"Bystander."

His high was wearing off, and he needed some other buzz. He knew he finished the last beer he stole from his roommate, so it was up to him to find something. The distant music from the woods party bumped softly nearby, carrying the sound of teenage alcoholism through the woods. An idea brewed in his mind, and he looked over to his friends.

"Wanna try and steal drinks from that party?"

There was a collective grunt or groan of denial and Oxi grumbled to himself. He stood up, stretching out his back. Leo moved to get up, ready to follow Oxi. Leo did almost everything Oxi did, even the stupid things like going to steal drinks.

"Nah, stay. Gonna smoke,"

he murmured, digging in his pocket for the crumpled bag of cigarettes. Oxi trotted down the bleachers and over to the exit. He flicked his lighter, putting a Marlboro Red to his lips and walking around the chain link fence that surrounded the park. He leaned against it, staring vaguely into the dark woods. He played with the chain on his belt, staring at the black nothingness. Nothing happened until he reached the middle of his cigarette, when he saw a form emerge from the woods. He almost bolted, thinking it could be some wild animal...but it was just some drunk person. Same thing, really.

*He chuckled to himself as he watched them stumble, eyes narrowing in the dark trying to see who it was. The dim lights from the skatepark barely carved them out, before he recognized the face. *

You, one of the popular kids. No doubt stumbling away from that party.

You stumbled towards him in drunken haze and he wrapped an arm round your waist to stabilise you as you nearly faceplanted. You made a frown and crouched forwards like you were about to puke and he pulled away with muttered denials as he pointed to a nearby bin.

"Go puke over there, not on me."