The Boy Band Who Adopted Me!

Chapter 24 - Jack of Spades

TW for hint of violence at the beginning of the chapter. S'all good, though. :)

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Mason seemed loath to give up the fight. I couldn't see his face, but he looked like he was steadying himself.

"Come on, then."

Compared to these guys, Mason was scrawny - even in comparison to the smallest guy, who was dwarfed by the buff, Roland-esque teenager in the middle. I was more than worried.

I had to do something.

I was just a second too late as I tried to think of how I could help. A knife glinted with a taunt of white sunlight and seemed to slash between the four of them in Mason's direction. He stepped back and reached for his face.

It wasn't a stab - it was a slash. I still had time before someone got seriously hurt.

I barely thought, before I shouted, "Hey, assholes!" And dashed madly back the way I had come.

"What the fuck was that?" Came the voices. I could hear them stepping in my direction. I ducked behind a dumpster at the sunny entrance of the alley, near the shop fronts, and peered through the smallest crack between the dumpster and the dirty brick wall. The smell was awful, and my heart raced impossibly fast.

Two of the guys came to look. I could tell the third, smallest one was still standing where I'd seen him last. Then, I saw Mason bolt in the direction of my voice. He was fast; he flashed by the guys before they could do anything.

"Hey! Get back here!"

He ran past, not even seeing me, and dashed for the street.

"You're lucky!" the tallest guy bellowed, swallowing the alley in harsh noise. "Real lucky!"

I crept backwards around the corner, then ran in Mason's direction. I saw him duck inside a shop - safety - then followed.

By the time I got inside the quiet store, doorbell jingling, Mason was already loitering with that impressively slouchy gait as if nothing had happened. His hood was up, and his dirty, beat-up Converse were parked on a small plastic stool while he flipped through a magazine of some kind. We were in a small music store.

"Hey," I said as I went up to him. He looked at me with surprise. He was handsome in the daylight; my heart, which was already pounding from my fright, seemed to increase in tempo. A silver eyebrow piercing and a fringed, bright red dye job were visible under his hood. He had a red gash along one cheekbone.

"Jesus, kiddo, what're you doing sneaking up on me?"

"Are you okay after all that?" I panted.

He looked at me in confusion, then his eyes widened. "That was you?" I just nodded.

His surprise dissolved into an apathetic shrug. "Well, thanks. I'm fine. That one probably would have ended in a fun trip to the ER without you."

So nonchalant! 

"Or you'd be dead in an alley," I pointed out. My breathing was beginning to become normal again.

"Nah. I could have dragged myself to a McDonald's."

"Would those guys have let you?"

"They only look tough," Mason stated pointedly. "Those two fools with the big guy would have run for the hills once they saw me clock him. Which I have." He grinned. I couldn't help but crack a smile at his boasting.

"Can I buy you a drink to thank you? A CD, maybe? You look like the type who appreciates a good album."

"Thanks," I said, "that'd be nice."

Mason recommended me a CD that was right on the shelf in front of him - by a band I already loved. He bought it for me. I noted in his actions a tenderness I hadn't recognized before. He gave me the bag with a sweet smile and stuffed dollars of change into the counter's tip jar.

"Coffee? Tea? Whiskey?" He said the last word with a joking lilt.

"Tea," I smiled. The music shop and cafe were right next door to each other, so we walked into the next shop. He bought a milky, tall cup of hot tea for me and a black coffee for himself. He pointed between the tall cafe tables and the door to the shop.

"Sit down or leave?"

"Sit down," I replied.

"You're right, s'kinda cold outside."

Mason sat with me. After a moment too long of silence, he abruptly said, "Wanna see something?"

"Uh, sure?" I replied.

Mason nodded, then took his hoodie off and turned his head. The red cut on his cheek was grimy, but not awful-looking. He then lifted away his fringed red hair, by his ear, and revealed a long, shiny scar that looked deep, which went all the way down to his jawline before tapering off. It trailed up into his hairline.

"God," I said. "How did you get that?"

"I refused to join up with those dumbasses you just met," he replied casually. "They wanted me to steal some things for them, but I'm not one for theft. Their parting gift to me was this baby." He ran a finger down the length of the scar, simultaneously letting his hair back down over it. "I hate assholes who terrorize kids and steal from these little businesses. Try to scare 'em off whenever I see them."

I thought for a moment.

"You just play tough, huh?"

Mason looked at me with a puzzled expression, then absently moved his coffee stirrer in the cup. 

"I am tough," he said simply. "You just thought I was a criminal when you met me. But nah. I hate shit like that."

Mason and I talked for a little bit more. Just as we were about to get up to leave, my favorite band of rascally musicians sauntered into the cafe. A big grin exploded on Cody's face when he saw me, and the rest of the guys seemed pleasantly surprised.

"Aly! My wish came true!" Cody exclaimed. I glanced at Mason, who seemed confused and slightly put off by Cody's energetic behavior. The blue-haired imp strode in big leaps across the cafe and threw his arms around me, almost knocking me out of my chair. Everyone else just waved.

Gavin, however, was wearing a slightly puzzled expression.

"Hey, Alex. Who's this?"

"This is Mason," I said with a smile. "I just sort of keep running into him."

Mason nodded at Gavin, who gave him a half-smile mixed with some emotion I couldn't decipher.

"Well," Mason said, "it's a little too crowded in here for me now. Thanks for saving my ass, Alex." He patted me on the head in a brotherly manner, then hopped down off the stool and left with his half-finished coffee. The guys were all already ordering, except for Gavin, who was standing by me. He took a seat where Mason had just been.

"'Saved his ass', huh?" Gavin said thoughtfully, looking in my eyes with his own forest-like ones.

"It's a bit of a long story," I replied.

"I'd love to hear it, Alex."

I recounted the tale of how I had met Mason behind the school last night and then saved him from injury this morning. The guys gathered around one by one with their coffee.

"Please don't put yourself in danger like that," Gavin said very seriously. He looked genuinely worried. I nodded. "I had to do something," I said.

"You're brave, Alex," Emmett said with a sure nod. I beamed at the compliment.

"Well," Gavin said, resuming his flirtatiously joking behavior, "make sure to write it down so I can turn it into a song."

The day was still young, yet it felt like I had already been through enough to head back to bed.

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AN: What would you have done?

Feedback appreciated :)