Ballad of a Broken Boy

Sitting next to the devil

We were laughing as we left the school building, but Ricky soon froze. I looked at him, worried, and followed his gaze to a group of people stood just outside the gates. They seemed vaguely familiar, and after a few seconds I identified them as the group of people Ricky had been with that time when he had said I'd be a "40-year-old virgin". They all looked just as scary as they had then, most of them smoking and all of them glaring at the pair of us. Ricky took my hand and pulled me closer to him, and I could feel he was shaking a little.

"Hey guys. What's up?" he asked as we approached them, his voice calm and flat.

"We haven't seen you for a while, Bowen. We wondered if something has happened to you." A tall, dark haired guy said. I got the feeling that he was the leader. Not just from the way he stood slightly separate from the rest of the group, but from the way they all looked at him when he spoke, and just the way he looked in general. He looked bulletproof, as though nothing could harm him. And he gave me the heebie-jeebies.

"Nothing's happened to me. I guess I just haven't had time to hang with you." Ricky shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, maybe you should start making time." One of the girls said, openly hostile.

"Scarlett." The leader-guy said warningly. The girl, Scarlett, rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut, stepping backwards a little.

"Look, nothing against you guys, but I don't... I don't think it's going to work, you know? Things have changed a little, and..."

"We get it, Bowen. You've gotten yourself a little girlfriend, and now you think you're too good for us. Makes sense. But the thing is, you borrowed a little money from us, remember? And now we want it back." He said. Ricky sighed, rubbing his neck. I had come to realize that this was a sign of nervousness with Ricky.

"Well, you see, there may be a slight problem with that..." he muttered.

"What kind of problem?"

"I don't have the money right now. But I can get it, if you're willing to wait..."

"And what if we're not willing to wait?"

"Well, uh..."

"That's what I thought. I want the money by Friday, Bowen. If not... there are other ways to repay your debt..." he said, eyeing me pointedly. I shivered and Ricky gripped me tighter, face suddenly furious.

"You aren't going to touch her. Do whatever you want to me, but if you lay a finger on her, you're dead." He said, and they all looked taken aback. Some of them even looked a little...scared. But after a moment, the leader smirked.

"Well this is... surprising. It looks like little Bowen has actually fallen in love." He scoffed, and the way he said it made it sound so dirty and vile that I just wanted to throw up.

"Yeah, he has. And he's not going to let you touch his girl. So you can forget that. I'll have your money by Friday." He said, before pulling me past the group and over to his car. He was still shaking as he started the engine, but I knew it was from anger rather than fear.

"Ricky... are you okay?" I asked him. I knew it was a stupid thing to ask, but I had no idea what else to say.

"You have to stay away from them, Nini.  They're bad people. Really bad people. I have no doubt that he meant what he said. If I don't pay up..." he paused, shaking his head. "I can't let them touch you." He muttered. I laid a comforting hand on his arm, and he turned to look at me. I could see the apology in his eyes and I smiled.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. So how much money are we talking?" I asked him, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

"Two." He admitted.