***EJ’s POV***

                “EJ jumped Lionel! I swear!” Melissa was saying desperately to my mom and her dad. “I didn’t jump anyone!” I lied furiously. Brewer’s dad was going to beat the living shit out of him for getting in trouble. But we had gotten that stupid fuck pretty good, so I guess it was worth it.

                “He was talking shit about me, so I attacked him to make him shut up,” I growled. “EJ, please stop using that word,” mom said quietly.

                “I didn’t jump him,” I grumbled, crossing my arms. Now I didn’t have my pocket knife because that stupid fucktard knocked it out of my hand and the cops grabbed me before I got it back. I liked my pocket knife. I’d have to go try to find it later.

                “EJ, you can’t attack people. I know you’re sensitive about it, but you can’t attack people. You have to learn to talk things out. Please,” mom whispered. “Before you get hurt.”

                “I won’t get hurt,” I said confidently. “That doesn’t matter. As your mother, I’m begging you to stop with all this fighting. It’s pointless. Words can be more powerful than fists, sometimes,” she said, giving me a pleading look. “Stop the fighting.”

                I nodded, but I knew this wasn’t over by a long shot. I wasn’t done with Lionel just yet. I would kick his sorry ass. New kid thinks he’s the shit? Fine. Bring it on. I’d tear him apart.

                I stood up and stuffed my hands in my pockets. “I’m going out for a walk,” I grumbled and left the house before they decided to stop me. I had to go get my knife back. I sighed and decided I should probably pop by Brewer’s house.

                “Oh…hey EJ,” he greeted, his face a bruised mess from his dad. He was leaning up against their garage door casually, playing with a dirty old baseball.

                “I’m going to get my knife out of the ally. Come with me,” I said and he nodded and got up, abandoning the baseball. He followed me away from his house and back towards the ally.

                We entered it and I looked around. “Uh…EJ…” Brewer said awkwardly. I spun around. “What? Did you find my knife?” He shook his head. “No. But I did find something. And I think it might piss you off,” he said with a sigh, motioning me over to him.

                I walked over to him curiously and he pointed down at the ground. I looked down and felt my face heating up in anger at what I saw.

                On the ground, someone had traced my knife with chalk. They had put a trollface on top of the drawing of my knife. The trollface read “Problem?”. “Oh that piece of shit!” I cried angrily. “LB” was scribbled under the picture of the knife, also in chalk.

                Lionel Barrios. A dead man.

                I clenched my fists tightly. “Let’s go to his house,” I growled, not even wanting to mess with him. He had my knife. That was my prized possession. My dad had given it to me before my parents’ divorce. It meant a lot to me, and I didn’t want that fucker to have it.

                “EJ, we don’t know where he lives,” Brewer pointed out. I smacked him and he winced when I hit one of his bruises. “Yes we do you fucktard! He’s Brad’s neighbor!” I snapped. “I want my knife back!”

                Brewer nodded silently and we left the ally and made our way down to Brad’s house. I looked at the houses on either side. They were both big, fancy looking houses.

                With the shitty economy, both houses had gone up for sale. I wasn’t sure which one Lionel’s family had bought, though. Both houses had recently been bought.

                I sighed in annoyance. “EJ, how do we know which one Lionel lives in? It’s not like we can just knock on the door and be like…oh hey Lionel! Wanna come out and get your ass kicked?” I rolled my eyes at Brewer, resisting the violent urge to smack him again.

                But a plan suddenly bloomed in my mind and I grinned. “Follow me,” I said and nodded at him, walking over to Brad’s house and up his driveway to the front door. I rang the doorbell and waited impatiently with Brewer standing next to me.

                Brad’s mom answered and gave us curious looks. “May I help you two?” she asked, probably recognizing us. I nodded. “Is Brad home?” I asked and she nodded. “Yes. I’ll go get him,” she said and retreated inside the house shouting for Brad to come downstairs.

                He came to the door and his face paled. “Uh…Hi EJ,” he said nervously. “What are you doing here?” “Which house is Lionel’s?” I demanded, getting right to the point. He nervously pointed at one of the houses. “That one,” he said.

                I grabbed his shirt and pulled him out of his house. “EJ! What are you doing?” he asked in terror as I shoved him in the direction of the house. “Go knock on the door. Tell Lionel to come outside. If you tell him Brewer and I are here, I’ll break your fucking nose,” I threatened viciously before shoving him again. “Get him to the side of the house.”

                Brad nodded in terror as Brewer and I went to the side of the house. Brad gulped and composed himself before going to the door and knocking. I watched anxiously, ready to kill Lionel as soon as he came out of the fucking house.