A/N: Before anyone starts roasting me for not updating my other story, I promise I'll do it soon! I've just been really lazy, so my apologies.

Anyway, I was suddenly inspired to rewrite my old and deleted story, "A dangerous game of love." Yes, it will be slightly different but there will still be some similarities. BY THE WAY, if you have read that ancient and deleted story of mine, could you PLEASE be an angel and notify me of what had happened or even the timeline of the story. Because I HAVE FORGOTTEN some of it. Thank you and enjoy reading! I apologise in advance for any mistakes.


FOUR:

The pitch-black curtain that draped over the sky did nothing to soothe my wariness.

The wind whistled violently as it rushed by me and the meagre source of light that radiated from the crescent moon, illuminated only the path ahead.

I felt a slight shiver climb up my spine.

It was the worst type of features for a night like this.

The heavy darkness only added to the already dangerous hood. The moonlight did little in assisting my vision and the deafening howls of the wind obfuscated my hearing.

Already, 2 of my 5 senses were tampered with by the uncontrollable forces of nature.

And I needed all 5.

Especially in a place like this. It was a form of weaponry, just as important to our survival as any gun or dagger.

When my feet arrived on familiar ground, I travelled its long and winding road. With my hoodie up, my face hid as few cars and motorbikes zoomed passed.

Even when I felt their stares, I continued walking, attempting to attract minimal attention.

As more houses blurred, my pace increasing, all of a sudden my feet skidded to a halt.

My blood froze as I spotted the open curtains and the bright light that came from an all-too-familiar building.

I instantly broke off into a sprint.

As quickly as I could, I approached the house and grabbed out my spare key. As I placed it into the keyhole, I found myself pausing again.

My mind was violated with voices that instructed me to remain calm. Nothing good was bound to happen if I rushed, they spoke. And although, I was anxious to enter, I took a deep breath in and took on a slightly calmer approach.

I opened the door slowly.

It creaked as I stepped into the eerily quiet home.

Shutting the door as silently as I possibly could, I inched down the hallway. It seemed a lot further than I remembered.

I cleared my throat.

"Hector?" I called out.

No reply answered me.

I felt myself unintentionally gulp as the continuing silence lingered.

"Mom?"

Still nothing.

Just as I reached for the gun that was strapped to the waistband of my pants, a door in the house slammed. Its sound echoed throughout the building so loudly, that I was sure that the neighbours heard it as well.

Swiftly spinning, I instinctively pulled out the gun and aimed it at my victim.

He merely stood there, staring back at me for a second, before his shoulders drooped into a relaxed state.

"What's up, Four?" he casually greeted.

I silently cursed and lowered the weapon.

I was satisfied that the panic was fading but I was more consumed with irritation to resolve anything calmly. "What the hell, Hector?!" I instantly yelled at him.

His brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

My jaw clenched as I tried to contain my anger. "Didn't you hear me call for you the first time?" I hissed.

He mumbled something under his breath before finally responding aloud. "Yeah" he muttered.

The fury bubbled slightly. "Oh, so you did hear me then?"

My voice, by now, had entered into a familiar state: quiet and intimidating. Usually, it gave off my desired effect - by arousing fear within my victim - but it never seemed to work on my own little brother.

Instead, he glared right back at me, matching my own heated stare. "So what? What's the big deal?" he asked as he advanced forward.

He tried to enter the living room - which entrance I stood in front of - but I quickly extended a hand and blocked his path.

His gaze glanced up to meet mine. My stare hardened.

"The big deal is," I started off, silently, "if I call for you, you answer me. Do you understand?"

Only when he sensed the seriousness of my tone, did the fear begin to rise.

He steadily gulped before nodding vigorously in response.

"And another thing," I added scoldingly, "what did I tell you about the curtains?"

He rolled his eyes at this, the attitude returning now. The fear, I assumed, was forgotten.

"To close them at night" he answered lazily as he rolled his eyes. My arms folded as I stared him down.

"Exactly. So why are they open?" I questioned.

He didn't answer this time. Only scowled at the floor.

I sighed quietly.

For such a bright kid, he didn't seem to fully understand the extent of how dangerous this neighbourhood actually was.

It didn't matter that we had been raised here since our younger days.

The streets would always be dangerous.

It was the same yesterday, today and everyday after that.

I shook my head slightly. "Go close them" I ordered. His grimace became more pronounced as he heard the instruction.

"Why don't you do it?" he growled at me.

I instantly poked his forehead. For a second, he almost lost his balance but he swiftly managed to compose himself. "Less lip," I said, "and more obedience. Now, go close the curtains."

As I let him pass, his glare never wavered. He murmured the entire walk to the living room but I didn't bother to comment.

Instead, I asked about the whereabouts of our only parent. He replied with, "She's in her room."

Nodding to myself, I took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as he slid the curtains smoothly over the window.

A satisfied breath escaped my mouth. Hector didn't seem to know it, but with both the curtains open and the light on, the inside of our home - our sanctuary - was exposed.

Now there may not be anything valuable that others would be tempted to steal, but it does leave our home vulnerable, a feat we couldn't afford.

Obviously, it would be easier if I could just explain this to him. But every time, I tried to, I found that the words were always stuck in my throat.

I couldn't do it. I didn't want him to worry. Not at such a young age.

Once he was done following my instructions, he attempted to walk off when the home phone suddenly rang.

I instantly frowned. We rarely ever received calls, let alone at a time so late at night. My senses sharpened.

My brother instinctively looked over at the ringing phone and began to take a step towards it.

I immediately growled at him.

"Do not touch it" I demanded authoritatively.

His lips once again formed a frown before he decided to stalk off to his room. His stomps echoed throughout the house.

I shook my head before approaching the phone myself. Slowly, I picked it up and cautiously placed it to my ear.

"Hello?"

Again, silence followed.

I was about to repeat the greeting when all of a sudden,

"Four?"

The familiar voice allowed me to relax only slightly. But still, I grimaced at the unnecessary panic that he had caused.

"Shit, Zeke. What took you so long to answer the bloody phone?" I growled.

From the other end of the line, he chuckled softly. "My bad, man. I was just calling to check up and see if you made it home alright."

I sighed and nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "Yeah, I'm good."

For some reason, I could picture his idiotic smirk. "Good. How's little Hector doing?"

I scoffed. "The smartass is fine."

"Smartass, huh?" he replied. I could detect a hint of mirth in his voice. "Sounds like a mini you" he then said.

"I wasn't that bad as a kid" I responded. But he only chuckled some more.

"Sure, sure" he answered. "Anyway, that's all I called for. I better get going though. Mom's beginning to get on my nerves about something. But I'll see you tomorrow, at school?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then" I responded. And with that, the line went flat.

Placing the phone back onto its ringer, I sighed before heading off to make sure the house was locked and secured.

When I was sure it was safe enough, I went to bed with my gun resting atop of the drawer next to me.

-.-.-

When the sun arose the next morning, I was already in the kitchen with breakfast already made.

My mom had already gone to work and so it was only my brother and I left at home.

I instantly called out to him as the morning rays shone through the window.

"Hector, you better be up!" I yelled. "I'm leaving for school in 10."

Like the day before, he didn't answer. I gave him a few more minutes to respond. But when I sensed no sign of receiving a reply any time soon, my jaw clenched.

"Hector!" I shouted.

I turned, attempting to walk down to his room, when the sudden sight of him stopped me.

He was fully dressed with his backpack slinging over one shoulder and a scowl engraved on his face. "I'm right here" he growled.

A frown of my own appeared. "What did I say yesterday about answering me when I call for you?" I hissed.

His eyes averted to the side, still in glaring form. "Can we not do this so early in the morning?"

I sighed heavily. "This wouldn't be such a pain if you just used your mouth" I replied before placing a plate of breakfast on the table. "Now come here and eat."

Obeying, he took a seat at the table and started breakfast. While he did, I quickly grabbed my own bag and packed a few books that hardly had anything written in them.

By the time I was done, so was he.

Securing the house, we then drove off. I dropped him off to middle school, with the promise that I would pick him up.

It was a good thing that my high school was close. It was only about a 10 minute drive away, and that was when there was heavy traffic.

I arrived to school a few minutes after Zeke and Uriah did. When they spotted me, they approached my car and knocked on the window three times.

I glanced up to be met with their wide grins.

My eyes rolled upon seeing their expression.

I could never understand how gang members such as themselves could be so... smiley most of the time.

Hopping out of the car, both brothers greeted me with the usual handshake.

"What's up Four?" Uriah spoke as I slung my bag over my shoulder.

I shook my head. "Nothing much" I answered.

As we walked side by side, people instantly began to move out of the way, giving us more space than we needed.

Without having done anything, we evoked fear.

It came with the title.

Although it was natural and a general thing for people to avoid us, there were a few students who liked to test the limits, though that was a minority.

In fact, there they were, passing by us in the corridors.

And before I knew it, the trouble had started.

In Zeke's hand already, he had a fistful of Drew's shirt. It all happened so quickly that I almost missed it.

His usual grin was now replaced with a menacing glare as he towered over one of the school's precious football jock.

"Bump into me one more time, kid" he growled. "I dare you to."

Silence immediately befell the hallways.

His threat hung in the air as the atmosphere tightened.

Drew visibly gulped though he tried hard to keep up his bravado facade.

I silently scoffed when, from the corner of my eye, Hayes moved towards the pair.

"Let go of him" he instantly demanded. Zeke's glare turned to him.

"Or what?" he spat back, unfazed by either males.

Peter's eyes narrowed thin. His jaw set as he inched forward.

"Let go of him" he repeated. Zeke, deciding to taunt him, tightened his grip.

With Peter's anger flared by the action, he suddenly withdrew his arm and attempted to throw a punch. However, it froze midair when I stepped in between them.

His pause at the sudden interference was short. And after having composed himself, he growled.

"Move out of the way, Eaton" he then ordered.

A sardonic smirk plastered my face when I heard the command.

"How about," I steadily began, "you make me?"

When he met my taunting gaze, he glared and changed the direction of his punch.

Having already anticipated it though, I managed to slip passed it, ultimately dodging his fist. And then quickly grabbing his arm, I moved myself into his reach and flipped his body overhead.

He landed to the ground with a loud thud.

A few gasps emitted from the crowd but I ignored it and instead, stared down at the green-eyed male.

He seemed shocked by the action but his usual sneer made an appearance once again.

Both Pedrad's, by then, had pulled up beside me and was doing the same, glancing down at him with a glare.

Before anyone could have made a move though, a sudden commotion was heard from the crowd. And an extra person flew into the 'interaction'.

I refused to call this a fight.

She kneeled down next to the football captain and checked to see if he was badly injured.

The blonde signature ponytail instantly gave away her identity: Tris Prior, Peter Hayes' girlfriend and the girl - besides her stepsister - who everyone thought was the epitome of perfection.

I scowled down at her crouched figure. The sight of her irritated me. Hearing about her irritated me.

She was what my people would call fake.

There was no perfect human being. Yet there her family was, walking around as if they were.

Suddenly snapping out of my thoughts, she then stood up. She faced us with a fearless expression, her eyes, angered.

"What in the world is your problem?" she reprimanded.

I grunted before taking a step closer to her. She didn't move.

"I don't have to answer to you" I responded quietly. And without leaving any room for a reply, I pushed passed her, the Pedrad's right on my heel.

She scoffed as we sauntered away.

Thinking that was the end of it, I turned to speak to Zeke, when she unexpectedly called me out.

"You're a coward" she spoke up. And though she had trailed off quietly in the end, her words were, without a doubt, deafening. They rang in my ears over and over again.

I halted to an abrupt stop.

"Bullying is a sign of cowardice" she went on. "And that's exactly what you were doing."

I frowned slightly.

I didn't expect myself to be impressed by the fact that she was taking a stand.

But I was also really annoyed by her words.

She was siding with her boyfriend merely because of that; their relationship.

She left no space for explanation.

And the thing was, even if I wanted to explain myself to her, I knew it would be useless.

There'd be no point in arguing my case any further because it was always their word against ours.

But the cowardice line had been a direct jab. And unconsciously, my teeth gritted as I turned to face her.

Her blue/grey eyes refused to back down as my own stare found hers.

"Maybe you should get your story straight," I called out, "before you start pointing fingers at who the coward is."

And without any further words, Zeke urged me to keep moving.

I listened and we resumed our walk to our lockers. The crowd dispersed after that, though there was still a bit of talk going around, about it.

As I waited for both brothers to grab their required books, two arms suddenly wrapped around my waist.

Her head leant against my shoulder. I instantly knew who it was.

"I heard what happened" she whispered into my ear sexily. I sighed quietly as she went on. "Do you want me to beat her ass?"

Despite myself, I slightly smirked as she fiddled with the hem of my shirt.

Not one for PDA though, I stopped her fingers from roaming before pulling her to stand beside me.

I glanced down at her as she grinned at me, confidently. Her black hair was straightened, though the ends - which were dyed blue - was slightly curled.

"You know, you only have to say the word, Four," she then continued, "and I'll fight her for you."

I didn't have a single doubt about that.

Lauren was dangerous.

To everyone on the streets, she was my ride-or-die. She even called herself that, though I, on the other hand, wasn't quite certain.

Sure, she defended me, like every other hood girl did with their men. But something wasn't quite right about calling her my ride-or-die.

Quietly clearing my throat, I then answered. "Nah, it's all good" I told her.

She instantly pouted.

"Are you sure?" she asked, doubtfully. "You know, I will do it."

I sighed. "Lauren" I warned.

But at this, her lips turned downwards into a frown.

"Well then, why do you look so annoyed?" she hissed at me.

My brows instantly furrowed in perplexity. "I'm not annoyed."

She rolled her eyes. "Four, I've known you all my life. And we dated for a year. Trust me when I say, you're annoyed."

I didn't respond, causing her to sigh dejectedly. It wasn't long though until her mischievous grin returned.

"You know," she then said, as she laced her fingers with mine, "I could always relieve you."

I shot her an admonitory look. "Lauren."

But her smirk only grew. "Oh c'mon Four" she said as she tightened her grip. And as she dragged me along with her, she added, "You need it."

Even though, I called her name out again in warning, I allowed myself to pulled by her.