Leaving the venue the group returned to the car where Marie’s mother was busy waiting for them. The middle-aged woman had stayed behind the whole time, though it would seriously surprise Gary if she was unaware of what was going on at such a place.
To be honest, the teenager felt a little strange seeing her there. He had always pictured that if he were to join a gang for real, not just as a transporter but as a full fledged member, one that would do whatever his superiors told him to do, that it would be something he would do his darndest to keep from his family. Gary had even been prepared to take it to the grave with him, just so that his mother and sister could keep him in their memory, as the good boy and brother they remembered.
Yet here, Marie’s mother was actively supporting her daughter and her friends by driving them around. It made Gary wonder how his own mother would react? Would it be possible that she too might be this supportive? … The high schooler seriously doubted it, and if it was up to him he would very much like to never find out her stance on it.
While the five took their places in the car, Austin followed after them on his bike. The loner had agreed to accompany them for now, since Kai claimed he still had a little more to show him before he left for the night.
“Hey Kai, how come you invited Austin along? I know he’s strong and all, I mean he might be just a tiny bit weaker than me, but I’m like really really strong so that means he’s somewhat strong, but
If you’re just looking for strong people for our gang, wouldn’t those twins be a better fit?” Innu inquired, now that Austin would be unable to hear him. “I mean, they’re already involved in these kinds of activities, so I don’t think they would have refused.”
Everyone in the car had heard the question and all of the teenagers were interested in Kai’s reason for going after Austin, especially since he seemed to have gone the extra mile to invite him.
“Well, let’s ignore for a moment whether they would have actually wanted to join us after the two of you defeated and pretty much humiliated them ‘in public’, but before I answer, let me ask our leader a quick question here. Gary, how would you feel if those twins joined our gang?” Instead of answering, the upperclassman asked a question of his own.
The high schooler didn’t even have to answer, his face said it all. He was obviously against the idea. It wasn’t just the fact that they had hurt Tom, but he was sure that they were also the ones who had sent out their goons to take out the Westbridge rugby players.
From what he had seen, the two of them had no shame and would do whatever was needed to achieve their goals, not caring in the slightest who they may end up hurting. In a way, they acted like the colour gang members had during the gang war. Gary had no respect for these types of people at all.
“Easy there, Green Fang, you’ve already defeated them. It was just a hypothetical question.” Kai teased his underclassman whose dislike for the idea had been very open. “Now I want you to imagine Austin joining us.”
Thinking about it, Gary hesitated for a bit, but in the end, he realised that he didn’t actually have any problems at all.
“I’m having a bit of trouble picturing it.” The teenager replied eventually. “When we met on the roof, the first thing he did was try to pick a fight with me, but somehow I can’t fault him for that. I have a feeling that that’s just the type of person he is.
“When Billy attacked Innu in school, he could have easily run away. After all, he had nothing to gain, yet he valiantly stayed and helped us fight him off. Overall, my impression of him is that he isn’t a bad person and that he would be someone I wouldn’t mind hanging out with.”
“Just like with you, I had a feeling about him being… Let’s call it ‘special’. Since our leader likes him, there should be nothing to complain about, right?” Kai did his usual smile that would capture girls’ hearts in seconds. “Although there are other reasons, getting him to join will push us into the next step.”
In the middle of Kai’s explanation, an incredibly loud growl could be heard coming from one of them in the corner. It caught everyone’s attention as they turned to a red faced Gary holding his stomach.
“I’m sorry, but I’m really hungry after that fight. Is there any chance that we can stop somewhere to eat first?” Gary asked. Using Charging Heart, fighting and then healing the sustained damage, his Energy was slightly above half capacity. The teenager was getting the hunger pangs that he had grown accustomed to, yet that didn’t stop his stomach from reminding him.
A short while later and they found dinner that was open at this hour on the side of the road. It seemed like Austin was happy to follow along and when they pulled over they just mentioned they were grabbing something to eat.
Before they entered through, Gary stopped outside for a few seconds…he felt kind of bad. When was the last time he and his family had gone out to eat? It had been a long time since they were able to afford it and here he was about to spend this precious money.
If they hadn’t been on the road, he would be looking for wild animals, but he couldn’t do that while in the company of the others. This made him feel incredibly guilty.
“Don’t worry, since I wasn’t fighting, I should at least treat our fighters to a meal.” Kai patted him on the back as he came over to him, before he placed something into his hand and whispered. “And this here is something you’ve earned.”
Looking in his hand, Gary noticed another set of bills.
“That’s what you earned from your own bet. I just wanted to give it to you away from the eyes of everyone else. You put in a 100 so you got 250 back and I added another 50 on top since I know it must be hard for you and your sister right now.
“Use it however you like and Gary… sometimes you’re allowed to be a little selfish and look after yourself before you can look after others. If something happens to you, then who is left to look after your family?”
With this said the group went in to eat, and there were two people who surprised everyone with how much they were able to stuff inside without getting full. It was a cheap place and Gary had ordered multiple burgers, yet he wasn’t the only one.
Austin did the same, and the two of them had their trays completely full.
“You said you were paying, right?” Austin looked at Kai, as he bit into the burger, devouring half of it one bite. While doing so he never took his eyes off Kai, and stared into his eyes intently, eating each one.
Strangely, Gary was keeping up with him, despite being half the size of the other one. It was a strange group of characters that was for sure, but Gary was enjoying his time with them all.
“So where are we exactly going?” Innu asked with a mouth full.
“That…is a surprise.” Kai replied.