[maidstone] past the joint of no return | killian

(cw: drug use)

April 2004
11:30 PM

Jari had progressed far past the point of not remembering entirely how he got onto the lawn and came to have someone else’s jacket on, and he was nearing the end of forgetting how he had arrived at the party entirely. Some hours ago, his cousin Freya had dropped him off. She had given him a few sickles, even though Jari had told her he was all set and then she wished him luck, but it wasn’t until he walked through the door of the old house that Jari understood what she was talking about. Fifth-year had been complex so far, studying for owls, navigating the social hierarchy, and generally not getting eaten by the giant squid, but Jari was used to Hogwarts making things challenging. So long as the school did not try to swallow them whole again (or aliens, the Hufflepuff was still convinced that extra-terrestrial advanced lifeforms had been responsible for the dome), he thought he could handle it.

Oh, Jari was wrong.

And he could use all the luck he could get. As soon as he’d stepped foot into the house, he’d been accosted by students he recognized from the halls but had never met. No one told him there would be Upperclassmen at this party!? Music pumped through speakers he was sure were run on nothing but magic and the sheer will of some self-appointed teenage DJ. And a couple was snogging in the corner, scratch that, in every corner. What was this? Jari was not prepared, and he spent the first half an hour trying not to look as out of place as he felt. The teenager was social, he had an easy time connecting with others, but this was such an unfamiliar situation he felt a bit lost. And perhaps someone noticed because at some point, a nice girl with brown eyes had asked him if he wanted to try something new, and Jari had agreed.

He had read all the pamphlets, and his mum had talked to him about drugs, but in that moment, everything he knew went out the window and the joint fell into his hand. He’d nearly knocked the hot off the end by accident, and his first puff had been a glorious disaster, but by turn three (and a ridiculous bout of coughing), he was starting to feel it.

And the rest of the night was a blur. That girl eventually faded into the crowd, but as one disappeared, another student appeared, and suddenly Jari was judging the time based on who was still sitting in the somewhat damp grass. It was April, so maybe it was dew, or maybe he just felt so tingly that his slacks felt cold underneath him. Students came and went; Jae had been here a few moments ago, but Jari forgot that he'd wondered why the other Hufflepuff left about two seconds after it happened. Jari was one thousand percent stuck to the ground. Even the thought of trying to get up (which would first include a bit of rolling around) sounded altogether like too much work. And eventually, a familiar and friendly face joined him on the lawn.

Jari sat up a little straighter, made his voice a little deeper, and spoke, “Hello Prefect Buckley,” He said, welcoming the newest addition to the foggy little circle.

@Killian Buckley

After emerging from his diversion with Mavis, Killian had spent some time trying to gauge how sloshed he was. It seemed to be very. He hadn't thrown up, like he had seen Ingvar Trickett do trying to keep up with Alvar, but it had seemed awfully hot in the house. Killian had slipped outside, sat on the front step and breathed the cool air until he felt better, felt antsy, and went for a walkabout. He approached a fun circle out on the lawn – he couldn't see who anyone was at first, though soon enough there was Jae Kim, storming off. Killian attempted to give him a wave, which failed miserably. Killian sighed and ambled down to the circle. Some more people he wasn't too familiar with, but there was a familiar face.

Hello, Prefect Buckley. "Hullo, Prefect Trickett," Killian said, a grin forming on his face.

His shoelaces were undone – he must have forgotten to tie them back into place when he and Mavis emerged from he upstairs bedroom. Killian kneeled down, tied them, then decided that the ground was lovely. "Wet, innit?" he asked, imitating Mavis' older brother for no discernible reason. Didn't stop him, though. Killian shoved his jacket under his butt and decided that was a good enough barrier between him and the damp grass.

"Enjoying the party?" Killian asked Jari, looking at him through his own drunken vision best he could. Jari seemed ... out of it, but Killian certainly felt out of it, so that wasn't anything. "What's that you lot are passing around, then?" He pointed at the white cigarette thingy, passing from hand to hand. It was almost Jari's turn, it seemed.

Killian sat down beside him, and Jari blinked more times than was needed. Before Killian had joined them, Jari had felt like the empty space next to him was pulling him in. And now that Killian was there, it was as if Jari's gravity was back in order, and he could lean away. The Hufflepuff still felt like he was swaying, but not as much like he'd fall over if he weren't careful. It was such a strange feeling, and Jari found himself forgetting about it and then remembering over and over.

One moment the fact that he was high was the Most Interesting Thing Ever. He felt like he was contemplating it from every angle, wondering what his face looked like, curious to know if he sounded different. Then the next second, he was distracted by a rogue blade of grass tickling his ankle between where his sock ended and his trousers started. It was chaos. Killian was a new distraction, and Jari smiled as he shrugged. "You get used to it," He replied; his pants were almost definitely wet from the grass, but even if he were concerned by it, he'd forget in a moment or two. It was a nice feeling, being able to let thoughts slip away, Jari felt carefree, and he loved it.

"Enjoying the party?" Killian had asked, and Jari thought he had answered as the joint moved to the person on his other side. After another pause, Jari realized he hadn't said anything out loud. "Mmhmm," He offered Killian, a lazy smile on his face, and then realized he was not at all equipped to answer the Gryffindor's next question. "It's good," Jari said instead, reaching for the joint as it made its way back to him. He was getting better at it; he'd managed to hold the smoke in longer this time before the coughing started. Jari tried to keep the coughs in, pressing his lips together and turning toward Killian. "You want to try?"

Unfortunately, an in-depth explanation about precisely what they were doing was so far out of the realm of things Jari was capable of doing right now, so he waited and hoped someone else would help out. One of the other teenagers sitting in the wet grass, hopefully, someone who'd done this more than one time, someone who could answer the question without giggling for no reason.

Jari leaned away from him as he sat down. Did Killian have cooties? Or something? Ki shook his head -- if he remembered to be offended in the morning, he would ask then.

And Jari might not even remember -- his eyes were bloodshot, his voice light and unfocused, his attention laser-focused on the space between his trousers and his socks. Huh. "Suppose you would," Killian agreed. The bottom of his trousers were damp, but his posterior wasn't, and that seemed like a victory tonight.

Jari seemed to not hear his question. His response came after the little cigarette thingy made it to his hand, which Killian found moderately concerning. He watched the technique with interest -- the little lit edge glowed red as Jari sucked in, and his cheeks puffed out like he was trying to hold his breath before exhaling the smoke. There were a few jolts of his chest -- poorly suppressed coughs, no doubt.

"Pot," someone said across the circle in response to Killian's question, and Killian's eyes went wide. "Oh," he said, a million don't do drugs ads running through his head on double speed. Cannabis. Cool! Definitely not stressful to be doing that as a prefect. Did Jari know what he was smoking?

You want to try? Killian eyed the joint suspiciously. "Maybe later," he said, taking the joint gingerly from Jari and passing it to the next person. It was probably bad enough he was drinking -- what if McGonagall found out? Maybe Killian wasn't ready for weed. Still, he was curious. "What's it feel like?" he asked,

Pot, even the word, made Jari feel kind of cool for being involved. Sure, he’d read the pamphlets, and his parents had told him not to do drugs, but his cousins whispered about weed at family parties, and Jari had always thought they were fantastic, so why not him? Why not now? Jari had always been excited to try new things and have new adventures, so this was just an extension of that. And he was way too far gone now to worry about tomorrow, getting caught, or doing something embarrassing.

“Feels like…” Jari took longer than he meant to think about how best to describe the way he was feeling. It was a good feeling, he knew that, but putting together the intricate details seemed just out of reach. “Good?” He offered, shrugging his shoulders and giggling a little. “Kind of like when your about to fall asleep, you know, like that tingly feeling? But all over.” Jari ran one hand up to his arm from wrist to elbow, demonstrating the pins and needles feeling and felt the goosebumps forming under his sleeves. “Eh, cept my throat is kind of dry, suppose that’s not the best,” Jari was never the sort to complain, so he shrugged again.

“Also…. It kinda feels like I could do anything, you know?” There was a sense of weightlessness and possibilities that filled Jari up. He felt happy, excited, and like now would be the very best time to try out a new hobby. Learn a language, study for his OWLs, find a ghost, and have a conversation; the sorts of things he’d always wanted to do but never quite found the time. Jari felt like he had all the time in the world to do those things now, and maybe he’d do one of them if he ever managed to get up from the grass.