Whaaaat?! 303 reads! Already!
*victory dance*

Thanks to everyone who's reading and special thanks to winterwolf and honeyblobs for reading and putting up with my constant nagging for them to do so.
_________________________

The plan was simple. Heath would punch the one who'd started the attack on him.

The plan was too simple. That was the entire plan.

"It'll be fine," she said, slapping him on the back,"Don't you worry about a thing. Just punch the dude as hard as you can."

"This is the worst idea ever," he muttered, his stomac twisting itself in knots.

"Probably," Poppy admitted,"But hey, it'll be fun."

"Whenever you say something like that, it usually sucks," he replied.

Poppy either didn't hear him or ignored him. "You ready?"

"No."

"Great! Off you go!"

Heath sighed and trudged towards his doom. He cleared his throat behind the group.

The one who'd thrown the first punch turned around and grinned.

"Come to confess, have you f*cker?" he said, cracking his knuckles.

"Uh...," Heath said, staring up at him before turning to look at Poppy who gave him a thumbs up,"No."

"What do you want then, f*cker?" the guy asked.

"I'll whisper it to you," Heath said, feeling a big more confident knowing Poppy was only a little bit behind him.

The guy leaned down, eyes narrowed and mouth pursed. "What is it then, f*cker?"

Heath slammed his fist against the guy's jaw.

The guy stumbled back, eyes wide and nearly tripping over his own feet. It felt surprisingly good to see the look of shock on his face. Well, until it changed into a look of rage.

"Get the f*cker," he snarled.

"Run!" Poppy screamed, before turning to race off herself.

Heath scrambled after her, his heart in his throat and his lungs feeling as though they weren't working properly.

The group followed them, running faster than he thought guys of that size could. They were gaining on him already, and Poppy was drifting further away.

He did his best to increase his speed, even though his thighs and calves felt like they were on fire. He struggled to keep Poppy within his sight.

He took a hard right and nearly fell over, before he luckily regained his balance.

He risked a glance behind him and saw that the group was persisting. They may not have been as close as they were before but they were close nonetheless.

Keeping Poppy in sight was becoming more and more difficult as she manouvered and increased her speed.

He wanted to fall over and lie on the pavement, the exhaustion getting more and more difficult to fight, but the terror of being caught by them was stronger than the urge to do that.

So he kept running. His "calm" breathing became even sloppier.

Poppy took another right, making him felt uncomfortable that he couldn't see her.

He looked behind him again. Were they closer than before?

He shook his head and tried to focus on getting away.

His breaths came out in pants. He almost stopped but remembered the beating he'd gotten yesterday.

This was the worst idea ever. Why had they tried it? It was a stupid plan.

Another glance. They were getting even closer.

His breaths and heartbeat quickened. He was probably going to get a thumping even worse than yesterday's. What was the point of continuing to run when they were probably (definitely) going to catch him?

He instead quickened his pace, determined not to get two black eyes.

When something brushed his shirt he looked behind him again. His mouth was dry and he was almost falling over at this point.

He almost screamed when he saw the gang leader right in his face. There was only about a foot in between them, and it was getting smaller.

He'd gotten ready to give up and begin to anticipate the attacks he'd get, when he was yanked into an alleyway by long-fingered hand.

Poppy put a finger to her lips and Heath struggled control his gasps of breath. They must have sat there for at least twenty minutes, the only sound being his breathing slowly returning to normal and the footsteps of those passing by. He thought every person who walked by was the group, even if their thoughts dwelled upon other things and were far calmer than the aggressive whirlwind of group leader.

After those silent twenty minutes, Poppy stood up and looked out of the alleyway. She gestured for him to follow her and they began to walk slowly up the path. Heath was still tense and jumpy, worried that the gang were just hiding and plotting their attack. It was an irrational thought, as they looked so thick that they couldn't tie their shoelaces, but it was one he clung onto.

They didn't speak for a while, until Heath opened his dry mouth and spoke.

"That wasn't fun at all."

Poppy burst in fits of laughter and he couldn't help but join. It must've been an odd spectacle, two teenagers, both looking worn out and exhausted, laughing their hearts out.

"Well, I thought it was fun," she replied, shoving her hands into her pockets, grinning widely.

"I nearly got trampled," he reminded her.

"Fun," she said, shrugging.

"Yeah, well I'm not as fast as you. You know that."

"So?"

"So... You shouldn't have started a chase."

"I though the chase was pretty fun." Her thoughts were gleeful and leering, thinking they should do it again sometime.

"Good for you," Heath muttered,"Stop thinking so happily. I nearly got killed. It was a stupid plan."

"I thought it was a brilliant idea," she said, puffing up her chest.

"Yeah, that's because you came up with it."

She shrugged and didn't reply. Her happy thoughts had calmed a bit.

"Where are we going?"

"To the magnificent shack of awesomeness," she replied, smirking.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are we going there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll see. Something cool."

"Give me a hint," he said, leaning towards her.

"Eh, well. Something to do with the sh*t we robbed," she said, after a long pause.

"Are we gonna rob somewhere else?"

"Not telling," she said, her thoughts giving nothing away. Her mind was focused on leather jackets for some reason.

"Are we going to sell something?" he asked, running out of ideas already.

"Not saying a word," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Fine, don't tell me then," he muttered, folding his arms.

She smiled her Chesire smile and cackled.

The shack was now visible up ahead. Heath had to squint to see them but there were two people standing in front of it. He couldn't make our their features but as they came closer they became clearer.

There was one male and one female, the man with his hair died black at the tips and the girl with a piercing in her nose. The girl was of a short and slender build, brown hair reaching to her ears, a crooked nose and freckles covering her entire face. The man was of a bulkier and wider build, with a pot-belly, beady eyes and ears that stuck out.

"Hello, my friends!" Poppy said, causing Heath to glance at her, confusion etched on his face.

"Took your time," the girl muttered.

"F*ck, Mary, you're cranky," Poppy said, ignoring Mary's visible flinch.

"'S Zoe now," she mumbled, making Heath wonder if she was unable to raise her voice above that.

"And Kenny! Or have you called yourself Rex or something?" Poppy asked, raising an eyebrow at the older boy.

Kenny just stayed silent and folded his arms.

"So, what will it be today?" Zoe/Mary said, gesturing towards the bags she and Kenny were holding.

Heath's brow furrowed. What could be in those bags? He wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

"Whaddya have?" Poppy asked, leaning against the side of the house.

"Whaddya sellin'?" Kenny asked, his voice a low rumble.

"You tell me first. I asked first," Poppy said, her cool gaze meeting his.

Heath stayed silent, deciding it was best not to do or say anything. Maybe that way he wouldn't be noticed.

However, Zoe seemed to have spotted him. Her eyes narrowed and she spat on the floor. "Who's this dibsh*t?"

"Is that your f*cking business?" Poppy asked,"Now shut your f*cking mouth-hole or I'll shut it for you. And answer my godd*mn question, b*tches."

Heath knew Poppy swore a lot, that was obvious but he was sure he'd never heard someone say so many curse words in one breath. He had to admit he was impressed.

Zoe fell silent. Kenny broke the silence.

"Fine, but you betta tell us whatcha sellin," he said,"We've got golden dragons, dreams, dust, brown sugar, paper mushrooms, Mary Jane, whizz and Scooby Snacks."

Heath stared at Kenny, taking a moment to process the unusual list. What the heck was he talking about? Not one of the objects related to another. It was as if he had made up a list of random objects in his brain and was selling them.

Poppy seemed to be taking them seriously however. She chewed on her lip as she thought and it was a while before she spoke again. "Golden dragons, dreams, Scooby Snacks and brown sugar."

"Four?" Zoe said, awestruck,"Are you sure you'll be able to pay for that?"

She pulled out the bracelet that they had stolen for the jewellery shop. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

Zoe's eyes shone with greed as she stared at the bracelet.

"Do we have a deal?" Poppy asked.

She nodded and handed her four bags. "Now, the bracelet?"

Poppy handed it to her. "Have fun playing with it," she said, grinning.

Zoe rolled her eyes and Kenny picked up the rest of the bags. Zoe grabbed onto the back of Kenny's top and she shot up into the air, holding Kenny while she flew.

"What are they?" Heath asked, eyeing the bags.

"Well, my friend," Poppy said, smiling her Chesire grin,"They're the fun drugs."