𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 | 𝑱𝑱 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒌

[18] "Say Something." | Spy Games II | Tease

We turned the other way, quickly trying to get away from Rafe. Suddenly, I completely understood what herded sheep felt like. They try to move every which way to get away from the scary dog barking at them, but the dog is manipulating the sheep exactly where it wants them. In this case, JJ, Pope, and I were the sheep. While Kelce, Topper and Rafe were the dogs.

We ended up right behind the movie screen, shielded away from the people watching the film. Hidden from help.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" JJ jeered at Rafe, backing up with me. Pope hit my back from walking backwards away from Topper and Kelce. The three of us stood surrounded. I tried to think of a way out of this, but I felt as if my lungs were given out. Like a balloon being pricked by a tiny needle, letting the air slowly leak out. I clenched my fist tightly, purposefully breaking the skin on my palm with my nail. I needed to stay grounded. Nobody can help me through a panic attack. My friends need me.

"I just wanna talk," Topper said, a smug smile on his face as he approached.

"Just chill out, Topper!" Pope pleaded, raising his hands to show he wasn't any threat.

"Yeah, that was some nice work you did on my boat–"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Sure," Topper laughed. "Of course you don't."

My eyes flickered from Pope to JJ, then to Rafe, who stood tall with his chest puffed. "Not so burly without a gun now, are you?" Rafe mocked.

"Take one more step, and I'll rip that prepubescent face off," JJ threatened as he stood taller, matching the stance of Rafe. I would've taken a moment to swoon over how tough he looked, but there wasn't anytime for that. I looked around, looking for something, anything that would help us. I sensed a brawl forming, and I knew I was next to useless.

As Topper insulted Pope, talking about his parents, I could see a switch flip in Pope's head. He grabbed Topper by the shoulders and rammed his forehead into Topper's face. I watched as Topper stumbled over his own feet, bringing a hand to his nose.

"Attaboy!" JJ whooped, getting into the fighting mood. He patted Pope's shoulder. "With your fist, like this, okay?"

My heart stopped as JJ and Kelce collided. Kelce's arms wrapped around JJ's waist, pushing him back as if they were playing a game of football. JJ kneed him in the face, and as Kelce was knocked back, he delivered the first punch to his face, followed by another.

Pope and Topper got ready, getting into a fighting stance. Pope sent a hard jab to Topper's face, his head whipping backwards.

JJ sent another punch to Kelce's face, the boy falling back on to the ground. I clenched my fist as Rafe grabbed JJ from behind, knocking his hat off in the process. As I watched everything unfold around me, I found myself diving headfirst into a pit of rage, and for more reasons than one.

Kelce grabbed onto JJ, holding him still for Rafe to hit. That was my last straw. I charged towards Kelce, knocking him onto the ground with the weight of my body. JJ stumbled, but steadied himself, turning his attention to Rafe.

I focused on keeping the fight fair, and the only way I could do that was keeping Kelce away. I straddled the boy with determination and adrenaline pumping through my body. My mind flickered back to my parents, and how they taught me violence was never the answer, but tonight, I threw all that out the window as my fist collided with Kelce's cheek. As soon as my fist came into contact with his face, everything around me faded into background noise.

I packed all my anger towards Pope and JJ for getting us in this mess into the next punch aimed directly at his nose. The next one was dedicated to the Kooks, for being nothing but assholes that love to see others fail. Another one was for the little girl I use to be, the girl whose parents left her behind. I was about to send another fist ramming into Kelce's face, but I stopped, seeing his mouth dripping bloody saliva– just like Pope's mouth was that day at the resort.