Chapter Four

Again, Chase was back to his social awkwardness as he stood in the musical silence of my brother's room.
My brother was busy talking through the headset he usually wore. He was a coding designer for a few local websites, and stayed in constant contact with the web, and associates in the area. When he wasn't doing that, he was joining me in our battle against the rise of the undead. F**k, that video game was awesome.
My mom always said it was stupid for us to buy two copies of the same game. Our defence was simple. We could play the same game with each other online in our own rooms. Of course, she didn't have to know how we managed to afford it.
"So what's buddy's name again?" My brother asked, as he finished weighing the half bag he prepared.
Chase looked at me, he looked scared to find out what would happen when I answered for him.
"His name is Chase," I said calmly. My brother's presence intimidated a lot of people, but it never affected me. I learned to fight back at my brother at a young age, and I never used violence.
Ryan looked at me, then to Chase. He turned off his headset, then gestured for him to come and pick up the bag.
As Chase slowly made his way across the room, my brother stood up. Chase stopped.
"Alright, so here's the deal," my brother said. "When you want, you either go through Trevor, or you come to the door and ask for him."
Chase seemed confused.
"Dude, I'm 24 years old. What am I, 10 years older than you?"
Chase seemed to clue in to my brother's point. I wanted to laugh because I could tell he wanted so badly to point out his inability to speak.
"Yeah, so you come to the door and ask for Trevor. Our mom seems to work 24/7 so I'll probably be answering the door."
Chase nodded, and finally picked up the half bag. He turned and looked at me. I smiled back at him, thanked my brother, and guided Chase back to my room. As I was closing the door to my brother's room, I saw him giving me a questioning look. I muttered something to him and closed the door.
As soon as I entered my room, I heard Justin's laugh as he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into Kyle's face.
"F**k off!" Kyle almost yelled, "That's not fair. I told you not to use a sniper if I didn't use the shotgun."
"Dude, do you really think I was stupid enough not to see you heading for the shotty?"
There was a pause, and I noticed Chase's amusement. He looked at me, then gestured to the television, which was playing a replay of Justin's bird's eye view headshot.
I pointed to the TV, then to both Chase and me. He nodded, then I smirked. This boy didn't know what he was getting himself into. Justin and Kyle were fun to watch, but it took both of them to be able to hunt me down.
Dwayne was even better than I was at this game; but no one would ever be able to top my brother's headshot count.
"Chase wants to take me on," I stated. Both Kyle and Justin looked at him with curiousity.
"You know, Trev's a pretty good player. His brother has been playing video games since Super Nintendo, so you'd better have more than just some skill," Kyle said, smiling broadly. Justin looked at me with a smile, but I could see he was still troubled.
"Before we do that," I said, "How does everyone feel about a quick burn?"
Chase looked at me sideways. I'm sure he was suspecting I would have made him pitch, but that wouldn't be how you keep a costumer coming back. I went into my closet and pulled out my little safe — another little expense partly contributed by my three years of antidepressants.
Once I opened it, I pulled out my stash. I usually bought a little over an ounce to keep for myself and my friends. An other ounce I would buy from my brother and sell it throughout the student body. I got pretty good at it, and no one really suspected me of doing it. However, I was obvious enough to keep getting new costumers. I smiled at Chase, who'd been carefully watching me weigh out the portions each of us would be allowed for the night.
After I was satisfied with the amount each of us were allowed, I distributed them throughout the guys. I got up and wandered back to my closet, pulling out the shoebox I kept my bongs and pipes in.
I pulled out Jade, my glass pipe, and my one herb grinders. I then submitted the box to the others, "Take what you want, but I want it back."
Kyle chose Lesly, my smallest bong; Justin took Ally, my favourite bong; and Chase grabbed Sunset. Each of them grabbed a herb grinder, and began to pack them.
I began to fill my buster with my portion, and contemplated asking Kyle for a smoke. Every now and then, I decide to mix tobacco with my pot. The nicotine mixes very well with the THC, and that usually gave a better high.
I looked at the television, and remembered Chase's challenge. I usually play better without the nicotine, so I finished stuffing my grinder and began to twist the metal device.
"Is this the same stuff you had last time?" Justin asked as he carefully filled Ally's bowl.
"Yeah, I haven't really gone through it, yet. There's still a lot left." I separated the pot myself, into smaller portions, so I wouldn't have to pull out an ounce's worth of pot every time I wanted some.
I looked up and saw Chase getting ready to stuff his bowl. I realized he had not put any water into Sunset, yet. It wasn't a big deal, but it made the smoke harsher.
"Dude, put some of your water in there before you pack it," I told him, then explained the water pipe's purpose. Chase smiled at me, and nodded a thanks.
I flicked my lighter and allowed the flame to hover over the pot for a second, then I inhaled. I watched as the pot began to glow red, and I felt the smoke beginning to build in the chamber. I played with the choke for a second before emptying the chamber. I leaned back and watched as Chase stared at the floor, trying not to cough.
I glanced over to Kyle, who was already packing his next bowl. Justin was emptying his bowl, but before he could hold it in, he began to cough. I blew out the smoke, and coughed once. Twice. Then I laughed at Justin, who was still in the midst of his coughing fit.
Chase looked at me with an concerned expression, asking me if he was okay. I smiled at him and made a face, hoping he would understand this wasn't any different than normal. Chase smiled, and went back to puffing on Sunset.
I still remember watching him. His hair falling over his eyes as he smoked. You could see the glow of the embers in his eyes, giving his pupils a red glow. The dimness of my room gave him a sinister aura, but I knew there was something in him that knew the true values of life.
Bringing Sunset down, Chase straightened his back, his lips opened slightly, and looked up to the ceiling, closed his eyes, and let out a smooth line of smoke. It was like he was ready to give someone a kiss; and I wanted to move to him, gently take his body and hold him close me. When the smoke fully receded out of his lungs, he relaxed back into his seat, and leaned back. His eyes opened slightly, and he looked at me.
I knew I blushed, but I didn't stop looking at him. He looked back. Again, he smiled. This time, it wasn't the wary grin of awkwardness. This time, he wore a quirky grin, as if he knew what I was thinking. I couldn't help but return that smile.
"OK, I think I'm good for now," Kyle said, not realizing his comment had provoked a disappointed glance from both Chase and I. "Let's see if this boy can really kick some a*s."
Chase frowned for a second, then saw the television. It was at the set-up menu, asking us to choose our fighter.
"Yeah!" Justin agreed. "Come on, Trev, show the dude you can shoot him from across the map."
I smiled. I knew I wasn't modest when it came to playing video games, and I stood up. I was pretty much high, and I wanted to play some games.
"We can play a four-man match after this," Kyle said. He looked at Chase. I'm sure Kyle wanted to see how skilled he was before deciding if he wanted to be on his team.
Chase got up, and moved passed me. It was a move he could have done without brushing up against me so closely, but I didn't mind. I just really wished the two other decided to ditch.
So we played the game, and I almost lost. I don't know if it was because I didn't want to pull the trigger, or just because Chase was smart enough to know where I was going to shoot. It might have been a mix of both, but Chase's game really impressed Kyle, so they were on the same team.
Justin looked at me, and told me he preferred playing on my team since Kyle has a habit of friendly fire.
"It's not my fault! You keep getting in the way."
We played shootout for a few hours, but when Kyle had to go home, we moved on to a few racers. Chase was good at all the games we played, and all I could think about was playing these games with him and him alone.
About 11 p.m., Justin decided he was going to go home, and Chase was back to texting people on his phone. That was the first time I wished I had a phone. I wanted to keep in touch with him, but I didn't know how to do that. I usually phoned people when I wanted to hang out.
So it was Chase and I for a few minutes, and I decided we would roll a joint before he went home. His mom apparently texted him to come home, and now she was on her way to pick him up.
I sparked the joint, and took a few puffs before passing it off to Chase. While doing so, I glanced at the time and saw it turn to 11:11. I was never a believer in that silly 'wishing hour' but I closed my eyes and leaned back.
'I wish we could be together.'
Then I blew out the smoke, and I opened my eyes to Chase looking at me with the same expression I had when I watched him smoke the Sunset.
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