- Chapter 7 - The Leader of the Forgotten Boys -
Warnings: mentions of Snyder, the Refuge, jail, worry
Third Person POV

Specs rolled his eyes fondly. "Don't scare the kid already, Blink," he told him, smacking his arm lightly. "Besides, he hasn't been forgotten yet," he added, lowering his voice.

David's eyebrows furrowed.

Blink nodded.

"Anyway," Race ignored their conversation, "what Blink failed to mention is that he's a smitten kitten for Mush," he added with a snicker, leaning against Specs with his arms crossed.

Specs, who's arms were also crossed, snickered with Race.

Blink blushed, rolling his eyes. "And Specs is smitten for Ro and Race is whipped for Al and Spot," he retorted.

Both boys blushed.

David heard chuckles from behind him. "We've all known this, boys," someone commented.

David turns around, only to be met with a (really attractive) boy standing behind him. He felt his cheeks heat up immediately.

The brown-haired, brown-eyed boy smirked when he noticed.

"Hey, Jackie," Blink, Race, and Specs chorused, Race still leaning against Specs.

Jack's eyes were still on Davey. "And who's this?" he asked, gesturing to the brown-haired boy.

Race, Specs, and Blink exchanged looks, before they each smirked.

Race put his arm around David's shoulder (though he struggled to because of the height difference). "Davey Jacobs," he answered.

Specs leaned against the other side of David. "He's quite an interesting fellow, ya know?" He looked up from his nails and at Jack.

Blink rested his chin on David's shoulder. "So... you might wanna get to know him, yeah?"

David's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I'm not that interes-" he started.

With a glare from Race and Specs, he shut his mouth.

"We'll leave you to that," Blink decided, patting David's shoulder, before quickly pulling Specs and Race away.

The three boys ran off.

David watched them, sighing in defeat. "They took my brother..." he mumbled.

David heard chuckles from Jack. "They tend to do that to me a lot," he responded.

David looked over at him. "You have a brother?" he asked curiously.

Jack nodded, his hands in the pockets of his pants. "He's sixteen and doesn't really need me, and we aren't related by blood, but I love him," he explained, a soft smile on his face as he thought of his brother. "Plus, all of us here are like siblings," he added.

David nodded.

The more he looked at Jack, the more he recognized him.

Until he realized where he'd seen him. David's eyes widened. "Oh my God..." he whispered.

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

Davey shook his head, quickly looking away from him when he realized he was staring at him. He's a criminal, I've seen him in the papers. He tried to stay calm. He's the one who supposedly escaped on Teddy Roosevelt's carriage- David stopped himself. Wait... where did he escape from?

"I'm so sorry for asking," David started, turning back to face Jack, "but have you been in jail?" he asked.

Jack frowned. "I was in the Refuge, why?" He was clearly leaving out information.

Realizing something, David frowned. He's not a criminal... the worst he probably stole was food, and he says he has a brother. He probably stole to feed him... he thought to himself. He's been in our shoes before.

David stared at the ground. "I've just seen you somewhere..." he muttered. "I'm running from Snyder, too," he admitted.

He never thought he'd be in this situation.

Jack's eyes widened, staring at him disbelievingly. "You?!" he exclaimed. "You seem like such a goodie two-shoes though!" He couldn't picture David — this kid who looked like he'd spend his whole life in a corner of a library with a blanket and books, away from all confrontation, if he could — running from Snyder.

David glared at him. "Why does everyone keep asking that?" he grumbled. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." He rolled his eyes. "And I wasn't that much of a teacher's pet." He crossed his arms, a slight pout on his face.

Jack laughed, a truly beautiful sound. "I wasn't that much of a teacher's pet," he mimicked him. He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "And I wasn't a teacher's pet at all, none of us, except maybe Specs, were," he responded. Jack paused, thinking. "And maybe Race. He was a softie as a child. Quite cute, innocent. Makes you wonder how he became this," he muttered.

David rolled his eyes. He couldn't picture Race as a softie and an innocent child, but maybe that was because he hadn't known him for that long.

"What's your brother's name, kid?" Jack asked Davey, looking back at him.

Davey rolled his eyes at Jack calling him 'kid'. "Les," he answered, a bit reluctant. "He's nine."

"I'm ten almost, David Benjamin Jacobs!" They heard a voice shout from the lodge.

David rolled his eyes, turning to face the lodge. "You're not old enough to use my full name, Lester!" he shouted back, cupping his hands over his mouth like a microphone.

"And you're not old enough to be a grandpa, yet you act like one anyway." Les smiled in 'I won' as he came out of the house, still on Romeo's back.

Romeo and Jack both laughed at the brothers.

David rolled his eyes. "Jack, this is my little brother," he muttered, clearly a bit annoyed with the younger as he gestured to him.

Les smiled and waved.

Jack chuckled and waved back. "Why don't we go introduce you to the others?" he suggested, still clearly amused by the conversation.

Les beamed, nodding quickly.

Romeo was struggling to hold him because he was moving so much.

Jack chuckled, before turning to face David.

David looked wary of this idea.

Jack placed his hand on David's shoulders.

David flinched at the sparks that shot through him at the touch.

Jack didn't notice. "Don't worry, we're all really close and they'll like you two," he assured David.

David sighed, knowing all three of the boys standing with him wanted them to and he wasn't going to get out of it. "Okay," he mumbled.

Jack smiled, gently taking his hand and guiding him inside.

Romeo and Les exchanged knowing smirks.

1038 Words