New Tomboy in Town!

22

  "So your telling me that you went all the way to Chicago because you wanted to protect me?!"

He nodded.

"Unbelievable," I threw my hands in the air and sighed as I sat back in my chair. "Shawn, you know I can protect myself. You know I have two gangs that wouldn't hesitate to protect me. So why'd you really do it?"

He hesitated before answering, "I needed time to think. During the video of shit he showed me about you and your weaknesses I saw something, Elliot. What I saw, it terrified me and I couldn't bare to do that to you. But instead that's what I did," he huffed.

  "Want to elaborate or just keep speakin' gibberish?" I deadpanned.

  "I..." He sighed, "I saw you when you were training the newbies or whatever you call them."

  "And...that's terrifying because?"

"Well first off, someone was watching you and you didn't know. And second, I saw pain flash in your eyes. Every time you pushed yourself to look or sound like the big scary person you have them seeing you as anger and pain and hurt flashed in your eyes. That's what terrified me. I didn't ever want to see that again and instead I became the cause of it," he hung his was in shame and mumbled, "I understand if you don't want to be around me right now, I understand if you want to scream and yell and beat the shit out me. Just promise me that you'll come back."

He started walking out. He got two steps past me before I turned around and grabbed his arm swinging him around to face me. I pulled him to me and crashed my lips to his.

The kiss was heated and intense. It was our way of showing how we felt and apologizing for our actions.

~~~

I walked out of the office with Shawn on my heels. We discussed our problems and worked them out and were on our way out back to talk to the gang.

What I saw astonished me. They were running laps around the yard which was about half a mile around and getting tired after one lap.

"Damn! You guys are out of shape! What have you been doing with your lives!" I shouted at them.

A guy I didn't recognize spoke up as he walked toward me, "I bet you couldn't do much better! You're just a girl!"

I shook with laughter as I mumbled, "why do people always do that to me?" I looked the guy in front of me, "I could run laps around you so fast and long you'd be sick before I finished my warmup!"

"I bet your bluffing! I bet your bite is no where near the extent of your bark!!"

"I wouldn't mess with her, Sam. This is Elliot Sanders you're talking to, the rumors you hear aren't fake," Ryan walked up.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Sam spat.

"You're on Sam," I spat his name. Everyone started gathering around us. I shrugged off my jacket handing it to Shawn, "take care of that, it's my favorite one," I warned him.

"You still had to care for your clothes! How girly can you get!" Sam spat, hitting my nerves.

"You're really starting to piss me off so let's just get this over with," I waved my hand at him, "the rules are you have to finish four laps of the yard in under twenty minutes."

"You want me to run two miles in twenty minutes?" He asked in disbelief.

"Is that a problem?" I retorted knowing he wasn't going to chicken out.

"Not at all," he sneered.

"Good," I grinned evilly, "the game begin."

We got in our places, I even gave him the inner lane so he'd have less the run, and waited for the gunshot.

The second the bang of the gun sounded in the air I took off at a sprint. I dashed around the yard four times in fifteen minutes. Sam stayed on my heels for the first lap and then he started to slow down.

Once I crossed the finish line I slowed my pace and grabbed my jacket and the water Shawn was holding out to me.

I turned to Sam as he came-gasping for breath on his knees-and knelt down in front of him. "Now what were you saying about me being a girl and can't do anything? Use this as a warning to all of you," I stood and glanced around, "never test me." My glance stopped on an out of place shadow. I slowly walked towards it then I sprinted. I came face to face with a girl about my age who had fear plastered on her face. She was clutching a video camera and one of those speaker things that picked up sounds or whatever to her chest. I took them and chucked them across the yard.

"Send a message to your boss. Tell him I'm waiting for his coward ass to show up at my front door. Tell him I'm expecting his visit soon. Tell him that if he doesn't come out of his hiding now, I will hunt him down and beat him with his own spine," I growled at her.

She nodded as she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as her feet could carry her away from me and the property. Once she was our of eyeshot I went back to the group of the guys.

"What was that about?" Shawn asked.

"It was that videotaping idiot," I grumbled, "what a bitch!"

"You'll be fine," he assured me.

I nodded, "I know I will, I'm not so sure about the guys here."

"They'll be ok too. Besides you have your own gang to run," he kissed my temple.

"Ya, your right." I said bye to everyone and turned to walk to my bike. "Shawn you coming?"

He hesitantly nodded. "Good," I smiled.