little bird // r.keene

xxxvi. blind.

Robby remained stationary in the cafeteria that afternoon, quiet and still. His only motion was placing one card on top of another as a game of cards was splayed out before him on the white table.

Sure, he would have preferred to read the book Wren brought him. But Shawn had made that impossible.

But Will and Robby agreed: No fights.

At that very moment, as if by queue, Will sauntered in, his hair still a little damp and looking very tired to perch on the seat beside Robby.
"How was community service?" Robby asked mindlessly, they had both been putting in extra hours at the homeless shelter in order to get their sentences reduced these past few weeks.

"Boring and tiring, you know, the usual." Will moaned, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward. "But Joe did some maths for me..."

"Oh yeah? What did he say?" Robby asked, looking away from his card game to give Will his full attention. His admiration for the sort of friendship Joe and Will had had changed since he arrived at juvie 2 months ago. Though he was a guard, Joe seemed to like Will somewhat and so gave him notices on announcements. Let him know when new boys were being brought in.

In his mind, Robby was sure it was because Joe knew Will was the ringleader and protector of the smallest of boys. So, therefore if he had Will's ear, he would have the rest of the boys too.

It was smart, Robby couldn't deny it.

Robby watched as Will shrugged his shoulders and his lips grew thin, as if he was attempting to suppress a smile. "I've got two weeks before my release." Will said plainly, as if it was nothing, Robby's eyes widened.

"No shit, that's when I'm out too. Two weeks as of yesterday."

Will cracked a smile, bright and wide, "Aye, Rob my boy. Little Bird is going to be over the moon... It's the same date." He laughed and the pair smiled, Will clapping Robby on the shoulder.

But the sweet moment was short lived.

A few of Shawn's boys remained tucked away in the corner of the room, their eyes fixed on Robby and Will. They knew Will was untouchable, Shawn had made that clear enough.

But they still saw Robby as new, even though he was too weak from release. They still saw him as exposed and they were jealous of the hand he had been dealt- his short sentence and his connections with Will upon his arrival.

But their anger and jealousy was much more complex. After all, it's why they followed Shawn at all.
They were so full of rage because they were consumed by their grief. What they had done. What that had done to their families. What their previous actions had done to the rest of their lives. And because of this, unlike Will and Robby, they didn't have any hope for their lives beyond those white walls.

They saw the same solemness in Shawn and therefore, because he was the most outgoing and most confident, latched onto him. They followed him blind.

So they did what they thought he might want, even though he wasn't there, because that's all they knew how to do.

If only Robby and Will had seen it coming.