P4L, carpe diem (JJ Maybank)

016

We ran through the cemetery, in front of one of my brothers friend's, Jorge's house. "We gotta split up," he yelled, breathless. "I agree," I said, taking in a large amount of air. "Hey Jorge!" I shouted. "Hey, look, there's a snow leopard," my brother said, as we both grabbed a bike. There were two, and the other one was probably Jorge's brother.

I hopped onto the bike, riding away. "We'll leave them at the park!" I shouted, pedaling away. "What the hell?!"

"We'll give them back!!"

-|-

"We gotta split up," I proposed, "they can't find both of us with one car."

"I'll meet you at the corner of Ramer St. and Foss's Ave, 3," he told me. "Be safe! I love you," I told him and he replied with, "I will. Love you too."

-|-

I rid the bike, now breathless. I took the corner of the market, watching John from a distance. He was coming in hot, and I realized the chain in front of him. I wanted to shout at him, tell him to watch out, when I saw a blue and white SUV, and pedaled away, farther into the market. Shit, I felt like a backstabber.

A few minutes later, I texted my brother.

BugsBunny🐇: You okay?
Did you get the photo of Dad back?

DaffyDuck🦆: Yep, and a gnarly
memory to remember this day by...

BugsBunny🐇: Oh shit,
what did you do?

DaffyDuck🦆: Yeeted myself
over a chain. 😂

BugsBunny🐇: Oh shit.😂 you good?
Did they find you?

DaffyDuck🦆: Nope. The Kook
Princess did.

BugsBunny🐇: Sarah!?

DaffyDuck🦆: Yeah. I gotta go.
Stay safe. Don't tell Kie
I'm with Sarah. Don't meet up where I said we would, I'll text you when I figure out when, okay?

BugsBunny🐇:🫡😶

-|-

Against my will, I rode my back all the way to Kie's house. I rung the doorbell, waiting for one of the Carrera's to answer. Kiara answered, looking at my sweating and breathless, aching body. "Hey, Kie," I said, smiling and laughing.

"Oh my God...Dylan get in here," she said, dragging me in.

"Let's get you some water," Kie told me, bringing me to her room. "What are you doing here?" Kie asked me. "Well, let's just say... foster care came to take me and my brother away, but we ran out of the car. We went seperate ways, and my smart-ass was like, 'hey! Why don't we go to Kie's instead of J's or Pope's Dad's work,' so, here I am."

Kie gave me a blank stare, and we just laughed at each other. "So, you rode your bike from where to here?"

"The market," I said, drinking my water. "So, approximately... 5 miles," Kie asked, and I shook my head yes. We looked at each other, and just laughed.

-|-

"I'm so happy they're still doing this," Kie laughed, as we sat at the drive in. "Keep calm, carry on," I told Kie, feeling free that I finally didn't have a bag and a guitar on my shoulders. "I don't know, my couch was pretty comfy," JJ told me, smiling then it vanished. "Hey, what's wrong, Jayj?" I asked JJ, stopping him in his tracks.