𝙶𝚁𝙾𝚆 𝚄𝙿 𝙽𝙴𝚇𝚃 𝚂𝚄𝙼𝙼𝙴𝚁 ,, robby keene

eleven ,, brave it out

eleven

brave it out

Our luchador masks glowed like neon signs in the darkness telling the police exactly where to find the intruders.

Ian and Robby were at the very front, Corey hanging back to make sure I was alright. Since I'd stopped playing rugby, I'd fallen out of physical shape and couldn't keep up with Robby, who's criminal past kept him fit as he ran from cops and security guards, moving through life like it was a simple game of cops and robbers. And Ian? I have no idea where all of his sudden energy came from.

The Keene boy scaled Kyler's fence as if it was nothing, the door swinging open as Corey and I reached the fence, already out of breath. I hoped there wouldn't be any more running involved in our not-exactly-legal midnight jaunt around the Valley.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Ian asked, skeptical as ever. "Listen, I thought it would be a good idea, but my immigration papers are all out of whack, and if we get arrested I could be deported-"

"Wait," Corey cut him off. "how long has your Visa been expired?"

Ian hummed. "About four months."

"Don't you think we should have known!?" Corey hissed

"Core, come on. It's not like he's going back to China or anything. They'll just fly him back to Banff and ban him from the U.S for a few years."

"Banff?" Robby said, disbelief seeping into his tone. "Fucking Alberta? Canada? You made it sound like you were bound for a detention center in Shanghai!"

Ian shook his head. "No, I can't go back to Shanghai for other reasons."

Robby looked at Ian, head cocked to the side like a confused puppy.

"He ate Auntie Fang's last American butterfingers bar and she swore she'd eviscerate him and hang him by his feet from the tiny dragon statue on her balcony." I said simply, recalling the last family trip to see my father's side of the family in Shanghai. "It's better not to ask. Auntie Fang is a very scary person."

"Whatever." Robby shook his head. "Let's just get a move on, and be glad security cameras can't pick up voices or we'd all be bound for Alcatraz Island."

"I thought that place was abandoned?" Ian said, helpful as ever.

"Shut up, Ian." We chorused as Robby bent down and started to mess with the lock on the old above-ground basement doors.

Kyler's family had a nice backyard, certainly nicer than I had originally thought. They had taken up any patch of grass and replaced it with one of the biggest pools I had ever seen ( it was still smaller than the one in Samantha's backyard ) and a patchwork of flagstones put together to make a patio, wicker furniture tucked under a canopy.

I had it on good authority from Kyler's public Twitter account ( the one he used for sports, the actual real one was under a fake name and private ) that he and his family were out of town, heading to San Diego for a lacrosse clinic.

Robby's hands shook violently as he tried to jimmy the lock, a bent bobby pin falling out of his hand.

My face softened as I bent down to help him. "Hey, what do you need? A bit of light, somebody to hold the lock steady?"

The Keene boy shook his head. "No. It's just the cold."

It might have been chilly, but it wasn't make-all-your-limbs-shake cold.

"That's a bold faced lie and we both know it." I said, switching on my cell phone light. "Let me help you."

I placed the phone on top of a ledge over the cellar doors, shining light on the padlock. With my free hands, I held it still for my long-haired companion as he continued to try the lock. With my hands holding it steady, Robby broke through the padlock in no time, hefting the sky blue doors open and peering into the darkness below.

"Who wants to go first?"

"Not a chance in hell." Corey replied, shoving Ian forward. "Throw him to the wolves if he doesn't want to go back to Canada that badly."

"The fuck, man?" Ian muttered, punching Corey in the shoulder. "You go down into that haunted hellhole on your own, asshole!"

Robby rolled his eyes. I sighed.

This was going to be a long night.

"I'll go." Robby said, voice cutting sharply through the silence, drowning out the crickets and lorikeets. Did we even get lorikeets in California? I'm not even quite sure I know what they are. "You're both acting like children."

While it was on my mind, I googled lorikeets, keeping the flashlight trained on Robby as he descended the rickety metal ladder. The passage likely hadn't been used in decades.

It turns out, a lorikeet is a fancy-ass breed of parrot native to Australia. So no, we didn't get them in Cali. I was mistaken. Then again, I don't even really know what I heard. In all honesty, I thought they were insects until thirty seconds prior.

"It's safe!" Robby;s voice carried up from the passage. I turned off my data, switching off my phone and stuffing it into the pocket of my skinny jeans as Robby continued talking. "Leads right to the cellar from the pictures, the one with the ugly couch and the oil painting. Who's coming down next?"

"I'll go." I said, gesturing to Ian and Corey, who were still bickering with each other, metallic wrestling masks reflecting the moonlight glowing above us. "Clearly these two aren't."

Gingerly, I reached one Converse-clad foot into the dark opening, focussing on Robby's reassuring voice inside the passage as I tried to ease the rest of my upper body into it. I closed my eyes, bracing for impact as I pushed off from the grass-

My impact broken as Robby caught me, one arm braced on my thigh, the other on my lower back. If my heart wasn't already racing from anxiety, it would be from the placement of Robert Swayze Keene's wandering hands. The butterflies were running rampant in my stomach, and felt more like a herd of elephants as my stomach churned.

"Oi, keep your hands away from our Ringo's ass, Keene!" Corey boomed down the hole

"Keep your mouth shut, Fallon!" Robby shouted back "Do you want the cops to know we're here?"

"Point taken. I'm coming down, but I'm gonna be classy about it and use the ladder. I don;t want your slimy hands anywhere near my ass. Ian probably wouldn't min- OW!"

I shook my head, feeling my face heat up under my mask as Robby set me down on the ground. I reached up with one hand to undo the cord at the back, ripping the metallic fabric off my face and stuffing it in my sweater, Robby following my lead.

"Are you ready?" He asked

I nodded. "As I'll ever be. Let's go save Miyagi-do."

NOTES!!

this was going to be longer but not updating gave me anxitey so here's chapter eleven. i'm gonna call this the rough halfway point because i don't want it dragging on forever, but the break-in is like the halfway point of the storyline.