The Streets

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

       "KIDNAPPED?" Marx asked after I'd finished recanting my tale. As D promised I didn't leave anything out. They weren't pleased with a lot of what I told them but when I told them how Stefan unknowingly helped me escape Vulcan let out a low whistle.

"Well hot damn! It looks like Stefan finally proved to be good for something after all..." The rest of the boys agreed with him.

"And they're watching your house right now?" TT asked.

"Yeah, and the club house. That's why I had to come here. There's no telling what else they're watching..." I told them, spreading my hands in a helpless gesture. "Ronnie himself is watching the clubhouse..."

"Is he now? I think we should pay him a little visit, don't you guys?" TT was cracking his knuckles and Marx nodded his head.

I looked to JoJo and D to be the voices of reason but they were picking themselves up from their seats,  with looks that said ready to kill.

"I don't want you guys to get hurt." I said, reaching out to stop them.

"They hurt you first." JoJo said. He was usually the one to sit and plan out every last detail and here he was rushing into a fight. That was something I would do, not him. "We can't let them get away with what they did."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"No!" They all shouted at once.

"Yes I am and you can't stop me." I grabbed my keys from where I'd dropped them on the table in the entry way. I was half of the way out of the door before I was lifted off of the ground.

"Yeah. We can stop you..." Chase said, holding me as I struggled and kicked out at him.

"I have just as much right as you do, if not more. I'm coming with!" I reached out at him, trying to grab ahold of anything to give myself leverage.

"You can come if you promise to stay in the car," JoJo said, nodding at Chase to drop me. I landed lithely on my feet and started for the door once again.

They followed me out and we rode down in the elevator in silence. When we walked through the lobby, Meghan watched us with wide, fearful eyes. I knew we must look like what we really were. A group out for blood.

D popped the trunk and got out my tire iron and baseball bat. Without saying a word he slid into the passenger seat and I slid behind the wheel. I lead the procession towards the clubhouse.

By now the sun was starting to set and I had my headlights on. As I pulled into the parking lot of our warehouse clubhouse, the lights fanned the entrance of the building. Leaning against the wall next to the door was Ronnie himself.

Ronnie saw my car and even at a distance I could see his smirk. He shrugged away from the door as I threw my door open. I got one foot out of the door before D put a hand on my shoulder. "Take this."

He closed my hand around the bat and I smiled gratefully at him. I stepped fully from the car just as the rest of the boys pulled into the parking lot. Clearly not expecting them, Ronnie faltered in his steps towards me as I advanced, confidence radiating from every pore.

The sound of car doors closing reached my ears as I stood before Ronnie, the bat casually resting against my shoulder. He looked around behind me and I knew my boys were standing there. The look of sheer, unrestrained fear on Ronnie's face was one of the most fulfilling sights I'd seen in probably my entire life...

"Couldn't handle me by yourself? Had to call in to the big boys for back up?" he taunted, trying to regain some of his former swagger.

"I think you've got that one wrong, babe." I said, putting extra stress on the word babe. "You see, that strong girl you were looking for earlier? Well, I found her. These guys aren't my backup. They're my audience."

Without giving him time to react to what I'd said, I darted forward. The bat came off my shoulder in a nice smooth swing. THWACK! A solid hit to the chest. Ronnie fell done, wheezing and gasping for air.

I leaned on the bat and smiled down condescendingly at him. "Did that feel like the strong girl to you?" He put his hand up, a feeble attempt to stop me. "No? How about this?" Ronnie shied away from me instinctively, opening up his back for a free hit.

THWACK! Another solid hit. He groaned and rolled over, trying to curl himself into the fetal position and protect his head. I brought the bat down in a massive overhead blow. CRACK! 

A long, piercing scream escaped Ronnie, the sound cutting through the night like a cannon blast. Blood poured from the wound and his leg hung at an awkward angle. "Now, I'm no doctor," I said casually. "But, I'd say that's a broken leg right there..." To prove my point, I poked at it a bit with the bat. Ronnie let out another scream and writhed away from me.

"Bitch," Ronnie spat out. His voice was barely above a dull whisper but I still heard him.

"What was that?" I asked, playing dumb. "You called me a bitch did you? I guess that may be true..." I held my hands up as if to say, what can you do and poked at his leg with the bat some more. He screamed again. "Yep, I'm enjoying this a little too much not to be a bitch I suppose. Oh well. I'm done. You guys can have at him. I don't care what happens to him at this point."

I tossed the bat down on the ground next to Ronnie's bloodied and prone figure. Someone went to retrieve the discarded bat but I was already on my way into the club house. A hand on my shoulder made me look up when I opened the door. It was TT.

 TT came in with me and he pushed me down onto the couch. I sat there in the silence, looking down at my shaking hands. TT came back with a mug of hot cocoa and mini marshmallows. He turned the stereo up loud and we sat there, drinking and pretending we couldn't hear screams from outside. 

I curled into TT's side and he held me there while I gathered my thoughts. Ronnie wouldn't be a problem anymore. That was a plus. We could all go to prison for beating him down. That was a negative. I suppose I should have been more upset about the whole "prison" thing but I wasn't. I was just...relieved.

After probably ten minutes the screaming stopped and I could hear a car engine start. Maybe twenty minutes after that the boys all filed in, one by one. D was the last one in and when he came in he sat down next to me on the couch. TT made room for Chase on my other side and they soothed me while I fought back tears with all of my strength. I had had enough crying. I was sick and tired of it.

I stood up past them all, brushed off their questioning looks and tentative questions. I couldn't stand being treated like I was this fragile little porcelain doll! I needed to be strong! Ronnie got what was coming to him and now I had to take what was coming to me. I had to take back The Streets. The Signs weren't winning this year.

 ~~

Soo... It went from dancing to a beat down... Not what I had originally planned but it seemed right with the current flow. I don't even feel like I'm writing this anymore. It's more like this story is writing itself and I'm just here as a passageway...

Anyway, there should be more up soon. I think I've found the band of my dreams. I love them so much! And I really love the song at the side. They are so talented and those lyrics are absolutely beautiful.

♥P.H.