[Aethi]

Chapter 5

Kyle blinked. Weed?! “Wait… what?” he asked stupidly. “What do you mean…?” It couldn’t be possible that his friends were potheads. It was just impossible. Truly, and completely, impossible. But, also, entirely true.

Felix grinned. “Still haven’t told him, huh?” he asked, an almost condescending tone hinting within the deepest layers of his cool voice. He was someone that couldn’t be trusted, in Kyle’s mind. Dirty hair, bit taller than average, brown eyes, pale skin, and very muscled. He was dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt and ripped up jeans, and held the small bag of cannabis.

Jonathon looked at Kyle sheepishly and said, “We meant to tell you, it’s just… I didn’t know how to.” His blue eyes twinkled and his innocent grin was impossible to resist. He wasn’t necessarily “cute”, but he had an effect over Kyle. “Sorry.” But after that, he said, “I’ve got some rolling paper up in my room.”

Felix nodded and the set the cannabis onto the counter. He kicked off his shoes and rushed upstairs. After about a minute, he was coming back downstairs, rolling paper in hand, as well as a lighter. Kyle took a breath, trying to calm himself. It was impossible, but he had to try. Felix smiled at Jonathon and gave him the materials, and then grinned at Kyle.

He rolled up a bit of the cannabis, placing a filter at the breathing portion of the joint. It worked quickly but carefully, not letting any of it fall out of place. As soon as he finished, he lit it and took a breath of it. He offered one to Felix and the other to Anthony, lighting the unlit one. They both accepted, took it, and pass it along.

Eventually it came to Kyle, who stared at it as if it were an alien. “Go ahead, take it,” Jonathon said. “It’ll be nice. Just once, c’mon. Please?” Kyle couldn’t help but look at him, and his irresistible face was on him. He sighed and took it, quickly breathing in. It was a strange feeling for him.

He coughed, and most of smoked was spread into the air. Jonathon grinned and said, “Try again, but this time suck it in. Breathe in deeply; don’t be afraid.” Kyle did as instructed, and he breathed it in. He sucked in deeply, trying to get the wisps into his lungs. And so he did.

The feeling was almost instantaneous, but it was a nice feeling. It was unexpected, but soothing. He passed it to Jonathon who smiled. “Like it?” he asked happily. His voice was almost enhanced, but not really. It was impossible to describe, but nevertheless interesting and new. “’Cause we have a lot more.”

It was passed around again, and then it came to Kyle again. He took a big breath of it, and the effects were even stronger. Kyle sat on a stool, the effects strange. It wasn’t something huge, but it was something different. Like his mind was slowing down, so it could stretch out into a thousand different trains of thoughts, but he could follow each one easily. It was as if his creativity was increased ten-fold, and his fears abolished.

That continued until the joint was gone, and Kyle had about two hits after the first two. He was relaxed, peaceful, and had a stupid grin on his face. Jonathon said, “C’mon. I’m gonna turn on some music.” He rushed downstairs, and everyone sluggishly followed. The music was turned on quickly, and it was loud. Kyle smiled to himself, as the music had a slightly different feel to it than he was used to. It was as if it had another layer, and that layer could only be heard if you were high.

“Damn,” someone said, but Kyle wasn’t entirely sure who. “Kyle looks really stoned.” The man who spoke laughed and punched Kyle, who flinched and turned around. He stared at a very interesting and different version of Felix. “You okay, man?”

Kyle grinned and nodded, though his fears apparently hadn’t subsided. He was just able to ignore them sometimes. He felt as if Felix was going to grab him, shake him, or doing something bad to him. Still, he was quickly relaxing after that brief anxiety. This was even better than the Ativan, or even the therapist. Nothing could beat this.

He lay down on the couch, letting the strange sensations roll through his body.