"So why do you stay up so late?"
I shrugged, halfway through a piece of toast.
Alex shook her head. "Like last night, I got up to get some water at some godforsaken hour. And your room light was still on. I mean, your room has absolutely nothing in it; what are you doing in there?"
Logan leaned forward. "That's a very good question Alex." He turned to look at me. "What are you doing in your room so late at night?" He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.
I shook my head quickly and scowled at his underlying words. "I wasn't doing anything in there," I said quickly. "I'm sort of an insomniac. So I just wander around at night. You know, to look around and stuff."
Logan stared at me. "You wander around? That's super creepy dude."
I tuned red. "That's not what I meant!" I protested. "I just do stuff."
"What stuff?" asked Alex.
"I don't know," I answered honestly. "Eat fajitas, play tennis." I smiled; those had been the stuff I had done with Nathan.
There was a silence.
"Eat fajitas?" questioned Alex.
"Like Wii Tennis?" jumped in Logan.
I looked down at my empty plate, wishing there was more food I could cram into my mouth to avoid responding. I didn't like where this conversation was heading.
"Nathan took me to that one Spanish place and the day after that we played some Wii games," I answered, as casually as I could.
Again there was a stunned silence.
"Nathan?" asked Alex and Logan together.
I shrugged. "Yeah, it's nothing."
"Clearly," interrupted Alex. "It is something. I didn't know you two were tight like that."
Logan nodded in agreement.
I turned red. "We aren't 'tight' or whatever. We both don't sleep well and we both don't have anything to do all night."
Alex narrowed her eyes at me. "That's a lot in common, actually." She turned to Logan. "I'm sensing a secret friendship going on here that they don't want anyone to know about."
Logan nodded with a straight face. "Maybe even more than just a secret friendship," he said, trailing off.
I glared at their underlying meaning. "I hardly think playing Wii tennis and eating food together qualifies us as friends even."
Alex raised her eyebrows. "Even when it's like freaking 1 am in the morning and everyone else is sleeping? I think that's a pretty strong basis for a friendship."
I shrugged. "I don't think he considers me a friend. Sometimes I feel like he's just pissed off at me for no reason."
"That's Nathan for you," said Logan, getting up to put his plate into the sink. "Anyways, what do you want to do today?"
I stared up at him. "Where's Sam?" I asked automatically.
Logan put a hand to his heart and tried to look offended. "I'm hurt Arianna. It's like you don't even appreciate my company. Your Sam-in-shining-armor is at school."
"I thought he didn't go to college," I asked, ignoring his jibe.
Alex smiled. "I know, but like I said he goes occasionally. I guess our conversation yesterday just kind of motivated him to take a class. So he's over at the U right now trying to sign on for late enrollment or whatever." She looked over at Logan. "Sam-in-shining-armor; I really like that. I'm going to start calling him that."
Logan grinned. "Saving his Arianna-in-distress."
Alex and I stared at him.
"What?" said Logan. "You don't get it? You know, like 'damsel-in-distress' but this time—"
Alex shook her head and cut in. "No we get it. It's just kind of lame," she said, laughing.
Logan sighed. "Whatever guys. My humor is too advanced for you."
I stared at him. "Why is it me in distress anyways?"
"Because you're practically like his girlfriend, the way you two are always hanging out."
Alex raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she asked, sounding a little irked.
I opened my mouth in protest at Logan and turned red. "What are you talking about? He's just super nice. Why do you have to be like that?"
Logan laughed. "That's what they all say honey. Anyways, now that we all are reassured of Sam's whereabouts, what are we doing today?"
"Shopping," said Alex flatly.
Logan looked cautiously at her. "Shopping, as in clothes? If that's the case, I think I'll stay here and brush up on some reading or something. You two can take care of that."
Alex rolled her eyes. "Shopping, as in grocery shopping. Marlee wants to make pasta today so she told me to get some stuff for her."
I nodded. "Wait," I said, thinking of something. "Aren't you supposed to be in school Alex?"
Logan laughed. "Yeah, she's supposed to. But if you're Alex, education is optional and if—ow!"
Alex gave him a solid punch in the arm. "Why does everyone say that about me?" She looked over at me. "But that's kind of true," she admitted. "I don't feel like going today; I've got more important things to do anyways."
I nodded. "Like buying pasta ingredients?" I deadpanned.
"Exactly," said Alex with a smile.
And so like thirty minutes later there we were, looking around Downtown's Albertsons for pasta ingredients.
Alex had gone to pick up some chicken at the poultry area of the store, so Logan and I were on our own to get the rest of the ingredients on her scrawled list that I could barely read.
It was strange just strolling around the grocery store, especially when my friends were all stuck in school probably taking a test or something. And it was even stranger who I had come with; two 'gangsters' who were nothing close to the image that came to mind when I thought of a gang.
I imagined gangsters as violent, scary guys who cussed every other word. Here, I was actually talked to, I hadn't been shot or threatened with a gun and I was actually growing close to a lot of them. Aside from my circumstances, of course, I was kind of enjoying myself right now.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Logan's voice cut in through my thoughts. I laughed and shrugged.
"I'm just thinking about how you guys aren't really like the gangsters I imagined at all."
Logan nodded. "I guess we don't exactly fit the standard description of a gang or whatever."
I nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what Sam said," I said, thinking of his 'Robin Hood' comparison with a smile.
Logan stopped at the bakery section to toss a loaf of Hawaiian bread into the cart.
"Hey," I protested. "That's not even on the list."
Logan shrugged. "Well neither is the jar of Nutella you got back there," he shot back, gesturing at the cart I was pushing. "Just because I didn't say anything doesn't mean I didn't see you trying to sneak that in."
I turned red. "I wasn't sneaking it in," I said, feeling foolish. "Whatever, just get your bread then."
Logan grinned. "That's what I thought Arianna," he replied smugly.
I shot him a look then wordlessly continued pushing the cart down the aisle.
"Okay," I said, reading off the list. "Get some penne noodles and I'll get the garlic bread."
Logan nodded then walked off to get the stuff.
I glanced down at the cart, which was slowly growing in items, half of which weren't even on the list Alex had given us.
Where did Nathan get the money to buy all this stuff?
When Logan returned with the pasta, I gestured at our cart. "How do you guys afford all of this anyways?"
Logan shrugged. "We're a gang; making money is like what we do. I don't know. We just do random odd-jobs here and there. Selling stuff and making deals; it all depends. Some of us have jobs outside of this anyways. Like Randy works at some auto shop a couple blocks away I think. And Nathan does something too; I don't remember what exactly though."
I nodded; that made some sense. Plus, they didn't have to deal with paying any sort of mortgage, so they could spend their money more freely on pasta and that kind of stuff.
"So all gangs around here are like you guys then?" I asked, grabbing a can of tomato sauce off the shelf.
"No, not at all," said Logan right away.
I stopped the cart and turned to give him a questioning look. "We're seriously one of the better gangs around here," Logan explained. "Aside from the fighting and all, we don't deal and we don't go mugging or whatever. We're more just a group instead of a gang. You really have to watch out for the other gangs though. Those guys are the ones who fit the description you have of gangsters. Those guys are assholes, if you want to put it like that. And these guys aren't just strong on the streets; a lot of them have power in the business around here. That's where most of them get their money and stuff from."
"Those guys are like Mike?" I asked slowly.
Logan was quiet for a second then nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Yeah, exactly like Mike."
There was a silence between us before I asked another question. "Then why did Nathan say you guys were one of the more powerful gangs around here? I'd assume you guys would be involved in a lot more dealing or whatever to be like that."
"Well, we aren't here to go around and shoot other gangs first of all; that's not even the freaking point of gangs," said Logan. "Aside from the occasional trouble with other guys, we pretty much just help to mediate a lot of the shit that goes on around here between gangs. But then again, you haven't seen any of us fight; Nathan's a really good fighter and the other dudes here know that. We don't screw on their turf or whatever and they don't mess with ours. So there's our relationship. I guess we're kind of the non-interfering but still intimidating gang in Downtown. Like we don't go around and cause trouble but we can handle ourselves still if the other guys decide to screw with us."
"Oh, so that's kind of why you guys want that drug security thing passed?" I asked, pairing it together with the earlier information I had gotten.
"Uh, yeah, that's pretty much it," said Logan uncomfortably.
Just then Alex rounded the corner and ran straight into the cart. "Ow, did you guys get the stuff? What the hell is all that?" She looked down at our filled cart, then at my hands which were no longer holding the list she had given me. I looked down at the floor, wondering if I had dropped the shopping list some time earlier.
She looked at Logan who shrugged, at me who shrugged as well, then sighed. "I should have stayed here with Arianna and made Logan go get the chicken. We can't buy all this guys," she said, dumping the packaged meat into the pile of food. And with that, she bent down and began tossing out the extraneous items in the cart, much to mine and Logan's sorrow.
"No!" I protested, louder than I had intended to, reaching out for the jar of Nutella she was getting ready to throw back into the aisle. "Not that one!"
"Come on, Alex, just the bread!" whined Logan, snatching the package of Hawaiian bread out of her grasp. We shared guilty smiles while holding our respective items.
"Oh whatever then, let's just get out of here," said Alex, pushing the cart. "I saw Mike and some of his guys here; I really don't want to run into them."
Panic filled me as I heard this. Mike was here?
I helped Alex to push the cart as quickly as we could to the front of the store.
"Oh shit they're in Aisle 2," said Alex frantically.
"Go go, to Aisle 6 then," urged Logan.
I unloaded the groceries at the cash register in record speed, and kept my back to the guys who were supposedly trying to kidnap me.
Logan suddenly grabbed me and shoved me into his chest. I found myself pressed against the soft fabric of his shirt, unable to see anything. I tried to push back, but his arm was pressed against my back tightly.
After a few uncomfortable seconds, Logan let me go.
I breathed deeply. "What was that for?"
Logan nodded his head in front of us, where a group of guys were slinking out of the doors. "They passed by and I didn't want them to see you; if they noticed us I was just going to say you were my girlfriend or something. I don't know."
"Oh," I said, craning my head to catch a glimpse of the leaving guys. I couldn't see much from the back.
I sighed, feeling rather relieved that there had been no confrontation. "Can we go now please?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to be out here in public anymore. I just wanted to get back to the hangout, where I ironically felt pretty safe.
Alex nodded, and then began pushing the cart slowly out the exit while keeping an eye out for Mike.
I followed slowly after, unable to rid my gut of a growing sense of dread that someone out there was looking for me.