A Shot in the Dark

“Becca?”

“Hm?”

“I have a huge problem.”

Becca looked up from the book she was reading and saw her best friend standing in her bedroom doorway, looking frantic. Kelly had gone out nearly forty five minutes prior for milk, water, and flour to bake cookies. Now, she had no groceries and a face paler than a sheet of paper.

“What’s wrong?” Becca asked, placing an index card in her book to mark the page and setting it aside. She stood and crossed the room to inspect Kelly’s face. There was a small red mark on her cheekbone and Becca gasped. “Did someone hit you?”

“It’s a crazy, long, and complicated story.”

“Oh god, let’s get you some ice or something,” Becca said, pulling her to the kitchen by the wrist. Kelly hoisted herself up on the counter as Becca threw ice into a Ziploc bag and covered it with a paper towel. She handed it to the brunette and waited for an explanation.

“Well, I was at the store. Or, I was outside of the store and I heard this woman crying, right? So I go to the side of the store and in between the dumpsters there is this woman who couldn’t have been much older than us, yeah? I went up to her and asked if she was alright and she said no,” Kelly started. Becca motioned for her to continue.

“It’s silly really. I asked if I could help her out at all and she pulled out this massive bag of weed. And I mean massive. I was friends with so many stoners back in New York and I’ve never seen a bag this fucking big. Anyway, she proceeds to fucking tell me that she’s a damn prostitute and that she owes her pimp money. Do you fuckin’ believe this shit?”

“Unfortunately,” Becca said sourly, “I do.”

Being friends with Kelly meant a whole variety of odd happenings. Bizarre things happened to the both of them but Kelly’s luck was in a whole other ballpark. Becca leaned back on the counter opposite her best friend and waited for the rest of the story.

“So she asks me to sell the weed for her and bring her the money. Obviously I told her I couldn’t do it but then she gets this terrified look on her face and she stands up and shoves it in my hands. The same second this big ass dude with some serious attitude problems comes around the corner and he flips the fuck out on her and I’m thinking like, ‘Oh fuck, Kelly this is some serious shit you just stepped into.’”

“It’s always some serious shit that you step into.”

“Anyway,” Kelly pressed on, “The dude turns on me and he’s saying that now I have to sell the bud and give the money to him or else he’ll fucking kill me, blah blah blah, the usual threats and whatnot. Of course, this guy meant business and followed me home and up to the door. He said that I have until ten and then he hit me and said he’d kill the hooker, me, and you if I didn’t make it happen.”

Becca took it in for a moment and her heart rate accelerated. This was some serious shit. This was the type of shit you would call the police for. She ran a hand over her face and sighed the deepest of sighs. “Yeah, well, I’d say that is a huge problem.”

“Oh, well, actually I only considered that the problem, not the huge part,” Kelly said sheepishly. Becca could hardly wait to hear the rest of the story. “I, um, have a meeting at the university today as far as a few clubs I want to join and then a job interview directly after. I don’t really have the time to sell all of this.”

It only took Becca a split second to realize just what her friend was asking.

“Oh hell no. No. I can’t sell weed Kelly! Where would I even start?” she asked, panicking.

“Christ, this is so fucking illegal. It’s already two o’clock!”

“I can’t miss this stuff Becca! I’m already going to be late as it is. Please? I mean, do you want to die?” Kelly asked. Becca rolled her eyes. This was just over the top. “You can call Matty, he’ll help you.”

There was silence between the two and then Becca caved. She could hardly say no to the girl. When Kelly knew she had Becca, she jumped down from the counter and smiled. The bag of weed that she pulled out of her shoulder bag was indeed, massive. It looked like the jumbo sized cotton candy they sold at carnivals.

“He wants this all gone and expects somewhere around 3 grand too. I’ll be home around 5 so come back here and then I’ll help you sell the majority yeah? And make sure Matt helps you? I need him to come when we drop off the money because honestly, that was scary.”

“If this doesn’t fucking kill you, I will,” Becca threatened, holding the huge bag. Kelly smiled and then hugged her friend tightly.

“You’re a lifesaver Beck. Literally!”

“Oh, fuck you.”

“No thanks, I’ve got Lee to do that and all. Save me a dub yeah? Matty’ll know how much that is about,” she added when she saw Becca’s confusion. Becca nearly threw her face into the nearest wall. This was all just too much. “I’ll make it up to you but really, I’ve got to run!”

With that Becca was left alone in the flat, hugging a massive bag of marijuana to her chest.

She didn’t have time to be angry at her friend. This was too serious. She flew to her room and called Matt. He sounded pleased to hear from her but as she filled him in on the story he sounded less and less happy. He agreed to come over so they could map out a plan.

Becca pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and threw on a t-shirt. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and put on some mascara before she collapsed onto her bed to wait for Matt. Her life was absolutely ridiculous. It really was.

After twenty minutes of deep breathing, there was a knock on the door. When Becca opened the door she was relieved to see the majority of Bring Me The Horizon and two other girls she didn’t know. Matt hugged her and introduced her to the females, both of whom worked for the band in some way or another.

“Where’s the pot then?” he asked, after everyone had been ushered in and the door was closed. Becca sighed and led them all to her bedroom. When she picked up the bag, they all gasped.

“What the fuck?”

“That is literally the most ganja I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Lee said, taking the bag from her hands and staring at it in wonder. He looked at Becca seriously then. “Kelly just left you with all of this.”

“She’ll be back at 5 to help. She had meetings for school and a job interview so those are important I guess.”

“Wow, bitch move,” one of the girls said and Becca glared at her. As much as she agreed, no one would say bad about her best friend. She fell silent at the look and Matt pulled small and large bags out of his pocket.

“Let’s get to packagin’ then,” he said. The group sat on the floor in Kelly’s bedroom instead of Becca’s so her room would smell. They filled small, medium, and large bags before dividing it up among the small ‘teams’ they’d made. Then they decided to set out.

Jona was with one of the girls, Francesca and the other girl, Jen, was going with Lee. Vegan was confident enough on his own and Becca and Matty would go off together. When everyone left, Matt and Becca just sat in the living room and stared at each other.

“Alright, well, we have the most here. We’ve got to have some for Kelly to help when she gets back. We should probably be able to sell most of it to my friends but its gonna be rough considerin’ how much everyone else has got.”

Suddenly, the front door burst in and a breathless Kelly appeared. They both looked at her, surprised she was there. She took deep breaths and then leaned against the doorframe when it became apparent she couldn’t speak.

“I’ve had the best idea of where to sell. Of course, we’ll have to wait a little while longer.”

Becca and Matty exchanged a look.

“No, really, it’s such a fab idea you two. Obviously I couldn’t leave you here to do it alone, I felt far too guilty. I mean, I felt like a bitch. I’m sorry I even asked you to do this,” Kelly said as she sat on the floor in the living room.

“Hey, it’s okay. That’s what best friends are for right?” Becca said. They both giggled and hugged each other. It was easy to get mad at Kelly but it was even easier to love her. “But wait, what’s your idea?”

“Well, you’re not necessarily going to like it. Get dressed. Get dressed like a badass.”
As Kelly flounced out of the room excitedly, Matty and Becca exchanged a look.

*

“Okay, so this was a good idea. I don’t understand the outfits though,” Matty said, wrapping an arm around Becca’s shoulder. Kelly rolled her eyes.

“Because Mr. Nicholls, you have to look the part. I mean, we’re supposedly attending a hardcore show and on top of all that, we also need to attract people to us so that means no conspicuous displays of affection,” she said, pushing his arm off of Becca.

“Hey! What’s wrong with conspicuous displays of affection?” Becca asked. Matt pouted at her. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. It was getting late and they were outside of their second venue of the night. Kids were on line to get let in and it was the perfect place to sell.

“Hot, single women sell the plant. Adorable couples just don’t cut it, sorry.”

Jona and Vegan had sold everything they had. With the tally of how much Becca, Matt, and Kelly had sold, they had raised 1,700 pounds. They weren’t sure how Lee was doing and Kelly hadn’t been too excited about him being teamed up with a girl.

Kelly was overconfident about selling. She thought it was so easy. Admittedly, she had grown up in a small town filled with the plant and back there, it had been easy to buy and sell. Not that she had too much experience with either. Kelly rarely ever smoked weed.

“Okay, I’ve got about ten dubs and two quarters on me now, so if I sell all of that here we should be doing really well,” she said. “I’ll get the back of the line. Be careful guys.”

“Yeh be careful too, yeah? Yeh should have more clothes on,” Matt said. Kelly glanced down her body. She was wearing black, ripped skinny jeans and sneakers. Her plain, black tank top sat low on her chest and high on her waist, revealing too much of her midriff. She shrugged and rolled her dark lined eyes before walking away.

“It’s so nice of you to be concerned about her,” Becca said, “I’ve lost the ability to worry about the things she does.”

“She has a point though. She’ll probably sell everything. Then again, so will we,” Matty said. He winked and pulled her to the front of the line, where he spoke to the burly bouncer that stood watch. Within seconds, we were in the venue. “We sell to the high rollers babe.”

Becca smirked. She had gotten used to special treatment very quickly. They lurked backstage and found a few semi-famous bands. Becca played it cool and quiet as Matt approached their various dressing rooms. It was interesting to see the whir of chaos backstage before a show.

“Can I interest yeh gentlemen in some of the finest spliff around?” Matt asked when he pushed open a door. The band cheered when they saw Matt and they all greeted him loudly. The lead singer agreed about the weed and looked expectantly at Matt.

“I didn’t know yeh sold now mate,” he said.

“Oh, I don’t,” he replied.

“Yeh don’t?”

“No.”

“Then who has the goods?”

“She does.”

“She does?”

“That’s right.”

“She’s the fuckin’ dealer?!”

“She’s the fuckin’ dealer.”

“That’s right I’m the fuckin’ dealer, so let’s see the money. C’mon now, don’t be shy,” Becca said, grinning. She fell into her part easily as the guys laughed. They sold the majority to them and the little remainder to the next band. They walked out of the venue easily and found
Kelly smoking a regular cigarette.

“Oh shit, there you are. I sold everything! How about you?”

“All of it. Let’s count how much we’ve made in the car.”

Matt sat behind the steering wheel, counting all of the money. Kelly lounged in the backseat, her eyes shut tightly and a hand on her forehead. Becca watched her, suddenly concerned that her brave act had been just that—an act.

“Well, we have 2,200 pounds here. How much were yeh chargin’?” Matt asked, turning in his seat to see her. She smirked but kept her eyes shut.

“A lot. I was charging a lot.”

“C’mon, these kids just want their pot and yeh’re overchargin’.”

“Yeah, well, I just want my life. You think Lee sold 800 worth?” Kelly asked. Becca felt bad for her. This day was probably the day from hell for her.

“He must have and honestly, if he hasn’t we can all just raise the money,” Matt offered.

“That’s insanely sweet of you,” she answered, “But I would never allow it. I have some money saved up.”

“Yeh don’t have a say in that one love.”

The car was silent as Matt tried to get in touch with Lee. Kelly was in more and more distress as the time got closer and closer to ten. Matt let Becca call his cell phone as he drove toward the supermarket where they had to meet the man. Jona and Oli were there to escort Kelly in the handoff when the time came.

“I’m so fucking scared Beck,” Kelly said. The guys stood outside and leaned on the car’s hood. Becca and Kelly sat inside the car. “Imagine if Lee doesn’t show up. I don’t know if I have enough money in my bank account to cover all 800 pounds.”

“Kell, don’t worry about it mate. I’ll lend you whatever is left over that you need okay?”

“I think I’m about to piss myself though.”

Becca laughed, glad that her friend’s sense of humor was still intact. Suddenly, a shitty green car fishtailed into the parking lot and pulled up next to them. Lee launched himself out of the driver’s seat and Kelly watched Francesca get out of the passenger’s. Then she got out.

“How much?” was all she said to him.

“1,000 pounds, I made a last minute sale and got 300 more. What are we at then?” he asked as Kelly rifled through the money. She gave him a cold look and then took 200 pounds out of it and handed it to Matt.

“Here, this is extra. I figure we can all just go out for drinks on it or something. If I live through the exchange,” she said. Jona wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Becca smirked at the look on Lee’s face. Matt pulled her into his side.

“They’re hopeless,” he whispered into her ear. She chuckled and shrugged. “Alright,” he announced, “Everyone get in the cars and Oli, Jona, and Kell just wait out here, yeah?”

They all did and Becca watched with concerned eyes. Matt laced their fingers together and lifted their hands to brush his lips over her knuckles. She smiled lazily at him, her heart beating quickly. He never failed to have that effect on her.

Ten o’clock came and sure enough, headlights appeared from the back parking lot of the store. They stopped and flashed the lights. Becca gave Kelly a reassuring smile before Matt flashed his lights back and watched their friends step forward to meet halfway.

“Listen, I know this is probably the wrong time to say all this but I mean, yeh’re sittin’ in my car and I’ve been with yeh all day and I just can’t stand it anymore. Becca, I know I haven’t known yeh for a long time but yeh’ve become such a large part of my life. I like yeh a lot, too much for the short time we’ve been talkin’. Would yeh be my girlfriend?”

Becca nearly had a fit. She could hear the blood rushing through her veins and she could hear her thoughts being thought. Her whole body felt like that blissful moment after drinking, when you first feel the numbness in your fingers. She smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, I’d like that. I mean, well, I’d love to be your, um, girlfriend.”

He said nothing. He smiled broadly and leaned across the center console to capture her lips with his. The kiss was soft but enthusiastic. Happiness radiated off of their bodies. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and then cupped her face as she deepened the kiss.

It was blissful.

It was strange.

Matt Nicholls asked Becca George to be his girlfriend in the dark parking lot of a supermarket while her best friend delivered the money that they had all raised by selling weed that a prostitute had given her and thereby gotten in trouble with the pimp.

Becca loved her life and every single strange situation in it.

They both pulled away from the kiss and then smiled. Matt pecked her lips again before leaning back into his seat. Becca watched as the three walked back to the car stiffly. She glanced over at her boyfriend and smiled at the very thought.

“Yeh just made me the happiest man in Sheffield babe,” he said. The smile on his face was adorable and Becca leaned across to kiss the side of his mouth. They were both smiling like idiots. Kelly got in the car.

“Wow, okay so I lived and it was pretty fucking awesome. I felt so badass walking with Jona and Oli oh my god but it was seriously scary. He was so pissed off again and then he was like, ‘Good, we’ll forget this ever happened’ and we walked away. Damn.”

“Good. Now don’t help any crying women on the side of supermarkets, yeah?” Becca said, turning in her seat and smirking. Kelly stuck out her tongue but then grinned.

“Thanks so much for helping me though. We’re meeting everyone at the bar, sound good? We made 200 extra pounds so obviously we have to spend it,” she babbled. Her cheeks were flushed from the adrenaline and she couldn’t stop talking.

“Yeah, sounds great,” Matt said, pulling out of the parking spot and taking Becca’s hand in his again. Kelly looked between them. Becca was grinning at Matt with loving eyes and Matt would glance at her every once in a while.

“What’s up with you two?” she asked, sitting back in the seat. Becca smiled and then looked back at her friend.

“Matt asked me to be his girlfriend while you gave the dealer his money.”

“Oh how romantic,” Kelly answered sarcastically.

“What can I say? I have a romantic streak,” Matt replied, smiling and kissing his girlfriend’s hand again. Becca was as happy as she’d ever been at this moment. Kelly was ecstatic for her friend and she grinned like an idiot.

“No but really, I’m so happy for you guys. This is the best, aw, oh my god you’re perf!”

“Don’t be obnoxious now man.”

“Oh alright, alright. Are you going to do cute things like call each other ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ and kiss all the time?” Kelly asked.

“I love kissing her so yeah, we’ll kiss all the time.”