Cocaine Heart (Bodie Hart)

[Otto Elias (DELETED 8999)]

Otto Elias had that sort of soft, innocent look to him at first glance - if that first glance was the only glance tossed his way and a quick one, at that. When he was much younger, nothing more than another student going to school because he had to, that soft and innocent aura radiated off him like sunlight. It was blinding, almost, making him a clear target for harsh comments and even harsher physical encounters. As time went on, the boy got more and more fed up with being pushed against the lockers every day after fifth period and having to eat lunch alone in the furthest stall of the bathroom, so he found a crowd that took him in if he got their business done. People in that crowd taught him how to hold his own and be successful, and from there on out, the softness and innocence that was once Otto Elias faded away.

Despite everything he had learned from over the years, from trial and error and the rare sharing of advice, Otto wasn’t sure how to handle himself in such a situation that he was in now. The retching made his eyes burn with fresh tears, and his body felt incredibly, incredibly weak. Putting his hands on his thighs as he leaned forward, Otto shut his eyes and shook his head in hopes to clear it. Pineapple on pizza was definitely a bad idea.

“No,” the ghost of his mother said. “Eating a whole pizza like that was a bad idea, honey.”

Otto opened his mouth to bark out a sarcastic reply but a hand was curling around his arm and tugging him along. Almost as if he had forgotten, Otto looked around at his surroundings. Dark alleyway, that girl he did business with, that other girl he met that one time before and didn’t really know. Oh, right. He was supposed to be running, getting the **** out of there. The male picked up his pace to a light jog as he moved beside Bodie, knowing that going any faster would make his head spin wildly. When the two of them were out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk of the main road, Otto skidded to a stop and yanked his arm out of Bodie’s grip.

“I had that,” he told her, pushing shaking fingers through his hair. “I didn’t need your help.”

[Bodie Hart (DELETED 9028)]

Gratitude clearly wasn't the kid's gig. He was more about a bad attitude and poor decisions, not like she could judge; Bodie was the queen of living life in the messiest way possible. She'd had him firmly in hand, but the boy was slippery as an eel, easily tugging free of her grip to leave her hand grasping empty air. "Seriously? Nah, what you had was puke and a pounding on the way. You had **** all... What was your name, anyway? Toto or something?" She blinked at him, baby blues narrowed in uncertainty. She didn't know his deal, and didn't really remember his name though she was convinced he gave it when they'd met briefly, taking the bundle of blankets to get her things clean and hot cup of coffee. Bo hadn't stuck around, just done her good deed and bailed before she had to take any more responsibility than she'd already committed to.

Responsibility was one of her least favourite words.

All she had wanted was to run, to make use of her borrowed abilities and enjoy a carefree night. Now the kid was getting snotty because she hadn't abandoned him to his ******** situation. "Look. I'm sure you're normally a real big bad ***, but right now you look like you need a coffee and some puke free threads. You're kind of gross." It wasn't intended as an insult, Bo gesturing at his clothing, nose wrinkling at the offensive smells that were less obvious in the more open air of the street.