RECAP:

Bennett and Declan skipped school to attend some gang-business - just picking up an activity report, no big deal- at the north-side of the city. But by doing so, they leave Jordan and Naomi alone to school. After some Jordomi action, Dominic stumbled in and offers them a ride when both wanted to eat somewhere afterschool. Naomi was all for it, but Jordan reluctantly agrees. In the car, Jordan suddenly confronted Dominic about his suspicious character and they both get kicked out of the car. Naomi is confused and asks why Jordan was acting like that, but he shuts her down to defend his actions.

And that's what you missed on... GLEE!

I mean TGGBB! No, it doesn't feel right...

~

"Declan, stop it!" I yelled at him while Bennett held me back.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," he muttered as he grabbed Jordan by the collar. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Jordan didn't say anything. His whole body was limp. His head hung, not looking at Declan's eyes.

"Please," I begged.

I tried to fight against Bennett but his grip around my waist was tight. But Bennett didn't do anything other than that. He just stood there watching this entire scene. How could he just do that?

Bennett and Declan knew something was off when they met up with us the next day at school. But Jordan said that he would tell them once we were all at the base. Jordan was so quiet that day, in class, with us, and the car ride there.

Jordan told them everything. The initial plan to get something to eat afterschool. Dominic's offer to give us a ride in his car. Jordan's confrontation against Dominic. My argument with Jordan and when he got too angry with me.

It wasn't a big deal. He was trying to make me understand, make his point. Although he didn't have to put me down like that to achieve this. But that didn't matter to me anymore. However, it did to someone else.

"Remember our promise to each other?" He demanded. "That we will never do anything to hurt her?"

I tried to interject. "Declan, he didn't do-"

"He didn't do what?" Declan asked. "Rather than make you understand through reason, he tried to do so by force?"

"I..." I faltered.

Jordan called Declan something that I would not dare to repeat it. That certainly got Declan's attention away from me.

I had to do something.

Sorry, Bennett.

Naomi used Stomp.

Bennett grunted and let go of me. He was probably shocked I actually did that just as much as I was.

I ran in front of Declan and held both of his arms to stop him. It was there I remembered how much bigger Declan was compared to me. But he still stopped.

"Please Declan, you don't need to do this. This is too much."

He looked pained. "I have to. He-"

"He didn't do anything."

"No, you don't understand. We have to..." I felt him clutch his fists tighter in his hands. He was frustrated and confused, trying to find the right words. But he didn't.

"Bennett."

"C'mon Naomi."

Bennett took me by the wrists and moved me away. I didn't bother to fight back. They would never listen to me. They never did. Nothing mattered anymore. I looked back at Declan, but he avoided my gaze.

Declan said quietly, "Do you know why I'm so angry? For one moment, one moment, you thought it was more important proving her that you're right than proving to her that you care about her more than that."

"Declan..."

Jordan didn't say anything to Declan. But I saw his face. He was fighting against something. And then he said:

"As if she'll be safe when she's with someone like you."

I didn't even have a second to breathe. Declan punched Jordan right in the jaw, knocking him off his feet. Jordan clutched his face, cursing to himself.

"I would never hurt her."

Bennett suddenly let go of me. I began walking towards Jordan who was struggling to stand up.

"Don't help him up," Bennett ordered me.

I looked at him. "What? Why?"

Then Declan started walking towards him, looking like he'll do more than help him up.

"That's enough Declan," Bennett said.

"Fine," Declan muttered.

Bennett looked at Jordan. "Jordan, go sit down."

Jordan grudgingly got up and spit out some blood onto the ground. He shot Declan a glare before he began walking over to the couch. Bennett silently followed behind him, waited until he sat down, then sat on the armchair across the coffee table.

"You never thought the trial procedure will ever end up for you, huh Jordan?" Bennett said.

"I always thought about it would be Declan who would mess up somehow," Jordan said with a smirk.

Declan moved and I grabbed his arm to stop him. He looked at me, wearing a pained expression. He held my hand on him then took me aside while Bennett stayed with Jordan.

"I didn't want you to see any of that," Declan muttered to me.

"Didn't give me a chance to even look away," I said. I glanced back at the others, seeing them stay silent.

"I don't know how to explain it," He said quietly. "This is just how we settled things. Sometimes, all you need is a good punch to set yourself straight."

Or broken.

"You went too far, Declan."

"It always seems like that... It probably was."

I felt my stomach drop. I remembered about his past. He was just a kid. The world hurt him and sometimes he'd try to hurt it back. And even then, it wasn't always right. Him going through with this, at least in his perspective, is the first track to reliving some awful memories.

"Declan..."

"Jordan Wallace," Bennett said, sounding like he was forced to follow this formal procedure, which he probably has. "What do you think you did wrong?"

I looked at Declan, giving him a look that we weren't finished talking about this. Then we returned back to the others.

Jordan glanced at me then looked back at Bennett. "I harmed another member."

"No."

"What?"

Bennett sat back in his seat. "That's you and Declan every day. Of course, it's Naomi, but you already got your punishment for that." So Bennett really did allow that... "Now, I ask you again, what did you do wrong?"

Jordan shook his head, not understanding.

"Naomi."

I jumped at the sound of my name from this tense situation. "Yeah?"

"Answer."

I glared at him. "You know, maybe if you guys actually tell me things, I can actually do something about it."

Bennett looked at me. "I know, Naomi. But right now, please answer the question."

I took a breath then said: "Jordan shouldn't have confronted Dominic about his background check because it only revealed, or may have revealed, that Jordan is one of the Three Musketeers."

Jordan, after processing that, stood up. "No. No..."

"At first, I thought it was because you were being overprotective with me by getting him a background check," I said. "But seeing your desperation and frustration on it, I realized it was more than that." I turned to Jordan. "Why did you think it was appropriate to confront him like that: revealing everything you learned while he was driving with both of us in the car?"

Jordan looked like he was still trying to wrap his head around what he had done. "I thought I could make him confess especially with you there to pressure him. I was thinking..."

"No, you weren't thinking," Declan told him. "You were blinded in protecting Naomi and jumping the situation that you didn't see through your actions and the possible outcomes."

Jordan looked like he didn't know what to say. He probably did.

"I simply told you to do a background check," Bennett said. "Regardless of what we found, it wouldn't be anything to hold against him. You had no authority to interrogate him without either me or Declan present. Instead, you had Naomi in there."

"Don't tell me the background check for Dominic was because-"

"He was only one of many suspects," Bennett told me. "His sudden appearance, his situation... It would have been stupid of us not to be cautious. We were reluctant in telling you because of how you'd act towards him after you knew."

"That I would ruin the plan?"

Bennett sighed. "No, it's not like that."

"Whatever, it's ok," I muttered.

"We didn't want to put you in the situation that if Dominic was Nicotine and found out that you knew, it would put yourself in risk," Declan said. "But it wasn't right of us to withhold that from you, Naomi."

"Like I said, it's ok," I told them.

"What's going to be my punishment?" Jordan cut in.

"Do you want to get a punishment or you just think you should?"

"This is the start of some kinky stuff," Jordan muttered, for a moment returning back to himself.

"Jordan."

"I don't care."

"Alright then," Bennett said. "You're suspended for a month of all technical duties as Musketeer. You're required to do all cleaning chores and errands for the other members within that period as well."

"Great, I love being everyone's lapdog," Jordan said with a laugh.

"Is that really necessary?" I asked Bennett. "Although, I don't know how you determine these things but..."

"It's enough," Bennett said. "And I wouldn't be able to control him if I were to suspend his access to any electronics." He looked at Jordan. "He's still a vital member of this team. He just needs to reflect more on what he did."

Jordan looked away. "Already ahead of you, Bent."

"Then you should punish me as well," I declared.

"For what?" Declan asked me.

"For... Justice?"

"Naomi, don't be ridiculous," Bennett said.

"It would have been because I recklessly entered a car with a potential suspect of a rival gang member," I said. "I was the one who wanted to go, despite Jordan's initial protests. If I hadn't pressured him, he wouldn't have gotten the idea to confront him in the first place."

"Naomi," Jordan said. "It really was all my fault. You don't have to do this."

"And correlation doesn't mean causation," Declan told me. "You should know this, Naomi. You're grasping at straws here."

We all looked at him.

"Hey, I can say smart things!" Declan snapped. "Anyway, you didn't know about it so it can't be your fault."

"Yeah, it's because I didn't know anything," I told them. "Because you guys never tell me anything. This-" I said, motioning to Jordan "-Would have never happened if you just mentioned to me 'Oh, by the way, that guy that you're friends with might hurt us if we gave him the chance so you should keep your guard up, sport.'"

They didn't say anything. Like always.

"Being a Musketeer," I said with a laugh. "What is it? Just a title? Nothing more? Was it all just fluff to make it feel like I'm part of the club? It's like nothing happened and it feels like you just don't trust me and my ability to do something, to help you."

Still, nothing.

"Just say something..."

"We do trust you," Bennett insisted. "But we care about you as well. We just believed not telling you these things not only protects you but to some extent..." He stopped, trying to find the words.

"How you see us," Declan finished for him.

"We're past that already," I told them. "You guys mean the world to me and nothing can change that. But knowing you actively hide things from me... hurts. I understand you care about me, but you need to understand this as well. If I'm actually a member in this team, you need to treat me like one and I want to act like one."

Bennett nodded. "I promise that we'll do better, Naomi. And I'm sorry we haven't done it sooner."

It felt as if a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. "Thank you." I didn't even wait for a beat. "Now what's my punishment?"

"You're still going on about?" Declan asked, incredulously.

"Yes," I told them. "This-" I said, motioning to the three of them "-can't be a boy band anymore. We're a band and I'm the lead singer."

Jordan burst out laughing. "What kind of metaphor is that? And you're kidding yourself if you think you're the lead singer."

"Oh, I've heard you in the shower, Freddie Mercury." Jordan gasped at that before muttering to himself that he'll take it as a compliment. "Just give me a stupid punishment already."

Bennett was quiet for a long time before he sighed in defeat. "Fine... No reading for fun for a month."

My legs seemed to give up from under me. I doubled back and Declan moved to catch me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just..." I was able to regain my composure and stand by myself. I forced out a nod. "I'll live."

I apologize so much for the wait. April and May were very busy months for me. AP Exams and school itself got the better of me, but it's alright now. I have another chapter ready for you guys for next week. Since it was a long wait period, I decided to put a recap for this chapter. I never really liked recaps because I usually binge-read comics (manga or Webtoons) or shows (TV or anime) and they were just an excuse to lengthen the comics/shows, so it was annoying to me. But this is an exception before I'm a bad author for not writing fast enough for you guys, cry.

But this was a really hard two chapters to write. I already know you guys are defending Jordan and hating Declan, but just wait. We'll get there. And finally, we got Naomi to finally be IN the team. That means more action for all of us.

Also, if you don't already know... There's a writing contest I hope all of you would join! It's the Wattpad novel turned Netflix movie, "The Kissing Booth"! I made a post about it a while back and was asked to make a 500-word sample submission to spark some inspiration to all of you. It's called "Teach Me with a Kiss". It's a cute story and I love it so much, I may make it into a proper short story.

After you feel inspired, I hope you all consider joining the The Kissing Booth Movie Contest #TKBMovieContest which you submit a 500-word love story, forbidden or not, for a chance to win some awesome prizes. Go to the Wattpad Romance profile or find my old post with the link to get furhter details about the contest. Be free my pretties, spread some love in the world- we really need it.

Good night everyone!

Rubix