"Hey, Dustin" A voice creeps up behind me, "Can I talk to you?"

I turn around to see Blake standing there. Oh great... I hope this ends good.

"Sure, man...give me a sec." I take the oil splattered towel from around my neck and attempt at cleaning up as best as I can. I throw down the towel and leave my tools to follow Blake outside.

Blake pulls out a pack of Newports from his back pocket and lights one. "You want?" He asks.

"No thanks...Since when did you start smoking?" I cringe.

Puffing a cloud of smoke from his mouth, "A bad habit I picked up at school." Blake answers. "Hey, look, I'm sorry for going nuts on you the other day." Blake puffs his cigarette, staring out into the brigade of cars parked in the Storm Chargers lot. I uneasily rock back and forth, sticking my hands in my pockets.

"It's no problem." I say, not really wanting to deal with any drama. Feeling some angst towards Blake for trying to take the girl I never had away from me.

"You know, Dustin.." Blake starts, "It's just way too crazy, you know...The whole you and Tori moving in together thing."

"Crazy? How is that crazy?" I ask, defensively.

"I mean, we're getting older now and things change...You guys aren't kids anymore...You're not playing house....It's the real deal and it doesn't sit well with me at all to tell you the truth."

What? Who the hell does he think he is? I'm totally insulted and really heated..

"Obviously, I think I got the memo that this isn't a game bro. And why doesn't it sit well with you? I don't get that part!" My agrivation reads clearly in my tone.

"You don't get much though, do you Dustin.." Blake looks at me flicking his cigarette onto the ground. His piercing gaze, almost painful. I clench my fists at my sides.

"What's all that dude? Saying you're sorry and then doing the same shit all over again is not what I call a sincere apology." I scold, sarcastically.

"Well, the bottom line is, I'm telling you that I don't like the fact that you're living with my girl! It doesn't look right and it sure as hell don't feel right at all!"

His girl??? What??

"Tori is not your girl!" I bark, glaring at Blake, squeezing my fists. I'm waiting for him to make a move, waiting to snap his neck.

Blake moves directly in front of me and points a finger in my face.

"What did you say?" Blakes eyes are black and cold.. I've never seen him act this way...But understanding and reason is far from where I'm standing.

"Blake..I'm only gonna tell you once.." I threaten, staring him down, "You better get that finger out of my face!"

"Or what?" Blake intstigates.

Without thinking, I pull my fist back aiming directly for Blake's jaw. He ducks, seeing it coming. Just then, Shane jumps in between us and holds me back.

"Woah..woah!!!" He says, holding his hand out to Blake, his back to me. Seeing the commotion, Kelly appears in front of us.

"What is going on here?!" Kelly cries out, "Dustin, get inside!!!"

Shane, single handedly, struggles to hold me and Blake away from each other.

"No, fuck this,dude!!" I yell, lunging at Blake..Shane holds me tightly, while pushing Blake back.

"Dustin Brooks!!! Get inside now, or you're fired!!" Kelly yells.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!! Just stop!" Shane scolds us both, trying to hold us back.

"Dustin, now!" Kelly bravely grabs me and pulls me away, pushing me inside the store. She turns around and points at Blake,"Blake, don't bring this around my store!! This is a place of business!" She says, hurrying into the store to calm me down.

I hear Blake scream out, "I know you're sweet on her, D!!! You can't hide it! You touch her and I will kill you!"

By then, the people crowded around Storm Chargers to see the 'fight' had begun to walk away.

"Come with me!!" Kelly drags me to the sitting area and plops me down on the couch. "Now, tell me right now, what on earth was that?? And this better be good!" Kelly stands hovering over me. She's way pissed.

Every cell in my body is enraged and ready to go bust his face in! God, I never thought I'd wish an alien would attack!!

"Blake is crazy!! He's gone insane!! Ooohhh!! I swear!!" I stand up, this rush of adrenaline taking over. Kelly pushes me back down.

"You – relax!" She says, "I'll be right back."

I'm breathing in deep breaths, trying to shake this. I have so munch pent up anger. It's been so long since I fought anything, anyone...The way I've been feeling, the thought of brutally beating the living pulp out of anything – living or not – is seemingly appealing..

Kelly walks back over to sit down next to me. "Shane took Blake to calm him down... I don't get this whole thing, Dustin. You and Blake just stopped getting along? How can best friends hate each other overnight?"

"Hey, like Blake said, things change." I say with a deep breath, anxiously twitching my leg.

Kelly sighs, "You guys need to just stay away from each other then..Or you're gonna kill one another."

"He started this whole beef for stupid ass reasons, let him deal with it!!" I wave my hands as if to brush him off, "All I know is, if he comes in my face again, I'm snuffing him! The end."

Kelly sucks her teeth," Well, if you wanna solve this problem with violence , go right ahead! But don't do it around me or my store, got that?" Anger rings throughout her voice. I hate the fact that she's angry at me....

I look down , in shame, at the floor as Kelly walks away. I think about whats been going on the past week of my life and, In such a short period of time, things have managed to go wrong on so many levels. I've managed to begin a downward spiral that I, at this point, don't know how to get out of...