Chapter Seven-Twitch in Trouble

"Hey man, how're you doing?" Eric greeted Twitch with a salute as he sat down in his chair.

"Ok. How about you?" Twitch questioned as Jeff turned around in his seat to face his friends.

"Still trying to get Ricky to talk to me about that Montgomery girl. I mean, I can't even say hi to her. It seems to me like he's the one dating her, by how protective he is over her. But, I'm not worried, she's going to have to break up with Alan sooner or later."

"Atta boy, keep your eye on the prize!" Jeff said encouragingly as he and Eric high fived each other. "You two doing anything on Friday?"

"Not that I know of," Twitch responded.

"Great, because we're going to an auto show."

"Are you serious? That was sold out when I tried to get tickets to it!"

Twitch couldn't hide his excitement. He loves cars, any model and year. That's the reason he was sent to Camp Green Lake in the first place, he hotwired a Mustang Convertible, among other cars, and got caught. He would do it all over again if it meant riding in another Mustang Convertible, it was seriously worth it.

"I'm serious, and us three are going," Jeff responded with a bright smile.

"Jeff, you rule!"

"I seriously don't understand what's with you guys and cars…" Eric muttered. "But I might as well come with you so you won't do anything stupid."

"Have you looked in a mirror lately? You're the one who does stupid things when that Montgomery girl is around," Jeff said with a laugh. "Like yesterday, you dropped your books when she passed by, and later that same day, you dropped your lunch on the floor when she passed you."

"Shut up, man!" Eric snapped as he glared. "Speaking of which, where is she today?"

"Maybe she's sick," Twitch suggested as he shrugged.

"On the second day of school? Like that's possible."

Twitch just shrugged again as he thought about the auto show and how he got caught in the first place.

-Flashback-

"C'mon man, just do it."

"I don't know."

"You're an expert in this field! Just hotwire this sucker and drive it to my place and we'll finally have the car we deserve to drive."

"But Chris-"

"Man, I should've known not to trust you! You're such a wimp! I knew you could't do it!"

"I'll do it! And I'll prove I'm no wimp!"

"Show me then."

Hesitating, Twitch stared at the car that was parked next to the sidewalk. He knew this was wrong, but he wanted the car so bad. And he was starting to Twitch, which was a bad sign. He always started to twitch like that when he passed a really cool car. And this time was no different.

"C'mon man!"

Sighing, Twitch reached his arm through the window slot. He wiggled it around as Chris looked around to make sure no one was coming their way. His fingers reached down and hooked around the door lock and pulled it up. He slowly slid his arm out and opened the door to get behind the wheel. Once he was sitting there he took a moment to really admire the beauty of the convertible. After taking a couple of looks around he broke some wires under the dashboard with a pair of pliers and a small knife. He quickly deactivated the alarm and got to work. His heart pounded in his chest as he started to work faster. He held to wires together and smiled when he heard the engine start up. He motioned for Chris to get inside, grinning. But what he saw made his blood run cold. Chris was gone, and making his way towards him was a police officer. The only thing he could think of doing was flooring the gas and getting out of there as fast as he could.

Although he was underage, he knew how to drive. His father let him practice in their secluded neighborhood, there was no way he could get caught, but this was different. Twitch was slammed back into his seat as the car shot forward; he quickly grabbed the wheel and turned it to avoid a 4x4 that he was getting ready to crash into. All ready two police cars were chasing after him as fear gripped his heart.

Adrenaline pulsed at his veins as he swerved dangerously left and right, trying to avoid other cars that were in his way. He just wanted to escape the police, not kill anyone.

But you can't always get what you want.

Twitch was caught after he slammed his car into a grocery store.

He killed three people on contact, injured two.

And was sent to Camp Green Lake for the next eighteen months.

-End Flashback-

"Brian, you all right?" Eric asked as he waved a hand in front of Twitch's face. "You look like you're having a spasm."

"I'm f-f-fine," he responded as he continued to twitch in his seat.

"I think you should see he nurse anyway, man," Jeff told him.

"I-I'm f-fine. R-Really guys," Twitch tried to convince them as he smiled a little. But deep down inside, he was hurting.

"Whatever you say, man."

Twitch's twitching decreased over the next forty-five minutes as class was ending. He was barely twitching as he left the classroom and went to his locker. Eric and Jeff followed, concern written on their faces. Twitch went through the rest of the day with that memory stuck in his head, replaying over and over again. He could never get over the fact that his mom was afraid of him when he got back from camp. She was afraid that he'd hurt her and his little brother. That's what hurt him more than anything.

He tried to pay attention in the rest of his classes, but it didn't work that well. He zoned out in every class and even fell asleep in one. His friends could see that something was wrong, but he wouldn't tell them, not even Caveman and Zero, and he trusted them the most out of anyone in D-Tent.

"Twitch, have you noticed something going on within D-Tent?" Caveman had asked him one day as they ate lunch outside. He, Caveman, and Zero were sitting underneath the huge tree out on the front lawn.

"Like what?" He questioned before he took a sip of his chocolate milk.

"Zigzag and Squid are closer together than before. I mean, they were friends all ready, but now they spend more time with each other than with the rest of us."

"Well, you and Zero are the same," Twitch had pointed out. "You two are really close because you live next door and all. Then X-Ray and Armpit are close friends, and then Magnet and Glare, and Icy and Nikita…where does that leave me?"

Caveman didn't know the answer to that.

Twitch felt lonely sometimes when it was all of D-Tent hanging out together, but he had Eric and Jeff too. He knew that eventually they would grow apart, but he was hoping it wouldn't be that soon. he wasn't good with changes.

"You want to come over after school, Brian?" Jeff asked him as he unlocked his bike from the bike rack.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm going to walk home…get some things straight in my head," he responded as he exchanged high fives with Eric and Jeff. He waved as they rode off on their bikes and dropped his hand. "I don't understand," he muttered to himself as he started to walk down the street. "Everyone in D-Tent have some sort of respect. What about me? I'm like a shadow in the background; I don't even thin some of them like me. I deserve some respect too."

Twitch suddenly stopped when he felt a twitch shoot through his whole body. He slowly turned his head and saw a Ferrari parked in front of a house. He could feel his eyelid spasm as he continued to stare at the car.

You can do this, Twitch. Just keep on walking.

He started to walk past the car but something inside him made him stop right there.

Take the car, Twitch. You know you want it.

Twitch shook his head as he started walking again but soon found himself staring across the street at the Ferrari, his twitch getting worse with every passing second.

Keep walking!

Take the car!

Keep walking!

You know you want it!

You'll get caught again. Don't risk it! Don't risk it!

Take it!

Don't risk it!

Take it!

Don't risk it!

The next thing he knew he was sitting behind the wheel of the car and was driving smoothly down the street. Adrenaline rushed through his veins again as he tried to slow down his racing heart. He just drove around until the day melted into night and he knew the streets of the city like the cars in a magazine.

He stopped at a grocery store to bring back some food to his family. If his mom asked for an explanation of why he was late. Sighing, he packed the food into the seat next to him and planned to leave the car somewhere near his house but far away so they wouldn't think he'd take it. He stopped at a red light and was tapping his fingers against the wheel. He tensed when he heard police sirens in the distance. They got louder and louder as he beggingly stared at the light. Once he saw it in the rearview mirror he panicked and floored the gas pedal. He shot forward and drove away a couple of feet before he hit something hard. He slammed on the breaks and he started to shake in fear.

'No. Not again! I didn't hit someone, I didn't…'

He forced himself to get out of the car and stood facing forward. He finally willed himself to turn around and almost fainted on the pavement. He recognized the kid he had run over. Her recognized the style of the hair and the shape of the body.

He had just hit Shorty.

"Oh god, no!" He chocked out as he ran back and dropped down to her side. "No no no no no! Shorty, please wake up! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

He ignored the police officers that ran up to him and were trying to pull him away from Shorty, but Twitch held on tightly. He couldn't hear her breathing and he couldn't feel a pulse. But he knew, he just knew, that she wasn't dead.

"Shorty! Shorty! Wake up! Please, wake up!" Twitch sobbed as he held her close. He didn't care that he was sitting in the middle of the street, he didn't care that people were honking horns at him. He wasn't moving until she woke up. "I'm sorry Shorty, I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I had to! You have to understand, I'd never want to hurt you! Please understand! I'd never hurt your Shorty! Never, ok? So please, wake up!"

"Sir, sir, we're going to have to take her away," an officer said gentle as men from an ambulance came over with a stretcher.

"NO!" Twitch screamed. "No! You can't take her from me!" Tears were falling freely down his cheeks, his eyes were red and puffy from his crying.

"We have to help her, or she'll die," he said as he placed a hand on Twitch's shoulder. He finally let go of his grip as they gently picked Shorty up and placed her on a stretcher. "You're going to have to come with us, son." Twitch lifted his head and looked at the officer in fear.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because you stole a car, drove over the speed limit, and you may have killed that little girl," he responded as he shoved Twitch up against the Ferrari as he slapped cold handcuffs over his wrists.

"How much trouble am I in?" Twitch managed to ask.

"It depends on whether or not the little girl dies."

Twitch suddenly felt numb as he was shoved in the back of a police car and he was driven away from the scene. He knew he wouldn't be able to face the Montgomerys again, if he wasn't being sent to jail. How would everyone else in D-Tent respect him now? He was numb to the shoving and jabbing to his back once they reached the police station.

'I'm sorry mom, I'm sorry Braden, I'm sorry D-tent, I'm sorry Icy, I'm sorry Glare. I'm sorry, God. Please forgive me for what I have done. If you're up there, somewhere, please forgive me.'

Twitch didn't cry as they got his fingerprints.

Twitch didn't cry as they called his parents to tell them what happened.

But he broke down when he was placed into a jail cell and the metallic clang echoed in his head.

He just sat on the bed and cried.

----

"Why're you so quiet, Ricky?" Liam asked him that night as they ate dinner. He just shrugged as he continued eating. Squid noticed that also but hadn't said anything as he continued eating. Dinner that night was unusually quiet. The telephone ringing was the only noise that was in the house. Zigzag pushed back his chair from the table and went to get the phone. Squid heard Zigzag talking softly and chill went down his spine for some reason. He didn't look up until he felt Zigzag staring at him.

It was then he knew something was wrong.

"Shorty…she's in the hospital. She got run over by a car," Zigzag choked out. Squid's world seemed to stop as his mouth dropped open. He could only asked softly, "Who?"

"Twitch," Zigzag whispered.