What The Devil Doesn't Know

I was happy to see Jakob when we got off the plane. I had missed him. And we got in on his birthday, so that was nice.
Shit, my little brother's birthday was the very next day. I made a mental note to call him and send him a present. Carter was always my favorite.
Anyway, I hugged Jakob. And Frances, who had also just landed. She was a little older than us, about a year older than I. (I had just turned 14 in June) But she didn't mind. We had met at the party when Jakob and I reunited, and I really liked her. She and Jakob were really close, because they were in the same schools a lot of their life, plus the obvious attraction of similar backgrounds, what with their dads and all.

We all walked to the baggage claim and got our things. Me and Mickey each grabbed a medium sized black suitcase, Mickey also getting his guitar. Jayden got a purple one, and Frances an enormous Louis Vuitton bag with COBAIN written on it. Jakob gave her a look.
"What?!"

"Nothing. I was just wondering how many bodies you have in there." He laughed.

"3." She said without hesitating. It was incredible how strong she was, lifting that thing right off the belt with ease. Jakob carried it the rest of the way for her though, trying to look impressive. "You know I have a boyfriend." Jakob's smile slightly faded, but then got bigger than before.

"I know." He said.

"So quit showing off. Mickey doesn't need you trying to get with Kendall."

"Shut up, Beany." She laughed, and we got in the car.
***
Mickey and I stayed in the guest room at Jakob's house. Jayden went to a hotel. He said he had business to do in town anyway, and didn't want to be a bother. Frances just went home, a few miles away. She'd come back over in the morning.
So we all settled in and unpacked. While Mickey threw T shirts into a drawer and I hung up some jeans, Jakob sat on the guest bed smoking a bowl. "Thank God my mom lets me smoke in the house. I don't know what I'd do if I lived with you guys."

"You'd put a wet towel under the door like everyone else." I said.

"I guess." He put down his pipe and picked Mickey's guitar off the floor.

"Bitch, don't start." Mickey took his precious guitar away from Jakob, who frowned and pulled his own less impressive guitar into his lap. I'd heard Jakob play before, and he was amazing. Truly his father's son. Right down to the style of playing, and his singing voice too. Actually, Jakob looked exactly like his dad in most ways. They had the same face. Jakob ran a hand through his short blond hair and smiled as he started playing something. When he smiled I saw the damage of meth. He'd started doing it on and off about a year ago, but I could already see his teeth starting to yellow a little. He told me one had rotted, and it smelled so bad that he had no choice but to get it pulled. When I called him to talk on the plane he had said, "I'm getting braces in the spring, too. And once thats done, I think I'm going to get some veneers. Assuming I quit using." He'd been to a rehab once, which really only resulted in him quitting meth and starting coke. Making him an excellent drug buddy in addition to a good friend.

"Bitch, I think you need to start." Jakob nodded towards Mickey's guitar and the two started to play.
I remember the only times I had heard Mickey play before, I was high as fuck. So I really didn't remember if he was good or not. Turned out he was better than Jakob. So while they amazed me, I smoked some of Jakob's weed and watched. After a while I loosened up, and started singing along to their rhythms making up words as I went. I sang a little, I rapped a little. Whatever words came to mind. I made them fit with the guitars. And of course we smoked a lot more.
Eventually, I was slurring to a point where I wasn't able to understand myself. Frances had come in through a window at some point that night. She was gone now, and so was Jakob. He had decided to go to bed, and almost passed out when he stood up. But me and Mickey were still pushing through the night. It was 5 A.M. now.
"Do you want to go to sleep?" He asked.

"Not really."

"Oh. Well I need fuel." He pulled out the coke Jayden had given him. Wait, was that coke?
Nope. More China White. It didn't really matter to me. After coke, heroin didn't seem like that big a deal. Either way, it went up my nose or in my arm and made me happy, right? What difference did some chemicals or whatever make? Mickey cut me a line, and I rolled up a couple dollar bills. We snorted our lines and sat silently for a while.
"So much for your amazing plan to sobriety." I said.

"I know right?" He smiled that crooked smile that I love. "We just didn't know how much better it could get." I cuddled up next to him, and we fell asleep together.
This is what happiness feels like.