She is suffering but no one knows that because she hides that someplace deep inside.

Damien

I hate waking up in the morning but when I do, I actually liked being awake early. What I mean is, I don't like the getting out of bed process.

I took a shower, got dressed, and headed downstairs. When I walked in, Ryder and Bennet were eating my food. I couldn't believe they had the audacity to leave me and then come into my home and eat my food.

"Enjoying the food?" They started choking on the food when I asked. It was quite a sight. Ryder being the dramatic one, gasped for air and pretended he was dead. Bennett was just looking at him.

"I'm ashamed of you," Bennett said while shaking his head.

"Too much?" Ryder asked, and we nodded.

"Just a bit. I'm not mad at you-"

"Oh, thank god!" Ryder interrupted me, in relief.

"You didn't let me finish. I'm not mad at you Bennett... because I know it wasn't your fault."

"Thanks, man. I tried telling him to wait for you, but he just drove away."

"Traitor." Ryder accused Bennett.

"You did it to yourself," Bennett shrugged.

"The cops were coming, and you were just standing there... like an idiot," Ryder argued.

"How'd you get home safely?" Bennett asked.

"Mae. She saved me when you didn't," I said, looking at Ryder, but he just rolled his eyes.

"Oh... what a hero. I should ask her for her autograph," Ryder said, dryly.

"Weren't the cops on anyone who was there?" Bennett asked. "She was one of the racers."

"I know. I'm telling you, She has this thing that helps her get away from cops. It's software or something."

"Really, what is it?" Ryder asked. I blinked at him.

"I wouldn't have said 'it's software or something' if I knew," I spoke to him like I was speaking to a child. "I don't really know what it is. All I know is that Zach activated it, and it helped her escape from the cops. Also, her car's name was Lexi."

"That's cool... I guess," Ryder mumbled and shrugged.

"You still have to give her your car. You do know that, right? I'll drive you and Bennett home. Take your car today. Let's go," I reminded him. I knew he was going to hate giving it up, but he dealt it.

"Do I have to? You know that was the last thing my mom gave me."

"Try telling that to Mae. If not then buy another one and give that one to her. You should have thought about that the first time," I said as we stood up.

"I didn't think I was going to lose."

"Yeah, you said that the first time," I said as we walked out of the house.

"No breakfast? I'm really starting to feel the love," Max said when I opened the front door. He put his arm around my neck, and we started shoving each other. "Some hospitality you got there."

"Some guest," I forced out as he was struggling to get a hold of me, and he laughed. Max was a good friend of mine. I trusted him with my life like I trusted Ryder and Bennett with my life.

When I first started everything, I needed money. I found a connection and a money transfer was happening for our gang. Max found out and tried stealing some of the money. That son of a bitch had the nerve to steal from us.

When we caught him, he told us he needed it for his grandmother. She was on the older side, and her work put her out. He was trying to get the money to pay the bills for his grandma and his younger sister.

We offered to help pay his bills and help him. All he needed to do was protect me and do a couple of things without anyone knowing. He did, and we grew a friendship. A strong bond.

"I try," Max said while shrugging his left shoulder. Bennett left with Ryder, so I left in my car with Max. I really hoped to see Mae today.

"You got the 'I'm thinking of Mae smile'," Max teased. I shoved him, and he laughed. "I'm not judging. Must be nice, though."

Max had an off and on relationship with his girl. It was mostly her breaking it off with him and him getting tired of her wanting to get back together, but he was a fool. A fool in love.

Right now, she was trying to get back together with him, but he didn't want to because he found out that every time she would break it off with him, she would sleep with another guy and then come back to Max. He was fed up already.

I drove to school, and I couldn't stop thinking about the stunt Mae pulled on me yesterday. I didn't see Mae as the confident type. Mainly because she never spoke. Hopefully, one day, the walls that kept her from speaking to anybody will come down, and she'll finally speak to me with her voice.

I pulled up to the school and parked my car. When I got out of the car, I looked around, but I didn't see Mae's car. Ryder parked next to me and got out too. I felt bad for him because I knew how much that car meant to him.

"I don't see Mae's car or her for that matter," Max told us, and Ryder's face lit up, instantly.

"Yes! That means I don't have to give her my car."

"No, you still have to give it to her when she gets back. Wherever she is." We walked into the school and like always, the girls gave me some looks but were subtle about it. Some looked away when I looked and others flirted.

Sometimes, I'll give them my attention, but then they'll freeze up or look away. It was funny because all they wanted was my attention but once I gave it to them, they froze.

Not all of them do but the ones that talk to me just do it because no one else does. They do it for bragging rights even if they've never said it. All the girls try too hard that's why I liked Mae, she didn't try hard.

"I gotta go to the office, I never registered," Max laughed and I shook my head.

Bennett and I walked in late to math like always but there was no Mae or Zach. I looked at Bennett, but he just shrugged. We took our seats, and I waited for her, but she never came.

*~*

The day went by so slow without Mae. I hoped she was okay. Ryder was happy he still had his car, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened to Mae.

I went to the base where the gang lives and went to our hacker. His name was Ryan, he can hack into almost anything, and I needed to know if she was okay.

You mean you to wanted to text her.

Same thing.

Not really.

"Hey, Ryan, can you get me a girl's number?"

"I'm surprised that you, Damien King, can't get a girls number. Finally decided to get professional help?" Ryan asked with a smug smile on his face.

"I can get a girl's number, but I didn't ask her, and she wasn't here today. And since when are you a professional?" I laughed, and his smile only grew.

"Like you don't already know. What's her name?"

"Mae Anderson and would you be able to check out some software that's in her car. By like, hacking it or whatever?" He was already typing away.

"Okay, I got her number and were you by any chance in the car with your phone?"

"Yeah, I was. Here. Make it quick."

"If you want this done then don't rush." I saw him typing away, and I don't think I can ever get used to how he does things. I would never admit this to him but it's pretty cool.

"I can't," okay, I take it back.

"What do you mean you can't? You're a hacker. You're supposed to know how to hack software."

"Gee. Thanks, man. This software is different. I tried connecting to the car from the satellite but nothing works. Literally nothing. Whoever made this is seriously good. I couldn't even crack it." Great! I couldn't even ask my brother because he wasn't here.

"Well, thanks for trying and thanks for the number."

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled and with that said, I left. I didn't want to be in here when he went all hacker mode. It was not a good look. I hoped this was the right number. Here goes nothing.

You mean everything.

Shut up.

"What is this?" Max asked and snatched the phone out of my hands. "Mae?"

"Stop. Give it back," I told him. I didn't want him typing something and accidentally sending it.

"And if he doesn't?" Ryder asked.

"You won't have children," I said and shook my foot. Max tossed my phone back to me, and they ran down the hall. "You stress me out!"

"It's because we care for you!" Bennett yelled, and I heard a groan. "Why'd you hit me?"

"Speak for yourself," Ryder said.

"No," Bennett told him, and I heard wrestling.

"Break it up, Joe," I told a member and nodded to the direction they were. He nodded and took off.

Hey is this Mae? This is Damien. -D

No, this it's Bae. What do you want? -M

This girl got jokes. Little does she know, I was actually worried about her today.

Haha real funny. -D

Thanks, I get that a lot. Did you need something? -M

Yeah, I wanted to know if you were okay because you didn't come to school today.-D

Yeah, I'm okay. -M

Are you sure? -D

How'd you get my number? -M

Oh, you know just by a hacker. Yeah, right. Like I would tell her that.

Just asked around. -D

Really? Cause the only other person who knows my number is Zach, and he's been with me all day. -M

Oh, and not to mention some software of mine tried to get hacked. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you? -M

I gotta go. Text you later. -D

Damn, who is this girl? She's scary good. She's definitely different from when I left two years ago. That system was definitely worth having. Maybe I could buy it off of her.

I went to the guys, and Max grabbed my phone from me, again. He was really started to piss me off."It's locked," I smiled, crookedly.

"Not from me," Max said, and I saw him scrolling. I started to get nervous. "You're such a loser, Damien King."

I tried reaching for my phone, but he tossed it to Bennett. Bennett started scrolling before he tossed it to Ryder. "Alright, you've had your fun!"

"Relax. We're just teasing you," Max said. "We've never seen you like this. It's funny."

"I'm glad my stress is funny to you," I said, sarcastically, and Ryder held my phone out to me. I grabbed it and changed the password.

"Don't change it to Mae's birthday," Max teased and I've had enough of him. I rushed to Max and tackled him. "Ooo," Max said and laughed. The members of my crew stood up until they realized we were joking, and they sat back down. I was glad I had them; they're family.

~Flashback~

I can't have what happened to me, happen to any of my other family members. I needed to make sure they're protected. The only way to do that is to have people who are willing to fight, not only for me but with me. I needed to make the person who did this pay.

"I've helped this far but your talk needs to sell them. They're not going to give you a chance if they think you're a joke," Sean said. He was Ryder's older brother. It was his idea to start this. Gain people and their trust. Create a bond so strong, they'd kill for and with me.

Only if we had to.

Of course.

Everything that was set up today was because of Sean. I couldn't have done it without him. It felt like it should've been his gang, but he didn't want it. We had a talk that I would be a member, and he'll take charge, but he didn't want that.

"I know. I can do this," I said as the door opened.

"You're surrounded, if you try any funny business, we'll kill you," the leader of The Black Scorpion said. "I'm Razor. Which one's Damien?"

"I'm Damien," I played cool and extended my hand. We shook hands, so I turned to the guy next to him. There were five that looked more important than the rest. Two looked older but one of them looked the oldest out of the five.

"I'm Billy," the guy standing on Razor's right side said. He had a black eye, so I asked about it.

"That's some shiner. How'd you get it?" I asked, and he laughed as he touched it.

"I'm training someone. Got a mean right hook," he said.

"Josh, Jose, and big guy's Aaron," Razor said. "You had a proposal we couldn't refuse." He thought this was a joke, he laughed.

"We wanted to make you a deal. Guns in exchange for help," I said and the whole room laughed except for my guys.

"For help?" Jose asked. "Guns for help?"

"Yeah, that's what I said isn't it?" I snapped, and he put his hand up in surrender as he smiled and forced the corners of his lips down.

"What kind of help are you talking about?" Josh asked.

"We need recruits."

"I'm not giving you my guys," Razor said, dryly.

"That's not what asking. I need help finding guys to join me," I told them.

"In what? A birthday party?" Billy laughed, and I was starting to get mad. I felt like an idiot.

"Okay, let's calm down. Take a step back maybe?" the older guy Aaron said. "Why can't you do it yourself?"

"Because people don't know me. They don't know that I'll be serious. People know you, they know what you're capable of."

"What I'm capable of," Razor repeated what I said. "Why are you helping fourteen-year-olds?"

"Revenge," Sean answered.

"And we're not fourteen," Ryder said.

"Let me guess, fifteen?" Billy asked.

"Actually, I'm sixteen," Ryder smiled and the guys laughed.

"Why would we help you when in the future, you could try and take out my crew?" Razor asked.

"We won't. We'll have an alliance, the South, and the East," I assured.

"You think the others are going to let you?" Josh asked. "It doesn't work like that."

"The West is backing me," I told them. They all looked at each other, and their facades broke a little. Enough to know what they were portraying was an act.

"Bullshit," Jose called, quickly. "They're the biggest gang, why would they back you?"

"My dad knew their leader," I admitted, and Razor smiled a little bit.

"What'd you say your last name was?" Razor asked.

"King. My dad was Dean."

"Well, I'll be damned," Billy said, and they laughed. "A Dean King saved my old man one time. He was trying to do exactly this, so he called up a couple of friends to help him and things went awry. Dean took a bullet for my dad."

"I never knew that," I told them, and they nodded.

"We'll help. My old man would," Billy said and looked at Razor.

"My pops would too," Razor said, and we gave them the guns in exchange for help.

*~*

"Is this them?" I asked about the group that was standing in front of me.

"Yeah, they'll be a couple more groups. You'll decide." Billy said. This time it wasn't his right eye that was bruised but his left. "The same one did it."

"Must be some fighter," I told him, and he nodded. I was standing in the middle of a field with strangers who could potentially kill me.

What could go wrong?

One caught my eyes. He looked younger than all of us. Couldn't be more than twelve years of age. I walked to him, and he looked away.

"This one reminded me of M.K," Billy said, and his guys agreed.

"We should keep him, Kar might want a quiet friend," Jose said.

"Slugger has enough friends," Aaron told him, sternly.

"What are you worried about? That they'll date? She's older than him and besides, I'm pretty sure she has a crush on Billy," Josh said, and Billy shoved him.

"Shut up," Billy said and turned back to me before turning back to Josh. "She's four years younger than me. I'm already eighteen."

"Is that what's stopping you?"

"No, what's stopping me is the fact that she could probably kill me... with her hands," Billy said and turned back to me.

"Sounds dangerous," I mused, and they nodded. "Never wanna get on the bad side of that fighter."

"This guy here is Ryan. He doesn't talk much but that's because he's constantly typing," Josh said. "Why don't you... why don't y-you do what you did for us?"

"Y-y-you," Jose mimicked Josh's stutter, and Josh smacked Jose, and Jose got mad.

Ryan took off his backpack and took out his laptop. He started typing. The way he moved his hands across the keyboard, I wasn't sure if he was actually typing or if he was joking. After a while of typing, Ryan stopped and showed me the screen. Numbers kept jumping and falling back. A huge number.

"What is this?" I asked.

"A bank," Ryan answered, and I looked back at him instead of the screen. "That's how much money's there. You can take it, and their insurance covers it, so it'll go back."

"You need money," Billy raised his shoulders. "That's where it all starts."

Robbing a bank?

~End of Flashback~

"It's a go!" Ryan said and came back with a long paper rolled up. "There's a money transfer to Dixon two week. I've cross-referenced all the other dates that they've had money transfers, and it's always right. Sometimes banks lie and mess around with the date but this one is always real."

"Why can't we rob one in Green Hills?" Ryder asked. "Can you imagine the gossip that we'll hear at school? Class wouldn't be boring anymore."

"It's too risky," I told him. "I come back into town, rumors spur that I have a gang and now a bank gets robbed? They could tie us to all of the other ones. Even if they didn't have proof. They'll do it just because they're assholes and it'll stick because we actually robbed them."

"Then next week," Max said. It's a normal routine. "We rob a bank." They all cheered, and Ryder was happy because he'll be going and getting paid.