"Dang it" Lincoln said, turning his head away from his sister as he tried to shield his face in embarrassment. Molly's cheeks began to blush, as her pupils dilated, and beads of sweat started to run down her face. "Son of a bitch, I forgot Luna likes to come here Saturdays. She must be the one playing tonight. God damnit, how the fuck am I supposed to explain this shit". Molly thought to herself. She took her gaze off her Rockstar friend and shifted it towards Lincoln, who was still looking away. "Look kid", Molly began to whisper, "whatever she asks, don't tell her about anything regarding the gang, especially the fights that are coming up, or we'll both be in a world of shit".
Lincoln turned his head toward her nervously. "Yea, no shit, my family are the last people I want knowing about that".
The two stared at each other nervously, trying to come up with an excuse to explain the situation that they were currently in. However, their train of thoughts were cut abruptly as Luna was standing in front of the booth that the two were sitting at.
"Hey sis", Lincoln said with a nervous smile. He scooted over a bit to let his sister sit by him, which she did without asking any question.
"What's up bro…what's up Molly", Luna said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She looked at Molly, who was trying her best to avoid eye contact. Luna had a million different questions in her head at this point, that she honestly didn't even know what to ask or say first. The last two people that she expected to see were the two that were sitting across from each other. Especially together. She started to grow a little worried as she turned her head to look at Lincoln, then back at Molly. Luna knew full well of what Molly did, and who she worked for. Although she still considered her one of her best friends, and didn't care if she had an illegal occupation, the last person that she wanted her to be talking to was her baby brother. To her, Lincoln didn't need to anything about that side of life. Yet here they were. Talking to each other alone. Her brother and one of her best friends, which was a pair she didn't want interacting. On top of that, Lincoln shouldn't be at the café at this time of the day. It wasn't appropriate for him.
After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, Luna took a deep breath to clear her mind. Then she turned her head to Lincoln and asked with a stern expression on her face "what are you doing here Lincoln". The tone in her voice was serious and authoritative, which he never expected to come out of Lunas mouth. It was a tone that his parents and even Lori would use on him, but not Luna.
Lincoln was truly speechless, as he really had no idea on how to explain the current predicament that he was in. Luna could tell that her brother was struggling to come up with a reason, so she turned her gaze towards her friend. Molly stared back at her with wide eyes from across the table. She could feel her heartbeat rapidly, and her hands were sweating and shaking tremendously. "Shit" was all she could think of. The air around the table felt heavy, as the silence began to weigh down on Lincoln and Molly. This wasn't an awkward silence anymore, but rather a tense silence. The seconds felt like hours, and time appeared to stop. Molly, as well as Lincoln, couldn't think of anything to say. Suddenly, time went back to normal speed for the pair, as Christa walked out of the kitchen. She had a cigarette in her mouth, and her earbuds where dangling over her shoulders. She stopped in her tracks upon seeing Luna, and with a smile, she waved at her.
"Aye what's up Luna, oh Molly I overhead your conversation. Is that white haired boy really gonna go toe to toe with the Django gang. Dude that is metal as fuck. When is it gonna happen? Can like, me and my friends watch"?
…..
Both Molly's and Lincolns eyes shot wide, as they felt their hearts stopped. They couldn't believe what they just heard. "That idiot", Lincoln thought to himself.
"I'm gonna fucking murder her", Molly said to herself through gritted teeth. Lunas eyes shot wide open, and she quickly jumped out of her seat like a scared cat. "WAIT WHAAAAAAAT", she said. Both Molly and Lincoln slammed their heads on the table, knowing that the last thing they wanted to happen tonight, ended up happening.
"Oh shit, was that a secret?", Christa said in confusion, letting her cigarette dangle in her mouth. "My bad dudes", she said, walking backwards towards the kitchen. Lincoln and Molly turned their heads to face her with angry glares, which only caused Christa to smile sheepishly before re entering the kitchen.
Luna glared at the two with a mix of confusion, horror, sadness and rage. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She knew almost everything about the Django gang. Is what Christa said true? Was her little brother really going to fight that monstrous power? She looked at Lincoln with her arms crossed, expecting the white-haired boy to come clean. Lincoln got the hint.
"I uhh…challenged…the four best fighters to a fight…along with Ron", the boy said with a sheepish smile. Lunas heart began to shatter.
"You did what bro?" she turned her glare to Molly, which made the girl shake in fear. "What did you do? Is this your fault? Did you involve my little brother in your mess?" Luna began to say through gritted teeth.
"Luna I…I" Molly tried to respond, but her brain couldn't formulate words at that moment.
"Nah dude, save your explanation, I get it." She grabbed Lincolns hand and began to pull him away from the table. "Come on bro, we're going home. We need to fix all of this. I'm really mad with you right now".
Lincoln resisted Lunas pull, as the white-haired boy tried to reason with his sister. "No Luna, it isn't Molly's fault, just let me explain".
"Not right now dude, I just wanna be away from…"
"LUNA PLEASE LISTEN, LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED".
The sudden shout from Lincoln stopped Luna dead in her tracks. She didn't expect her brother to yell at her like that. Even Molly was displaying a look of shock form the boy's tone. Luna turned her head to face Lincoln. She could see the plead within his eyes. At that moment, she remembered one of her brothers defining traits, which was that Lincoln always had a reason for his actions. It's just that Luna couldn't understand what reason her brother had to challenge one of the most ruthless gangs in the country. Yet, as she sighed, she began to take her seat, choosing to listen to her brothers' story.
"Alright bro, I'm listening", she said in a soft caring tone. With that, Lincoln began to recall the entire story. From the moment him and Clyde discovered the fighting lounge all the way to this very meeting. No details were left out. Chrystal, Martin, his training, even the meeting with deputy Rodriguez, which only surprised Molly. "Huh, I didn't think Rodriguez had that much info on us", she thought to herself. Throughout the entire recap, Luna showed expressions of fear, anger, sadness and shock. But most importantly, as Lincoln wrapped up his story, she showed understanding.
The Rockstar girl turned her face towards Molly and sighed. "I'm sorry Molls, I didn't mean to just disown you like that…although I'm still upset with you for not telling me sooner, thank you for trying to get him out of that". The two girls smiled at each other, knowing that their friendship didn't end that night. Luna turned her head towards her little brother and ruffled his hair a bit. "Dang it bro, why do you always gotta try and help people. Look, I know you want to save that little girl, but I ain't letting you go through with this". She looked back at Molly and asked, "Do you think you can tell your boss to cancel this bet?"
Molly shifted in her seat uneasily. "I mean I can try but…" She began to recall the events that happened during her discussion with Lincoln before Luna came. The feeling of hope washed over her as she starred at Lincoln. The determination, the bravery and the reassuring promise that the boy gave to her made her believe that Lincoln had a shot and bringing down a powerhouse of evil. "Luna…it's up to your brother."
The last statement that exited Molly took Luna by surprise. A part of her already knew that Molly wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the fight from happening, but she didn't expect her to say that the decision was entirely up to Lincoln. But to be fair, Luna knew full well that all of this was Lincolns choice.
"Bro, I'm not letting you do this", Luna said to her brother. Lincoln already knew that his family didn't want him being involved in gang activities. Mainly because he thought that they didn't want the whole family to be in danger.
"I'm sorry Luna, but I'm not backing out of this. I'm going to reunite that girl with her father. Then…" Lincoln faced Molly with the same look of determination that gave her hope. "I'm going to kick Ron's ass and blast away his stupid empire from our home here in Royal Woods.
This response from Lincoln shocked Luna. First off, she never heard her brother swear, which took her back a bit. But the main thing that shocked her was his determination. Luna always knew her brother was the man with the plan. The only family member who didn't shy away from the challenges. The one who had the toughest skin, the highest patience and most caring and loving personality. His sisters loved him, and his personality shined brightest with them. However, Luna didn't expect that same quality to shine out with a situation that was so greatly not on Lincolns side. The chances of Lincoln coming out on top of this challenge were next to impossible. Yet, Lincoln wasn't backing down, and all of this for two people that he barley even knew. That was the kind of personality that she expected from him. But still, she couldn't let him do this.
"I'm sorry bro, but no, you're not doing this".
"Luna, the family won't get hurt, it's fine, you guys will be safe. I know the Django gang won't touch any of you. You guys will be alright."
Luna gritted her teeth in anger, before slamming her fist on the table. The loud SMACK took both Molly and Lincoln by surprise.
"DAMNIT BRO, YOU DON'T GET IT. I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO BACK OUT BECAUSE OF THE FAMILIES SAKE". She lowered her head as she began to sob. Without any warning, she unexpectedly wrapped her arms around Lincoln, embracing the boy in a hug that he's never felt before. "I'm asking you to back out because I don't want you to die. I don't want my baby bro to get hurt or die", she tearfully said.
Lunas words shocked Lincoln. He truly thought that the main reason Luna was furious with and against his actions was because of the danger that was presented on the family. But no, that wasn't the case. She was scared. Scared that her only brother was in danger and scared of the possibility that he was going to be killed from this. Lincolns eyes began to water, and he wrapped his arms around his sister, returning the hug. The two wept quietly in the café for a couple of seconds, until Lincoln stopped his tears to face up at his sister, who was still crying. He looked at her face, which was now leaking with mascara from her red watery eyes.
"Luna…it's okay, I'm not going to get killed". The boy wiped his remaining tears and stared at her with a determined look. "I'm not going to get killed, because I'm not losing Luna. I'm going to defeat every member, and tear down that entire criminal organization, I promise you that."
Luna stared at her brother speechlessly. Although she didn't want him going through with this deal, the way Lincoln looked at her, the way he talked, and the way he displayed his determination made her calm down. It made all her worries go away in an instant, and she truly began to believe that she had nothing to worry about. She pulled her brother into a tight hug, not wanting to let go.
"Okay bro…okay… I trust you". After a couple of minutes, the two released each other, and began to stand up. "Come on dude, let's go home". She held on to her brothers' hand as she began to make her way to the exit, before turning back to Molly. "Thanks for everything Molls, I'll see you later…oh, and tell Christa that I'm canceling tonight". Molly smiled and gave a nod, before Luna and Lincoln exited the café to make their way back home through the calming night. Molly pulled out her carton of cigarettes from her bra and began to take one of the sticks out of the box. She placed it in her mouth and lit it up. For the first time in years, she felt calm, even happy. Her eyes gazed upon the night sky from outside the window, as she exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"I know you'll win Lincoln".
