The Wrong One

Following Zacky around while he was on shrooms was like following a kid around Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. She even swore he said something about “snozberries”. She had expected something completely different when he ate those caps. She’d seen people on shrooms before, and seen how they’d acted. She’d watched as people sat there, geeked like crazy, and didn’t really talk. She guessed she should’ve spent more time around people who did shrooms, because they were nothing like Zacky.

He was all over the place, bouncing from place to place. On top of the almost eighth he’d taken of shrooms, he’d done two more lines of coke, and taken a pill. They were sitting in a bar as Sian wondered how he was even alive at the moment. Of course, as she watched the movie “Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas”, she knew that people could take a lot more drugs than they thought, even if it was a movie and they didn’t really do the drugs.

He was all over the place, drinking, pulling her up to dance, and interacting with other people. She couldn’t help but laugh at his antics, even though she didn’t necessarily approve of the drugs. She had to giggle as he pulled her up from their table and through the bar. She realized they were heading for the back where the bathroom was and then got confused.

Zacky looked around wildly before pulling her into the women’s bathroom. The largest stall was empty and he pulled her in, locking them in.

“Zacky, what the hell are you doing?” Sian asked but got quiet as he put his finger to his lips.

She watched as he pulled the bag of white powder out, along with his wallet. He poured a bit out on top of the toilet paper holder and split it into two lines. He rolled up a bill and handed it to her. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hell, no.”

“Sian, please?”

“No, Zacky, I’m not doing that.”

“I know it’s against your religion, but for me?”

She watched as he fidgeted around. He couldn’t stay still and she almost heard his jaw clenching together which sent a shiver up her back. That was the most annoying sound ever: people clenching their teeth or grinding them. She looked at his eyes that were rapidly moving back and forth and she knew he was looking at her eyes. His irises were almost completely taken over by his dilated pupils. There was almost a child-like happiness there, and she found herself bending to him.

She wasn’t sure what it was about Zacky that made her bend all of her rules, but he did. Everything she never thought she would do, she’d done because of him. It was as if she was turning her world upside down for him. It was then she realized she wasn’t changing; she was finding herself. She realized if she’d had a normal childhood, she probably would’ve tried these things before now. For some reason, she found herself smiling as she took the rolled up bill from him.

Not caring that the bathroom was probably crawling with diseases, or that it was highly unsanitary, she bent down to the black box and placed a finger on her left nostril, closing it. She inhaled through her right nostril and let the power float into her nasal passage. She leaned back and inhaled again, making sure it was all in there and none was coming out. Sure she’d gotten it all, she blocked the right nostril and inhaled the second line through her left.

“You’re a fuckin’ natural,” Zacky said and smiled this goofy grin.

Sure she’d gotten all of the white powder she unrolled the bill and handed it back to him. He put it back in his pocket and unlocked the door. They exited and Sian went to the sink where she took drops of water and snorted them, making sure there was no evidence in her nose.

“How’d you know to do—” Zacky started to ask, but they were interrupted by someone walking in.

The woman gave them a weird look, and zeroed in on Zacky. Sian knew her mind was wondering why he was in a woman’s bathroom. The woman stumbled a bit, and Sian sincerely hoped she was drunk. Her heart racing, Sian grabbed Zacky’s face and kissed him on the mouth. When she pulled back, Zacky was staring at her open-mouthed, but she just smiled.

The woman walked past them with a chuckle. As she entered the stall, Sian was sure she heard in a heavily Dutch accent, the woman mumble the word “lucky”, but she didn’t have time to ask her. She pulled Zacky’s hand and pulled him out of the bathroom.

Laughing, they moved to the dance floor to continue their antics. Whether she liked it or not, the coke was having an effect on her, and it wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be.

They stayed out until well past five in the morning. By the time they stumbled back to their hotel, both of them were worn out. Sian had to admit that she’d had a good time. Zacky had somehow managed to talk her into eating one cap of the mushrooms, and for her first time tripping, she was surprised at how well it went. They passed out on top of each other with their clothes on.

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Zacky woke up well before Sian did. He felt refreshed when he opened his eyes. There was no grogginess or anything. He looked at Sian beside him. Her breathing was deep and even in her sleep. He realized they’d passed out with their clothes on and laughed.

The chuckle died in his throat as he remembered the night before. He had been remotely sober when he’d pulled Sian into the bathroom. At least, he hadn’t been tripping anymore. The way she handled the woman coming into the bathroom had surprised him. Sure, he knew it looked weird, but he never expected Sian to kiss him. He knew what her intention was, and he’d heard the woman talk about Sian being “lucky” about hooking up with him. Still, he couldn’t believe she’d kissed him. More than that, what he couldn’t believe is the way he felt when her lips touched his. Of course, it was a chaste kiss, but it had evoked feelings he didn’t know he was capable of.

He thought about the past almost month they’d been in Europe. Over that period, he’d come to care more and more about Sian. She’d done things with him he knew Samantha would never even think about doing. Sure, Samantha was the wilder sister, but she wouldn’t have condoned his behavior last night, she wouldn’t have responded the way Sian had, and he once again was struck with the difference in the sisters. He was conflicted eternally, because he knew that he was developing feelings for Sian and that wasn’t a good thing. He was supposed to be in love with her sister, but as time went on, he found himself forgetting that they were even searching for Samantha.

He sighed. When he did, Sian stirred. She rolled closer to him, and her hand found his chest. In her sleep, her hand moved up underneath his shirt. He inhaled as her fingers ran over his chest and stopped. He exhaled and looked down at her. She was still completely asleep. He liked the fact that she was becoming more and more comfortable with him, but it felt weird.
If he didn’t know better, he’d say he was falling in love with his fiancée’s sister.