We All Fall Down

From Now On We Are Enemies

The cafeteria was huge. Alex had to be careful not to lose his new friends among the mob of hundreds of other troubled kids all scrambling to get their breakfast.

"Just stick with us," Zack said reassuringly, patting Alex softly on the back. He had obviously seen Alex's uncomfortable expression as they made their way through the ravenous crowd of teenagers.

Not wanting to look like a pussy in front of the people he was going to have to live with for the summer, Alex straightened up and cleared his throat in order to sound loud and confident.

"I think it's going to be a bit of a wait!" He said, motioning towards the queue which stretched from one end of the gigantic hall to the other.

"Nah," Rian replied, holding up a badge that was hung around his neck, "I'm a VIP!"

They finally stopped in front of a small door which Rian walked through without any hesitation. When Alex followed, he found that they had emerged into a smaller dining hall than the one they had just struggled through. This one was for staff members and kids that obviously needed adult supervision for whatever reasons.

Jack suddenly broke away from the group, making a bee-line for a woman in an apron who was stood behind the counter. "The usual please, Betty!" He said with a grin. The woman smiled back at him and replied, "I swear to god, Mr Barakat, you must have a bottomless pit in that stomach of yours!"

They all got their breakfast and sat down at a table in the corner of the room. Alex had only decided to go for beans on toast as opposed to Jack's mountain of sausage, bacon and eggs. As the others dug into their hearty breakfasts, Alex simply nibbled on his; he wasn't really hungry.

Just as the boys were finishing up, Nick (who had shown Alex to his cabin that morning) came up to the table and smiled at the four of them.

"Good morning, Dawson!" He said to Rian, he nodded to Zack and just glared at Jack. "Now then boys, since Alex is new here I think you should take the day off to show him around the camp."

"Woah, thanks Nick! I knew you were a nice guy under all that douchebaginess!" Jack exclaimed.

"Thank you, Jack," Nick replied, clearly trying hard not to snap at Jack's comment. "Just don't get into any trouble."

"Yes, sir!" Jack replied, fake saluting as Nick walked away, shaking his head.

"He fucking hates you!" Rian laughed as Jack returned to what remained of his breakfast. He shrugged as he shovelled the last spoonful of beans into his mouth.

When he was finished, Alex followed the others back to the counter where Betty was waiting to clean their plates. Just before they reached the counter, someone stuck their leg out, sending Alex sprawling across the floor and his plate shattering. The shards exploded and some caught Alex's cheek, forcing blood.

Laughter erupted from behind as Jack rushed to help Alex up.

"What the hell, dude?" Jack yelled at the boy who had tripped Alex.

"Jack, it's fine..." Alex mumbled, brushing himself off.

"No, it's not fine!" Jack replied, walking up to face the asshole.

"Fuck off, Jacky!" The boy was clearly a few years older than Jack but that didn't seem to stop him.

"What the hell, James? Leave him the fuck alone!"

"Make me!" James said, sending spittle in Jack's direction.

Zack grabbed Jack and pulled him back, "Come on man, this asshole isn't worth it,"

"Yeah, let big strong Zack take care of you, Jacky! You and your new boyfriend are gonna need protection!" James said, pointing to Alex who was back on the floor picking up the shattered pieces of the plate. He was soon joined by Betty who squeezed his shoulder and led the four boys out of the hall and away from the asshole.

"Who the hell was that douche?" Alex asked as they made their way away from the cafeteria.

"That was James," Rian replied, "his dad runs the camp. Oh yeah, he's also a fucking psychopath!"

"That dick gets away with everything!" Jack exclaimed as he walked, "I'd love for daddy-dearest to find out what his son's really like."

"He thinks he can push everyone around, especially us." Zack said.

"I'll wipe that fucking smug grin off his face, just you watch guys! We've got Lexy now," Jack said, patting Alex on the back. "We'll get James back, don't worry about that."

"Woah, calm down there!" Rian laughed, "you're just so threatening with your skinny arms and legs. Oh, I know, you could stab him with your elbow!"

Jack just glared at Rian.

Alex had no idea where they were going and, frankly, he didn't care. His cheek stung like a bitch and he was tired. But he wanted to stay with these three boys, for some reason he felt safe with them, he trusted them.

After walking for five minutes, they arrived at a cosy looking cottage overlooking the lake. Rian opened the front door and yelled in, "Mom?" After a brief silence, he turned to the others and said, "She's out, come on in!"

They all walked into a tiny hallway and made their way to the kitchen where Jack instantly made himself at home and raided the fridge, putting any good food he could find on the counter before sitting down. Alex sat down next to him, also making himself at home.

Zack grabbed some of the food from the counter then turned to Rian, "Hey, do you have any ketchup?"

"You know where it is," Rian said absentmindedly. He was looking at a pile of posters his mom had left on the counter and motioned for the others to come over. "Hey guys, there's a talent show this year at the end of the summer."

"Yeah, so?" Jack asked, his mouth full of the food he had stolen from Rian's fridge.

"So," Rian said, "James is sure to enter his band in the show. I'm pretty sure if we worked together, we could start a band and beat the son of a bitch!"

"That is a brilliant idea!" Jack said, suddenly jumping up in excitement. "Dibs on guitar!"

"Bass!" Zack yelled out,

"I have that drum kit in the garage,"

"Do you play, Alex?" Jack asked, his eyes full of hope.

"Er, I play a bit of guitar..."

"Can you sing?"

"I guess so..."

"That settles it then," said Jack, shovelling more food into his mouth, "we are forming a band."