Rory isn't sure what total
relaxation feels like for everyone else, but for him, it's lying on
his couch with the window open while watching cars drive past,
breathing in--and out-- the strongest Mary Jane he's had since
his (first)high school days.
Occasionally, he sings along
with Robert Plant to the lyrics of Kashmir. He has the vinyl
spinning, Jimmy Page's guitar skills taking him to places he's
never been before. He's lying back, his sock covered feet hanging
over the arm of the couch. There's a bag of Cheese Puffs and some
spray cheese(just in case), a canister of Pringles, and a can of
pineapples on the table a few inches away from him in case he gets
the munchies, and he will.
He always does.
Jezebel is
about two feet away from him, staring down at him with those pretty
eyes. There's an expression on her face, a mixture of annoyance and
curiosity. Rory knows she has something to say and he figures he
might as well get it out of her before his high kicks in.
There
are few things worse than ruining a perfectly good high.
Rory
clutches the unlit tip of the joint with his thumb and index finger
and takes a couple of quick puffs. He inhales, experienced enough to
not choke when he swallows down the smoke and exhales it back out
through his nose.
"Something on your mind, Belle?" It's
a stupid question. Something's always on Jezebel's mind.
"Is
this what you plan to do tonight?" Jezebel asks. She's not
unfamiliar with the fact that Rory smokes this stuff from time to
time. Rory has told her stories about how he, Ira, and Aleck would
all gather at Aleck's house, surrounded by a table full of food and
drinks with a bag of marijuana as the table's centerpiece. But
still, Jezebel has never actually seen Rory smoking.
At
least, not until now.
"Chill out, Belle," Rory mutters.
He shifts his body, swinging his legs off the arm of the sofa and
back in front of him. Patting the space next to him, he nods his head
to the side, motioning for Jezebel to join him. "Come here a
second."
Jezebel looks skeptical, but her curiosity gets the
best of her and she's sitting down next to Rory in a matter of
seconds. She stares at Rory, eyes narrowed as she watches smoke
slowly seep from Rory's mouth, like a cloud drifting through the
sky.
Rory can't help but smile at Jezebel. She looks
unbelievable, young and naive watching Rory like he's a creature
from another world. The irony doesn't escape him. "You wanna'
try?"
"What are the health risks?" Jezebel asks, which
earns him a snort.
"Look, don't worry about that. They're
aren't many." Rory extends his hand, offering the joint to
Jezebel who reaches out to take it with her middle and index fingers
spread into a 'V.' Rory laughs and shakes his head. "This isn't
a cigarette, Belle. You don't hold it like that."
"I
can hold it any way I want," Jezebel replies, but she still glances
at Rory's fingers and adjusts her own accordingly.
"Okay,
now all do is take a small puff and--"
"I'm not a
child, Rory." Jezebel rolls her eyes and brings the joint up to her
perfect lips. "I had a rebellious stage. I've smoked a few
cigarettes. This can't be much different."
Rory raises
both of his hands, palms up and flat, facing Jezebel as if in a sign
of peace. "All right, all right. Sorry if I offended you." He
smirks.
Jezebel rolls her eyes and takes a single puff. She
sucks the smoke into her mouth, holds it for about a second, and
blows it back out. "I don't see the appeal."
Rory
laughs. "You didn't even inhale! You have to breathe it in.
You'll never feel an effect that way. You'd have a better chance
catching a contact high."
With intense narrowed eyes,
Jezebel takes another puff, the second much longer the first. She
sucks the smoke into her mouth and attempts to somehow force it into
her lungs, which only ends up making her cough, a lot.
Rory
seems amused by this, amber eyes, glistening and slightly glazed over
as he watches his Beauty try to catch her breath. He takes pity on
his poor girlfriend and pats her on the back, smirking the entire
time. "Nothing like those cigarettes, huh, Belle?"
"S-Shut
up," Jezebel says between coughs, pausing to wipe at her watery
eyes. She wants to try again, but she has no desire to have another
coughing fit.
"You'll get the hang of it," Rory says.
He nudges Jezebel with his elbow after he felt he'd waited long
enough "You're supposed to pass it back to me, babe."
Determined to smoke without
coughing, Jezebel brings it up to her lips once more. "I want to
try again."
"Nah, can't mess up the rotation,
Belle."
"What rotation? It's only two of us."
"That's
still a rotation. I go, then you go. I go, then you go." He waves
his hands in front of Jezebel's face. "It's common
courtesy."
"Just let me try one more time," Jezebel says
quickly before sliding the unlit tip of the joint between her lips
again. She takes another puff, slower than the first and then
immediately pulls it away and hands it to Rory. She breathes in
slowly, only lasting half a second before the coughing starts again.
Rory rolls his eyes and takes a puff of his own even while
patting Jezebel's back. "Hey look," he says, blowing smoke at
Jezebel while Jezebel swallows down a few gulps of stale air. "I
got an idea."
And so Rory tugs onto Jezebel's arm until
she is crawling on top of him and straddling his lap. He takes a
drag, breathing in deep for a second before slowly releasing it, the
smoke leaving his mouth and fanning directly over both Jezebel's
nose and mouth. "Deep breaths," he whispers and smiles when
Jezebel inhales and doesn't cough.
Rory takes another drag,
but this time, he pulls Jezebel even closer, pressing their mouths
together. He taps at the corner of Jezebel's lips with his finger
as a silent way of telling Jezebel to open her mouth. When Jezebel
does, Rory blows smoke into it and then reaches up to cover Jezebel's
mouth with his hand.
Jezebel is amazed when the smoke in her
mouth escapes through his nose without her coughing. She stares down
at Rory with wide eyes before snickering and leaning her head against
Rory's shoulder.
They sit that way for a few minutes,
Jezebel resting her head against Rory's shoulder and Rory taking
puffs from the joint, whose length is rapidly declining.
"When
does it start working?" Jezebel asks.
"Why?" Rory
replies. "You don't feel anything?"
Jezebel shakes her
head before laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"I
was thinking about marshmallows."
Rory frowns.
"Marshmallows? What about them?"
"Nothing. I was just
thinking about them."
Rory chuckles and runs his free hand
through Jezebel's hair. "I'd say it's working now."
"Mm,
good," Jezebel says. Her breath tickles Rory's neck when she
speaks. "But I'm hungry."
Yeah, definitely working.
"Plenty of food right behind you. You want chips?"
Jezebel
shakes his head. "No." She pulls away from Rory's neck and
stares at the older demon, eyes locked with one another. There's a
look on her face, one of amazement , as if she's solved the world's
hardest riddle or came up with the cure for cancer. "Rory,"
she begins, eyes wide. "Let's make pancakes."
And all
Rory can do is look at Jezebel and nod his head because that is a
fucking fantastic idea.
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