Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/6404410. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: F/M, M/M Fandom: South_Park Relationship: Michael/Pete, Kyle_Broflovski/Eric_Cartman, Kenny_McCormick/Butters Stotch, Craig_Tucker/Tweek_Tweak, Stan_Marsh/Wendy_Testaburger, Mike "Vampir"_Makowski/Pete_(unrequited) Character: Michael_(Goth_Kid), Pete_(Goth_Kid), Mike_"Vampir"_Makowski, Henrietta Biggle, Firkle_(South_Park), Stan_Marsh, Tweek_Tweak, Wendy_Testaburger, Kyle_Broflovski, Eric_Cartman, Kenny_McCormick, Craig_Tucker, Clyde Donovan, Bebe_Stevens, Mr._Garrison, Butters_Stotch Additional Tags: Depression, Slow_Burn, Eventual_Smut, Fluff, Angst, Self-Harm, Self- Esteem_Issues, Slow_recovery, Yaoi, Hurt/Comfort, Sexual_Confusion, Awkward_Tension, Slow_Build, Seme_Michael, Uke_Pete, Slow_To_Update Stats: Published: 2016-03-30 Updated: 2016-07-29 Chapters: 7/? Words: 9145 ****** Addictions ****** by slipknoot Summary The kids of South Park are now in high school, not much has changed, especially not the goth kids. They still have a raging hatred towards the vampire kids... as well as everything else. That's what goth kids are suppose to do, hate everything, right? Or maybe it's not so bad to enjoy a few things... every now and then. ***** We All Need A Smoke- Michaels POV ***** It was yet another uneventful shitty night, Firkle wasn't here to recite dark poetry with us, Pete hadn't eaten decently again (he seriously thought he was fooling me with that bullshit meal), and Henrietta was... well.. Henrietta. I tried to deprive myself of boredom by sketching our pathetic group. I am the oldest of us; 17 and still without a job. As I began to outline my own image, I put in the annoying ass curls my black hair bounced into, which would distract others away from my disapproving scowls. Henrietta was easier to sketch, her having ample flesh to detail and intricate black lace dresses, complimented with knee-high boots. Henrietta was also 17, yet she somehow managed to fight enough kids to get held back last year, so she'll be graduating with Pete. If she graduates. Pete is 16, with flaunt-worthy features that never cease to make me wonder why he could hate the world so much. He had naturally spiked/fluffed black hair, with dyed-crimson streaks that were slowly fading. He wasn't too thin, but he had a naturally fit framed that took me years to try to copy. But he wasn't healthy, I couldn't pinpoint why. Nothing ever seemed to spark emotion into his chocolate brown eyes. They were devoid for a long time, empty since grade school. They still held a fondness, of course, more than my dead cobalt eyes, and certainly more than Henrietta's mean hazel orbs. And then there was Firkle. Firkle is the youngest goth, and I was also confused on how he could strongly dislike everything by the time he entered kindergarten. He was an intense flame, something only Henrietta could match with her own intensity, probably explaining why she was like a mother to him. Firkle has piercing green eyes that could cut glass. I was pulled out of my enthrallment of sketching when Henrietta began whining. "When the fuck is Firkle coming? I really need some fucking dark lyrics to mull over.." She sighed, setting her phone down and replacing it with her long ass cigarette thing. I perked up slightly, sending Pete a nervous glance. I had completely forgotten to tell her Firkle had gotten into detention. The whole situation was stupid- Firkle got mad and cussed out a few kids, causing him to be punched in the face AND get in trouble for it. I hesitated before spilling. "He's in detention.. Got hit by some douchey little kids and took the heat for it." As soon as I said detention, Henrietta's hazel orbs narrowed and she grit her teeth. "Are you telling me he got beat up and didn't get revenge?" She looked up at me, then at Pete- scanning to see if he knew about this. He was fixated on his Edgar Allen Poe collections book, probably thanking the dark skies that he didn't have to look at her. I nodded but before I could answer she cut me off. "Those cock sucking assholes need to leave Firkle alone! God; why can't we teach him to fight Michael??" Henrietta Biggle turned the end of her long, black cigarette towards me. She let out a long string of smoke, unblinking as she waited for an answer. Her layered black hair hung loose on her shoulders, framing her in an unflattering way. I shrugged, not simply caring whether or not our youngest goth member got into fights. He wasn't my problem- he just hung out with us. Besides, who needs to fight the poser bitches in middle school? Isn't that what high school is for? "Doesn't seem necessary. If anything, he shouldn't be near those posers." I didn't care enough to cap the bitterness in my tone, earning a glower from the female goth staring me down. It took a half-assed pat on the shoulder from Pete to melt the icy glare she was sending my way. She rolled her eyes at the gesture the smaller goth made, flicking the peak of his forehead. He kept an unchanging facial expression, his black and red-streaked hair casting a slight shadow over his face. "Maybe he's right Henrietta. He just doesn't want Firkle to get in trouble- get held back- and wait longer until high school n' shit." Pete obviously made the bullshit point on the spot; but it saved me from the wrath from Henrietta, so I swung with it. "He's already been in detention twice this week.. And it's Wednesday." I added in, watching Henrietta tap the ash off the butt of her cigarette; narrowly missing Petes foot. He took a deep sigh and flipped her off, not caring that she didn't notice. Henrietta turned to face me and set her cigarette in the over-sized ash tray. She lost herself in thought for a moment, and opened her lipstick-rimmed mouth. "...Alright. Whatever. If Firkle can't save his own ass then I will. Is that good enough?" She asked, although we all knew she didn't care of our opinion. I nodded, waving my hand towards the door as if to say; 'All yours'. She looked back to Pete, and asked him: "What time do we need to pick up Firkle from detention today?" He shrugged and said he would probably be out by 5 pm. Henrietta grabbed a black lace sweater and told us to meet her at my truck. Following her; Pete and I took out matching Marlboro cigarettes. He pinched the bridge of his nose once he realized he didn't have a lighter- so naturally I allowed him to use my busted up one. Our drags were in synch, leaving with a tiny bitter morsel of satisfaction. I need another smoke. - "Michael I don't fucking know how to drive this shitty pickup." Henrietta hopped into the backseat of the rickety vehicle; leaving Pete for the shotgun and me to drive. Firkle's middle school wasn't too far from South Park Elementary, since this shithole town didn't have half the budget needed to actually build anything in a decent spot. I didn't bother putting on the stupid seatbelt; this old piece of crap probably wouldn't go much faster than 65 mph. I maneuvered around the main roads- and soon enough we arrived at the school. It was 4:50, thankfully we were early enough for Henrietta to partially calm down. As soon as we got out of the truck, Pete and Henrietta floored themselves towards the back entrance, making themselves comfortable on the hard as fuck bench. I leaned against the outer wall across from them, fishing another cigarette from my pocket. I was only able to get a couple long intakes before the back door swung open, revealing a short, pissed-off Firkle. His fists clenched up as he kicked a pebble towards an unsuspecting squirrel. "Fuck this school! I'm so fucking done! Those asswipes can go burn in the stomach of Cthulhu for all I care!" He spat onto the ground, raising his chin and glaring daggers in my direction. "Gimme that shit-" He plucked the lighter out of my hand and flicked it infront of a tree. Henrietta raised an eyebrow and held his shoulder. "Common Firk- They wouldn't give a shit if you burned this down. I'll kick their asses aight?" There was a less bitter tone in her words, and it seemed to assure Firkle to put down the lighter. He stuffed it back into my palm and rolled his eyes at us. "Okay Okay.. God I'm fucking ready for some coffee. Let's ditch this place." He began trudging ahead to my truck, with the three of us following. I was fixated on how easy that was for Henrietta to calm him down. Mother Hen. ***** Douchey Vampire Kids- Pete's POV ***** Chapter Summary On the way back to Henrietta's house, the goth kids encounter the wannabe vampire brats, and Pete can't even go home. He's not amused, but Michael's there to help. Chapter Notes I'll be writing back and forth between this fic and my Human!stuck fic- Hopefully I'll still have plenty of time to do this when spring break is over. ^^ I let my arm hang freely from the window of Michael's shitty truck, a cigarette hanging loosely from two fingers. Henrietta was in the back seats with Firkle telling him all about the different ways she could beat up his "bullies". Michael was driving, him being the only one of us with a goddamn vehicle. I flipped my bangs out of my face as we rounded some unknown corner into a new neighborhood, peering at the alleys and sidewalks. It was hard to tell if anyone was out; since the only streetlights that weren't broken were in front of isolated trees or some shit. A small gas station came into view as Michael pulled into the lot; getting out to fill up on the foul smelling oil. "Go grab me a pack of cigarettes or something." He nodded his head at me, and threw me a wad of five dollar bills. I shrugged, walking inside, followed by Henrietta and Firkle. The station store was run down and obviously about to run out of business. There were only a few packs of shitty Camels, and the cash register lady didn't bother to ask for an I.D. Dumbass. I looked around to see if there were any good drinks; and was surprised that there was no alcohol. I decided to go for a few Monster energy drinks, and laid them on the counter with the cigarettes. Firkle came to the counter with a fuck ton of snacks, and Henrietta chose out a new lighter. The two looked at me as they laid their shit down; expecting me to fucking pay for this. "Dudes, this is Michaels fuckin' money." I handed the register lady a bunch of wrinkled fives, while the others just blinked. "Yeah, oh well." Firkle chipped in two dollars and plucked the receipt from the banged-up register machine. Henrietta grabbed her lighter and went outside while I grabbed the rest of my shit. Firkle swung the grocery bag full of candy across his shoulder as he walked towards the door. Before he could lay his hand on the handle, it swung open with an annoying ass bell chime. I took a step back and furrowed my eyebrows as I witnessed a bunch of emo-looking shits stroll into the gas station store. What caught me and Firkle off guard was the guy in the middle of the over-dressed group. Mike. Fucking. Makowski. If I wasn't already annoyed by the bright multicolored hair; then it was their vampire douche lord who pissed me off. He raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of us, a smirk dancing across his arrogant features. Flipping his green-tipped hair; the douschey vampire kid started striding over to the two of us. "Fuck off Mike." I cut him off before he could say hi, causing him to chuckle and think of a snarky remark. "Didn't anyone tell you.. I am Lord Vampir. King of bloodsuckers, per say." He looked around to see if anyone else was with Firkle and I. Once he realized we were alone, he showed us his fake ass "vampire fangs", and hissed. "Wow so fucking spooky. I am just shaking in my fucking boots." My voice was soaked with sarcasm- even a dumbass like him wouldn't miss it. He seemed a bit put-off by that, but kept a cocky facade. "O' poor lost soul~ You think you can handle us without the rest of your.. flock?" He sneered, laying a finger to rest underneath my chin. I slapped it away and wrinkled my nose, flipping him off. "Don't touch me attention whore." I crossed my arms when he pretended to be offended, earning hisses from his posse of lame fucks. One of them bared their plastic fangs at Firkle, who didn't bother to even look at them. "Ah, fiesty fiesty aren't we?" Mike put a hand on his hips and dramatically sighed. "What a shame too. You would be such a delicious little meal~" He winked; causing me to grimace even more than what I thought was possible. "I'd rather have my balls cut off first." I spat, pushing past him to reach for the door. Firkle let out a few cuss words as I pushed open the doors. The cold wind slapped me in the face, causing me to stumble back slightly. Of fucking course; Mike HAD to be there to "catch me." He gripped my shoulder firmly and I ripped myself from his filthy touch. "So have it that way Pete.. You can't avoid my charm for long!" He chuckled and went back to entertaining his clique. - Once outside, I pulled out one of the Camels and held it under Henrietta's lighter. She lit it for me, pausing before lighting her own. "What was that in there? Were those fucking emo kids?" She patted down her black skirt, not bothering to look up. I nodded and sighed. "Yeah the fucking vampire shits. Mike thought it was a good fucking idea to be an asshole and talk to us." I raised the cig to my lips and inhaled deeply, holding out the second pack I got to an approaching Michael. He snagged the pack of Camels and digged around his pockets for his lighter. As he was about to inhale, I grinned and blew out a circle of smoke in his face, messing him up. He spluttered slightly and flipped me off, causing my smirk to grow. "Oops." I followed the group back to his truck, taking note of how dark the atmosphere had grown- and it was only 6:00 pm. - Michael insisted on dropping off Henrietta, Firkle and I at our houses, and surprisingly we all fucking agreed. Firkle was first, knowing his parents wouldn't give a shit about his detention OR his junk food stash. Michael parked the car a house away from Firkles house, still being fucking superstitious about all the fucking rituals we did there. Henrietta offered to walk with him to the front door, naturally. She glowered when he rejected the offer, and waited in the truck as he walked to the back of his house. When we approached Henrietta's house, we had to drive past all the lame conformist neighborhoods. I wasn't surprised to see stupid shitty couples walking together or doing lovey-fucking-shit as we drove by. Henrietta flipped off a majority of those who were partaking in PDA, including a spazztic, frightened-looking blonde and a familiar, pissed off guy with a blue knit hat. "Thanks for the fucking joy ride." Michael stopped in front of Henrietta's driveway, giving a curt wave as she was almost immediately greeted by her bubbly conformist parents. Michael practically floored the truck before we could be invited inside for some cookies or shit. I pinched the bridge of my nose as we could hear the screaming coming from inside my house. One of the windows on the second story was broken- I assumed it was my parent's room. Michael gave a half-concerned glance and tossed the butt of his worn-down cigarette out of the drivers window. "Is it safe for you to go inside?" He asked, seeming like it was a nonchalant question. I shrugged, hoping Michael was still the only one to know about my.. home troubles. "Probably not. Oh fucking well." I opened the truck door, taking a deep breath as a loud thud was heard from the main floor. I was really fucking hoping they wouldn't be home, I thought maybe I could get some sleep or eat something without being yelled at or beaten to shit. "Stay over at my place then. My parents are never fucking home- and I have some Poe stories if you get bored or shit." Michael faced me, expressionless. I thought about it for a moment; we hadn't had a fucking "sleepover" in a while. Sometimes we would pass out at Henriettas house but it's been possibly a year since it was just us. He is my fucking best friend, so it's not weird to hang out with just him, right? I threw out any logical thoughts and gave a half assed smile. "Sounds better than this shithole. Sure." He started the ignition again, and I shut the truck door. Wonder what it's like to get a real nights sleep.. ***** Old Poetry- Michaels POV ***** Chapter Summary Michael and Pete start bonding again! Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes The drive to my house was tense, full of smoke and an awkward silence. Pete kept fiddling with his fingers, leaning against the window. I felt bad for him, even if it wasn't normal for me to show it. He didn't do anything to his folks to deserve living in fear from them. Even with his melancholy facade, it was easy to tell whenever Pete's parents had been bothering him, physically or emotionally. It always showed in his soft fawn eyes, swirls of emotion would deepen them. He had only ever confided in me, knowing full well Henrietta would tell him to suck it up or fight back. Firkle would have given him the same reaction, but he was too young and protected to understand what Pete was going through. I felt a slight pang of guilt remembering when he told me. I had an emotionless reaction, just offering him to hang out more to get away from his house. It obviously hadn't helped his situation, but I was glad he wanted to hang out still. He is my best friend, I could easily push aside the rude, snarky attitude of mine to keep him somewhat happy. As I parked along the sidewalk, Pete stared at my house. He grinned slightly, and hopped out. "Thanks for letting me stay.." He dropped his used cigarette, crushing it under his black combat boots. "Anytime, Pete." I gave a half smile and lead him inside. Of course, my parents weren't home, so we were able to throw our shit wherever. I kicked my shoes off near the front step, and walked into the kitchen with Pete in tow. "I know your eating schedule is iffy.. So grab whatever shit you want." I opened the fridge and raised an eyebrow at the shorter male. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head no. "It's cool man.. I'm not really that fuckin' hungry." He lied through his teeth, and I tsked. "Bullshit. I'll make burgers or something alright? We're goth, not emo, so let's eat." I smirked at the small smile creeping onto his face. "Pfft- Alright alright." He sat on the couch in the living room and scrolled through some shitty TV shows. I got out some ingredients from the fridge, and turned on the stove. I was relieved to find that we had beef, usually nobody went grocery shopping... Did that mean someone was here recently? I shrugged away the thought, glad to be alone at least for tonight. As I threw the patties onto the stove, I layered a tiny amount of herbs and shit to make it semi- edible. The sizzling of the meat made my stomach growl, so I hurried it up and laid out some condiments on the counter. I grabbed two plates and rummaged the fridge for any beers. I frowned when I couldn't find any. "Hey man come get your burger-" I waved a hand over to Pete, who looked up from the TV and walked over. His eyes widened at the sight of his burger and he quickly poured a shit ton of condiments all over the meal. "Holy shit Michael this is pretty damn good..!" He had already eaten half of his burger by the time I made my plate and sat down across from him. He grabbed two Mean Bean Monster drinks and offered me one. "Heh, ya think so?" I smirked slightly, taking the energy drink from his hand. "Fuck yeah dude. I don't think I've had a decent meal like this in for-fucking- ever." Pete cracked a small grin, finishing his burger and throwing away the paper plate. He sat back down and tapped his fingers lightly against the table as he waited for me to finish. I had a quarter of it left, which the younger teen gladly finished off. After throwing away my plate, I turned to Pete and leaned against the nearest wall. "It's only 8:00... Wanna get some shit done-? Poetry? Sketching?" I offered, pointing to the stairs. Pete flipped his bangs and nodded, his poker face returning. - "You still have that complete works of short stories..?" He followed me upstairs, and once we got in my room I pulled it out for him. He thanked me and plopped onto my black, queen sized bed. I sat next to him, pulling out a small notebook. I flipped through the pages, reading old poems. I couldn't help but cringe at how cliche they sounded, they were so tacky. Pete raised an eyebrow at my uncomfortable expressions. "Holy shit.. this is all garbage." I ripped out several pages, and shook my head in disbelief. Pete furrowed his eyebrows. "Woah wait- you're the best writer out of all of us! It can't be that bad. Lemme see." He reached for the nearest loose paper and un-crumpled it, reading it over. Embrace fear, love your demise Plug in your ears, blindfold your eyes Hold onto pain and breathe in disease Lose sense of yourself, you're never free "This is deep. I don't get why ya don't like it.." He mused over the pathetic piece of paper. Pete looked at me confused, and I was taken aback that he actually liked my writing. I kept ripping out other pages, impressed with how much I have improved. "You can keep it if you want..?" I motioned to it, both of us knowing I would throw it away anyways. "Fuck yeah." He stretched and neatly folded the paper. He stuffed it into his sweatshirt pocket. I stretched, racking my brain for some spurt of creativity. I inwardly groaned when I couldn't find any inspiration, and tossed my notebook into some dark corner of the room. I picked up my phone and began scrolling, having no new notifications as usual. Yawning, I went to go find something comfortable to put on, grabbing a Black Sabbath t-shirt. I casually threw off my charcoal jeans, along with my tie and black n' white shirt vest combo. I hoped it wasn't awkward being in my boxers and some casual shirt, but Pete didn't seem to care, so I climbed back into my side of the bed. "Are those freaking skulls on your briefs-" Pete covered his mouth with his hand to keep himself from laughing. I flipped him off and mumbled, "I bet you're jealous. Go to sleep whenever- just don't bother me." I closed my eyes and turned so my back was towards him, as to not be awkward. I felt him prodding my back with his hand, and I looked back at him. "It's only 10:00. You're already tired?" He smirked and I shooed his hand away from my back. "I'm old, once you're 17 you'll wish you would've slept more often..." I replied sarcastically, burying my cheek into the pillow and continuing to face away from him. I could hear him mumble something, but couldn't make it out before I started to succumb to sleep. Chapter End Notes *Cannot write poetry for shit*^^ ***** Sleep- Pete's POV ***** Chapter Summary Pete does a bit of self reflecting, then pulls himself back to reality. I rolled my eyes as Michael's breathing slowed, his sides rising and falling slightly. I looked over to the black arabesque clock, snickering at how he passed out so early. I continued skimming through his collections of Poe; choosing one of my favorites: The Murders in the Rue Morgue. I sat up, staring down at the pages and immersing myself in the story. "Dupin," said I, gravely, "this is beyond my comprehension. I do not hesitate to say that I am amazed, and can scarcely credit my senses.' Allowing a smile to take over my usual blank expression, I ended up finishing the story briskly. I shook my head. Edgar Allen Poe's works will never cease to amaze. The time read 11:00, so I decided to put down Michael's book; walking over to the bathroom to get changed. I threw off my shirt, set down my ruby-red broach, and started sliding out of my pants. Since Michael was just wearing his boxers and a shirt, I decided it would be fine for me to do the same. I tugged the waistband of my gray boxers down an inch or so, throwing on a Rammstein concert shirt. I flipped my bangs out of my eyes, staring at my reflection. I tsked at myself, ruffling through the red streaks in my hair that were starting to fade. Shitty hair dye wont even last a month. I rubbed a wet tissue over my eyes, cleaning off my eyeliner. I blinked, glowering at the plain brown hues in my eyes. Everyone else had cool fucking eye colors, and I was stuck with a literal shit color. Michael always told me my eyes had a glimmering gold tint in the sunlight, but I'm pretty sure that's bullshit. Henrietta pointed out that my eyes were a "warm color", whether that's cool or lame I'm not sure. She had a sick hazel mix color, while Firkle sports a dark, kelly green hue that could deliver a wicked death glare. And then there's Michael; he has strong steel blue eyes with darker gray rims. They were always calm, yet bold, giving him an expression that read: 'I hate everything'. Pretty badass. Climbing back into Michael's bed, I turned to face his back. I stared at his shoulders and spine; wondering what it's like to be so goddamn tall. How tall IS he? Like fuckin' 6'3.. something like that. I reached out and touched the curve of his back, waiting to see if he would stir from the contact. Being the heavy-ass sleeper he is; he didn't move an inch. I moved my finger down the line of his back, pressing softly into the lean flesh. I rolled my eyes; of course he would fucking work out. He's a painting of near perfection; even if he doesn't think so. I stopped being a weirdo and pulled away my hand, chuckling quietly. Hell, I remembered the day I realized I had a crush on him. And fuck it is such a conformist feeling... I yawned, turning so our backs were barely brushed against each other. I'm pretty fucking lucky he still bothers being my friend. My best friend at that, too. Closing my eyes, I allowed my bangs to fall over my face this one time, burying it into the pillow. I shallowed my breathing; listening to the white noise emanating from the kitchen downstairs. I could've stayed awake; but my mind nagged at me to get a decent night's slumber, so I allowed myself to drift asleep. - A few thumps on the floor woke me up, surprising me into near-jump. I rubbed my eyes and blinked up at the figure who was tapping the floor. Michael had his back to me, seemingly unaware that his cane had woken me up. I took a glance at it, admiring the engraved ebony features, adorned with an ivory tip. Classy motherfucker. I cleared my throat, and he perked up slightly, turning to face me. "Thought you were fuckin' dead or something." He smirked, pointing to the hanging clock on the wall. It read 12:04. "Holy shit dude- you could've woken me or some shit" I sat up, patting my mess of hair down. Michael had gotten dressed, and it seemed he had already taken a shower. I rolled my eyes when he merely shrugged. "Oh well- go get dressed. Henrietta and Firkle will be arriving shortly." He motioned over to the hallway, where the bathroom was awaiting my presence. I nodded and gathered fresh clothes, glad to have left some here from previous stays. I trudged into the bathroom, closing the door and facing the mirror. Grabbing the conveniently placed hairbrush, I slowly began to untangle the red and black messes of hair. Making myself look semi-presentable; I pulled up my gray jeans and threw on the Emmure t-shirt. I exited the bathroom, not surprised to hear (presumably) Firkle and Henrietta downstairs. - I nodded a curt greeting to the three goths, plopping down on the large living room sofa. "Just wake up or somethin' Pete?" Henrietta eyed my lazily-put together outfit. I shrugged, grabbing a cigarette from the open pack on the coffee table. Michael tossed me the lighter, leaning against the wall opposite from us. "I'm just glad he didn't keep me fuckin' awake." Michael gave a half-assed smirk, and Henrietta snickered. "You mean you fell asleep while fucking?" She teased, using his words against him. My eyes widened at her innuendo, and Michael just shrugged nonchalantly. "'Course not." He flipped her off, and turned to Firkle. "Anymore trouble from those posers, kiddo?" He kept a stone face, placing a cigarette to his lips. Firkle flashed a wolfish smile and reached for something in his back pocket. "Not since I showed 'em this-" He fished out a black, liner-lock knife; holding it out proudly. Henrietta grinned widely, ruffling a tuft of his hair. "-Even Ike Broflowski seemed put off by it." Firkle's grin grew, his eyes glazed with amusement. "I knew it would work." Henrietta took a drag from her long ass cigarette, and blew a few puffs out in front of us. "..Good." Michael nodded, and sighed: "What the fuck are we going to do with the rest of the posers though?" He turned to Henrietta and I; knowing Firkle would suggest to stab them or some shit. I shrugged, "I don't care. As long as they all fuck off.." I flipped my bangs out of my face as Henrietta hummed in agreement. I wonder if the posers really will be a threat..? I internally sighed; guess it's back to reality for now. As long as I had these three, I couldn't care less. ***** Poser Plans- Michael's POV ***** Chapter Summary How could the goths scare away wannabe vampires? "Maybe we should spray paint their shitty poser cars black?" Henrietta exhaled smoke, writing a list of some conformist pranks. The four of us had somehow came up with a bullshit idea to silence the vampire kids. I tapped my cane against the floor boredly, listening to the ideas the rest of the group blurted out. Henrietta was suggesting we practically make everything they own black; while Firkle just wanted to sacrifice them or some shit. I shook my head, brutal fuckin' kid.. Henrietta lifted her cigarette and thought for a moment. "-We could dye their hair black. Replace all the fucking piles of color." She waited for our approval. "Lame. That would make them like us." Pete flipped his hair out of his face and sighed. "And we sure as fuck don't want to be associated with them." "...Let's just fucking slit their throats already.." Firkle frowned, holding out his fancy fucking knife. I raised an eyebrow at him; causing him to grumble and put the dagger back in his pocket. "Ugh. This is too much fucking work. I'm sure the conformists would have dozens of shitty pranks all planned out." Pete tapped the butt of his cigarette into the black ashtray, and rolled his eyes. I thought for a moment on those words... perhaps the posers at school WOULD be better at dealing with the vampire douches. "Then let's have them take care of our pest problem." I stated; earning three confused expressions. "...What?" Pete focused on me, waiting for me to explain, as Firkle and Henrietta exchanged glances that read; 'Did he really just say that?' "Hear me out." I kept an unchanging posture, and continued to explain my proposition: "I know it's always shitty talking to the posers... But the fat one; Eric Cartman... is very.. thorough, in ruining lives. I'm sure he'll be persuaded to do our bidding with a box of doughnuts or something." I flicked my hand, trying to convene to them how easy this could be. Henrietta grumbled a bit about having to deal with the "fatass", but she agreed. "-As long as we make sure he hasn't killed Butters yet." She nodded, and I gave her an bemused look, going to the kitchen to find something sweet to tempt our "client" with. I grabbed a handful of cupcakes my poser parents kept in the fridge, and stuffed them into a brown paper bag. "Don't you Butters?" Pete and Firkle asked Henrietta in unison, who took another long drag of smoke. "I do not hate him. He is the only conformist who has been nice to me." She replied plainly, keeping a stone cold expression. "...Fine." Firkle muttered, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his tone. "Yeah, whatever I guess." Pete nodded towards me, and I gave him a half-assed grin. "Good then. This will be done and over with quickly." I stood up from my position at the wall and stretched. "Now...Does anyone know where one of them lives?" I stuffed my truck keys into my pocket. Pete and Firkle shrugged, while Henrietta sighed. "Let me drive." She extended her hand out, and I dropped the truck keys into them, nodding. I followed the three outside. - It was easy to find the conformist neighborhoods; there was a huge group of teenagers in the yards, playing football or some shit. Eric Cartman wasn't outside; but his house was somewhere along this street. Henrietta parked along the curb abruptly, huffing in annoyance. "One of you go ask where the fuck Cartman lives." She unlocked the doors and shooed at us. "....not me." Firkle gave Pete and I a cold glance, and Pete crossed his arms. "I don't want to talk to them!" He furrowed his eyebrows, and I smirked. "It's okay if you're.. scared." I taunted him, earning a punch in the shoulder. "I'm not scared! In fact.. I think you're scared." He grinned, and I opened the truck door, getting a head start. "Of course not. Hurry up freakazoid." I began walking toward the group of teenagers, Pete's footsteps running up behind me. I allowed him to catch up, and offered him my cane teasingly. "Out of breath?" I gave another half grin, and Pete flipped me off. He managed to catch his breath, and flipped his hair out of his face. The group of boys stopped whatever they were doing and looked at us with puzzled expressions. I noticed Stan Marsh was among them; I found it ironic at how he used to be a decent goth. But of course; once a poser, always a poser. "Hardly. Just need a smoke." He smirked up at me, before looking over to one of the teenagers. He pointed to one of them, some ginger guy with wide green eyes. "You! Where the fuck is Eric Cartman?" He stepped over to the fiery-haired boy, who just shrugged. "Fatass? He's probably just eating Cheesy Poofs or something... Check his house." His cheeks tinged a light pink, and the rest of the guys resumed their shitty football game. It seems this kid has a nerve with Cartman... This must be Broflowski. I thought about the notorious brawls and arguments between Cartman and some jewish kid... Is this him? "What's your name?" I peered down at him, being the tall fucker I am, and raised an eyebrow. He gulped slightly but kept a calm and brash posture: "Kyle. Kyle Broflowski. I believe you two go to the same high school as we do..." He tried to sound brave and nonchalant, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. "Yes." I looked away from him; it was apparent he was uncomfortable. I nodded at Pete and he crossed his arms. "Where the fuck does Cartman live?" - It took a bit of convincing the red head, but he finally caved in and told us where to find Cartman. Upon arriving at the oddly-colored green house; Henrietta sighed and swung open her door dramatically. "I suppose I'll go talk to this loser. Michael. Come with me." She stepped out of the truck and I followed suit, tapping my cane against the ground as we walked forward. Henrietta took a long drag from her fancy cigarette, and knocked hard onto the battered old door. It took a little while before a lady opened up, giving us both the cheesiest as fuck smiles she could possibly muster. "Awe, hello. Are you some of Eric's friends coming to play?" Her voice was soft and simple, making my stomach nauseous. Ugh how fake can she be?? I shook my head no, leaning my weight against my cane. "We just need a word with him." Henrietta replied boredly, interrupting her before she could invite us inside. The woman nodded hastily, sensing our unwillingness to be polite, and she went to (presumably) fetch Cartman. Another long wait, and Cartman was bumbling downstairs. He grumbled about being "too popular nowadays". I snorted and tilted my chin up when he approached us. He raised an eyebrow, laying one large hand on the door frame and pinching the bridge of his nose with the other. "What the fuck do you emos want?" He rolled his eyes and peered behind Henrietta and I, looking at my truck. Henrietta seethed at him and blew a ring of smoke into his face, causing him to splutter and cuss. "We are NOT conformist emo bitches. We are fucking goth. It's not that hard to understand." She glared at him, adding dramatic emphasize on the "not". He was about the slam the door shut on us, but I held out the bag of probably-stale cupcakes from my fridge. "We have a preposition, Cartman." I let him take a peek of the sugary shit inside the bag, and closed it up again. He whined and crossed his arms. "What is it?" He kept a steady gaze with us now, his interest peaked. "We want you to make the vampire douches miserable." Henrietta started to explain, taking another deep inhale of black smoke. "... Bahaha!! Why would I do that for YOU? They're not my problem!" Cartman smirked, tapping his iron-toed boots against the doorframe. "Because you're the only fatass who's any good at this fuckery! And because you get these shitty pastries!" Henrietta snatched the bag from my hand and thrusted it against Cartman's chest. "Oh? You think my services are only worth a mere couple cupcakes? I feel so insulted." He sneered, keeping the bag anyways. He rubbed his chin for a moment: "Perhaps if you could throw in something else for me... Say... compensation for a job well done?" "What the fuck else do you want?" I looked at the scheming teenager, who seemed to be negotiating a price in his head. "Hmm.. Well since this is your first time hiring me... I think $100 is more than fair." Cartman grinned, straightening up and adjusting his coat. "No fucking way!" I turned around and began to walk back toward the truck, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. Henrietta was giving me a dead-serious look, and she sighed. "Wait here Michael. I still have some of my mother's fucking cash in my purse." She nodded at me and went towards the truck to fish out the money. - "So. How did you find my house, goth?" Cartman raised an eyebrow at me, having to look slightly upwards as he made eye contact. He was tall, but not as tall as me. "Some red head kid named Kyle, one of Stan's friends, snapped and told us. Had to pry it out but oh fucking well." As soon as the sentence was out in the cold air, Cartman's cocky expression marred. "...did you say Kahl?" His face paled, and he began to twiddle around with his thumbs. I snorted at his reaction. "Is he your lover or something?" I chuckled, smirking at his odd behaviors. He immediately shook his head and began refusing the idea, coming up with a shit ton of excuses for him and Kyle not being together. A light bulb went off in my head, and I figured this "thing" Cartman and Kyle had going on , is something that is supposed to be a secret. "You know.. Cartman. $100 is pretty steep.. Especially considering how we already fished you some fucking food. Do us a favor, don't be a douche, and ruin those vampire assholes?" I stood up straight, tapping my cane against the ground as Cartman regained his composure and started laughing. "Why would I do that??" He slapped my shoulder as if I were joking, to which I quickly flicked his hand away. "Because I think you and Kyle would prefer to stay a secret." I let a grin creep up to my face, and his expression dropped again. He narrowed his eyes and groaned loudly. "Shit! Ughh..... Fiiineee... But next time you want something... don't come to me anymore. Fuck." He facepalmed himself, leaning more against the doorframe. Henrietta finally joined us again, her black leather purse in hand. She flicked some of her cigarette ash on the front step and rolled her eyes. "Here's your fucking one hundred bucks, asshole." She dug around for the cash, but I placed my hand on her arm. "Don't. Cartman and I have settled an agreement without the money." I gave her a smirk, to which she huffed. "Whatever, let's go spend the money on real shit then." We began walking to my truck again, Henrietta complaining about how shitty this neighborhood was. Pete and Firkle were fighting over which radio station should be put on; the one playing Sepultura or the one playing Rammstein. Henrietta chose for them; she put on a Nine Inch Nails station, and everyone quieted for the ride back. ***** School Part 1- Pete's POV ***** Chapter Summary The weekend is over! Time for the gang to get back to their school schedules... Waking up was always a grueling task, but Monday's were the absolute worst. I don't care if it was a poser thing to say, but holy shit I really hate Mondays. I shuffled my feet out of the rock-hard bed, on across the pig stye of a room. I lazily chose out an outfit, black jeans with a plain dark gray shirt. The stupid top had way too long of sleeves, but I honestly couldn't give a fuck. As long as it fits... I thought about what the rest of the crew might be wearing. Henrietta would wear her usual low cut black dress, of course, and Firkle would just wear anything that would hide his knife easily. Now Michael, on the other hand, was somewhat of a classy dresser. Not in the poser way, but in the dark... mysterious way. He always made the rest of us look like amateurs, and somehow managed to always have eyeliner on him. His long black jacket came down below his hips, giving his slender form a very... authoritative look. He completed it with a neatly buttoned up shirt, and some tight-fitting black jeans. Something that's always a treat to the eye... I snapped myself back to reality and trudged into the bathroom, fishing the hairbrush out of one of many cluttered drawers. My hair decided that today was the perfect day to start misbehaving, sticking out in multiple directions and mussing up in tangles. I could've easily spent a half hour just trying to tame the mess, but I didn't care about my hair as much as Michael or Henrietta did; so I left it when it looked semi-decent. I was in the middle of pulling my black converses when a knock at the front door surprised me. I ran past my pretentious parents room and downstairs, swinging my worn down black bag over my shoulder. I opened the door slightly out of breath, stepping aside so I could let the crew inside. Henrietta spoke for her and Michael; and declined the offer. "We don't have time to mess around Pete. We have to find out what Cartman did to the vamp douches." She blew a long trail of smoke into the house, and motioned for me to follow them outside. I nodded and closed the door, trudging outside. "Jesus fuck, what time is it?" I didn't bother keeping it down, the other neighbors could wake up and die for all I cared. Michael raised an eyebrow at me and stopped me in my tracks with his cane. "It's 11:27. Almost time for lunch... Did you eat today?" He began rummaging through his bag and I shook my head no. After a couple of groans from Henrietta, he revealed a thermos of (presumably) black coffee. I took it and mumbled a 'thank you', my cheeks dusting over with the slightest tinge of pink. Gross Pete don't get soft... "We had to leave Firkle at his school today." Henrietta hopped into the driver's seat of her mom's van, her usual bitterness poisoning her words. I nodded my head and hopped into one of the back seats. "Sound's shitty." I took a drink from the thermos, watching Michael climb into the passenger seat. He peeked at the rear view mirror, making casual eye contact with me. I kept studying the dark circles that filled his ghostly-pale face, but I noticed him smirk. I took a look at myself and quickly turned my head towards the window. My cheeks were pink again, seriously, what the fuck?? I watched the trees and the shitty pavement as the rest of the car ride was quiet as fuck. Every now and then Henrietta would mumble curses under her breath to the other teen drivers, but we got there in one piece. I hurried to our smoking corner, but turned back to see Henrietta and Michael exchanging glances. "Where the fuck are you going Pete?" Michael snickered and crossed his arms, pointing in the opposite direction. "The wannabe vampire douches are over there. We wanna see what the fatass did to em'." I huffed and followed the two. This better be more entertaining than that one time we kidnapped Mike. - Cartman was standing in front of the douchebags, holding out a lighter to one of their stupid "vampire cloaks", flicking it on and off. Mike looked extremely distressed, and when I got a closer look at the scene I snickered. There was a pile of charred clothes, melted plastic, and even their disgusting tomato juice poured out onto the ground. "What do you think you're doing mortal?!" Mike stomped up to Cartman, and Henrietta snickered, blowing out a plume of smoke from her long cigarette holder. I crossed my arms and watched, grinning like a fool. The fatass just put his hands on his hips, and mocked Mike. "-Respect mah authoritah!" I snorted as Mike rounded up his clique and stormed away. Cartman didn't bother checking in with us, he just walked off towards the cafeteria. The three of us went to our corner, and Henrietta grabbed the shady spot. I huffed and held a hand up to my forehead. "It's too damn bright out here Hen. Lemme have the shady spot." She took a long drag, and flicked some cigarette ash onto my shoes, to which I just kicked off. "No way Pete. If you want shade go sit under Michael." She smirked, raising an eyebrow for a reaction. I sighed and scooted over to where Michael was sitting. He wasn't paying us any attention, he was too occupied in his Dark Lord Cthulu book. I snorted when I looked at the illustrations inside of it. He directed his gaze to me when I started snooping through it. "Cheesy much?" I pointed to the picture of Cthulu flailing all sorts of bodys around like they were some toy. He flicked away my hand and rolled his eyes. "It's not like they could get any REAL pictures of Cthulu." I shrugged when he pointed that out, agreeing. I checked the time on my phone, noting that Henrietta was right, we got here during lunch. - "No way Kaaaahl you know I'm right!" Cartman and the fiesty red head were arguing over something when I walked into the technology room for class. I dug around my worn-down bag for a pair of earbuds, and grumbled when I found them, in a mangled mess. It took a good couple minutes to untangle them, and I pulled up Youtube on the computer. I searched for some playlists off of 'Beartooth', and turned up the volume so the music would nearly blast my eardrums. The teacher ranted about making some shitty power point on anyone we pleased. I wanted to pick Edgar Allen Poe so bad, but some douchebag vampire kid in the front row chose him, so I went for a different non-poser. I chose Leonardo DaVinci. ***** School- Part 2 Michaels POV ***** Chapter Summary Michael and Pete share a satisfying conversation. Chapter Notes Gonna start pumping out chapters more often! The day was agonizingly slow, especially since the other goths didn't share many classes as me. I rolled my eyes and thought about what Pete might be doing, since he was in technology. Wonder if he's willing to ditch... I made a lame excuse to the teacher that I didn't feel good, and she rolled her eyes. "You've been leaving class early quite often this quarter, your grades are bound to drop." I shrugged and left, glaring daggers at the students who looked up from their shitty class work. I took out my phone and began texting Pete: M: Get your shit together and meet me at the outside tables. I'm skipping class It only took half a minute for him to reply. P: Okay, on my way. I began walking towards the door, only to be stopped by a familiar voice. "Hey dude wait up! My legs aren't as long as yours!" I smirked and turned around to see Pete at the end of the hallway. I waited for him to catch up and I held the door open for him. "Ladies first." He rolled his eyes at me when I insisted he go outside, and walked ahead of me. I followed and we found an old bench near a dying tree, and sat down relatively close to each other. I rummaged my bag and pulled out a slowly rusting lighter, flicking off some of the bronze flakes in disgust. Pete gave a half-assed laugh. "Does that piece of shit even light a flame?" I nodded and motioned for him to fork over some cigarettes. He took his sweet time to find a half empty pack of Camels, and I plucked one of them from the box. "These are probably the shittiest cigarettes in the world." I complained, preferring Marlboro's instead. Pete just flipped his hair and looked at me. "At least I brought some fucking cigs to school." - "So what's up with ditching without Henrietta today?" Pete stared through my blank expression, as if he would find out just by staring. I shrugged and lit my third cigarette, crushing the previous one under my boot. I leaned further against the wall, not having the right answer. "Just didn't feel like inviting her." That can't be so bad right? Him and I have just hung out before. "Oh. Okay." He didn't seem to give a fuck, yet his gaze lingered over my features. It aroused the slightest of shivers crawling up my spine. "Can I ask you a question, Michael?" This was one of the rare few times Pete has actually called me by my name. I looked over and caught his still-lingering stare. I nodded, not sure what he could possibly say that required the formality of my name. "Do you ever feel alone?" When he asked the question I scoffed, and rolled my eyes. He sighed and took a drag. "We're fucking goth kids, we're always alone Pete." I answered plainly, but I had to admit there was a spark of curiosity to why he would just ask that. "I meant, do you ever feel fucking lonely? You know, that shitty feeling of wanting company when there's nobody fucking around?" This caught me off guard, and for once I didn't have a snarky comment or some clever insult. Pete kept steady eye contact and I struggled to find the right response. He seemed to notice my nonchalant composure was wavering, and offered a smirk. "Well, do you?" He pushed for an answer, and I sighed shrugging. "Fuck. Of course Pete. Who doesn't feel lonely though? In this shitty town, with all these fucking posers. It's hard when there's only four of us and we treat each other like shit. Let alone, allow ourselves to just be swallowed up in this pathetic school with these pretentious assholes. So yes, I do feel quite lonely, but I'm not the only one aren't I Pete?" I let my emotion spill out without any warranty. Pete took a moment to process what I just poured out to him, but he seemed less tense now. He nodded in agreement and we returned to our silence. It took a couple of minutes and crushed cigarettes later before Pete broke the quiet atmosphere. "I feel lonely too. It's hard when Firkle is too young and violent to talk to, and Henrietta just doesn't give a fuck about anyone except the little fucker." He blew out a cloud of smoke, staring intensely at a pebble on the ground. I was going to ask if he could talk to me, but I suppose that's what we were doing now. I wondered if he trusted me enough to ever vent, since we are best friends and see each other constantly. "But I know I can come to you. I just don't think you would appreciate me burdening you with lame problems or complaints about shitty people." It was my turn to look him dead in the eyes, staring. I raised an eyebrow and sighed, shaking my head. "You're not a burden, Pete." I wanted to say more, about how I genuinely enjoyed his company and having him around, but it stayed put in my throat. I assumed it was enough anyways, and earned a satisfied grunt from Pete. "Huh. That's a first. Just don't let me wear you down or anything." He smirked and I rolled my eyes. "Course not. That's Henrietta's job." We both snickered and I took another smoke, watching Pete crush his cigarette in between his fragile fingers. My gaze trailed up his hand, following his arm and tracing his frail shoulder. Of course, Pete was too oblivious to my stare. Before I could tear away my eyes from the smaller, much cuter male, I stole a quick glance of the expression he wore so casually underneath those gorgeous amber orbs. The dark circles underneath his eyelids rested heavily against his cheeks, carrying large amounts of fatigue. Seeing them brought a slight tug in my chest; I always felt guilty that he could never sleep well, especially when the lack of sleep brought him an even shittier mood. To match his darkened features, a scowl was placed casually over his lips, an unchanging one that only lowered into his signature frown or smirk. Even his frowns are fucking cute... how the fuck does he make that work?? I wasn't quite sure when or why I was becoming more observant of my best friend, but I did feel lucky enough to appreciate this. 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