Gang Princess

Chapter 3: The Fight

    It was getting late and Johnny still wasn't back. Angie was really worried and she was pacing around the room, desperately looking out the window from time to time; watching and waiting for his red Shelby mustang with a white stripe to pull up. Johnny loves that car. It makes me wonder how a guy like him could afford a car like that but he always reassured he got a good deal on it because he traded in his motorbike or says how it was a piece of junk till his uncle helped to fix it for free.

Just sometime after midnight, I sat up in my bed and I could see the light from the corridor seeping through the gap in my door. I got up and went to see if Angie was still up waiting for him. I slowly wandered through the apartment into the living room. She was sitting there curled up on the recliner next to the record player; she was biting her thumb and index finger while staring out the window from a distance. The clock ticking loudly in the background. The street was more still than usual. Where could he be I thought as I watched Angie distressed from a distance.

"Turn the TV on so it's not so damn quiet!" she said quietly with attitude. I was startled, how could she have heard me tiptoeing in the dark? "Yeah, sure" I replied after a few seconds. I got comfortable on the sofa near her, we were still. She didn't even look up at me.

*****(Johny's narrative)******

We pulled up to an empty parking lot behind the old factory. It was a quarter past eleven like we said. I parked my mustang towards the back and turned the engine off. It was quiet, they were late. Sam was sitting wide eyed in the front seat while Ricky was in the back stuffing his face with a meatball sub from his mom's deli; smacking his lips loudly. "Man, can you not chew like a cow I can't hear myself think." Sam snapped at Rick. He looked up from the backseat. "It keeps me calm. Want a bite?" He asked with a smirk on his face. "Nah it smells like dog chum." he replied with a disgusted and scrunched up face. "Hey! Don't you insult Mrs Manchini's meatballs. She's an angel of woman." I exclaimed to Sam while waving my finger at him. "Yeah how dare you" Ricky replied with his mouthful of the meaty sandwich. "Look, all I'm saying is the meat in those balls is something else ok. Everyone thinks so." Sam explained. "This is good meat what the hell are you talking about." Ricky replied while waving the scraps of his sub in the air. Before Sam could explain what else he thought about Rick's ma's cooking; a car pulled up. A Chevy. It was them. Peter Langmyer known as Pete Repeat for his stuttering; and a couple of his rich pals. The three of us watched the car pull up closer towards us. "Shit! they're here." I said while keeping my eyes on the slow moving vehicle. "Where the hell is Mike? This is his business." Sam said with a worried face. "Mike is one of us. His business is my business as it is yours and fat Ricky's there in the back." I explained with a mildly irritated tone. "Hey, I'm not fat!" Ricky got defensive. "Yeah alright man shake the crumbs off first." Sam laughed. "I think it's best if I go talk to them, they respect me." I said calmly. The guys nodded and we slowly got out of the car.

As soon as Repeat and the other three guys in his car saw us getting out; they did the same. Before we knew it we were standing face to face about four feet apart. Even though we were close, I thought about how far our worlds are apart. The rich kids rarely visit our side of town. They were wearing clean cut shirts and jeans, shoes that looked like they never touched the ground before, not a drop of dirt or mud on them. "You're late." I said without expression. Pete starts laughing. "Well here I am pal, are you happy to see us?" He replied with a smile, waving his hands around arrogantly. "Do you really wanna waste any more of my time... our time? What the fuck do you want anyway?" I asked with an annoyed tone. "Well, well I'm sorry I'm taking time from his royal highness, king of the street rats and his royal subjects but I need to see Mike." He stuttered. "His business is my business remember?" I winked at him. "Oh right, I forgot he needs a bodyguard, the fucking milksop." He rolled his eyes. "Let me guess this is about your whore of a sister, doing what she does best and whoring around. I'm guessing with Mike this time?" I asked sarcastically. His eyes turned wild. He started coming towards me with rage pouring through every pore in his skin. "Whore?! Do you know who're you're fucking talking to!" The two blonde boys besides him gripped onto his shoulders and started pulling him back as he started barking at me. We all knew his sister liked trouble and Mike liked seeing her a lot. Together they'd often sneak around late at night. But we all knew she was playing him. A girl like her would never go for a lower class guy like Mike and good ol' Petey here couldn't stand the thought of his sister getting a reputation like that. He swore to his father who was a commissioner for the NYPD that he'd keep her away from guys like Mike, guys like me...guys like all of us. "I wouldn't try it Slade. Seeing as there's only half of you tonight." He was calmer. "I didn't want to trouble the boys for this bullshit, but you're probably too worried you'll get your preppy shirt a little dirty." I replied to him with a stone cold expression. At this point the two guys let go of him. I could tell no matter how long we'd be talking, this guy wanted to fight. I was going to give him what he wanted.

He waited a second before his face turned red with fury and he charged at me. He tried to push me over but I overpowered him and I threw him on the ground. I was over him, punching him in the face, blow after blow. Ricky and Sam both took on the blonde terrible twins and they were wrestling them on the ground. "Are you alright?" I shouted over to Ricky who was struggling as one of the bloodies tried to get him in a headlock. Ricky hesitantly gave me the thumbs up. The third guy who'd had been hanging around behind Petey backed out and was hiding behind the car. He was tall but younger than us. While I was distracted by Ricky, Petey punched me hard in the ribs and I fell on my side. He starts kicking me in the stomach and ribs but I manage to grab and twist his foot. He falls to the ground. I lift him by the head and knock him down again; my knuckle turns red with blood. The lanky boy who was hiding opens the boot and gets something out of it, before I know it everything turns black.

****(Jake's narrative)****

We eventually fell asleep in front of the TV when we hear someone at the door scrambling for the keys. "Check his other pocket." I hear a familiar voice on the other side of the door. Angie opened the door, she stood there stunned. Sam and Ricky were standing there barely holding up Johnny who looked unconscious. Sam hand his hand in Johnny's jacket pocket as he was looking for his keys. "Jesus Christ! Johnny you will never learn will ya!" she said angrily. They carried him in, with his feet dragging along the floor. Mike emerged from behind them, he was looking guilty and worried. "Easy now, let's put him on the sofa." Ricky pointed out. "Wait! Let me put a cover on, I'm done with scrubbing blood off of my furniture." Angie quickly grabbed an old blanket from her bed and spread it on the sofa. The guys looked on, shaking under Johnny's weight. They lower him onto the sofa and gasped with relief. She waved her hand at me as a signal to go get bandages and some painkillers; something I became accustomed to. "What the hell happened?" Angie asked with a concerned look on her face. "Look Ang, it's all my fault." Mike explained. "I've been fooling around with Viv again and her brother doesn't like it." he added. "You're telling me that Repeat got him like this? He's half his height." Angie looked surprised. I handed her a bandage and a wet cloth. She starts wiping his face. He had a cut on his head and lip and swollen eye but I knew it could have been worse. "It was supposed to be a clean fight, he was doing good, really had him until that new guy got a baseball bat out and hit him on the head. He was flat out." Sam explained calmly.

"And where the hell were you?" Angie looked up at Mike who was looking at Johnny with his big green eyes that were filled with worry. "I was with her." He muttered. "Of course he was." Ricky sarcastically said quietly  under his breath as he got up from the recliner; he walked up to the fridge and proceeded to make himself a sandwich. "What's it to you, eh Rick?" Mike got angry. "Look forget about the broad, you left us. He sticks his neck out all the time for you." Sam added. "I like her OK?" Mike brushed his hand through his dirty blonde hair. I looked at him thinking about how he was the one who met Angie first and took her dancing and how much he liked her then and maybe even about how it must have felt when Johnny turned up and took her away from him. By the looks of it they were finally even.

They boys continued to argue about Mike and Vivian's unlikely relationship until Johnny let out a quiet groan. "What was that buddy?" Mike and the others huddled around him. "Can you hear me baby?" Angie kneeled down next to him. He slowly opened his eyes. He was wheezing. "He took a few blows to his chest, his ribs could be broken." Sam pointed out as Johnny started coughing and trying to catch his breath. Angie hurried and got him some water to drink. Johnny seemed pretty out of it. "I think it's best if you leave now and come back in the morning, he needs to sleep." Angie explained. I was surprised at how calm she was though deep inside I knew she was fed up. Before they left they carried him to his bed that he shared with Angie and she thanked them. "You too Jake, you have school tomorrow." She told me as she closed her bedroom door.