Collect of Short Stories

Case of Cheezits

"Have you lost your damn mind!?"
      Tom angrily held up a finger at Wyatt who, in turn, gave him a death stare. His beady eyes traveled back and forth between Tom's face and the family-sized pack of Cheezits he was holding protectively. "Oh my glob, take a look in the mirror, fatty. This is for me, not you. Now go find another poor snack to inhale."
     Before Wyatt could properly drop-kick him the ground and continue beating him senseless, Nico confidently waltzed into the room, his eyes flickering blankly between the two before finally landed on the intended target: Cheezits.
      Tom smiled generously at his good friend, ignoring the burning sensation that was Wyatt's stare and swiftly walked over to him. For good measure, he wrapped an arm around his friend's neck and pulled his closer: like best buddies. "Yo, Nico. Tell this big-boned son of a Glob to get his hands off my prize."
      Wyatt angrily stomped over, his ears practically releasing steam as his nose flared. He pointed towards the giant box and shook his head rapidly. "First of all, stop making Glob happen because it never will! And second of all, this is unfair! Get Felix in here or something, not Nico! You guys are practically gay for one another so of course he's gonna choose you!"
      Nico smiled coyly and shrugged his shoulders, a rare sight seeing how he usually wears a sneer. He smoothly unlatched Tom's seize on him and straightened his back. "Actually," he began as he snatched the Cheezits away from Tom. "I choose myself."      Noting the betrayal on his best friend's face, he quickly justified his actions: "Tom, you broke my coffee machine last week. Oh, don't act so surprised, I never forget people who owe me debt. And Wyatt, you broke the shopping cart last time we went shopping and I had to have a lecture by the store manager for an entire twenty minutes. Rest assured, sleep with one eye open tonight, both of you."
      He was about to leave the kitchen and bathe in all the glory that was their reaction and knowing he came out victorious...when all of a sudden, the mass he was carrying suddenly began a hollow shell of nothing but...air. Felix, being as tall as he is, swiftly grabbed his opportunity and in no time, six pairs of eyes were on him.
      "Felix, give that back." Growled Nico. He crossed his arms and glared at the taller male, almost forgetting the fact he could kill him in less than a second.
       "Aw, c'mon. All three of you have been hogging the Fruity snacks...can I please, just this once, have what I want?"
       Wyatt's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he took a step closer. "Me?! You're categorizing me with these savages?"
       Tom scrunched his nose in disgust, like he was beginning to smell foul lies. "Yeah, rich coming from you."
       Wyatt ignored that comment and continued, "Everybody knows I don't even eat those Fruity packs!..."
        "Well no duh. It's impossible for you to be even remotely healthy. The moment you hear something that could benefit your health even a little bit, I swear your head short circuits or something. It could explain why you're so goddamn stupid."
        Felix poured at the fighting and held up both his hands, as if surrendering but Nico noted how the Cheezits were still tight in his grip. Suspicion flared inside of him.
        "I don't like seeing you guys fight."
        "We'll stop if you give me the box, Felix." Growled Nico. Wyatt and Tom gave him the side-eye but before the two could pounce on him, a new challenger approached: Rafe Hangerton.
        At the sight of the four people spread out in front of him, his shoulders sagged in such immeasurable disappointment he had to fight the urge to dig himself a grave. He rubbed his tired eyes and forced a bland smile. "Oh come on, guys."
      Felix immediately leeched onto his wording like it was the lifeline out of this hole of vultures. "See? That's what I said! Rafe, since you're obviously the only voice of reason here, tell these barbarians to back off!"
       A long, awkward silence lapsed between the five of them. Felix brushed off the cold stare he received from Nico and smiled encouragingly after Rafe, expecting him to support his actions and to act as a human shield if all goes wrong.
       Neither would become reality. Instead, he did the exact opposite.
      "Actually..." he shyly began. "I was hoping to eat the Cheezits.
       The moment the C word left the tip of his tongue, the entire group groaned in dismay and exasperation. Sure it was a family pack but do you expect any of them to share? No, no you shouldn't. This isn't a world where it's fine and dandy and a happy rainbow shines in the sky everyday. No, this is a world where people kill one another for precious prizes like Cheezits. And this is no exception.
      "Okay, okay, guys," Rafe focused his gaze on each person at least two seconds each before continuing. He could feel all hell breaking loose any second but if he could just get them to listen...
       He pointed first at Nico who took this action as a direct offense. His face hardened.
      "Nico, I helped you with your computer thing, remember? I was a massive help to you, yeah? And Tom, I helped you download some illegal adult books and it made you happy! Wyatt, I covered for you at the family intervention when you were passed out. If I hadn't, Lyra would've ripped your esophagus out. And Felix, I helped you get closer to Maven, didn't I? You all owe me."
       "I don't owe you anything..." murmured Wyatt though deep down he knew Rafe was right. He would be six feet under if it hadn't been for him.
       "Come on guys, I...I just want it just this once?"
       "Is Cheezits suppose to be substitution for your lack of alcohol?" Asked Nico. He felt bad, of course. He knew Rafe always had a problem in regards to how to deal with something but he knew the rest would catch on. Which makes Rafe an unlikely candidate to receive such a gift, only leaving the rest of the four...
      Valerie's head suddenly popped by the door way, her happy expression quickly contorting into extreme disappointment. "Cheezits?" She asked. The sliver of hope that remained began waning.
      The group nodded to which she chocked back a sob before leaving.
      Wyatt took her interruption has a direct gateway to snatch the prize out of Felix's grip and the moment Valerie's head peeked out of the room, chaos erupted.
      Nico jabbed his elbow in Wyatt's waist, Tom placed Rafe in a chokehold but not before Rafe slammed Felix to the ground with a loud thud. Punches were thrown around and no-no squares have been touched. Lungs began to close, eyes began to water and near blackouts began to occur as the group of men raged on.
      Tom swung his arm out, unintentionally connecting his fist with Nico's head, sending him flailing sideways with a severe blood trail running down his nose.
      Wyatt grabbed a pocket knife from a nearby counter and expertly swung it at Felix who attempted to disarm him but only ending up with what possibly could've been a fatal cut to to the wrist. This event lasted for no more than five minutes until Jill walked into the room.
      Her footsteps echoed loudly through the halls but the men who so keen on coming out on top, they barely noticed the female standing by the doorway. Her arms were tightly crossed against her chest and her face was complete stone. Power radiated off from her. Enough power to make the five of them stop in the middle of the act.
      The sharp end of a knife was directly above Rafe's head as his fist was closely tied around Tom's collar.
      "Are you kidding!?" She screamed, gesturing towards the buffoons. "I can't with you guys!"
      She pursed her lips, as if stopping herself from saying way worse. Nico took this opportunity to smooth out his hair and stem the blood flow that now dropped on the ground. He adjusted his sleeves and stared pointedly at Jill. "Don't pretend you're some sort of angel. And you four—" he rounded his attention back towards his competitors. "You all owe me."
       "Yeah, owe you what exactly, bitch?" Piped up Tom. He wouldn't forget his friend's betrayal.
      Felix sighed and lifted the knife away from Rafe's face and absentmindedly threw it the nearest table. "Just give it, Valerie. She looked like she was going to have a mental breakdown before."
      "Oh, Felix." Jill murmured stoically. "Always the gentlemen. But no. Boys, what have we learned today?"
      "That Nico shouldn't be trusted."
      "These people are psychopaths."
      "We should really work on our communication skills..."
     "Abortion isn't all that bad."
      "There's no intelligent life anywhere."