{ON HOLD} Where My Loyalties Lie (Vanoss Crew Fanfic)

Chapter 5

It's been a few days that we've been holding Haley and her friends prisoner. I'm really impressed at their strength though; three days without food or water and they haven't broken yet. Like food, meh, but three days without water could kill a man. Sounds like she's Superwoman or something like that.

All this time I have been thinking about what I'm gonna do with her. I can't just randomly recruit her into my crew. They would become suspicious and probably question whether or not I was in my right mind. Actually, the more that I think of it, they're probably already doing that.

I growled in frustration. All of these promises were getting hard to keep, because of both personalities and the situations that surround those personalities. I kicked the trashcan beside my nightstand and flopped on my bed. A cool summer breeze fluttered through the open window, causing me to shield my eyes from the window and turn to face my nightstand. On it lay a reminder of my past, and the many more promises I had made: my owl mask.

I reached over to grab it. Its normally (but then again, what was normal these damn days?) shiny sheen was dull; of course, that's what happens when you don't wear it for, say, I don't know? Three months? It's black yellow eyes stared at me, boring into my soul. Brought me back into the past.

*FLASHBACK TO THREE YEARS AGO*

"Alright guys," I said, "here we are." We were sitting in the living room in my apartment. All the guys were here; Lui, Craig, David, Tyler, Jonathan, all of 'em. I looked across the room, meeting the eyes of everyone. "We've been through some tough shit, but here we are."

"Damn right!" Tyler shouted. Everyone laughed at that.

I chuckled. The tension had left now that we were kinda joking around. "Thanks Tyler. I needed that." He gave me a salute.  "We've made some cash, my friends." I said, gesturing around my apartment. More claps and laughs; I grinned. "And I owe it to you guys!" I shouted, pointing to the group in front of me.

"Look to the person next to you!" Everyone stole a glance at each other. "These people are your family!"

"And a family looks out for each other. No matter what."

*Present*

I was dragged out of my thoughts as a knock resonated through my door. "Come in!" I called, still slumped on the bed. The door opened and Jonathan walked in, as usual, with his mask on. He always wears it; even I, his best friend, haven't ever seen his face before. Jonathan's mysterious and crazy that way. Even though he hides his emotions behind a mask, plenty shows through by his actions. There's a reason why his code name is Delirious.

"Usually people stand to meet their guests." Jonathan remarked, sitting down next to me. "But you're just laying here on the bed. That's a dick move right there Evan."

"Don't you think that's a rude way of saying hello?"

"Well, what you laying down is rude too, don't ya think?" Jonathan replied with a chuckle.

I groaned. "Fuck you."

"Whoa whoa whoa, man. You know I'm not like that, Evan. You know I like the ladies!"

God dammit, Jonathan just makes being depressed and mad and feeling like shit so HARD! (No homo if you know what I mean.) No matter what, he always finds a way to make me smile. But he's also been a master a sensing how I'm feeling most days. My frustration was quite obvious, because he read me like a book. He sighed. "Bad day, huh?"

"Yeah," I said, covering my face with my hands, "I'm just really stuck on a problem."

Jonathan nodded in agreement. "Wanna tell me what it is? Maybe I can help."

I weighed my options. Jonathan was my best friend and had been really useful in the past. Not that I just think of him as a tool of course. He deserved to know my secret.

But the problem with him was that I never knew how he would react. He wasn't as ... open as I was.

But I was tired of this shit. Tired of keeping secrets. Tired of lying. I needed to share my secret with someone. And who better to share it with than Jonathan. I sat up; I guess that Jonathan sensed that what I was about to share was pretty serious because the smile on his face vanished when he saw my expression.

"Look man," I started out, "what I'm about to tell you is super secret, You can't tell anyone."

"Come on man it's a fucking secret! Of course I know that!"

I chuckled before continuing on. "You know the group of girls we have in the basement? And their leader, Haley?" Jonathan nodded. I took a deep breath and pulled the picture her father had given me out of my pocket. I handed it to Jonathan. His eyes went wide as he saw her face.

"You know her?" he asked incredulously.

"Not exactly. Her dad? He was a cop."

"Okay," Jonathan replied with a measured tone, "what's that gotta do with your big secret?"

I continued to tell him about how the morning of the apocalypse, Officer Levin saved me. I told Jonathan how Officier Levin had tasked me with finding her daughter and keeping her safe. When I finished, Jonathan remained silent. After a moment, he said, "So the cop saved my best friend." He chuckled. "How ironic is that?"

"Yeah..." I sighed. "The problem is, I don't want to tell the crew. We're family, and I don't know whether or not having Haley and her group joining us will break us apart."

"Hey," Jonathan said standing up, "I know you. You're the best guy I know for situations like these. You'll figure it out." Jonathan gave my shoulder a squeeze and walked out the door.

I still couldn't figure out his emotions on the topic. Saying I'll figure it out but hiding his emotions so well. Or maybe it's just the fact that he wears a hockey mask.

"Well, at least he's right. I think I'm gonna have to sleep on it. And anyways, I'm tired as shit. I'm gonna take a nap." I said aloud as I laid down on my bed. So much to think about, so much to do. I can't do it if I don't rest.

Okay well hi guys. Been a while... like two months. But you know what, I'm like that. An annoying son of a bitch that doesn't update. There, said and done. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll catch you guys next chapter.

Monster out!