind him. His mum had just walked into the bathroom and caught sight of him

"Oh honey, what's wrong? You look terrible" she walked over to touch his face but he turned away in case she connected the symptoms.

"I'm ok, just a little sick" He walked out of the bathroom into the kitchen, his mother right behind him.

"I can see that. Well you've missed the bus, so I guess you'll be staying home?"

"Mhm" he grunted, now rummaging for something to eat.

Warren's mum leaned on the bench "You've been sick a lot lately, do you think you should go to a doctor?"

"No, really I'm fine, just a bit…under the weather" He said spontaneously, faking a grin to show that nothing was wrong

"Ok well I'm off to work now, call me if you need anything or get sicker ok?"

"Yeah alright" he replied without thinking over his shoulder.

He showered, moving slowly while the side effects wore off. After lying around lengthily, wondering what to do, he finally decided to take the Yamaha for a ride. Fresh air was always a natural cure for anything.

Warren's motorbike was exactly the kind of motorbike anyone would expect a kid like Warren to own. Huge, with shining black and chrome finishes. The only reason he was able to afford such an impressive bike was because it was second hand. But constant maintenance and TLC keep it purring nicely like a happy jaguar.

The Yamaha was his baby. A guy could forget about girl problems when he was cruising around on a bike like this. So he sped around the unremarkable suburbia for hours on end, just enjoying being free.

Getting home, Warren dropped his keys on the bench and smiled to himself. Everything was fine. Maybe he should drop Kate. That was best. She was only going to get hurt anyway if it kept up like this.

Then he noticed the red light flashing on the phone. He leant over and pressed the playback button. A mechanised voice spoke, followed by another one he knew well

"One new message…BEEP…Hey Warren, it's Kate, I was just calling to see if you were ok. You're probably asleep or maybe at the shop, but you're probably home because you sure aren't at school! Haha…but yeah…I thought you were probably sick or something, you seem to be quite a lot these days…do you think you should maybe go see a doctor? I could come with you if you wanted. But…oh that's right, I just wanted to tell you I'll be thinking of you, and hope you get better soon sweetheart. Ok, well I think I've wasted enough time, sorry. Ok then, uh, bye bye…I love y-"

Warren had slammed down the delete button.

AN: thank you so much to the people who reviewed! Everyone else, please please please review, it would mean SO much to me sweethearts.

I know how I want the story to end up sorta, but I'm still a little unsure of the various plot points. If anyone has any ideas, it would be so helpful to me. If they're extensive send me a private message. Ill give you credit, and whatever rearward you want. Thank you x x