What We're Made Of

by Shortiethegiraffe

Richard doesn't come downstairs for breakfast before school one day. When Bruce checks on him, he finds an empty room with a note saying Dick had to keep Bruce safe. From what? That is what Bruce is determined to find out when he launches into an investigation to find his missing son. (Starts out as fluff, but pay attention it turns into plot.)

23. Part 2 Chapter 8

Chapter 8

11:00 AM September 20th 1998, London England, House on Chapel Street

"Here is the kitchen. I'm not sure how cooking and dishes go here, you'll have to ask Denny about that later." The two men lead Jasmine and I through a dingy house. It isn't the cleanest place I've ever been, but it's livable. A dark green shag carpet covers all the floors in the house, even the kitchen. It's an open floor plan, so standing in the kitchen I can see everything in the living room. Wood paneling covers all the walls except for the cooking area which has an ugly floral wallpaper. The furniture's old and much used, but still looks sturdy.

"Who's Denny?" I inquire.

"The house 'supervisor'" he explains. "He is the oldest kid living here and is in charge. Doesn't do much besides report to us on you lot and make sure you all don't burn the house down. If you play your cards right, you could get his spot in a couple years. Pays a little bit more. How old are you two?"

"Fourteen" I tell him. Liam and Jay look towards Jasmine and wait for an answer. She hesitates then quietly answers "Eight."

"Well Joey, you'll be one of the older ones living here" Liam comments, while peeking through rooms. "If you do as we say, you can get the supervisor job in no time."

"Who says I want it?"

Jay takes a threatening step towards me, "Listen here kid. When someone in your situation is offered a job, they take it; and it is best to be grateful and not piss off those with more power than them. Understand?"

Flashbacks of guards from the villa run through my mind, "More than you think" I murmur.

Jay snickers "Looks like someone's got an interesting backstory. I can tell by your expression."

Crap. I immediately begin trying to come up with a good lie "Well I…"

"Did it sound like we wanted to hear it?" Liam interrupts me. My mouth automatically shuts.

At that moment, the front door opens, a boy only a couple years older than me walks in carrying plastic bags filled with food. He has brown hair with brown eyes. When the boy spots us, his bored expression doesn't change. "Hey Jay, Liam" he nods before pointing at us "Who are they?"

"Your new tenants" Jay answers. "Joey and uh…." He frowns and turns to Jasmine, who is laying low by the table.

After an awkward moment, she finally states "Jasmine."

"Yeah, Jas…whatever."

"Jasmine" the little girl mumbles. We all turn when we hear her annoyed tone. "You got the Jas part. What else would that be short for?"

"These two have a habit of mouthing off" Jay tells Denny who rolls his eyes.

"Because we didn't have enough of those" Denny mutters under his breath before asking "How long are they going to be here?"

"Not sure. Quite a while. Joey here is fourteen; we were thinking he could take over after you leave."

At that, Denny tenses a bit, "I still have a couple months before I have to make that decision. Ever think I could say no?"

"Yes or no, you're still out of here. In the meantime, you get to teach Jr. here the ropes."

"Jr?" I question, but the group ignores me.

Denny scowls at Jay, "I don't see why I can't just keep doing this. Wouldn't it look better anyway if an actual adult was staying here? At some point a neighbor is going to notice something's up. There's always a ton of kids coming and going with no parents, someday somebody is going to start asking questions."

"And it's your job to make sure that doesn't happen. We aren't interested in babysitters Denny, you know that." Jay growls. The two glare at each other for a moment before Denny breaks away dejectedly. "Get the kids a room. Someone will call in a couple days with your assignments."

Jay storms out of the house, trailed by Liam. The door slams, followed by a long silence. I watch Denny closely. Slowly, his broken expression turns more and more hollow. Eventually he sighs and mumbles "There's an empty bedroom on the third floor. You two can share that. I'll show you where it is."

I stay put as Denny listlessly walks up the stairs. Next to me, Jasmine grabs her bag and follows him. She pauses at the bottom of the staircase and turns to look at me. Her face is blank as her eyes carefully watch me. A second passes in quiet. Jasmine bites her lip, turns back to Denny's retreating form, takes in a deep breath and makes her way up the dooming stairs. She disappears around a corner at the top.

A prickling feeling shoots up my spine. My throat feels as if all the dust in this forsaken house decided to take residence in it. A pit forms in my stomach, growing with each creaking footstep booming down from upstairs. An eerie familiar makes presence in my mind.

What Jay said earlier, they aren't interested in babysitters; how can he expect one person to look after a bunch of kids, Denny doesn't even seem interested. Ah!

My back straightens in pain, those stupid prickles.

Denny's quick surrender…it felt as if he gave up before the fight even began. He just accepted his 'job.' Begrudgingly but, submissively.

Prickles. What the hell?

'How long are they going to be here?' Denny had asked that. How many kids come and go? Is it rare for one to stay in place for a while? Do Jay and Liam just move people from house to house? How long does each kid stick around?

Crap! My spine!

Jasmine's expression. Last time she looked at me like that was…

Gah! The pain causes me to grab at the chair in front of me. My breathing grows heavy.

Oh god.

What did I get us into?

Jasmine's POV

3:15 PM September 28th 1998, Rhodes Avenue

The van drives off down the road. I can see Joey watching me from one of its windows; an unreadable expression on his face. I take a deep breath, glad to have fresh air enter my lungs instead of the foul fumes inside the van. One of the straps on my bag feel really loose, so I tighten it, feeling the contents inside the bag slide across my back. For some reason, this causes me to break into a fit of coughs.

"Bless you" Ryan, the kid who got dropped off here with me, says.

"Thanks" I wheeze.

He nods. Like me, Ryan is dressed in a pair of jeans and a new tee-shirt. Nicer clothes than what we wear around the house. His shirt is green, matching his eye color. Ryan's hair is a similar shade of black as mine, except not as shiny. I'd say he is a year or two older than me, but much taller.

Ryan leads me to the edge of the alley we were dropped off in. He looks down the street then tells me "We'll hang out here for a bit longer until the school gets out. After that, we can blend into the crowd of kids."

"Okay" I agree. Geez, why is does my head feel weird. Taking a seat by a wall, a chuckle escapes my lips.

"What's so funny?" Ryan asks.

"I don't know" I tell him, smiling.

He frowns confusedly, but drops the subject. After a moment, my stomach growls. I ask "Can we get something to eat?"

"What! No! We have to be back at the house in an hour. You can cook something then."

"Do you have a snack on you?"

"No."

I sigh as another grumble roars from my stomach. Gah! I ate like two hours ago, why am I so hungry. Maybe there is something to eat in the backpack. Slipping the bag off my back, I grab onto the zipper. Before it can move an inch, a hand snatches the bag away.

"Hey!" I whine.

"Are you stupid!? Never open the bag!"

"Why?" I giggle. "Is it going to explode?"

"What is wrong with you? You've been acting weird ever since we got dropped off."

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting like…never mind. Schools out, let's go."

I follow Ryan out of the alley. We make our way down the street. I notice all the kids surrounding us, also carrying similar bags to the ones Ryan and I have. All the kids are pouring out of a big building with a sign that says 'Rhodes Avenue Primary School.' Ryan and I blend into the crowd nicely. Now I understand why we were told to do the drop offs at this time. Kids walking around London when school ends looks better than having us do deliveries in the middle of the day. Ryan merges with a group that trails into an underground entrance. I try to keep us as best I can, but can't seem to concentrate clearly. Eventually I catch up with him by a big map. Ryan grabs my hand and proceeds through the ticket line. After he buys both of us a ticket we follow the flow of people down some escalators that lead us to a bunch of trains. Ryan tells me that we have to wait for another one to arrive as he leads me to an empty track.

As the train arrives, it speeds in front of us; sending a strong wind that makes my hair fly all over the place. I can't help but giggle, only to receive another strange look from Ryan.

We get on the train.

….

The buildings here are really shiny. All the houses have nice trees and plants growing around them. The bricks covering each home are clean along with the walkways leading up to each door. They kind of remind me of the villa in a way. Everything appears to be expensive. Except these homes are smaller and closer together.

A few kids are walking around the neighborhood, all with backpacks. Ryan and I blend in with them well, nobody gives us a second glance. Eventually Ryan turns at a home and walks up to its red front door. He knocks and rings the house's doorbell. We wait for a couple minutes before a younger woman answers the door dressed in a cleaning outfit.

"Is Mr. Hall here?" Ryan asks, reading the name off a piece of paper. Thank god he is here, my head is so fuzzy that I don't think I could do this alone, my thoughts are too slow.

"Yes. Why?" the maid raises an eyebrow at Ryan and me.

"Toby Perez sent us."

"Oh" her face drains of color. She steps out the way and ushers us inside "You two haven't been here before, usually they send a blonde girl."

Ryan explains "Paige got traded."

"I see" the maid frowns. "Mr. Hall will be down in a minute." She scurries up a staircase close by.

Hazily, I ask Ryan "Who's Toby Perez?"

"Jay and Liam's boss."

"I thought Jay was the boss."

"He is of us. But he's only in charge of distributing product around our area of London. He has co-workers and people higher up than him…a lot of people higher up actually."

"Really? What do they do?"

Footsteps sound from upstairs. Ryan talks quietly "I don't know, oversee the whole process I guess. Our house is only a tiny part of a big operation apparently. I don't really understand it all, nobody really tells us much until we get older. Now shh, Mr. Hall's coming."

I giggle at his worry. Ryan gives me another confused look, but stays quiet as a middle-aged man walks down the stairs, carrying a big baggie full of money. He smiles and greets us

"Hello you two. Sheila told me that there was two of you, but I don't recognize either of you. Where did that older blonde girl go?"

Ryan answers "Paige was needed elsewhere, so I'm taking over her deliveries. She" he gestures towards me "is new. I'm just showing her the ropes."

"Well then" the man who must be Mr. Hall says "let's get to business. You got my order?"

Nodding his head yes, Ryan shrugs off his backpack. He gives me a look, so I do the same. We both hand the bags to Mr. Hall, who opens each. He smiles and lifts a baggie from mine. It is filled with a gross greenish plant-looking stuff. It is neatly wrapped in layers of plastic wrap. Mr. Hall grabs the same from Ryan's bag and drops his money inside of it and hands it back to Ryan. I grab mine as Mr. Hall tells us

"Thanks you two. I'll see you again soon."

Ryan nods and heads to the door. I follow him out of the house, closing the door behind me. As we walk back towards the street, Ryan mumbles "Soon? How much of that crap does he need?"

"What did we just give him?" I question through a big yawn. My head is beginning to clear up from the fuzziness earlier. But now I'm feeling really tired.

Giving me a confused glance, Ryan asks "You really have no idea?"

I shake my head.

"Well I can't tell you here; maybe later when we aren't in public."

"Do we always deliver that stuff?"

Ryan sighs, "No. Not always. C'mon, let's go back to the house. Are you still hungry from earlier?"

Pausing on the sidewalk, I frown and say "No. Not anymore."

Joey's POV

6:44 PM November 3rd 1998, Chapel Street

"Is there any way to shut them up?" I complain quietly to Denny, referring to the two twins fighting over some toy truck in the living room.

"I've been trying to find a way for the past six months" he grumbles before taking another slice of pizza from one the boxes on the table. Denny didn't feel like cooking tonight, which is fine by me because that means I didn't have to help.

"Have you tried taking the toy away?"

"Then they'll just fight over something else. It's easier just to let them figure it out on their own. Usually another kid comes along and yells at them to knock it off. If that fails I'll just throw them in the yard for a while, let them burn off some energy."

"Really? What if they run off or something?" I inquire, biting into someone's leftover crust.

"One can only hope."

I nearly choke on the pizza from laughing. Denny gives me a small smile, before adding "It hasn't gone that far in months. I only throw kids outside when I get really annoyed."

"You get annoyed?" I smirk.

Denny chuckles "It happens sometimes. This job has strengthened my patience though."

Another shriek sounds from the living room. I cringe and mumble "Please tell me not all kids who come through here are this annoying."

"Each kid has their moments. But no, not all are this bad all the time. You and your sister haven't caused me any hassle. Neither has Valerie" he points to the living room couch where Jasmine and a little red-head are quietly doing a puzzle. Every once in a while sending an annoyed glare to the two boys. The three other children in the house went upstairs after eating, I haven't heard a peep from them since. Denny continues "Although I wouldn't say I keep a close eye on everything you all are doing. There are usually too many running around to stop all of you from causing trouble. You wouldn't believe what I've let some kids get away with."

"How many kids does Jay usually dump on you?" I inquire. "Seven seems a bit much for one guy."

Denny takes a bite of pizza and thinks over his answer. "I'd say I usually have about seven or eight. Never any more than ten and it's rare that I ever have less than five. Only once was it that low when I was just a delivery kid; and that was because four of my housemates got busted stealing product. Otherwise Jay only moves a kid around every few months after one turns ten. He also moves boys around more than girls."

"Why's that?" I ask, finishing off the piece of crust.

"Keeps them from getting attached to one place" Denny frowns. He sadly glances to the twins in the living room. "They recruit more boys than girls, and don't want any of them anchored to one place when they grow older. You know, no place to call home so there's no reason for them to object to moving around the country."

"They move you out of country after you turn eighteen?" I frown, glancing at Jasmine.

Following my gaze, Denny assures me "Don't worry. If they move you, they will move her too. Besides, they will probably keep you in London, I could tell Perez liked you when he visited. He'll recruit you for his team like he did with me."

I nod and settle into my chair again. "What does that all entail?" I ask timidly.

The left side of Denny's mouth tenses to the side as he hesitates to answer "It all depends. Most likely you'll be a guard. Follow him around, take care of…problematic customers."

"Yeah, yeah…I got it" I state as an unpleasant shiver goes down my spine. "So how long until you turn eighteen?"

"A year, I turn seventeen at the end of the month" Denny frowns. "But they will start my training in a month once I confirm that I'll work for them."

"Wow, calm down. Don't need to sound so excited" I try to joke.

Denny isn't amused. "Why would I be?"

"I don't know. You're getting out of here, away from all the screaming kids. You'll actually have a real job instead of a being live-in babysitter."

He snorts, "I'd rather stay here. Being a henchman isn't exactly my ideal career path."

"Why are you agree to join then?"

"I already joined Joey. Years ago. The second I started doing deliveries for Perez. It doesn't matter what I want to do now, my so called 'decision to join' happened a long time ago and now I'm freaking stuck."

"Why don't you just leave?" I scoff. "If you don't want to be here, then leave."

"And go where" Denny challenges. "I dropped out of school when I was seven. I have no idea where my family is, if I even have one. Enough people in London recognize my face enough to know who I work for, how would I ever keep a regular job? The only reason police leave me alone is because Perez keeps them at bay. If I leave or piss him off, Perez will give me up without a second thought. I'm stuck here, whether I like it or not."

By then end of his rant, Denny sounds completely broken. I can feel every ounce of his resilience be squashed by the mere thought of our employers. I haven't felt this kind of emotion since…

A jolt shoots up my spine, causing my back to go stick straight in my chair.

"Are you okay?" Denny asks surprised.

"Yeah" I try not to gasp. Redirecting his attention to something else, I say "There has to be something good about working for Perez."

Eyeing me suspiciously, Denny shrugs "Pay's good I guess. I'll be able to afford my own apartment. Trainings going to suck ass though. My old supervisor told me…"

My gaze strays to where my sister is playing as I half pay attention to what Denny is saying. Jasmine and the red-head Valerie are crawling on the ground, peaking under furniture, appearing to be looking for something. A tiny bit of movement near the coffee table's leg catches my eye. A small square looking object slides it's way across the carpet. It freezes under Jasmine's hand as she is crawling. Jasmine stops and picks up the object in surprise. She smiles and tells Valerie "I found it" as she puts the last piece of their puzzle in it's spot.

Uh oh. Jasmine didn't even realize she just used her powers. That can't be good.

Jasmine's POV

2:00 PM September 4th 1998, Chapel Street

Lying on my bed, my head is swimming with different thoughts. Joey told me last night about the puzzle piece moving. Dammit. I thought I gained control over stuff like that when I was three. I wonder how many other objects have been floating around me without my noticing.

My mind replays the conversation Joey and I had earlier.

"It wasn't too noticeable, but you do need to get your powers under control Jasmine" Joey says sternly. "What if it wasn't me who saw you?"

"I thought I figured them out" I whisper. "I swear, I haven't used them intentionally in years. The puzzle piece…I didn't even know I did that. How…how could I not have felt that!? I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. I promise…"

Joey places a hand on my shoulder, "Calm down. I get it, it's tough blocking your powers completely. Even I have trouble sometimes."

"You do?"

"Yeah" he nods. "Just simple stuff, like feeling someone's emotions. When I'm talking to someone, their thoughts or feelings pop into my head sometimes. Only when I'm not paying enough attention to stopping my powers. But mine aren't as noticeable as yours. That's why…"

"I have to be more careful; I know" I murmur, laying down on my bed. "How am I supposed to control my powers when I don't even realize I'm using them?"

"You know when you're using them, you just don't realize you do. I'd say your first step is to figure that out. It shouldn't be that hard."

"Not that hard my butt" I mutter under my breath. What does he know? Joey even admitted that he doesn't have complete control over his powers, how can he expect me to. I wonder if Daniel knows how; not that he would be any help to me.

Sighing in frustration, I roll over and bury my head into my pillow. Okay Jasmine, settle down. Let's just think this through. Joey was right, I should be able to know when I use my powers. I should be able to feel it. But I have to find the feeling in order to control it. Using my powers feels natural, so when was the last time I felt…not normal.

The hum of the fan distracts my thoughts. It's soothing, the neutral noise helps calm my body; let's my mind clear so I can think. I close my eyes, relishing in the peace the hypnotic hum brings, it's been a while since I have felt this calm. It almost reminds me of times at the villa when…

That's it. The last time I felt the entirety of my powers…well…more like didn't feel my powers. When I didn't have any objects around me, when my abilities couldn't be used. The dark room. Whenever I was in there, I felt…empty. The stinging pain that always happened when I spent too long in the room, I never really understood it until now. Sure, I always knew it was my powers, but I didn't understand why they did that. It must have been the part of my powers I didn't know how to control. The part that must have still been trying to reach out to objects, eventually overworking and tiring out.

Immediately, my mind begins searching for the little part of my powers. Now that I know what it feels like, I can figure out how to stop it.

Joey's POV

4:00 PM January 9th 1999, Chapel Street

This is so wrong. My hands burn from the memory of handing that gun over. That man…I can still sense the vile inside his mind; swirling with horrid thoughts. I shouldn't have given him the gun; even if he doesn't have any plans for it yet. I shouldn't have done that. Just the size of it…I don't know much about guns, only the little Denny has taught me, but I can tell that one is really dangerous. That man shouldn't have it.

God, I feel sick.

I got back to the house about an hour ago. I was the first one back, everyone else in the house were still on their deliveries. I've been sitting on the couch, trying to calm my guilt-ridden stomach, ever since getting back. As each housemate arrives, they each take a minute to stare. I'm not sure what my appearance looks like, but it must not be good judging by their expressions. I'm not beat up or injured, but I probably look like crap. I feel like crap. A few have tried to talk to me, but I wouldn't respond. Eventually each kid would give up and head upstairs; I can hear them murmuring to each other in their rooms. Their concerned thoughts fall through the ceiling into my mind.

The front door opens. Jasmine walks in, seemingly normal, until she spots me on the couch. Slowly, her expression grows worried as she drops her bag next to the door. Jasmine the makes her way over to me, asking cautiously "Joey…Are you okay?"

"Leave me alone Jasmine" I say emotionlessly.

She stares for a second before asking "Did something happen on your delivery?"

"I said leave me alone."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine" I growl. "Go away."

"You don't look fine."

"I SAID GO AWAY!"

Jasmine is taken aback by my yell. "Joey…what happened?" she whispers.

"WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU!? I'M FINE! NOW GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE! GOD! ARE YOU STUPID?!"

"Hey!" a voice snaps from the doorway. Jasmine and I both turn towards the voice to see Denny standing in the open door, not looking very happy. He closes the door behind him harshly and storms over to us. First he crouches in front of Jasmine, who has small tears forming in her eyes, and says calmly "Jasmine, how about you go upstairs for a while. I'll call you and everybody down when dinner is ready."

She nods. Giving me one last hurt look, Jasmine sprints up stairs. I hear one a sniffle before she disappears around the corner.

Denny turns back to me angrily "What the hell was that!?"

"She wouldn't leave me alone" I hiss. "I told her to go away and she wouldn't stop asking me dumb questions."

"Like what?"

"Like…nothing" I mumble, turning away and curling up into a ball. I rest my side up against the couch.

"That's not an answer" Denny states agitatedly. "You look horrible, what happened?"

I remain silent.

"Joey" Denny warns.

"It's nothing okay!"

"Something happened on your delivery didn't it?"

I don't say anything.

"You're not physically hurt, so I know the drop off went fine. So what happened? Did the guy say anything to you?"

I do not respond.

"JOEY!"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!" I yell.

Denny raises a surprised eyebrow. "What?"

"You made me do the delivery. You, Jay, Liam, Perez! You all made me do it!" Denny stays quiet, a sudden understanding fills his mind. I keep yelling "I shouldn't have done it Den. Drugs are one thing, but handing off that gun to that man! I…"

"You've done gun drop offs before…"

"This was different!" I snap. My chest feels as if it's going to explode from pressure.

A moment of silence passes between Denny and me. We both don't speak or even move for what seems like hours. Finally, Denny sighs and grabs a white box from out of his pocket. He kneels on the ground next to the couch and whispers sadly "You're first viper huh?"

I take in a deep breath before inquiring "Viper?"

Denny nods "Buyer you know is just bad. Who you know is going to do something…awful. You feel sick after talking to them, let alone giving them a weapon."

I gulp before responding "I shouldn't have given him that gun, Den. I shouldn't have…"

"If he didn't get it from you, he would have found it from somewhere else" Denny interrupts.

"That doesn't make it better."

Denny lifts up the white box. He opens it and grabs a white stick from inside and hands it towards me. I don't even have to look to know what he is offering. "I don't smoke" I mumble.

"Neither did I before I began working here. Trust me, it helps."

I roll my eyes and glare at him, "What? That stupid stick is supposed to make me feel all better?"

"No" Denny frowns. "It helps you to keep moving on. The guilt and all that is still there, it's just…manageable."

Staring at the cigarette for a long moment, I eventually grab it. Denny takes out a lighter and ignites the end. Placing the stick in my mouth, I inhale; coughing almost immediately afterwards. Smoke fills my lungs, burning my throat.

"Hey, take it easy" Denny instructs. "It's not going to feel great your first time."

I nod and take a slower drag, this time it's not as bad. Denny takes out another cigarette and lights it for himself while taking a seat next to me on the couch. We sit for a while.

"Does it ever get better?" I ask.

Denny nods "First the guilt begins to go numb. Then the worry goes away. Eventually you forget that what you're doing is even wrong. It's just…business. But…I wouldn't say you ever feel good about it."

I take a small drag and exhale, letting the smoke drift out of mouth, wishing it would take my nerves with it.

9:30 PM June 3rd 1999, Chapel Street

"Kerry! Get off the counter!" I snap.

The small girl frowns at me, but does what I instruct and exits the kitchen. Valerie walks through the door at the same moment. I grab her attention "Valerie, what the hell is going on upstairs?" There has been yelling for the past half hour and every once in a while a big thud.

The red-head shrugs "I don't know."

"Well can you go take care of that? I'm getting a headache."

She wrinkles her nose in disgust "Why can't you?"

I glare and point to the giant trash bag next to me. "Do you want to clean out the fridge?"

"Why are you doing that?"

"Because some of the crap in here is older than I am. Pretty sure some of these tomatoes were planted the same time as the redwood forest."

Valerie wrinkles her nose again "Where's that?" she asks snidely. Behind her, Ryan and Hunter walk into the kitchen.

Sending her another glare I snip "Go find it on a map. But first go tell whosever making all the noise upstairs to be quiet."

The girl lets out a loud annoyed sigh, "Do you know where Jasmine is?"

"I sent her to go get some groceries, hence why I'm cleaning out the fridge. She should be back in a bit. Now go!" I snip as another thud sounds from the ceiling.

Valerie rolls her eyes and exits the room. I hear her footsteps go up the stairs. Directing my attention to the two boys in the room, I notice how weirdly they are dressed. Both are wearing all black with dark hats. They are standing strangely close to me "What are you two up to?" I caution.

"Nothing you need to worry about" Hunter smiles. Both are unusually giddy.

"You look like you're about to do something stupid."

"You always say that" Ryan argues.

"And have I been wrong?"

Ryan frowns and turns to his friend who laughs and shrugs "He's got a point."

"Don't worry Joey" Ryan assures. "We won't get caught."

"Just tell me what you're up to" I roll my eyes.

The boys exchange glances before snickering to each other. Mid laugh, Hunter tells me "We're going egging."

"You're going what?"

"Egging" Ryan explains. "You know, go throw eggs at people as they walk by."

I pause and think over what they just said. "Aren't you supposed to throw them at like…cars and stuff?"

"That's no fun."

"Where are you even going to get the eggs?"

Hunter points to the trash bag "We saw you were cleaning out the fridge. I know there is at least a couple dozen in that bag."

Ryan adds "Besides we aren't just biased towards eggs. We'll take whatever other goodies are in that bag. You're throwing all of it out anyways."

I stare blankly at the two for a moment. "You're just going to run around London dressed like muggers and throw rotten food at people?"

"Yup" they both answer.

"You're going to completely ruin someone's day."

"Not their entire day, just the last part" Ryan points out.

"What did these people ever do to you?"

Hunter answers "Well Eliot from Paige's house called said Jay and Liam were over. We were going to head over and try to get them."

Oh…Huh.

Handing the trash bag over I tell them "Do it."

The front door opens, revealing Denny and another guy. My stomach drops when I see them, immediately noticing the bruises all over each. Hunter and Ryan turn to see what I'm looking at, when they spot the two men, I can feel the boy's worry. I tell Hunter and Ryan "Yeah, I don't care. Just don't get caught" as I push them to the back door.

"What happened to…" Hunter begins to ask.

"I'll take care of them, go on."

The two boys apprehensively nod then scurry out the door, their excitement builds when they exit the house.

I turn back to Denny and his friend who have collapsed on the couch in the living room. "What in the world? I thought you two were at training."

"We were" Denny's friend groans. "Today was test day."

"Test day?" I question.

"Yeah…testing our damn limits" the guy mumbles. "Freaking bastards."

I look to Denny who is in an emotionless stupor, staring off into space. He notices me staring and shrugs. He turns to his friend "You shouldn't say that about Smith."

"Why not? He's an arse."

"He's your uncle."

"Doesn't mean he's less of an arse. God, I could go for a beer."

The two go back and forth about this Smith guy while I slip back into the kitchen. I head to the locked cabinet above the sink, where the little kids can't reach. I don't have the key, so I use Dante's tension wrench. After practicing for years, I have the lock open in seconds. There are some beers that I grab along with a couple glasses with ice from the fridge. Heading back into the living room, I hear Denny's friend exclaim

"Hey! I like this kid" he smirks and looks at the contents in my hands.

"Figured you'd both like some" I say as I place the alcohol and glasses on the coffee table in front of them.

Denny asks "How did you get into the cabinet?"

"I have ways" I smirk. I ask his friend "So who are you?"

The guy is halfway through a gulp of beer, but answers afterwards "Ted."

"He's going to stay the night" Denny adds.

"Why?"

"Because of my arse uncle" Ted explains as if the answer were obvious.

Denny rolls his eyes and tells me "Ted lives with his uncle. After today, he didn't really feel like going home."

"Understandably" I comment. "Do they do this to you every day?"

"Will be" Ted sneers into space.

Again Denny explains further, "Before we were doing mainly strength training. Now they are going to teach us how to fight."

"Basically they just get to kick our butts around for the next year or at least until they deem us 'ready'" Ted states bitterly. "Bastards."

I smirk sympathetically at Denny "So not the best day?"

Denny shakes his head "No, I wouldn't say so. How was your day? Kids cause you any problems?"

Before I can answer, the front door opens. A devastated looking Jasmine stumbles into the house, carrying a couple bags of food and milk. Slimy goo is covering the side of her face and jacket and hair. Denny asks in shock "What happened to you?"

Jasmine looks towards the three of us. She stares for a moment before whining "I got egged!"

Jasmine's POV

12:15 PM August 15th 1999, Hyde Park

"Do it" Ryan urges Hunter.

"Don't do it" I warn.

"Do it."

"Hunter, it's a bad idea."

"Do it."

"Ryan! Stop it!"

"Doitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoit…"

"Fine! I'll do it" Hunter grumbles.

Ryan wears a triumphant smile as I roll my eyes at our retreating friend. Hunter nears the police officer watching over a group of teenagers hanging out under some trees. Beside me, Ryan is snickering as Hunter draws closer and closer to the unsuspecting officer.

"Bloody hell, he's really going to do it" Ryan whispers between giggles.

"Idiot" I mutter under my breath.

Hunter is only steps away now. He looks behind apprehensively. Ryan gives him an encouraging thumbs up. Hunter frowns and returns his attention to the bobby. His hand raises into the air. Nearby families and runners take notice and begin to gaze in wonder. Even the group of teens spot Hunter and try to watch inconspicuously. I can see the officer grow suspicious at the sudden attention, but before he can investigate, Hunter's hand swings down and slaps him on the butt. The entire park goes silent, I swear the birds even stopped chirping to see what would happen next.

The bobby whirls around and spots Hunter, who wisely is halfway across the park, running away. The police officer yells "HEY KID!" and chases after him.

Slowly, the park fills with snickers. Ryan and I turn to each other and break out in laughter. I can't help it…that was actually really funny. Oh, I hope Hunter doesn't get caught; the bobby looked really angry.

"Did you see his face?" I ask Ryan.

"Whose? The bobby's or Hunter's?"

"Both" I laugh.

Eventually the two of us regain our composure. Ryan asks me "Do you want to grab some lunch? I'm starving."

"Shouldn't we wait for Hunter?"

Ryan snickers "I think he will be busy for a while. C'mon there's a bakery near the edge of the park.

I nod and follow him. It doesn't take long to get there. The bakery is pretty small, but smells amazing. It gets kind of awkward when we stand in line to get our food, there is a fighting couple in front of us. I can't tell if they are arguing over what to get or how much to spend; I guess a little bit of both. It takes a while but they finally decide and move on to pay. Ryan and I both get a couple ham and cheese sandwiches only to be stuck behind the couple again at the register. They are still quarreling as the man pays, but 'stop' arguing when the woman storms out of the bakery. The cashier appears relieved when Ryan and I step forward to buy our food. We pay with the small allowance we receive every so often from Denny. As we exit the bakery, we pass the couple still fighting near the door.

As Ryan and I reenter the park, he tells me "That was obnoxious."

"Yeah" I agree as the two of us sit down on a bench. "Argue at home, not in public."

"Or just not at all. Why didn't she just agree with him?"

"What?" I ask in shock, mid-bite of my sandwich. "Why?"

Ryan raises an eyebrow at me "Why wouldn't she?"

"Maybe he was the one that was wrong" I state.

"So?"

Taken aback I say "Then he should agree with her."

"Why?"

I blink, "Because she would be right."

"So? He's the guy."

"Seriously Ryan?"

"What is up with you?" Ryan questions.

"What is up with you?" I snap.

"Nothing, you're the one acting stupid."

"No I'm not. You're being ridiculous."

"How?" he argues.

"Why should she agree just because he's the guy in the relationship?"

"Because he's the guy" Ryan declares.

"So he should just always get his way?"

"Yeah. That's the way it works."

"You're dumb" I state.

Ryan glares at me. He roughly shoves my side "What did you say."

I frown, but don't say anything. Taking a bite of my sandwich, I decide to watch some birds moseying around in the grass. "That's what I thought" Ryan sneers next to me. I remain silent.

After a few minutes of not talking, Ryan inquires "How are your deliveries going?"

"Fine" I whisper a bit nervously. "Why?"

"Just thinking back on the first one we worked together" Ryan tells me. "Remember how hungry you were the entire time."

"Not really."

"Well you were. You were actually kind of weird that day."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You were just…have you ever smoked weed?"

"What!? No! Have you?"

Ryan smirks, "A few times. Hunter and I sometimes take a bit from our deliveries."

I almost choke on a bit of my sandwich. "Ryan" I gasp. "You shouldn't do that. You'll get in trouble."

"Only if I get caught" Ryan blows off my reaction. "That won't happen."

"You don't know…"

"Yeah I do. Trust me, I won't get in trouble. You better not tell anybody" he threatens.

"Why shouldn't I?"

Ryan leans in and growls "Because I said so."

I can't help but shrink under his glare. Again, I try to concentrate on something else, not looking him in the eye.

"You're really pretty."

"Wh…what?" I stutter, still not looking at him.

"I said you're really pretty. That's good."

This confuses me, "Good?"

"Yeah. Girls should be pretty."

"Why…" I begin to ask, turning to him.

Before I can say anything else, his head connects with mine. Ryan's lips massage over my own, leaving a feeling of saliva on them. He pulls back; leaving me stunned. I sit there paralyzed as Ryan wears a proud smirk and enjoys a bite of his ham and cheese.

"Ryan!" a yell sounds from behind us. Hunter runs from around the bench and tells us "He recognizes me!"

"Who?" Ryan asks.

"Prince Charles" Hunter snaps. "Who do you think!? The bobby! He's still looking for me and will probably recognize you too!"

"Why the hell did you drag me into it then!"

"HEY" A familiar scream runs towards us. "YOU TWO!"

"You arse!" Ryan yells at Hunter as the two take off into the park. Ryan throwing the last of his sandwich at Hunter.

The police officer runs past my bench and after the two boys, not gaining any ground on them. I'm sure the two will outrun him soon.

Still in my shocked stupor I stare at my sandwich. Why would Ryan kiss me? We were fighting, why would he…I'm so confused. Well, he did call me pretty before he kissed me. So we weren't fighting at that moment. Still…I just…I didn't expect him to kiss me. That whole conversation was so up and down. It happened so fast; just a minute before he kissed me, he was threatening me. Is kissing me supposed to keep me quiet? Should I tell someone about him stealing? He's my friend and…Gah!

I bury my head into my hands. Maybe if I just stay like this, all my problems will be solved for me.

"You shouldn't litter" a man's voice says next to me.

Surprised, I jerk my head up to look at him. A dark haired man is on the bench where Ryan was sitting next to me earlier. "What?" I ask confused. Litter?

The man points to the ground in front of me, "You shouldn't litter. Keeps the park clean that way."

Looking at the ground, I see my half eaten sandwich. Oops, I didn't even notice I dropped it. "Sorry" I mutter, making a move to pick it up.

"Don't bother, you shouldn't touch food that's been in the dirt" the man chuckles. "The birds will get to it later."

"Oh" I sigh. Who is this man?

As if reading my mind, the man tells me "I'm Royce Sita."

"Okay" I say uncomfortably. Scooting to the edge of the bench, I begin to get off and away from this man, "Bye."

"Where are you going Jasmine?"

I freeze. "How…how do you know my name?"

The man smirks. He leans back on the bench smugly. My gut drops as he states simply "You look so much like your father."