Ryan Diaz
"I wouldn't say he was always angry but he looked it. He could throw a mean punch and was always on the alert."
"Why?" I hated that I was learning about my brother from Myra but this was the only way.
She shrugged. "You always have to be on alert back in these sides. Especially if you lived the way Ian and his group do. Anything can happen at anytime and you'd have to run or fight."
I didn't say anything, lost in my thoughts with a frown on my face. I didn't know how to feel about learning all these. What I knew continued getting altered every minute and it was unnerving. I knew why Ian lived like this, he had no other choice and he was backed into a corner but I still found it hard not to question why. Why on earth did it have to be this path? I couldn't even wear any of the clothes I brought with me, Myra said they were too expensive for this parts of Virginia and Ian would never wear designers. Like really? How can he not have worn an original Louis Vuitton in his whole life? Unbelievable.
"Can you run?"
I nodded. "I did track at one point back in school. Imogen wanted us to keep fit."
"Oh, Imogen," Myra wiggled her brows suggestively at me. "How is she? Did you let her in on the plan?"
My face fell and I walked forward as I answered. "I- um- we broke up."
"What?"
I exhaled deeply. "I broke up with Imogen."
"Why? From the picture you showed she's a cute ginger head, like Ed Sheeran!"
I laughed and rolled my eyes. "I didn't really love her, you know. Like, we looked good, had good times together and vibe really well but something was always missing. I was going to hang in there until we graduated high school but then this whole Ian thing came up and I had to do it. There was no way I was going to break her heart into thinking I was in an accident, then keep her trapped as she waits for me and probably bothers herself with coming to check up on me in the hospital." I pulled on my hair. "I couldn't tell her about the plan either, the less people who knew, the better."
Myra sighed understandingly and patted me on the shoulder. "I guess it's for the better then. Would you miss her?"
"Of course I would," I kicked a stone on the ground. "She was my first and only relationship."
"Well, hopefully you'd be too busy here to think about her or love." Myra said, making me roll my eyes. "Your next task is your second to the hardest task. Facing your gang."
"Oh kill me."
"Oh I would if you fuck this up and get Ian exposed." Myra threatened and I turned to look at her with scared eyes and then she smiled showing me that she was joking. "Your job right now is simple. Get in there, interact or don't interact with people like Ian does. Go up to your room up the stairs, last room on the right, get your bag and get out. There's this book Ian has in his bag. It's small and wrapped with carton. He always drawls and writes in there, schedule, thoughts shit like that and he doesn't let anybody see it, including me."
I let everything she said sink in. "Wait, how do I know whether or not to interact with someone?"
Myra took a deep breathe about to launch into teacher mode. "There are five gang members, yourself including and Jon used to be the leader. Now there isn't really a leader but everybody listens to Jakob, kinda. Last I know, they haven't really settled on a leader because some people are caught up in the narrative that Jon was murdered. Some people equals you."
I winced.
Myra continued. "Yeah, so. Phil is the oldest, a tall not so tall blond guy with a wrist watch tattoo and probably lice full long hair. There's no way he scratches his hair that much if there's no lice in it." She paused as if trying to come to terms with what her brain just imagined. "Then there's Jakob and Anissa, twins who don't get along all the time. You like Anissa, you have deep talks with her from time to time but you don't like Jakob. You guys barely talk to each other and when you do, you both have a bite in your tones."
I smiled. "Is it because we hooked up?"
"Hooked up? The fuck are you talking about? Ian doesn't admit he's bisexual, he's deep in the closet and would never hook up with a gang member talk less of Jakob." She does a gag sound.
"Oh," I kept my mouth shut. I guess Ian didn't tell her about his gang escapade. That must be a sore spot for him then if he told only me.
"I don't know why they fight. Should be some ego thing," she shrugged. "There's also August." Her eyes turn droopy and I wonder what's happening. "August is a Greek god, carved by the heavens and brought to as a gift and a blessing to our small town. He's so fucking handsome, his face is surreal." She sighed dreamily, then looks at me. "In case you can't tell already, he's the love of my life."
I laughed. "I could tell. You guys are a couple."
She pouted and her face fell. "No, unfortunately, I don't even think August knows I exist. I mean he sees me all the time, smile and waves but he's too stuck in his own perfect world to notice lil Ol imperfect me."
I put my hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with you Myra. It's August loss for not seeing that. He's probably not worth the headache."
"Oh he's worth it alright." Then she smiled and lightly elbows me. "Stop being so Ian." Then she claps her hand. "You also don't talk to August."
I groaned. "Wow, I don't talk to a lot of people."
"Exactly. It's not like you both hate each other but it's once in a blue moon you see eye to eyes and talk. One time you both beat each other so bad, they had to cuff you both in different angles of the layer to keep you both away with blood everywhere."
My eyes went wide. "Whoa."
"Yeah, it's intense. If there's anybody that's more likely to punch you there, it's August and you are more likely to physically fight him, than fight physically fight anybody else. Basically you both communicate with your fist more."
I looked at my clean knuckles and sighed. "Bye bye, perfect skin."
Myra laughed. "And lastly there, Santi, and no, he's not Spanish or anything related to Latino. He's Korean and his real name was butchered so much, he picked a random name and started answering it." She laughed. "Santi is honestly too innocent and kind for your gang and you hate it. You don't really talk to him either but you like him somehow. I don't know how to explain it."
I laughed. "I think I understand."
"Yeah, Santi is our age mate but he's like the baby of the group and everyone has to like look after him. You guys tried to tell Jon he isn't fit for the gang but Jon wouldn't bulge. Personally, I don't think Santi had anywhere else to go but the layer. He's a mean drifter though, does wonders on the motorcycle." Myra concluded and I nodded. "So when you walk in, you'd glare at Jakob if he glares at you. If he doesn't just ignore his existence, bump fist with Philip, hug Anissa, ignore August's existence, if he talks to you then you act civil and finally, nod at Santi."
I repeated it all in my head. "Got it." Then I sigh. "What if they find out?"
"They won't." Myra reassured. "You're Ian. Dump Ryan wherever and be Ian. You can do it, Ryan."
"Ian, you mean." I smiled but I couldn't help but be a little scared. This was a lot of people I was supposed to fool at the same time. There was no way it was going to be as easy as it was with Don. It wasn't even easy with Don!
"Perfect. We've got this, have no fear."
"Easy for you to say."
We continued walking and Myra kept talking until we stopped in from of a building called, "Jon Junk?" I turned to Myra with a raised brow, wondering if that sounded as corrupt in my head as it did to them. Virginia couldn't be that innocent.
Myra laughed, getting the question. "Sir Jon was trying to be funny." Then she sighed and did the sign of the cross and I did too. "The name stuck though, may his soul Rest In Peace. This place used to be a junkyard before he got this and turned it into a repair shop. Just for the image of the gang. Matt's gang has a bar for their own image."
I nodded, looking at the name once more and shaking the thought out of my head. "It's showtime."
"Yup," Myra and I walked in. And she stopped at the front part that was like a closed in patio. "I'd wait here for you."
"Why not?"
"I'm not allowed to go upstairs to the rooms, no outsider is and I don't want to be left downstairs with a possibly half naked August. I can't handle that." She raised both hands up in surrender.
I smirked. "You got it bad, huh?"
She blushed. "Shut up and go in there."
I walked in and the shop is actually bigger than it looks from the outside. There's a small table and shelf at a corner, it looked like it was a reception where they sold stuff at too. Nobody was on the table. I could hear music blasting from a corner in and there were broken cars littered around, spare parts and a place where just motorcycles were parked and covered. There was a straight stairs without banisters leading upstairs to the room. The place smelled like engine oil, rusted metals and oil paint.
The first people I saw were a tall black man with bulging muscles left and right and everywhere. His hair was short and he had on a stained white singlet and basketball shorts. He had nearly shaved small beards, short hair and must be close to 6"3. Followed behind him was another tall black girl, she looked my height with dark curly long hair. She also had jersey shorts on, a sport bra and an unbuttoned flannel shirt over her. They looked alike so I quickly placed one plus one and concluded that they must be Jakob and Anissa. They were both carrying boxes of... gears?
My eyes met Jakob first and he narrowed his eyes at me before he walked past, ignoring me like I was some ghost he didn't see. Okay... I ignored him too. I wonder how Ian could fight with such a big man.
Anissa saw me and her eyes widened as she grinned. Then she threw her head back and yelled, "Ian's back!" I startled and then she came to hug me, while still holding the two gear boxes. "Ian, you little shit."
My hand held her waist as I hugged her back and I knew she was happy to see me. "Yeah, I missed you too Anissa."
"Anissa?" She drew back and raised her brow at me. "Where did Ani go?"
My heart thumped, fuck! I swallowed and smiled, trying to recover. "You don't expect me to call you Ani everyday, do you? Own up to your celeb name, would you."
She scrunched her lips and I thought I had said something bad she laughed. "Yeah, Anisa is a bad bitch and she's lucky she has a variant of my name."
"She is lucky?"
"Shut your ass," then she bumped my shoulder with her hand. "Where have you been? Everybody was guessing you folded your tail and ran scared."
"Everybody?"
"Jake and Phil. I'm always by your side, I and Santi and weirdly enough, even August didn't think you ran. We were worried. Thought Matt had gotten to you."
"Jakob and Phil are haters," I nodded at her.
"Nah dude don't say that," a blond guy with hair literally all over his face said as he walked closer. I was taller than him and I immediately concluded he was Phil. Phil got closer and I stuck my fist out for a bump and he fist bumped me. "It's was just the only rational conclusion and you rarely stay weeks without showing up here once. What was we supposed to think?"
"Were we, stupid," Anissa corrected, rolling her eyes when Phil stuck his tongue out to her.
"Matt can never make me run," I said and that was all I could think. They looked like they were waiting for me to say something else though so I shrugged. "I had some errands to run for my dad. You know his heart and all."
"Oh, good to hear," Phil said and Anissa patted me.
"Welcome back buddy, I hope your dad is good." She asked, walking away to the table counter. Jakob was there, silently listening and arranging some stuff on the shelf.
"He is." I turned, looking upstairs that was my destination and then a furry small white puppy runs towards me. My eyes go wide in awe and I go down on one knee to welcome it. It's a white Maltese. The cutest thing I've seen in a while. "Hey cutie."
The puppy ran to my feet and was sniffing around me while my fingers found it's fur and tried to check for a name tag. It had one and on it was written Lil. I smiled, raising a brow, "Little?" The puppy retreated and ran off, it must have not recognized me and I watched it run into the arms of someone else. I raised my head up and saw a guy standing about six feet from me pick up the cute puppy, his whole palms probably able to cover the little pup.
I stood up and in front of me was another big guy. Not as big as Jakob but bigger than me and bigger than Phil. He should be inches taller, probably 6"1 or 2. He had a slender structure with slender muscles that were still very obvious, on his head was a mass of very curly dark brunette hair, short and held away from his face with those headbands that you'd see TikTok girls. He had on a white singlet that did justice to his bulging chest and a big Jean overall that was hanging in his waist. You'd think the feminine headband on his head would affect his masculinity but it was the contrary, it had nothing on how man he looked. His jawline had to be the most angled I've seen, straight nose and pull reddish lips.
I thought I was already in aw until the guy looked up straight at me and I stood dazzled. He had a piercing on his left brow and his right one had a slashed line on the arch but that wasn't what caught me off guard. It was his eyes, he stood there looking me with stormy eyes that looked like the ocean, a wonderful mixture of green and blue. If I looked long enough, I could probably start hearing waves sounds. The man in front of me was absolutely stunning and even in the un-complimenting clothes, he managed to slay. I wasn't even aware my heart was as beating until it was all I could hear. Funny thing was, the guy didn't say anything either and kept his eyes on me, was he also stunned?
"Ian!" An Asian guy yelled, running up in front of me and breaking my eye contact as he lightly hugged me. "I thought Anissa was joking."
"Why would I?" Anissa yelled from the corner and Santi, he had to be Santi, yelled back.
"You always pull my legs."
Ian hates being touched.
I grabbed Santi's hands and gently pushed him off me. "Distance Santi."
"Shit sorry," he muttered but was still wearing a smile. He was my height, really pale with small eyes and he looked really good. "You look different."
I didn't let that throw me off guard and quickly retorted with. "Don't I always." I needed to get out of here now. I placed my hands in my pocket and started walking towards the stairs and up it. I didn't look back and I could feel August's eyes on me. Yeah, handsome man had to be August, I see what Myra was saying.
I followed Myra description and got into my room, the door wasn't locked and I thanked God for that. It was a small room with a bed by the side and a locker by the other side with one bean bag at the center. Ian didn't have any pictures or anything to say that it was his room but then I see a familiar shirt on the bed just before the door opens. I turned around startled and I see August gently close the door like he's sneaking in. He had one side of the overall on his shoulder now and didn't have the headband on anymore.
"What-" I was about asking but his finger on his lips shut me up and I started wondering if I entered the wrong room.
August walked closer and closer and so close that I started backing away but a step more and my back hit the wall. My mind was racing with confusion, heart beating scared and eyes questioningly open. August's lips twitched in a smirk and he put one of his hands on the wall. "Finally."
Before I could open my mouth to ask what was going on, his other hand went around my neck, pulling close to him until our nose touched. His eyes flicked over mine for a second and then he was leaning in, lips capturing mine.
_________________
😳