How To Tame The Beasts -- Alex Gaskarth Fan Fic

Chapter Elevan

"They should serve nachos everyday," Jack declared as he shoved a bunch of said food into his mouth. A week had passed since Zack's initiation and it was a boring Monday school day.

​​I rolled my eyes at that. "If they did we'd have to see you stuffing your face everyday."

​​Jack furrowed his eyebrows.

​​"We already see that everyday," Jaime teased and the boys all burst out laughing.

​​"True," he mumbled through a mouth full.

​​"Didn't your mom ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?" Alex joked as he approached the table, sitting down beside me and letting his arm hang around my shoulders. I let my back press against his side as I was leaned forward on one of my arms against the table.

​​"Don't you bring my mama into this," Jack said in a very 'ghetto' voice, snapping his fingers.

​​"Too late," Alex said through a laugh, not being able to stay serious with Jack being in a joking mood.

​​Mike wiped at his cheek, leaning away from Jack. "Seriously, though dude. Say it, don't spray it."

​​Jaime and Jack laughed at that but I turned my head and pecked Alex's cheek. "How was class?"

​​He smirked. "You say it like I didn't skip."

​​I chuckled, punching his chest lightly. "You seriously need to take classes seriously! You have to graduate after this school year," I pointed out.

​​"Don't worry about it, I got this," he said, kissing my forehead.

​​"And by this," Jack said, suddenly joining into our lunch conversation, "he means Jaime's notes." The group laughed again which was soon silenced by a loud clunk.

​​We looked over to the sudden food tray that landed beside us and Zack sat down, his mood instantly darkening the table. I shifted closer to Alex while the boys exchanged glances.

​​"You okay, Zack?" Rian asked, pushing his own tray aside so Zack had more room.

​​He shrugged. "Just fine," he forced out, focusing on his food and not glancing up from it.

​​Jack looked from Alex to me before biting down on his lip. Him or Alex were usually the most stable in situations with the group, but right now they both seemed unsure.

​​"Um, okay, well," Mike stammered over his words, trying to change topics. "Did you guys hear about my new set of drums?"

​​Rian's eyes instantly lit up. "You got new ones?"

​​Mike shined a smile, clearly proud. "Yeah, brand new. Got my old man to buy them from you. You should hear..."

​​I slowly tuned the group out, suddenly feeling itchy sitting at the table. I glanced over at Zack, whom was still paying attention to his food, and then over at Alex. He seemed at ease, listening intently to his group's conversation. I shifted again and Alex dropped his arm from my shoulders, instead twining his fingers with mine and squeezing my hand gently.

​​I looked up now, beyond Jack and towards the clique's table. It was there that I found my source of discomfort; Tony was staring at me. A chill ran through me; it reminded me of back when I first caught Alex staring at me from across the lunch room. But now, it was a completely scenario and with someone I didn't even know if I could trust...but then again, back in the day, I wasn't sure if I could trust Alex either.

​​"You okay?" Alex asked, noticing my discomfort.

​​"Tony," I said simply and I felt him tense a bit. He followed by eyes to Tony who glanced away as soon as Alex caught him.

​​Alex narrowed his eyes, his grip on my hand tightening a bit.

Jack was suddenly alert to Alex, which soon the entire group knew something was up. They fell quiet, dropping the lighthearted conversation.

​​"If Tony makes eyes with you again, I'll go after him," Alex growled.

​​Zack glances up now, suddenly losing interest in his food.

​​"Great, what does the kid want now?" Jaime grumbled.

​​"To start trouble, most likely," Rian spoke.

​​"Exactly," I said, rubbing my thumb up and down Alex's hand. "He just wants to cause trouble, so don't freak out at him. He just wants to piss you off."

​​Alex stayed silent turning his attention back to Tony, his jaw setting.

​​"Well, he's doing a damn well job," Jack said with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Maybe we should pay him a visit. We still need to make up for what he did to Jaime."

​​Jaime smirked. "I'd like to take care of that myself," he said darkly, and now I realized I was losing the boys to the past again. Even Rian was cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

​​"You're just giving the clique what it wants," I spoke rationally. "If you beat up Tony they'll have a new reason to go after us. It isn't worth it."

​​"This doesn't involve you, Stella," Jaime said now, his voice growing harsh. He always grew hostile at me whenever Tony was mentioned.

​​"Oh, really? What's the motto again?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.

​​"We go together or we don't go down at all," he muttered, looking away.

​​"Exactly. So, it actually involves all of us here. And I still think it's a bad idea to do that."

​​"The clique hasn't exactly always looked for a reason to pick on us before," Rian pointed out. ​​"They've always just gone after us and we retaliate."

​​"But right now they're being quiet, so shouldn't we maintain the peace?" I asked.

​​"Shut up, Stella, you always take their side," Jaime snapped.

​​"Watch it," Alex growled at Jaime, pulling me closer against him.

​​"I think she still has ties to the clique," Jaime said now and the boys shifted at that, all except Alex.

​​"Are you crazy? Why would I have any ties with them? The only person I was close with was Zack, and he's a part of us now," I spoke, my voice rising. The more comfortable with the group I got, the less I was afraid to voice my opinion.

​​"Just shut up, Jaime. You're just taking it out on Stella because you're pissed off," Jack more of ordered than said. "Stella's one of us, she wouldn't betray us like that."

​​Zack shifted uncomfortably, again picking at his food.

​​"Right now, Tony is getting exactly what he wants because now we're all fighting. We need to stop this," I continued. "We have to be the bigger people here."

​​"We never have been before," Jack said and Jaime snickered at that.

​​I smirked. "Well, now you've got me to put you in place."

​​Jack raised an eyebrow. "You? Put us in place? Sorry, princess, but you're kind of half our size." Everyone chuckled at that, including Alex who simply kissed my cheek.

​​"Yeah, well, ever hear of the annoying older sister? That's me in the group."

​​Jaime rolled his eyes. "You'll have a hard time getting us to do what you want."

​​"Trust me, dude, she'll nag at you until she gets her way," Alex said and the group chuckled. I punched his chest and he just laughed, squeezing my hand.

​​"Fine," Jaime said with a shrug. "Bring it on."

​​"She kind of already does," Rian said.

​​"I always didn't want a sister," Jack added with a bright, sarcastic smile.

​​"Like it or not, you got me," I spoke.

​​"Isn't it weird though that Alex gets to make out with his sister, then?" Mike asked.

​​I wrinkled my nose. "I meant figuratively!"

​​"And, no, it's not weird at all," Alex said with a wink.​​​​​​​​