User blog:SodaCat/Style - Chapter 10.5: An Investigation

ive been debating posting this before or after chapter 11 of Style, but in light of recent events (me forgetting about a chapter I wrote) I decided to post it now so that I didn't forget about this xD

This isn't a "chapter", per say, it is a mini chapter. It ties in with Mutual Understanding

Your name is Jason Griffith--or Ace, as you prefer--you're 17 fuckin' years old, and you're having a shit Christmas Eve.

It's not because your parents are dead, or because your brother can't make it until the day after Christmas Day, or even because you're dirt poor and can't even get him anything, anyway. Sure, those things suck, but you're used to them by now. That type of shit doesn't bother you.

What's bothering you today, of all days, is the inconvenience that is running a clique of useless idiots. You love the guys--and Jack--deep, deep down inside, and yeah, you'd take a bullet for any of them in a heartbeat--even fucking annoying Duncan--but even through all that love and mushy-gushy stuff you still know they're a bunch of assholes. Like needy children, almost, you seriously wonder how they get through the days that you don't go to class when Gavin, your brother, visits.

Particularly, the main reason this is such a motherfucking problem is because your partial control of New Coventry is hanging by a thread.

Back in September, you easily conquered that greased up meat slab Johnny Vincent and made him give up half of Coventry after you and your boys decided Blue Skies wasn't cutting it anymore. It was pretty fucking brutal, your conquering of Vincent if you do say so yourself, and you do. Pretty much, you threatened to do the kid's girl if he misbehaved. Yeah, you doubted you really would've bothered with a tramp like her, but hey--power is power, and sometimes you gotta sacrifice shit for that.

It'd worked out pretty well, Vincent called his goons off from your kids and for a while there, New Coventry was a place you and your friends could vandalize the fuck out of, have a couple beers in, even hook up some pretty sick underground concerts in.

But today, today of all fucking days, Vincent and his tramp broke up.

When you told your kids this, they flipped out at you, even though they'd all thought it was pretty funny when you told Vincent off for trying to evict you all. You kind of regret telling them at this point; they wouldn't have realized it if you didn't tell them, and you guessed you did have a little time to act, but hey, you try to be a nice guy sometimes. Not often, but sometimes.

So what'd you do, Punk King?

Easy.

You told Garrett he was in charge while you went out and fixed this shit. Out of all of them, you probably liked Garrett best; he was quiet as hell, and as smart as you. You liked Tripp too, you guessed, the kid was smart and he had his wits, but he tended to be too much of a psycho to babysit the other kids. If you ever left Tripp and Gage in charge, they'd probably all end up dead, and looking for new recruits at this point would be a bitch.

So here you are, walking around underneath the tracks that lead into the shithole that is Blue Skies. A rich kid might say you're looking for money, some other dumbass might say you're looking for quiet, alone time. Someone who isn't a fucking moron would be able to tell what you're doing, and that's investigating.

You didn't get where you are in life by being a tattoo-crazed, music-loving douche; sure, you're all those things, but you're also pretty smart. You know how to run the clique, and you run it well.

Tripp and Gage are pretty good spies. Sure, they're psychotic arsonists who should be in prison, but they know how to gather information. You send them out regularly to watch the more important students at the school, kids who may become a threat if they're stroked the right way... kids like Johnny Vincent. And if there's one thing you learned about that pansy, it's that he likes coming to the old abandoned station.

What a fairy.

Your steps become more hushed and light when you hear voices overhead. You've reached the train station, and you definitely hear Vincent's voice... and someone else's. A girl's. You stand still and hold your breath because you're not a fucking moron or a fucking amateur.

"I meant it when I said it."

Your attention catches at that, your fingers curling at the proximity of an opportunity. You breathe slowly and quietly, knowing you gotta play this right.

"And Peanut tells me she ain't exactly the greatest, neither."

"I can't help it, Lex, you were gone real long and it wasn't like I could just sit around waitin' for y--"

"You know damn well I didn't just up and leave by my own accords, Johnny Vincent, so don't fucking act like it."

Lex. You shut your eyes and start searching through the filing cabinet that is your brain. What information do you know about Johnny Vincent and Alexis Monroe? Childhood best friends, that was pretty well known. Then she dipped out--a custody battle between her parents, but it looks like Vincent was still a little sour about it. Rumors about a romance between these two were pretty big two years ago, and judging by her confession, they were probably true. You also knew they'd been fighting plenty recently, Tripp and Gage always thought it had something to do with Lola, and you agreed with it now.

You don't start focusing until you hear footsteps and a thud, and you look to your right and see the blonde chick just jumped down from the platform onto the snow, her back facing to you. She can't see you, she's too busy trying to keep her blonde hair out of her face while she picks up her bike and starts riding up the snowy path into the woods. From above, you hear a quiet sigh and what sounds like pathetic mumbling, you can tell Vincent's upset but you're not quite sure what happened here.

Well, not that it matters. You already got all the information you need.

You turn around and head back in the direction you came from. You've got shit to do, now.