Hero

Jordan felt his way along the dark alley wall, the loud music from the party blaring out behind him, pumping through him, adrenaline pounding in his blood stream, mouth dry, everything in front of him moving and spinning, every feeling, sound, taste, amplified.

This was being high. And he loved it.

He woke up the next morning, his head felt like it could be splitting open. He suddenly thought back to the events of last night. Didn't he collapse in that alleyway? How did he get back here? He didn't hook up with someone did he?

He crawled out of bed and stumbled through the flat, he got into the front room and there was a note on the coffee table.

- Hey Jordan, don't panic, I found you in the alleyway and brought you home, we didn't hook up. I brought you home and left straight away, I locked the door and posted the keys back through the letterbox -

What the hell? Who in this non-caring world would help a druggie collapsed in an alleyway and bother locking the door? Let alone posting the keys back.
A text message interrupted Jordan from his thoughts.
- Jordan, party at Rhea's, be there at 12 -

The next day:

"Jordan Fish, that is your name correct?"
"Last time I checked officer." Jordan leant back in the chair lazily, trying to piss off the policeman in front of him even more.
"Want to tell us what you were thinking of doing with the thousands of pounds worth of methamphetamine we found in your possession last night?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing? So you just bought it for the sake of it?"
"Nope. Didn't buy it."
"A friend just gave it to you? Someone who owed you a favour maybe?"
"Nope. Don't know how I got it." The policeman raised an eyebrow.
"Give me my wallet and we can sort this out."
"You can't buy your way out of this."
"Wouldn't dream of it. I can explain with it." The interrogating officer looked behind him to his colleague and nodded. A few moments later he appeared and threw Jordan's wallet on the table.
"May I? Thank you." He smiled sarcastically and pulled £300 out of his wallet.
"You can check my bank statements, I took out this £300 yesterday cause I wanted to buy some good shit at that party, but there wasn't anything, I got trashed instead, then you lot showed up." They left Jordan for about half an hour and returned.
"You got lucky, you're free to go."
"Thought as much, bye boys, it's been fun."

As Jordan smugly walked out of the police station, he tucked his money back into his pocket. They'd never managed to arrest him, he was too good, to this day his criminal record was squeaky clean. He was too clever, he was an expert.
A few hours later his roommate Danny walked in and gaped at the state of the apartment.
"Am I in the wrong flat? Where were you last night?"
"Got hauled in."
"Right, that's why you cleaned this place up." He sighed, ditching his jacket.
"Yeah, just in case they get a search warrant, wouldn't be the first time."
"Did they charge you?"
"Nope. Someone planted shit on me I didn't buy it." He gathered together his stash and hid it neatly away in a ceiling panel. Danny shook his head sadly.
"Is all this worth it Jordan? All this just for drugs?"
"Don't start Dan." His roommate sighed and went to shower before leaving for another date.

Jordan got a call from another one of his friends who was at a party, said Jordan could get his hands on some cheap shit then sell it on for more, he tucked his phone into his pocket and ran down the stairwell. As Jordan left the building and ran down the steps onto the pavement he crashed into someone, both people falling on the ground heavily.
"Ugh...shit..." Jordan climbed to his feet, examining his now skinned and bleeding elbow.
"Jesus Christ look where you're-" He stopped talking when he looked at the person he'd crashed into.

He was a skinny kid, maybe eighteen, he was badly beaten and was obviously running from someone.
"Hey, kid, you ok?" He nodded and Jordan helped him up, sitting him down on the step for a moment to get himself together.
"You got beat up? They're chasing you?" The kid nodded, flinching when the sounds of heavy footsteps and shouts came into their ears. Jordan pulled the kid up, he looked up, terrified at Jordan, he shoved him back into the building behind a plant.
"Stay there."

Jordan left the building and a group of huge teens came up to him.
"Hey!! Excuse me!!" The biggest one stopped him and Jordan turned irritably to him.
"What?" He snapped.
"You seen a kid?"
"Well yeah there's quite a few around." He earned snickers from the group at that and the big one glared at them.
"No, he's skinny, mop haircut, younger than us, he's seventeen."
"Did he hurt any of you?"
"Please mate he couldn't hurt us!!" One of the others yelled, murmured agreements from the others followed.
"Clearly you were worried about him winning or else you wouldn't have come in a massive group to beat the living daylights out of him."
"Look mate-" The big one started and Jordan slammed him up against the apartment block, unable to believe how much anger he felt towards the group, all after that one skinny kid.
"Hey-" One of his friends started and Jordan silenced him.
"You lot shut the fuck up!! Now I may have seen him run past, I may have seen him be taken away in an ambulance, I might not have seen anything. But you listen to me, I suggest you fucking walk away cause if I hear that anything's happened to that kid, I mean look at me lads, I'm obviously a druggie, I know a lot of scary people in this world and if you lot piss me off anymore I'm pretty sure I could pin some things on you, get the police off my back, you got me?" They all nodded, looking scared and Jordan shoved the big guy down the steps.
"So what'd he do? My memory might be jogged as to whether or not I saw him."
"He's a fucking faggot!!" One of them yelled.
"And that's a problem because...?"
"It's not right!!"
"Well, now that you've shared your charming views on homosexuality, I can tell you that I didn't see him cause I was walking down from my friends apartment. So you lads can find the, and I quote, 'fucking faggot' all on your own." They practically sprinted away from Jordan and he shook his head before going into the apartment block, ducking down to where the kid was hiding. He was crunched up in a little ball and crying softly.
"W-w-why did you d-do that f-f-for me? You could've g-got beaten up too..." Jordan fake snorted.
"Against that lot? Please. Hey, come here." He couldn't believe how nice he was being as he held out his arms and the kid leant against him and cried, fists balling up against his chest. Jordan rubbed his back gently and calmed him down before pulling back and looking at him.
"Right, come up to my apartment we'd better get you cleaned up." He led him upstairs and took him into the bathroom, sitting him down on the toilet seat.
"Right, what's your name kid?"
"Oli...you?"
"Jordan." He nodded, sniffing slightly.
"They're gone you know I doubt they'll mess with you for a while."
"I-it's ok I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't have to be, it's so wrong." Jordan said angrily, making Oli flinch and look at him in surprise.
"Yep, all for gay rights me."
"A-are you..?"
"Look kid, I've got some pretty serious drug problems, I've been high for most of my life as I can remember it, whether it's been guys or girls hasn't really come into the equation for me." He nodded again.
"Right, take off your shirt." Oli blushed and looked at him, Jordan laughed.
"Not like that, they kicked you right?"
"No..." He lied unconvincingly.
"Bullshit! Come on." Oli, still blushing furiously, stripped off his ripped top, Jordan was shocked, not at the mass of tattoos that covered every inch of the teen's arms and torso, but at the horrific bruising all over his body.
"Did they do this to you?"
"Umm...yeah.." He lied again.
"You're actually telling me that that group of sweaty dumb asses have been beating you up for weeks on end?"
"I came out a while ago."
"Who did it?"
"My dad..." Oli mumbled quietly, Jordan shook his head angrily.
"Is he a drunk?" Oli nodded and Jordan exhaled sharply through his nose, he knew the wrath of a drunk father all too well.
"Well...you're 17 right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"When's your birthday?" Oli looked at him like he was crazy.
"In a few weeks why?"
"Cause once you're 18 you don't have to put up with this shit. You can find somewhere cheap to live." Oli nodded thoughtfully and Jordan got him cleaned up before standing.
"Right all done." Oli stood up shakily and his legs began to buckle, Jordan caught him and carried him to his bedroom.
"You can sleep here kid, get some rest, your safe here I promise. I'll be out in the front if you need me." Oli nodded, eyes already closed, and Jordan couldn't help but notice how cute he was.

As he sat on the couch, listening closely for any noise Oli might make, Danny came in.
"Hey. How'd the date go?
"Great."
"And you're here alone because...?"
"We did it in the bathroom at the club."
"How romantic."
"What's going on?"
"Believe it or not I'm a Good Samaritan."
"Bullshit. What happened?" He sat down and Jordan explained everything that had happened, Dan nodded slowly and sat back in his seat.
"Ok, but don't get too involved Jordan."
"Why?"
"You're a druggie J!! If he starts depending on you, then, no offence, but he's just gonna get let down by another person and that's not fair on him." Jordan nodded, knowing he was right.
"Ok."
"Anyway, I need to shower, see you later."

Jordan sat back, disappointed in his seat, thinking about what his roommate had said.