There was one thing Zara hadn't realised until she was a few blocks away from Orion's apartment: in the four years of their unbreakable friendship, she'd never been over once at his place. When she had met him, on the first day of ninth grade, they had clicked almost instantly. Despite being the new kid, Orion had been outgoing and socially confident; if one didn't know any better, they'd think that he'd been attending the school all along, and only now decided to make some noise.

Zara manoeuvred around a mailbox, a smile on her face as she reminisced about her past. When Orion had first seen her, he'd been quick to point out that she reminded him of an old good friend of is; as a default, he'd said that they too would become the best of friends, and that, they did. It had been harder to get Saffron and Aurora to accept him to the group—they considered him a little 'rowdy' for their taste—but they couldn't resist him for long.

In addition to his crude humour and charm, Orion had a heart of gold; it glimmered as soon as he found out about Saffron's problem with bullies. Apparently, Orion had gone through it himself back at his old school and hence didn't tolerate any form of harassment, especially when it came to his newfound friends.

He was quick to teach the bullies a lesson, and Saffron was never bothered again.

Zara's smile fell when she remembered the situation she was in. She hoped with all her heart that none of her friends were involved—they were the only ones she'd ever had, and losing them was like losing part of herself. Over the years, the four had grown and matured together; no matter how suspicious she was of them, Zara couldn't imagine her life without her friends.

The mere idea of going back to a time of isolation and grief was enough to bring tears to her eyes and shivers up her spine. She was fighting for them, not only for herself, and she would fight till the very end. Zara had made a point of this time and time again, whenever dark thoughts started to infiltrate her mind, and she would continue doing so until she could clear their names.

It was seven in the evening and the sky had darkened. In spite of the light pollution and illuminated streets, Zara had managed to take a few wrong turns; the neighbourhood was a maze, and unless one was familiar with the area, everything looked the same. She'd been therefore obligated to swallow her nerves and stop to ask for directions.

Luckily, a young lady—who'd giggled when Zara admitted that she was lost—gave her a few markers to help guide her through. They were easy to remember, and so far, served Zara well. She pulled the beanie over her ears as she hurried across the road and onto another street, mentally ticking off the lamp-post peppered with graffiti and stickers.

Only two more, and I'm there.

Orion lived with his brother in a good neighbourhood; its inhabitants could walk around feeling relatively safe and certainly not armed to the teeth like Zara. In addition to the dagger, she had decided to tuck her pepper-spray and second knife inside her interior pockets. She had run for her life once before, this time, she'd fight.

On the correct street, Zara began counting down the numbers to Orion's building. She passed a small coffeeshop, an antique store, and a cobbler before she reached her destination. At the front entrance, she stopped and turned towards the intercom system. She scanned the list of names until she reached 'Zhou', and hovered a finger over the button.

Actually, I want to surprise him.

Just as she was about to ring someone else, the door opened and a middle-aged couple sauntered out, well-dressed and with smiles on their faces. The male held the door open for Zara, and after she thanked him, she hurried inside the foyer.

They were nice.

She took the stairs two at a time—mentally patting herself on the back for choosing not to dress like a vagrant—and reached the third floor slightly out of breath but grateful that for once things went her way.

Zara ringed the doorbell, and as she waited for someone to answer the door, she unzipped her jacket and pulled off her beanie. Sweat stuck tendrils of hair to her forehead; she pushed them away then fanned herself. It was a lot warmer in the building than outside.

She dropped her hand and cracked her best smile as she heard footsteps on the other side.

The door opened to reveal a girl in bra and shorts. Zara reddened.

"S-sorry about that, I thought this was my friend's place," she said meekly, already taking a step back to throw herself down the stairs. How this girl had the confidence to answer the door in her underwear, Zara didn't understand. The girl placed one hand on her hip and the other on the doorframe. She had an hourglass figure that only became more defined by her position, and breasts a tad too large for her bra.

"Orion?" she asked, in a voice sweet enough to give you diabetes.

"Yeah. I thought this was his—"

Arms wrapped themselves around the girls waist, and a head popped out from around the girls shoulder. "What are you...Zara?" He pushed the girl to one side and stepped in front of her; his hair was dishevelled and the only piece of clothing he had on were his boxers. Being the skinny dog he was, it wasn't much of a sight. "Did something happen?"

Fuck me. I didn't have to see this.

"Uh, no, but since you're busy, I guess I—"

"No! Come in!" he shrieked. He turned to the girl. "Brittany, I—"

Brittany. Really Orion?

"Yeah, yeah." She tossed her head and waved him off. "I'll go get my stuff."

Orion turned back to Zara, who smiled sheepishly. "I'm really sorry. I thought you would be mad at me for that Max thing today, so I decided to just show up. This way, you had no choice but to let me in."

He stared at her blankly, but then it dawned on him. "Oh, that." He was probably still thinking about sex. "Yeah, no,"—he chuckled and scratched his neck—"not mad, no worries. I mean, you have your reasons and stuff."

The girl, Brittany, appeared next to Orion, fully dressed and with her short hair looking less like a tornado swept through it. It suited her; with a doll face, porcelain skin, and clothes that hugged her curves, she looked very chic. Not the type of girl she thought Orion was into—he seemed more like the type to go after girls that looked like models—but they matched. Zara wondered whether they were dating. She looked a tad older than him, and Zara had never seen her around their school.

"I'll see you." Brittany pecked his cheek and sashayed past him, waving at Zara before she fluttered down the stairs.

"Finally." Zara exhaled and brushed past Orion, eager to take a seat and get down to business. The apartment was small, but not claustrophobic like Zara's. It was a comfortable size for two people, with a bathroom, two bedrooms, a kitchen connected to the living-room, and what seemed to be a small study. "You didn't tell me anything about having a girlfriend." She kicked her shoes off and flopped onto the couch.

"Not my girl. Friends with benefits," Orion said once he joined her in the living-room.

"Where'd ya meet her?" Start the conversation casually, then move to more serious things. That's the way to go. It had partially worked with Igor, and it would most definitely work with Orion.

"I met her at a shop called Mind Your Own Business. You know it?" He tossed her a look before retreating into what Zara thought was his room. Maybe Not.

She waited for him to return, with a shirt covering his skinny torso, to answer his question.

"Never been, but I've heard of it. It's on Fuck You boulevard, which intersects with Asshole street."

Orion laughed and so did she. "Those were good." He went to the kitchen, and Zara watched him open and close cupboards. "I'm starving, do you want noodles? They're a bit spicy."

At the mention of food, Zara perked up. She tossed the pillow she was holding onto the other end of the couch and got to her feet. "You know what my answer is," she said, padding over and taking a seat on one of the stools. Unlike Saffron, Orion couldn't cook to save his life. His brother usually did all the cooking—speaking of which, he didn't seem to be around.

"Where's Shen?"

"Work." Orion pulled out two noodle packets from a large box and placed them on the counter. He had responded bitterly, his strained relationship with his brother highlighted by his words. Shen was the perfect student, Orion was the complete opposite—he didn't delve too much into his earlier life, it was one of those things that only surfaced when he wanted it to.

Zara nodded and cleared her throat.

"So are you gonna tell me why you interrupted my fucking session or do I have to starve it out of you?"

Zara wrinkled her nose and pushed the horrible images out of her mind. "Noodles first. Talk second."

He rolled his eyes but obliged. Once their meals were ready, he passed the bowl to Zara, along with a plastic fork and the spices. She jabbed at the steaming block, giving more thought to the way she would formulate her questions than last time. Leaving empty-handed a second time wasn't in her agenda.

"So?" Orion ripped open the packets and dumped the powders into his bowl. Zara did the same.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions. About dealing." Zara kept her gaze on the red concoction. Her stomach tightened.

Orion paused with the noodle-entangled chopsticks halfway to his mouth. "Damn. You came all the way here for that? Couldn't you like, look it up or something?" He slurped it up noisily.

Zara nodded, internally chastising herself for thinking up an excuse earlier. Just by his question, she could tell that he was adamant about replying. "Laptop confiscated and I don't have the time to go to the public library."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Please. I just need information. Impersonal information."

"Impersonal, huh?" More strings went into his mouth; drops of soup rained down onto the table.

Zara nodded with earnest. "That's all." As much as she wanted to eat as well, at the moment, it was inappropriate. She was the one who had to convince him, not vice versa.

"What's it for—why do you want to know?"

For crying out loud!

"I can't—I can't tell you. Not now," she said lamely, putting her fork down.

Orion looked at her with narrowed eyes, then went back to eating. Zara had yet to touch her food.

"Ok,"—he nodded slowly, then more decisively—"Alright. Ask away."

Zara's face lit up, and after a quick shovel of noodles into her mouth, she laced her fingers together above her bowl. Her mouth was on fire, but the pain was something she was used to. "What does an addict look for in a drug?"

Orion clicked his tongue and raised two fingers. "Two words: cheap, intoxicating."

Zara raised an eyebrow. Orion sighed and gazed at her with pity.

"The worst addicts are also the poorest. They need to get high, but the good drugs, the real ones, are too expensive, especially stuff like angel dust, battery acid, and X."

Zara brought the bowl to her lips and took a sip. The soup was both salty and spicy, perfect for a cold autumnal evening. "And?"

"Addicts are gonna do anything to get high. Ever heard of the zombie drug? You can make it at home with random shit, gets you high as fuck, but it rots your body. And when I mean rot, I'm talking about decomposition, stuff from the movies."

The Butterfly is a pill, but it can't be just any pill. It's a psychoactive drug.

"That's fucked up." Zara drained the soup and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "So the perfect drug would be one that gets you high, but is also cheap."

"Yep." He stood and went to the living-room—Zara followed him with her eyes. "It gotta be a liquid as well—you absorb it faster." His words became muffled when he popped a cigarette into his mouth.

"Like heroin?" Zara's momentary elation evaporated away.

"Yeah, but,"—he brought a lighter to the end of the cigarette and lit it. He was quick to open the nearest window afterwards—"pills are easier to conceal and pop. So I dunno." Orion blew the smoke out into the darkness. Zara wrapped her arms around herself and moved away from the current of cold air. "Was that all you had to ask me? Wikipedia basically would've said the same thing."

"No, I'm not done yet." Why is he trying so hard to get rid of me?

"Shoot, then. Shen will be home in about half."

Zara wasn't completely convinced by his excuse. She was his friend, why wouldn't his brother want to meet her? "Just two more and I'll get out of your hair."

Orion looked back at her, taking another drag. He exhaled through his nose, and a cloud of grey smoke enveloped his face; his expression was stoic, with a sort of darkness to his gaze. Orion wasn't his usual self, and only then did Zara notice that. Over the past few days, she had been so focused on finding the Butterfly, she had completely forgotten about those closest to her. Not even her grandfather had crossed her mind.

"Actually, I think I'm done with the questions," Zara said, a hint of a smile dancing on her lips. "Truth be told, I just wanted to chill with you." She twirled her finger around a strand of her hair and pouted.

"You're lying." He grinned, stabbed what remained of the cigarette against the windowsill, then chucked the butt out the window.

"I'm not!" she shrieked, curling her hand in a fist.

"Then prove it." He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

In the wink of an eye, Zara had her arms around him and her face buried in his shoulder. "I'm so happy you're my friend," she mumbled.

"Me too." Orion hestitated before returning the embrace.