Don't do drugs, kids.

After my last fic, I wanted to focus on something happier. Something like a hero's journey, but with more friendship and recreational drug use.

This takes place in an AU where Mario Party 4 is an N64 game. I didn't do enough research on this one. Oops.

If you have any suggestions, critiques, comments, or questions, don't be afraid to share.

Summary: Jeremy finally takes Michael up on his offer to get stoned in his basement. With a bad case of the munchies, no parental supervision, and the power of friendship, who knows what could happen?

"Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing gonna be all right."

The pill-shaped speaker cheerily blasts the tune, sitting on a worn-out wooden coffee table in Michael's basement. A few feet away, two teenage boys sit on the carpeted floor, huddled around a thin glass object being held in the shorter boy's right hand. One of the boys, brazenly wearing worry on his face, sits cross-legged with both of his hands clenched firmly on his knees. He takes a moment to tug on each of the sleeves of his blue jacket before returning his hands back to their original position. His friend, on the other hand, seems much more relaxed. He almost teasingly waves the object in front of the taller boy's face, then sets it down and reclines on a stack of pillows behind him. After a few more moments, he slips his hand into the pocket of his red sweatshirt and pulls out a small plastic bag half-full of a shredded green substance. He sets the bag down on the floor in front of him and looks up at his friend, shooting him a wild grin. The other boy stares down at the bag, a mix of nervousness and determination on his face.

"Y- um- you said your parents wouldn't be home for how long?" He fidgets with his sleeves again, staring down at the floor.

"Don't even worry about it, Jeremy! They shouldn't be home for another two days at the very least, so there's no need to freak out about it. Not that you'll be worried for much longer, anyways." He giggles and lightly elbows Jeremy in the arm.

"And you're sure nobody will find out about this? It's kind of- you know- illegal." The taller teen glances up at his friend. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea, after all. We could forget about this whole thing and play Bomberman sober. Or Ocarina of Time- I brought my Nintendo 64 in my backpack."

"I've never been caught before. Honestly, nobody will even be able to see us down here. Look- you don't have to do anything you don't want to, but I can promise that everything will be much less stressful after one puff." He shuffles over to Jeremy's backpack and pulls out the Nintendo 64, along with a few classic multiplayer games. "Hey, I'll even let you take the first hit if you'd like. It's your first time, you should be excited! And like Marley always said," He belts along with the song, "every little thing gonna be alright!"

Jeremy pauses for a moment to think. He has been waiting for a chance to experiment since he started high school, and with Michael by his side, it would be much safer than if he was on his own, or with strangers… Not to mention, they probably won't be able to find another night within the next millennium where both of Michael's parents are out of the house.

But it would be illegal. Highly illegal. If anyone saw him, and his father found out, he wouldn't be allowed to see Michael again. While his father doesn't have enough dignity to wear pants 90% of the time, he's still authoritarian enough that he refuses to let Jeremy hang out with girls, drug-users, and the like. He can only imagine how absolutely enraged his old man would be if he saw Jeremy lighting up as early as his sophomore year in high school. Now that he thinks about it, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. Ever since the divorce, his dad hasn't exactly been… present. Not completely. Sure, he's home often, and Jeremy gets to see him daily, but he acts like a completely different person. He sleeps in until noon whenever he's able, he never leaves the house when he doesn't have to, and he refuses to do things as simple as wearing pants unless Jeremy scolds him. Maybe an act of rebellion would wake Jeremy's father up, on the off chance he found out about this.

"Hit me with your best shot, Michael."

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Michael slams the glass object, a simple, red-tinted bong, onto the carpet in front of him. He's as excited as a preteen at a One Direction concert. "I saved my best shit for an occasion like tonight. You're not gonna believe how this feels. I- I'm going to go get some ice." He stands up and rushes up the stairs towards his kitchen.

Jeremy trails behind, a bit confused. Having never smoked before, he has no idea why Michael would need ice- unless, of course, he's planning on burning himself? Maybe the smoking would make his lips hot? But at the parties he had been to in the past, none of the stoners had used ice. Were they used to it? Shit, he needs a manual. Is there a Wiki-How article for this sort of thing? Jeremy pulls out his phone and begins to look it up, but the internet is loading far too slowly for his liking.

Michael quickly fills a Ziploc bag with ice cubes from his freezer, and then turns back to Jeremy. "You can choose a game tonight, just as long as it isn't one of those movie-turned-game adaptations."

"The Spongebob movie game is perfectly va-" Jeremy begins, but he's quickly cut off by Michael.

"Don't lie to yourself."

"You're just a bubble-blowing double baby." Upon hearing this, Michael bursts into laughter. He retaliates. "You're such a goober, Jer."

"A goofy goober, Michael. That's the most important part."

"Shit, how could I have forgotten all my training? I'm a disgrace!" He throws an upturned palm against his forehead, feigning despair. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive my most grievous offense."

Jeremy laughs with him, giving him a friendly shove. "Save the dramatics for after I kick your ass at Mario Party."

"You want to play three or four?"

"You already know the answer."

"Damn it." Michael heads back downstairs, his ice bag clutched under one arm. "You know I suck at the minigames! But with my lucky rolls, we'd make the perfect team." He makes puppy-dog eyes at Jeremy, nearly tripping down the basement stairs in the process.

Jeremy can't contain his laughter. "Don't hurt yourself! I'll set us up on a team while you do, um, whatever you need to do." Michael heads over to the bong and slips a few ice cubes down the neck while Jeremy turns his attention to the TV. He grabs the chosen game from his pile of cartridges that Michael had haphazardly tossed on the floor. Jeremy spends a couple of minutes carefully plugging in the audio and video cords to the television. Is the order red, white, yellow, or white, yellow, red? He always tried to associate the plugs with colors of condiments, so he would remember where to place them. Red is ketchup, yellow is mustard, and white is mayo. He always hated mayo, so that must go on the left. Ketchup was his second favorite, so that followed, and he always had a taste for mustard, so that goes on the right. After this, he plugs the power cord into the wall and the controllers to the N64. He slams Mario Party 4 into the game slot and flips the system on.

Static.

With a sigh, he leans over the N64. This happens so often, he's not sure the system will survive much longer. Jeremy removes the cartridge from the slot, uses two fingers to pry open the plastic flaps, and he blows into the game slot with all of his might. The teen then replaces the game and flips the system back on. A red Nintendo logo against a white background fills the screen. Perfect.

By the time Jeremy finishes setting everything up, Michael has already finished preparing the bong for use.

"You ready to take your first-ever hit?" Michael extends his arm, holding the bong out to Jeremy like a Mormon missionary holding the Bible out to a confused homeowner.

Jeremy, with a glimmer of determination in his eyes, grasps the glass neck as if it's the Holy Grail. He triumphantly clasps a second hand around the neck as Michael holds his now-lit lighter over the small bowl of Mary Jane sticking out of the side of the object. With a smirk, a deep breath, and a rush of adrenaline, Jeremy raises the bong to his lips… and proceeds to take a huge swig of the bong water.