- T H E R E J E C T S -

T R A I T O R

- King -

"Mustang?"

"Mm?"

"I'm glad you're my best friend"

I felt like an ass. There was no other way to describe it, I had stood there and watched my four best friends get pummeled. I had skipped the Manor this morning to talk to Cooper about our project, he had contacted me about it. I needed to talk to them but when I went to the Manor no one was there. I don't know what had been going on between Richy and Yeehaw but I knew that neither of them had their phones on. I knew Mustang hadn't been home in a while and his phone was probably flat. I had no idea why Diesel wasn't answering her phone, she probably didn't want to talk to me. Cooper and I walked into the general store after school, him going to the drinks and me heading straight for my sugary treat. The bell above the door jingled.

"Diesel, why are you taking so long just come on"

A mop of brown hair could be seen over the shelves, followed by a head of blonde hair, another mess of brown and I can only guess that Mustang was with them, only I couldn't see him over the shelves.

"Can't we just do something else?"

They spread out across the store, each in search of their sweets. I knew I had to explain to them what had happened, but I was so scared to. I took the bright packet off the shelf and rushed toward the front counter. As I turned from the aisle I ran straight into Diesel.

"Diesel, Oh my god I am so sorry"

She dusted herself off, grumbling the entire time. Yeehaw came over to see what was happening and stiffened when he saw med.

"What d'you need King?" His western drawl killed the awful silence.

"I wanted to apologise, I wasn't at the Manor yesterday because I was talking to Cooper about our group project and then at school I didn't want him to see that fight and then I froze and then you guys were gone" I rambled.

That's another thing, when I'm nervous or stressed I ramble and my friends are the only people that know.

"Calm down Kin-"

"Hey Diesel, which pringles do you want cause there's like three different flavours?" Mustang came around the corner and when he saw me with the others he froze.

By the time he got himself together, Richy and Cooper had come over. The tension was overwhelming, no one knew what to say.

"Look guys I am really sorry about the fight, I froze when I saw it. You know I would never abandon you and I don't back out of a fight but if I get suspended one more time I won't be coming back. I just couldn't do it"

No one said a word, I don't know if they believed me but I had my fingers crossed. Richy stepped forward and grabbed the gummy bears from my hand, turning towards the counter. The others followed and sure enough, he had bought everyone's snacks. Richy nodded towards the door and we all headed to the Manor.

_____________________

Walking down the streets of our small town, all of us laughed about Yeehaw's hat. We all knew he loved the hat but he made such a big deal out of it, it just made it funnier. As we were walking Mustang stood on something that crunched, and everyone stopped and looked down at his feet. There on the sidewalk was a half-cracked fortune cookie. He slowly bent down and picked it up, the hard shell crumbling away. He pulled the little white slip of paper from the remnants of the cookie and read it aloud.

"Enter unknown territory?"

Diesel, who isn't one for 'girl like' traits, squealed and grabbed Mustang in a hug. She then skipped off ahead of us, leaving behind five extremely confused boys. Yeehaw turned to the rest of us, the confusion was apparent in his features.

"I'm all down but nine, someone please explain?"

Mustang shrugged and grabbed Yeehaw's shoulders.

"It's best not to ask"

_____________________

We made it to the Manor and when we got there we found Diesel sprawled across her couch, phone in hand.

"He texted yet?"

I looked toward Mustang in confusion and apparently, I wasn't the only person that didn't know because I heard Richy from behind me.

"Who's supposed to be texting Diesel?"

I turned around but I was too late Mustang had already legged it up the stairs. I heard a sigh from the couch and Diesel explained what had happened the day prior. As soon as she told us what her dad had tried to do, all three of us shot up, ready to beat the life out of him. I cracked my knuckles itching to wrap them around the bastard's throat, Yeehaw's hands were clenched and Richy really didn't know what to do with himself but he was trying his hardest to look intimidating. Diesel stood and quickly grabbed my arm.

"Don't touch him, it's fine" She could tell we weren't convinced. "He didn't put a hand on me and even if he had of I can take care of myself, I was just in shock. Otherwise, I would have whooped his ass"

I pushed past Diesel and headed straight for the backdoor, I wasn't going to hunt down her dad, I just needed air. I heard Yeehaw as I opened the door.

"Just let him cool off"

_____________________

I sat on the back porch of the Manor, my head in my hands. I had tried to calm down over the incident with Diesel, but I just couldn't. We had been friends forever, and I needed to protect my friends. It had been a crazy week and I hated not being able to save my friends from the same pain I had to deal with at my house. The backdoor swung open, loud footsteps coming towards me. A hand fell on my shoulder and I could tell it was Diesel because her nails weren't a bitten mess. I looked up at her and she smiled. No words had to be spoken as she sat down beside me, both of us just knowing the other needed quiet company. I could hear her faint sniffles as the heavy truth settled into her tiny frame. Knowing Mustang he would have kept her mind off the incident and this was probably the only time she had actually sat down and thought about it. I thought about it too. Her dad. My mum. All of it. Life is unfair, that's what I've told myself for my whole life, but what kind of four-year-old deserves to be abandoned by their only stable parent? What kind of eight-year-old deserves to be taking care of the house, the food, the parent? What kind of twelve-year-old has to be stealing to keep himself warm? What kind of parent leaves their child to figure out the world on his own? It was too unfair. A sob escaped my lips. Diesel pulled me into her shoulder and I wept into her shirt. Sobs wracked my body. She rubbed circles into my back. I hated people giving me sympathy but at that moment all I needed was Diesel. I could block out all the bad things in my life and just be vulnerable. And that was all I needed.

A/N: I am so so so sorry I haven't updated. My new school has drowned me in homework and I am literally so tired. But here it is and it's awful. It's a filler chapter and I know it's not the best but bear with me. Anyways keep safe and I will be trying to get another chapter out <33