a purposeful past | s.s

Chapter Sixteen

Specs sat in a circle with several of the other boys, not one of them entirely pleased about their predicament.

Perhaps he should explain.

Once Lane had stormed out, Domino had quickly grown tired of the man's dry, sarcastic attitude and had given him a hard hit to the head with her trusty frying weapon—seeing as Lane wasn't there to play the role of the good cop anymore.

Perhaps that was the first step in the direction that had led them to where they were now. Finch had not stood by idly while his girlfriend was off somewhere having a mental breakdown. Albert and Crutchie made sure to hold him back, saying that she just needed some time to herself, while Race had piped in with some of his most unhelpful comments.

Then, another piece of the puzzle, Laces. Domino had decided that she and the girl would go dump the man off someplace far away, and from there, they'd walk over to Flushing so Laces could return to her borough and Domino could help explain some of the things that'd been happening.

By that point, Finch had talked Amy into going to check on Lane for him, as he felt that maybe she just needed another girl to talk with. Amy had looked doubtful, yet eventually agreed, slipping on her yellow gloves and leaving with her head held high.

Which had just left them.

The boys.

Even Kid Blink had remarked that it felt weird not to have any of the girls around.

And that was how it began.

"Dat's it!" Crutchie exclaimed after Finch had whined a bit more about Lane, startling everyone. "You boys have problems, 'n it's time dat ya face 'em."

Finch turned to the boy, offended. "I don't got problems."

"Yeah, keep tellin' yer-self dat. Now- you, you, 'n you, grab a chair 'n sit down."

Specs stood, stunned, as Crutchie motioned for him to sit down as well. "What? What do I gotta do wit any 'a dis?"

"Oh, please," Crutchie said, waving a hand dismissively. "We all know you 'n Domino have made it official."

"We nev-ah-"

"Didn't have ta," Crutchie cut in. "It's pretty obvious."

Specs just gaped at him, unsure of what to say.

"And where do ya think yer runnin' off ta?" he demanded, turning towards Jojo with a hand fisted on his hip. "Yer doin' dis wit tha rest 'a dem. Sit down."

Jojo blinked, dumbfounded. "I ain't-"

"Oh I'm sorry, who's sist-ah was jus brought back into his life?"

Jojo sighed, grabbing a chair and shuffling over along with the rest.

"Jack."

Jack froze from where he was moments away from freedom. He slowly let go of the doorknob. "Crutch... c'mon. It's me 'n Kath, wese doin' fine! D'ya really think I have ta do dis, too?"

Crutchie raised an eyebrow at him wordlessly, everyone watching in awe as Jack slumped, defeated, trudging over to the circle with everyone else.

"What is dis?" Finch questioned. "A group session 'a 'talk it out wit Crutchie' hour?"

Crutchie sighed. "Yes, exactly."

"Dis is all yer fault," Romeo hissed at Finch. "If it wasn't fa all yer whinin' 'bout yer goil-friend, we wouldn't be he-ah."

Simultaneously, everyone turned to glare at Finch.

Finch crossed his arms. "Might as well jus get it ov-ah wit."