Owned by 4

Chapter 8

I chocked on air at the sound of those words leaving Kruz's mouth.

It has been a long while since I've heard the words 'you' , 'our' and 'friend' in the same sentence when someone was referring to me.

As soon as I stopped chocking and regained my composure, I looked at them in shock and disbelief. Maybe I heard wrong.

"What?"

"We said, we want you to be out friend" Kruz drew out the words this time and said them slower as if he was talking to a child who was partially deaf.

I was at loss for words.

"Tell me you guys are kidding" I said, my eyes still wide from shock.

"We could tell you that..." Dennis started.

"...but then we'd be lying through our teeth" Kruz finished the sentence.

I looked over at Micah and Ryder to see if they were paying any attention to the conversation and to my surprise, they were.

I looked back at Kruz and Dennis who were eagerly waiting for a response. They all were.

"Umm..." I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling a bit dry. " I don't know what to say"

"Well it's quite simple really. Just say yes." I looked over at Ryder who just uttered those words, his eyes watching me carefully.

"Why do you guys even want me to be your friend? Why me? I mean, haven't you heard the things people say about me? I'm an outcast. Everyone hates me. Why would you guys choose to be friends with me?" I asked them. It didn't make any sense. They said they knew that I was being bullied, yet still they wanted to be friend.

I don't want to be that kind of burden on anybody.

"Well first of all, like we said, we find you intriguing and we don't hate you" Dennis said.

"Second, you're a victim of bullying which isn't right. You shouldn't be picked on or bullied because you don't live up to people's standards and expectations" Ryder continued.

" Third, we think that if we became friends with you, you could benefit alot from it based on the fact that your bullying will cease because no one would even dare to touch you while you're with us" Micah added.

"And last, " Kruz began. "We just want a friend. We're tired of each other and we think that maybe it's time to start opening up our circle to someone else. Someone else who we can watch out for and protect, not just ourselves."

I stared at all of them in disbelief. They all seemed to have valid reasons but, I just couldn't be that kind of burden to anyone. I don't need people watching my back and looking out for me. I'm not weak. I can do that for myself. I have done it for my entire life, what's one more year?

I opened my mouth to decline their offer but Ryder beat me to it.

"You're going to say no" he said. It wasn't a question but a statement, as if he predicted my answer.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I saw the look on your face. You looked like you were having an internal battle with yourself. I just knew you were going to say no so I'll just make this easier for you. If you give us one good reason why you say no, then we'll leave you alone and we can go our separate ways, but if you can't, then you're stuck with us."

"Well, I just don't want to be a burden on anyone. I can watch my own back and take care of myself. I've been doing it all my life so what's one more year? I've been by myself for a really long time now and I'm perfectly fine. I don't need anyone of you watching out for me. I'm not weak" I explained.

"We never said anything about you being weak Dori. We know perfectly well that you can handle yourself." Dennis said. "But maybe it's time to stop depending on yourself all the while and let people help you carry your load"

"I don't want to depend on anyone. They'll just end up leaving me in the end"

"We're nothing like that. We would never do that to you" Micah said.

"Well how would I know? I don't know anything about you guys" I snapped at him.

"Well maybe if you gave us a chance then you might reconsider. Please just give us a chance Dori" Kruz's eyes pleaded with me.

I contemplated it. It would be sort of nice to have someone to call my friend and it would stop my bullying which is what I've wanted for a really long time now.

Maybe one chance couldn't hurt right?

"Fine." At the sound of that simple word, they're eyes lit up. "One chance. If you mess it up, then we're over. Deal?"

Kruz looked at me, his smile widening. "Deal. Now we own you and you own us"

We shook hands. Our deal was sealed.

I was now friends with Decalon's new bad boys.

I was now officially owned by four.