TJ knew he was being followed. He couldn't see or hear them, but he knew they were around, watching him.

The week was finally over an all he wanted to do was get home and take a nap, maybe get a start of one of the rusty knives he found at a garage sell. Not deal with all this bullshit.

He scratched his arms. It's been a while since he was able to take out his pocket knife. Who the hell knows if they were going to barge into his room again? He sighed. Approaching his house, it was a relief to see no one waiting for him to have a 'heart to heart' or some bullshit. He headed straight inside and to the kitchen to warm up some left over pizza before holing himself into his room.

Knowing them, running the rosk of cutting wasnt worth the still high chance of them "just popping in".

That didnt mean he was limited to his options, however.

ZZZ

They were all gathered in Spinellis room of all places. It must've been years since they were all together like this in any of their rooms, but recent events required them to come together and think of what to do.

A plan, as one might even say.

The irony of them making a plan to help the person who used to do that sort of thing was not lost on them. With Spinellis house being right across the street from the topic of their conversation, it made the most sense to go over there to think of what to do.

"We've tried talking to him, but he doesn't want anything to do with our help."

"Most people are adverse to those who've discovered something like this."

"So should we tell someone else who can handle this better? Like a counselor or something?"

"Or his parents?"

"His parents would be the smart choice, At least I think so."

Spinelli sat on her bed, half paying attention to the conversation, and half in her own thoughts as she looked at the house across the street. This was all still a lot to take in. Granted, they haven't been 'friends' for some time, but it was still upsetting to he the guy who used to be the glue that held their group together slice up his arm and brush it off, and that was putting it nicely.

He could push them away as much as he wanted, but that didn't mean that he didn't need help. And they were going to make sure he got it. What were friends for?

Speaking of, he saw the person of interest walk out of his house with a bag of trash in hand. Spinelli watched him do the mundane chore of taking out the garbage, unsure of what else she would expect him to do. TJ checked his phone, and appeared to send s message before walking down the street.

"Hey," she said, getting the others attention. "Where do you think he's going?"

The other came over and joined her at the window.

"I dunno. Do you think we should follow him?" Vince asked.

". . . yeah. Come on, Vince, Gus, Mikey, We're following him. Gretchen, get in your car, we'll call you to follow us."

ZZZ

The four of them followed TJ as he walked away from home, keeping a far enough distance to hide and stay out of his sight if he looked back. At first they were in familiar places, places they've all seen and couldn't say they didn't recognize, but as he continued walking, the buildings because abandoned and further apart.

For a few moments, they lost sight of him between the mix of worn out buildings and overgrown foliage. What was left of the streets came in patches, and they had to watch their step to keep from falling forward.

But then they heard voices, unfamiliar voices, and followed the sound until they reached an opening. What looked like a small gang stood in the opening, some smoking, chatting among themselves. And TJ. he stood with him like it was a normal thing. For all they knew, it could've been.

Until they saw one of them punch him square in the face. Then another, and another, until he was on the ground and kicks were added in.

They couldn't just stand back and watch, and the four of them jumped in, fighting the gang members off of him. It wasn't much of a fight, as they took off after a minute or two. They turned their attention back to TJ, who was struggling to get to his feet. Vince and Gus each grabbed one of his arms to help.

"Hey, are you okay, Teej?" Vince asked.

". . .I didn't need your help. . ."

"What?"

"I said I DIDN'T NEED YOUR HELP. I WAS FINE," he said, pulling out of their grasp.

"No offense, but those guys were beating the crap out of you," Spinelli said. "Why are you mad? We just helped you."

"Who said I wanted it?" He said under his breath. "Goddammit."

"C'mon, man. Let's head back," Vince said, helping him stay upright. TJ huffed, allowing himself to be lead away from the abandoned buildings. They led him to Gretchens car that she drove according to Spinelli's directions.

The climbed in, squeezed tights shoulder to shoulder as they headed back to Spinelli's place.

Goddamn, how was he going to explain this to those guys? They were already iffy on doing this from the beginning, and now this? They probably won't even give him a chance to explain things. Couldn't even pay his way out of this one. . .

They pulled him out of the car, not giving him a chance to turn and head back to his own place, instead, pulling him right into Spinelli's house and up the stairs to her room.

"God, you look like more of mess than the other night," she said, forcing him to sit on the bed. He doubted it. They had, at best, spent a minute beating him up. "What's the deal with those guys?"

"Yeah, do you owe them money or something?" Vince asked.

". . .this is stupid," TJ finally said. He stood up, no sign of dizziness or pain. He was fine, for all he cared about. Maybe a cut or two, he was numb to them at this point compared to his other injuries he imposes on himself on a regular basis. What a waste of a night. "I'm going home."

"Like hell you are!" Spinelli stood directly in his path, despite being more than a head shorter than him.

"Move, Spinelli."

"No! Not until you tell us what the hell is going on with you! Who were those guys and why were they beating the shit out of you?!"

"Because I paid them to, okay? Does that make you happy? I paid them to beat the shit out of me, because I wanted the shit beaten out of me tonight." He said, looking straight into her eyes. He knew he was going to regret this in the morning, but damn, he just wanted to be left alone and get to bed. This was a problem for the future him to deal with.

". . .what?"

"What? I told you why. Can I go, now?" TJ didn't wait for a response. He simply moved passed Spinelli and left the rest of them behind, speechless.

ZZZ