Jett

5

He was almost certain that she knew he was following her.

It was either that or Jett just really couldn't comprehend what it meant to drive in a straight line.

Regardless, the not too busy roads made it so that his tailing wasn't that easily shaken off as he effortlessly swapped lanes and overtook cars almost as quickly as she did. Cruising past sleek convertibles with their rooves down and mini vans with children who had their faces pressed up against the dirty glass.

Kayden tried to concentrate on where exactly they were going, trying to take note of the fact that they passed a rusted down playground or that they sped through school zones but he was too busy trying to focus on the black motorcycle ahead of him. Thankfully, she didn't make any sharp, sudden turns into random streets or drive around in circles until he gave up and left. The lack of effort in trying to shake him off left the impression that, wherever she was heading, she didn't have the time to waste on losing him.

That fact alone was enough to make Kayden simultaneously worried and excited. He didn't know what Jett was exactly— because he was certain that she wasn't an ordinary high school student—but he felt that he was going to find out.

She finally made a sharp turn left— narrowly dodging a speeding blue Holden that beeped at her while the driver stuck his middle finger out of the driver side window— so that she could park in front of a reject shop where two other girls were waiting for her. Kayden slowed down a little, to a pace he definitely knew would make parents remind their children of stranger danger had they seen him, so that he could find out where they were heading.

They looked to be quite an odd grouping. One of them was wearing a floor length dress that would probably be appropriate for the red carpet while the other dressed as if she were auditioning for the modern retelling of 'Dracula.' Jett seemed to be the only one dressed casually. A few brief words were exchanged before they made their way further down the street. Heading in a direction where the store fronts started to thin out, leaving very few options.

The only place that would be remotely worth going to was a café that had been closed for renovations.

'What could they possibly want from there?'

They walked as quickly as they could without drawing any attention to themselves. Something just short of a powerwalk which meant that the few people on the sidewalks moved out of their way when they noticed their approach but didn't linger their gaze on them for too long. Probably only long enough to wonder where a bunch of oddly dressed teenagers were headed to before deciding that it really wasn't any of their business.

Kayden made a point to speed up and keep driving, hoping that Jett would see him pass her and think that he had lost interest in following.

'Wow, Kayden, way to come off as some sort of creepy stalker,' he thought to himself, before reasoning that he really didn't have malicious intentions he was just... curious.

He parked a few buildings down, hastily exiting his car and sprinting back to where he had hoped the trio had gone to. The small building looked the same as always and— had the large sign declaring renovations not been present—he could picture the swarm of students making their way through the clear glass doors, craving Helga's infamous milkshakes.

Though, Kayden suspected that Jett and her friends had more than blended milk on their minds.

The parking lot was empty. There didn't seem to be another soul in sight. He strained his ears as he stood in the middle of the empty space, panting slightly, in hopes that he would overhear something. But nothing came. Kayden ran his fingers through his hair as he thought, slightly doubting his previous assumptions that the three had come there. Feeling somewhat deflated he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and decided to check it out anyway. Despite the distinct possibility that they weren't there and he'd probably get yelled at for loitering around the empty building.

He tiptoed towards one of the windows, ducking low and peaking over the dying hedges planted outside so he could see inside without being noticed. The first thing that hit him was the fact that the interior was a mess. Half the tables were missing while the others were covered in a thin film of fine dust from numerous sanding jobs done around the room. Some panels of the roof were even missing, leaving electrical wires hanging and exposed. Kayden could practically hear them crackling with electricity, just waiting for some unfortunate soul to touch them. It looked like whatever renovations were being done, wouldn't be finished any time soon.

He trailed the cracked mint green floor tiles with his eyes until he found what he was looking for.

He could see the back of Jett's glossy dark hair. On one side of her stood a girl with bright blue hair pulled into high pig tails while the one on the other side had scarlet ringlets tumbling over her shoulders.

Though, it was the other figures that really caught his attention. The four large men, all wearing near identical jumpsuits splattered with paint, easily towered over the three girls. It would have been easy to just write them off as renovation workers, had it not been for their tense stances and the slightly the cocky expressions on their faces. They seemed fully aware of their size advantage and, if the expressions on their faces were anything to go by, they intended to use it.

Kayden watched, intrigued, as words he couldn't hear were exchanged. He wanted to know what was going on and scanned the windows to see if there was a gap between any of the sheets of dirty glass, indicating that someone had forgotten to close up properly. Yet, before he could even think about moving, one of the men pulled out a gun. Even though he knew it was unreasonable as they didn't even know that he was there, Kayden still froze. Unconsciously he sucked in a breath of air as he waited to see what would happen next.

Kayden's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he stared at the weapon and wondered why Jett and co weren't moving. Instead of cowering back, he watched in awe as Jett took a step forwards, so that the gun point was almost touching the spot between her eyes. He guessed she must have said something to him, because his lips stretched into a mocking grin. Though, the expression was quickly wiped off of his face when the blue haired girl pulled out a gun that had been strapped to her thigh, hidden by the layered material of her skirt. She aimed it back at the man challengingly, daring him to make a move.

Just like that everyone else in the room jumped to action.

The three remaining men pulled out their own weapons, while the red head unsheathed a knife. Despite all that, Kayden kept his eyes trained on Jett who, thus far, hadn't really moved. Everyone was locked in a stare off, waiting for someone to make the first move. He couldn't help himself from hoping that Jett had some form of protection on her because he couldn't see a way she'd make it out alive otherwise.

He knew from the almost faded bruise on his nose that she was able to protect herself quite adequately, but he doubted that she could face a weapon bare handed. It was like watching a movie and the suspense was killing him. Just as he was starting to think nothing would happen—

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

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It's almost 1 am here but I really needed to update so here it is, a little on the long side but hopefully ya'll enjoyed it. If so, don't forget to comment vote and share. 

Until next time (good night), stay safe and treat yourselves kindly,

Artemis.