You Ain't Bad || Michael Jackson

Chapter 5: Is That A Threat?

Will Smith is a cool actor. Well, he isn't bad, in all honesty.

I continue watching Fresh Prince; then by the time it's finished, it's 4:30pm. That's still a lot of time before bed, so I flick channels again.

Friends.

Friends.

A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol? It's not even Christmas!

Friends.

The Big Bang Theory.

Friends.

Jesus, Friends seems to be on nearly every channel! Eventually, I decide to just switch the TV off ... but that leaves me with nothing to do.

Sighing, I stand myself up from the sofa and walk in to the kitchen. I grab a cookie from the jar and nibble it a little, before deciding to call Emma.

"Hey, Emma. Can I come hang with you for a while?" I ask.

It's almost like I can feel her nodding over the other end of the phone. "Sure, meet us at the park," she says.

I smile to myself; at least I'll have something to do now.

"Okay; see you in five," I say, before hanging up.

Grabbing my coat from the coat rack, I head out the door, walking down the pavement, still nibbling on my cookie. I come to the park gates, immediately seeing Emma and Mark.

"Hey!" I call from across the field area.

They look up and see me. "Cozzy!" I hear Emma shout.

I walk over to them, grinning widely. "I'm not gonna stay long; I just wanted to get out the house and see you guys," I tell them.

Emma nods. "Okay, Coz," she replies.

"Coz" ... that's a new one.

"So, we just gonna hang here?" Mark asks.

I shake my head. "Nah, we're better than that. We are mature adults," I say.

Mark and Emma nod in agreement. "So, where do you suggest?" Emma asks.

Pausing a few moments, I put some thought into my answer. "Hmm, I think ... well, we're mature, grown people. So, my suggestion is ... " I have one final thought, "The roundabout!"

Emma looks at me like I've done something wrong. "The roundabout?" she asks.

"Yeah!" I laugh.

Her frown becomes a smile. "Alright!" she beams.

We walk from the field area and head over to the roundabout. Emma and I jump on it and Mark starts spinning it, gradually getting faster and faster. Soon, it's at top speed.

I can't feel my legs, and I can't move my arms because the force is keeping them down.

Suddenly, I feel my shoe fall off. Damn. It has a sharp heel on it; let's hope it doesn't hit anything ...

"Agh!" I hear a loud cry.

"Mark, stop the roundabout!" I shout.

He tries to pull it the other way to stop it, struggling a little. Finally he manages to bring it to a halt, then I climb off, but I collapse to the floor from dizziness.

It takes a moment to find my orientation before I can try to stand up. When I'm up, I'm greeted by a series of tall, black figures. They all shift to the side a little, exposing someone behind them. This person has a black eye, blonde, spiky hair, and a purple hoodie and skinny jeans.

Oh, damn. It's Kieran Measures – one of the members of The Jax.

Shoot.

"You're gonna pay for that you little twerp!" Daniel growls.

Great! Daniel's here.

To give myself a little self confidence, I shrug, acting as if I don't care, before walking to Kieran. "Sorry about that," I apologise normally and calmly.

I'm not even a meter away when I feel a sharp grab on my arm; I turn around to find those deep eyes again. Damn.

"How many times you gonna do this to a girl in the same day?" I ask angrily.

Michael loosens his grip a little, but his stare still fixated on me.

"Look, Costello. You hurt a member of our club, we hurt you. Part of The Jax code, right boys?" Daniel asks.

All the boys reply "Yes" in unison.

Every boy but Michael.

He stands, his grip still on me firmly, so I stare at him to try and intimidate him a little. "And, when do you plan on letting me go?" I ask sternly.

He loosens his grip a little bit more. Having had enough, I growl as I twist his arm again – the same arm, the same place. He winces in pain, caressing the area I just abused.

"Damn, girl! What the hell is wrong with you?" he growls.

"Same as whatever's wrong with you!" I reply wittily.

He doesn't reply, so I shift my gaze from him, glaring at Daniel. "That's double the pain for you now," he says.

All I do is scoff. "Okay. I'm waiting."

He turns to talk to the rest of The Jax and turns back a moment later. "It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow. But we will hurt you, Costello. And we'll make sure you never open your eyes again once we've finished," he says evilly.

I can't help but remain silent. Was that a threat to kill me?

My eyes subtly move over to Michael, whose face is almost blank, except for his eyebrows being raised and an almost unseeable smile on his face.

He's happy that I'm gonna be murdered by these boys?

Well, that's just low.

~~

-Edited June 3, 2016-