"We start off the hour with an update on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's beloved corgi, Sparky. Reported missing earlier this afternoon, he has finally been found behind bars at the South West London Animal Rescue for Dogs. From the looks of it, the pooch has fallen in with a bad crowd." We all laughed at the news report.
"Well, at least someone from Buckingham Palace has glimpsed the real world." We all erupted in laughter again, throwing beer bottles at the TV and breaking it.
"Rayge! Rayge! Rayge!" We chanted.
"To the table!" Charlie yelled, all of us getting up and walking over to the table, Ian shoving Rayge into a chair.
"Oh! Snacks, I'm famished."
"It'll only hurt for a minute, love." I took a sip of my beer.
"Hurt?"
"A tattoo." Ian explained. "We all have 'em. Get 'em after our first prank. It's a Smell tradition. Once you get one, you're one of us, mate."
"Oh, that needle's been sterilized, right?" Rayge asked Gilly who just licked the needle.
"See Charlie, Jenna, I told you. He's a narc." Declan said sort of matter-of-factly.
"No, he just doesn't get it." I argued. "This isn't a tattoo, it's a statement."
"The ink says you won't swallow the crap they force down our throats." Charlie continued. "Sometimes you have to do bad things for good reasons."
"So what do you have to say? You in?"
"Yeah. I'm in. Give me the tattoo." He rolled his shirt sleeve up.
"Now that you're officially one of us," I said as Gilly started the tattoo. "The corgi was just for a laugh. We're gonna make the Queen hand over her precious jewels."
"Yeah. Just one question- how?"
"Leave that part to Jenna and I. Let us work our magic." Charlie winked at him.
XXX
"Mystery disco band leaves crowd saying 'thanks for the music.'" Gilly read off of a news report. "Can you even name a punk song?"
"Well- I-" He chuckled.
"I told you idiots we couldn't trust him." Declan yelled at Charlie and I. "He's a narc."
"Yeah. A disco narc." Ian spat out.
"Look, can we just talk about this calmly?" Rayge asked.
"Calmly? Is this Rayge chap ever gonna have a rage or not?" Gilly pointed out.
"I think we should glue sequins all over him and string him up like a disco ball at the Roxy." Declan suggested. Enough was enough.
"Shut it!" Charlie said as I smashed a plate against a chair, getting everyone to shut up. "Listen to yourselves."
"You lot sound like brainwashed pigs. So what, the bloke fancies a bit of disco?
"Gilly used to be a nun."
"Ian was a mime."
"Me and Jenna did a stint in the lockup together."
"I abandoned my family years ago."
"Declan's not even Irish." Charlie and I went back and forth.
"I thought it sounded more street." He admitted.
"We've all got a past. And that's all that it is- a past." I scolded the three. "I don't care who you were before. Whoever you are- that's what matters."
XXX
"Mixtape." Charlie handed it to Rayge. "If you're gonna be in the band, you should be able to name at least one punk song." The three of us sat down.
"Cool. Thank you. And thank you for earlier." He thanked us.
"Oh, sometimes the others think they're the damn punk police." I insulted the others.
"I have to tell you guys something." He admitted. "My name's not really Rayge. In fact, it's nothing anger related. It's just Ray."
"Just Ray?" Charlie asked him.
"Yeah."
"I like that."
"So, just Ray, what happened to your old crew?" I asked, pulling out the newspaper and studied it closer. That's when I realized- one of the men on the cover was my brother. Everything was a blur.
"Well, Sara met a special someone and they're trying to make it work. My best friend, Nate, has a desk job." When he mentioned my brother's name, I knew it was him and I knew I had to speak up.
"Your best friend is Nate Heywood?"
"Wait, Nate as in..."Charlie's voice trailed off.
"How do you know about Nate?" Ray asked.
"He's my brother."
"Wait, that's impossible-" Just Ray cut himself off. "Unless you're our mythery."
"The hell's a mythery?" Charlie and I chorused.
"You both have special abilities, don't you?"
"How do you know that?" I slammed him up against the wall effortlessly.
"Look, I work with your brother. I- he's my best friend and we time travel together." I looked at Charlie desperately, not knowing what to do. "I- I can take you to him. He never stopped looking for you."
"Looking for me? He's the reason I'm here."
YOU ARE READING
Cloaked Heart-Behrad Tarazi
Action"Why are you avoiding me?" "Because I'm sick of feeling like this! Feeling butterflies and my stomach when I see you. I'm sick of feeling like I'm in love with you!"
