The Rebel
"Your dad will be here to pick you up." A principle teacher nodded as the young girl, around the age of seventeen nodded and looked straight through her, folding her arms.
"Am I suspended?" The girl asked.
"Another suspension would mean the next step is completely exclusion and a transfer to a different high school." The principle teacher said, "If it wasn't for the reason that the fight was… pretty evenly sided, you'd be excluded completely."
"You should just do it then." The girl shrugged.
"I'm not gonna." The principle said, "Next time, though. You're out those doors." She said, "Wait here for your dad." She told her, walking on down the hallway and back into her office as the young teen just shook her head, folding her arms and sinking down on the chair as she watched the different teachers go by. Normally they would stare, but it seemed like they were just used to her there now.
She sat for fifteen minutes after being promised her dad would be there in five, chewing her gum loudly, trying to spit it out and reach the trash can across from her when she listened to the entrance door open up, looking over at her father walking in.
"Freddie. Your dad is here." An office woman called as Freddie stood up.
"Yeah, I can see him." Freddie whispered to herself, hauling her bag over her shoulder and walking down the hallway. She had a black denim skirt on, doc martins, a cut up band t-shirt and a leather jacket. Her hair was long, dark and wavy and she had a beanie on top, "What's up, dad?" She smiled as her father just signed the form he had to sign and headed on out the school as Freddie followed him, "What? You're talking to me?" She laughed a little, following him out of the school.
"You're on thin ice, kid." Her father said, "Get in the car." He pointed as Freddie just shook her head, throwing her bag in the back seat and getting in the front, "What was it this time? Someone look at you the wrong way?" He asked her.
"No it was just some girls being mean." Freddie said, "C'mon, we've always agreed that bullies deserve to be beaten." She said.
"You're gonna get kicked out soon." Her father said, "And then what? You have to transfer for your last year? What's the point in that?"
"It's not like I got friends here." Freddie said.
"You got friends. Stop feeling sorry for yourself." He said, "Get your feet off the dashboard." He pushed her legs down as she groaned, "You're lucky that principle teacher likes you." He said, pulling out of the space and out of the school grounds, his tattooed hands gripping the steering wheel as Freddie just leaned her head against the car window.
"She doesn't like me. She feels sorry for me. She thinks I'm troubled." Freddie said.
"Well hell, maybe you are. Ain't no teenage girls I knew in my school that fought with anyone." He said.
"You always encouraged me to fight with people. Now all of a sudden it's bad?" She asked.
"I didn't mean literally, Freddie." Her father laughed a little, "You know what's gonna happen?" He asked her.
"What's gonna happen, dad?" Freddie asked.
"You're gonna end up not knowing how to like people, because you're so programmed into hating everyone. You wanna go to college, right? How you gona make friends there?"
"I won't." Freddie said simply, "I'll make friends with all the guy teachers though." She smirked as her father shook his head.
"Don't push it." He warned her as she just laughed.
"I'm hungry. Take me for a cheeseburger." She said as her father shook her head, "C'mon don't let a girl go hungry." She said.
"Phil? Where'd you go?" The boss of a tattoo parlour asked.
"Sorry, man. I had to pick Freddie up from school." Phil, or better known as Punk said, returning back to work after dropping his seventeen year old daughter back at home, of course after getting her cheeseburger, and maybe one for himself too.
"That took you more than an hour?" His boss, Josh asked.
"You know, man. I had to have a long talk with her. She's been acting up again." Punk said as Josh just shook his head.
"Just… get back to work." Josh shook his head as Punk nodded and headed back into one of the rooms to get ready for the next customer. He'd been working at the tattoo parlour forever. He started as a clean-up boy when he was a kid, and then shortly he got trained and became fully qualified to tattoo.
He lived in Chicago with his daughter. His life pretty much consisted of working and raising her, even though he questioned his talent at both of them, more so the raising his daughter part.
"Yo." A dirty blonde curly haired guy walked into the room as Punk looked up.
"Hey." Punk nodded to his best friend who just so happened to work the supplies for the parlour every now and then, "What's up?" He asked his friend, Dean. He wasn't really just a best friend, he was more like a brother. Due to a tough upbringing and different circumstances, he even lived with Dean as a kid for a while.
"You coming out later for drinks?" Dean asked him, unloading some boxes with new equipment and ink whilst Punk got set up.
"Well I'm working until 8 and I… I should get back to Fred. Had to pick her up from school again. Fighting or something." He shook his head.
"What is with that girl?" Dean laughed a little, "Next it'll be the drugs."
"Shut up." Punk said, "Don't put that shit on my mind. She already gives me heart attacks as it is." He said, "No point in even talking to her anymore. Goes in one ear, out the other." He said.
"Well me and Kate are going out. Feel free to join us if you want to." Dean told him.
"Thanks for the offer but I'll miss this one out." Punk nodded. He himself had two sleeves of tattoos as well as a full chest piece. He also had other ones dotted around his legs, behind his ear and his hands. He was always fascinated with the art and was very content and happy in the field of work he was in. Of course having a kid had always made life a little more challenging, especially when he had her at such a young age with very little to no support. It hadn't been an easy ride, that was for sure.
"Ok, well if you change your mind we'll be in the local, yeah?" Dean said.
"Ok, man. Thanks." Punk smiled. He was born Phillip Jack Brooks, into a family of alcoholics and drug addicts. It made growing up extremely difficult. He used to run away as a child, try his hardest to get lost, but somehow he always ended up back there, until he had enough and moved in with Dean and his family. He didn't sulk about it. It was life and he knew everyone had their own stories.
He got home later on after his shift, walking into the apartment, dumping his car keys and his wallet down immediately, "Mrs Price said you've to turn that down." Punk said, referring to the loud music his daughter was playing from her bedroom, watching her walk by him with a bowl of cereal.
"Isn't she deaf yet?" Freddie shook her head.
"Apparently not. Turn it down, yeah?" Punk told her, watching her walk back into her room, closing the door with her foot. A few minutes later, he heard the music get louder and shook his head. He was used to her behaviour by now.
He made his way into the kitchen to make himself some dinner, suddenly listening as the music stopped, soon hearing his daughter walk into the kitchen, "What do you want?" Punk asked, already sensing her wanting something from him.
"Could you maybe give me a ride tomorrow?" Freddie asked him.
"To where?" Punk turned around. He liked to see her at home where she wasn't trying hard to look like an outcast, where she would wear sweats and a t-shirt and leave her hair a mess. She looked a lot like her mom.
"To the art museum. I'm going with friends. Not a boy." She said, before he got the chance to ask, pushing herself up and sitting on the kitchen counter.
"Weren't you there like two weeks ago?" Punk asked her.
"Yeah but now they've opened up a new section. Remember, they've been working on it?" She said as Punk nodded, "So I wanna check it out." She said.
"What time?" Punk asked her.
"Doors open at 8am, but I wanna be there early so like… we should leave her… 7?" She asked as Punk glared at her, "What?" Freddie laughed.
"It's my day off tomorrow and you're getting me out of bed at 7am?" Punk asked her.
"Yes I am." Freddie smiled, "You can go back to sleep when you come home." She rolled her eyes.
"I shouldn't be letting you go anywhere after today. You're lucky you got a nice dad." He said.
"Do I?" Freddie laughed.
"Yeah, you do. Normal dads would lock you in your room, take away all your… favourite stuff." He waved his hand.
"You're not a normal dad, Punker." Freddie said, kicking him on the arm as Punk just shook his head, "Look on the bright side, you got a full day of me not being around." She smiled.
"Heaven." Punk nodded.
"Right?" Freddie agreed, "But not unless you take me." She smiled as he just shook his head.
"I suppose I don't have a choice, do I?" He said.
"No, not really." Freddie smiled, "Thanks." She nodded, jumping down from the counter, kissing his cheek as he just shoved her away as she smiled and left the kitchen. He was proud of the very strong woman she was becoming, but he found it hard to not have her as that little kid anymore. She was defiant, outspoken, extremely beautiful but also struggled a lot with a lot of things in life. Just like her mother. She was just like her mother in every aspect.
She had kept him company over the years and in a way, had been his bestest friend. It hadn't been easy, not at all, but they always had each other and that seemed to be enough.
"Do you know what time it is?" Punk asked, answering the door at around 2am as he saw a man he considered a father walk into the apartment, Dean's father, Julio.
"Yes I know what time it is. You didn't show up last night at the Owl Hole." Julio said.
"Yeah I was helping Freddie with an art project. She needed an extra set of hands." Punk nodded.
"Still into art, is she?" Julio asked as Punk nodded.
"Yeah, she's going to college to study it." Punk said, "That is if she… stops getting kicked out of school." He said.
"Reminds me of someone." Julio smiled a little, "I just… as someone I regard as a son, I expect you to be at these meetings. Or at least tell me you won't be there." Julio nodded, "I have no problem with you not going, it's hard raising a kid, never mind doing it alone, and she's at that annoying age too." He nodded.
"It… honestly just slipped my mind." Punk told him as Julio looked across at him, "Did I miss much then?" He asked.
"No, we just had a couple of drinks. North siders are trying to blame that robbery on us, it's been wrote about in the paper."
"Yeah I saw." Punk nodded, "Fades out, you know it does. People have been having these perceptions about the Ravens since the beginning of time. Like we go out to cause chaos. When in reality, we only look out for our own." He said, "Don't step on a crow, they got no reason to bite." Punk shrugged as Julio nodded and smiled.
"Damn straight." Julio nodded, "Things aren't like how they used to be. Maybe if… if that ex of yours knew that, she'd come home." He said as Punk shook his head.
"April has been gone for seventeen years." Punk said, "I doubt she'll come back now." He shrugged as Julio just nodded.
"Her loss." Julio whispered, "Next time just… give me the heads up that you won't be showing face. Atonette was sad she didn't see you." He said, referring to Dean's mother, who was also like a mother to Punk.
"I'll come by the house and see her." Punk smiled, "I'm sorry." He nodded.
"It's ok." Julio nodded, "I'll go. I suppose we have to sleep, don't we?" He said as Punk nodded, "See you around, my boy."
"See you around." Punk nodded, closing the door over and making his way back into his bedroom, closing the door over and collapsing down on the bed.
He was incredibly thankful for the home Julio and his wife gave him, and the outer family he was introduced to as their way of life, however it also came with a lot strains in his life and a lot of cracks. Trading his alcoholic and drug addicted parents for a notorious gang family may have seemed ridiculous to some people, but it had become a way of his life, and his family.
A/N: Another different type of story which will hopefully interest you guys! Excited to see where this goes. Leave a review and let me know what you're thinking!