A/N: WARNING: This chapter (and some future chapters) may be considered an M rating for drug use and language. I don't think the whole story should be rated M, but there are a couple of chapters that go into a bit more detail concerning the use of drugs. Enjoy!

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Chapter 8

Twenty-seven Days Earlier…

Mordecai arrived at Jessica's apartment for the evening. He and Rigby had finished their work for the day, but not before spending an ample amount of time slacking off at Cheezers and the arcade. He felt guilty about leaving Rigby on his own, but all day he couldn't stop thinking about smoking some more pot. He liked Jessica as a friend, but he couldn't deny the real reason he wanted to hang out with her again so badly. Margaret had barely crossed his mind when his thoughts were clouded by the drugs and alcohol the previous evening.

Mordecai tried to have a good time hanging out with Rigby, but the entire time thoughts of Margaret were churning in the back of his mind. He couldn't forget the way her lips felt on his cheek at the airport or the look she gave him just before she disappeared into the gate to board the plane. He couldn't forget the night up on Lookout Mountain when they shared their first kiss that he had been longing to feel for years. He couldn't forget all the fun times they'd had together on dates, or just sitting in the coffee shot chatting about life. The emotional pain was enough to make him physically sick just thinking about it. He didn't understand why fate had been so cruel to him. He finally had the love of his life only to have her ripped away from him with little warning after only a few weeks of happiness.

Mordecai knew what he was doing wasn't the brightest idea, but he was willing to do almost anything at this point ease his heartache. 'It's just a temporary thing,' he convinced himself. He was sure that he would eventually be able to get back to a normal life without Margaret, or the marijuana, in time. Right now he needed to be free from the emotional torment and the pot helped him accomplish that.

He knocked on the door to apartment thirteen and Jessica promptly answered. "Mordecai!" She greeted him. "Glad you could make it back tonight. Come in."

"Yeah, there wasn't much going on at the park so I figured I'd stop by." Mordecai said.

"Sweet! We aren't expecting the crowd we had last night, but more people will be here soon."

"That's cool. Last night was fun." Mordecai said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Jessica laughed. "I really liked your company too. So...you want a beer?"

"You know it!" Mordecai took the beer she offered and relaxed on the couch. About that time, a guy entered the apartment with Jessica's roommate.

"Dude! You're back!" The guy said.

"Yeah, dude. I had a blast last night. I had to come back." Mordecai said.

"Man, I've never seen anyone party so hard before! You were completely wasted!"

"I know, dude." Mordecai agreed. "I paid for it this morning, but it's cool. I had a great time."

"Mordecai, I don't know you were officially introduced last night. This is this is my roommate Christine and her boyfriend Alex." Jessica clarified.

"Yeah, we met, but not officially." Mordecai quoted the word officially with his fingers, getting a brief laugh out of them. Christine and her boyfriend were both human. She was average height with a slender build and had long, blond hair and blue eyes. Her boyfriend, Alex, was a tall with spiked, black hair and green eyes.

"So what are we waiting for—let's get this party started!" Alex exclaimed. He pulled a bag of weed out of his leather jacket and proceeded to pack his bowl. He took a long drag and passed it to Mordecai.

"Thanks, dude." Mordecai lit the bowl and inhaled, which caused him to cough like crazy, then passed it to Jessica. Within a few minutes he started feeling lightheaded. His mind started racing, quickly jumping from one thought to the next. He watched as they continued to pass the bowl around, his eyes fixating on that one object as his mind wondered.

It seemed like several hours had passed when it reality it was only a couple of minutes. One minute Mordecai was enjoying the dazed feeling, and then out of nowhere he suddenly felt very anxious. He couldn't shake the notion that something was wrong and started to have second thought about what he'd done. "Oh shit, I shouldn't be doing this. What was I thinking? Oh shit, Oh shit..." He started to babble.

"Calm down, dude! What's going on?" Alex asked.

"I shouldn't be doing this!" Mordecai exclaimed.

"Why not, dude? It's just weed."

"They're all going to know! Benson's going to fire me!" Mordecai said frantically.

Alex laughed. "Relax. It's just the paranoia setting in. It'll pass in a little while. It's fine, dude. Whoever the hell Benson is isn't even going to find out. I guess you don't do this much, huh?"

"Last night was my first joint in since I was a freshman in high school. I never got into it back then. I guess I was too drunk to notice being paranoid last night." Mordecai said, beginning to settle down a little. After the paranoia passed, he was in a much mellower mood. They spent the rest of the evening listening to music, laughing, and chatting about anything and everything as they continued to smoke pot and drink beer. Mordecai was happy and grateful to have his mind off of Margaret for the first time all day.

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Seventeen Days Earlier…

Mordecai knocked on Jessica's door once more. It was now a nightly ritual. Rigby had practically begged him to stay home and play Dig Champs with him, but all he could think about was getting high again. "Sorry, Rigby. Maybe tomorrow." He'd said.

"You've said that every night this week, dude." Rigby had complained, but Mordecai was already on his way out the door.

It's not that he didn't want to hang out with Rigby. Rigby just didn't understand the emotional pain he was feeling. He couldn't just play video games and goof off like everything was normal. He needed to escape from normalcy because normalcy reminded him too much of Margaret.

During the past week, Mordecai had grown closer with Jessica and her friends. They didn't do anything besides party together, but that was enough for him. He was looking for a way to take his mind off of his pain and they were able to provide him with that means. Each night he smoked pot, he grew more accustomed to the sensation it provided and he liked it more and more. Now, he found it hard to imagine an evening without hanging out with Jessica and getting high. He wasn't necessarily dependent on it, but he definitely craved it and spend the better part of his days at work eagerly awaiting the evening ahead.

"Hey Mordecai." Jessica said, opening the door.

Mordecai knew she liked him and would be happy if he tried to advance their relationship to the next level, but so far he had given her nothing to indicate that he wanted to be anything more than friends –because he didn't. She was a bit rough around the edges, but nice enough. He just didn't need or want to get involved with another woman at this point. The last thing he needed was to get emotionally attached to someone else only to have it end badly again. Remaining friends felt safe and safety meant that nothing could go wrong. As long as nothing went wrong, he could continue to get his fix each night.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mordecai asked casually. Christine and Alex were there as well.

"We've got something special for you tonight." Jessica said.

"What is it?" Mordecai wondered.

"Alex scored some smack." Jessica grinned.

"Heroin?" Mordecai asked uneasily. Pot was one thing, but this was a whole different ballgame.

"Yeah, you've gotta try it." Alex spoke up. "The feeling is awesome. There's nothing like it!"

"Okay…sure." Mordecai said hesitantly. He really wasn't so sure, but after reasoning it out with himself he decided to give it a try. 'It's just a one time thing' he rationalized. 'What could it possibly hurt?'

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A/N - I would like to thank GearSolidSnake for encouraging me to go into more detail regarding Mordecai's addiction and for the idea to do it through flashbacks. I may have to change the rating, but I think it will be a better story overall because of it. Let me know what you guys think. ~Summer