the strangers series. (mgk ; machine gun kelly)

1 • 𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖋𝖎𝖙𝖘

Living life on the edge- it was all we ever did and let me tell ya, it was amazing. The rush we all got from stealing bottles from liquor stores to just smoking weed in public was exhilarating and addicting- just being a dumbass, in general. Although it was risky, tiring, and lonely, that feeling of isolation never lasted long especially with the group of my friends. We were all kinda like runaways- the misfits and outcasts in our town of Cleveland, Ohio. We were no one special.
We didn't act out like this because we had nothing- we had everything we could ever need like houses, clothes, shit like that- it was just having it all shoved on you without you having to earn it that made us desire freedom. It was like we were being suffocated and just running free was like a way out- a chance to breathe.
The familiar howling and cheering of the boys brought me out of my daze as I tore my eyes away from the bonfire we made, glancing at whoever made the noise. My eyes set on the lightskin boy standing next to me with the short curly hair and bright smile, his lanky frame clad in a plaid and tank, ripped jeans, and beat up chucks. I spied the tattoo on his arm as he rolled the sleeves up, the familiar tattoo that we all had on some part of our body- a skull with flowers and leaves adorning the sides. It was a symbol for all of our friendships, the one thing we'd always have of each other when we weren't around each other anymore.
His laugh rang out in the abandoned high school football field we were chilling at, his arms outstretched to the sunset,
"Man, I'm in the mood to fuck around, I don't know 'bout the rest of y'all,"
The rest of us chuckled, me rolling my eyes as I yanked him back down so that he was sitting on the stone bleachers again like the rest of us,
"At least we know who doesn't need anymore booze,"
The chuckles and agreements I heard made me smile as I looked around at my people, basically my family.
There was Reece, the rowdy one, then there was Camila, Ethan and Nick who happened to be brothers, and then Lola, the only one I actually grew up knowing. The rest of them we met later on in our early years of high school, which later accumulated into our own clique of sorts. Every one of us already graduated, some-fucking-how, but Ethan is still a senior, poor him.
We all really stopped giving a shit about school around junior year- stopped showing to classes and started getting into drugs and alcohol; the usual downfall story among teens.
Lola leaned her head on my shoulder as we all stared at the fire Nick and Ethan had made in the barrel we found earlier,
"We should go get something to eat- i'm hungry."
Nick scoffed from across the way, taking a sip out of a beer bottle before digging through the rest of our stolen stash of whiskey, vodka, and beer,
"We're all hungry- but what can we do when we have no money on us?"
I smirked as I saw Camila flip her long, black hair over her shoulder, wrapping her coat tighter around her as she spoke in that cute, cuban accent of hers,
"We could always dine-n-ditch."
My favorite.
That was always my last resort, what I did when I was desperate enough, but i'm pretty sure we were all desperate for a cheeseburger right about now- even if it was crappy and not worth anyones' money. It was still dangerous if it was all of us doing it at the same time. Before I could voice my opinion, Ethan spoke up, shedding a light on my worries,
"It's not safe if we all go."
I glanced over as Nick got up, motioning Camila to follow,
"Okay, then we'll go- you guys stay. Someone's supposed to meet me here anyways; I don't need him leaving if he comes here and finds no one here before we come back. Tell him to wait if we don't get back in time."
I raised an eyebrow, feeling uncertain about this whole arrangement. None of us had ever heard of him planning to meet up with someone here and I doubted that'd be a great idea,
"The diner is just a few minutes away- how long will you take?"
Nick shrugged as Camila got up, brushing her ass off,
"Dunno, don't care."
I rolled my eyes, glaring at his back as he turned around, "Uh, and you want us to stay for that certain someone? Keep this stranger company?"
All I got was a flash of a smirk and nod as Nick and Camila walked away, hopping down each row of stone bleachers as they laughed away, the pure sound reverberating throughout the empty field.
Lola shifted against me, glancing at Reece and Ethan. The crack in her voice mirrored my inward doubt,
"Let's hope he's not a gang leader or some shit like that."
Ethan scoffed, picking at the weeds and grass poking out throughout cracks in the stone. He threw a blade of dry grass into the barrel as he watched it burn, his distant eyes focusing on the flames,
"Please, I know my brother and he isn't that stupid. If anything, it's probably his plug."
I felt a sudden smile stretch across my lips at the thought of weed- Nick always shared whenever he got his hands on some, even if I didn't pitch in; if I wasn't so close to him, i'd actually consider making a move and hopping on that.
Reece bumped his head to Ethan's words, smirking at Lola's unnerved face as he grabbed Nick's half-empty bottle,
"Yeah, Lola, chill. We're fine."
I scoffed, zoning out as I stared at the flames,
"We're never fine out here."
It felt like an eternity had passed as the silence that ensued unnerved me. They all realized I was right- none of us were ever safe if we weren't behind our closed, locked doors. Cleveland is one ruthless city run by the reckless, whether it was on the East side or the West side- none of that mattered.
Reece shrugged after awhile, leaning his elbows back against the bleacher behind him as he watched the clouds above,
"Stop gettin' so damn deep with shit- we're fine."
I opened my mouth to retort but was immediately cut off by the sound of car engines roaring. All of our heads whipped towards the disruptive noise as we saw a black Escalade drive onto the dead grass, their headlights blaring in our faces.
I squinted my eyes against the harsh light, the sudden fear rushing through my veins making my heart skip a few beats. The sound of the doors opening and shutting made me jump, the shuffling of feet on the grass coming closer and closer. It was hard to see who the people were as the light hit them from behind, making them black against the light.
That does not look like one fucking person.
I scoffed as Lola shuffled by my side, glancing over at Reece's pursed lips,
"Yeah, we're totally fine."
Reece rolled his eyes as he set the bottle down, standing up to meet the stranger that stepped up. I blinked a few times as I let my eyes get asserted with the light, the face of the stranger becoming clearer by the second.
I felt Lola tense up, her sharp inhale sending goosebumps down my arms,
"Oh, fuck."
I knew exactly why she was afraid- she had every reason to be scared. As my eyes took in the sharp facial structure and familiar blue eyes of the man, I felt my heart slow down until it felt like it wasn't beating at all. I took a second to take in his height and build, the black, long-sleeved shirt and ripped denim jeans fitting him just right.
I also spied some ink peeking out from the collar of the shirt and at the ends of his sleeves, making me wonder if he was just as covered with tatts as the rest of his crew. He also had on a black dad hat which showed a few tufts of blonde hair spilling out the front, covering some of his eyebrow.
He opened his mouth, talking to Reece and ignoring the rest of us,
"Where's Nick?"
The deep notes his voice took on sent chills down my spine, and not the bad kind. I couldn't deny the fact that he was an attractive man despite looking like someone who could ruin you.
Reece cleared his throat, glancing back at us before meeting the man's stare as he rubbed the back of his head,
"Uh, on a food run. He'll be here soon- he said to wait a bit."
At that point, I couldn't help but know exactly who this stranger was- he was really no stranger at all. I had definitely seen him around town with his equally intimidating group full of men with tattoos crawling up their arms and legs, scaring the shit out of everyone just by a stare- hell, everyone's seen him around town and been scared of him.
It was just hard to believe that Nick would ever have the balls to be associated with someone like him.
He was known as Machine Gun Kelly- for God knows what reason. I frankly didn't wanna know. The fact that he was named after a Great Depression-Era Mobster said about enough for me to piece shit together.
There were many rumors surrounding the bad boy facade of his but something told me it wasn't an act- he's really a bad boy- wait, no, a bad man; he was no boy.
He scoffed, glancing back at the two men standing behind him by the car who also had smiles on their faces. The laugh that came out his mouth sent shivers down my spine, making me feel apprehensive about this all. Nothing good could come out of that laugh,
"I don't wait for anyone, even if Nick's my friend. He knows who I am and what I gotta do, right? Do you know who I am?"
I was stuck on the words "even if Nick's my friend", the realization that he had kept his so-called friendship with a dangerous man from us dawning on me.
That bastard.
The menacing step he took towards Reece triggered me, my defensive, best friend side stepping out. I knew I was gonna start shit but I wasn't gonna let Reece get hurt for something that wasn't his fault. I couldn't comprehend the fact that I had just gotten up, right by Reece's side on the rubber track in no time as I stared up into those icy, blue eyes that made me wanna cower in a corner.
I heard sharp inhales from behind me as I scoffed, stepping in front of Reece as he held me back,
"We don't care who you are, alright? This isn't his fault so just wait for the man that you're here to see without being arrogant for no reason."
I immediately knew I fucked up, his squinting eyes taking in every inch of me. The coldness of his glare made me feel ashamed and lonely, as if he was isolating me from everyone,
"And who the fuck are you?"
I heard shuffling behind me but I ignored it, zeroing in on the douchebag's clenched jaw and cold eyes. I was surprised at the fact that I was able to hold myself together, despite feeling like crumbling into a pile of ashes as I met his glare,
"No one you should be concerned with."
The sudden, sadistic smile that crept onto his lips took me aback, his soft chuckle now sending the bad kind of shivers throughout my body,
"Yeah, exactly- you're no one."
I felt my fear switch to anger and annoyance, his cockiness getting on my last nerve. I rolled my eyes, watching his smirk falter as I snapped back,
"And you act like you are someone."
He rolled his eyes, his shoulders tensing up as I pushed his buttons. The sternness in the tone of his voice hinted at the fact that I was pushing my luck too far,
"I am someone, someone you don't wanna fuckin' mess with. You should be careful with that big mouth of yours- your pretty little face won't be pretty no more if you talk like that to someone else 'round here. You're fuckin' lucky that I have some patience,"
I was left to stare after him in shock as he turned around on his heels, his black Diesel boots crunching over the patches of dry grass as he made his way back to the Escalade. I wasn't sure if I was shocked at the fact that he didn't beat the shit out of Reece and I or that he said I had a pretty face. Either way, I knew my cheeks were flaring, at this point, whether it was from anger or embarrassment.
Reece sighed behind me as Ethan and Lola muttered under their breaths, our distraught eyes watching the man we were told to keep here leaving us just like that.
Ethan growled behind me, coming on to the track with us as he yelled after the man,
"Wait- what about Nick?!"
Before I could comprehend what was happening, Nick's voice rang out as he and Camila hopped the fence off to our side, a bag clenched in her fist with what seemed to be our food,
"What about me?"
The nonchalant smile in his voice made me wanna rub it off for him- he had no idea what he had just walked in to.
The blue-eyed man stopped in his tracks as he finally reached the open driver's side door, the impatient look on his face making Nick slow down his walk as he made his way towards him.
Camila didn't make a move to go with Nick, instead walking back to the rest of us and we watched intently at the scene unfolding in front of us.
One of the men that had gotten out walked around the car and towards the two, a medium-sized plastic bag in his hands. He was black, with curly black hair and black scruff that suited him well. The other man was white and shorter than the other two, tattoos up his neck and down his arms as he flaunted them in a black muscle tee. Come to think of it, all three of them were wearing black,
"Kells,"
The black man placed the plastic baggy in "Kells"' outstretched hand, the green nugs clear as day, even from the distance between us.
Reece squeezed my arm, dragging me back to the bleachers and off the track,
"Lillian, c'mon,"
I let him lead me back to our friends and the warmth of the fire but I kept my eyes trained on the four men, deep in conversation.
Nick eyed me a couple times as Kells glanced back at me, his lips still moving in conversation. I desperately wanted to know the hateful things he was saying about me but the iciness in those blues of his made every negative thought in my head disappear.
It was as if I forgot everyone and everything around me- focusing just on him and the light blue daggers he was throwing my way.
But the one thing I couldn't forget was the amount of hatred his eyes portrayed the second they laid on me. I knew I should hate him back but for some odd reason, I didn't. Instead, all I felt was curiosity.
I wanted to know everything about him, what made him so cold, why he's filled to the brim with arrogance and hatred- everything.
But something inside me told me that just might happen because I knew this wouldn't be the last time I set my eyes on the stranger that befriended my best friend.