Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 96: Cooking.

WARNING: This is a work of fiction. Drug use, including alcohol and other substances, can have serious and harmful consequences in real life. The dangers are real—never glamorize or normalize these behaviors.

"Are you ready?" Hector asked James as he opened a small packet containing a white powder.

It was two days after the funeral, and the house was quieter than ever before. James had sent his mother, Charlotte, and Bella away with a handful of guards to have fun and not dwell on Rafael and their grief.

Now, he sat in the living room with Hector, who had brought some magic with him, along with whiskey, to have fun just like in the old days.

But one thing was clear, if they were going to have fun, something ridiculous was bound to happen.

"Isn't that too much?" James asked, stressing over the situation. He had never done any drugs in his life, except for cigarettes and alcohol, and this was something entirely different.

"Not really. It's only a gram." Hector said as he prepared a line on the table.

"You're kinda good at that."

"I mean, I was around people who sniffed it like it was nothing. You know, I learned." He carefully made the line. "Now just sniff it."

James eyed it for a little longer, unsure whether to go through with it or not.

"How addictive is it?" He asked, still hesitant.

Hector laughed. "Don't worry, one sniff won't do anything crazy... at least, I hope so." He chuckled, but James only looked more stressed. "I'm here, don't worry. I'll do it with you, okay?" Hector made another line for himself and leaned down to do it.

"Wait, wait. What do I need to know before we actually do this?"

"Well, it's different for everyone. Some people hallucinate, others just get an energy boost and go at it all night. But since it's your first time, I think nothing big is going to happen. And if you feel bad, that's why I brought the whiskey, because it's like an antidote for it, it'll help you feel better." He smiled. "Just don't stress. You didn't take your meds, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's do it. Nothing wrong could happen. Come on."

Hector knelt down before the table and leaned over it.

James did the same, slowly kneeling down. The two of them sniffed it up.

And oh boy, what a journey lay ahead of them.

Not just because of the white magic, but because Hector had also brought a green weed joint with him, to make the trip even better, as he had heard.

James's first reaction was to start coughing as the powder went up his nostrils. Then came the burning sensation in his nose... and then, nothing happened.

He kept sniffing, feeling the tickling in his nose, while Hector poured them both a shot of whiskey.

"Let's drink this, and then we'll light this up." He said, holding out the joint.

"What?"

"Yeah, we're smoking too. They say it does a wonderful mind-changing thing." He smiled, handing James a shot.

"How long does it take to hit?" James asked, starting to stress out even more. One dangerous drug wasn't enough, now there were two, plus whiskey.

"About five minutes. The joint takes five too, I think. But let's drink first." Hector held out his glass toward James.

He picked it, and they clinked their glasses before drinking it.

As soon as it went down, Hector was already lighting up the joint. He took a deep drag. "The thing is... you need to... let it sit in your lungs..." He said before exhaling and passing it to James.

This shit is going to mess us up on a whole other level...

But he took the drag anyway, holding it in like a real smoker.

The feeling, well, it was nothing like a simple cigarette. The taste was different, something he couldn't quite describe. It wasn't irritating, nor did it have a particularly good flavor.

He held it down, watching Hector, who was already pouring another shot of whiskey.

"Wow, you're actually good. I thought you were gonna cough." He laughed as he grabbed the joint for James. "Let's drink up!"

They cheered again, and went down another shot.

But something was up.

James glanced at his watch, and more than ten minutes had passed, and still, nothing had happened. At least, not drug-wise. The whiskey, however, was starting to kick in.

"Do you feel anything?" He asked as he stared at Hector, who was just gazing up at the ceiling.

"Not really. It's kinda strange." He replied.

"Are you sure these three things didn't, like, cancel each other out? Alcohol, white magic, and green weed?"

Hector thought about it as he poured another shot. "No... I mean, I don't fucking know. I can feel the alcohol, but not the other two... but let's just drink until something happens." He said, holding the glass out.

James took it from him, drinking it again.

"Let's talk about something." Hector said. "Should we play the question game?"

"Question game?"

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"Yeah, there is an app that asks us questions, and we need to answer them. It's more like a game to get to know each other more." He opened the app on his phone and put it down on the table. "Names, Hector and James, it should be this option." He clicked on Best Friend Questions. "First one is a question to you…are you a virgin?"

James laughed, shaking his head. "Fuck, is this for teenagers?"

"It's just to get to know each other better." Hector laughed too.

"Yes, I am a virgin."

Hector froze. "What? You have Bella, and you're a virgin? No action, nothing?"

"No, no action. But shit, I have my right hand." .

"True." Hector chuckled and clicked on the next question. "It's for you again. 'Have you ever had a moment where you truly feared for your life?'"

James thought about it, the easiest answer was the shootout, but he wanted to say something that would lighten the atmosphere.

"Back in college, when I knew I was going to drop out and had to tell my mom about it, I thought she was going to kill me." He said, shaking his head.

"And what actually happened?" Hector asked curiously.

"Nothing, really. She just said, 'Then go work.' But I knew she was disappointed and probably wanted to beat me up." James laughed again, but deep down, he still remembered the look in her eyes, that disappointment, like he was supposed to be the one to change their lives. Well, in the end, he did.

Hector tapped for the next question. "Oh, it's for me. 'Hector, what was the freakiest thing you did?'" He giggled as he read it out.

"No, please, skip that." James shook his head. He didn't want to hear anything about that.

"I'll just say it was a night with three girls…a crazy night. But I'll skip the details." Hector tapped again. "Alright, next question: 'Hector, what is a quote that defines your life?'"

"That's a good question." James said as he reached for the snacks.

"If it's a quote, I'd say: 'Live every day like it's your last.'"

"What do you mean by that?"

Hector looked up at the ceiling for a moment before turning back to James. "Every day, I call my sister and mother, ask how they're doing, and say I love them. You know, I never skip a day."

James listened, nodding slightly.

"And every day, I try to do my best, because I could die at any moment. And it's not just about this lifestyle." Hector sighed. "An accident, a heart attack, anything… these things can happen."

"That's very true." James said, looking down at his watch. It had been 20 minutes with no effects.

"What's your quote?" Hector asked.

"It's kind of like yours, but it goes like this: 'The present is your only guarantee.'"

"That's cool too." Hector smiled and tapped the screen again, or at least he tried. His finger kept missing. "What the fuck…" He whispered trying again, but his finger just tapped the table.

His eyes were locked on the phone, he knew it was right there, but every time he tried, his finger just slid off.

"Are you good?" James asked, laughing. He thought the alcohol had hit Hector, but when he looked at him, James realized they were both cooked.

Hector's eyes were barely open. "James… this… shit… is… hitting." He said, each word coming out slow, like it took all his energy to finish the sentence.

James stood up as fast as he could, thinking he needed to get some water or something, but then he stopped.

It was in that moment he realized they weren't just cooked, it was a whole other level.

Around him was nothing but an ocean, and Hector was sitting in a boat.

"What the actually fuck is happening…?"