[color=lightgray][center][right][sub][@LovelyComplex] & [@Aces Away][/sub][/right]
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Ransom quickly jumped out, taking a second to steady himself before he flung open the passenger side and coaxed Molotov out of the car and straight into the convenience store and all the way into the bathrooms in the back. He kicked open the men’s room door and dropped his pale best friend to his knees in front of the toilet just seconds before Molotov couldn’t hold it back anymore. Sighing, Ransom pulled one of Dutchess’ hair ties out of his back pocket and began gently pulling Tov’s hair back to tie it up.

[color=45ddfb]“Jesus Ollie, ya really know how ta end a conversation,”[/color] He mumbled out, running his hand through his hair while he leaned back against the stall wall, rubbing soothing circles into the quivering man’s back.

[color=a23019]“H-ha, d-don’t I know it,”[/color] he huffed out unsteadily as he stared, eyes glossy and glazed, into the dirtied toilet water before losing his stomach again. [color=a23019]“Wasn’ his fault, triggered him first.”[/color]

[color=45ddfb]“I know,”[/color] Ransom soothed, no judgment in his tone. [color=45ddfb]“Chase has ‘is own shit ta sort through, we shoulda thought about that before teasin’ ‘im but-”[/color]

[color=a23019]“But we’re drunk,”[/color] Tov huffed before rolling his eyes. [color=a23019]“Or at least we were, this was pretty soberin’.”[/color]

[color=45ddfb]“Usually that’s just ya makin’ room for more,”[/color] Ransom laughed humorlessly. [color=45ddfb]“Ya gonna be ok?”[/color]

[color=a23019]“‘Course,”[/color] Tov answered, raising his gaze to follow his friend as he stood and held a hand out to him for the second time that night. Unlike last time where it had been playful and teasing, the hand grasping his was solid and supportive, lifting him to his feet in a single strong pull. [color=a23019]“Always am.”[/color] Not even deigning to give that bulllshit lie a response, Ransom pulled Molotov out of the stall and over to the sink to wash the wavy haired boy’s sweaty and tearstained face with the chemically scented soap and rough paper towels.

[color=45ddfb]“Gonna talk ‘bout it?”[/color]

[color=a23019]“Not unless I gotta.”[/color]

[color=45ddfb]“So no.”[/color]

[color=a23019]“No. Not tonight.”[/color]

[color=45ddfb]“Okay.”[/color]

No longer on the phone with Peach, TNT waited for his tank to fill up completely. Gas was getting stupid expensive but his many jobs needed the fuel. The city prices were gradually trickling in and Chase hated it. Working many odd jobs and delivering for R2 on the side would only get him so far. He needed to think about where he was heading. He’d be twenty one in December and he was still stuck making shit money. That’s part of the reason why he couldn’t leave the serpents. R2 paid better than any other employer he had. It sucked, but a boy’s got to do what a boy’s got to do. 

Wait, since when did he care about the future? Furrowing his eyebrows at the thought, he let a simpler one intrude as he annoyingly growled, [color=7fff00]“Tov better get me a fucking Red Bull.”[/color] He did not have a problem. How could he? Red Bull wasn’t liquor or hard drugs or weed for that matter. It was just energy. Chase needed Red Bull because it gave him wings. Helped him conquer his long ass day. Fly like an angel or some shit. He loved that shit and it was the one thing he refused to give up. It wasn’t an addiction. It was a necessity. 

His attention was ripped away from his desire for caffeine to a dark haired girl pushing a man away from the distance. They were at the payphone on the right side of the building. The only payphone Edenridge had. This was the same guy that got out of that nice black mustang on the other side of the gas tank Chase was in not too long ago. The same guy that looked like an absolute fucker. 

[color=9dc18a]“I said no, creep! I don’t even know you.”[/color] The young girl stepped back, searching for an exit or a route to run. There was clear regret written all over her face. 

The older man, probably twice her age, maliciously chuckled,  “I’m just saying a pretty little thing such as yourself shouldn’t be out here alone. Let me take you home.”

Then he touched her.

[color=9dc18a]“Get off of me!”[/color]

And at that moment, TNT’s eyes glazed over.

[color=a23019]"We gotta get him some fuckin' Red Bull,"[/color] Molotov said to Ransom as they walked out of the bathroom together several minutes later. [color=a23019]"I told him I would get him a Red Bull."[/color]

[color=45ddfb]"Might as well just get 'im a twelve pack with how he goes through 'em,"[/color] Ransom huffed as he led his woozy friend to the right aisle with a supportive arm gripped tight around his shoulders. They only had one twelve pack left, so the two blondes quickly grabbed it along with a couple ho-hos and a bag of chips before heading to the register. 

TNT opened his trunk, taking out his handy dandy wrench, before slamming it shut. Shuffling to the black mustang, he placed the wrench inside his hoodie pocket and went into his jacket to pull out a switchblade. His face was drained from all emotion and he had the coldest of stares. He sliced into the back tire of the mustang puncturing it, which caused the air to leave it fast. As if he was on auto-pilot, he strolled to the side view mirror, running the knife on the side of the car, ruining the new paint job. When he reached the mirror he kicked it in, breaking it off the car.

[color=9dc18a]“Hey isn’t that your car?”[/color] The girl pulled her wrist back, her heart racing. 

“You’re just trying to distract me so you can get—”

TNT pocketed his knife (now closed) and took out his wrench, slamming it into the headlights.

“HEY WHAT THE FUCK?!” The guy came rushing to the boy destroying his expensive wheels. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” The guy was quick to turn the southie around to slam him in the face with his hard right hook. There was no response from TNT, so instead, the foreigner continued to bash into the serpent’s face with his brawny knuckles. When he let out enough steam, holding TNT by the collar, he watched in horror as the serpent kid looked at him with hollow eyes. 

Spitting the blood out of his mouth to the side, TNT let his soulless gaze pierce the heart of the older man.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

With no hesitation, TNT slammed the wrench against the man’s jaw before proceeding to crush his skull with it and cleaning the mustang with the man’s bloody face.

The girl approached the scene and instead of horror, her eyes widened in confusion. This was one way to save her. Were all the serpents like this?

As the other two serpents walked obliviously out of the store with their items, laughing at the last thing Molotov had said, the sight across the parking lot had them freezing before breaking into a dead run to get to their wayward brother.

At this point, TNT was on top of the now unconscious man, letting all his past traumas out into this ass beating. Serves him right for hurting a girl that was barely legal. 

The girl tried her best to talk to the boy who got lost in his brutal violence, [color=9dc18a]“Hey… I think you’re good… um… you can stop now…”[/color]

[color=a23019]"TNT, [i]stop![/i]"[/color] Molotov demanded as he barrelled into his brother, grabbing him around the waist from behind and dragging him off the bloodied man. Ransom immediately knelt down over the downed man, checking for a pulse before sighing in relief and wiping away at the spot he'd touched with his sleeve.

[color=45ddfb]"He'll live, let's get the fuck outta here,"[/color] Ransom declared detachedly, looking to the girl who's arm was already bruising in a very distinct pattern and analyzing the situation quickly. [color=45ddfb]"Tov, get 'im in the back seat an' bring 'im back ta us, now,"[/color] the suddenly very alert Molotov nodded, hefting his smaller brother up in his grasp and carrying him back to the car effortlessly against his flailing. He turned to the harassed girl and questioned, [color=45ddfb]"You, can ya drive? Are ya sober?"[/color]

[color=9dc18a]“Ah yes, and yes,”[/color] The young girl didn’t expect her night to end up like this. All she did was sneak out of her house to talk to her ex boyfriend. They fought. He left her stranded. She forgot her phone in his car. So she ended up walking to this gas station to call her brother. Unfortunately, she didn’t get a chance because she was about to get pulled in some random man’s car and likely raped. This was a lot for her to think about but there wasn’t any time right now. She had to focus on getting her saviors out of here. Quickly, she scanned across the street to notice Sly James (or who the boys know as Rocky) exiting the police station and looking at the ruckus from where he stood. Not knowing any of the familial bonds that the cop had with these kids, the girl squealed, [color=9dc18a]“There’s a cop! We gotta’ go.”[/color]

Ransom tossed Chase's keys to the young girl, which had dropped in the scramble, and took off running for the car alongside her. He dashed around to the pump to rip it out of the tank and replace it, slamming the lid closed before looking back across the parking lot to lock eyes with Rocky James. His face went pale and he quickly ducked into the back with the other two men, helping Tov wrestle the bloody wrench out of TNT’s grasp while the girl in the driver’s seat peeled out of the lot.

[color=a23019]“TNT, Chase! Stop bro, it’s us!”[/color] Tov growled in his brother’s ear as he tangled his limbs with his own. [color=a23019]“It’s okay!”[/color]

As the girl sped off, her heart racing, but oddly excited with all the thrill, she wondered if it was a good time to ask where they wanted her to take them. To the hospital? To the park? To the middle of nowhere? While she was known for being quite the vocal lass, she decided against it. Sometimes silence was the best form of communication. Before she realized it, she was driving on the route she knew verbatim, since it was something she took everyday during the school year with her sister. Her home was safe and she hoped they didn’t mind. Maybe she should treat them to some of her sister’s pies… What was it she made? Banoffee and Mississippi Mud Pie. God, her sister was so talented. She was jealous. She couldn’t bake for shit. 

There was so much shaking inside of Tov’s arms. Chase’s grip on the wrench didn’t loosen. He was like a raging bull being held down, roughly elbowing his brother’s stomach and trying to pull his weapon back from his oppressor. His eyes came back to the present when the girl in the front seat decided to play music and the first song that came on from his phone was Crazy Train by Ozzy Osborne. The loudness caused her to jump so she lowered the volume down a bit. It was at that instant his grip started to ease and his body relaxed. 

Registering his surroundings, no longer holding the wrench, he looked from Ransom then to Molotov. Where was he? His face was inches away from his brother’s. A little too close for comfort. [color=7fff00]“Uh… we good? What happened?”[/color]

Molotov relaxed his grip on Chase as Ransom finally got the wrench out of his grass, then both men collapsed like marionettes with their strings cut. [color=a23019]“You fucking blew up again man, all your dynamite at once,”[/color] He answered, out of breath from the struggle. Ransom nodded before running his hand through his dirty blonde hair and cursing when he remembered there was blood on it from his fight for the wrench. Tov grimaced in sympathy before bringing his attention back to his brother. [color=a23019]“Full blackout.”[/color]

Sensing that the brothers needed their privacy, Ransom crawled over the center console and into the passenger seat. He told the girl driving, [color=45ddfb]“Let’s get ya home, we’ll figure the rest after yer safe,”[/color] before turning the volume up a little louder to give Molotov and TNT some semblance of privacy.

[color=a23019]“C’mere,”[/color] Tov demanded gently, instinctively licking the cuff of his sleeve and taking it to his brother’s face to clear it of some of the blood, a classic Papa Demo move he’d picked up over the years. [color=a23019]“You okay?”[/color]

[color=7fff00]“Yeah?”[/color] Adjusting himself, not even feeling pain even if his lip was busted and he looked like shit, TNT explained, [color=7fff00]“I was just getting gas, dude. I don’t remember shit. Why? Did I kill someone?”[/color] It started to dawn on Chase what had just transpired as he looked at his fists and his bloody wrench. [color=7fff00]“Ah fuck, I did, didn’t I?”[/color] Shit. He had just started getting happy and he was going straight to jail, wasn’t he? What the fuck was wrong with him?

His numb state turned into panic as he started to hit his head in anger. Why was he already ruining his life? He was doing so good too. He had already tuned Tov and the music out, focusing on his own self mutilation. 

The girl glanced over to the boy that sat next to her and she nodded to his instructions, already on it. They turned on the next light and found themselves right on Scott Street. [color=9dc18a]“If you guys want… you can get yourself cleaned up at my place? Eat some pie?”[/color]

[color=45ddfb]“Yer offerin’ pie at 4am ta three guys that just ran away from a crime scene?”[/color] Ransom asked with a laugh, already a master at pretending not to be aware of private moments. [color=45ddfb]“I mean I’m not gonna say no, an’ I know Tov’s stomach’s empty.”[/color]

[color=a23019]“He’s not dead, but you beat the everlovin’ fuck outta him with your wrench,”[/color] Tov revealed. [color=a23019]“He deserved it,”[/color] he whispered to his brother, holding his gaze. [color=a23019]“Look at her arm.”[/color]

Stopping his vicious assault to himself, Chase peered over to see the girl driving. She looked familiar now that he had a good look at her. He noticed her bruised arm, the kind of arm that got held tightly and wasn’t given a choice in the matter. The kind of arm that was a screaming red flag of domestic abuse. The kind of arm that didn’t deserve to be touched like that. [color=7fff00]“I get it… but still. I have to do better, Ollie. I can’t just keep doing this shit.”[/color] 

His mind immediately thought of Tiffannie and wanting to be better for her. How would she ever want to date a scum like him? Leaning back in his seat, he reached in his jacket, the same pocket that had his knife and searched for the photo. When he couldn’t find it, he tried to stay calm as he patted the seat. Tiff would get sad if he lost it already. Did he drop it at the gas station? God he hoped not.

His eyes trailed to the ground and there it was, by his feet. He took a deep sigh of relief. Leaning over, he grabbed it and handed it to his brother, [color=7fff00]“She wants to have lunch with the family. Don’t plan shit for 12.”[/color] The picture was of this bubbly blonde dressed in pink making a goofy face with her glossy lips puckered up, her arms wrapped around the awkward serpent, squishing her cheek against his, leaving no space between them. TNT had the shyest of smiles but he looked happy.

[color=a23019]“Shit, man,”[/color] Tov laughed lightly as he looked at the photo. [color=a23019]“She’s adorable. Looks about as soft as you can get.”[/color] To anyone else, it may have sounded like a backhanded compliment, but Tov trusted TNT to understand genuine praise when he heard it. Molotov liked the look he saw in his brother’s eyes, both in the photo and while the bloodied man stared at it. Soft is okay when you need it. When you’re nothing but rough, you need someone to show you that you don’t always have to be, someone to guide you into the light and hold your hand while you squint against the foreign sun. This girl looked like sunshine personified and Chase reflected her glow like the moon. 

[color=7fff00]“Tell me about it,”[/color] Chase chuckled in response, gingerly taking the photo back and putting it in his wallet. [color=7fff00]“When we first met, I made her fucking cry.”[/color] 

[color=a23019]“Of course you did,”[/color] Tov laughed lightly. [color=a23019]“I can’t wait to meet her.”[/color]
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