The Saints and The Jewels.
Two rival gangs in a small town in America 1960's.
Both fight for dominance and total control. The Saints, descendants of Hispanic immigrants who lack money but make up for in family. The Jewels, rich American teens who b...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Michael’s POV
When I was 9 years old, my parents began to leave me so much I needed a babysitter. She lived in our home for weeks at some points. And I would go several nights without ever hearing about the whereabouts of my mom and dad. I formed a habit of biting my nails then.
My babysitter, Ms. Bella, didn’t like that I bit my nails. She said that I have amazing nails and I’m ruining them by biting them. So she would dip my fingers in lemon juice. Everytime I tried to bite my nails, I got a taste of the concentrated zest.
I got over my nail biting and now my nails look perfect. I stopped biting and got over it.
Until now.
As I’m walking with Petey, I chewed on my nails again. My eyes kept scanning every single window and door in the suburbs, wondering if everyone, including adults, now knew about it. If they knew our secret.
“Mike. Mike! MIKE!” Petey kept shaking my shoulder and snapped me out of my trance. I realized I almost fell into a pothole on the sidewalk. “You okay buddy? Almost lost you there.” Petey said.
“No, I’m not fucking okay! Everyone knows about my relationship with Antonio! That was supposed to be something Ant and I were gonna announce and instead we’re outed to everyone before we’re ready! And now I’m worried about Ant and how he is! Nothing is fucking okay!” I snapped at Petey.
“You’re under a lot of stress. It’s okay to be angry.” He patted my back. I went back to biting my nails and pacing back and forth.
“God, what are we gonna do?” I whispered.
“Well, it’s out now, right? So, at least that load is taken off.” Petey said.
“You don’t get it, Peterkins! As long as the Saints or Jewels exist, Antonio and I can’t ever be truly happy! There’ll always be a barrier preventing us from truly being happy!” I said. I started to walk fast away from Petey.
“Wait! Where are you going!” Petey yelled from behind me.
“I’m going to see Antonio! I need to make sure he’s okay! I’ll catch up with you later!” I yelled.
“Goodluck!” Petey yelled. I started sprinting and racing to the west side.
Ant and I can’t be happy in Newport. Which means the only safe option is to leave Newport.
Once I reached the other side, a quiet fell upon me. It feels like I traveled into another universe and things are out of whack. It shouldn’t be this quiet. Something’s up.
Despite the streets being empty, I still crept through the shops and homes. I crouched behind every bush and crawled when I passed a window.
When I saw the clearing for Ant’s home, I saw how utterly fucked I was. Surrounding the entire home were several people. They were, from what I can see, the strongest of the bunch.
I began to wonder why there was so much security now. And what is the reason for there to be so much? That’s when I theorized that perhaps they knew now. So this barrier of men is either to keep something in or keep something out. Or both.
I crouched behind the beat up blue Toyota car that I’ve seen Manuel drive. I had no idea what to do now. And when I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw someone approaching the car. My palms and forehead were sweating. My breathing picked. Had the guy been closer, he would’ve heard me.
Looking around, I saw a large rock and grabbed it. When he turned, I threw the rock in an opposite direction to where a large amount of scattered wood was. The guy turned and went in that direction. That's when I did another look and saw an opening to a clear path to Ant’s window.
I sprinted and was now on the outside of Ant’s window. The hot sun was beaming down on me. All I wanted was to rest and have a drink of water but I can't. I need to get to Ant.
I knocked on his window fast and waited for him to open. When he did, I was met with the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. His eyes widened and he quickly opened the window and stepped aside to let me in.
“You’re here!” He said. I collapsed on the floor panting and clutching my stomach. I’m guessing he saw how tired I was because he returned with a glass of water. I chugged it all and gave the empty glass to him.
Once I had my breathing under control, I got on my knees in front of Ant. “They know!” I panted out. “They know about us, my love!”
“I know! Manny yelled at me and now he has people guarding me! How did you even get in?” He asked.
“I snuck in. Those guys may be strong but they aren’t smart.”
“What do we do, Mike! Our plans are ruined! We were supposed to tell them after the fight!” Ant said. I was biting my nails and trying to think.
“Not everything is ruined. I mean, we’re still alive, right?”
“HOW-” He lowered his voice. “How is that supposed to make me feel better? We’re not dead, yet! I have a bad feeling.” Antonio sat on his bed, hyperventilating.
I stood up and went to him, cuddled him and let him smell my cologne, which always seems to calm him down. “It’s gonna be okay. I promised you that.”
“What about school tomorrow? Are you just gonna be by my side the entire time?” He asked.
“Well, er, no, I won’t be able to. But I’ll watch you and intervene if I have to.”
Antonio nodded his head on my shoulder. “I knew everyone would know eventually. I just wished I had a bit more time to prepare what to say.”
A beautiful silence came. Besides the occasional ragged breath from either of us, the silence brought calm. This might be one of our last few moments of peace, now that everything has gone to shit.
“I found a house, did I tell you that?” I said to Ant.
“You might have mentioned it.” He responded.
“Well, it’s a two story house in a small town in Oregon. There’s a community college nearby. A huge backyard for the kids.”
“You think we’re gonna have kids?” He asked.
“Um, we can’t both adopt them, obviously. But one of us could adopt them and then we’ll both raise them.”
Ant thought about it. “Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Tell me more about our future.”
“We’ll have animals. Chickens, mainly. And maybe a small pig. Don’t worry, we won’t eat them.” Ant let a small laugh out. “And every night, I'll fall asleep next to you and wake up next to you. Would you like that?” I asked.
“Mhm.” He groggily said. I looked down and saw him slowly falling asleep.
I picked up Ant’s body and laid him on his bed, making sure his head was on his pillow. I laid next to him, holding his body close. He in his sleep turns around and puts his arms around me, hugging me back.
Someday, this is how our days will be. Both of us will live in our own home and sleep with one another. No one to tell us we’re sinners and or traitors. We’ll be lovers. It’s a label we’ll choose for ourselves.
When the sun was gone, I split away from Ant. Giving him one last kiss, I exited through his window.
Checking to make sure the coast was clear, I ran from his window back home.
