'Ragged Little Devils'

Chapter 2-2 - A Rocky Friendship

After spending a few hours with their parents all of their phones rang as reminders that they had to meet up with Alex. So it was then that they all kissed them goodbye and headed out to the address that was sent to them via group text. It was about half past 4:00 when the boys arrived at The Woods Apartment Complex. The place where Alex lived. It's absolutely hard to admit but they were scared out of their mind. Not because he was this extremely terrifying dude because that was the least of their worries. It's just five years of going their separate ways the only person that they never had the chance of really staying in touch with was Alex. So it was more of a "Butterflies in your stomach" type scared. "Wow someone's been living luxuriously." a stunned Nate says as he continues to look around. Jayden nods as they continue through the lobby. "Yeah I have to admit he's doing really good for himself." "Luxurious or not it doesn't change the fact that he's a dick who made his friends feel left out for five years." Garrett quickly interjected before they could gawk about anything else around them. The four of them fell silent after that. He was the least excited to be here. It's not that Garrett hated Alex because the five of them combined were really great friends in high school. They even considered each other a family of brothers at that specific point in time. Yet, lately it all seemed to have crash and burned as life moved on past high school. It was Chase who broke the silence. "Yeah, guys let's just keep moving see if we can find him." They all started moving again but not without Jay and Nate shooting hateful glares through Garrett's skull. They have just reached the front desk when the concierge began speaking. "Hello, welcome to The Woods apartment complex how may I help you?" she finished with a smile. "Jayden you speak." demanded Chase. Jayden looks at him dumbfounded "What? Why Me?" "Because my job was to get us up here to the front desk." Chase responds with a smirk. "So that automatically obligates me to be the one asking?" Jayden speaks back with a purpose. "Stop being such a little bitch and just speak maggot." Garrett intercepted again. By then they were all arguing. The concierge was quietly trying to calm them down and was getting a bit frustrated when their voices just seemed to get louder. They were disrupting the guests but were too lost in their own anger to acknowledge that. Until, "SHUT THE HELL UP ALL OF YOU!!!" was screamed from behind them. That was a voice they haven't heard in a while. They all stood silently as they quietly acknowledged their old time friend. He was a lot more muscular now and he now had a fairly trimmed beard over his face. They would be quite taken aback by his yelling if they didn't know him already. "Are these men with you, Mr. Cebellos?" whispered the concierge from the front desk. She look confused and scared about what was going. "Yes, these idiots are with me. I'm sorry for all of the commotion, my friends aren't the best at communicating." he said with a smile. Just those words alone made the four of them angry. Before anyone could rebute against Alex the concierge started speaking, well, whispering again. "Just please get them out of here, I have to welcome the other guests." Alex silently pitied her and asked his friends to follow him into his apartment. It was when they reached his apartment that things seemed to get even more tense. The conversations were short and seemed really awkward. They had no idea what to say to each other and it was getting a bit uncomfortable for all of them. Garrett was sitting awfully quiet, still not convinced on why Alex wanted them back all of a sudden. "So, I know you guys are wondering why I invited you all here." "Yeah I was just about to ask the same thing" Garrett says sarcastically with a not so interested grin. It was the first time he's spoken since they first arrived in his apartment so the boys weren't surprised about this sudden outburst. "If you would stop being such an asshole than maybe I'd get to the point already." "Look no one asked you to ---" "GARRETT SHUT UP AND LET HIM SPEAK!!!" Jayden screamed at Garrett. "Watch your mouth Jay!" Garrett warned Jay. "Why don't the both of you shut up?" Nate says before Jayden could interject. "I'm pretty sure none of us want to be here right now but we owe it to Alex to at least hear him out. So can you guys please stop bickering like we're in high school and let's just get this over with." They both recited their apologies and gave Alex their full undivided attention. Alex looked at his friends and was at a lost for words. They seemed even closer together than they were in high school. Something he wanted to share with them but was afraid to. An impatient "Well..." from Chase is what brought him away from his thoughts. He just had to ask "All of this fighting and negative vibes...Is it because of me? Do you guys hate me that much that you have to embarrass me in front of the whole apartment complex and make me feel like an idiot for even bringing you down here." "Don't turn this around on us Alex, you're lucky that the four of us decided to even show up to your little get together." Chase says. "Yeah, do you even know anything about us since we last said goodbye to each other after graduation?" Garrett adds "I can't say that I have but it's not like any of you wanted to stay in touch with me either. I had to keep myself busy just to stop myself from feeling lonely that my only friends weren't talking to me." "Yes! I get it Alex we were all busy but that doesn't mean neither of us even tried." Jayden tells him. Alex facial expression changes from anger to guilt as he looks at Jayden. " What's that supposed to mean?" "You know exactly what that means Alex. I've sat and watched Jay send you countless letters about the four of us just to keep you in the loop. Yet, every time he sent a letter out NOTHING came back. There were even times where he even called into the office where you work just to get in touch with you but your secretary would always tell him that you're busy. So don't you dare try to turn this around on us when you're the one that never put forth the effort." Nate exclaims emotionally. That was the first time Alex actually noticed the look in their eyes since they walked in. They were hurt. It wasn't noticeable due to all the anger they were projecting towards him but their eyes said it all. Especially Jayden's who looked as if he was on the verge of crying. It dawned on him that he never really did try to reach back out to them. He never stopped to make sure that his letters were being sent or even bothered to check on how his friends were doing. He was the reason why they were so upset with him and now the pieces are finally coming together. "I caused this." "Tell me something we don't know" Garrett spit back with a ton of venom making Alex only feel worse. "I've never gotten those phone calls Jay. You have to believe me." Silence is what he received from a very sorrowful looking Jayden. "Look bro we're glad that you finally decided to send a letter asking us to be here but I think it's best if we just leave." Nate tells him. When he doesn't respond the other boys take it as their cue to leave and begin to head out the door but before they could even touch the doorknob a desperate "WAIT!!!" coming from Alex stopped them right in their tracks. He continues speaking " I know I haven't really been the best friend you guys have been hoping for but if you can only give me a chance to get everything back to how they used to be then I'd show you that I still care about all of you tremendously. I'm not forcing you guys to be there but if you would be willing to give me this chance I'll be at Tom's Diner tonight around 8:00. I'll explain everything then. Even the things that I were afraid to tell you back when I met you." All of their walls towards him were breaking and they knew it. "DAMN ALEX FOR ALWAYS BEING SO CONVINCING" is what all of their minds were screaming. "I don't know, bro." Nate finally speaks after what seems like an eternity of a lifetime but was only a few seconds of silence. That's when he smiled for the first time his friends arrived. "You will. Just think about it." Wow! They didn't see that coming. The boys stood there speechless, not expecting him to be making such an effort after five years. However, they just simply nodded back to him as Jayden opened his apartment door and they each walked out of the apartment. As they left the complex and hopped in their car to drive off they couldn't shake off this weird feeling that he was holding back on telling them something. Something important. They were also too invested in their minds to notice Alex watching them leave from the window of his apartment building and a strange hooded figure watching them from the bushes.
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ANONYMOUS -

Well what a surprise. I guess dreams really do come true. All five of my favorite boys happen to be in the same place at the same time. I mean what a coincidence? It only makes what I have planned for them so much more easier to accomplish. I've been hearing news of their arrival for quite a while and I have to admit that I was expecting it. Now that they're finally here I can begin my plans of sabotage. Don't even begin to ask me why am I targeting these boys? Only time will reveal the reasons as to why they've been selected as my targets. Yet, I will let you in on a little secret. Once you find out who I am and my vendetta against them, You'll understand my pain. You'll understand my misery. You'll understand my anger. This is my own personal game of chess and Garrett, Jayden, Chase, Nathan, and Alex are my pawns. I will finally get back what was taken away from me and soon enough they'll all learn that true evil only comes from corrupting something so good. "It just all takes a push in the right direction" I spoke to myself as I mark a red X on the face of my first victim. "Let the games begin!" I end with a sadistic smile.