Introduction To OFF

i love the smell of teen angst

I cursed my luck--cornered in an alleyway again. White Noise; the last name you wanted to hear or see if you were anyone that was anybody. With only three members, they were the smallest in the area, but for what they lacked in size they made up for with strength. Not to mention, brains. Look out, Jersey.

A thousand thoughts jumped around in my head; I couldn't take these guys. No one could take these guys. Their ringleader was Venucia; a six and a quarter foot titan of a boy with a face butchered of all humanity and an aura to match. There was Takatia; a surprisingly pretty girl with stark white hair pulled up into a messy bun and silver eyes that pulled you in deep. Attractive people are scary, don't screw with them. Their last member was Mickey--I couldn't take the guy seriously, and that's exactly what made him so much of a threat. He had teeth missing, was balding at the age of 19, and reeked of pot. Cheap pot. He had a wicked twitch and I couldn't remember when I last saw the guy blink. Heard him speak. Saw him do anything other than just stare at me from the side. That's when Venucia set them on me with a flick of the wrist. Not a word from him and they knew what to do. They followed him blindly like children. They were so unnecessarily professional in all that they did-I really hated these guys.

Mickey didn't even run towards me. He walked, Like he knew he was
going to get to me no matter what and he was in no rush to do so. Sending out the message that I was in his hands and there was no way I was getting out of it. Man, I overanalyze things way too much.

He looked to weigh a little over a hundred pounds, so I tried my best to throw him off of me when he jumped. Dead weight. Takatia rammed me between the shoulders with such force that kissing the asphalt seemed refreshing in comparison. I rose up and thanked her with a right hook to the jaw before she and Mickey had me down again. Those two utterly pummeled me into the concrete. I felt like I'd become part of it. After a while everything blended together and pain didn't even seem real. One blow after another. I was hoping to God I'd black out. I really didn't care what happened at that point. It all felt the same. Everything I did made no difference. I always held myself back. After all these years, I still hold myself back.

All I could taste or smell was the metallic stench of my own blood. It surrounded me on every side; I had no idea how much I'd lost and maybe it was better that I didn't. Giving up the ghost didn't seem too bad an option. Who was gonna care, my gang? They'd find someone new. My family? Like hell.

Eventually everything turned black.

When I regained consciousness all three of them were still around. Mickey had the nerve to rear back, ready to continue beating me senseless but Venucia opened his mouth. "That's enough. Besides.. It's getting late; I think it's past this kid's bedtime."

They all cackled like a pack of wild dogs as they took their leave.

Shaking like a leaf, I tried my best to regain my footing. My jacket was already pulled halfway off so I wrapped it around my head tight in attempt to slow the bleeding. I retrieved my bat from the sidelines and drug it through the mess to make it falsely known that this spat wasn't as one-sided. This place looked like a murder scene. The scary thing was, it felt like they let me off easy. I didn't even want to question why. Maybe they wanted to finish me off in front of everyone. Maybe I was delusional. Yeah, let's go with that.

Trudging back to where I rest my head at night seemed to take forever. It was a very spacious alleyway with a hoard of cushions thrown in the back behind a dumpster. I wasn't complaining. I'd never really known any better.

The gang was all there--Gabriel, Berlin, and Jax. They all widened their eyes in unison when they saw me stride up clad in crimson. Great; interrogation time.

"Dang..", Berlin began. "Who'd you get into it with?"

I'd had such a diminishing day that I almost couldn't help but laugh. I did. These guys weren't ever going to see me cry; it's better that way.

"It doesn't matter..", I really must have lost it, because I was smiling ear to ear, "..because I totally smoked 'em."

The boys' looks of concern immediately left them. They believed everything I said. There was a mixture of, "That's our Spenser!", "What'd I tell ya?", and He never loses!", heard between the three.

In all honestly they'd never seen me during a fight. The guilt from lying to them had gradually faded and now it was just habit. Natural. All pain feels the same after a while. That's alright, though-it made me feel human. Reminded me I was still alive.

"Yeah.", I said halfheartedly. "I never lose."