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"Do you want a hit? You seem a bit… stressed."
Taurtis turned to Grian, who was holding something out to him.
He hesitated to take it. "What is it?"
"It's uh… weed. A pen. Do you know how to use it?" The two were walking, with Sam up ahead of them.
Pete had sent them all out on a patrol. He said to "scout for criminal activity," but Grian could tell he just wanted them to stop bugging him for a few hours.
Sam was further ahead, he complained that Grian and Taurtis walked too slow. Grian had rolled his eyes at that. It wasn't their fault Sam's legs were so long.
"Here uh… Watch me." Taurtis turned to watch Grian.
"You have to inhale twice. Watch." Taurtis watched intently as Grian brought the pen to his lips.
He seemed to suck on it for a moment, before pulling it out of his mouth. He inhaled again, holding it in for a moment, before exhaling. A small cloud of smoke came out of his mouth.
"Here, you try." Grian handed the pen to Taurtis.
Taurtis copied Grian's motions, wincing at the way his throat burned as he coughed out the smoke.
"You'll get used to the burn. Anyways, what's on your mind? You keep looking at Sam with this… sad ass expression. Did something happen?"
Taurtis was grateful his headphones were on, as his ears burned with shame. He didn't think he was that obvious.
"I… uh… It's nothing. Don't worry. Can I have another hit of that?" Taurtis scrambled to grab the pen from Grian, who lifted it above his head.
"Not until you tell me what's going on."
Taurtis sighed. "It's pointless to tell you when you can't possibly come up with a solution."
"Sometimes it helps just to tell someone. And now I'm even more curious, so spill. What's up?"
"I uh…" Taurtis's eyes darted forward again. Sam was out of earshot. "It's Sam."
"What about him?"
"Everything. His smile, his hair, the way he talks, the way he laughs." Taurtis's face grew warm as he spoke.
"Oooh… I get it." Grian passed the pen to Taurtis, who took another hit before speaking.
"Get what?"
"You have a crush on Sam."
Taurtis slapped his hands over Grian's mouth. "Not so loud!"
Rolling his eyes, Grian pulled Taurtis's hand away. "It's not like you're subtle about it."
"Well… Yeah, but he's with Yuki. It doesn't matter how I feel about him. He's spoken for." Taurtis was staring at his feet as he spoke.
"If it helps at all, I don't think their relationship will last much longer." Grian placed a hand on Taurtis's shoulder, patting lightly in an attempt to comfort his friend.
"Why wouldn't it?"
"Have you seen the way they interact? I'd give them two months, maybe three."
"Even if they don't stay together, there's no guarantee Sam would like me back." Taurtis shrugged Grian's hand off.
"He'd be an idiot not to."
"Whatever… It's fine, really. I'm fine."
"If you say so…"
The two were silent for a few minutes, until Taurtis spoke.
"We should go catch up. Sam's gotten really far ahead." Taurtis pointed in the distance. If Sam got too far away, they'd get separated.
"Yeah, you're right. Don't wanna be too far from your prettyboy, huh?"
Grian groaned when he got an elbow to the stomach, doubling over.
"Race you!" He then ran off.
Grian tried to shout back about how that was cheating, but Taurtis was long gone. He rolled his eyes, running to catch up.