"This feels like a 'meet the family' kind of thing, yet we're fucked up dysfunctional gang." Matt remarked causing Jay to laugh.
"It's the best I can do. She wants to know more about me."
"So you think by inviting her here to meet people who will happily feed her shitty stories about you, is a good idea?"
"You better keep that mouth filtered, Russle." Jay warned, knowing this probably wasn't the best idea he had ever had.
Him and the gang had been planning on having a BBQ all together at the gang house. Since Jess had helped Jay do it up, they wanted to celebrate what felt like a new start. They also wanted to enjoy the calm before things did begin getting hectic when they finally went after Buddy.
Therefore, Jay had decided it would be a good idea to invite Lauren. She had been desperately trying to get him to open up and this seemed a safer way for Jay to give her that. If she met his 'friends' (aka gang members), it would open up a new side to him that she hadn't yet seen. However, he had warned every single one of them not to mention a single word about their past or the gang.
While he was certain that it would all go well, Matt didn't share the same enthusiasm and knew that Cole or one of the others were bound to slip up or purposely make a comment.
"I will but she's going to be fucking uncomfortable." Matt replied, knowing that while the Gibson brothers could be pretty intimidating for a shy girl like her, the three girls would be even worse as they were not the most welcoming people you would ever meet.
"Which is why I need you to invite Juliet."
"What?"
Jay's sudden suggestion took Matt a bit by surprise as he hadn't mentioned Juliet to him in months. However, Jay seemed completely unfazed and actually serious about his request.
"She'd be good company for Lauren, better than the others. She needs someone who won't purposely be trying to make her have a shit time."
"No way. I'm not just randomly inviting her to a gang get together, Gibson." Matt began shaking his head, not seeing the idea as a good one at all.
"It's not a gang get together." Jay corrected. "It's friends sharing a BBQ in the garden of their revamped house, remember?"
Matt couldn't help but laugh at Jay's grinning face as he corrected his choice of words. He already knew this was going to be a disaster so surely there couldn't be much harm in asking Juliet along. He wasn't sure if she would definitely come as the people weren't her favourite in the world however, there were her brothers and what better time than now to rekindle that relationship?
"Alright, fine. I'll ask her but it'll be weird." Matt tried to play it cool yet Jay could read right through it.
"Russle, I know you've been seeing her so don't give me that bullshit. I'm not stupid."
Matt paused mid-text as he looked back up at Jay, who was watching him knowingly.
"Nothing gets past me. That's why I'm good at what I do."
"It's not like that." Matt began shaking his head, trying to get this across. "She doesn't want a relationship right now because she's concentrating on getting some kind of career instead."
"Right." Jay nodded with a smug look over his face.
"But I'll invite her."
"Because you're seeing her."
Jay's correction earned a blank one from Matt in return as he shrugged it off as if it was nothing. He had been spending time with Juliet whenever they got a spare few hours however, no labels had been put in place. She had been serious when she claimed she wanted to focus on getting her teaching degree and focus on herself for a bit and therefore, was not opening up to any kind of relationships right now.
It was strange to start with as Matt had always been the one who felt in control. Juliet had always been around and he had usually been the one calling the shots. However, that all stopped when they broke up and since then it seemed like Matt had to drop his front and be the one desperately trying to cling onto something they used to have.
**
"Are you sure you're alright?" Jay asked Lauren as they hovered in the living room.
She had just arrived and while everyone was outside, she was stalling before she had to go out and meet them.
It wasn't that she didn't want to, it was more the fact that she was just beyond nervous. She had only seen his friends briefly and it had been difficult to make judgements on what they were like. However, in this setting where everyone knew each but her, it made it a little more daunting.
"Yeah." She nodded, looking up at him and clinging onto his hand.
"This doesn't convince me that you are." Jay laughed as he held their hands up in front of him.
Her knuckles had gone white from the grip she had on him showing just how anxious she truly was.
"No I am okay." She chuckled, loosening her grip a little yet still keeping her body practically clued to his side as they headed outside where everyone was sitting.
Once in the garden, Lauren's eyes skimmed around as she took note of each person out here. She could instantly spot Jay's brothers as they all held the same height and dark look in their eyes. Then additionally to that, she noticed three other girls whose eyes were looking her up and down in the most unpleasant and unwelcoming way possible. Trying to ignore them, she followed Jay's gaze who was on his best friend that Lauren knew went by the name of Matt and also another girl sat with him.
As they approached, they were both producing much more welcoming smiles than what she had gotten from the previous girls or even Jay's brothers, so it sent a small amount of ease through her.
"You already know the greatest best friend ever so we don't need introductions do we?" Matt began with a cheeky grin on his face causing Lauren to laugh. "But this is Juliet."
Lauren turned to look at the blonde who gave her the biggest smile ever before she instantly jumped to her feet and pulled her into a hug.
"Hey! It's so good to meet you. I'm Juliet."
"As I just said." Matt remarked causing Juliet to turn around and roll her eyes at him.
"Shut up."
"Lauren." She smiled back, appreciating her friendliness and hoping she would be the one to guide her through this evening unlike the other 'not so friendly' faces.
"It's so good to meet you, honestly. I'm so incredibly happy that Jay's found someone like you." Juliet buzzed with excitement.
Even though she and Jay never really saw eye to eye she knew that he needed a girl like Lauren to calm him down. She would hopefully be the charm that broke his obsession with the gang and live in the real life a little bit more.
"I need to go help my brother. Will you be alright for a minute?" Jay looked down at Lauren's as he glanced over at Juliet who was still excitedly chatting away.
He knew inviting Juliet had been a good idea because even though she was a little over excited it was much better than the unwelcoming gesture the rest of the gang were giving her. He had a bit more trust that she would feel partly comfortable being here now.
"I think so." She chuckled, leaning up to press her lips to his before taking a seat down with both Matt and Juliet before watching Jay walk away.
She just sat and admired the way he approached his brothers and the way they transformed from coming across threatening to a new calmness. Jay joined one of them with dark hair at the BBQ, where the instantly engaged in laughter, appreciating the good company.
He looked so relaxed and happy and it was in that moment that she realised he seemed pretty close to his brothers. It was one thing she hadn't known as Jay rarely spoke about them however, just from this brief encounter she was already able to come to that conclusion.
"They're all a bit intense around people they don't know, don't worry though, they'll soften up." Juliet reassured Lauren when she noticed her watching.
It was the truth yet for unknown reasons for Lauren. As a gang, they had learned to be cautious of everyone they met. They would always treat them as though they were someone to be suspicious of until they really figured them out.
"I hope so, they seem a little..." Lauren began while trying to find a word that wouldn't come across too offensive. "...intimidating."
"And rude idiots." Juliet added causing Lauren to pause before laughing.
"Am I allowed to say that?" She teased as she earned an enthusiastic nod in return.
"Well it's the truth!"
...
"So how long have you and Jay been together now?" Juliet went onto ask, genuinely curious, as Matt didn't tell her a lot.
"Nearly 5 months I think... which is kind of crazy."
"It's been the best 5 months of my life." Matt smirked causing both girls to look his way. "You make him happy which equals a more relaxed Jay Gibson. It's a blessing."
Lauren wasn't even aware of the tense Jay Gibson everyone else seemed to know. To her, he always had such a calm around him but that was because he kept the gang part of his life fully away from her. Yet to Matt and his brothers, Jay had been the better version of himself since being with Lauren and it was refreshing to see, especially with the lead up to the Buddy situation.
Things were going to get crazy and he needed someone to keep him mellow. He needed someone to keep him sane and prevent him from going completely off the rails.
"You both seem really close." Lauren admired. "How long have you been friends?"
"Er... our whole life pretty much." Matt began while trying to think of a way to explain how they had met. He was expected that to be the next question yet he wasn't sure how to put it without mentioning the gang. However, he was saved when Cole called out to let everyone know the food was ready.
...
Once they had consumed every last bit of food they had cooked for tonight, they all finally sat around together, minimising the divide that had first been caused. With the night pulling in, Lauren had innocently made herself comfy beside Jay however, the vibe she was getting off a few people surrounding them made her a little uncomfortable.
"So, what do you do for a living Lauren?" Beth asked as her eyes flicked between her and Jay's arm hung around her shoulder.
Although it was a genuine question, you could hear the bitterness in her voice. None of this gang liked newcomers however, the girls were clearly even more bothered by it.
"I... er, work at an orphan home." She responded fairly quietly, already picking up on Beth's distaste.
"Wow." She raised her eyebrows. "Look at you, all up for saving the world and shit."
Lauren didn't say anything in response as she knew Beth was being sarcastic. It was obvious the girl didn't like her in the slightest so she wasn't going to make a fuss over it. Instead, she just gave a small smile in response before trying to force further conversation.
"What about you?"
Looking to Naomi and sniggering, Beth's attention was soon back on Lauren as she pursed her lips.
"I kill people for a living. It makes a good pay."
Silence suddenly fell around the group of them at Beth's comment and she purposely caught Jay's attention who was watching her with a look that could kill. He was beyond mad at how she was acting anyway yet now she had just taken it a step too far.
"She's joking." Jay turned to Lauren who was a little taken back by her blunt answer.
"Obviously!" Beth overdramatised before she and Naomi began to laugh.
If Lauren hadn't felt uncomfortable before, she felt about ten times worse now. She couldn't help but think that they were purposely trying to get to her and it was making her wish she had never come. Matt and Juliet had been nice and it was good to finally meet Jay's brothers considering he seemed so close to them however, Beth, Naomi and Lara had not approached her in even a remotely friendly way.
"I just spend my nights in bars, getting drunk and sleeping with men." Beth reformed her answer. "Maybe you should try it sometime, and then you can teach those kids how to truly live their life once they've been disowned."
"Alright shut the fuck up now, Beth." Jay bit, feeling Lauren's body language completely change.
"I'm pretty sure those kids deserve a much better life than that and unlike you, Lauren isn't selfish enough to let them take the wrong path in life." Juliet added, clearly making a dig at the way of life Beth had chosen.
She knew it was risky considering every single individual here was a gang member and had made that decision but she didn't care. She had once been in Lauren's position; she knew what it was like to not be accepted by this gang when you were new. It was made even worse when you weren't even a gang member as you were always seen as a bad distraction. Therefore, Juliet felt the need to defend her and not let any of the spiteful comments make her want to run.
She had to stick it out no matter what because at the end of the day, Jay was the one she was here for, not them.
"I don't give a shit to be quite honest." Beth rolled her eyes and she took a sip of the beer in her hand. "I'm just shocked that someone like Jay would end up with someone like her."
"What do you mean by that?" Lauren asked. She wasn't one for confrontation but she was clearly agitated and didn't like being spoken to like that.
"Look at you; you're an innocent little angel." Beth was waving her arms around, trying to make a huge scene. "You've never done a single thing wrong and you spend you days helping innocent little homeless kids. Jay however, is one of the biggest arses I have ever met and his way of living most definitely does not match yours."
Lauren didn't have a clue what Beth was talking about nor did she understand why she was getting so riled up. She seemed genuinely offended that Jay was hanging around with someone like Lauren and wasn't making an effort to keep that a secret.
"Beth, you need to stop." Jay ordered, running his hands over his face through anger.
He was so close to losing it and that was one thing he didn't want to do.
"Mm... I'd really rather not-" She began before loud bangs were suddenly heard coming from the front door, causing everyone's heads to instantly turn.
**
to be continued...