Two days later. Terrence and Peter went to the fitness club in the early morning by the opening to have an intense workout. The friends spend there two or three hours before they put themselves in order and leave the building, feeling tired enough but praising themselves for doing good work. On the way, Peter and Terrence are drinking water from their bottles that they take from their big bags where they have everything they may need when having workouts.
“Oh, everything hurts so badly…” Terrence moans tiredly, holding the belt of his sports bag with a free hand. “I didn’t work out so hard for ages…”
“Yeah, it’s not embracing your refrigerator and eating tons of buns from your mom,” Peter chuckles kindly and drinks some water from his bottle.
“Hey, dude, you got me so exhausted today. I can barely move my legs and can’t raise my hand. And my abs hurt fucking much… Everything does hurt! Everything!”
“Seriously? It was just a simple and easy warmup!”
“Warmup?” Terrence opens his eyes widely as he goes down the wide asphalt stairs along with Peter. “Are you fucking serious? What’s gonna happen if we taste a main course after eating a snack?”
“Buddy, you did ask me to instruct you. So, I watched you, so you really worked out and didn’t stand in front of the mirror and take photos of your naked torso for social networks.”
“Yeah, Perkins whines after every workout with you all the time for the reason.”
“Did ya think I’d let you do nothing and close my eyes to you being lazy?” Peter smiles innocently. “Oh, no! It’s not gonna work with me! You’re gonna work much more than on the band’s rehearsals!’
“Yeah, thank God someone in heaven didn’t let you become a fitness instructor. Otherwise, people would leave the gym class on their knees. Or they’d actually lie powerlessly on the floor. Until the next torture.”
“Oh, MacClife, stop the fuck exaggerating and whining! I gave you a very standard workout to keep yourself in good shape.”
“I imagine which workout you would give if someone had to work on abs or arms from the beginning. If someone had to get rid of fatness on their stomach and hips.”
“Yeah, it would be very hard. Dan can confirm it. He wanted to get lots of muscles and tough abs – I agreed to help him nicely.”
“Maybe, you’re a cool friend, but I really wanna strangle you when you’re a trainer.”
“Trust me, brother, Edward, Daniel, and I always wanna strangle you,” Peter says confidently. “Because you’re a professional at playing on our nerves when the case is about your unique handsomeness.”
“I’m just telling the truth.”
“Go to the fucking hell with your truth.”
“Seriously, are you really able to move your feet after such intense workouts?” Terrence wonders, putting his bottle of water in the bag that he closes with a zipper. “Or do you mercy the beloved yourself? While your friends are suffering from pain and wiping off sweat!”
“Did ya naively think you’d get a beautiful body out of nowhere? You could lie on the sofa all day and eat something delicious, while muscles show up by themselves?”
“Well, as you see, even with my great appetite, I still look wonderful and catch tons of admiring glances.”
“You look wonderful thanks to these intense workouts. And you must thank your ability to tear your ass off the sofa and run miles in the morning, not your parents for excellent genes.”
“Nevertheless, you’re a monster when the case is about sports,” Terrence says confidently.
“Don’t forget to thank me when you look in the mirror and see how tough your arms and stomach have become,” Peter says with a slight smile, putting his bottle of water in the bag.
“You do surprise me! Two days ago, you fell off the stairs and hit your head, but today you’re jumping, running, lifting weights, and working on your abs”
“The doctors said I was alright when Edward took me to the hospital by force. And when he turned on a super caring mom mode and watched me as closely as a chicken watched its eggs. And I just lied a little, ate something delicious, and came back to normal. So, I’m like new again!”
“There’s something similar about you. My brother is a brainless fool that loves asking for trouble, can’t stay in the same place, and gives a fuck about his sores. You do rush into a fight with a wounded ass… You’re fucking alive, man!”
“I have no time to lie in my bed and feel sick!”
“Oh, yeah, who else would be getting your friends exhausted?” Terrence chuckles kindly.
“One of the differences between you and your brother is that Edward never whines and complains. Yesterday, I was riding him so hard when we put on roller skates to ride in the city, but he never said he was tired. Vice versa, he wanted more! And then he was running away from that asshole like a hurricane. And the kid wasn’t eventually even outta breath.”
“Right, he’s got much more energy than Dan, you, our girls, and me have all together. Sammy’s the only one to be his possible competitor. To get him super exhausted, you need nobody the fuck knows how much time.”
“I don’t deny it. But we all learned to help him spend it right.”
“Hey, he is an asshole,” Terrence smiles slyly. “Just like Perkins. Two sly-ass fools.”
“Because they didn’t join our wonderful workout?”
“Why should I have the fuck suffered alone? These princesses are walking somewhere, but my back does hurt! I mean, one princess is still lying in the bed and sleeping, and another one is probably doing some bullshit.”
“Oh, yeah, these pretty boys decided to be lay seals,” Peter laughs shyly.
“Next time we will go to the gym class together. Even if we suffer, we should do this in a wonderful company.”
“If you aren’t tired yet, I can ride on skates with you with no problems.”
“You know well that I don’t ride on skates.”
“You should try! Edward stood hesitantly on them at first, but then he got used and started to ride like a hurricane. I had to hold him by the pants, so he didn’t hit his head against the wall or kiss the column deeply in passion.”
“Edward would love any extreme shit. And if a fight starts without him, you can’t call it cool.”
“Yeah, I agree with you…” Peter says thoughtfully. “You know how happy MacClife was when that bastard stood in our way! What a happy face he had when beating him on the face and stroking him down with a tornado kick. I guess he doesn’t finish it with Rochester in the bed the way he does it in a fight with stinkers.”
“The boy didn’t have a chance to do it for several months! He could only work with a punching bag in a gym class. And now he got such a cool chance. Edward wouldn’t be Edward if he’d missed it.”
“Yeah, in the opposite case, I would’ve really thought he got sick.”
“Huh, even if he had a bunch of hunting arrows in his head, my brother would keep trying to get up and waving his paws. He’d give up if he lost consciousness.”
“That’s our Edward!” Peter shrugs. “We can’t change him! The only thing we can do is to help him use his energy right.”
“I’ve almost accepted it…” Terrence exhales slowly.
“Hope dies last. We will not stop hoping Edward will calm down. And you’ll get sick of pronouncing yourself a king of everything and everyone.”
“I’m truly sorry if someone still hopes they can make me doubt myself and stop showing this beauty to the whole world.”
“Oh, Terrence, sometimes you make us have a strong wish to hit you strongly on the head. With a foot. On the run. In a jump.”
“You better make sure any assholes don’t do that to you. You know, words have a super strong power.”
“Today I am ready for a new attack,” Peter says confidently. “I left my home with the thought I would be fighting until the very end if they tried to kill me again.”
“M-m-m, I see you are determined.”
“May they think they won’t get away from me so easily. That I can get up and rush in an attack.”
“I do say Edward and you are kinda the same. At least, lately. But I used to have a different opinion about you.”
“But Dan and you pretended to be harsh daddies, and you keep doing this.”
“We are older, we must do it. And Edward and you are kids yet. Babies, who must be under our view all the time.”
“Oh, c’mon, under your view!” Peter rolls his eyes.
“Seriously, when we weakened the attention, you managed to get into something,” Terrence notices with a serious face. “When we opened the common chat on WhatsApp, read hundreds of messages from Edward, and found out that you fell off the stairs, hit your head, and passed out, and he took you to the hospital and was waiting for the doctor’s verdict.”
“As you see, my friend, we did it brilliantly without the help of older people,” Peter smiles innocently. “I’m not so weak, but I’m alright, and Edward was an excellent bodyguard who made that bastard run super easily.”
“You were just lucky those scumbags were walking alone. If you’d run into a company, they would’ve kicked your ass. In the end, you would’ve died, and Edward wouldn’t have ended it with just a couple of scars.”
“Oh, yay, but if Perkins and you had been with us, nobody would’ve died!”
“There would've been a higher chance.”
“Don’t underestimate people, buddy,” Peter advises, clapping Peter on the shoulder. “I’ve said many times that they may give you many surprises.”
“We’re having a deal with serious guys, who aren’t playing games.”
“So, we don’t take it easily. I personally know that bin ich erledigt[1].”
“What?”
“I’m dead, that’s what!”
“After three attempts, it’s clear even for a donkey.”
“I wish I knew they tried to kick my ass. I would be freaking happy.”
“According to the classic of the genre, a criminal won’t reveal all their plans immediately. You’ll be getting information little by little. They won’t also kill you shortly.’
“And how do you know this?”
“Experience from the past.”
“Sorry. I would like to solve this bullshit and live quietly as soon as possible.”
“It’s like the lads and I don’t want to focus on our business…” Terrence sighs tiredly.
“Ah, we should get ready for our next show, but we’re thinking about what one stinker needs from me.”
“I hope it’s gonna end with no events.”
“I dunno… I ain’t sure about anything.”
“Do you think strict measures in safety won’t help us?”
“Wouldn’t be surprised.”
“No, Peter, don’t worry!” Terrence hugs Peter around the shoulders on the way. “It’s gonna be okay. George and our team are aware of the situation and will be watching the organizers, so they provide the highest level of safety for us and our fans.”
“If you try hard, you can even find a little midge in a big haystack,” Peter notices confidently.
“What do ya mean?”
“You can find a solution in my situation.”
“So, the guys and I will find it!”
“I doubt we’re able to do something now. We should at least wait for the leader to show up. Who started it all. After this, we will be able to do something.”
“I do say, Pete, you’re gonna receive this information little by little,” Terrence recalls confidently. “Now we know several people are working for one bastard. And it wasn’t started because of money. And Helene is also on the hook, not just you.”
“Thank God, nobody’s harming her yet.”
“It’s a matter of time, buddy. I don’t wanna scare you, but trust me, her time will come very soon.”
“I hope I will be next to her to protect her at that moment.”
“Sammy will do it if you ain’t near,” Terrence cracks a slight smile. “He would bite any asshole for his owner.”
“I know, but Sammy didn’t make it on the day I was tried to be strangled with a rope. He had to run to Daniel and ask him for help. To make it come to an end.”
“If Marshall doesn’t walk in unpopular places, nobody will do anything to her.”
“Who the fuck knows!”
“Only the mentally ill commit crimes in the public. But they are quickly caught by the police called by someone. Moreover, there are cameras everywhere now. Finding a criminal with functions of recognition of the person would be super easy.”
“I dunno, Terrence…” Peter sighs tiredly. “It kinda calms me down, but I kinda feel anxious. Can’t get rid of some bad presentiment.”
“I get it, brother. But we’re all near. The men and the girls are always ready to come and help you.”
“I know.”
“Besides, we’ve got a reason to worry about your mental health.”
“Why?”
“Because what’s happening may break you down. And you… You haven’t come to yourself after what happened to you in the past.”
“It’s okay, I will handle it somehow.”
“Don’t even dare to withdraw yourself from us, Peter.”
Terrence stops sharply, turns on Peter, and takes him by the shoulders.
“If you think you feel bad, tell us about it immediately. About any changes in your condition. We should know about what’s happening to you.”
“Until my close people are alright, I will feel good,” Peter replies confidently. “More or less good.”
“Something’s bothering you now?”
“The fact you were all involved in this story.”
“Something else?”
“Nothing more. All my fears are only connected with the men and the girls.”
“Can we do something to help you feel better?”
“You can,” Peter cracks a slight smile. “Just be near. Help me survive this bullshit.”
“Don’t worry, Pete, we’ve said many times that we will not leave you,” Terrence recalls confidently.
“No matter what?”
“We’ll no longer make the old mistakes. We’ll no longer close our eyes to your mental health. We will no longer laugh at your problems and mock you. We completely understand how important it is to you.”
“Right. All those humiliations and insults and indifference of adult people gave me strong mental issues. Which I keep struggling with nowadays.”
“That’s good you aren’t hiding it and do admit that you have problems yet.”
“I just know I can get through it all early or late. If… I have the closest people in my life next to me.”
“You can do this, I don’t doubt it,” Terrence encourages with a slight smile. “You’re our strong guy with a sense of purpose.”
“I would bet about being strong.”
“You’re still standing in front of me alive. You didn’t kill yourself much earlier. There was something that helped you hold on. So, you’re by far not weak.”
“I’m also surprised that I didn’t die early. I had so many opportunities, but… I always delayed it. And… Something… Kinda… Held me down.”
“If you hadn’t delayed it, the guys and I wouldn’t have met such a cool and loyal friend.”
“C’mon!” Peter exclaims shyly. “If it hadn’t been me, it would’ve been someone else!”
“There may be many others, but there’s just one Peter Rose. Nobody can replace him.”
“Oh, MacClife…” Peter chuckles kindly, moving his eyes aside.
“You’re not alone, Peter. You’ll never be alone. In any storm, in any weather, we will be together. Those assholes can try to separate us and make us fight as much as they want, but we will find a way to each other. We will be worried and trying to help anyway.”
“Even if I become the nastiest and most shameless bastard in the world?”
“Even in this case. But you won’t be the one. You don’t have a character that a real bastard has.”
“Thank you so much, Terrence,” Peter thanks amicably with a slight smile. “I feel much better when I hear these things.”
“Just never forget we’re always near. Always near. Whatever happens to you, we can get through anything.”
“You, guys, make me believe I’m really not a freak more and more.”
“You’re not a freak. And we will not let anyone call you weak.”
Peter says nothing and just takes Terrence in a tight hug with a wide smile, while the black-haired man answers it with pleasure, clapping his friend on the back. And when he steps away, the men turn around and keep moving on where they need to.
“So, what about your plans for today?” Peter asks.
“I have no freaking idea,” Terrence shrugs. “It’s only eleven o’clock. A whole day is ahead. But to be honest, I’m already tired.”
“What if we call Daniel and Edward and take them out to rehearse all the songs? Recall all the lyrics and music! Or just play something for fun!”
“Good idea! But knowing Dan’s love for a long sleep, we can come together after one or two hours o’clock.”
“But we can agree with Anna, so she kindly gives him a couple of strong kicks,” Peter smiles mysteriously.
“Or let him lie in the bed with his sweetheart. Anna and he are literally having a second honeymoon now.”
“Oh, yay, these lovebirds haven’t been able to get enough of each other since they reconciled!”
“Aha, but their breakup didn’t impact Perkins at all, and he doesn’t think it would be good to think about getting married.”
“Yeah, I feel the guys and I will not live until his wedding.”
“Helene and you would get married and have children sooner than the tough guy would just think about his wedding.”
“I don’t hide I really want it, and I’m planning to get married. But I wanna propose at a much better moment.”
“When Edward and I marry Natalia and Raquelle, you can think about your engagement.”
“When it happens, the guys and you will know everything.”
“You’ll have no choice, sweeties!” Terrence chuckles. “You will tell us everything! You’ll hide nothing!”
“Oh, hiding something from you is impossible! You’d play on nerves until you get what you want!”
“Doing this for your better.”
“Oh, shut up…”
Terrence says nothing and just chuckles quietly, while Peter and he are walking slowly down the spacious avenue where there is much green grass, many centuries-old, and multiple benches on every corner. The men sometimes watch the people that go by them as they are rushing to do their business and are busy with what they have in their packets and content in their phones and gadgets of those, who accompany them. At some moment, they pay attention to a small group of teenagers, who are having a nice time in the special area where every one of them is showing their skills of skateboarding and teaching others to do some tricks.
“Aren’t you still regretting refusing to ride on skates with your friends?” Peter asks with a sly smile.
“Nobody can make me put them on,” Terrence says confidently.
“But Edward is sure you’re gonna make triple axels very soon.”
“He can make them by himself if he isn’t afraid to hit his head and break his spine.”
“Your brother will get what he wants, buddy.” Peter puts his arm around Terrence's neck. “He’s doing anything he wants to you, and he’s already found the levers he needs.”
“I’m just letting him think he’s controlling me. So, the baby doesn’t get upset and mad. Or he may start howling so loudly that bombs will explode. And those, who magically survive, will just kill him.”
“And he’s letting you think you have some power over him.”
“Of course, I have!” Terrence raises his head proudly, turns around, and starts walking somewhere, while Peter is following him. “One word of mine before Edward runs where I tell him.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure…” Peter rolls his eyes. “He pees his pants and obeys his brother immediately.”
“Of course, he will! I am older! Smarter… More handsome… Sexier…”
“Oh, you stepped on the wrong way again…”
“Edward won’t overshadow me! And he won't make me his marionette!”
“You can’t imagine how wrong you are, buddy.”
“No, he’s deeply wrong if he seriously thinks babies have the right to control adults.”
“Babies can do this very well, for your information.”
“I know. So, we will work on it.”
“It has to do with you, too, pretty boy.”
“What?”
“And Perkins’ included in this list. You all are younger than me, and it means you must obey me.”
“It means we will all just fuck you off as well as your orders. Because we’re adults and know what to do.”
“Yeah, I’ve got harmful babies…” Terrence sighs tiredly. “But it’s okay, I can handle it!”
“Let’s go, man, do this!”
“And I swear, Rose, you will pay me for today’s torture at the gum class!”
“C’mon, dude! It was cool! I really had a lot of pleasure.”
“Yeah, cool! I can barely move my feet.”
“It’s not my fault! You need to show up at the gum class much more frequently. Not just before filming in movies and music videos, photoshoots, and something like that.”
“Oh, c’mon, Rose, shut up…”
“I told the truth”.”
“I didn't ask you about it.”
Word by word before Peter and Terrence start pushing each other in the ribs and share strong claps on the back of the head as they are thrilling with a loud laughter. The younger man goes wild, and the older one is trying so hard to calm him down, reminding him that they are actually outside and surrounded by many people. But at some moment, they even start using a bottle of water that they pour over each other, remembering that they have another one in the bag just in case.
And when the men calm down a little and try to take a breath away, a young blonde-haired man with a pierced eyebrow and lip stands in their way. He stands like a brick wall with a sly smile and breathes in the smoke of the cigarette for the last time.
“Hello again, blond-haired,” the stranger throws in a low, rude voice. “It’s been a while!”
Getting sharply pale, Terrence and Peter step back unconsciously, tensing every muscle of the body and staring closely at another accomplice of the one, who wants to get rid of the blond so badly.
“We started to think we killed you, after all. We knew nothing about you for two days. But you are alive, asshole! Walking as if nothing happened!”
“Maybe, I can know who you’re the fucking working for and what they need from me this time?” Peter asks coldly. “And when that asshole will calm down?”
“He will calm down when you die.”
“Don’t worry, honorable, we’ve understood that you have a goal to get Peter exhausted morally and psychically,” Terrence says confidently.
“Not just this, six-foot-tall drama queen,” the stranger replies. “Since Rose’s pals stood in our way, we should do something to them.”
“M-m-m, come on?”
“Don’t think that tough guy and your little brother are lucky. Just because nothing happened to them the last time doesn’t mean we’re done with them.”
“I said it already to your friends, but I can say it to you: if something happens to them, the consequences are gonna be terrible,” Peter says coldly in a low voice. “If you touch one of them with a finger, you will lose your head!”
“My lord is ready to leave them alone if they stop surrounding you all the time. If these parasites make the right decision and do their business instead of wiping your mouth and protecting one pathetic freak. Who will die anyway.”
“But we are not ready to leave all of you alone even if you stop mocking Peter,” Terrence says determinedly. “You will not get away from us easily.”
“I advise you to get out of here, MacClife,” the stranger replies confidently. “If you want to keep your skin safe, just get out. And wash the brains of your babies, so they don’t meddle in our business.”
“If we have to die for our friends, we will do. But don’t think it would be so easy for you to kill us.”
“We don’t doubt it! We don’t doubt that you are like cockroaches that can’t the fuck be caught or killed.”
“Meanwhile, some corrupt assholes keep going to work on their mission all alone,” Peter crosses his arms over his chest with an evil grin.
“Yeah, buddy, why don’t you take a support team with you?” Terrence wonders. “Do you naively think you can strike two and more people down?”
“I’m going to tell you one thing, bastards…” the stranger says confidently and comes much closer to Peter and Terrence. “What’s happening now is just the beginning of your nightmare. Now it’s just a warmup. A warmup.”
“Oh, wow, how generous your lord is!” Peter puts his hand on his hand. “They gave the boys and me time to get ready…”
“Yeah, as I understand, we should kiss his feet when he decides to show up personally?” Terrence smirks sarcastically.
“Hey, one-celled amoebas, don’t show off too much,” the stranger clenches his hands into fists. “If you talk too much, I shall cut your fucking tongues.”
“I would personally prefer cutting something off your body.”
“Hey, column, haven’t gotten your face beaten for ages? Huh? Do you want to swim in shit?”
“Well, nope, I’m kinda human, not a pig. I usually take a bath.”
“If you ask for trouble, someone will drown you in it to the fuck.”
“Alright, honorable, we have no time to listen to your senseless shit!” Peter raises his hand. “And I’ve already heard everything you’re saying now from your pals.”
“Yeah, since we didn’t get any kind of clearness, this talk can be called senseless,” Terrence agrees.
“Let’s go, Terrence.” Peter puts his hand on Terrence’s shoulder and turns him with the back on the stranger. “I don’t even wanna waste my time on this bullshit.”
But when Terrence and Peter want to leave this place and take a few steps straight, another young man with dark hair, a tattoo on the curve of his neck as a scorpion and strongly hunched back. He starts getting close to the friends determinedly. While they look at each other questioningly.
“No, no, no, not so fast, bastards,” the second stranger shakes his head.
“Oh, it seems like you got some brains to learn the lesson,” Terrence smirks evilly. “The lesson of not being able to get rid of two people when you’re alone.”
“Hey, drama queen, you better close your mouth before I sew it.”
“Oh, oh, oh, I’m so scared!”
“It’s alright, you don’t have too much time to wave your wings. You and your friend will be dead soon.”
“I repeat, don’t dare to harm my friends,” Peter threatens in a low voice, clenching his hands tightly into his fists.
“Your threats will not impact us, Rose,” the second stranger says confidently. “I mean, the pig’s screech of one pathetic weak guy, who is pretending to be a hero.”
“Ha, didn’t your pals’ beaten faces make you realize that you are deeply wrong?”
“Huh, seriously?” the first stranger smirks contemptuously, crossing his arms over his chest. “Actually, your pals are the ones to blame for it! I must confess…”
“So, do you, as we understand, want me to beat your faces?” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest.
“Wouldn’t you pee your pants, penguin princess?”
“Now you will pee your pants, so that you, asshole, will sing in falsetto!”
“Oh, look, how sassy MacClife is…” the second stranger smashes his fist against his palm. “He does want his gorgeous face to be super ugly.”
“Indeed, mate, we need to teach this psycho,” the first criminal agrees. “And deal with this blond-haired one. WHO DOES NOT THE FUCK DIE!”
“Wow, are you trying to kill me now?” Peter wonders falsely. “I thought your mission was just getting me exhausted.”
“Our lord cannot wait for the moment he can go to the cemetery and split at your grave,” the second criminal says. “Or the place where he will order to bury your corpse.”
“Don’t think naively someone will wish to give up on you so easily,” Terrence says confidently.
“Nobody will ask you about it. We will do everything so fast that you will not realize anything.”
“Catch us first!”
“We will catch! Right now! Both of you!’
“Go, Ivan!” the first stranger exclaims.
“My pleasure, Ronald!”
Ronald and Ivan come confidently to Peter and Terrence, taking small knives from their pockets and wrapping them in their hands. While the men step back automatically and take their bags off their shoulders.
“So, buddy, no matter if you want it or not, it’s time for a new battle,” Terrence says confidently.
“Yeah, fucking Round 3 is starting now…” Peter throws gloomily. “The level is hard…”
“It’s okay, we can handle it. Now the faces of these bastards will break against our fists.”
“There are two of them.”
“One’s for you, another’s for me. I see no problem.”
“I wonder if they start chasing us if we ran away from them again?”
“They can. But there’s a chance to leave them behind.”
“These guys are serious.”
“Don’t worry, we can get through this,” Terrence says confidently. “The most important thing is to be close to me. If we stay alone, these two will eat us on lunch.”
“Let’s try to hold on.”
“Kick the asses of two more bastards?”
“Let’s go!”
Leaning on each other’s backs, Terrence and Peter stand in a fighting position, keep their fists ready, and set their close and cold glance full of hate on Ivan and Ronald. And after choosing a good moment, they try to wound them seriously with knives. But Rose and MacClife, Sr. grab the gun in time and start fighting off their opponents cruelly with hands and feet, being in the place where there is nobody, who could stop them. The men literally ban themselves from thinking about tiredness caused by the intense workout in the gum glass and are focused on getting away from the criminals. Sometimes Terrence and Peter have to help each other out and fight off the opponents together, while they are determined to deal with those, who do not please their lord.
“Wow, how much you like beating someone on the face and getting hits on yours,” Ronald sneers evilly, giving Terrence a hit in the jaw, from which the man dodges successfully.
“Since some bastards only understand the language of force, we have to accept it,” Terrence replies confidently and smashes his fist against his opponent’s solar plexus. “I mean, give them a lesson of good manners.”
“It’s bad to be so self-confident, MacClife,” Ivan sneers evilly and tries to hit Peter in his temple but meets a failure. “It will never help you get a victory.”
“That’s why don’t even hope to win,” Peter replies and catches easily the foot of Ivan, with which he wants to hit him in his groin.
“Are you still thinking we will be dealing with you forever?”
“As if I will be wasting my time on you and will not make measures!”
“Do what you want, but it will not help you and your friends.”
Peter magically manages to dodge when Ronald tries to get a knife into his stomach and grab it. At this moment, he gets attacked by Ivan with fists, forcing the blond to fight with two people at the same time. But Terrence comes to him to help shortly, pulling away one of them with a chokehold and smashing his fist against his opponent’s temple. But then the man gets a hit in his chest, which is the reason why he can barely breathe temporarily. That’s what Ronald uses, using a chokehold on him and putting his knife tightly against his throat.
“So what, pretty boy, should we kill you first?” Ronald smiles evilly. “So, nobody can control the younger folks!”
Not wasting time, Peter rushes to help Terrence out, but he falls to the ground after getting a strong slap in the face from Ivan. And while his friend is trying to break free on his own and has to suffer from a lack of hair since his throat is squeezed tightly, the blond pushes the criminal off himself with his foot when he squeezes the knife with both hands and tries to get it sharply into his heart. After this, Rose gets up quickly and hits his foot against the nose of Ivan lying and breathing heavily, and finishes him with a hit of the back of the head against the asphalt.
Meanwhile, Terrence manages to get out of the trap on his own and fights Ronald with his hands and feet for a few seconds before the opponent just grabs him painfully by the hair at some moment and puts the knife much tighter against his throat, while the black-haired man is breathing heavily but not looking even a little scared.
“Get back, freak!” Ronald shouts, putting the knife much tighter to Terrence's throat. “If you take one more step, I shall stab him!”
“Awesome, Adams!” Ivan shows a thumb up.
“Let my friend go now!” Peter demands rudely, ignoring Ronald’s words and getting closer to him determinedly.
“GET THE FUCK BACK, I SAID! ARE YOU DEAF?”
“I think you are dead and stupid if you didn’t hear my order to let this guy go.”
“What will you do to this, mistake of nature?”
“I said, LET TERRENCE GO NOW!”
When Peter wants to come much closer, Ivan grabs him rudely by the collar, pulls the guy sharply on himself, and puts the knife against his throat too.
“Yeah, Payne!” Ronald pronounces cheerfully.
“Hey, hey, not so fast, tough boy!” Ivan exclaims.
“Hey, undeveloped Quasimodo, move your hands off my friend!” Terrence hisses through his teeth, trying so hard to get out of Ronald’s grip.
“Come on, MacClife, come on.” Ivan runs the knife slowly over Peter’s throat, barely touching the skin with a cold blaze, while the blond swallows up nervously and literally stops breathing from the tension that possesses his whole body. “Try to save your friend. Who will be dead soon!”
“Don’t make me enraged, asshole.” Terrence clenches his hands into fists with a heavy breath. “I will put this knife deeply in your ass if you do something to him.”
“We really learned from all the mistakes of our friends,” Ronald says confidently, raising Terrence's face by the chin with the edge of his knife. “Who your friends dealt with super easily. As we were told, your brother actually got multiple orgasms.”
“But now all the previous tricks will not work,” Ivan adds. “We will not let you jump like goats and play a game with only one goal. The victory in this period is ours.”
“We will see it, asshole!” Peter roars. “If you want to get our skins, you have to work hard!”
Peter hits Ivan against his ankle with his toe as strongly as possible, gets out of the trap easily, and takes his knife, while his opponent grabs the painful area and doubles over with a face that is squeezed from pain. Then the blond comes determinedly to Ronald, goes around him, and hits him against his spine with a loud roar, letting Terrence break free and put him on his knee by force. Then MacClife, Sr. strikes the knife out of his opponent’s hand with just one hit of his foot, so that it gets thrown high and ends up in the man’s hand.
“Are ya alright, bro?” Peter expresses anxiety, putting his hand on Terrence’s shoulder.
“Great,” Terrence replies quietly. “And you?”
“Same.”
“Ar-r-r, fucking scumbags…” Ivan growls irritably, not caring about the pain in his foot as he gets up slowly with Ronald’s help.
“Stop rejoicing, bastards!” Ronald adds.
“We’ve understood that one bastard pays you a bag of money if you go to beat our faces with such great pleasure,” Peter smirks evilly, pointing the knife at Ronald.
“Indeed, pieces of shit, aren’t you sick of it?” Terrence wonders, pointing the knife at Ivan. “Do you have nothing to do? Go to work, get married, make children…”
“We’re doing the order of the one we deeply respect,” Ronald throws rudely.
“Yeah?” Peter wonders falsely. “Doesn’t they want to show themselves? I’d like to know what asshole I must curse because of everything that’s happening now.”
“Don’t worry, Rose, when it’s time, you will meet our lord soon,” Ivan assures. “Trust me, he is dreaming of meeting you, too. But he wants to save it for later.”
“We will do our best to find out who that bastard is,” Terrence says confidently.
“Don’t try, guys. You can’t do anything.”
“It’s alright, we will jump out of our skin.”
“We will tell you just one thing: that man knows Rose very well, but Rose does not know him,” Ronald hints. “Our lord has known the blond-haired for a long time. Longer than you think.”
“Isn’t that some type of fan?” Peter puts his hands on his hips. “Or a father of a crazy fan, who is mad because she can’t be with me? Did he decide to take revenge on me for his daughter?”
“So, sit down and think better!” Ivan throws coldly. “Think about who you harmed so much that our lord can't forgive you. Think about the greatest mistake you made in your worthless life.”
“I have nothing to think about! I’ve done nothing bad to anyone! Actually, I’ve been getting harmed all my life. Every asshole thinks showering me with mud is their duty.”
“You’re actually not so innocent, Peter,” Ronald replies. “Our lord laughs so hard every time people say you’re a super shy, sweet, and innocent angel.”
“Hey, snakes, put your tongues in your mouths and shut it down!” Terrence throws rudely.
“Everyone will know everything soon, MacClife. They will know what Peter Rose actually is. Know who he really is.”
“I DID NOTHING BAD!” Peter explodes. “STOP THE FUCK SLANDERING ME! STOP! ENOUGH!"
“Whoa, whoa, stop screaming, idiot! Or you will stand in the line with your friend, who is known as a selfish, hysterical man, who calls himself much sexier and more valuable than a dollar.”
“We will not believe any kind of lie you will say about Peter!” Terrence says with his head proudly raised. “You don’t the fuck know him and have no right to say anything about him!”
“We will see how overwhelmed you all will be when the lord decides to reveal all the truth about this boy,” Ronald replies quietly. “Of course, if you all will make the right decision and stop licking the ass of the blond-haired guy and play his bodyguards.”
“We will not leave him!” Terrence hugs Peter around the shoulders. “Don’t even dream!”
“Alright, boys, stop working your tongues,” Ivan throws gloomily. “And first, just give us the gun.”
When Ronald and Ivan move off, Terrence and Peter point the knives in their hands at them sharply.
“Get back, assholes!” Peter roars. “GET BACK, I SAID!”
“If you don’t give them to us at your wish, we will use force,” Ronald threatens.
“So, don’t ya feel so sassy without your knives?” Terrence smirks evilly. “Do you think you look much more horrifying in people’s eyes when you have them?”
“This is our last warning, scumbags: if you don’t give our stuff back, you will ask for fucking trouble!”
“Try then!” Peter throws with a challenge in his eyes. “Try to take yours. If you don’t want to hold your balls, so you don’t lose them.”
“Alright, buddy, we must teach these sassy freaks,” Ivan hits his fist against his palm. “They went too crazy.”
“Yeah, we warmed up a little – that’s enough!” Ronald agrees. “It’s time to play adults’ games.”
Ivan and Ronald attack Peter and Terrence with fists and try to take their knives from them by force. But the men show great stubbornness and get into a hand-in-hand fight with them, having to fight two people, not one of them. However, while they are together, it’s easier for them to hold on in this fight since they help each other and take a little more when one of them has to take a break. They use all the known tricks that may not always be successful with hands and feet, so they knock their opponents out for a while. Besides, they get so busy with this fight that they forget about the knives they are lying somewhere on the ground.
“How weak your hits are!” Terrence provokes with an evil smirk, dodging the hit on his nose from Ivan. “Who taught you to fight like this? Is that the karateka that showed off with hundreds of blue belts?”
“Of course, we could show a couple of cool tricks that would throw you a few miles away,” Ivan replies with a heavy breath. “But our lord said we should’ve saved all the horrifying tortures for a better time.”
“Aw, how kind and nice your lord is!” Peter sneers sarcastically and grabs Ronald’s hand when he wants to slap him in the face.
“But if not for him, we would be happy to kill you and bury your corpses somewhere in the woods,” Ronald notices with eyes full of evil. “Because we are so done with your faces.”
“As if we want to deal with you!”
After Terrence strikes Ivan down with a strong hit on the temple with his fist, and Peter hits Ronald in the jaw, they step back but eventually run into each other’s back and just watch their opponents for two seconds with a heavy breath.
“Don’t ya think it’s time to get out?” Peter asks.
“Yeah, time to run,” Terrence agrees. “Or this battle won’t end ‘till the evening. But after working out at the gum glass, my whole body hurts.”
“So, grab our bags and run then!”
“Yeah… Run!”
Terrence and Peter move off sharply, grab their bags lying on the ground, and rush to run, pulling each other forward by one. But Ronald and Ivan do not rush to get up and start chasing them immediately, looking at them with a sly smile as if there is something the men do not know yet.
“Run, pretty boys, run…” Ronald nods confidently, getting up on his feet quietly.
“Yeah, we thought about this moment,” Ivan adds, moving some dirt off his pants after he gets up, too. “We’re smart now.”
“Let’s see what’s gonna happen to them after what they don’t know about. We prepared for this meeting very well. Very, very well.”
“Let’s run after them. So, we can watch this show.”
“Yeah, run. Or they will relax now with the thought that we kindly agreed to leave them alone.”
After exhaling sharply, Ronald and Ivan start running after Terrence and Peter, whom they find quickly thanks to the tracks of sneakers on the ground. While the men themselves are running fast by some memorials that one couple of old people is looking at. They do not care about condemning glances of people, who wonder where these young people are running with bags on their shoulders. Where MacClife, Sr. is leading Rose after him so determinedly, while the blond silently prays that this hell ends as soon as possible since he is freaking sick of this.
Ivan and Ronald also get not less surprising glances when they show up in the same place, not rushing to catch Peter and Terrence immediately but not planning to leave them behind and alone. Anyway, they shorten the distance quickly enough and start literally breathing in the backs of the friends, who notice this and fasten, feeling how fast their hearts are beating under adrenaline in their blood, and its beat is echoing in their temples.
“They don’t rush to catch us so hard,” Peter notices, looking back briefly.
“Yeah, it’s like they’re just walking here,” Terrence agrees.
“Did they understand that this fight didn’t make sense?”
“Or they came up with a new plan?”
“Wait for us to step over something and fall?”
“Maybe. So, you better be careful.”
And at this moment, Terrence stumbles over an iron thing that is stuck in the ground and nearly falls, but Peter manages to take him under his arm in time.
“Hey, watch out!” Peter exclaims.
“Sorry, didn’t notice it,” Terrence excuses himself.
“Stop, bastards!” Ronald roars behind their backs. “STOP, I SAID!”
“We haven’t done with you yet!” Ivan exclaims.
“Oh, how stubborn they are!” Peter throws gloomily.
“You’re right, they do love getting their faces beaten,” Terrence notices.
At this moment, Peter outranks Terrence a little and starts running ahead of him, not thinking about where one or another path will lead him and just going where his eyes look. And later, he falls to the ground like a stone after hitting his elbow strongly and feeling how the pain echoes in his whole body. But Terrence helps him out immediately, helps him get up, takes him under his arm, and starts pulling him after himself, running away from Ivan and Ronald, who are chasing them but smirk at times as if they know something that is definitely a part of their plan will happen soon.
Terrence and Peter run some distance, not being ready for a longer workout but trying not to think about having their legs literally bend from tiredness because their main goal is to hide from the criminals. Who talk about something at some moment and suddenly turn aside, while the friends do not see it. And when MacClife, Sr. decides to look back, he is truly surprised that Rose and he are no longer on the hook.
“Hey, where are these bastards?” Terrence wonders, stopping sharply and looking around. “Why don’t I see them?”
“Indeed, did we get away from them?” Peter wonders after he stops and comes to Terrence with a heavy breath.
“It’s better, huh. My legs are gonna break now.” Terrence doubles over, leaning on his laps with his hands. “Oh… It seems like I won’t be able to get up outta my bed tomorrow.”
“Honestly, I'm about to spend my patrol, too.” Peter runs his hands sharply over his face.
“Ha, good guys!” Terrence smirks evilly. “They showed up from nowhere, scared us with their so-called horrifying looks, started a little fight, and hid.”
“I’m starting to believe I’ve really committed a sin. Even if I don’t know about it yet.”
“Yeah… Otherwise, they wouldn’t have started haunting you. They wouldn’t have tried to attack you three times.”
“It’s one hundred percent a dad of a girl, who fell in love with me and was worried ‘cause she wouldn’t get anything.”
“Or a dad of one of the girls you rejected because of your feelings for Helene.”
“Serious?” Peter wonders loudly. “Start all of this bullshit because of that?”
“When someone tells you, ‘It’s okay!’ it doesn’t always mean it’s really okay. A great offense may be hidden under this phrase and a sweet smile and eat someone inside.”
“Fuck, I can’t remember half of the girls that were smitten over me. How could I know who can’t live their life quietly? Who’s so fucking revengeful?”
“At least, these two denied nothing.” Terrence turns around and starts walking down a wide asphalt path quietly and slowly.
“But they confirmed nothing.” Peter also starts following Terrence, holding the strip of his bag.
“But now we know that you don’t really know the leader of their gang. So, we can exclude that we need to find a suspicious person among our familiar people.”
“Right. But I don’t feel better from this. I mean, the case is getting much more tangled.”
“Listen, Pete, did you memorize all those bastards, who attacked you?”
“Yeah, I think I did. At least what differentiates them. Tattoos, piercings… I think the one, who attacked me near Daniel’s house, didn’t even have one front tooth.”
“That’s good. Maybe, we don’t have too much information, but we should tell Mr. Johnson everything.”
“Until something terrible happens, he will hardly give a damn about all his businesses and find out who is trying to kill me.”
“But we should tell him about it! We’re delaying it all the time, but that’s wrong.”
“I know, Terrence, but nothing will change because of what we know now.”
And while Peter and Terrence keep walking forward, talking about the current situation as they feel much more relaxed, they do not that they are under the view of Ronald and Ivan. They have already moved to a different place and talk about something with each other and give each other a five with wide smiles. And at some moment, Ronald takes his mobile phone and calls someone to tell some informant information.
“Oh, alright, talking about the same things again and again doesn’t make sense…” Terrence sighs tiredly. “It’s worthless.”
“Don’t you think the fight was super easy and quick this time?” Peter frowns slightly. “And these assholes didn’t rush to catch us so hard. Yes, they shouted, but I didn’t notice any passion in their sight.”
“You think they’re planning something?”
“Maybe. So, I advise you to look around.”
“You know, I don’t like this, either…” Terrence confesses thoughtfully.
“It may happen that these bastards will show up out of nowhere again.”
“I don’t exclude it. But everything is fine now. I don’t see any signs of a chase.”
“But I still have a feeling that someone’s breathing at the back of my head.”
“Listen, let’s get out of here quickly before something terrible really happens.”
After taking Peter under his arm, Terrence fastens and goes somewhere straightly, while Ronald and Ivan watch them smirk slyly as they carefully follow the men and hide behind trees, columns, and benches.
“Oh, why did you the fuck leave your car so far?” Peter growls irritably. “Couldn’t you find a closer place to the fitness club?”
“You did see that all the lots were taken even at this time!” Terrence exclaims. “Besides, don’t forget that we had to run in circles to get away from these assholes.”
“I know!”
“And even if we were sitting in the car, we can’t exclude that some asshole could start chasing us.”
“Well…” Peter shrugs. “Yeah, it’s correct. You’re right.”
“We need to contact two boneheads of ours and tell them about those bastards. And then talk to the girls.”
“That’s good there are some people around. Maybe, that’s why those scums didn’t go too far. They were afraid someone would love to call the police.”
“This shit always works.”
“Yeah, but it won’t help you get away from being chased.”
“Right. But it’s much better than having your face beaten and having traumas of your arms and legs.”
“Ar-r-r-r, they do force me to lock myself at home and go nowhere!” Peter growls irritably. “Every time I go somewhere, one bastard is already waiting for me.”
“It’s not a solution, buddy. These jackasses could’ve known your home address a long time ago. So, they can go to your home at any time and give a bad surprise again.”
“Edward and I talked about the same things. And I told him if some strangers were in my neighborhood, Hillary and Marta would know it.”
“Trust me, even such careful and all-seeing old ladies would know nothing if someone really wanted it.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Just telling you the truth. Letting you know what you should be ready for.”
“I’d prefer to get ready for our next show. Well, and… The wedding of Edward and Natalia and Raquelle and you.”
“At least, the show will take place anyway. No matter what one bastard and his whole gang come up with.”
“Oh, why is it me?” Peter moans tiredly, raising his head up to the sky.
Peter and Terrence keep going where they need in a quick step. But at some moment, they stop sharply because they notice the bust ahead of them shakes kind of strangely, and it’s not caused by the light wind.
“What’s that?” Peter frowns slightly as he looks at the bust closely.
“Hey, freaks, show up now!” Terrence exclaims. “We know you’re hiding there!”
“We see you!”
“Maybe, it seemed to us? What if we went a little crazy due to this bullshit?”
“The wind doesn’t have to do with it. It’s not so strong to shake leaves like this.”
“No, it really seemed to us! I don’t see anyone there!”
“What if?”
“So, buddy, is everything bad about your vision?” Terrence chuckles kindly.
“I don’t have such a bad vision to wear glasses all the time!”
“Oh, okay, buddy, fuck it off!” Terrence claps Peter on the shoulder. “Let’s go. Don’t waste time on some kind of shit.”
Terrence turns around and comes quietly to the automobile road, on which there are not so many cars. Before he decides to cross it, he looks at both sides to make sure he can keep moving on. He only sees one black car that is driving at a low speed somewhere far, far from here, as if the owner does not rush. The man thinks he would manage to cross the road in time and gets down from the sidewalk and starts moving on quietly.
But Terrence does not notice that the automobile that was driving slowly, suddenly starts fastening and driving super fast. So fast that he manages to get close to the man being on the road and thinking about something at this moment. Meanwhile, Peter also decides not to waste time on the bush with the thought that it just seemed to him. He exhales sharply and decides to follow his friend. But when he barely moves his eyes to the road, he opens them widely with the thought that his heart stops when he sees the car coming close determinedly to MacClife, Sr.
“Terrence!” Peter screams at the top of his lungs and moves off sharply, running to the road fast. “Terrence, watch out! The car!”
After hearing Peter’s scream, Terrence stops, wants to turn on the call, and literally jumps when he sees that the car is getting closer to him. But since he is horrified, he gets literally frozen and cannot move off. The man wakes up only when Peter takes his friend tightly under his arm and pulls him on himself strongly. The car does not touch Terrence magically, lowers the speed a little, and keeps moving non-stop with a disgusting squeak, while he stumbles over the sidewalk along with the blond and falls to the ground.
Peter and Terrence, who are breathing a little heavily, lie on the asphalt for two more moments and try to come to themselves after what happened. Then Rose sits up first and puts his hands on the shoulders of his friend, who is still feeling overwhelmed, and jabs excitedly:
“Hey, Terrence, how are ya? Ya okay? It’s fine?”
“Em-m-m, I think, yes…” Terrence pronounces a little hesitantly and gets up with a sharp exhale with the help of Peter, who is holding him by the back. “Fine…”
“Fuck, idiot, I almost peed my fucking pants! Look at the road sometimes! That asshole almost hit you! But you were walking here like it was a runway!”
“He was driving as slow as a snail and was fucking far! I thought I’d have time to cross the road! But when you screamed, I barely realized that the same car was a few meters away from me.”
“Oh, MacClife, you’re an asshole!” Peter exhales sharply, running his hands over his face. “I barely gave fucking birth in fear!”
“And I was frozen in fear and couldn’t move. If not for you, that asshole would’ve surely hit me.”
“Are you really okay?” Peter gets up on his feet quickly.
“Yes, yes, I’m okay. Don’t worry.”
Terrence takes the hand that Peter gives him, gets up from the asphalt with his help, and puts his sports bag on his shoulders.
“But I hit my elbow a little.” Terrence rubs energetically his slightly skinned elbow, which he hit when falling. “Anyway, it’s okay.”
“Damn, was it a second part of the surprise from these bastards?” Peter assumes, holding the belt of his bag.
“Most likely. It’s hardly a coincidence.”
“It seems like they decided to get rid of my friends for sure. After they didn’t do it to Daniel and Edward.”
“Maybe, they gave a fuck about who would be on the road?”
“I dunno, Terrence. But I think it’s clear. After you were almost hit by the car.”
“Yeah, living is getting much ‘funnier’…” Terrence runs his hands over his hair.
“Forgive me…”
“For what?”
“It’s all happening because of me.”
“Stop, Pete, it’s okay.”
“Maybe, these bastards are tight that the men and you should stop meddling in it?”
“We’ve talked about it with you many times.”
“I am actually serious. While they’re giving you a chance to save yourself, you must use it. And I will try to get out of this shit somehow.”
“Yeah, you will!” Terrence jabs, rolling his eyes. “You will do it so that you’ll be in the grave.”
“Listen, Terrence…”
“Stop, Peter, I wanna hear nothing about it!” Terrence cuts off sharply, waving his hand. “Get this thing out of your head and never think about it again. You got it?”
“I don’t feel good ‘cause you all end up in the pool of this shit.”
“And we won’t feel good if you’re in the pool of shit and die because of one sick bastard.”
“Okay, fuck it!” Peter throws gloomily. “Let’s get out of here. Before an airplane falls over our heads.”
Peter turns around sharply and steps on the same road, on which Terrence was almost hit, while his friend follows him two seconds later. He easily crosses the first half of it after he looks around closely. And when he comes to the middle of it and looks around again, he keeps moving on quietly, not noticing nobody in the bushes where there is a turn. The same car shows up out of there after it turns on the opposite road. It’s driving at the same super fast speed and not even going to slow down. The blond moves his eyes to him when he hears the squeak of the wheels some miles away from him. Sadly, the man does not manage to go aside and do something because the automobile hits him at full speed.
Peter’s body falls on the hood of the car, leaving a small crack on the windshield, and rolls two more meters on it before the car’s driver presses the stop pedal sharply. The man falls to the ground like a stone and rolls on his side with a strong pain in his arm, on which he lifts his weight when falling. Meanwhile, Terrence, who crosses just some part of the road, shakes sharply and gets back in fear with widely open eyes, freezing in a static position and watching his friend getting hit by the car closely.
“Peter!” Terrence screams at the top of his lungs.
Not thinking too much, Terrence crosses the first part of the road in a run and rushes to Peter, who is lying motionlessly with a sense of burning pain in his whole body.
“Hey, Peter, Peter!” Terrence jabs excitedly, taking his bag off his shoulders and shaking Peter by the shoulder. “Are ya okay? Alive? Don’t be silent! Say something!”
“Fuck, my hand…” Peter winces strongly, turning sharply on the back and grabbing his wrist. “Ah, bitch… It hurts…”
“It hurts much?”
“Yeah… I lifted my weight on it.”
“Oh, fuck…”
Terrence glances at the car that just hit Peter and wants to leave this place.
“Hey, bastard, stop now!” Terrence roars. “Stop, I said!”
Terrence gets up and rushes to run after the car that leaves this place at high speed with a disgusting squeak. The man runs a few meters before he stops with the thought that he will not manage to deal with the driver. But he closely looks at the number of the automobile and pronounces it under his nose multiple times to memorize it. And in parallel, he takes his mobile phone, opens the notes app, and quickly writes some numbers and letters, not stopping to repeat them under his nose. Then MacClife, Sr. comes back to Peter, who is rubbing energetically his hand, which is burning from pain.
“I memorized the car’s number and wrote it down on my phone!” Terrence announces, getting down on his knees in front of Peter. “I couldn’t see his face, but I memorized the car.”
“That’s good…” Peter pronounces, biting the bullet, and moans painfully. “Ah… Good…”
“Hey, hey, quiet… Lemme take a look.”
Terrence examines closely Peter’s wrist, turns it on different sides carefully, and presses slightly on some areas with his fingers.
“Ah, ah, ah, it hurts!” Peter squeaks, clenching his second in a fist.
“It’s probably dislocation,” Terrence assumes thoughtfully. “Your hand could turn unnaturally. And end up under your weight.”
“Fuck, not this… We’re gonna have concerts soon…”
“You’re serious, bro? Are you only thinking of concerts at this moment? Not about the bastard, who just hit you with the car?”
“How do you think I play drums?” Peter throws irritably. “With my feet and hands! Not my ass or penis!”
“We’ve gotta find the nearest emergency room, so they take a look at your hand. As soon as possible.”
After thinking a little, Terence opens his bag, finds something he needs now, and spends some time fixing Peter’s hand in a less traumatic position.
“Okay, let it be so, and then the doctors will do everything you need,” Terrence adds, finishing to wrap Peter’s wrist with a bandage tightly. “They’ll feel it up, set it, do an X-ray, and prescribe you a pain reliever.”
“I wish it wasn’t a fracture,” Peter begs, sitting up slowly with Terrence’s help. “Otherwise, our band’s work will be suspended at least for three or four weeks.”
“But you can move your hand?”
“Yeah, I can… My fingers aren’t kinda numb… I can control them…”
“So there’s a chance that you won’t get a serious problem.”
“I hope.”
“Okay, let me help you get up. We’re sitting here and disturbing the movement. Cars have to turn around us.”
When Terrence gets up himself and puts his bag on his shoulder, he starts holding Peter to help him do the same. But when the blond leans on one of his feet with his weight, he winces slightly at first, but then he squeaks quietly and doubles over from an expected pain.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh…” Peter moans painfully, not falling to the asphalt just because Terrence is holding him tightly.
“Hey, hey, c’mon, Pete?” Terrence expresses anxiety. “What’s wrong?”
“Foot… It’s hard to step on it. Pain in my ankle…”
“What? Foot, too? Dislocation again?”
“I dunno… But every step is super hard.” Peter takes a little step and doubles over again from a burning pain in his foot that he grabs. “Fuck, bitch… It hurts!”
“Damn… We’re in trouble…”
“Are you serious there?” Peter resents, looking up to the sky. “My hand, my foot! Who’s mocking me so hard?”
“Quiet, quiet, buddy, it’s okay. It’s okay. Lean on me. C’mon, c’mon, your weight.”
Terrence helps Peter end up on the other side of the road in very slow steps and seats him on the bench that he sees near him. Then he quickly comes back to take his friend’s bag and places it near his bag, which he takes off his shoulders, leaving it on the ground.
“You can move it, too?” Terrence specifies.
“Yeah, I think so,” Peter nods faintly, rubbing energetically his ankle that is literally burning.
“Which position does give you less pain?”
“If I turn it a little aside.” Peter turns his foot to the side so that he can feel less pain. “This. It’s better like this.”
“Let’s fix it, too.”
Again, Terrence uses everything he needs to fix Peter’s foot to help him feel a little better.
“Oh, find the bottle of water in my bag, please,” Peter says tiredly, wiping the drops of sweat off his forehead.
“Do you have more complaints?” Terrence asks, opens Peter’s bag, finds the bottle, and gives it to his friend. “Maybe, something else hurts?”
“Nothing more, I think.” Peter takes a few sips of water from the bottle. “Maybe, the areas that are skinned to blood now tingle a little.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t hit your head. Otherwise, you would’ve got brain damage. Just like Perkins did someday.”
“Oh, yeah, a second hit on the head would turn me into a vegetable.”
“But now it’s clear why we were so sure we’d get much more surprises.”
“It seems like those bastards really prepared for this meeting this time.”
“And it means they will no longer walk alone.”
“And now we have to look around much closer.”
“Damn, I didn’t even understand how that asshole hit you. Everything happened for one moment.”
“I didn’t notice that car, either. I was walking quietly on the road, and that bastard showed up.”
“He turned on the opposite side while you and I talked.”
“You say you memorized the number?”
“Yup, I added it to my phone notes. I’m sure we’ll need it. For example, when we’re talking with Mr. Johnson.”
“Listen, I’m fucking done with all this bullshit. Though, I have no idea about how to end it all.”
“Don’t worry, Pete, it’s gonna be okay,” Terrence encourages with a slight smile, clapping Peter on the shoulder. “We will find a way to solve this situation.”
“I doubt it… It may get much worse tomorrow.”
“It’s okay, we will get through everything together.”
“I dunno…”
“Okay, buddy, let’s talk about it later,” Terrence says confidently. “Now we need to go to the emergency room and find out what happened to your foot and hand.”
“Yeah, let’s go…” Peter agrees gloomily as he reaches his hand to his bag. “Before someone wanna cut my head. Being here is not safe.”
“No, no, I shall carry both bags.”
“Would it be okay for ya?”
“Yup, they are not so heavy,” Terrence assures, putting both sports bags on his shoulders.
“Okay then.”
“Alright, Rose, get up.”
First, Terrence gets up from the bench, but then he helps Peter do this, holding him tightly by the back. Then he puts his friend’s healthy arm around his neck and leads him slowly to where his car is parked.
“Don’t rush, don’t rush,” Terrence insists.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Peter protests, barely moving even with the help of Terrence, while his hurt hand is suspended thanks to the trustworthy fixation.
“The emergency room is not far from here. It will take a few minutes to reach it.”
“I hope we won’t have to wait in the queue.”
“If there are many people there, we will go to the hospital.”
“Oh, at least, I'm happy my left hand is hurt, not the right one, my dominant one. Otherwise, I would have to do everything with one hand, the left one.”
“I once had to do everything with my left hand when I broke my right hand.”
“And what?”
“I wasn’t destined to become ambidextrous. And I’m freaking bad at being left-handed.”
“But you’re good at being a cool friend,” Peter smiles by force. “Being just a smart, wise, and loyal man.”
“Nobody should have doubts about it.”
Peter says nothing and just laughs shyly, but the next second, he winces slightly from the pain in his hand. While people going by look at the men surprisingly and see that one of them can barely move and has to lean on another, who is carrying two sports bags, to come to the car that is parked not so far, to their happiness.
***
The time of lunch is gone. Daniel and Edward just left the large sports stadium where they were watching a match between two famous boxers, whose arrival was announced several months before today. Many people leave the stadium along with them, being disappointed by the victory of one athlete and upset by the loss of another. And the friends, who, by the way, were some of the luckiest folks, who managed to get an autograph of the fighters and even take a couple of photos with them, are now having a discussion about the match they really loved.
“The match was fucking awesome!” Daniel notices with admiration. “I don’t have any regrets I spent my money on the tickets.”
“And I don’t regret accepting your suggestion,” Edward confesses.
“The second ticket should’ve been used. I couldn’t take the girls with me, but our boneheads preferred to lift the weights at the gum glass and walk half-naked in front of the mirror.”
“But these guys ended it all too quickly. A couple of rounds before one of them was knocked out, and the judge stopped the match.”
“He literally made meat outta him there!”
“Hey, is that true they have some personal claims behind the rink? Or do they do this for PR? For a cool show?”
“Yes, they do. And they don’t hide it. They often confront on social networks and react wildly to any news about each other. And before this match, there was a show of their confrontations. If the security hadn’t been near and broken them up in time, it would’ve ended badly.”
“They rocked on fucking hard without these scandals,” Edward notices confidently. “Even if the match was short, it was really awesome.”
“Nah, it’s okay! I’m happy anyway! Much happier ‘cause the man I stood for got a victory.”
“If you played on the sweepstakes, you could earn some money. I heard some people could get fucking rich thanks to this thing.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how they do this. I somehow tried to figure it out, but having my brain wasn’t enough.”
“Oh, and I’m much worse at sports than us four,” Edward confesses. “Yes, I love watching some games, but you can hardly call me a fan of all of this.”
“But I see you really liked the boxing match. Your eyes literally shined while those two were beating each other’s faces.”
“Yeah, it was really cool and… You can think I’m crazy, but I love doing this by myself much more.”
“Huh, for us, it’s never been a secret, buddy. Everyone knows you’re a psycho in this case.”
“Not at all!”
“By the way, with this love for scuffles, you could build a brilliant career as a fighter with no rules or a boxer,” Daniel notices. “You could be taught to do some cool tricks that you could use.”
“Thanks for your suggestion, brother, but I love music much more. And I’ve never seen myself as someone, who doesn’t work with it.”
“Oh, yeah, what am I talking about? Boxing with such a pretty face… No, no…”
“But if you have more free tickets for similar events, I’m always ready to accompany you.”
“I usually go to these events with Peter. But today, this pretty boy decided to leave me.”
“C’mon, let the guy work out a little.”
“Oh, he does really surprise me! Two days ago, he fell off the stairs and hit his head, but today he went to work out.”
“He was madly he didn’t suffer a lot. The doctors examined him closely worked on his wounds, and told him to have much rest.”
“He took an example from you?” Daniel frowns slightly. “You’re the one, who would be fighting and biting even under anesthesia.”
“Do you and Terrence still think the kids can’t do it without you?” Edward smiles innocently.
“Of course, you can’t! We must have an eye on you all the time!”
“Yeah? But I think Pete and I did it well!”
“Ha, you obliviously should’ve done it!” Daniel crosses his arms over his chest. “With a lover of kicking someone’s ass and doing a couple of tornado kicks.”
“Trying to fit my statues of the hero.” Edward raises his head proudly. “The hero with a lion’s heart.”
“And brain that he turns off when he sees a target in front of himself.”
“Ha, if not for me, the men and you would’ve given to be torn apart a long time ago!”
“Oh, yay, we can’t do this without you in any battle!”
“If you didn’t take me to war, you won’t get a victory!”
“Yeah…” Daniel exhales slowly. “Pete should’ve ridden you on skates a little longer. As I see, you didn’t get rid of your stupidity.”
“Seriously?” Edward chuckles. “My legs do still hurt fucking much after what happened yesterday! When I got up from my bed today, I came to the kitchen like a ninety-year-old man.”
“You know, after together workouts under Rose’s control, I can’t stand or walk at all. Everything in my body hurts: from the roots of my hair to the tips of my fingers on my feet.”
“That’s why I preferred to go to the boxing match with you today instead of squatting for the fiftieth time, even if the blond thinks it’s just the tenth or the twentieth one.”
“And he does know how much I hate push-ups, but he makes me do at least fifteen. And he puts something heavy on my back, so I actually die there to the fuck. Or he sets his back bumper on it to let me feel a greater pleasure.”
“But it’s okay, may my brother be today’s victim of him,” Edward smiles smugly. “He must categorically not get puffy cheeks. Otherwise, I would look much better and slimmer in wedding photos. Though, Terrence must not let it happen at all.”
“Ah, poor MacClife…” Daniel chuckles. “I’m so sorry for him…”
“Oh, my heart does squeeze when I think about the tortures that Rose is putting him under.”
“So right!”
Daniel and Edward thrill with kind laughter for a few seconds, leaving behind the sports stadium far, far away by this moment.
“Hey, what if we go to a café now?” Daniel suggests. “Eat something delicious…”
“I wouldn’t refuse to eat something like…” Edward says thoughtfully. “Ice cream… Chocolate… Or something fatty and junk.”
“And I’d be so happy to eat a fresh burger and drink sweet water.”
“I think I saw one cool café not far from here. We can go there and see what they have on the menu.”
“Oh, right, it’s somewhere on the corner!”
Edward and Daniel turn to the side they need and walk some distance on the straight, wide asphalt path, on which people are riding bikes, children are running, and teenagers, adults, and old people are going somewhere.
“Hey, it’s there!” Daniel exclaims, pointing at the small building with a large signboard in the form of a burger and a plastic glass.
“Oh, there are too many people…” Edward notices thoughtfully. “Is everyone coming here after the match?”
“After the show, those guys showed us, anyone would get super hungry.”
“Okay, trying is not bad.”
The friends go by the little parking lot, on which they can see some cars that may cost different, and come to the entrance at the café. After pushing the big glassy door forward, Edward enters first, and Daniel follows him alongside two more young people. When they look around, the men see there are really many people here, even if they see some free tables, and hear the music that would only be good for the young generation. Perkins quickly finds the wall with a list of food and drinks that are available here and examines it closely along with MacClife, Jr.
“Wow, their prices are pretty good,” Edward notices cheerfully.
“And pictures are so fresh and inviting…” Daniel says with a wide smile and claps himself on his stomach with a hand. “My stomach is growling already…”
“Okay, I ain’t gonna overeat. So, I’m gonna buy just some ice cream. The one that looks super delicious.”
“I already know what I wanna buy, too.”
Edward and Daniel stand in the queue and patiently wait for at least one of the cashiers, who are working currently, to be able to accept their orders. All this time, the men talk about something funnily and rate positively the atmosphere of this café where they have never been before. And when they can buy what they want some time later, the friends call all the items from the menu, pay their orders, and go aside with checks in their hands. They do not have to wait for too long for the staff members to work on their orders and give them trays with the freshest food. Then the guys go to the table they put their eyes on some time ago and sit one against each other.
“M-m-m, it’s called ‘Terrence MacClife’s alternative sexual fantasy,’” Daniel laughs shyly, looking at everything he sees on his tray and Edward’s.
“No, you need much more to say, ‘Attention, orgasm!’” Edward throws funnily.
“Hey, kid, maybe we should send a couple of photos to the men on WhatsApp? So, Rose and MacClife are jealous!”
“M-m-m, you’re good at excellent ideas!” Edward clicks his fingers.
“And I ain’t fucking care they may wish to kill us in anger!”
“Right! C’mon, they’re working fucking hard at the gum glass, but these one-cell amoebas are eating ice cream and burgers!”
“How do girls love taking photos?”
With these words, Daniel takes his mobile phone and takes a few photos of the food on his tray. While Edward goes a little further and takes a selfie with himself kind of eating a little bit of sundae with pieces of dark chocolate with a little plastic spoon.
“If I saw something like this, I’d choke with my saliva,” Edward says when Daniel shows him the photos he took.
“Looking at this photo, I wanna eat this ice cream, too,” Daniel confesses, viewing Edward’s shots.
“So, we’re gonna play on the nerves of these pretty boys!”
While Edward laughs shyly, closing his mouth with his hand, Daniel opens the app where he shares messages, videos, and photos with his friends. He starts thrilling with laughter when his friend shows something with his hands and shows some funny faces. But at some moment, a smile disappears from his face suddenly after he sees something on the screen of his smartphone that makes the man open his eyes widely and feel how his heart misses a beat.
“Edward…” Daniel pronounces hesitantly. “There’s some bad news.”
“Which?” Edward frowns slightly. “Why are you so tense?”
“Terrence was almost hit by a car.”
“What?” Edward horrifies loudly, opening his eyes widely. “Terrence? Almost hit with a car?”
“Check out the chat of the men and me on WhatsApp and read the latest message.”
“What’s that?”
“Something you won't like.”
Frowning much stronger and getting suspicious, Edward does what Daniel tells him and sees the unread message that, as the sign says, was sent by Terrence.
“Tornado kick in my mouth…” Edward swears, opening his eyes widely.
“You see what Terrence wrote?” Daniel specifies.
“Yeah, I see… ‘Hey, guys, Pete and I just left the hospital, and we were attacked by some bastards. They waved their wings a little. And yeah, I was almost hit with the car, but the blond wasn’t so lucky. He got a trauma of his foot and hand – he complained about strong pain and could barely move. I shall send you a voice message with a more detailed story.’”
“These assholes can’t calm down yet. They wanna get rid of Rose, after all.”
“We were attacked by some bastards… So, there was more than just one man this time?”
“Ha, did some scums learn the lesson and understand that they wouldn’t get anything by doing it all alone?”
“Very well, I guess. Some of them beat the faces, and others tried to hit on the car.”
“Oh, that’s good Pete didn’t suffer much more seriously.”
“Yeah, he could’ve hit his head easily.” Daniel glances aside for a second. “And become a vegetable that can’t remember anything, just like it happened to me.”
“If he’s diagnosed with some fracture, he will be out at least for one month.”
“Cross our fingers that it’s just a slight injury. That Pete is as lucky as he was after falling off the stairs.”
“Fuck, I don’t understand who can’t sit in the same place like this?” Edward wonders, putting his smartphone on the table. “What asshole is trying to get rid of him so hard?”
“It seems like it’s not just him now,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “Those bastards tried to hit Terrence.”
“And why didn’t he the fuck say anything about himself? How’s he feeling? Does he have traumas?”
“He did say he would send us a voice message and tell us everything.”
“The shitty hole we’re in is getting deeper and deeper…” Edward runs his hands over his hair. “And I’m getting more overwhelmed…”
“Now they decided to get rid of us…” Daniel locks his fingers tightly and leans on them with his chin. “Seriously. So, get ready, MacClife, your ass is gonna be burning in the fire very soon.”
“It’s like those people think naively we’ll be scared and give up on these fights.”
“Aha, no! These assholes can keep dreaming about it! They can scare me in any way, but I will not give up.”
“I won’t give up, either,” Edward says determinedly. “If someone dares to harm our friend, we must protect him.”
“If they decided to start war with us, we won’t be silent. If one asshole dared to enter our territory, we’ll do our best to keep it safe.”
“Most likely, they’ve understood that we won’t leave Peter alone and will be protecting him until the last breath.”
“It’s okay, buddy they can do anything they want. If nobody has twisted their balls and put them on their ears for ages, we can kindly help them remember the good old times.”
“Hey, we need to tell them it would be great to meet somewhere. Find out how everything happened. Decide what to do next.”
“Oh, it looks like MacClife sent a voice message!” Daniel exclaims, seeing the notification on the screen of his phone. “As he promised!”
“Oh, shit, he spent three and a half minutes on it!” Edward surprises, checking out messages on his phone.
“Hey, I have headphones in my pocket. We can connect them and listen to this one quietly.”
Daniel takes his white wireless headphones from the pocket of his jeans that are knee-cut and connects them to his smartphone. Then he increases the volume with one headphone in his ear and starts playing the record, while Edward puts in the second one as he is eating his ice cream slowly. The men listen closely to every single word from Terrence, who tells all the details about how Peter and he ran into two young men and ran away from them. About how Rose pulled MacClife, Sr. away in time, while the black-haired man could not do anything when the blond was hit by the same driver.
“The fact that Terrence memorized the car’s number is very good,” Edward says thoughtfully. “Maybe, it’s gonna be valuable information for Mr. Johnson.”
“That’s good at least he’s okay,” Daniel notices. “Peter reacted in time and pulled him down.”
“And I’m freaking happy the blond doesn’t have any fractures. Just a slight injury and a mild dislocation of his hand.”
“One more piece of good news!”
“And now we know Rose one hundred percent doesn’t know the one, who started it all.”
“Yeah, those bastards are starting to make confessions. A little bit before the leader decides to show himself. Explain what’s the fucking happening now!”
“It’s okay, but I have no idea about what we should do now,” Edward confesses.
“Agree, but it’s gonna be hard to guess the next victim of theirs after their attempt to get rid of Terrence.” Daniel bites a piece of his burger. “If they wanna do something like this to you or me.”
“Or these assholes will do this to Helene.”
“Probability is high. She hasn’t run into them yet.”
“But there was a mention of her name.”
“Yeah, dealing with Marshall is kinda matter of time and their lord’s wish.”
“Early or late, something will happen to her early or late,” Edward assumes confidently and eats some ice cream. “And I’m afraid we won’t avoid it, even if we’re protecting her all together.”
“At least, she won't surely die if she’s next to us,” Daniel replies. “Yes, these bastards can attack her the way they do it to Peter, but she will be alive if we meddle.”
“Hey, don’t you know if the girls wanna go somewhere? Maybe, Anna agreed with someone?”
“As far as I know, they’re supposed to have a meeting with some girls they haven’t met for hundreds of years.”
“What girls?”
“Oh, honestly, I don’t know. But Anna has been talking with them on Facebook for two months.”
“And where are they planning to meet?”
“They were thinking of going to a café.”
“Okay, it’s not so terrible…” Edward says thoughtfully. “Lots of people go to the café to eat, and it means nothing is threatening them.”
“Hey, why are ya asking? Didn’t Natalia tell you about her plans?”
“I haven’t talked to her yet.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Erm, I had something to do in the morning… My mom asked me to drive her to the supermarket to buy food. The refrigerator was almost empty.”
“You didn’t fight?”
“Nope, why do you think so?” Edward smiles shyly.
“I dunno… Anything happens.”
“Don’t worry, brother, everything is fine between Natalia and me, and nobody’s gonna cancel the wedding.”
“Okay, I’ll trust you.” Daniel bites a piece of his burger. “Moreover, Anna often notices that Rochester has a wonderful mood and is getting ready to become one of the MacClifes.”
“I hope we won’t have to reschedule the wedding due to the bullshit that’s happening now.”
“I hope so, too.”
“We’re getting ready and changing nothing now, but then we will see. It’s hard to say something now.”
“Well… At least, we’re gonna have really cool suits that we’d be able to wear at any party. Besides, they’ll be made especially for us.”
“We will see, buddy.”
Daniel and Edward keep eating the ice cream and burger they bought and drinking their drinks at times as they look around with interest and positively rate a love song that is playing now at the café. The friends do not notice two young men come to them at some moment as if they know them very well. One of them is shorter, and another is taller, both of them have black thick hair and gray eyes and look similar to each other. It seems like they do not have a big age difference – not less than one or two years. The young men talked about something funnily with plastic glasses in their hands and went somewhere for their business, but they forgot about it when they saw Perkins and MacClife, Jr. sitting at one of the tables.
“Hey, Edward, Daniel!” the taller guy pronounces funnily.
“Howdy, dudes!” the shorter guy greets with the same mood.
“Jeremy?!” Edward pronounces surprisingly with a slight smile, looking at the shorter guy, and moves his eyes to the taller guy. “William?! What a surprise!”
Edward greets Jeremy and William by sharing a homely handshake with them and hugging them tightly.
“Wow, we didn't notice ya,” Daniel confesses as he greets these guys, too.
“We were walking by and wanted to go to do our business, but we saw you sitting at the table and eating something,” Jeremy confesses.
“Decided to tame the growling in our stomachs.”
“Hey, sit down with us now!” Edward suggests cheerfully. “Let’s talk a little.”
“It’s a sin to refuse since we met you, and our bro is inviting us,” William replies thoughtfully.
Jeremy and William sit at the same with Daniel and Edward and put their glasses on it.
“Listen, what did ya forget here?” Jeremy wonders.
“We just went to watch the boxing match,” Daniel replies.
“C’mon?” William wonders loudly. “Eddy? Went to the boxing match?”
“Can’t I do this?” Edward smiles innocently.
“You aren’t actually a lover of sports! No soccer, no hockey, no fights without rules!”
“But it doesn’t mean I don’t follow the sports events.”
“What a twist…” Jeremy chuckles kindly.
“What?” Daniel pronounces surprisingly. “I just had a free ticket because Peter couldn’t go with me. We usually go to these events together. But since it happened so, Edward kindly agreed to accompany me when I called him and suggested to spend time with a wonderful person.”
“By the way, the match was really awesome!” Edward smiles widely. “But everything ended too fast.”
“You’re surprising us, bro, you are…” William chuckles kindly.
“Aha, we thought you were in love with music and romantic,” Jeremy adds. “But as it turned out, you also love tough sport.”
“It would be strange if he didn’t love,” Daniel notices confidently. “Knowing his passion for scuffles that make him get multiple orgasms in a row.”
“Oh, fuck yourself, idiots!” Edward waves his hand.
“Hey, why did ya go alone?” Jeremy wonders. “Where are Terrence and Peter?”
“They preferred to work on their muscles and get rid of fatness on their stomachs at the gym glass.”
“To be clear, Terrence preferred to get through Peter’s torture with a super intense workout, after which he’s one hundred percent gonna lie powerlessly on the floor,” Daniel specifies. “Just like I do every time he doesn’t mercy me at our together workouts.”
“M-m-m, we see Peter has become your personal trainer,” William smiles mysteriously.
“Oh, guys, you don’t better get in touch with him!” Edward exclaims. “He is wild in this case! You won’t be able to be lazy and barely work with Rose.”
“I see you’re getting ready for the wedding super hard.”
“Aha, you’d do anything not to look worse than brides in wedding photos,” Jeremy chuckles kindly.
“Yeah, a little time before your older brothers are married,” Daniel says cheerfully and eats a little bit of burger.
“We are so ready!” William says with his head proudly raised. “We’ve already bought wonderful suits and shoes.”
“And when the wedding is close, we will go to a hair salon and cut our hair,” Jeremy adds. “To get excellent haircuts.”
“Don’t forget about the bachelor!” Edward exclaims with a wide smile. “Yes, we don’t know when it will take place, but be sure that it’s gonna be a bomb.”
“Oh, yay, we can’t wait to drink alcohol and dance to the fullest!” William replies funnily.
“Yeah? What if your mom kicks your asses? If Isabella knows you’re drunk, she’ll kick you so hard!”
“Well, if Terrence and you don’t wanna play snitches, nobody will know a thing.” Jeremy smiles innocently.
“Don’t worry, guys, it’s gonna be okay!” Daniel assures. “They don’t talk to your mother. And these two won’t tell anything to their father about planning to lie drunk on the floor.”
“By the way, how’s Dad doing there?” William asks. “Alive, healthy?”
“Yup, he’s okay,” Edward smiles innocently. “He’s working a lot, can’t wait for the wedding day… And he’s sad ‘cause you haven’t visited or called him for ages.”
“Oh, we’re also feel freaking awkward!” Jeremy replies with sadness in his eyes.
“Aha, we’ve had so many problems at the university that we wanna howl,” William confesses. “Everyone kinda went loose there.”
“And we had money issues and couldn’t pay for the rent of our apartment. We just recently earned as much as we needed.”
“That’s good the owner of the apartment is an understanding woman. She listened to us and agreed to postpone the pay.”
“Right! We’re madly grateful to her!”
“But we had to borrow some money from our mom because we didn’t have some amount.”
“If you have money issues, you can always ask Father for help,” Edward says confidently. “He's earning a lot now and can give you as much as you need.”
“We were kinda super busy and didn’t think about it!”
“Oh, c’mon, forget it, we’ve solved this problem,” Jeremy meddles. “And our business at the university is getting better. Not as fast as we want, but everything ain’t so bad.”
“Oh, we’re also super busy now…” Daniel sighs tiredly, leaning back in the chair. “Every day, we have something to do.’
“We’re so ready to buy your album. We’re in the wings already.”
“Soon, guys. A little time to go.”
“By the way, we liked your new song ‘Rise And Fall’ even more than ‘Electric x Magnetic’,” William confesses. “We’re ready to listen to it again and again!”
“And we’re getting pleasure from performing it at shows,” Edward confesses with a wide smile. “Pleasure from the way people sing along with us.”
“But we wanna play concerts for one hour or one and a half hours,” Daniel adds. “Singing one or two songs ain’t enough for the lads and me.”
“Hey, guys, what about the story of one man, who attacked Peter after one of your shows?” William asks.
“Yes, yes, we recently saw the video, in which someone threatened Rose with a knife or a pistol,” Jeremy agrees. “And your managers’ statement about you being okay and that asshole being taken to the police station.”
“It’s the truth,” Daniel confirms.
“Hey, really?”
“We’re gonna tell you more, boys: Peter has been attacked three times,” Edward says confidently.
“Come on?” William wonders loudly.
“We just learned about the third attack. Terrence sent us a message and said he was just almost hit with a car himself, but Pete wasn’t so lucky and got trauma of his hand and foot.”
“Oh, shit!” Jeremy horrifies.
“But why?” William wonders. “What did Peter do? What do they need from him?”
“We wish we knew the answer,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “But they don’t wanna please us with the answer to all our questions.”
“And what are ya gonna do now?” Jeremy asks.
“Protecting each other,” Edward replies. “And the girls, who those assholes dared to put an eye on, too.”
“My gosh, what a twist…” William horrifies.
“And what else do you know about this bullshit?” Jeremy asks.
“Yeah, tell us more about what it all means.”
“And tell us everything that’s happening in your life. We’ve kinda forgotten about our father, mother, brothers, and friends due to our business.”
“Don’t worry, guys, we had so little time that we didn’t manage to think about you,” Edward snaps with a sly smile.
“M-m-m, you’re still snapping and playing on everyone’s nerves,” Jeremy says thoughtfully.
“I agree, we’re all done with him,” Daniel agrees.
“If you say one more word, Perkins, I shall throw the burger at your face,” Edward threatens.
“C’mon, men, save your jokes for later,” William says confidently. “Tell us what you got into and why someone wanna roast Peter on a spit.”
“Actually, we don’t have too much information,” Daniel says thoughtfully. “Nobody wanna share a thing. They just drop tons of hints, just like girls do.”
“Okay, can you tell us about all the three attacks on him?” Jeremy specifies. “How did you know it? Who attacked? Why? What happened?”
“We can do this,” Edward nods confidently. “The first attack happened after the show. The second attack happened a few miles away from Daniel’s house. I don’t know what they were doing there, but Peter was supposed to go to visit Anna and him.”
“Aha, Anna and I were waiting for him quietly, and at some moment, Sammy started to break into our home and bark loudly.” Daniel continues. “He was definitely asking for help and telling me to come with him. Well… I had no choice but to let him take me to the place he needed.”
Daniel and Edward keep telling Jeremy and William all the details about the attacks that Peter has experienced over the past few days, letting them know that he is still alive and healthy thanks to the efforts of his friends. And the more the men tell, the deeper shock the younger MacClife brothers feel as they show true sympathy about what happened, asking some questions to clarify something and expressing their wish to help the men and the guys with this problem that they suddenly got.
***
Helene, Natalia, Anna, and Raquelle really met in the city and decided to go to the café to drink a couple of cold drinks and meet their old friends. It’s been a long enough time since Olivia Haywood, Emma Reynolds, and Odette Portman met them and spent time with them the last time. All this time, the girls were busy with their personal business and just recently managed to agree and come together to talk about all the latest news.
“My gosh, girls, finally we’ve met all together!” Emma, a brown-eyed girl with black-blue hair and an athletic body, exclaims with a wide smile.
“Yeah, it's been a while!” Olivia, a blue-eyed middle-height girl with short dark brown hair, agrees. “The last time we came together happened hundreds of years ago.”
“Oh, these businesses!” Odette, a gray-eyed girl with ombre hair, waves her hand. “If not for them, we would meet every day.”
“That’s good we have social networks that let us keep staying in contact,” Anna notices, holding a plastic glass of strawberry cocktail. “Thanks to this, we contacted somehow and were aware of all the news.”
“We would’ve had to meet anyway,” Raquelle says confidently, drinking an orange drink from her glass. “Since the girls accepted the invitation at the wedding.”
“Not just accepted but also became to be bridesmaids,” Natalia adds funnily, enjoying the taste of her chocolate cocktail.
Thank God, there’s enough time, so they make our dresses in time,” Helene replies and takes a sip of almond milk. “And ask them to fix everything we mayn’t like.”
“By the way, when do they finish it?” Odette asks, eating vanilla ice cream from a waffle glass. “We need to find time to go to try them on.”
“We don’t know yet, we haven’t received a call from the atelier yet,” Natalia shrugs.
“And the wedding dresses aren’t done yet,” Raquelle confesses. “But they assure us that they don’t need to do too much to finish them.”
“I’m sure you two are gonna look stunning in them,” Olivia expresses confidence, biting a little bit of chocolate popsicle.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see them!” Emma jabs happily, drinking a cold drink with lemon and lime.
“We’ll send you photos when the dresses are done,” Natalia promises.
“The most important thing is not to confuse chats and not to send them to the grooms,” Anna says funnily.
“Yes, yes, the grooms must not see them!” Helene agrees. “No way!”
“Just like the groomsmen!” Odette adds. “Otherwise, they’ll tell and show them everything.”
“They have no access to our secret chat where we’re talking about things related to the wedding,” Natalia recalls with a mysterious smile.
“Don’t worry, girls, we’re controlling everything,” Raquelle says confidently.
“By the way, where are your pretty boys hanging out now?” Emma asks.
“Well, my creature decided to go to the gym glass and work out a little.”
“And my pretty boy kindly agreed to become his trailer and put him under hard torture,” Helene confesses.
“My bonehead went to a sports game today,” Anna says thoughtfully. “The ticket said it was something like a boxing match.”
“Well, I don’t know what my pretty fool is ‘cause I haven’t talked to him yet,” Natalia shrugs. “But I don’t doubt that he didn’t stay home.”
“Are they actually getting ready for the wedding?” Olivia asks. “Or are they gonna do everything at the last moment?”
“As far as I know, their suits aren’t done yet,” Anna replies thoughtfully. “No suits of the grooms, no suits of the groomsmen.”
“Hey, don’t you know who’s gonna be the ones?” Emma asks.
“Obviously, Daniel and Peter,” Natalia replies. “And Benjamin, Cody, and Joe joined them.”
“Oh, we haven’t talked to these guys for ages,” Olivia smiles shyly. “Cody and I haven’t gone to the walk that we talked about at our first meeting.”
“Terrence met them recently and said Cody had to go abroad to film in a very popular show that has recently been renewed for Season 2,” Raquelle confesses. “And he’s playing one of the regular roles.”
“By the way, I watched that show,” Helene confesses. “And I really loved it. So, I’ll be waiting for Season 2 with impatience. Even though I didn’t even guess Terrence’s friend was playing in it.”
“But now we know where Prescott and Freeman were,” Emma notices cheerfully.
“Yeah, we kinda forgot about our friends due to all these businesses,” Raquelle agrees.
“And as you see, many things have changed in our lives,” Natalia adds.
“And we also met another cool girl,” Odette says confidently, moving her eyes to Helene.
“Yes, Helene, we hope you’re gonna hang out with us often,” Emma expresses hope.
“With pleasure!” Helene exclaims with a wide smile. “And when I have a chance, I will also introduce you to my doggy.”
“Wow, you have a doggy?” Olivia surprises happily.
“Yup, a golden retriever, a boy. Named Sammy. He is a little more than one year old.”
“Aw, I love dogs so much… I remember I found a puppy on the street one day, brought it home, and tried to persuade my dad to let it stay with us.” Olivia sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes. “But alas, it didn’t stay. I was crying bitterly when I had to bring the puppy back by his order. Even if I often fed it on the way to school or home. I bought some food for my pocket money.”
“Liv, sweetie…” Raquelle pronounces softly, stroking Olivia’s hand.
“But I fear dogs to death,” Anna confesses and unconsciously touches the scar on the front of her right hand. “Since I was attacked by one in childhood.”
“So, don’t ya contact with Helene’s doggy at all?” Emma specifies.
“Nope, I have a wonderful relationship with him. Sammy is a nice boy that I love so much.”
“He’s our sweetest gem!” Raquelle smiles widely. “So kind, gentle, shy…”
“You all know about my crazy love for cats, but it was impossible to resist Sammy’s charm,” Natalia confesses.
“Oh, you, girls, are so intriguing!” Odette exclaims.
“Yeah, I already wanna meet that doggy,” Olivia adds.
“If you aren’t busy with your business again, we can agree on the meeting,” Helene replies amicably. “Sammy would be very happy to meet you. He does actually love meeting new people.”
“No, no, don’t worry, sweethearts!” Odette raises her hands. “I’m gonna be all yours until the day of the wedding.”
“Yeah, and I’m gonna have a vacation starting from the middle of August to focus on this event,” Emma promises.
“Don’t forget we should also think about the bachelorette,” Anna recalls. “Where to go, who to invite, what to do…”
“Right, what do we do while the men are having the grooms drunk in happiness?” Olivia throws her hands up.
“Anyway, we’re supposed to have a big company,” Helene says thoughtfully. “We’re planning to invite several girls.”
“The more, the better!” Odette raises her head proudly. “We all must celebrate Cameron and Rochester’s goodbye to the single life.”
“My God, if someone told me something like this two or three years ago, I would’ve choked on a hysterical laugh,” Raquelle chuckles shyly. “Me getting married… To the penguin that I didn’t like at our first meeting. Who still remains the same…”
“Well, you were a young girl, but now you’ve become an adult and wise woman,” Emma replies thoughtfully. “Your desires, goals, and priorities have changed.”
“I can’t deny it. Now I’m not what I was at that time.”
“Well, I’m so freaking ready for the role of the loyal and loving wife,” Natalia says confidently. “And I don’t doubt I made the right choice.”
“We don’t doubt it!” Odette exclaims.
“At least, all your men are pretty sympathetic,” Olivia adds with a mysterious smile.
“Oh, God was so generous when sending us such wonderful men,” Helene smiles blissfully.
“Yeah, they’re ready to tear apart anyone for us!” Raquelle notices proudly. “You should’ve seen them at the moments when they had to protect us.”
“Take care of them, girls!” Emma insists. “These guys are from the limited collection and can be stolen shortly. You’d just need to blink your eyes to see a bitch hanging on them.”
“Perkins does know I’d rip the eyes of any snake that would dare to suck on him,” Anna says confidently.
“Oh, yeah, we do know,” Helene laughs shyly.
“So, cuties, do you have to deal with your competitors so hard?” Odette asks. “Do they attack your pretty boys like vultures?”
“Oh, yeah!” Raquelle smiles innocently and fixes her ponytail with a gracious movement. “I’m so sick of pushing girls off MacClife. And my fantasy is getting poorer and poorer for punishments for him.”
“Do you think it’s easy for me?” Natalia wonders. “With the man, who’s taking confidently after his brother and taking all his habits. Who doesn’t miss a chance to show off for young girls like a peacock.”
“And Rose is actually the silent Apollo among them!” Helene exclaims. “When he just shows up, girls start having hysteria.”
“Why did ya choose such pretty boys then?” Odette wonders. “You should’ve met someone to be less sympathetic, so you could sleep quietly!”
“Nobody chose them, my darling,” Natalia replies with a sly smile. “They got stuck to us like leaves.”
“Yeah, we lived a quiet life and were doing our business, but then show peacocks appeared and started to seduce us so hard,” Raquelle resents.
“Anyway, nobody forced you to do anything,” Olivia throws her hands up. “If you wanted, you would tell them to go on a pedestrian erotic journey.”
“Oh, no!” Helene exclaims. “Since they dared to come into our lives, nobody will let them go so easily.”
“Yeah, as they say, you must pay for everything you do,” Anna smiles innocently. “They don’t kinda hold us, but we’re holding them super tightly.”
“It seems like they don’t mind it,” Emma laughs. “And they even agree to get married at their wish.”
“Don’t worry about it, Emma,” Natalia raises her head proudly. “Early or late, they will all want to get married to us.”
“Yeah, may our boys think we don’t wanna get married and are happy with everything,” Anna adds. “But we’ll actually be pushing them to this decision more and more. By being what they want to see us.”
“So, red lady, are ya sick of waiting for your sweetie to wake up and decide to do this?” Odette laughs.
“No, Odette, I won’t ask for a wedding just like a child asks for a toy.”
“You’re under threat of remaining an unmarried girl and a free servant at your boyfriend’s home until the end of your life,” Emma notices.
“Yeah, friend, give your guy a couple of kicks!” Olivia exclaims. “Some boys are sometimes so hesitant that only a good kick on the ass helps them.”
“No, girls, I will not do this,” Anna says confidently. “I won’t do anything to make Daniel go to the altar immediately. No hints, no blackmail, no lies, especially.”
“Such a fool!” Natalia throws.
“And yeah, if one of you comes up with this idea, I wanna make it clear: I will not also give him a fake pregnancy test.”
“Hey, what, it’s a cool idea!” Odette smiles mysteriously. “As a decent man, he would have to get married to you.”
“Sorry, my dears, but I mind doing this to the man.”
“Okay, and you, Helene?” Emma moves her eyes to Helene. “What will you wash your pretty boy’s brain?”
“When he wants it,” Helene folds her hands on the table with a shy smile.
“So, don’t ya also wanna prank him with the news about your pregnancy?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t wanna use all the dirtiest ways to get the man married to me. Even if my grandma is pressing on me about the wedding and motherhood more and more every day.”
“You two are so strange…” Olivia throws gloomily. “You must sink your teeth into such men as yours. Sink them tightly and never let them go.”
“They won’t run away from us, my darling,” Helene smiles slyly. “Of course, nobody is holding the boys by force, but they will have to work hard to run away.”
“And actually, early or late, these pretty boys will surely propose to us,” Anna says confidently. “I am sure about this.”
“If you don’t give a kick to your precious boys, you won’t have the opportunity to take your man’s last name,” Emma warns.
“One beautiful day I will surely become Anna Perkins. Yes, I’m ready to get married right now, but I prefer not to rush.”
“I have the same opinion as Seymour!” Helene agrees.
“Okay, your wish!” Odette shrugs. “But remember, our shoulder is always free for you. You can cry on it at any time and complain that all men are nasty assholes that you don’t wanna get in touch with anymore.”
“Well, we’ll be impatiently waiting for you three to tell us you met some guys and started an affair with them,” Natalia says with a mysterious smile, wrapping their finger around her glass.
“Sadly, I’m not kinda successful at this,” Emma throws her hands up. “And I have much work. I have no time to spend time with someone. And I'm actually not a lover of dating sites. They’re all fake and wanna show off. Or some insane psyches are spending time on these ones.”
“And when I bring some men at home, my cat doesn’t like all of them,” Odette confesses. “He hisses at them, scratches them, and even rips their shoes. Yes, at first, I always swear at him and get mad, but then those people show their real side. And my cat becomes my hero that gets tons of treats.”
“Many animals understand something much better than people and show themselves as very smart and wise creatures,” Helene notices. “Sometimes they can see what we don’t want or can’t see.”
“Oh, c’mon, not having a man is not a tragedy!” Raquelle exclaims. “If you wanna be happy, you should learn to live in harmony with yourself and remember that you should be your greatest happiness of yours. It’s wrong to believe your life will immediately change shortly after you get a man.”
“If you’re very lucky, a man can make your wonderful life much better,” Natalia smiles shyly.
“I wish all of us had such good men,” Anna expresses hope.
“I’m gonna eat a big piece of ice cream with a wish to see it happening,” Odette says funnily, takes some ice cream with a spoon, and eats it.
“I’m with you, cutie!” Olivia exclaims and does the same.
“And we’ll drink a little bit of our drinks,” Helene says with a shy smile and hits slightly her glass against the glasses of Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Emma.
After laughing quietly, Olivia and Odette also hit their glasses of ice cream against their friends’ glasses and eat some ice cream. Then the girls keep talking about the men and everything that has lately been happening in their lives. Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene do not hide that Peter may become a victim of someone, who is trying to get rid of him again and again, and express their anxiety about not having the opportunity to solve this problem.
And while they are talking about it all, eating ice cream that melted a little in hot weather, and drinking delicious drinks with ice, the girls do not even suspect that they are under the view of the man at the age of thirty with dark short hair, a thick beard, and a pierced earlobe. He does not seem suspicious as he is sitting at the nearby table as if nothing happened and kind of playing time by drinking strong tea from a small cup. And thanks to this, the man can easily hear the talk of the ladies, who sometimes make him chuckle quietly and even learn some interesting information.
Maybe, the stranger would be happy to come to the girls and scare them somehow, but he does not do this because there are too many people at the café, and he thinks they may not be indifferent, may decide to meddle and call the police with a goal to protect them. That’s why the man is just sitting at the table and watching the friends, looking around at times, or checking something on his phone not to get attention. But at some moment, he receives a call that he answers, putting his phone to his ear. That’s Marcus Longbottom, who is forcing Peter to overcome all these hellish tests.
“Yes, Mr. Longbottom, I keep watching the girl,” the stranger announces. “I’m now at the café where she went.”
“And what’s she doing?” Marcus wonders, standing near the window in his room and looking at something through it.
“Talking with her friends. She is now surrounded by the big crowd.”
“Do you mean the precious ladies of Peter’s friends?”
“Yes, they’re all here. And there are some other gals. But I don’t know who they are.”
“And what are they doing?”
“Eating ice cream, drinking something, thrilling with laughter, talking about men, stuff, a wedding…”
“I hope they don’t see you?”
“No, no, lord, the girls suspect nothing, even if I’m sitting right now at the nearby table and able to hear everything they say.”
“Is there something that could be good for us?”
“Nothing special, Mr. Longbottom. But now they are talking about the stinker, who ‘dared to attempt on the life of the kind and innocent Peter’.”
“M-m-m, the ladies are nervous…” Marcus nods with a mysterious smile.
“Oh, yeah! It seems like they are confused and don’t know what to do.”
“It doesn’t matter to us. They can do anything they want. It will not stop me anyway.”
“By the way, Rose’s girlfriend mentioned a cope that could help them. He is kind of familiar with them.”
“What can he do?” Marcus wonders with surprising calm. “No-thi-ng! Even if these people tell that cop everything, he will not do anything. He will not be able to. They have nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“If they think they can get some information about the one, who attacked their dearest Peter after the latest show, they’ll meet a failure. Because all these guys are innocent in the face of the law. Their personal case is perfect. Which means they will not have me on the hook, either. The men will not betray me and call my name even under the gun.”
“You may have no doubt about it.”
“Listen, Bob, don’t you actually have any opportunity to scare Rose’s girlfriend a little?” Marcus wonders.
“No, Mr. Longbottom,” Bob shakes his head and takes a sip of coffee. “There are too many people at the café. Sorry, but I will not risk.”
“Sorry. It’s time to take the next step and deal with those, who surround Peter. Let him have some break after all these attacks and do something to his friends and girl.”
“I would be happy to, sir, but I cannot do this now.”
“By the way, I haven’t received any messages from Ivan and Ronald. They caught Peter and another friend of him, who he went to the gym class with. I’m starting to be kind of worried, honestly.”
“Don’t worry, they will contact you soon. These assholes probably just keep showing off and pretending to be heroes.”
“It’s going to be harder for them this time. You learned from all the past failures.”
“Of course, we did.”
“That’s what I mean!” Marcus smiles slyly and starts walking into the whole room. “If they make to repeat the previous steps, they will be running into surprises all the time.”
“We will have to spend some time dealing with Rose’s pals. But it’s going to be easy to do this to the gal. She is weak, cowardly, and not sassy. She will not resist for too long.”
“That’s right! If you do everything clearly, we will not have any problems with her.”
“But in order to do what we want, we should catch her when there’s nobody around her. If, for example, Rose was next to her, he would kill us without thinking.”
“We will not harm her with the pretense of someone,” Marcus replies confidently.
“Now I cannot do anything. Even if she is with the gals, there are too many of them. They can scream so loudly that even the Moon will hear them.”
“Yeah, Bob, you’re right. So, just keep yourself not far from them. What if they unconsciously give us some interesting information.”
“Alas, I have nothing to make you happy with.”
“But I will not stop making surprises for them!” Marcus sneers evilly. “Peter will have to protect himself and try to save the gang that surrounded him like a crowd of birds.”
“Do you really want to leave him alone for a while?”
“Yes, I think it’s enough now. May the boy have some rest. Relax. Think everything has ended. At least for him. Meanwhile, I shall play on the nerve of the others.”
“The girl has lived a too quiet life all this time,” Bob notices. “Hasn’t she?”
“I think Rose will not be nicely surprised when we make him think his girlfriend is not so holy.”
“Do you want to separate them?”
“If I can do this. But I wouldn’t refuse to make him doubt her decentness and loyalty.”
“We can do this,” Bob smiles slyly. “No problem.”
“If we manage to get them to fight and make him sure that she did something truly terrible, the boy will be taking care of her safety much less. He’ll give a fuck about all her excuses and just fuck her off.”
“Yeah… If she wants to complain to him that she is chased by some bad men, that guy will just ignore it. Which means we can do anything we want to her.”
“That’s why it’s time to do something serious to her. So, she understands that the situation of her sweetheart is serious. That I will not get off him until I see him in the grave.”
“The most important thing is that’s really the one you’re looking for.”
“I am sure that’s him. But there’s a way to check it for sure. And I shall use it when I think it’s time.”
“Alright, Mr. Longbottom, it’s your right,” Bob replies with a sly smile.
“Okay, keep watching these cuties, but I will think about how to make Peter doubt his girlfriend,” Marcus says quietly.
“Well… Actually, I have one idea… I think you will love it.”
“Which one, let me know?”
“Just do one little thing…”
Bob tells Marcus about his idea of provoking a conflict between Peter and Helene. Mr. Longbottom really likes it and says he will do this after he takes some time to reflect on it. All this time, Marshall keeps thrilling with laughter and talking about something with her friends. Who, maybe, feel someone's close glance at them but prefer to ignore this feeling with the thought that it seems to them or do not notice anything and anyone suspicious when they decide to look around and watch all the visitors of this place.
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