AN:

A series of small ficlet things I did in the alternate universe that Gon somehow ends up falling into clutches of the drug world; because his insatiable curiosity was bound to lead him astray at some point. It's not going to be long, but I'm not sure yet if ya'll gonna get a good or a bad ending so I guess we'll just see. Let me know what yah think. I'm open to opinions, cause this things pretty messy.

This is based around the use of Crystal Meth and the song 'Just To Get High' by Nickelback. I'm following the lyrics pretty much.

And, also, what happens to just about everybody who falls into drug abuse. Please, people, don't do drugs. It's just not worth it.

Enjoy.

X x X

He was my best friend.

It all started with a whiff.

They had been passing by some random strangers smoking the sweet, alluring stuff in Yorknew City on their way to the hotel from another unsuccessful day at the bizarre when Gon paused just to inhale the heavenly scent. Even Killua had to admit whatever they were smoking had a pleasant aroma, reminding him of the smell of their indoor pool when the butlers had just finished cleaning it up. There was a faint hint of bleach in the air, but also a salty and sweet tang mixed in.

It sent unexplained shivers up even the ex-assassin's spine.

"What is that smell?" Gon asked aloud, curious to a fault. His amber eyes were glancing side to side as if to pinpoint the direction in which the scent had come from with that uncanny canine nose of his. Once he tracked it down, he immediately ran over to the pack of five laughing and punching each others shoulders all in good nature, smoke emptying fresh from their mouths and fouling the air with its taint.

"Gon, hey, wait-" Killua tried to stop him, tried to reach for his friend's hand, but Gon was already over with the small gang, laughing it up like he always did. The guy could make friends with anyone; from the critically insane to the downright dreary; all hopeless fools. Hell, he'd convince a turtle or a slug to be his friend; he was just too good.

Killua wasn't entirely sure what kept him rooted in spot and not rushing like he always did to his friend; to be at his side and defend him, but there was cement in his shoes and rocks in his chest as he watched as Gon place that tiny cigarette bud to his lips and take the first puff. He watched; as if in slow motion, the strobe lights of the nearby club dancing across his best friend's face; illuminating it in all sorts of vibrant colors and hues as Gon's eyes lit up in the same manor. There was fire in those golden irises now, but not the kind of fire Killua was familiar with.

He had seen it before; determination, confidence, pride. Gon Freecs wore it like a badge of honor, radiated as bright as the sun.

But this was nothing like that at all.

It was dark; lids hooded by some strange, alien thing Killua couldn't quite read or understand. Gon's eyes drooped, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. It was so unlike him, so un-Gon that it sent a pain of hurt and guilt through Killua's chest. Gon swayed in his spot a moment, a plume of fog flitting from his widened nostrils, inhaling the fumes, and then Gon was laughing; endlessly, alongside the other teenagers around him who seemed just as amused. They all smacked their hands on Gon's scrawny back, making him stumble forward, but the bronzed-skinned teenager hardly noticed and resumed puffing out repeatedly from the bud perched precariously on his mouth now.

Over. And over.

Killua's heart was pounding hard on his rib cage, harder then the thrum of the pulse-hitting music booming from the closest building. Neon florescent lights had stars fluttering across his vision, spiraling and spinning, but they were nothing like the way Gon was pirouetting in front of him; all grins and giggles alongside five other strange, masked faces moving around him, all in one incomprehensible blur. This wasn't the show Killua was expecting, wasn't anticipating to find here in Yorknew. They were supposed to be seeking out methods to earn money and pay Gon's way to getting Greed Island. Follow the clues that led him to finding his father, Ging.

How had drugs slipped their way in there, Killua did not know. But it hurt. Inexplicably hurt.

"Gon." Killua whispered, name dying off the edge of his tongue and never quite making it to the air. He stood, ramrod straight and stiff as a board, helpless, as he watched Gon take that first sip of Crystal Meth into his body, breathed it in. Let it mesh one with his veins, into his very core. Fuse with his soul.

Became it, even.

The light in Gon Freecs that Killua swore he couldn't bare to stare too long less he be blinded and unworthy to its shine, died out in that moment, faded into brittle, broken pitch blackness.

And he knew then that things would never be the same way again.