‹ Prequel: Calm Before the Storm
You're Kind of Gangster
Ean
"Shailene Caron. Senior and top of our class since freshman year. Apparently she's a total brainiac and she's gotten a ton of early acceptance letters from a bunch of colleges." Will nods proudly as I take a seat. "Bonus points: she didn't defend her brother yesterday when I started talking shit about him."
They all exchange a look, and Spencer turns to me, "Don't do that shit. You're trying to get on her good side, remember?"
I look at them blankly as they shake their heads at me, "I am on her good side. I got her to believe I want her to tutor me!" They still don't say anything and I think back to how their expressions changed when I mentioned Beau. "Beau was your old superstar wasn't he? Then he just disappeared, and none of you know where. Me pushing her buttons about Beau has nothing to do with this bet, it just hit you where it hurt and now you're pissed. What even happened to him?"
"Lynch is the only one that knows where he went. He hasn't even told the girl; she seems pretty clueless about what happened. Once it broke out, Beau got Lynch to keep it hush hush and not let her figure out that her big brother, her protector, was what he was. From what I heard, he never even said goodbye. No phone number to call, no address, nothing. All his past ties are gone."
"So wait, all the stuff that's promised to me now, was Beau's?"
"Everything that's promised to you is still his."
"I don't remember any of this, though- I only remember becoming the next heir, or whatever. I thought you chose me as a future leader, not a temporary replacement."
"You were barely sixteen when you joined, and seventeen when all this happened. We still had to keep you on the down low since you were a minor, so you weren't here most of the time," Max says.
"Beau will come back. He won't leave behind what's been set on a silver platter for him forever." Will seems confident in this, like he's convinced himself that this is true. To him, Beau will come back and everything will go back to the way it was before the bust. The others don't look so sure.
"I have to go," I say, rushing away from the fire illuminating the circle. I slam my car door shut behind me and take a deep breath. "Temporary replacement, huh? We'll see."
-
I'm woken up from my nap with an abrupt knocking on my car window. I glare up at whoever had the balls to interrupt me and see Shailene peering down at me. I start my car and put my window down.
"What are you doing here?" I ask glancing at the clock on my radio. "Shouldn't her majesty be in class?"
Her smile falters. "I have a free period, and I figured since you wouldn't be in class anyway, we could get some tutoring done since it's Wednesday." I look at her incredulously. "That way you can still go... hang out with your friends after school instead of having to stay after with me?"
I think back to what happened last night. "We aren't meeting up tonight... They all got the flu?" I say, though it's more of a question as I try to come up with an excuse. There's no way I'm going to sit under the dock in the freezing cold for a bunch of pieces of shit who are going to end up replacing me anyway.
"Oh... Okay? I'll just go then," she says, standing up straight and walking back towards the school.
I sigh, fumbling out of the car to catch up with her. "Shailene, wait." She turns around. "I'll see you after school? I can give you a ride and we can... study?" She pauses for a second and I realize how weird that really sounded. I try again, "Does Matt have practice today?" She nods hesitantly. "We can meet up there? I'm sure he'll want to see what's going on." She thinks about if for a second, before I think I see the will to tutor me win.
"Sure. Three thirty?" I nod, flashing back to my routine I had for practice.
"See you then."
-
I scan the chalk boards at the entrance of the iceplex for the team's rink assignment, then head towards rink three in the back. I zip up my hoodie, cursing at myself for forgetting a heavier jacket. I climb the few steps up to the bleachers and drop down my backpack next to me when I see they're empty. I look at the clock on my phone and realize I'm actually a few minutes early.
I sit down roughly, pulling out my phone and putting a headphone in my ear to try to combat the dead silence in the rink. I sit there maybe ten minutes before I hear the tapping of skate blades against the cushioned floor. I look to the door and see a bunch of the guys I instantly recognize, even through their cages, as they come in their practice jerseys. I suddenly remember this all so well.
Then, Shailene comes between the memories and me, sitting down next to me. "You're here," she breathes, shocked. I nod, looking away from the ice where the guys now are. She notices my distraction and tries to pull me away from it, "Well... we should get started."
I grab my backpack from under the bleachers and let her grab whatever book she wants to start with. "You're in bio, right?" I try focus back on her, but get distracted once again by the familiar drills going on in front of us. "Ean? How'd the paper go?" I drop my head. It's silent for a few minutes. "We're clearly not going to get anything done, so go ahead and go. Something's obviously bugging you."
She looks at me, probably attempting to decipher what's going on in my head. Then she gasps. "You miss it, don't you?" she asks, almost a whisper. "Hockey. You miss being out there with them."
I straighten and scoff at her, "I'm Ean fucking Gallagher, I don't miss that. I'm a badass, remember? You're afraid of me. I'm in a gang. Remember?" I snap. She shrinks back, and the rink and guys on the ice go silent. I shove my biology book back into my backpack and sling it over my shoulder, quickly walking out.
They all exchange a look, and Spencer turns to me, "Don't do that shit. You're trying to get on her good side, remember?"
I look at them blankly as they shake their heads at me, "I am on her good side. I got her to believe I want her to tutor me!" They still don't say anything and I think back to how their expressions changed when I mentioned Beau. "Beau was your old superstar wasn't he? Then he just disappeared, and none of you know where. Me pushing her buttons about Beau has nothing to do with this bet, it just hit you where it hurt and now you're pissed. What even happened to him?"
"Lynch is the only one that knows where he went. He hasn't even told the girl; she seems pretty clueless about what happened. Once it broke out, Beau got Lynch to keep it hush hush and not let her figure out that her big brother, her protector, was what he was. From what I heard, he never even said goodbye. No phone number to call, no address, nothing. All his past ties are gone."
"So wait, all the stuff that's promised to me now, was Beau's?"
"Everything that's promised to you is still his."
"I don't remember any of this, though- I only remember becoming the next heir, or whatever. I thought you chose me as a future leader, not a temporary replacement."
"You were barely sixteen when you joined, and seventeen when all this happened. We still had to keep you on the down low since you were a minor, so you weren't here most of the time," Max says.
"Beau will come back. He won't leave behind what's been set on a silver platter for him forever." Will seems confident in this, like he's convinced himself that this is true. To him, Beau will come back and everything will go back to the way it was before the bust. The others don't look so sure.
"I have to go," I say, rushing away from the fire illuminating the circle. I slam my car door shut behind me and take a deep breath. "Temporary replacement, huh? We'll see."
-
I'm woken up from my nap with an abrupt knocking on my car window. I glare up at whoever had the balls to interrupt me and see Shailene peering down at me. I start my car and put my window down.
"What are you doing here?" I ask glancing at the clock on my radio. "Shouldn't her majesty be in class?"
Her smile falters. "I have a free period, and I figured since you wouldn't be in class anyway, we could get some tutoring done since it's Wednesday." I look at her incredulously. "That way you can still go... hang out with your friends after school instead of having to stay after with me?"
I think back to what happened last night. "We aren't meeting up tonight... They all got the flu?" I say, though it's more of a question as I try to come up with an excuse. There's no way I'm going to sit under the dock in the freezing cold for a bunch of pieces of shit who are going to end up replacing me anyway.
"Oh... Okay? I'll just go then," she says, standing up straight and walking back towards the school.
I sigh, fumbling out of the car to catch up with her. "Shailene, wait." She turns around. "I'll see you after school? I can give you a ride and we can... study?" She pauses for a second and I realize how weird that really sounded. I try again, "Does Matt have practice today?" She nods hesitantly. "We can meet up there? I'm sure he'll want to see what's going on." She thinks about if for a second, before I think I see the will to tutor me win.
"Sure. Three thirty?" I nod, flashing back to my routine I had for practice.
"See you then."
-
I scan the chalk boards at the entrance of the iceplex for the team's rink assignment, then head towards rink three in the back. I zip up my hoodie, cursing at myself for forgetting a heavier jacket. I climb the few steps up to the bleachers and drop down my backpack next to me when I see they're empty. I look at the clock on my phone and realize I'm actually a few minutes early.
I sit down roughly, pulling out my phone and putting a headphone in my ear to try to combat the dead silence in the rink. I sit there maybe ten minutes before I hear the tapping of skate blades against the cushioned floor. I look to the door and see a bunch of the guys I instantly recognize, even through their cages, as they come in their practice jerseys. I suddenly remember this all so well.
Then, Shailene comes between the memories and me, sitting down next to me. "You're here," she breathes, shocked. I nod, looking away from the ice where the guys now are. She notices my distraction and tries to pull me away from it, "Well... we should get started."
I grab my backpack from under the bleachers and let her grab whatever book she wants to start with. "You're in bio, right?" I try focus back on her, but get distracted once again by the familiar drills going on in front of us. "Ean? How'd the paper go?" I drop my head. It's silent for a few minutes. "We're clearly not going to get anything done, so go ahead and go. Something's obviously bugging you."
She looks at me, probably attempting to decipher what's going on in my head. Then she gasps. "You miss it, don't you?" she asks, almost a whisper. "Hockey. You miss being out there with them."
I straighten and scoff at her, "I'm Ean fucking Gallagher, I don't miss that. I'm a badass, remember? You're afraid of me. I'm in a gang. Remember?" I snap. She shrinks back, and the rink and guys on the ice go silent. I shove my biology book back into my backpack and sling it over my shoulder, quickly walking out.