Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer rights apply.
Warning:Updates will most definitely be slow. Sorry, guys.
This contains SLASH, in other words: same sex couples. It also contains drug use, violence, sexual situations, and MAY contain a(n OC) death. This story is marked for mature readers only, please treat it as such.
Pairings: Will be sporadic, and a surprise. I'm not ruining the story by telling you end pairings.
Beta'd By: Sarah2437 (Thank you for your hard work!)
Getting Back Together Again
XXV: Confrontation
Thick fog enveloped Racetrack as he made his way deeper into it. Trees were all around him. He could make out shadows of people in the distance, but they seemed ominous. At the same time, Racetrack needed to find someone, he had just forgotten who.
He chose a figure in the distance and started walking towards it, despite the apprehension he felt as he got closer. The fog seemed to be growing thicker with every step he took.
He stopped walking towards the figure once the fog became so thick that it was hard to breathe. "Hello?" he called, squinting to try and see through the fog. "Is someone there? I'm looking for someone!"
Suddenly the figure surged forward and he finally saw him. A skeleton with teeth, blood leaking out of the top of its skull. "Can't look for someone who's dead," it replied before cackling.
And then just as suddenly Racetrack was falling. The forest disappeared as he fell into darkness until he eventually landed on a cement floor. He gathered up his breath before getting up and looking around him.
"Is anyone there?"
He was surrounded by cages. He stepped up to one, noticing a slumped figure in the corner, chains attached to the ceiling dangling around him. "Sir?" he tried. "Sir? Are you okay?"
The man looked up quickly. It was the face of the skeleton in the forest. The same face with the same blood. "Can't care about someone when they're dead," it said before cackling.
Race quickly backed up only to run into something. He turned. Same skeleton with the same face and the same blood running down his face.
"Can't know someone when they're dead," it told him before joining in on the cackling that was already echoing around them,
Racetrack quickly ran back, his eyes wide as his heart hammered. The cages were gone, replaced by a downward spiral of steps that he took advantage of.
"Haven't you ever seen any horror movies, moron?" a calm and familiar voice said. Racetrack couldn't place who it was, but he instinctively knew that this was the person he had been looking for. "You never go down to the basement, you complete fucking idiot," the voice continued. "That's where everybody always dies."
"Where are you?" Racetrack asked, still bolting down the stairs. "Who are you? I need to find you! It's not safe here. We need to leave!"
"I'm already dead, you big dumb idiot. You're too late," the voice answered. "You were too busy gallivanting around the god damn Rainbow Forest to remember me."
"Sean!" Racetrack answered the voice as he suddenly remembered who the voice belonged to. "Sean! You aren't dead! Where are you? I can come get you!" he said, still hammering down the stairs.
And, turning around the next spiral he encountered the ground floor with Sean glaring up at the steps. "Took your god damn sweet time, didn't you? You stop for ice cream?"
"Sean!" Racetrack greeted, his eyes wide. "I've been looking for you," he answered, reaching out to grab his arm. "We need to-" He paused as soon as his hand clasped on Sean's arm, his flesh suddenly bone.
"Told you I was dead, moron," Sean replied as the rest of his flesh turned to bone.
And then Racetrack was looking at the same skeleton. Same face, same blood.
"No one loves you when you're dead," the skeleton who used to be Sean said before cackling.
That was when Racetrack shot up in bed. He quickly took in the site of his bedroom before sighing and letting himself relax. His alarm clock's cackling finally got his attention. Turning to it, he immediately went back to being panicked; he had to be at school in twenty minutes.
Skittery woke up to groaning, and quickly matched the noise with a groan of his own. His entire body felt stiff and sore. "Ugh, fuck, am I dead?" he asked himself, raising a hand to lower it on his forehead and wondering if it felt better or worse to use his muscles.
"You're telling me," Jack muttered, stiffly and slowly climbing out of his bunk. "I'm pretty sure my sores have sores. This is some cruel and unusual punishment."
"Some new form of torture," Skittery agreed, glad he had been too tired the night before to climb up onto his bunk. Sleeping without sheets or a pillow had been worth it when it meant all he had to do was roll out of bed.
"At least you don't have to go to school," Jack grunted, wincing as he tried his best to stretch. "How the hell am I supposed to sit at a desk all day like this?"
"I can't believe I agreed to this," Skittery muttered. He tried to get out of bed only to land on the floor when his knees buckled under him. "At least you weren't jumping around on rooftops all day before the torture they consider training started up."
Jack grunted as he hobbled over to help his roommate up. "Surely they can't expect us to train again today, can they? I can hardly move." He winced as Skittery leaned on him before finding his balance.
"I need a wheelchair," Skittery griped. "You think Slingshot'll let us do training in wheelchairs today?"
Jack laughed before clutching his stomach when he realized how much it hurt. "That bastard? I highly doubt it. I think he takes a perverse joy in making us suffer." He grabbed a shirt and threw it on, deciding that he was way too tired and sore to make it to the shower. "How'd the bonding go with Sean yesterday, by the way? He seems like more of a bastard than Slingshot."
Skittery shrugged as he reached for his own shirt. "He's definitely more violent, I can tell you that," he muttered. "And unless you want him to try to break a rib I wouldn't call him 'Sean' while we're in Brooklyn. He goes by 'Spot' around here; he was pretty adamant about that one."
Jack nodded, wincing again when he realized that even his neck hurt. "'Spot'," he replied. "Got it." he turned towards Skittery. "You're crazy for getting up this early. You're still suspended, aren't you? Might as well sleep in."
"Nah, fuck that suspension bullshit," Skittery said, gritting his teeth as he leaned over to put his shoes on.
"Yeah? I thought you hated school. You were certainly happy enough to skip yesterday," Jack said, grunting a bit as he forced his legs to move into a pair of jeans.
"Something came up I gotta go take care of," Skittery explained, crouching over so he could rest his stomach on his knees, his knuckles touching the floor.
"Something that you wanna share?" Jack asked, happy when he discovered that he could still raise an eyebrow without being in excruciating pain. It was probably his only muscle that didn't hurt. "Something about Itey, maybe?"
"What? No," Skittery protested quickly. He quickly jerked upright, hissing when his muscles protested the movement. "I don't care about Itey. I certainly don't care that he's going out with a bitch of a whore now. She's probably going to rip his heart out and spit on it, and I won't care at all when that happens. Which is probably going to happen soon. Because, you know, she's a huge cunt."
Jack rolled his eyes, another motion his body could still perform without protest. "Yeah, you going to school definitely doesn't have anything to do with Itey," he replied. "Maybe if you didn't snarl when you talked about it you'd be more believable."
"I'm starting to like you, Jack," Skittery snarled as he forced his body to stand up. "Don't go ruining it already."
"I hope I wasn't too annoying last night," Bumlets mumbled as he sat in the passenger seat of Swifty's car. He ran a hand through his hair. "I get that I might have not been the best of company."
"Nah," Swifty replied, looking over at his friend quickly before turning back to the road. "I love hearing about the guy you can't stand being obsessed with you. It was definitely a conversation that warranted staying up until two o'clock in the morning."
Bumlets bit the inside of his mouth. "Okay, I admit your sarcasm is well founded. I might have gone a little overboard last night. Annoyingly so."
"Naaah," Swifty said. "I had a blast. Do you wanna maybe talk about it even more? Because I'd really enjoy that."
"Alright, I get it," Bumlets snapped. "I pissed you off. I'm fucking sorry. You don't have to be such a dick about it."
"And you don't have to keep bringing it up," Swifty snapped back. "I mean, Jesus, dude. I tell you to drop the complaints; you don't listen. I tell you to drop the apologies for not dropping the complaints; you don't listen. I'm starting to think Bam isn't the only one obsessed."
"What?" Bumlets asked, jerking up in his seat. "You think I'm obsessed with Bam? Why-why would you think that?"
"Gee, Bum, maybe the fact that you didn't shut up about him all night," Swifty sighed as he pulled up to the school. "Why you're obsessed is something I haven't touched on yet, but you are definitely obsessed for some sort of convoluted reason."
"I-" Bumlets started before closing his mouth and frowning at his friend for several seconds. "Okay, so there may be some truth to that statement," he finally admitted, getting out of the car as soon as it parked. He continued as soon as Swifty opened his own door. "Maybe I'm just that creeped out? Or in some weird way I'm flattered? Or maybe I'm mystified that anyone would even want to stalk me?"
Swifty swung his arm around his friend's shoulder, guiding them both to the smoking wall he knew Bumlets would be heading to. "Maybe now you're obsessing over why you're obsessing."
"Right," Bumlets agreed, shaking his head. "I'm really plummeting to all new lows, aren't I?"
"I'll say," Itey interrupted as Bumlets and Swifty approached their regular smoking spot. Itey and Dutchy were already there, both about halfway done with their cigarettes. "You're turning into the extremes of manwhore," Itey told him with a smirk. "First Dutchy and then Swifty. Bam's going to be so disappointed when he finds out you've been sleeping around. You're a better gay man than actual gay men."
Bumlets rolled his eyes as he took out his own cigarette. "Shut the fuck up, Itey," he said with no venom. "You think I want this bullshit right now?"
"Is there ever a time when someone wants bullshit?" Itey asked before taking another drag.
"Spot!" Jack shouted, pounding at his bedroom door. "Wake up, you lazy asshole!"
Slingshot rolled his eyes when he heard the shouting going on down the hall and walked over. "He's never going to wake up unless you go in."
"I don't wanna get shot, thanks," Jack muttered, looking over his shoulder to see Slingshot before looking back to the door in front of him. "Spot! Wake the fuck up!"
"I've been here almost five years, ya dimwit," Slingshot said. "If it hasn't worked for me in all that time what makes you think it's going to work for you? Either break in and risk getting shot at or give up," he continued before turning on his heel.
"Spot! If you don't get the fuck out here I'm driving your motorcycle to school!" Jack threatened.
Slingshot froze mid step as he heard a door open.
"If you so much as touch my motorcycle I'm going to rip out all of your ribs before using them to smash your fucking lungs in," Spot threatened. His hair was sticking up on one side and one of his eyes was still closed. He blinked as he realized there were a few people in the hallway looking at him with wide eyes. He retreated back into his room. "Get the fuck in here, you piece of fucking shit. Who the fuck even gets up this fucking early?" he asked as Jack followed him.
"I wouldn't have to get you up this early if you hadn't sent Speed away on some errand," Jack snapped.
Spot glared at the open door and the gawking onlookers in the hall before striding over and slamming it shut. "Sorry, I didn't realize that Speed was your personal chauffeur," he said as he walked back over to his bed. "I'll make sure not to give my head of transport any other jobs before I ask you first. Don't know what I was thinking." He crawled into bed and pulled the covers over his head. "Lesson learned. Close the door on the way out so I don't have to shoot a hole through your chest."
Jack walked over to his bed and yanked the covers off his head. "How the hell am I supposed to get to school now, asshole? Speed was supposed to be my ride."
Spot glared before sighing and getting back up to stand next to Jack. "You've surely realized by now how irritated I am, correct?" he asked before sweeping his leg out and sending Jack to the floor. He quickly landed a punch to his chest before sitting on him, his legs on either side of Jack trapping his arms. "Are you still too stupid to leave after you realize I'm irritated?"
Jack glared up at him. "You can't control everyone with violence," he answered back, chin high as he fought the instinct to struggle. "And we both know I can take a punch."
"Jackie Boy," Spot said, leaning closer to Jack's face. "If you think all I can do to you is throw some punches then you haven't been paying much attention as to how I got into the position I'm in." he cocked an eyebrow at him. "Would you like a demonstration? I know some really neat ways to make you feel so much pain you want to die, but not enough pain to make you pass out." He smirked at Jack who had now gone completely stiff. "It took forever to be able to find the line between the two."
Jack had gone pale under him, finally starting to squirm to try to find some sort of leverage. "Get off, Sean. Seriously, this isn't funny."
Spot pulled his face away, still looking down at Jack. "I wasn't trying to be funny. I was trying to be threatening," he explained. "You come into my room, waking me up, and making demands. You think I'd just forgive you for that?"
"I-I thought you'd want me to go to school," Jack told him, still struggling to get out of Spot's hold. He bucked up, and Spot had to scramble to stay on top of him.
Spot immediately head butted him for the trouble. "Stop fucking moving, you dimwit. I'm not even hurting you yet."
"Yeah, yet," Jack snapped, trying to force his body to stop moving. "Why should I just lay here and wait until you do something? All I wanted was a fucking ride to school," he explained, his voice rising in hysteria with every word. "Why am I getting punished for that? You wanted me to go to school, didn't you? What was I supposed to do? I-"
Spot put a hand to Jack's throat and squeezed to cut off his airflow, his legs still holding down Jack's arms. "Shut the fuck up, you fucking retard," Spot growled, squeezing a little tighter on Jack's throat as the boy thrashed around underneath him. "You're pissing me the fuck off. And if you don't stop fucking moving I will fucking blow your god damn brains out," he snapped.
Jack tried to freeze his body, but he couldn't stop his arms from still struggling to get out of Spot's holdt. His mouth was open and his eyes wide as he struggled to find air that wouldn't come.
Spot lightened his hold and Jack immediately took a gasp of air. Spot made sure to keep his hand at Jack's throat. "Yes, I expect you to sit here and do fucking nothing while I do whatever I want to you. That's exactly what you agreed to as soon as you moved in here, Jackie Boy."
"I don't ever … remember … signing up … for that," Jack said, taking a deep breath between pauses. "That sounds like … a deathwish. Why would I … ever agree … to that?"
Spot frowned, his anger going as fast as it had appeared. "Because in exchange you don't have to worry about anything. If you're mine then I'll make sure you have food and shelter. I'll make sure you have everything you need, and I'll protect you with everything I have."
Jack rose his eyebrows, still breathing hard. "And in exchange you can do whatever you want to me? I'm not really into that dom shit, man."
"Then get out," Spot said, getting off Jack and heading back to his bed. "I have no use for people who don't want to be here."
"I was joking!" Jack exclaimed, his eyes wide as he picked himself up off the floor. He crossed his arms and frowned at Spot, trying his best to control his erratic breathing. "What I really need is a ride to school," he said before looking at the ground. "I'd appreciate it, Boss."
Spot dropped the bed covers he had just picked up and strode over to his subordinate. He smirked to Jack as he walked over to him. "Who could say 'no' to that pretty face?" he asked before he patted his subordinate's cheek and walked out his door. "Let's go; I'll drive your fucking ass to school."
"Do you have something besides your motorcycle?" Jack asked, following him out. "Skittery kind of needs a ride, too."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Spot said before muttering to himself. "I've gotta get more gang members who know how to fucking drive."
"Dutch, c'mon, handholding is enough, okay?" Specs said, leaping away from Dutchy and putting his hands out in front of him. "I do not want your hands anywhere around my ass."
Dutchy pouted at his friend. "This is what people who date do though!" he whined. "How are people going to know we're going out if you're not comfortable enough to let me keep my hand on your butt?"
"They'll know we're going out by the fact that we're holding hands," Specs hissed back at him. "Would you for once stop pushing me?! I already told you this yesterday."
"I don't understand the big deal," Dutchy said as they walked across the school parking lot towards the smoking wall. "It can't be because you're afraid people will think you're gay; everyone already knows by now."
"It's because it makes me uncomfortable," Specs snapped. "No means no, Dutchy!"
"See, Bumlets?" Itey asked, turning to Swifty and Bumlets as soon as the two approached. "I told you we didn't have to worry about Dutchy raping anyone. He's got Specs to teach him."
Bumlets frowned at his friend. "I believe your exact words were 'Guess Dutchy's out of luck'." He took a hit off his cigarette as he cocked an eyebrow at his friend.
Itey just shrugged. "Eh, it's one in the same, really." He looked at the four people surrounding him. "Since when did I become the fifth wheel? This isn't good for my reputation. Where's Sarah? I need my girl so I don't look lame."
"Girl? Since when?" Dutchy yelped, letting go of the death grip he had on Specs' hand in order to flail his arms up and down. "What happened to our gay brigade, huh? You can't go out with a girl!"
"Er … Bumlets and I aren't gay, Dutchy," Swifty said before looking over at Bumlets. "Or, at the very least, I'm not gay."
"I'm not gay either," Specs ground out, though no one seemed to pay any attention to him.
Bumlets frowned at him before turning to Dutchy. "Shouldn't you be more surprised that it's Sarah? That's not exactly a common occurrence; the whole school's raving about it."
"Right, right social etiquette. Who cares?" Dutchy asked, waving a hand at Bumlets as if to sweep the subject away. He turned back to Itey. "Did Skittery damage you so much that you turned straight? I thought we were supposed to be in this together!"
"Be in what together, exactly?" Itey asked, cocking up an eyebrow. "I'm bisexual, Dutchy. I'm an equal opportunity kind of lover."
Dutchy pouted at his friend. "I don't know what you see in Sarah. She was always getting us all in trouble back in the day."
"We're not twelve anymore, Dutch," Itey argued. "Things change. And Sarah's really changed. I mean, personality wise a little bit, but physically … holy shit! Amirite … " Itey trailed off as he looked around at his audience. "Shit, no one here's straight anymore, are they?"
"I'm straight!" Bumlets, Swifty, and Specs all said in unison.
"How the fuck can you be straight if you were going out with Dutchy?" Specs immediately asked, turning to Bumlets. "Were you just playing him, you bastard? Thought you could experiment with him and then kick him to the curb?"
"This coming from the self-proclaimed straight boy currently dating Dutchy?" Bumlets asked, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you have room to be pointing fingers."
"It's different with me and Dutchy than it was when you were dating him!" Specs snapped, glaring at the other boy.
"And how is it different, exactly?" Bumlets asked. "How am I a piece of shit and you aren't when you're doing the exact same shit?"
"I'm not doing the same shit!" Specs yelled, leaning towards Bumlets.
"That's exactly what you're doing!" Bumlets said, matching Specs' volume and leaning towards him as he yelled. "Don't fucking judge me, you asshole!"
"Guys! Guys!" Dutchy cried, darting forward to get in between his two friends. "Let's all calm down, okay? There's no need to be fighting over me."
"I'm not!" Bumlets and Specs both snapped, looking over at Dutcy. "This guy's just an asshole!" they both explained before looking back at each other and glaring.
"You guys sure are energetic in the mornings, huh?" Swifty said calmly, looking over at Itey.
Itey just shrugged. "Not usually, but then again, we usually don't have this much company in the mornings. And Dutchy doesn't normally pull all the straight boys' attention. Might mean we've entered the Twilight Zone."
Swifty raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you too young to be using that reference?"
Itey shrugged as Bumlets and Specs continued to argue. "I'm an old soul," he explained.
"Ugh, no more rooftops," Skittery moaned as he climbed into the backseat of a car and immediately laid down. "I've had hangovers that've felt better than this."
"You're both sad sacks," Spot grunted as he got into the driver's side of the car. "What the hell were you two even thinking signing your lives over to this? You think you were enrolling in a frat house or something? Thought we just sat around playing video games and sucking each other's dicks all day?"
"I had my hopes," Skittery mumbled from the backseat as Jack slipped into the passenger seat.
"I wasn't complaining," Jack said. "And it's not like it matters anyway. I have no where else to go. No family. No friends. No one fucking likes me. Who the fuck cares what happens at this point?"
"Sad sacks and pussies," Spot replied, starting the car and pulling out of the parking garage. He shot a look over at Jack before going back to looking at the road. "Since when the fuck did I become everyone's Dr. Phil anyway? Do I suddenly look like a therapist to you?"
"I wasn't saying it for advice," Jack grumbled, crossing his arms as he slouched lower in his seat. "Forget I even brought it up."
"So you're whining about it for sympathy then, is that it?" Spot asked. "No one likes me either, in case you haven't noticed. Don't see me in a corner crying about it, do you?"
"Some of us aren't douchebags and actually want to be liked, in case you haven't noticed," Jack snapped back.
"For the love of god, spare me, please," Spot said. "If you want people to like you then stop being a douchebag. Jesus, how hard is that? When the fuck did I start hanging out with a bunch of girls?"
"I like you, Jack," Skittery said from the backseat. "You know, when you aren't being a douchebag. Which you kind of are. A lot. But I don't hate you anymore. At least, not always. I guess."
Jack rolled his eyes from the front seat, another move that didn't have all his muscles protesting. "Gee, thanks, Skitts. That means a lot."
"I meant you're growing on me, asshole," Skittery snapped, wincing when his muscles protested the movement of his head so he could look at Jack. "Beggars can't be choosers."
Jack shot him a smile before looking back at Spot. "What the fuck happened to your face anyway? It looks like someone took a god damn shovel to it."
"Gang business," Spot grunted.
"Oh, yeah," Skittery said, moving to sit in the middle seat and trying not to wince in pain as he leaned over the console to be between Spot and Jack. "How's your head? I woulda thought that shovel had at least given you a concussion. You're hard core, Bossman."
"Shovel?" Jack asked, his eyes wide as he looked between Spot and Skittery. "What happened?"
"None of your business. It's taken care of. I'm fine, and Skittery proved his loyalty," Spot answered, not looking away from the road as they approached the school. "Nothing to worry about."
"Proved his loyalty by letting you get hit by a shovel?" Jack asked. "How does that make sense?"
"You'll find out tonight," Spot promised, pulling up to the school parking lot. "You're up next, Tiger. Meet me in my room after class and we'll see whether you're meant to be a part of our happy family," he said before parking the car and quickly getting out. He didn't bother waiting for either of them as he strode off for the school.
Jack stayed in the car and turned to Skittery. "He's not going to try to have sex with me, is he?"
"Oh, man, I wish," Skittery answered, scooting over so he could climb out of the car. "Shit's way worse than Slingshot's training, I'll tell you that. You've gotta jump off roofs and shit. And-" Skittery frowned. "Well, the entire experience wasn't very pleasant, I guess."
"Unpleasant how?" Jack asked, getting out of the car at the same time as Skittery. "Dangerous?"
"Only for other people," Skittery muttered before smiling at Jack. "I realized last night that this shit isn't a joke. We're actually in a gang. And that means doing all the dangerous and unsavory shit that comes with it."
Jack's steps faltered. "So it is going to be dangerous then?"
Skittery's smile grew as he shook his head. "I also realized who serious Spot is. You'll be protected. No danger for you, Jackie-Boy. Just danger for anyone who gets in the way. You do this and we're family. And Spot takes that shit more seriously than all my family members combined."
"Family, huh?" Jack replied quietly, smiling back. "Been awhile since I've had one of those."
"Yep, definitely entered the Twilight Zone," Itey said to Swifty as he watched Jack and Skittery approach them with smiles on both their faces.
"Jack, how ya been, man?" Swifty greeted. He smirked. "You know Masson's going to call you out if he sees you over here, right?"
"Screw 'em," Jack said, shrugging his shoulders. "Better company over here anyway," he said, smiling back at Swifty.
"Well," Itey spoke up, looking between Jack and Skittery. "This is a weird turn of events. And one I don't have any time to be figuring out." He dropped his cigarette on the ground and grinded it into the ground with his foot. "I gotta go find Sarah. I promised I'd walk her to class today," he explained before walking towards the school. "See you losers later!"
Jack put his hand on Skittery's shoulder in response to the dark look he was sending Itey's way.
Bumlets massaged his forehead. "Okay, I really have no idea what's going on here. You finally crack under the pressure, Skittery?"
Specs looked between everyone before settling on Dutchy. "I don't get it. What's going on here? What's wrong?"
"Shh!" Dutchy replied, not bothering to look at him. His eyes were fixated on team Swiflets and team Jattery. "This is better than daytime soaps, dude."
Skittery crossed his arms. "What? Itey being able to get Sarah is expected, but I can't pick up Jack?"
"What!?" Swifty and Bumlets exclaimed at the same time, both looking over to Jack.
Specs took a step away from Dutchy. The kid looked like a maniac at the news, with wide eyes and an even wider grin.
Jack immediately threw his hands up, his eyes wide as he took a step away from Skittery. "Okay, that is not true. At all."
"No, it's not," Skittery admitted with a frown. "But I totally could if I wanted to."
"No, you couldn't," Jack argued.
"Totally could. I'd have you swooning in no time, my friend."
"Okay, enough of this," Bumlets demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking at Skittery. "What are you even doing here? Did you forget that you're supposed to be suspended."
Skittery tilted his chin up, arms still crossed. "I'm here to do something about that fucking whore who's trying to steal my man," he declared.
Racetrack got to his first period classroom with time to spare, much to his surprise. He was also elated to realize that Sean was back in class.
"Sean," he greeted with a smile as he slid into his seat. "I was starting to think I'd never see you again," he joked. "Where have you been?"
Sean had immediately stiffened as soon as he had started talking. "Nothing. No where," he answered, as he death glared at the notebook in front of him.
"Listen, are you okay?" Racetrack asked, his smile dropping. "Because I had this dream about you-"
That made Sean jerk and look up at Racetrack with wide eyes. "What? No I didn't. Leave me alone. It's none of your business," he said hurriedly before returning all of his focus to his notebook. His chest was heaving as his wide eyes remained.
"Huh? What?" The whole performance just made Racetrack frown harder. "I meant … I had a dream last night," he said, explaining slowly and quietly. He squinted at Sean. "Did you … did you have some sort of dream last night, too?"
Sean's body went rigid. "No, fuck off," he answered, not looking up from the notebook this time.
"Riiiight, yeah, okay. That's totally believable," Racetrack answered before shaking his head. "Look, it doesn't matter. Don't tell me. That's fine," he said before leaning over and talking in an even quieter voice. "But listen, I had this dream. And you were in trouble. You were dead or someone was trying to kill you or something," he explained. "I have a really strong feeling that something bad's going to happen to you."
"I have a feeling you're fucking-" Sean stopped as he switched his focus from the notebook to Racetrack and immediately noticed how close they were. He could feel his cheeks heating up and hoped to any and all gods that there were enough bruises to cover his god damn fucking blush. "You're fucking paranoid," Sean forced himself to finish before quickly going back to glaring at his notebook.
"Really? Because you haven't been ignoring me? And all those bruises on your face don't mean anything?" Racetrack asked. "I even went to your place during lunch yesterday, and everyone refused to tell me where you were. They said you were out, but I saw your motorcycle. What's that about? What's going on?"
"You're fucking annoying me is what's going on," Sean snapped, looking up so he could glare at the boy next to him. "You think I appreciate some pissant wandering around Brooklyn and asking about my whereabouts? Or following me around school? Leave me the fuck alone," he said before turning back to his notebook.
Racetrack blinked at him, trying to piece together what exactly it was that Sean was trying to hide, and why he was acting so strangely. He had looked scared again, especially when Racetrack was trying to tell him about the dream he had. And Sean had never once called someone annoying without threatening them.
"If you don't wanna tell me what's going on it's fine," Racetrack said quietly, turning back to the front of the classroom. "But I'm here for you. If you ever want to talk, I mean."
Sean had to force himself to breathe as his breath hitched. "Fuck off, Race," he demanded quiet enough that even he didn't hear it. Holy shit, he was really cracking up.
Sarah was expecting some sort of scolding for going out with Itey, so when she entered her second period class and found Masson sitting in her seat she wasn't surprised. What was surprising was the fact that he had waited until second period to confront her.
"Masson," she greeted with a smile. "Are we switching classes today? Personally, I wouldn't mind it." She leaned over the desk to have access to Masson's ear, giving him a perfect view down her shirt. "I absolutely hate Algebra, you know," she whispered.
Masson took in a breath before leaning back. "Right. Yeah, I ..." he breathed quietly before the glare settled back on his face. "Right," he repeated more sternly. "I've got something I hate too. I hate it when my ex-girlfriend starts going out with stupid little stoner fucks."
Sarah stood up straight and crossed her arms, looking down at Masson as other students started to come into the classroom. "The terms 'girlfriend' and 'ex-girlfriend' mean completely different things, did you know? If, let's say, I was your girlfriend, I would care about your opinion and seek your approval. On the other hand, if you were to say that I was your ex-girlfriend, much like you just did, I wouldn't care about your opinion and wouldn't give a fuck about your approval. You see the difference?"
Masson shot up from the chair. "But ex-girlfriend doesn't mean just that," he snarled. "It also means that once upon a time you did care about my opinion and you asked it. A lot. And about private shit that you begged me not to tell anyone." He looked down at her as she glared. "So you may not care about my opinion anymore, but you should sure as shit still seek my approval."
Sarah had paled as she remembered all the things she had told Masson back when she had thought he was a decent guy. All the horrible things she had said about David that would make him even more of a loser than he already was. All the gossip she had spread about the other cheerleaders, girls she needed to get along with. Concerns about her parents, Inadequacies she felt in school and at home.
"Masson," Sarah began before taking a deep breath. "You-you can't just go around bullying people."
"Bullying people?" Masson snorted. "What are you? Twelve? You start dating a stoner and now you're concerned about what I do? You used to love it when I spread shit about other people. Now it's not funny anymore?"
"It was never funny," Sarah replied quietly.
"Oh, no? Well, it's a good thing I'm not seeking your approval then, isn't it?" Masson asked with a smile. "Stay the fuck away from filth, Sarah," he demanded. "You're making us all look bad."
"You transfer into our Algebra class, Masson?" Jack asked calmly, walking through everyone who had been looking at the show going on before class.
"Hey, Jack," Masson greeted, still looking at Sarah. "I forgot you were in this class."
"Yep, been here all year," Jack replied. "Don't remember you ever being here though. So? You here to threaten people or something? Because I don't think coach would appreciate that very much."
That made Masson finally whirl over to face Jack with a frown on his face. "Are you fucking threatening me, Kelly?"
Jack matched his stare as he crossed his arms. "I never said that. In fact, I don't think anyone here is threatening anybody. I was just saying, hypothetically, if you were threatening someone that Coach would be disappointed to hear about it. Might make you even sit out some games. Give the rest of us some playing time."
Masson's frown deepened as he took a step closer to Jack. "So that's how it is, huh, Jack?"
"Yeah," Jack replied, taking his own step towards Masson. "That's exactly how it is."
Masson looked him up and down, sizing him up before he turned away and strode towards the door, not bothering to say anything else.
"Did you get around to doing your World Studies homework?" Jack asked, turning to Sarah. "I've got it next class, and I completely forgot about it." He gave her a smile, ignoring the audience they had. "Any chance I can copy yours?"
Sarah nodded before smiling back. "Yeah, of course. It was a struggle to get it done," she explained, digging through her bookbag before she pulled out the worksheet in question. "Thanks, Jack," she said quietly as she handed it over.
"Oh, no, thank you," Jack replied. "You just saved my ass." His smile grew. He was fucking awesome at this gangster thing.
Sarah stood outside her second period classroom as she nodded off Jack. She was waiting for Itey to come pick her up for her next class, determined not to have a babysitter to do it. She knew backlash was coming, and she refused to try to hide from it.
"Sarah, baby, doll-face." Skittery came up from behind her and slung an arm over her shoulders. "We need to have a little chit-chat, it would seem."
Sarah fought the urge to roll her eyes and instead smirked at him. She imagined it was possible that Itey was trying to walk her to all of her classes in order to protect her from his weird ex-boyfriend, as opposed to the school as a whole. "Skittery," she greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Skittery rubbed the tip of his nose with his thumb. "Funny story, actually. I think there's been some sort of mix up. You see, you have come into a possession of mine."
Sarah stepped away from him, causing his arm to drop off her shoulder. She crossed her arms and squinted at him. "Skittery, if this is about Itey then this is the most offensive 'stay away from my man' conversation I've ever had."
"Well, I'm a very offensive man," Skittery answered, crossing his own arms and tilting his chin up. "And I demand to have him back."
"You're joking, right?" Sarah asked, cocking a hip and placing her fist on it. "You had your turn. You decided to throw him away. He's mine now. And I have no plans on giving him up," she said with a smirk.
"He's mine, god damn it!" Skittery snapped, no longer looking confident as his hands balled into fists. "He's in love with me! He's going to come back!"
Sarah didn't drop her smirk as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, with that sort of attitude I bet you get all the dudes." She frowned as she crossed her arms. "You don't deserve Itey, Skittery. Not as a boyfriend and not as a friend. And I'm going to prove it to him."
"You stupid little whore!" Skittery yelled, pointing a finger at her as his face got red. "I will fucking destroy you if you ever come around my boyfriend!"
"Not your boyfriend anymore, is he, Skitts?" Sarah asked, unfazed by the yelling man in front of her. "Also, I've been in multiple competitions for guys with multiple back stabbing cheerleaders. You really think you're going to scare me?"
"You stupid cunt," Skittery replied. "I'm going to-"
"Sarah? You okay?" Itey's voice broke out over them as he tried shoving through the people that had gathered around his girlfriend and ex boyfriend.
Skittery's eyes widened at his ex boyfriend's voice. He glared at Sarah one more time before shoving through the crowds away from Itey.
"Sarah?" Itey asked again as soon as he saw her. He raised his eyebrows. "You okay, darling? Someone trying to give you a hard time?"
Sarah smiled at him, putting an arm around his waist. "I'll give you a hard time, baby," she replied with a wink.
Itey smiled back. "You … you are just absolutely perfect," he complimented, putting his head on her shoulder. "If I wasn't late getting you to class I would totally take you up on that offer."
"What's the emergency?" Dutchy asked as soon as he approached the smoking wall Bumlets and Itey were already at. He held up his cell phone, displaying the '911-Smoking wall' text that Itey had sent him a few seconds before the third period bell had gone off.
Bumlets crossed his arms as he glared over at Itey. "Couldn't have been anything about the fact that you share third period with Skittery, would it?" he asked his friend with a frown.
Itey seemed to shrink back a bit before forcing out a laugh. "No. That's … er … not the only reason?"
"You called us here because of your stupid love problems?" Dutchy asked, throwing his phone on the dirt. "Are you shitting me? I've got my own problems if you haven't noticed!"
"He's not the only one," Bumlets replied, keeping his arms crossed. "And you've been doing nothing but giving us shit for our problems, so why should we help you now?"
"This was supposed to be precious Dutchy-and-Specs time!" Dutchy continued, not giving any indication that he had even heard Bumlets. "I was going to call it Spetchy time and it was going to be magical! I finally got that little bastard to skip class with me, and now he's going to think I forgot about him!"
"Spetchy?" Itey asked, squinting at his friend before looking over at Bumlets. "Sounds like a type of throw up, doesn't it?"
"I didn't realize vomit had different types," Bumlets replied. He sighed as he uncrossed his arms.
"Sure," Itey said. "Spetchy vomit, like the lumpy vomit you puke up right after eating a meal. Like. it hits your throat and you just think 'man, this vomit is about to be spetchy'."
Bumlets shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ew. Stop, please. I don't think I can listen to this anymore. Can we get back to the point? Why the fuck are we here, Itey? You're going out with Sarah now; you shouldn't even care about Skittery."
"What do you mean I shouldn't care about him?" Itey asked, crossing his arms and glaring at his friend. "I'm in love with the guy. Whatta mean I shouldn't care?"
"What the hell are you doing going out with Sarah if you still have feelings for Skittery, huh? You think it's okay to do something like that?"
Dutchy's face dropped as he looked between Bumlets and Itey. "You-you …" He dropped to his knees and put his face in his hands. "You guys are stealing my plan and doing it better than me! You guys are the worst friends ever!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Bumlets asked.
"I don't even know why I sent you that text," Itey said. "You're an imbecile."
"An imbecile whose ideas you're stealing!" Dutchy exclaimed before pointing at Itey. "You! You're using Sarah to make Skittery jealous! And you!" He said, this time pointing to Bumlets. "You're pretending to be straight to make that really good looking guy keep following you around!"
"He's not that good looking," Bumlets grumbled.
"Skittery even already verbally attacked Sarah," Itey said with a smirk. "All part of my diabolical plan. I can't believe things are moving so slow between you and Specs. I don't even have to force Sarah to pretend she likes me." He moved to swing an arm around Dutchy's shoulder. "The pros of being a handsome man hunk, amirite?" He dropped his arm and frowned at him. "Not that you would know, I guess, eh?"
That was when Bumlets punched him.
"Ow!" Itey said, stumbling backwards to avoid falling on his ass. "What the fuck was that for?"
"First, I told you to lay off Dutchy," Bumlets growled. "Second, if you are being serious about that shit with Sarah I will personally fuck your shit up, you understand me?"
"Hey, buddy, relax, yeah?" Itey said, holding up a hand in surrender as his other held the side of his face. "Of course I was kidding. I like Sarah, I told you that. I just didn't expect to see Skittery this soon, so I was avoiding him. Why are you so riled up, huh?"
"You're just irritating me is all," Bumlets grumbled before heading back into school.
Bam watched Bumlets walk away from the car he had parked in the school's parking lot, a huge smile on his face. "I think I might be falling in love," he whispered to himself.
David walked into his fourth period class early, surprised to find Bumlets already in his seat, Skittery stooped over his desk. They were talking to each other in low whispers that David couldn't make out, but they both looked irritated. "Hey, guys," he greeted with a smile, hoping to diffuse the tension as he stowed his bag underneath his seat.
"David!" Skittery replied, immediately bursting into a smile. "Just the man I wanted to see!" he sauntered over to David before throwing an arm over his shoulder. "Hey, you're pretty close to your sister, yeah? Any secrets about her you wanna maybe share?"
"Skittery! Knock it off," Bumlets demanded. The dark look on his face didn't change until he looked towards David. "Hey, Davey," he sighed. "You get the homework done for the last section? Shit gave me a headache."
David nodded as he pushed Skittery's arm away and sat in his seat. "Yeah, I can help you with it later, if you want," he offered, taking out a notebook. "In fact, my parents are kind of encouraging me to have you and Itey over again. You wanna come have dinner with us and then afterwards we can go over it together?"
Bumlets frowned at his friend. "You do realize that it's Friday, right? You're seriously asking me over to study for a class I don't have to worry about for two days?"
"Yeah, yeah. I know, I'm a nerd," David replied, scratching the back of his head. "But it is really best to get it out of the way fast," he said. "But if you don't want to I might be able to meet with you Monday? During lunch, maybe?"
"Tonight's fine, Davey," Bumelts said, sighing. "Might help to process everything over the weekend, I guess." He smirked. "And the free food is definitely a plus."
"I want free food!" Skittery said, pouting as he leaned over David's desk. "Why aren't I invited?"
"Because I was planning on inviting Itey," David answered, paging through his notebook. "I thought it'd get awkward." He looked over at Skittery. "Plus, you called my sister a cunt, so you're not allowed over at my house anymore."
"You did what?" Bumlets snapped, rising from his chair. "Skittery? What the hell?"
Skittery took a few steps back, raising his hands in surrender. "All's fair in love and war, amirite, guys?"
"No," Bumlets answered, approaching his friend. "No jokes about this shit anymore," he demanded as a few students filtered in. "You broke up with him, Skittery, not the other way around. You aren't allowed to ruin his shit just because you changed your mind."
Skittery frowned at him as he crossed his arms. "You are just no fun anymore," he said before looking at David. "And I don't like your new balls as much as I thought I did." At that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the classroom.
Bumlets pinched his nose as he sat back down in his seat. "Dude, I hope her sister knows what she's gotten herself into. Between Skittery and Itey she's in for some shit."
David frowned at him. "Yeah, I know that. So does she. I also know that she can fight her own battles. My sister's not someone to be toyed with in her own right."
"Yeah," Bumlets answered, taking out his own notebook as the teacher came in. "I don't think I could ever forget some of the hell she put us through as kids."
David laughed. "So think of this as retribution," he suggested before winking at him.
"I thought that's what inviting Itey to dinner was," Bumlets said. "I'm thinking your parents don't know you're about to invite the guy they just found shirtless in your sister's room over, eh?"
"They also don't know he's currently going out with Sarah," David replied with a smile.
"You're devious."
"I just wanna make sure he's not going to run off at the first sign of trouble," David confided. "Seems like Sarah's kind of serious about him."
That made Bumlets frown, unsure if he could say the same thing about Itey.
Bumlets relaxed against the smoking wall as he chain smoked instead of going to lunch. He knew he wouldn't be able to face Itey and Skittery without causing a scene. He couldn't believe how the two were acting. And to put Sarah in the middle like that? Their best friend's sister?
Or … was David even a best friend? How did he classify? Old best friend? He didn't know how that type of naming system went.
"Darling," Bam said with a smile as he approached him from the parking lot. "I'm glad you're alone; I thought I was going to have to wait until school let out before I could see you."
Bumlets pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not you again. I really don't have the fucking patience for this right now, dude." He looked over at the other man. "Though I guess I should be happy you don't have any fucking flowers with you this time."
"Sean's idea," Bam said, swiping Bumlets' cigarette and leaning back against the wall. "He suggested this." He held the cigarette in his mouth before looking through his pockets, eventually pulling out a sandwich bag filled to the brim with marijuana. "I hope you like it." He smiled before handing it over.
Bumlets' eyes went wide as he stared at the bag for a few minutes before snatching it and shoving it into his bookbag. "What the hell? You can't be carrying around that much weed at school!" He hissed.
"You took it though, right?" Bam asked, his smile wide as he bounced around in place. "And that means you like it! You like it, right?"
"Yes. Jesus, calm down," Bumlets demanded, sighing. "It's better than some fucking flowers, at least," he mumbled before looking over at Bam. "I still don't like you following me around. I was already annoyed enough before you got here."
"You wanna talk about?" Bam asked before taking a final puff of Bumlets' cigarette and tossing it to the ground. "I'm a pretty good listener, if I do say so myself."
Bumlets frowned at him. "Yeah, I noticed that when I told you to leave me alone, and you did exactly the opposite of that."
"I heard you though, is my point. I'm just not very obedient," Bam replied, crossing his arms. "And now you have a bag of weed out of it, so I wouldn't be complaining."
Bumlets immediately knelt down and fished the bag out of his bookbag. "If it's that big a deal to you then you can have it back," he said, throwing the bag at Bam before swinging his backpack over his shoulder. "I can get my own shit, thank you oh so much," he snapped before striding towards the school.
"Hey, wait, I didn't mean it like that!" Bam said, reaching over and grabbing Bumlets' wrist. "I'm just not good at this, is all." He used his other hand to scratch the back of his head. "I don't get many dating opportunities, you know? My work's kinda all consuming. Anyway, I'm sorry. I did get it for you. I was happy you liked it," he said, looking down.
Bumlets stared at him before glancing at the hand that had too hard of a grip on his wrist as he started to connect the dots. Bam was close to Sean. Sean, the Brooklyn gang leader. Bam had a job that made it hard to meet people, despite the fact that he looked fresh out of high school. Bumlets squinted at him as his brain made another connection. Was he fresh out of high school? "How old are you?" He blurted out.
"Taking an interest, huh?" Bam asked, beaming at him. "Woo! Sean totally called it on the present!" He pumped his fist into the air while his other hand remained on Bumlets' wrist. "I'm sixteen," he said with a smile.
"Y-you're younger than me?" Bumlets asked, his eyes wide as he ripped his hand away. "What the hell?" He asked before his brain came up with a more important question. "And why aren't you in school?"
"Oh, that," Bam answered, shrugging as he bit his bottom lip. "I don't go." He scratched the back of his head. "I guess I'm what you'd call a high school dropout."
"What? Are you for real? Why?"
Bam shrugged. "I've had a complicated life. And with the job I've got now, well I don't really need school. Plus, like I said, my job kind of takes up all my time. Even if I went back to school I couldn't guarantee when I was actually able to go."
Bumlets blinked at him. So, because of Sean he didn't go to school? Why? Clearly being a gang leader wasn't that difficult if Sean had time to go to school. Or, did Bam have to skip school because Sean wasn't in Brooklyn? Did he have to watch everything while Sean was gone?
"Not that I'm an idiot or anything," Bam said after the silence had made him uncomfortable. He crossed his arms. "I can read and shit, you know? And I know math. And I'm really good at chemistry. I'm just … you know," he said, shrugging. "I'm not a very good test taker, I guess."
"Oh, yeah," Bumlets replied, refocusing on Bam instead of his thoughts. "I mean, you've gotta be smart, right? To already have an adult job, and everything. What do you do, anyway?" Because maybe following Sean wasn't the only thing he did, and so it would make sense that he didn't have anytime for school.
"You are not asking me very comfortable questions right now," Bam said, though his smile had returned. "Though I do appreciate that you care. Maybe we can continue the twenty questions on a date? Saturday night?"
"I already told you I wasn't interested," Bumlets replied, suddenly glaring at him. "I feel like I can't get rid of you. How do I get you to stop following me around?"
"Go on a date with me," Bam said, still smiling. "One date. I'll be a perfect gentleman, And I'll show you a good time. If you don't like me after that then I'll back off. Promise."
Bumlets frowned at him. "You haven't been very reliable before. And I don't really trust you."
Bam scratched his cheek. "Is that what it is? Or do you just want me to bring you more presents?"
"No more presents!" Bumlets demanded with a glare. He sighed before crossing his arms. "Lemme bring a friend."
"Huh?"
"I'll go out with you on Saturday if I can bring a friend with me," Bumlets rephrased. "So if you're irritating I have someone else to talk to. And to make sure you don't rape me. Again."
"It was consensual that last time," Bam argued with a pout.
Jack walked into his sixth period French class determined to put a new spin on things. He had gotten along with Skittery this morning, stood up to Masson, and publicly showed support of Sarah's new relationship with Itey. And, so far, he had yet to see retribution for anything, and, overall, he was having a pretty good day. There was no reason he couldn't continue on and extend his new behavior to David. Plus, he really did need a good grade on this project.
"Davey," Jack greeted with a smile as he took a seat next to his partner,
"Jackie," David greeted back with much less enthusiasm as he frowned at him. "Can we please just sit here and not fucking talk?" He asked calmly. "I don't think I can deal with you right now."
Jack sighed. Maybe this was going to be a tad harder than he thought. "Look, Davey-"
"David," the other boy snapped. "It's irritating every time I hear you call me that. We aren't friends, if you didn't remember."
Jack nodded his head once. "David," he corrected. So this probably wasn't going to be the easiest thing on the planet like he had been assuming. "Listen, I was kind of hoping we might be able to work on our project today."
"Go for it," David answered before reaching into his bag and pulling out a book. "I got some reading to catch up on, so just be quiet when you do it."
Jack clenched his teeth, but forced himself to remain calm. "I meant, I thought we could do it together."
"Hmm …" David answered, focused on the book that was now in front of him. "I don't think so. No. Good luck though."
Jack breathed out heavily. "You're telling me you're willing to fail this class?"
"You mean do I have every intention of doing what I told you I would do when we were first partnered for this project together?" David asked, still not taking his attention off his book. "Yes, I do. So, if you don't want to fail I'd suggest you get started on it."
"Hey, I'm trying to not be a douchebag here," Jack finally snapped, standing from his seat and ripping the book away from David. "The least you could do is show me the same respect."
David narrowed his eyes at him. "Well, thank you so much for the consideration. After being a douchebag for years, this change of heart will definitely completely change how I think of you." He rose from his own seat and stuck his hand out. "If you're actually trying not to be a douche you can give me my book back."
Jack glared at him for a few seconds before finally handing the book over and sitting down. "Now you're the one who's a douche," he grumbled to himself.
David cocked an eyebrow at him as he sat down as well. "Excuse me?"
"Nothing," Jack replied, taking out some homework from another class. There was being nice and there was being a doormat, and if David still refused to do the project then Jack sure as shit wasn't going to do it either.
Itey was a little bit annoyed at his so-called friends. Dutchy was an idiot, Skittery was an asshole, and now Bumlets was being a judgmental prick. But Itey could manage, those weren't the only friends he had, after all, and he was determined to have a good weekend.
"Mush! Blink!" Itey greeted with a smile as soon as he caught them outside his seventh period class. "What's up, you two?" He squeezed between them and threw one arm over each of their shoulders.
"Itey," Mush greeted as he smiled back. "You're certainly energetic today."
Blink didn't seem as enthusiastic as he narrowed his eyes. "Overly so, I'd say. What's going on? You and Skitts finally back together?"
Itey frowned before shaking his head. "Just happy to see my friends, is all," he explained as he picked back up his smile. "Let's do something together this weekend, eh? Something fun. Skeeball? Bowling? Bungee jumping?"
Mush shook his head as he held onto his smile. "Definitely not bungee jumping."
"I'm awful at skeeball," Blink told him before ducking out of the arm around his shoulders.
Itey bit his lip as he looked between them. "Uh, well, I kind of lied about wanting to go bowling; I hate that shit." His eyes lit up as he ran across another idea. "How about a game of poker, eh? You two did say you'd let me get you drunk; this is the perfect excuse!"
Mush and Blink shared a look before giving their attention back to Itey. "I'm not really sure that I'm comfortable with the idea of drinking," Mush said.
"And it'll be weird playing poker without Racetrack there; he's still grounded," Blink spoke up.
"I guess it would be weird playing poker with only three people," Itey admitted quietly. He frowned. "Man, you guys are such party poopers you talked me into disliking my own plan."
"If we invited Skittery it'll be four; that doesn't seem like a bad number for poker," Blink suggested, shooting Mush a look and getting a shrug in return. "That could be fun."
Itey rolled his eyes. "You trying to get us back together or something? It's not going to work. For one thing, I'm not entirely sure that Skittery and I are even on speaking terms right now. And if we were that wouldn't change the face that I'm with Sarah now. Also, the last time you talked to him was to get into a fight with him, and now you're going to invite him to play cards? You think that's something he's going to go for?"
Blink shrugged at him. "We ended on good terms after that fight."
"If you say so," Itey replied, shrugging back at him. "Look, if you think you can get him there then be my guest. I'd leave him alone though, to my understanding he hasn't been all that rational lately."
"Skittery's not been rational?" Mush asked with a smile.
Itey rolled his eyes and smiled back. "Okay, okay, good point. My parents are going to be out of town until Sunday. Meet at my house tomorrow around 7 o'clock? I'll provide the alcohol. You guys just have to provide the bodies."
"You make it sound like a murder spree," Blink grumbled as the bell rang. His eyes immediately widened. "Ah, shit, I'm late!" he said before dashing down the hall. He waved behind him. "See you tomorrow, Itey!"
Mush followed Itey into their classroom. "I can't believe you're talking me into this," he mumbled as he sat down.
"I can't believe how easy it was," Itey replied with a smile.
Racetrack stood by the school's parking lot, waiting for his mom to drive him home. He was disappointed not to see Sean's bike. He had wanted to speak to him, maybe figure out what is was that was going on with him. He had seen Mush and Blink in the halls today. They had smiled at him and didn't seem in anyway worse for wear, so it couldn't have been that Sean did something to them that he felt guilty of. Not that Sean would have felt guilty about it if he had done something to them.
Plus, Sean had been acting weird for days now. And not just acting weird, but also avoiding him as if his life depended on it. Racetrack hadn't even been able to talk to him when he had snuck off to Brooklyn, an act he probably couldn't afford to do again.
But Racetrack was by and large running out of options. If he couldn't talk to him during class, and he couldn't talk to him in Brooklyn what other alternatives did he have? Maybe he could talk his mom into inviting him to dinner under the guise of needing a study buddy? Sean couldn't say no if his mom asked him to dinner, right? What excuse could he have not to?
He'd probably come up with some sort of excuse, knowing him. Sean was wily, not that it made any sense for him to be in this case. Racetrack just wanted to talk to him. How was that a crime? He'd never have someone so insistent on avoiding him before.
"Racetrack? You alright?" Swifty asked, coming up from behind him. "You're kinda glaring at the ground there, buddy."
Racetrack jerked out of his thoughts to stare at Swifty for a few seconds before looking around him. "Swifty?" he asked with a frown. "What's up? Everything alright?"
Swifty shrugged at him. "Course. You?"
"Well, yeah," Racetrack said, shifting on his feet. "No offense, but we haven't really talked for, you know, years. I was under the impression your friends would get mad at you if you were seen talking to me." He had tried to keep the resentment out of his voice, but judging by Swifty's wince he hadn't quite managed.
"By 'friends' I assume you're talking about the assholes I used to hang out with that now refuse to talk to me because I quit the track team?" Swifty asked.
It was Racetrack's turn to wince. "Er, yeah, those friends."
"Not really my friends anymore," Swifty replied, offering Racetrack a small smile. "Good riddance. So, was there a reason you were standing here moping all by your lonesome?"
Racetrack smiled back as he shook his head. "Just waiting for my mom to be done for the day so I can go home. You?"
Swifty shrugged. "Just killing some time. Thought I'd head out to the racetrack, but the first race doesn't start for another hour or so."
Racetrack's eyes immediately widened. "You go to the racetrack? You know who's up today?"
"Unfortunately, I haven't gone for awhile, so I'm a little behind on the roster," Swifty replied, shaking his head. He smirked at Racetrack. "I can certainly give you the play by play on Monday though?"
"Yes! Absolutely! That'd be awesome!" Racetrack replied, beaming at his old friend. "I'm kind of grounded right now, so I haven't been able to get over there in forever. I'm missing everything," he complained.
Swifty laughed. "I'll tell you everything at lunch," he suggested.
Racetrack nodded his head enthusiastically before suppressing it as he saw his mom come out of the school building. "That's my ride," he told Swifty, nodding his head towards her. "I better go meet her before she comes over here and starts asking questions."
"Yeah, alright," Swifty replied, heading into the parking lot. "Enjoy your weekend. I'll talk to you on Monday."
"Bet on it," Racetrack replied before jogging to meet up with his mom, thoughts of Sean now replaced by thoughts of the racetrack.
TBC
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