Here we go. This chapter is a mixed bag, but things are starting to pick up.
This chapter comes with a Profanity warning. Strap in and hold on tight!
I guess that's about it. So have at it!
Later that day
Just outside the True-Heart house.
"Connor, do you have a moment?" Kyle asked as he walked through Tris' dog area. Up on the porch, the father-to-be sat back with a half frozen bottled water and an impressive sandwich on a paper plate.
"Yeah, Kyle. Have a seat." He said gesturing to the other lawn chair. "I heard you guys were showing the space teens around; how'd that go?"
"That's kind of why I'm here."
"Go on." Conner answered, giving the teen his full attention.
"We ran into some trouble again. Katsume was targeted today and that stupid nickname came up again."
"You mean that whole Street Rat thing." Conner asked.
"Yeah. I know he's probably stuck with that nickname, but is there some kind of ritual we can do that could help him start over? Like tribal stuff?"
Conner took a bite of his sandwich along with a swig of water as he thought carefully.
"What good do you think it would do for him? That name may never go away."
"It's for him. He needs a reboot of some kind. A new start, and you're a shaman now. Isn't there anything you can do for him, to help him feel better?"
Conner gave Kyle a long look. "I'm understand what you want, and agree with you, but I have zero experience as a shaman. This is more my father's thing; I can have him come over and perform a cleansing on Katsume. Anything else, would be his thing."
"At least it's something." Kyle answered.
"Yep, now, why don't you guys go hang out and be teenagers for a while."
Jenkins Grocers
So, apparently hanging out and being teens translated into going to the grocery store with a list from the moms.
It was just the main crew this time, sans Ranook that grabbed a cart and went about checking items off the list. Ranook wanted to spend some time with Miranda who was interested in seeing another movie in the basement.
"I think we need a name for our crew." Leif said as he walked hand in hand with his mate.
"What? Like the T-Birds?" Katsume asked as he began to pick through the banana cart.
"Like the 'who'?" Kyle asked in confusion.
Katsume sighed loudly. "Seriously, guys. We need to watch 'Grease' when we get home. You guys understand horror films but not the musicals? This is sad."
"You know, I could say the same about you." Kyle retorted. It's like the only films you know-"
"Came from being a in an orphanage? Katsume finished with a raised brow.
"Yeah, sorry." Kyle said softly.
Katsume shrugged. "Movies were a luxury for us and the only way we got hour hands on them was by shopping at Goodwill. For us, Grease was one of the movies we had access to."
When Kyle looked at him expectantly. He blew out a breath. "Look, there were three gangs in the movie. There were the T-Birds, which wore leather jackets like us. They were a crew of horny guys looking to get laid. The Pink Ladies were just like them, only they were girls. Then there were the Scorpions which were the rivals of the T-Birds."
Kyle nodded in understanding and then looked at Leif. "So, do you have any ideas?"
"No, not yet. I was just looking to brainstorm."
"Well, if it's that important for our group to have a name, then we probably shouldn't take it lightly. I think we all know how fast names stick."
Katsume grimaced but shook it off a moment later. "So, what's next on the list?"
"Um, a few gallons of milk." Katsume nodded and as they passed by the dairy case, Katsume walked over to the door and opened it. A moment later, a big shadow fell over him.
He grabbed two gallons and turned to see his most hated teacher standing over him.
Out of reflex, he backed away as fast as he could nearly dropping the gallons in his hands.
"Oh great. It' the dickwad teacher."
"You will address me as Mr. Hatche. If you don't want me to make the rest of your school years a living hell, I'd suggest you start treating me with respect."
Katsume was not about to back down this time.
"Like it isn't already?" he blurted out. "All you've done is given me trouble since I started here. If you want respect, then fucking earn it!"
Mr. Hatche snorted. "Huh, tough talk coming from the son of a whore."
Katsume' felt like his breath had been stolen from him.
"Yeah, I know all about you, Street Rat. I'm golf buddies with your parole officer."
A soft growl was heard as Autumn was suddenly standing between them. "I'm so happy to hear that! We've got this whole confrontation on camera and now we probably have enough to get you fired."
"I have tenure, you insolent welp. No one's going to believe the word of a brainless mall rat."
"Then it's a good thing I'm here." Said a new voice.
Mr. Hatche looked up with a startled glance. There in front of him was an older man in his late thirties. He had short black hair and wore an aged denim vest which was covered with old patches from various punk rock bands over a basic black tank top. His well worn jeans were tucked into a pair of biker boots and he stood next to a half full cart of various food items.
Standing next to his cart was a young tweenager with light brown hair that was pulled back in a standard braid. She looked like a walking advertisement for Hot Topic. Next to her was a little boy that looked to be about Kayla's age. He was the spitting image of his father and wore a child's size Misfits T-shirt and distressed jeans. His hair was very spiky and he wore a small silver chain around his neck.
The father of the bunch gave his daughter a look and she manned the basket as he walked up to the teacher. "You know, I've been told by my son what a douche bag you are, but seeing it play out in real life is an eye opener. If this is how you treat the kids outside of school, I can imagine how it's like when you're on campus and I don't like what I'm seeing."
"I wouldn't have to be like this if you parents would do your job and raise these miscreants the right way."
"And that's where you're wrong. Dead wrong. You see, I know their parents and they are some of the most honorable citizens of Angel Grove. I would be very shocked if they didn't raise their kids to be anything less. As for the other kid, you have no right to speak to him like that and calling him such filthy names in public is a seriously out of line. No matter how he might behave in school, he doesn't deserve that kind of treatment."
Mr Hatch was all but cowering as the older man got into his face.
"I'm telling you right now, that if those kids tell their parents what happened here, and they bring a complaint before the school board, I'll be first in line to support them and provide an eye witness account to back up their claim. You'll be fired in no time, or my name isn't Skullovitch."
Mr. Hatche all but snarled as he turned and walked away. He grabbed his cart and walked away.
When he turned back to the teenagers, Katsume was just shaking with anger. "Hey, are you kids ok?"
"Yeah, this isn't his first panic attack." Kyle said as Autumn put an arm around their friend. "We've got it covered."
Skull nodded and then added. "I wasn't just blowing smoke. If your parents are going to take that idiot on, let them know that I'll stand with them." He pulled out a business card from his wallet and handed it to Kyle. "If you guys are anything like your parent's then I know you've got this covered."
When Skullovitch was gone, Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. Turning back to his crew, he gave them a once over. "Katsume, we don't have to stick around here, we can check out right now and go home."
Katsume shook his head furiously. "No way in Hell am I going to let that bastard win. We get things done here and then we go home. I'm good."
Kyle gave him a dubious look and Katsume met his gaze with fiery embers in his eyes. "Ok, but I'm still going to give Conner a head's up. Just in case that idiot does decide to bring 'friends with him'."
Katsume nodded sharply as Autumn walked towards her mate. "We'll go with him, just in case we run into that idiot again." She'd told him about her spirit dragon and even now he could sense the quiet power radiating from her. It was a major turn-on.
Kyle couldn't resist kissing her; Autumn had to be the responsible one and she broke the kiss after a few seconds.
"Soon," She whispered
"Yeah, I don't know how long I can hold off." He answered back.
"Okay, then you better make preparations." She replied cryptically.
"Yeah." He said kissing her brow.
Someone coughed loudly and the love-birds were instantly reminded that they weren't alone.
Autumn handled it smoothly as she walked back to the cart and walked away.
Kyle closed his eyes and took a deep cleansing breath. Leif only shook his head. "I better go with you to keep you focused."
Kyle huffed at him. "Yeah, good idea."
When he could think clearly, he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial.
Connor picked up a few seconds later.
"Kyle, what's up?"
"That idiot teacher. He's friends with that probation officer from LA and went after us."
He heard Conner use words that even surprised him. "Is Katsume ok?"
"He's walking it off, and the ladies are taking care of him. We got footage of the whole thing."
"That's great, it's just what Ethan needs to get the ball rolling. Do you need me to make a trip up there?"
"No, we're just gonna grab what's on the list and then come home. Katsume's determined to finish the trip here and then come home."
"Ok then, be careful and get home soon. My dad will be here to do the cleansing ceremony tomorrow."
"Katsume needs this."
"I think all of you do. You're doing great after your ordeal, but a good cleansing would do you all some good."
Kyle didn't argue with him. "Ok, set it up."
When the call was over, Kyle tucked the phone into his back pocket. Together, Kyle and Leif walked towards the last aisle they'd ever expect to find themselves in.
"Miscreants…that's a good name for our group." Leif said as Kyle started looking through the selection of condoms.
Kyle looked up thoughtfully. "Miscreants. That's what that asshole called us." He turned to his bro. "Do you really want to use that term to describe us?"
Leif shrugged. "Yeah, what better way to 'flip him the bird' then to use that name for a group of kids who are anything but trouble makers. It's a good way to show him up without lifting a finger." Saying this, he used the rude gesture.
Kyle grinned at him. "You've got a point. Okay, so we should put it up to a vote with the rest of the crew. If it's unanimous, then that's what our crew will be named."
They spent a few minutes more talking about doing things like getting patches made for their leather coats and ways to make it official. And then Leif looked at Kyle seriously.
"It's time for that soon, isn't it?." He said gesturing to the box in Kyle's hands.
His friend nodded. "Yeah, I can feel it and it's mutual. There's just so many to choose from and I'm not about to ask Dad for advice, it would be worse than the updated version of 'the talk' that he gave me a month ago."
Leif shook his head. "I won't ask for the details, but if you're looking for protection, I'd go with these." He said pointing to one of the boxes. "It's what Saph and I started with."
Kyle nodded and put the box in the hand basket he carried.
"So, what else do you need for the big night?"
"Dad told me it was an intense experience and that I should stock up the fridge with lots of proteins and starch to keep up energy. Autumn and I will be mates for real and it'll be my first responsibility to provide food for her during that time. Also, the door of the trailer will be locked tight until we level out."
"Wow, that's more intense then I realized."
Kyle nodded. "Yeah and that's the PG version. I won't even go into the R version.
"Yeah, please don't."
Kyle laughed at him. "I guess we should get on with stocking the fridge. Another upside of growing up with her is that I know exactly what she loves to eat."
The Manor
By the time they got home, Katsume was just a little calmer. When they walked into the kitchen, they saw Ranook sitting at the counter with Ethan and Conner.
Conner gave Katsume a long look and it was as if he was seeing him with a different eyes. He couldn't help but avert his gaze.
Conner blinked a moment later and he grimaced.
"It's going to be okay, Katsume. We'll nail that guy."
"What can you do against them?"
"More than we could back in LA." Ethan said as he typed away on his laptop. "In that room, we were flying by the seat of our pants; here, we've got the resources to end whatever threat those idiots pose."
"What are our chances?" Katsume asked dubiously.
"We took on a fringe Klan group and saved this city not even a year ago." Conner answered as his eyes growing dark at the memory. "Compared to those bastards, these idiots don't even compare. We're calling in the big guns so that this situation can be ended as soon as possible."
"Who?" Katsume asked softly.
"Don't you worry about that." Conner answered as Kyle walked back in. "For now, I want all of you to get as much sleep as you can. I get the feeling that tomorrow is going to be a full day."
"Oh okay." Katsume answered. He turned and looked at Kyle. "Is it ok if I spend another night in my bunk?"
Kyle gave him a small smile. "Yeah, that's not going to happen just yet. Though we did have something we want to discuss before we go to bed tonight."
"As in this group?" Ranook wanted to clarify.
"Yeah, this group." Kyle said as Autumn walked up to him. "It won't take long."
"Let's go out to the camper." Ranook said as they walked out the door.
The Camper
"Miscreants?" Sapphire asked.
Kyle nodded. "Yep. Mr. Hatche used it as an insult, but we can take it and make it something positive. We become a positive force for good at the school and it'll make him regret ever calling us that. Leif and I are cool with it, but it doesn't become official until we vote on it."
"So," Lief said sitting up straighter. "All in favor say Aye."
"Hey, I'm all for sticking it to that Asshat." Katsume said with a defiant look. "Aye."
"I like it." Sapphire said. "Aye."
"Hell yeah!" Ranook added. "Aye"
"I'm in. Let's do this." Autumn said with a grin.
"That makes it unanimous. Kyle said. "We're officially Miscreants."
"So what comes next?" Sapphire asked. "Do we need to have some kind of initiation ritual?"
"Huh, I never thought about it." Leif replied thoughtfully. "It seems like a logical step. If you ladies have any ideas, then I'm all ears."
"I think any initiation rituals should be done after the cleansing ceremony…and within the circle. That way we'll enter into this thing clean."
"Yeah, I heard about that and I agree." Ranook said as he turned to look at the asian teen. "I know this ceremony is for you, Katsume, but I think we should all do it."
"What, you'd do all that for me? Why?"
"Because even before you came along, we saw dark times. Who knows what bad vibes might still be hanging around? Better safe than sorry."
"I don't know what to say."
"Then say nothing." Kyle said as he got up. "But I'm going to follow Conner's advice and get some sleep. I suggest you all do the same thing."
"Ok, then, let's get some sleep." Ranook said before walking to the top bunk opposite of Katsume's and climbing in.
That seemed to end the conversation for the night and Kyle led Autumn back to their room.
They changed into their sleep clothes in full view of each other; this was the first time seeing each other partially nude. Kyle couldn't stop staring at her.
She turned to him, dressed in her tank-top and sleep shorts.
He caressed her with his eyes and licked his lips. When she walked into his arms, she could feel how aroused he was. He kissed her deeply and she leaned into the liplock.
"We can't…not tonight." She breathed. "We need to be there for…him."
"Yeah, I know." He breathed against her cheek. But soon…we need to complete it soon."
"I know…tomorrow night."
Kyle took a deep breath and stepped back from his mate. "I made those preparations."
"Yeah I saw the condoms."
"The mini fridge is stocked. We kick everyone out after the cleansing ceremony and then it's only us."
Autumn kissed him again. "If we're holding off, you better take some time in the bathroom."
"Ok, Corazon."
AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and will leave some nice reviews!
Special Note: I don't write smut for couples under 18, so don't expect any next chapter.
That about does it, so I'll see you all next chapter!