A/N this update was brought to you with the help of Royal Blood and Mallory Knox. 

Chapter Twenty

 When I got home I sat on the end of my bed and stared down at Dewees number on my screen. My thumb was hovering over the call button, and yet I still hadn't pressed it. I knew it was inevitable and that I had to call him, but I was afraid I would make things worse if I angered him in any way. 

I just wanted to be back with Gerard so I could forget about the whole thing all over again, but at the same time I knew I had to deal with it quickly. Nip it in the bud before it spread and caught up with me. 

I pressed call before I could debate it any more, and waited as it rang, rehearsing my words in my head with each shrill ring it gave on the other end. Finally, he picked up, and I didn't know wether to be glad or disappointed that he did. 

"Hello?" 

"Dewees? It's Frank" He paused for a moment before replying in a more serious tone. 

"How did you get my number?" 

"Oli." 

"Oh yeah" All the charisma he had had when we'd talked before was gone, replaced with a cold tone that made me wonder exactly how much shit we were now both in. "I forgot that you two were close." 

"Look I'm really grateful to you for covering for me the other day but it's really important that I talk to you properly. In person." I cut right to the chase before he could hang up on me or make up any excuses about what i'd seen. 

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea -"

"Come on Dewees" I snapped a little "Don't try and brush me off now. Was it such a good idea when you tried fucking drugs? When you came to a bloody park to pick them up? When you got involved with whoever that guy was?" I was met with silence on the other end, telling me he didn't have a response to excuse himself from this mess. "I didn't think so." 

"Frank if we meet up and those guys realise I know you then we'll both be in shit. They'll squeeze your name out of me and then they'll come after you and make sure you'll keep quiet for good" He rushed, sounding desperate. 

"I don't want to meer up with you either, but we have to. I need to talk to you face to face and I need to know that you're going to cover for me. I just.. I want to know what the hell is going on and I don't think we should discuss that over the phone. Now, when are you free?" I seemed to have got my point across, because this time he didn't object. 

"Um, can you bunk off college tomorrow? Say, 11am? That would be best for me. I mean, I'm busy in the afternoon and it's the only time that I know he'll be out of the picture." I took it I wasn't going to learn the other guys name. 

"Okay. Where?" 

"I'll text you my address" He gave a small sigh "and Frank? Just... don't go drawing attention to yourself for a bit okay? We don't need your face on the news or in local papers or anything like that. Just lie low. Don't get caught tagging and don't go back to the park." 

"Yes boss" I joked, but when he didn't laugh I just sighed and muttered a "bye then" before hanging up. At least he still seemed willing to help me. Or at least, that's how I reassured myself as I climbed into bed and buried myself under the duvet.

I woke up with my alarm the next day just so I could go and inform Ray, who was in his room, that I wouldn't be needing a lift to college. 

"Why?" He frowned "If you want to walk then you've left it a bit late..." 

"Not going" I yawned "Got some other stuff to do, i've already emailed to say I'm sick, not that they can do anything about it anyway. Just don't tell your parents - as far as they know i'm going in as per usual." 

"You're going to be in shit if they catch you" He sang lightly. 

"I have more important stuff to deal with than your parents and their irritating attitudes towards me" I rolled my eyes, sitting down on the end of his bed "Hey! Even better idea - if they wanna know where I am then tell them I'm with Lynz again, that worked well last time." 

"Okay. But don't keep using her as an excuse every time they ask because the more you talk about her the more they're going to want to meet her" he reasoned with me as he threw his textbooks into his backpack "seriously, my mum is crazy enough about her coming for dinner as it is. You keep this up and you're going to have to have her over." 

"I'll work something out" I shrugged, standing up "See you later, cuz." 

"So you're not going to tell me where you're going then? he called after me. I stood in the doorway and pondered what his reaction would be if I told him I was going to see a guy I once kissed to make sure he wasn't going to turn me in to some drug dealer that would surely have me by the neck if he could, and then after that I was going on to see Father Way, who I was then most probably going to fuck. 

"Oh, just around" I shrugged before heading out the door and back into my own room, leaving him to make his own assumptions. 

I probably should've cared a little more about bunking off college, but to me it was almost second nature to take a day off every once in a while, so the quick lies and cover ups came easily to me. After James and Isabel had both left the house I made my way downstairs, fixed myself some breakfast and then checked Dewees address on my phone. I didn't know the local area that well but when I checked it against google maps I was told it wasn't too far from Kellin's. 

I hung around the house for an hour or so before setting off, not wanting to get there too early. I still had time to stop off at the shop and buy myself a coke that i slurped away at all the way there. When I got close to his house I figured it would probably be a good idea to pull my hood up and keep my head hung low as a just-in-case measure. I didn't need any more on my plate at the moment, and the sooner I got this over with the better. 

His house may have not been very far from Kellin's, but it was a completely different place. Whereas Kellin's house was a big, grand building with sweeping staircases and open plan kitchens, this house was a small two bedroom red brick building with a garden that stretched to about 2 feet wide and a box of empty bottles outside the front door. 

I knocked tentatively, and waited for less than a minute before the door was being opened ever so slightly, just enough so that he could peer through the gap and confirm it was me that had stopped by, before he opened the door slightly wider and ushered me inside. 

"You're alone right?" Was the first thing he said to me when I stepped into his messy kitchen. He looked considerably worse than when I last saw him. When i'd met him at the party he'd seemed lively and humorous, but now there were bags under his eyes and he kept scratching at his arms, obviously feeling the need for another fix. 

"Of course" I nodded, glancing wearily around the room "You too right?" 

"Yeah" He nodded gruffly "I'd offer you a drink but it's probably best if we just get this over with. I don't know what time Ian's getting back and-" his eyes went wide as he realised he'd given away more than he meant to.

"So that thug's name is Ian?" I raised an eyebrow "I had him pegged for something a little more elaborate, but now you've said it I think I'm warming to it" I tried to joke again, but he still didn't laugh. That was probably when I realised that my sense of humour was going to help nobody. 

"Oh shit now you know that too" He ran a hand through his hair "Oh shit shit shit. What the hell have you got yourself into Frank? Do you even realise what you've got yourself into? Who he is? What he'll do?" 

"As long as you keep your mouth shut, he'll do nothing" I shrugged "He dosen't know my name or my address or anything about me. Besides, I'm sure he has bigger fish to fry than some kid watching his dead drop. I don't even have any proof." 

"So what? You just want to wait until he bumps into you on the streets? You just want to hang around until one day he recognises you? Until he makes you disappear? You can't live like that Frank. You won't live like that" He was shaking his head furiously by this point, looking determined enough for the both of us. 

"Well what other options do I have?" I all but yelled "Enlighten me on this other way you seemed to have come up with because I'm really not seeing it right now. I'm not leaving this town and I'm not killing anyone myself, so I really don't know what you want me to do!" No matter how colourful my record was, no matter what scumbag I came to face, I knew I couldn't kill a man with my own hands and be able to live with it.

"You really don't see it?" 

"See what?" 

"Listen Frank" He sighed "The only way that we both get out of this mess in one piece is if you join up." I instantly backed away, looking at him with horrified eyes. 

"I'm not taking drugs - That would just be killing myself!" I may have been reckless, but I knew where to draw the line. Drugs got you killed, addicted, or just a shell of your former self. They messed you up, make your sense of morality go down the drain and just fucked you over until you didn't recognise yourself anymore. 

"No not doing the drugs!" he rushed "I mean working for Ian. Dealing, if you like. You'll be paid well and you can win your way into his good books, prove to him that you can be trusted" He said it as if it were the most simple thing in the world. 

"No fucking way" I shook my head "I'm not dealing drugs just so I can buy myself some time." 

"Frank come on-" 

"No! Don't you see? What happens when I want to stop dealing? You think he'll just let me walk away? You think that if I slip up just once, he'll forgive me? What happens when he's making me try the stuff and I'm ending up a junkie like you?" He glanced down at the floor "Look, i'm sorry about that last part." 

"It's okay, it's true" He mumbled, making me feel even worse about it. "I er, should've know better than to get into all this shit." 

"It's easily done I guess" I shrugged "I know you think that me getting into it all is the easiest thing to do, but I can't. This Ian guy will forget about me soon enough and then we can pretend like this never happened." 

"I just don't want to see you get hurt. I really like you Frank" He sighed "I get why you'd rather take your chances. Just... be careful yeah? And don't tell anyone. Even if you got Ian arrested, he still has friends that would get you back." 

"I won't" I started to make my way towards the door "I'll er, see you around I guess." 

"Yeah" He scratched the back of his neck "It's probably better if you keep your distance from me though. I mean, talk to me if we're around Oli but... apart from that." 

"I get it" I turned and glanced around the house briefly "And Dewees? Please stop using. Don't throw your life down the drain for drugs. They'll leave you a mess." 

"I'll try" He sighed, opening the door for me "Just like you've gotta try not to draw any attention to yourself, okay?" 

"Okay" And with that I stepped out the front door "Bye." 

I had some time to kill before I was expected at Gerard's, and seeing as the park was out of bounds to me now I thought I might as well do a bit of tagging. I headed over to the other side of town (far away from Dewees and the park) and found a wall around the back of a restaurant that had a good, blank wall on which I could spray. 

I sprayed a picture of two figures - one was reaching out for a pile of needles and various drugs, whilst the other had wrapped his arms around the figure from behind and was holding him back. The first figure was struggling against his grip, but failing. 

I wished I could do the same to Dewees, but I knew that real life was a lot more complex. If he was going to give up, he was going to have to decide that on his own accord. I just hoped he'd see sense. 

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This chapter is a little bit shorter than normal but 1. it felt like a good place to end it and 2. i only updated like 2 days ago. 

You know I might end up splitting this all into two books. It's a possibility. 

I don't tend to make sequels for things but I think this might be an exception. 

~ Headfirst for Helena