Fix Me

CHAPTER FIVE

Cars passed by without a care in the world even though it was late in the evening. The buzz of the city made it seem like it was somehow alive. But even with all the people in the city still awake, June couldn't help the feeling of loneliness crawl up his throat in a suffocating manner.

He had just stepped out of the complex when the smell of cigarettes hit him like full force. It wasn't the best smell in the world and certainly wasn't one that appealed to him in the least but he couldn't stop the smokers that were living their "best life" from doing so.

Instead, he shook his head and turned down the street. It was late and the street lights were flickering that only added to Junes exhaustion. Yet, he still had to continue walking to reach his apartment. Aidan was the one who drove them and it would be a miracle if June could find him in the party, let alone convince him to leave to drop him off at home when his friend's attention was undivided from Mia.

Convincing one friend was a fifty-fifty shot. Convincing two, had a ninety percent chance of failing. Convincing Mia? Not a chance in hell.

Taking an Uber or Lift was a solid plan, but it was a Friday night in downtown L.A. where prices were bound to be expensive. If June could walk a couple miles away from city life, he had a better chance of getting a cheaper ride to the suburbs.

"AAgaah!" June groaned hands on his face before proceeding to grip his hair in a frustrating manner.

"This sucks!"

"Stupid friends. Stupid party. Stupid morals that made me go."

June was frustrated and annoyed that he had to walk who knows how far and spend more time out and about then he had originally planned.

All he wanted to do was be home alone watching a couple movies. Not stressing in the middle of the city abandoned by his friends to find his own way home even after they dragged him to a party he adamantly stated he wanted no part of.

"I should've stayed home," June whined with self pity.

"Come, they said. It will be fun, they said. WELL, I THINK THE FUCK NOT."

June practically screamed on the empty sidewalk. He was frustrated and angry, leading to tears swelling up in his eyes as he tried to calm down his emotions that he always seemed to have no control over.

He faced the wall before kicking at it over and over. He did so many times, taking the frustrations, emotions, and stress that had built up in his life out on the wall of and angry tantrum. Over and over again, June continued to kick the concrete wall.

Only stopping when the skin of his leg was numb and and pain his bones began to scream in protest.

June huffed, calming himself before nonchalantly walking away.

At least, that's what it would look like to outsiders. June's eyes began to go blank and he wandered without direction throughout the city just trying to put the past few moments as far away as he could. As if they would be blocked by the physical distance that he was putting between the locations.

If anyone would take a closer glance at June they would notice how spaced out the boy was. His eyes could be compared to dead roadkill, devoid of any life or light. It wasn't uncommon for June to have bouts of anger and then regress to cutting off his emotions, he was an emotional flash flood, never knowing when it was going to come or how to trigger it.

While it was a sucky situation that June was in, it could have been a lot worse and the situation didn't deserve a temper tantrum. However, no words would have gotten into Junes mental state at the moment. So there he was walking along the streets all alone in a city he didn't know very well, zoning out and seeming to not care about a thing.

It just so happened that he wasn't the only one.

June was so self-absorbed in self pity and tuning out his surroundings that he didn't notice the gang of sketchy looking guys until he was upon them.

"Shit."

The words echoed through the dark ally and June lifted a hand to clamp over his mouth. The groups of guys glanced at him, taking their eyes off the teenager that they had pinned to wall that was sporting a split lip and light marks that would probably turn into bad bruising in the next day or so.

"What a friend of yours?"

June blinked once, twice, three times before closing his mouth, letting his hand drop and then turning away like the sight before him was only and illusion.

He only took a couple of steps before looking at one of the big guys who had spoke to him. He just barely turned his head, only enough to look him in the eyes and mutter out an impassive, "No, not at all."

The group of guys looked at each other before shrugging and turning to the teenager that was donning a smile of amusement. It was silent in the alley. Unusual for somewhere as big as L.A. and especially for being in the center of it.

Finally a bubble of laughter rang out in the night. It was pure genuine laughter, almost childlike in its innocence and that alone gave June shivers down his back.

"See," the beat up boy let out in glee. "I told you no ones going to help me."

The one holding him up rammed a fist in the boys stomach making him double over and let a mix of spit and blood fall to the ground. Shifting his weight so he can stand up he licked his lips almost as if he was intrigued at the taste of his blood.

The male who gave no warning to the hit was dressed in grey and red, having a sadistic smirk on his face as he watched the younger in pain. "What did I tell you about opening your mouth you little shit? Next time you do, your not going to have teeth to speak."

"It's tongue you dumbass. Get it right and even children can hit better than that, but what can I expect from a dumpster rat?  Puny as you are plentiful."

At this point, June wasn't quite sure why he hadn't bolted. Maybe it was because the boy that was mocking the gang was foolish, maybe it was simple curiosity, but it was most definitely because when the teen had stood up he had shifted into the flickering light of the streetlamp and June was able to catch sight of bright blue hair.