Won't You Die Tonight For Love

I walked into my old apartment, followed closely by Novak and Raab, volunteered to help me grab my most needed necessities. Everything was exactly the way I had left it, which means no one had come to find me; something I actually assumed would have happened. We walked in and just took a moment to look around and take everything in. Even though I had only been here the other day, it seemed too distant to me with everything that has happened in only the past 24 hours.

“Well, boys,” I finally started. “I need my clothes and possessions. My movies are in the living room, underneath the TV, which I would also like to take, as well as my game consoles. I’ve got a very old Sega, so please be careful with that. I suppose I’ll start in my room with all of my clothes, books, the sort. So, if one could stay in here, I’d love some extra help in my room, if you guys don’t mind.” I glanced between the two of them with a small smile, hoping I hadn’t come off as bossy just now.

“I’ll go with you, Juliet,” Novak piped up after a moment of silence, walking to the back of the hallway and into my room hastily. I shrugged and, giving one last smile and thanks to Raab, followed Novak.

At least twenty minutes passed and I had bagged all of my clothes and was now sitting on my old bed looking through my vast CD collection with Novak. Every once in a while he would either give a nod of approval or give me a gentle disapproval, but for the most part, he had not heard of my preferred selection of artists.

“Hey, guys, I’m done.” Raab came waltzing into the room and dramatically fell onto my barren bed.

Even though Bam told us to hurry home since he would have a surprise waiting for us, Raab, Novak, and I lazed around for at least an hour more just talking and laughing. It was until we heard the front door open that we realized how long it had been.

“It must be Bam, seeing what’s taking us so damn long,” Novak mumbled.

“Hello? Juliet?” I heard a male’s voice say.

Oh, no.

A tall and decently built man walked into my room. His hair, dark brown, was closely cut, matching the color of his narrow, suspicious eyes. He was easily the tallest in the room, towering over the boys.

“Juliet, who are these guys?”

“They’re my friends, Danny. We’re just leaving,” I replied calmly. Raab stood up and offered a hand to him, but Danny only looked down on him coldly and didn’t offer any sign of friendliness. Raab awkwardly smiled and clenched his fist, lowering it back down to his side.

“What, so now you’ve got two man whores to sleep around with?”

“Whoa, not cool, man,” Novak said, raising his arms in front of him to show that he meant no offense. Danny snorted and looked down at me. He held out his hand, but I didn’t do anything.

“Juliet, I need to talk to you. Alone.” Despite my better judgment, I stood and walked past him, leaving him standing there with an empty hand. I didn’t want to drag my new friends into this.

Once we were in the living room, I sat back down on the couch and bravely looked up at Danny’s face. Danny crossed his arms and sighed, taking in the mostly empty apartment. This was once our apartment, but recently Danny has gotten into some trouble. He lost his job, his money, and his respect, causing him to have to rely on his friend, Scott. Since I had nowhere else to go, I stayed in the apartment, despite it being taken back by the office due to lack of payments.

“What are you doing with them?” Danny finally asked me.

“They’re my friends. I’m staying with them, now,” I replied, keeping the emotion from my face. Instead of showing any sign of weakness under Danny’s intimidating gaze, I leaned back and crossed my legs. Danny looked bewildered.

“What happened to you staying with me at Scott’s place?” he snapped, his voice raising one bar in volume. I scoffed and shook my head. “What?”

“You left me, Danny! You never invited me to stay with you, what the hell was I supposed to do, roam the streets until I eventually settled on becoming a bum?” I snapped back. That was what I thought was going to happen, until I met Bam, anyways.

He groaned, pacing back and forth. I noticed Raab and Novak pop their heads out of the bedroom door, eavesdropping on our conversation. Although, I had a feeling that we were so loud, they needn’t try to anyway.

“I can’t believe you. After all I do for us and all the hard work I do, you leave me for some strangers you don’t even know. You must have been pretty cheap to buy off the street,” Danny seethed. I stood and pushed him.

“They’re better friends then you’ve ever been!” I shouted. Danny reacted by immediately slapping me across the face, and I fell back down onto the couch, holding my burning cheek.

“Hey, don’t you touch her!” Raab shouted, storming down the hallway and right up into Danny’s face. Danny squint his eyes and looked down at him.

“What are you gonna do about it, you little shit?” he taunted. Raab shoved him so that he stumbled back and ran into the table near the couch. Danny looked surprised that Raab had reacted like he did, but in a moment, he was right in front of Raab and punched him square in the eye, sending him falling to the floor. He then turned back towards me, angry as ever.

“I’m not done with you, Juliet,” he practically hissed before storming out of the apartment and slamming the front door behind him. I was in total shock over what had just happened so quickly. Novak came running out from the back room, cursing Danny as he knelt down by Raab.

“Man, are you alright?” he asked with concern. Raab nodded with a very irritated expression, holding a hand over his left eye. With that, he hurried over to the couch where I sat and engulfed me in a hug. “I’m so sorry that happened, Juliet. Oh, man, I wish I had done something. I’m sorry.”

I hugged him back, and even if my cheek was now imprinted with a rather large handprint, I felt comfortably well.

We walked into the large house, each with a medium-sized box in our arms, and made our way up to my room. The house, usually abuzz with the next great prank or fight, was unnaturally silent. The last time this happened, it turned out to be a gigantic popcorn bonfire, so I kept my suspicion rightfully with me.

Once we set the boxes down on my floor, we sighed and took a look around the room. Raab insisted that he didn’t need anything for his eye, and other than him and I fussing back and forth, the ride home was peacefully silent. It made me wonder if Raab and Novak, who were known for their rambunctious personalities, were only acting the way they were because of the run-in with Danny. I hardly liked it; it felt as though it were my fault.

“Juliet! Are you home?” Bam suddenly yelled from down the hall, gradually becoming louder as he got nearer to my room. When he saw the three of us, he wasted no time in grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hallway, down the stairs, and into the Pirate Bar. “I want you to meet some people...”

Suddenly, in front of me, were four strange men in front of me: three blond and one brunette. They were all decently attractive, except one of the blonds, who happened to be less toned than the others.

“These are the Dudesons, and they hail from Finland,” Bam explained. The four of them smiled like monkeys. Pointing left to right, he introduced them as Jarno, HP, Jukka, and Jarppi. They each held out their hands one at a time, and I shook them graciously.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, madam,” Jukka said slyly. “I’m a bit surprised. Bam said he had a lady friend to meet, but I wasn’t expecting one so beautiful and charming as you.” My cheeks burned from hearing the compliment and I smiled, thanking him.

“Perhaps we should get to know each other better later,” Jukka said with a wink. My eyes widened, wondering if he meant what I assumed.

“Maybe some other time.”

In a flurry, Bam was off with Jukka, Jarppi, and HP, leading them out back to do something I was sure would prove to be dangerous and idiotic, leaving Jarno and I to ourselves in the Pirate Bar. Still caught off guard by Jukka’s comment earlier, I was hoping that Jarno was the same. He seemed nicer already, but I had to keep my head clear.

“So what do you guys do for a living?”

“We have our own TV show, called The Dudesons. It’s really a lot of stunts we do, and I mostly do the recording. Jukka is the real mad man,” Jarno explained with a chuckle. I laughed and rolled my eyes, knowing why Jukka would claim such a title.

“I’ll have to check your guys’ show out sometime, then,” I replied, smiling.

Jarno and I spent the rest of the evening chatting, and it turned out that we were very similar and got along rather well. By the time Bam, followed by a small mob of eight others, returned from outside to find Jarno and I, it was well past nightfall. And, after a loud and eventful dinner of six large pizzas, we all departed into our own rooms for alone time. Well, almost all of us.

After putting all of my clothes in the wardrobe, I decided that the unpacking of my personal belongings could wait until tomorrow. Instead, I started watching The Little Rascals, snuggled warmly in my fresh bed. Only ten minutes into the movie, however, I was joined by Jarno and Jukka, who sat on my bed with me. The night ended with me slipping into a light sleep with two men chatting away in Finnish, something about a party.