THE NIGHT GANG

Chapter 9: The Things You Missed

Rose's POV:
"So, who are they?" He asked, referring to another one of my artists posters taking over my bedroom wall.
"Little Mix." I answer him. "They won The X Factor a few years ago."
I wasn't a huge fan of them, but I adored their music so. Had to be done.
"Is that show still going?" He sounded gobsmacked, I have to keep reminding myself that he's been MIA for the past 6 years. He's missed out on alot of stuff. "Fucking hell!"
"I guess you're not a big fan of the show then?" I chuckle, standing beside him, admiring the pictures.
It was late, very late and I really should be sleeping because I have uni again tomorrow. He still came though, as promised. I hadn't heard from Officer Leeson either, which he was relived to hear.
"So, what kind of music is The Night Runner into?" I quizzed him, not for my project but because I'm generally interested in getting to know him.
He looked at me and shrugged, crossing his arms. "Before I.... ran." He started. "I used to listen to Eminem, N-Dubz.... stuff like that."
I nodded. His taste was so outdated. I wonder if he knew that N-Dubz weren't around anymore. I wouldn't tell him incase it broke his little heart.
"Did you never wonder, what was going on in the outside world?" I asked him, moving back over to my seat on my bed. "Like, were you not curious to what was changing while you were hiding away?"
"Of course I was." He came and sat beside me now. "Me and the other guys, it drove us insane at one point. When we began this whole thing, we agreed to no communication with the outside world. It was hard but we adjusted, eventually."
I thought about this. I honestly wouldn't be able to cope without technology. It's come on leaps and bounds in the past 6 years, I wonder whether he'd be surprised to see what he's missed.
"So you have no phones?" I said. "You don't ever just watch TV or listen to the radio to catch up with the weekly music chart?"
He shook his head which didn't surprise me. He really had been living under a rock these past few years. I felt like it would be a good bonding experience for the two of us, if I introduced him to new music. Educate him even on what he's missed out on. That was a good idea.
I jumped up from my seat, heading over to my desk and beginning to rummage through my small, but acceptably good dvd collection.
"What are you doing?" He asked. I knew exactly what I was looking for.
I pulled out a CD I'd burned my favourite tracks onto a couple of weeks ago. I was gonna use it for house parties in the future, but this sounded like a better use for it.
I handed him the blank disk, protected in a small transparent wallet. He looked at it, then to me, a confused look on his face.
"A mixtape?" He questioned. God, how old was this child?
I laughed hard at this. Kids nowadays would have no idea what a mixtape was, he was lucky really that I knew. Our age gap can't be as big as I assumed.
"Sort of." I continued to chuckle, sitting next to him once again. "We call it a playlist now, it's got all my favourite songs on... from about the last 4 years or so. So you won't know any of them, I was thinking you could Educate yourself and the fellow members of The Night Gang."
He looked up at me suddenly and smiled widely. Suddenly I was being embraced tightly by him. His arms wrapping all the way around my small framed body. It felt nice though. Comforting.
"Thankyou so much." He muffled into my hair. "This means alot Rose.. really."
"It's my pleasure." I pulled away and looked at him, his big Green eyes sparkling down on me. They were gorgeous, like emeralds. "Maybe one day soon we could listen to it together..... Maybe even with your friends?"
His expression changed, dropped. He didn't look so happy anymore, more worried in fact. I wish I hadn't said that, I'm trying yet again to move things too fast. What the fuck was wrong with me?
"I'm sorry." I said to him. "I shouldn't have pushed like that."
He said nothing, just stood up and began pacing the room. He was thinking, thinking deeply. I could tell by the concentration on his face now. I hoped and hoped that I hadn't upset him, put him off ever seeing me again. I didn't want that to happen, I wanted to see him everyday. Every single day.
The silence was driving me mad, making me overthink. It was broken abruptly by my laptop making a sound to alert me of a new notification. It didn't phase him, as he continued to pace and pace. It was making me nervous. I shuffled over to where my laptop was on my bedside table. The notification was from this forum page I was following, based around conspiracy theories about The Night Gang. This was incredibly awkward seeing as one of them was stood walking around in my bedroom.
Nevertheless I checked out the new post that had just been uploaded. It was a theory linking the gang to the 6 missing boys I keep coming back to. Suspicious. This time however there was a lot more information, God knows where it had come from. There were pictures, loads of them even the ones from the MISSING posters. There were names, ages even addresses for these boys! Whoever got their hands on this information must be working for the secret service or something! It was unbelievable.
I looked up to The Night Runner, who had stopped pacing, and was peaking through my curtains for some unknown reason. Weird. Who or what was he looking for, expecting?
Anyway, I scrolled down to the pictures which were corresponding to images of The Night Gang. I couldn't help myself but look for him first, and there it was.
Right at the top.... it read.
'Gang Name; The Night Runner. Formal Name; Believed to he missing 16 year old boy Taron Holt.'