017. ━━━ ❛ THE REAL KICKER ❜
real life. . .

         MATT ALLOWS A DEEP SIGH to fall from his lips at the sight of the bright  'LAMAR'S DOGPOUND' neon sign shining in front of him in broad daylight. he stands in front of his car with his keys still in hand, his subconscious causing him to fidget with it as he hears the sound of the other car doors still shutting behind him.

he hates coming here in the middle of the day, but it's much better than during the night. the place isn't as packed as it becomes when the moon has reached its distinct place in the sky, but the three men acting as security for the front doors whom immediately direct their gazes to matt in recognition, create a usual uneasiness in his stomach. anytime he has to step foot in this place quickly becomes the lowlight of his week.

today, he gets to feel especially uncomfortable, because until he was approached in the alleyway the night that he was with maisie, he had been dodging call after call. he's been too caught up in... other things to fulfill lamar's usual wishes, so he had got bitched at over the phone when he finally answered (which he's sure will be carried long into today), and had to spend the other day trying to make up for it the best that he can. he knows his effort means little to a place like this though, and has no choice but to prepare for whatever horrible shit they throw at him for punishment once he steps inside. the bruises currently decorating his torso and the gash on his bottom lip apparently just aren't enough.

he knows that they are the most harsh on him because he'd rather it be him than the others, but that doesn't ever make it any easier—especially when the only reason he took them up on coming in today is to confront them over the texts he found on maisie's phone.

just as he begins growing irritated again at the thought of her not telling him, he's momentarily taken from his thoughts when chris comes to stand next to him. it's not long before a frown appears on his face the longer that he looks at him. if he knows chris like he knows he does, it means since sunny's changed him for the better, he's probably been dodging calls as well. so not only does matt have to worry about repercussions he will soon have to face, but the ones chris will have to also.

"smells like shit," the boy says without worry, instantly causing an audible breath to leave matt's lips. chris looks over to him amusedly, and he silently wonders how he's able to ignore his problems so easily.

"always does," roddy says from behind the pair, chris and matt both turning around to find him, quinton, and dylan all on their feet as nick is the last to exit from the car.

"it's never not gonna weird me out coming here in the middle of the day," dylan complains, glancing around the area and the cars parked, there being a lot less than the usual amount they see here.

"well, we can thank matt and chris for this trip," quinton says sarcastically, although his words contain a truth to them. the pair both look to each other and as if on cue, roll their eyes at the same time. quinton steps forward and places a hand on each of their shoulders. "thanks guys."

matt only shrugs off his hand, turning around to begin approaching the building's entrance. he hears a mumble about him being 'grumpy' and ignores it as the rest of the group follows behind him. as they walk, chris just has to bring up, "just saying, i had no problem avoiding this shit. matt's the one who suddenly insisted we come."

matt clamps his eyes shut in irritation for a mere moment before he turns around to face his brother, the group instantly coming to a stop before even reaching the doors. "the longer we ignore them, the worse it is on us," he reminds him rather harshly, chris' nonchalant expression faltering. "what don't you get about that?" he remarks, finding satisfaction in the way it causes him to grow serious. they always have to be serious when it comes to here, he should know that.

"matt's right," nick cuts in, trying to dissolve his brothers' impending argument before chris has the chance to say something back. chris takes offense at first, but he knows he's right, so he seems to let it go. nick starts walking again first this time. "let's just get this over with," he sighs.

"i mean, it's not that hard to just answer in the first place." the sound of roddy's bitter mumbling has matt spinning back around as soon as he starts walking again.

"roddy, i swe-"

"coming in?"

an older voice cuts matt off before he even gets a chance to finish his sentence. the group simultaneously shares a quick look before slowly turning around to face the men guarding the entrance, the voice obviously having been one of the three. matt clears his throat, deciding to speak for them as he was the one interrupted and the one they are most familiar with. "we're here to see lamar," he states calmly, gesturing for everyone behind him to follow when he starts to walk up to them.

"we know," the man closest to them speaks, his voice hoarse. his words would be creepy enough to send a shiver down matt's spine if he wasn't used to this all by now, but unfortunately, he is, so he merely nods his head. "he's been waiting."

matt nods again, noticing one man stepping to the side. the one he was just talking to gestures his head for them to follow before turning towards the door. another man opens the door, causing all the chatter and music from inside to be heard as the other steps inside the darkly lit area.

matt takes in a breath, looking back for a second and receiving a nod from chris. the second he steps foot into the building, his five senses are instantly overwhelmed—as always.

see, the thing that keeps a place like this one from getting shut down by the cops, is the fact that it's disguised as a bar. if someone was to google 'lamar's dogpound,' it would list the building as a luxurious and prestigious bar that is not so easy to get into. anyone around town, however, knows that the way they really get their business is taken care of downstairs—in the basement. they're good at putting up a front though, as their bar is used frequently enough by their primary customers on busy nights that it brings in enough profit to not look suspicious. the bar is in the back of the spacious area, nearly long enough to spread across the entire back wall, and there is not only booths everywhere, but lounging couches and chairs. on 'special' nights they like to bring in strippers. matt's never been a fan.

he steps aside so that the others can come inside, and glances around the area in the meantime. not a lot of people come during the day because there's no show for them to watch, but the people that did today are staring right at him. their gawking is nothing surprising. they're used to him providing a twisted form of entertainment, so even when he's not scheduled to be here for the night, everyone stares. they all know who he is, and some claim him as their 'favorite.' he doesn't claim any of them.

he forces his eyes elsewhere, noticing the man who was previously holding the door for them step inside with the other man. that can't be good. he looks to his bandmates and they seem to be thinking the same as him judging by their expressions.

wordlessly, the two men begin to walk in the same direction, knowing that the group will follow behind them. they lead them to the back of the area, customers' eyes following them as they stop in front of the door right next to the bars end. matt takes in a sharp breath as he's all too familiar with where this leads: lamar's office.

one guys steps to the side and the other reaches forward to open the door. once matt steps inside, his eyes immediately jump to lamar sat behind his desk. his laptop is opened, which is never good, and matt gets a bad feeling as he sits in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. there's only two chairs, but matt knows he's going to be one of the first to get chewed out, so he reluctantly prepares for his sentence by taking a seat.

the guard who opened the door steps inside once everyone piles in while the other stays outside. he silently stands against the wall, and the room is eerily silent when roddy tries to take the seat next to matt. he's stopped in his tracks by lamar, "matt and chris sit there today."

matt refrains from closing his eyes, instead watching roddy nod and walk to the rest of the group stood behind the chairs. chris' face sinks, dreadfully passing by roddy to take a seat and getting a feeling of his fate. matt hates that him and chris are in the hot seat; he wishes it was just him.

"well, it's been a while guys," lamar finally says, leaning back in his chair and taking a good glance at all of them. matt hates the way he talks. he uses the tone of a friend while actively ruining their life. he folds his hands together and mockingly furrows his eyebrows. "why is that exactly?"

matt blows a breath from his lips, sharing a look with chris. none of them have an excuse, lamar knows that, he just wants to hear it. still, chris attempts his best. "uh," he rubs at the back of his neck. "just been busy."

lamar's blank expression does not falter, so quinton tries to help chris out. "yeah, with the band and shit, yknow," he adds.

"busy with the band," lamar repeats, rubbing his chin. "right, right." his eyes trail from quinton to chris and matt, glancing between the two as matt can tell he's plotting something. when his eyes land on him specifically, he thinks he feels sick. when he asks, "so the names maisie abrams and sunny leblanc don't ring a bell?" he knows he is.

matt's face pales and lamar instantly finds satisfaction in his reaction, a wicked grin spreading across his face. chris sits up abruptly, his face twisting up in sheer panic. "you don't know what you're talking about," he says to lamar, frustration flooding his voice. "they don't have anything to do with this. they're just-" he cuts himself off, his mind going blank for a moment. lamar seems to find amusement in the way he's trying so hard here, but chris still tries to go on. "they're just fans. they don't even-"

"is this not you, chris?" lamar turns his laptop around to them, a blurry image of sunny and chris kissing outside a venue clearly taken from security footage. matt's eyes widen, and when he looks over to chris, it looks like he's gonna puke.

chris doesn't seem to have any plans on continuing to put up a fight judging by his face set in stone and the sinking of his shoulders. lamar grins once more before shutting the laptop and glancing from chris to matt. "you're awfully quiet," he states, matt merely scowling at him. "it's strange, after my research, to think that a girl from such a powerful family would want anything to do with you."

"she fucking doesn't, so leave her out of this shit," he snaps, anger coursing through his veins in knowing that he's done a background search on maisie. "her and sunny have nothing to do with anything. there's no need to drag them into the shit we do."

"or the lack thereof, don't you think?" lamar responds with a tilt of his head, clicking his tongue before he continues, "see, that's the real problem here." his voice grows slightly harsher when he chooses his next words, "i just want to know why you two seem to think you can prioritize your little girlfriends over us. over me."

matt shakes his head, mumbling, "she's not my fucking girlfriend."

lamar dryly laughs. "then why do you seem so panicked, matthew?"

matt's lips drop into a thin line, the clenching of his jaw testing new limits. he ignores his comment completely, instead saying, "just tell us what we have to do."

"well, i was getting to that," lamar sighs, leaning back in his seat again. he goes silent for a moment, seemingly thinking to himself before amusement spreads across his features.

when he looks back up to them, he points between matt and chris. "you two both have fights friday night," he tells them straight up, matt and chris' shoulders both sinking as their friends groan behind them. he looks up at the frustrated bandmates. "i'm not even done yet. here's the real kicker," he pauses for a moment in typical lamar fashion, trying to create some twisted form of suspense as he mischeively glances over all their unsuspecting faces. the silence lasts only a few seconds, but it feels like it drags on forever until he finally looks to matt and chris. "i want these girls front and center of the crowd."

matt feels as if all the wind is knocked out of him. immediately, their bandmates all cut in to argue at the same time, but even with all the sudden noise, matt can only focus on the feeling of his heart dropping. he feels like time is suddenly passing in slow motion as everything this means hits him at once. because of his reckless choice to get so caught up in her and ignore everything else, she's now in just as much danger he's grown accustomed to living in. he never planned to drag her down with him.

the texts he originally came here with in mind are now long forgotten as his thoughts of what's to come suddenly consume him. texts are the least of his worries when he's now forced to bring her here and introduce her to the life he lives—the life that he'd never wish upon another, especially not maisie. she's going to see him a way she never has before, experience fear she's never felt before, and find out the past he's worked so hard to hide from the world. all the worst possible things that could happen are suddenly happening and there's nothing he can do. there's no fighting lamar; he just wins and that's it.

matt can tell the sadistic fuck finds joy in their stress, because as he carelessly bickers with the others in the room, his eyes continuously glance to matt and chris to see their faces. matt feels nothing but complete disgust as he looks at him.

slowly, he turns his head to chris who's been just as silent as him. his head is in his hands and he can't help but frown in sympathy for his brother. when he feels his eyes on him, he just barely looks up and mumbles for only him to hear, "she's never gonna see me the same."

"yeah," matt sighs and it feels a lot heavier than he was expecting. "i know."

💌

WHO READY TO SEE OUR MAN IN THE RINGGGGG

shits boutta be getting real serioussss 👀👀👀

if u guys ever read the harry styles fanfic devils due U SEE MY VISION

<3
jaden