Alaska yelled in disbelief as she threw her bottle of empty pills across the room, the bottle hitting the wall loudly. She fell onto her bed, wincing in pain at the feeling of her stitches. They hadn't healed because she'd been going to karate instead of taking it easy like the doctor said for her too. She'd also been doubling up on her pills to get her through her practice without any pain.

"Someone's not happy." a voice heard from her doorway as she gasped and sat up suddenly before sighing in relief when she saw who it was.

"Hey, Drew." she said to one of the younger drug dealers that had got involved recently, she'd met him a few times, "My pain pills are gone and they won't give me any more until another two weeks and with a parents signature."

"They don't know you're taking them?" Drew asked her as Alaska shook her head with a knowing look, "Why not just get your dad to hook you up with some?"

"He'd never give me anything, he always says he doesn't want me going down that path accidentally." Alaska said with a shrug of her shoulders, "Please don't tell him."

"Lips are sealed." he said with a grin her way, pretending to zip his lips, "I think I know something that'll help you with that pain though."

Alaska frowned her eyebrows as Cedric jumped on her bed, looking to the man as he gave her a knowing smirk.

"No, no way." Alaska said as Drew put the small bottle of the tar like liquid infront of her. She'd seen it before, she was comfortable with which drug was which and she knew this one well, "Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs in the world. How'd you even get it? I know my dad doesn't sale it."

"Which is why you only need to take it until you heal completely." Drew said to her knowingly as Alaska gave a questionable look, "You're a smart girl, I trust you."

Alaska was uncertain, but the pain from her stitches was getting worse and worse. With practice in only two hours, it was either this or she couldn't go, which meant she was off the team. Not to mention, despite knowing how addictive it was, she was still young and wasn't completely educated on drugs like that. Not like how the 22 year old infront of her was.

"I'm not going to make you do anything you won't want to." Drew said to her knowingly as Alaska flickered her eyes toward him, "But heroin is the strongest for of morphine, you're not gonna feel any of that painful shit."

Alaska looked to the bottle again, the small syringe laying next to it. He noticed her eyes, grabbing hold of it and pointing to the fifteen, "You only inject fifteen, don't go to twenty or farther, do you understand me?"

Alaska nodded as his serious tone.

"It'll stay in your system for two to five days, never every day, seriously." he stated knowingly to her as Alaska nodded her head again, eyeing the liquid then him again with a clear of her throat.

"How long does it take for it to kick in?" she asked him, rocking on her feet slightly. Alaska's heart was racing, bellybutton acing.

"You'll feel it almost immediately." he said to her as Alaska looked away with a nod, "You gonna tell your dad I gave you this?"

"No, I'd never." she shook her head, pulling her wallet out and handing him some money, "As long as you keep your mouth shut about this at all cost."

He zipped his lips again, "You have my word."

Alaska stood with her shirt off in her room, she stared at the painful stitches on her bellybutton, not being able to move correctly without feeling them suddenly. She eyed the liquid on her bedside table, the clock reading only thirty minutes until practice. The sudden shoot of pain made her whimper, looking to the Tylenol she took a hour ago that didn't do much at all.

"My god." Alaska said, falling onto her bed and holding the syringe in her shaky hand, breathing unevenly as she shook to push the needle into the bottle, pulling on the end as she watched the dreadful and complete ugly color of the drug fill to fifteen.

"It's okay." she pep talked herself softly, "You have to stay on the team, everyone wants you there, everyone wants you there."

Alaska squeeze her arm tightly as the veins popped out a bit, she'd always had good ones and was always told so when she got blood work. Alaska's hand shook slightly as she pierced her skin with the needle, shifting slightly and cringing at the horrible feeling, hitting the vein. Her index finger pushed the end of the syringe slowly, watching as the liquid went from fifteen to ten to five to non.

Alaska breathed out, shutting her eyes for a moment and pulling the needle out slowly. Drew was right, she could feel it almost immediately. It felt different, like her body was hers but wasn't in some way. She felt better, she felt, for once since her stitches, breathable.

She only opened her eyes when her phone went off.

Eli (hawk): Get here, I have to show you something.

Alaska hurried to pull the rest of her karate gi on, hiding the rest of the drugs and syringe in the loose base board in her floor before hurrying off to practice.

"I need somewhere romantic, but not too romantic." Miguel complained, talking about his 'not a date' with Sam. Aisha rolled her eyes at the mention.

"You can take her to get tattoos." Eli suggested with a smirk, looking at the boy with a challenging look.

"Tattoos?" Alaska asked while Aisha laughed at his words, Miguel watched as Eli stood to his feet, turning his back to the trio and shrugging the top part of his uniform off.

"Holy shit!" Alaska yelled as her jaw dropped, staring at the large hawk tattoo that was on Eli's shoulder blades, "Thats the coolest thing i've ever seen."

"That is badass!" Aisha added in as Alaska rose to her feet as he turned back around to look at them, standing behind him as her finger traced the outline of it.

"Right? Fourteen hours in the chair." Eli said as he flexed under Alaska's touch with a "hum!" in the mirror.

"Did it hurt?" she asked, circling his body to sit back down. Her eyes scanned his torso, mouth dropping around at the body he hide under all the sweaters and collared shirts. She thought he was beautiful.

"A little, not too bad." he answered with a wink, pulling the gi back on and tying it around his waist.

"Wait, are you parents okay with that?" Aisha asked him as Miguel laughed at her words.

"Oh, they have no idea. Definitely gonna have to wear a T-shirt until college. Probably longer." Eli said with a flushed face and sudden look of embarrassment. Alaska had to smile at the small sense of familiar she saw in his facial expression, "Please don't tell them."

"Do they cost much?" Alaska asked as he sat back down next to her.

"Not if you know someone, you're lucky I do." he said to her, stretching his legs a bit more, "What are you wanting?"

"My birth flower, my parents would freak if they saw it though." Alaska answered as Miguel rolled his eyes at the pair before him.

"I'll take you." Hawk said to her with a nod of his head, "See, Miguel, tattoos is a great idea."

"Any other suggestions?" Miguel said as he looked to Alaska who's hands flew in the air.

"Don't ask me Miguel, last time I went on a date a huge rumor went around." Alaska said as he blinked at her before Alaska hummed again, "Try the park, a picnic, everyone likes picnics."

"Okay, good idea." Miguel said as he looked to Aisha hopefully, "Would Sam like that?"

"Don't look at me. Sam and I used to be friends. We're not anymore." she said knowingly toward the boy who sighed. Alaska felt her arm become sore from the needle, rubbing it slightly as she reached over herself to get her arms ready.

"Okay, but I need your help." Miguel said quickly. Aisha sighed.

"Fine. Um, I know that she likes chocolate and astronomy." Aisha said as Alaska let out a snort, Miguel looking her way in disbelief.

"Go all willy wonks on her, bet she'd love that." Alaska joked as Miguel gave her a stupid look while Eli couldn't help but chuckle, high fiving the girl next to him.

"Banned? What are you talking about?" Senseis voice suddenly rung from his office as Miguel hurried to run inside, Eli and Alaska shared a look.

"Yeah, go easy on her." Eli warned the tattoo guy who gave him a look of disbelief, "Pay attention to her, make her happy."

Alaska cracked a grin, trying to look at the small tattoo that was being designed on the underside of her arm. Eli looked at her oddly, "Are you laughing?"

"It kinda tickles." she said honestly as the tattoo artist had a judgmental look on his eye as he avoided looking at the pair, "Like when you get flu tested."

Eli grinned at her, watching the ink hit her skin nicely before his eyes fell onto the bandage on the inside of her elbow, "What happened there?"

Alaska went silent for a moment, "Just one of those pimples."

Eli nodded his head, watching her as she leaned her head back on the chair, waiting for the ink to be done. He watched her face, ready to jump the guy for going to quick with the needle. Nothing, she just looked like nothing. He wouldn't admit it but it had hurt a bit when he got his, yet she seemed so calm, no form of pain or wincing going through her eyes any.

"You didn't talk to me much in school today." he said to her with a odd look, Alaska looked his way with a blink, her eyelashes fluttering as she did so, "Why?"

Alaska tried to shrug with her eyes considering her arm was occupied, "Just figured you were busy."

"Busy?" he asked her with a stupid look.

"With all those new people gawking at you, they all looked like chickens that were tired of living on the farm." Alaska said, looking at the flower, which was nearly done, on her arm before at him again.

"It's the hair." he said as she ignored him, "What? Are you jealous?"

"Of what? Your hair?" she asked him with a half grin.

"No, that people were paying attention to me." he said back with a smirk, "Girls."

"No." Alaska said quickly with a eye roll, "You can talk to whoever you want to."

"Yeah but you don't have to ignore me." he argued as Alaska looked at him again with a much more annoyed expression.

"I wasn't ignoring you." she said with a sarcastic smile so he could sense her annoyance and back off.

"Sure felt like it." he went at her again. She hadn't expected it, hadn't expect him to argue. It was selfish of her but she often times like that Eli would keep his mouth shut when she clearly wanted to drop a topic. The sudden wave of confidence was good, but it's nothing she was use to. She's the one that ignored him now until he spoke again, "Want all my sweaters?"

"You're getting rid of your sweaters?" she asked him with wide, some what sad eye.

"Collared shirts too, got all new clothes." Eli said to her with a shrug of his shoulders. Alaska stared as he stood, "I kept the box here, i'll get it for you."

She gave a smile which quickly dropped when he turned his back to her. She didn't mind the hair, nor the tattoo, and definitely not the confidence. But he was different, completely different. Alaska felt like she was missing someone who was just right infront of her, giving her his sweaters he'd wear everyday.

•

kylie speaks

ngl to you..
this chapter made
me feel a little
emotional bc this
is kinda the turning
point.