Rewind (Completed)

Chapter 34: Playing Hardball

Chapter 34: Playing Hardball

"You shall not pass," I hand Landon a form, taking this very seriously. 

He rolls his eyes at me and snatches the formal form from my hand as he scans it over, "Is this really necessary?"

"I'm not authorized to let visitors in unless they sign the formal agreement. Until then, you are not permitted access into this tree house by right of Oog and gang," I explain the rules to Landon.

"I didn't even want to see the stupid tree house. I have better things to do with my time. You're the one who invited me, along with several others, to the 'grand opening'," Landon scoffs as he reluctantly jots down his signature.

I flip through his ten sheet page, "Sign here," I command. He sighs and does as told. I flip to the next page, "And here." He shakes his head and quickly signs again, not at all happy about being compliant with the law of the tree house. "Here," I show him a third time. I turn over to the next pages. "Sign again here, here and here."

He signs them all in a rush, mentally cursing me all the while in doing so. Th eidiot should really read first. For all he know, he could be seeling his soul over to me...ah well, some prefer to learn the hard way.

"Is that all?" he questions irritably as he shoves the pen back into my hands and tries to get past me. I stand in his way, effectively stopping him. "I've already been standing in the line of people for hours on end," he complains, "and Sarah's already inside somewhere. How come she got a VIP pass and I didn't? Even Ryan got a special pass," he points out, failing to notice the complaint box beside me.

"That's right, sucker," Ryan smirks tauntingly from behind be, already in the tree house, as he lifts his eyes from his phone for a split second in order to meet Lan's furious gaze of jade. He then deliberately passes on by slowly as if to just rile Landon up further in his jealousy. 

Ryan certainly has no fears. He isn't afraid of Grey and he clearly couldn't give a crap about Landon either. He lives to annoy people, whether he knows them or not and whether they're terrifying or not. He's a person after my own heart.

Landon sighs before he arches a brow at me, gesturing to the small space in between us, "Do you and I have a problem, Lawson, or are you just trying to piss me off? Is this a matter of playing hardball just to get to me?"

I shake my head and grin happily, "Nah. The tree house is just undergoing maintenance issues. There's a spacing problem. We're currently overcrowded. We'll be with you shortly."

"I can't believe this dumb tree house has been put on display. Are people actually paying the entrance fees? Are they buying into that? I wouldn't go for it," Landon queries, making some conversation whilst he waits impatiently.

We only charge people we don't like - that being Grey. 

Speaking of which...

"Who's holding up the damn line this time?!" Grey, himself, calls from somewhere in the back of the line of strangers.

"Of course, it's Landon the loser," Xavier answers Grey, a few people ahead of him. He then faces forward, narrowing his eyes at Landon, "Go in already, asshole! You're holding up the entire line!"

Talk about 'rage issues'...

Landon immediately spins around with his fist in the air as he meets Xavier's angry stare, "Pipe down! Don't make me come over there!" he threatens his brother-in-law without a flicker of shame, even at being in public.

Grey leaves the line, cursing me loudly as heads on home. His patience has worn thin and he's had enough.

"Thanks for coming. We've hope you've had a good stay at 'The Dung Inn'," I hear AJ say to one of our customers. "Just a reminder to please feel free to contribute to Oog's initiative to help homeless hobos. If you'd like to invest or partner with us, send us an email. Thank you. We hope to see you again on your next visit," she says politely before bidding the stranger goodbye, even managing to score a tip for her services.