A Woozy Youth (A NovaHD Gang AU)

"Why Not?"

Story Song: Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics (Steve Angello Remix)

Word Count: 1144

A/N: Check it out! It's longer!

Aleks' P.O.V

It was a couple days later, and instead of looking for work like I should have been, being the broke bastard I am, I was holed up in my apartment, recuperating and beating myself up over the fact that I was seriously considering their proposal.

This was a gang. A gang of dangerous people who have a track record for killing others.

Once I was in there, there was no out of there. If I left, I died. I would never be able to live a normal life or have normal friends or have a normal job.

I mean, as if I had any of those right now.

But still. I could very well get friends! Not if I'm in a gang though!

But really, what were they doing? I didn't have any special skills, especially for what they needed me for.

I heard a knock on my door and visibly shrunk back, looking through the peephole to see Jordan.

"Go away!" I called out, realizing belatedly that I should've just stayed quiet.

"Have you made up your mind?!" He called back.

I hesitated, contemplating saying nothing, but after I heard a loud rap against the door, I realized I needed to respond.

"No.." I said quietly, my head pressed against the wood of my door.

"Well that's why I'm here. Let me in." He responded smoothly, and I decided to fuck it, opening the door.

I was greeted with the sight of him, slightly smiling.

He plopped on the couch that was close to the entranceway, but I stood propped against the door, hands stowed in my pockets.

He knew that I was gazing at him warily, and seemed to be caught up in his thoughts before he began convincing me.

"Why not?" He rebutted, surprising me.

"Seriously, all you have for me is 'Why not'?" He shrugged.

"But, really, think about it. You're thinking of all the reasons why, why not? What is holding you back?"

"The prospect that I can never leave, never have a life separate from the gang, never make normal friends, never have a normal job."

"Do you even have that now? Do you even want that now?"

"You know what? I don't have any friends, and I don't have a job, but I haven't given up on the idea of having those things."

"You would have something way better than friends or a dumb job." He said, sinking into the couch.

"Oh yeah? What?"

"A family." I snorted.

"No really, you may not see it, but we're the closest bunch of guys you can imagine. We're not pining after you specifically because you're good at hacking, we're pining after you because we think we can mesh really well with you, and because we all have a good feeling about you."

I shuffled my feet, still unsure.

"I'm allowed to be skeptical, okay? I'm allowed to think this through for as long as I can, this is a huge deal."

"It is, that's true. We've given you some time, and we'll give you plenty more. I just wanted to check your progress. I hope you realize that we've all been looking after you for awhile, and we feel like we already know you. I hope we can continue on with this relationship." Jordan said, clapping a hand on my back before tipping his red hat and excusing himself from the premise.

"Wait!" I said before I knew that was what I wanted, following Jordan who was halfway down the first steps of the apartment staircase.

"Can I possibly go with you?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs. He grinned, and it was a mix between something malicious and something genuinely happy-go-lucky. It made my breath catch in my throat. I saw the slight tip of his head, slamming my door as I climbed down the stairs after him.

"I don't have a bag for you this time." Jordan said as he climbed into the drivers seat of what I assumed was his own car.

I sighed as he gave me a pointed look, rolling my eyes before pulling my beanie over them.

"Almost there." He said, another one of his short updates, the only thing he's really said the whole ride.

I listened to the slight hum of the radio, slyly shifting the beanie on my head so one of my eyes was exposed.

The view I caught was a wrought iron gate framed by a pink sky.

I heard quick, shrill beeps, shortly followed by the gate opening.

The view of the house for the first time was surreal, to say the least.

I attempted the count the floors by the windows, but only ended up with four when I'm sure there were more.

There were guards standing at the large double oak doors, armed with guns.

There was what looked like a tower (I only saw in my peripheral vision) where I'm assuming another guard held post.

Jordan pulled into the small parking lot available.

"You can take off your beanie." He said, and we both climbed out of the car, this time with my beanie properly on my head.

We entered through the back entrance, and I didn't ask why, but Jordan explained that he didn't want to be an, "Easy kill" to some jealous rival gang.

"Do these things happen often?" I asked, uncertainty dripping in my voice. He halted his movements, hand glued on the door handle of the back door.

"I'd rather you know what's going on around in this house before you get yourself into something you didn't sign up for. I'm being honest." I gulped, nodding my head once before he smiled and opened the door.

I saw the chicken man and the blonde in the kitchen. They gave me lingering looks and knowing smiles.

I ignored them, ascending the staircase after Jordan.

Dan, James, and the British one, Dex, were in the room where I first saw Jordan face-to-face.

"Is he one of us now?" James asked, raising an eyebrow to Jordan.

"Hello, yes? Right here, connection's fine." I replied to James' question, and he sneered, returning to his card game.

"He's just surveying the area."

"What the fuck? Why?"

"I want to know what I'm getting into."

"That sounds promising." The British one replied, annoyed.

"They're right. I'm not saying we should rush into this, but the kid's got to make a decision. We can't keep bringing him around here, it could end up detrimental for us." Dan said.

"Plus, nobody is gonna want to entertain him when you have your meeting in a little." Dex reminded, which caused a forgetful look to appear on Jordan's face.

"Oh, shoot, I forgot about that." He turned to me.

"I know you kind of wanted to see what we're about here, but you can leave if you want. This meeting is going to be similar to the meeting we had with you." He said, shifting his hand to ruffle his hair before settling it in the exact same place.

"This may sound weird, but can I stay?" I asked, surprising even myself.