It's very different for me to be doing a story that has Eli and Clare in a situation they normally wouldn't be in such as this one, but I am enjoying it. Weather Clare and Eli are in a gang, or they are monkeys, they are still Clare and Eli, and their connection is undeniable 33

The smoke started to clear out of the room, and I could sufficiently breathe again. I walked back to couch and sat down, Eli followed me sitting on the coffee table in front of me. His presence was beginning to annoy me more and more by the second. "You don't have to be this close to me, there is such a thing called personal space."

Eli rolled his eyes, "No there isn't, not in this life that you're choosing. That's what I was trying to explain to you. You don't have to be here, Clare. Just walk away."

"You're here? I don't understand why you're persuading me away from something that you led me to in the first place." My face was stern, I hated him, and his self righteous attitude. Not just him, but all of them, they made me sick. They were criminals, monsters. The only one I had sympathy for was Emma, but even she would have to pay for her part in this.

"Correction, I persuaded you to eat lunch with us, not join a gang."

"Are you serious, what kind of ridiculousness is that. What did you think was going to happen?"

"I didn't think this would, why would I? Zig's girlfriend sit's with us most days but she hasn't even once thought about joining us. I certainty didn't think you were going to throw a bag of drugs onto the table, or that you even lived on this block. If I had known any of that I would have never offered for you to sit with us. Never." Eli's face was inches from mine, and I stood up to keep the distance between us. I walked into the kitchen and stood in front of the window, I needed my brother's strength. I needed him to help me through this, it was so much harder than I had anticipated. I could kick ass, and I had knowledge of the lifestyle, but interacting with people was so challenging me. For a year it was just Matt, me, and training.

I heard footsteps, Eli was behind me. "I'm sorry Edwards. I shouldn't have been so nosy, it's your life, your choice."

I turned around to look at him, if you're so against this life, then why are you in it? "

Eli chuckled, "That's a good question, obviously I don't seem like the gang member type, I know that. Everyone has a story though Clare, mine landed me here."

"Care to elaborate?" The more I knew about each person, the easier I'd be able to get to know them, and earn their trust.

"No, but I will anyway. I was relatively normal, as were all of us before we joined. I had a girlfriend, her name was Julia. She lived on this block like the rest of us, but she wasn't into this lifestyle. My parents left the neighborhood to tour, and they were going to take me with them, until Julia offered to let me live with her. It was great because I wasn't into the lifestyle either, but I did start to buy from Zig. Julia asked me to stop, but I didn't listen, I didn't see why I needed to. All I was doing was smoking weed, but it was causing a huge rift between Julia and I. I'm ashamed that I was so stupid, I should have just listened to her. I didn't though, and I began to hang out with Zig and Vince more. Still though, I kept away from the gang, but then I started to take pills. That lead to a mistake, a mistake meaning Bianca. I told Julia it would never happen again, but she left me anyways. She moved towns, and I haven't seen her since."

"So, how does that lead to you joining the gang?"

"Well, without her I was homeless, I literally slept on the street for weeks. Vince told me to move in with them, but I refused, I didn't want to be involved in anything having to do with the gang. That's when I met Sean, he offered to let me live here, and by that point in time I was starving, I couldn't refuse anymore. He promised I'd be safe with them which was great, but that meant I owed him. I had to do favors for him, or jobs as we call them, then eventually I just was part of the family. It seems unlikely, I know I don't appear to be a gangster, but that's what I am now. To survive I need them, they really are the only family I have."

"So you all live here?"

"No, no. It's just Sean, Emma, Vince, and I. Zig, Bianca, and now you, live in different houses on the block."

"Oh, I assumed you and Bianca would both live here since you're together." For a moment I felt a twinge of jealousy escape my voice, I didn't understand it, he disgusted me, yet It came out.

Eli raised his eye brows at me, and I turned away in embarrassment. "There really isn't any room here for her, It's a relationship of convenience mostly anyways. It's hard to have a relationship with anyone who isn't in this lifestyle, you don't want to ever bring anyone you love down with you. I don't know how Zig does it with his girlfriend."

I bit my lip to keep from saying something I'd regret, "She doesn't care that he's in a gang?"

Eli shrugged his shoulders, "Well I guess not, I mean Zig is a good guy."

"How can you say that, he steals, and murders people." My voice came out harsh, I didn't hide my disgust.

"Zig has never murdered anyone, most of us haven't. You don't know him to say anything about him, you're choosing to live the same way we do, so what's with the judgment?" Eli's mouth was in a line, and his posture had become stiff.

I had let my true emotions slip for a moment, and I had to recover somehow. "That's not what I meant exactly, I just meant I think it's wrong that he does the things he does, but drags someone else down with him, or rather us."

Eli seemed to be understanding of what I was trying to say, "I guess I see what you mean, but you can't help who you love." Eli smirked, "Well, at least we know Vince cant."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Excuse me?"

"He's claimed you as his, you're stuck with him." Eli averted his eyes away from me.

I protested in confusion, "I don't want to be with him, he cant just claim me."

"He kind of can, that's just how it is." I looked down, it made me sick, and sad that there were people who were really living under these fucked up ways. "Hey look at me." I looked up at Eli, his face was serious again. "You don't have to stay, you can go, you're so much better than this Clare."

For a moment I thought of Eli as human, a regular guy. Then I replayed the image of Vince gunning down my brother, and I remembered who I was dealing with. I was dealing with pathetic monsters who made up excuses for why they were in the gang, or why they were killing brothers, sisters, and mothers. I hated all of them, they were untrustworthy. I was trained to know that they would try to act like good carining people, but I knew better. My face became hard again, "You don't know a damn thing about me, or what I deserve."

I whipped my head around while trying to walk away but Eli grabbed my wrist, then he quickly let go staring at me. "Clare, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Eli rubbed his hand over my collar bone, when I had whipped my head around to leave my hair had fallen behind my back. I always kept part of my hair over my right colar bone, I had an ugly scar there. It was from training, they sent me out on my first real mission to get some real life experience, and long story short, I was burned. The gang held a gun to my head for hours, burning me in the same spot every time the agency didn't meet their demands. It was a big reason I knew that no gang member was different from the other. Every single one you encounter may act like a decent person, but in the end when their back is against the wall they'll do whatever's necessary, no matter who they hurt.

I pushed Eli's hand away from my burn and placed my hair back over my shoulder, "Like I said, you don't know a damn thing about me."