fun fact: this was the original name for this story (and is still how i refer to it in my head xD)

also im sick as heck so idk how good this is lol
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Luke is running again. This isn't very surprising anymore.

How long has he been running around like this? He doesn't even know anymore. He's been running for too long, and that was all that matters right now.

Luke had nearly died to the two guys that had ambushed him. What were their names again?

One of them was Lui. The other was something that started with a D. It didn't mean shit now though, because they had both been shot down by Craig and Tyler. Fuckers deserved it for trying to kill him.

Luke snorts dismissively as he kicks at one of the dead bodies. There was only one person who would have the nerve to pick on him like this.

Brock.

It was all so clear to Luke now. Brock had sold him out to some angry gang or some mobsters, and Brock had purposely kept toying with Luke, dangling him in front of death like some toy.

Thankfully, Luke knows Brock. After "dating" him for a month or two, Luke knew all of Brock's tricks. And if there was one constant thing throughout them all, it was that Brock himself would never be on the front lines. There was always some kind of hitman or assassin, or in Luke's case, a lovesick guy willing to do anything to appease his boyfriend.

Luke has every right to be pissed off at Brock. What the hell was he thinking, trying to kill off Luke? What about...

"Shit," he curses, quickly reaching for a gun. "Tyler, where the hell-"

"On it," Tyler announces, already halfway out the door with Craig. "What do we do?"

"Make sure nobody's dead, idiot. Make sure they're safe. That's really all I can ask for."

Tyler nods, seeming to understand the situation. The door shuts behind him, leaving Luke all alone. He grabs what he deems necessary and goes out to his car.

Admittedly, Luke has no idea where he's driving to. But he knows that, for now, he has a plan.

He was going to go find Bryce and Ryan and Jonathan, wherever they may be, and he was going to get them back home safe and sound. They had no reason to be caught in all this.

Just because Luke was in the wrong place at the wrong time didn't mean they had to go through the same shit he did. Did you seriously think Luke went away on purpose?

Well... maybe it was on purpose, depending on how one were to look at it.

This realisation makes Luke laugh weakly, a wave of guilt coming over him. He never really thought of it like that, as bad as it sounds. Was that how the others saw it? Did they think Luke purposely disappeared without a trace?

They must. There's probably nothing else for them to think. That's why they came looking for him too, isn't it?

Luke is suddenly torn between screaming in anger or breaking down in tears. He's angry because he didn't realize this before, and he's angry that his friends are so damn stubborn. He's sad because they're stubborn and determined and absolutely insane.

They care about him so much they dragged their asses all the way up here to find him. And, honestly? Luke loves that about them.

He loves them. They're like the brothers he's never had. The kind of loving, happy family he's always wanted. His actual family wasn't shit compared to them. Bryce was the only exception, but the fact that they were cousins didn't make any difference. They were best friends and just ended up stuck in the same shitty family.

His mother had been about to kick him out of the house. Who was he to ever guess she was a homophobic asshat? At the time, Luke had friends up here in Chicago thanks to Brock.

So naturally, he comes up to visit, telling his mother that he was moving out. Was he actually moving out? No, but she didn't have to know that.

Luke doesn't quite remember how it happened. He was just in a bad place at a good time. There were guns and drugs, and then Luke learned that he was much better at aiming  than he expected.

So... That's why Luke is here now, on the road to try and remedy all his shitty life decisions. Luke is on his way to take Bryce, Jonathan and Ryan home safely.

He had to. That was the only way he could make it up to them. How else do you apologise for pulling some vanishing act?