The Lost Boys

Josh yanked Rebecca’s arm, pulling her around the corner.

“What are you doing?!” He hissed while peeking around it at two individuals, male and female. He watched them take a seat, but soon his intense gaze was locked back on Rebecca.

“What do you mean what am I doing?” She whispered back, genuine confusion in her voice.

“You know what I mean.” He scolded, more anger bubbling under his surface than he was letting show. “When you first met her, you said you couldn't stand her. You also said that your first opinions never changed, and then you swore you wouldn't have any issues with her being-“

“Well, I guess I was wrong.” She snapped, cutting him off. “This is the first time it’s ever happened, and I really do like her.”

“You’re just chickening out. Things will only get worse, you know, until one day you just-“

“ OK! I know! But please, not her?” Her voice wavered a bit.

“I can’t believe you’re begging for that…That…” He was now infuriated to the point of sputtering.

“Josh,” She pleaded. “Leave her be.” Josh’s face softened a bit as he analyzed her eyes, but then glared as he caught himself. He brushed past her shoulder as he walked toward the table Chris and I had found, and she hurried after.

“Oh, come on, try a piece.” Chris was asking me. “Pleeeaaaase?” He put on the best pouty face he could muster.

“Alright, alright!” I caved, laughing as I took a piece of the teriyaki chicken off his plate.

“This is the best chicken you will ever have.” He looked me directly in the eye making a sincere promise. I only now noticed how much his green eyes popped against everything else, particularly his black hair. I reluctantly placed the chicken in my mouth and chewed, analyzing the flavor. Suddenly finding it hard to return his stare, I checked out the rest of his attire including his lip and ear piercings. He sat waiting, leaning back in his chair. He sported a black Il Nino shirt, a regular pair of jeans, and some black vans to tie it all together.

“Mmm…” I eventually expressed my satisfaction. “This stuff is amazing!” Chris smiled and took a sip of my Baja Mountain Dew, then proceeded to munch on a few of my nachos.

“Hey guys.” He greeted Josh and Rebecca. I hadn't even noticed them approaching until Chris said something, and by then they were right behind me.

“Wow…That’s a little unnecessary.” Rebecca commented, crossing her arms over her pink, heart printed shirt. In addition to this, she wore a white coat, a pair of light wash jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. What she was referring to was the fact that our table was completely filled with Taco Bell and Chinese food.

Rebecca, Josh, Chris and I (Dawn) had been hanging out at the Eastwood Mall for the past few hours, and after running out of stores, Chris and I found food to be the next best alternative.

“Help yourselves.” I motioned to the table. “There’s no way I’m finishing it all.”

“Yeah!” Rebecca pulled up a chair. “Taco Bell is the shiz.” She laughed again, causing the brown curls of her hair to bounce softly. They complimented her light brown eyes well.

“Hey Chris, wasn't there a game you wanted to check out at Game Stop?” Josh asked. He was the only one still standing, and his look was a bit more threatening than the others. He stood taller than all of us and wore a black Devil Driver shirt with a pair of Tripp pants that hid whatever shoes he was wearing. Chris caught the look in his friend's abnormally dark brown eyes - they were nearly black, causing the color in his brown hair to darken as well.

“Oh, yeah.” He replied.

“The mall’s closing soon. We should probably head over now and let the girls finish off the food.” Chris agreed and they left the food court giving us a slight wave. Rebecca and I didn't think much of it, and just went right back to eating.

The instant the two were out of ear shot and around the corner, the story changed drastically.

“She’s backing out.” Josh growled, pacing in front of Chris, his corners very snappy. “Suddenly, she’s found she likes Dawn and went so far as to beg for her life.”

“Oh?” Chris asked in mock surprise. Truth be told, he was growing fond of her as well, but he couldn't let Josh know this. The corners of his mouth twitched; he found Josh’s antics quite amusing.

“I was so wrong to bring her into this. She can’t do it…Damn it! We can’t let her go now, anyway…Rebecca’s gonna get herself killed.”

“What if…” Chris paused to think out the rest of his argument. “Rebecca seems to trust her, and you know how rare that is. She seems perfectly capable of handling herself. She’s just as twisted as-“

“No.” Josh’s voice was cold.

“And why the hell not?” Chris asked. “You were awfully quick to introduce REBECCA to David. And I only agreed to your girlfriend because-“

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Josh interjected.

“Whatever. I agreed to let Rebecca in only because I thought Alison would be joining as well and-“

“Oh, will you quit moping about Alison?”

“I’m not moping! I’m trying to say that a girl would be nice to keep Rebecca…entertained.”

“Ok, good, so we’ll keep Dawn as…What, a pet?”

“What the fuck, man? That’s sick! Why can’t you just-“

“No!”

“What do you have against her?”

“First of all, she’s so…She's not…” he seemed to be struggling to find the words, eyeing the public around him carefully.

“You were too, dumb ass." Chris snorted, seeming to understand what he was trying to say. "We all were, if you recall, and Rebecca still acts like she is.”

“That’s only because she hasn't-“

“She’s not gonna do it, Josh. She needs coaxing from someone like-“

“Don't even say it!”

“Hey, I’m just trying to look out for your not-a-girlfriend’s well being! You sure as hell aren't!”

“Yes I am!”

“Just give her a chance!” They glared at each other for a minute in a staring contest of sorts. Their breathing slowed until they were calm once again. Josh was the first to “blink”, so to speak.

“Once chance.” Josh forced out as though were painful for him to agree. “On the ride home, I make my decision.”

“That’s all I’m asking.” Chris replied, seeming relieved. They walked back into the food court to find Rebecca and I lounging with our feet on the table, my iPod resting between our feet on the table under some food wrappers. Each of us had a headphone in one ear and we were nodding subconsciously to the song playing. Chris, exploiting my obliviousness, sneaked up behind Rebecca and I and jabbed both of us in the sides yelling,

“Jumper cables!!!” in our ears, ripping out our headphones as well. I just about fell out of my chair.

“Ow!” We both screamed.

“Watcha listening to?” He asked, leaning on our chairs as if nothing had happened.

“Bleeding Through.” I replied, showing him my iPod screen.

“Nice.” He replied. Josh nodded his approval as well.

“I didn’t know you listened to that stuff.” He eyed me suspiciously.

“Oh, yeah.” I stared at him incredulously as though it were some obvious fact. “Bleeding Through, Atreyu, As I Lay Dying…” I waved my hands for effect to say the list went on.

“I never would have expected that out of you.” Josh looked at me with what seemed like admiration, and then exchanged glances with Chris. They both nodded. “So, are you guys pretty much ready to go?” I looked over at Rebecca to get a confirmation, and nodded to him to say yes. We cleared off the table of our mess and headed out to Josh’s car, bundling up against the frigid air outside.