"We just want to talk," Cade grunts, scowling at Floren as if she's the one who dragged them out here and is now simply being difficult. He flashes a look at the other boys and then his eyes are peering into hers again.

He has never bothered Floren before. He lives in the building across the road from hers, and she occasionally sees him arriving or leaving, but they've never spoken to each other. She only notices him from time to time because, unless he's smoking in the alley, his dad is always yelling at him from their second-floor apartment window while Cade enters or leaves their building.

"I'll take that," Floren hears a familiar voice behind her, and the wonderful sound almost causes her legs to give out under her. She only sees a blur of movement in her peripheral vision, and then Archer comes breezing through the group so suddenly that neither she nor any of the boys around her has time to react.

He nimbly re-possesses her school bag from the athletic blond guy and carries on walking without running into any resistance. He doesn't even break his stride. John is doing something similar to rescue Floren's books from the startled guy still holding on to them.

Floren's eyes widen with shock when, like an avenging spirit, Ranger materialises behind Cade. She has no idea where he came from because she'd been too focussed on John and Archer, strolling away, chatting with each other as if they were on their way to a picnic and completely unaware of the predicament their friend is in.

Apparently, it is completely normal for these thugs to help Floren carry her baggage... if only she'd known that.

Cade either senses the threatening presence behind him or sees Floren looking past him in surprise. He probably already suspects what's happening because he clenches his teeth and turns around to face the enemy.

He is very brave.

Ranger is just standing there, looking at the boy. He actually seems to be more than a little bit bored – he is very good at looking bored - but then his eyes narrow slightly, and one eyebrow rises in an unspoken challenge; just like that, he doesn't look bored anymore at all.

Floren would've laughed if she wasn't petrified with fear. Clearly, Ranger has watched one too many anime school gangster dramas. They are vastly outnumbered here! Now is not the time to act like... well... Ranger.

The boys surrounding her are all blanching and hurrying to distance themselves from Ranger. It is a wise decision because it is time to run away from him when he appears calm and focused like this. Still, he is only one guy.

Mesmerised by the look on his face, Floren doesn't immediately realise that Jared has arrived behind her, flung an arm around her shoulders and is tugging at her to follow their friends, casually walking off with her possessions.

Archer and John have yet to miss a single step; anybody who doesn't know them would think that they were oblivious to the situation they'd just saved the girl from. When the five finally catch up with each other, it is not the first time that Floren concludes that there might be something seriously wrong with her friends.

They're not even glancing back.

Floren wants to glance back. She really, really does. Now that the danger has passed... maybe... she's starting to shake. She expects an attack from behind at any moment, but it doesn't come, and then they round the corner of the school without incident. Turning off into a side street, they finally arrive at the convenience store. It is one of Jared's many casual workplaces and also the place where he, Ranger and Archer park their bikes during school hours.

They don't park their bikes in the schoolyard in case they might need to slip away and figured that Mick's Superette is the most logical place to leave their bikes since the group of friends always walk here together after school before splitting up; each going in their own direction. Sometimes, they stick around for a bit to have a soft drink and play on the arcade machines.

Today is not one of those days.

Trembling uncontrollably now, Floren glances from one rescuer to the other, wondering if they're really not aware that those boys were probably going to hurt her... or them... or both? She cannot imagine them being too thick to realise that! They should be getting on their bikes, and she and John should be running home, but none of that is happening. They are just gathering at the motorcycles parked behind the store, making no move to leave.

Carefully watching their faces, Floren finally sees all the subtle hints that they are not as calm and careless as they appear to be. The muscle jumping in John's jaw is a dead giveaway, and so is the coldness in Ranger's dark eyes. Archer is clenching his teeth and has an overly tight grip on her school bag, and even Jared is not smiling for once.

"You okay, Midge?" Ranger, as usual, is the first to regain his composure, his eyes clearing and his face relaxing a little.

"I'm not a mi..." Floren doesn't have the energy to complete her routine answer to his use of what he misguidedly thinks of as a term of endearment. Her voice fails her, and she simply ends her sentence with a nod, her gaze automatically drifting to John.

A 100 years ago, she'd explained to Ranger that midges might be really, really small, but their bites can cause severe reactions in humans, much worse than mosquitoes. He'd just grinned at her and told her that she was welcome to chew on him anytime, which made John growl... and of course that made Ranger laugh. Things became a bit messy after that... mostly in a good-natured way.

John wasn't really angry that day; in fact, Floren had only seen him as angry as he was now once before...

No... he's not quite that angry... yet. Those boys should be very glad that they did not actually harm her.

Still, the way the muscles in his jaw are flexing is not a good sign. She's about to walk the couple of steps required to reach him so she can wrap her arms around his waist and stop him from being angry when Jared turns her with a hand on her shoulder to face him instead.

"Come on," he grins at her, rubbing his hand over her head as if she were a puppy. Floren should be elated by the affection, but she's too tense right now to enjoy it. She tries to return his smile, but her facial muscles are still numb. Instead, she glances nervously at the other boys quietly seething near her.

"Cuz, you have to be at work in ten minutes," Archer suddenly breaks out of his trance, his voice sounding somewhat hoarse. While he speaks, he settles Floren's schoolbag on her back, carefully helping her injured arm through the strap.

"Th-thanks," she says, peering up at his face. She cannot read him at all. She always finds Archer a little hard to read, but it's nearly impossible right now. Her heart tightens when she realises that John is stuffing her books into the storage space beneath Jared's motorcycle seat. She tries to stop him, when, done stashing the books, he places Jared's helmet on her head.

"Wh-what are you doing, J-Johnny?"

He doesn't answer. He doesn't have to; Floren already knows what he's doing, and she doesn't like it at all! She nearly screams when he gives her a stiff, lopsided half-smile and fastens the helmet under her chin, ignoring her protests. Nobody is listening to anything she's saying while they help her onto the back of Jared's bike.

Jared has his bag mounted on his stomach, and the guys are giving her none of the freedom of choice the word 'help' might have implied. She tries to escape, but it's hard to do with her arm in a brace, and they are a lot stronger than her.

"Stop being so stubborn; you're going to get hurt," Ranger says, holding her in place behind Jared's back. Clearly, they have no intention of allowing her to stop Jared from kidnapping her. Normally, she would've been thrilled to be on the back of his motorcycle, but...

"J-Johnny?"

"Don't worry... I'll be home in time to make dinner," he actually smiles at her this time, causing Floren to click her tongue with annoyance. That was not funny! She doesn't care about dinner... or her toasty snack! She wants to smack him, but Archer is suddenly sprinting away, drawing her attention.

Following him with her eyes, Floren's heart nearly jolts to a stop when she sees her tormentors coming around the corner and gathering in the empty lot next to the convenience store. They're armed with bats, sticks, and whatever else they could grab along the way.

"Archer!" Floren screams in terror, but he's not listening; he's picking up speed and virtually launches himself at the first boys he reaches, slamming his fist into one and kicking another, sending him sprawling.

"Get her out of here!" John bellows, and his usually grumpy voice has a fearsome edge to it now. He didn't have to shout, though; Jared was already revving the bike, ready to take off. Floren shrieks, trying to bury her face into his back as much as the helmet allows her to and wraps both her arms around him. She hangs on for dear life when he speeds away from their friends.

She wonders why he doesn't just let her run home. It's not that far; she always walks with John.

Her fear has given way to anger of her own by the time they arrive home, and Jared stops his bike at the curb. These boys are always doing stupid, dangerous things! Always! Earlier, she wanted to join the common-sense club, but now she thinks she's the only one in the group who has any.

"What the hell, Jared!?" she shouts, instead of thanking him, and almost falls, scrambling off the bike before he can try to help her. "One of the school board's conditions for not putting you guys on probation after the last incident was that you don't get into any more fights. You could all get expelled for this!

"This is your last year of high school; why can't you just behave for one year and not destroy your future?! What the hell?! You should all join the common-sense club the moment it's created!"

Puffing angry breaths, her cheeks flushed with anger, she unties the helmet, yanks it off her head, and plops it on Jared's head with enough force to make him wince. "And you're driving without a helmet! I should write you a ticket!"

No, she doesn't work for the traffic department, but she is not about to let that stop her!

"Sorry, Flo..." Jared has the grace to look truly apologetic... for four seconds, and then he's grinning the same mischievous smile that always turns her legs into jelly. He takes his sweet time climbing off his bike and opening the seat storage space, all while peering playfully at her from under his baby deer lashes. Floren rudely grabs the books he takes from under the seat and hisses in pain. She'd forgotten about her injury! She quickly moves away from Jared when he reaches for her in concern.

"Shut up..." she grumbles.

She's not able to stay mad, though. She knows the guys were only trying to protect her; later, she'll have the bruises to prove it. Losing her anger is not a good thing because as it evaporates, the fear returns with a vengeance.

"There were so many of them... Why are they doing this?" she chokes. She doesn't even realise that she's crying until Jared uses his sleeve to wipe her tears and tugs loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"Range interrupted some of them when they were harassing a girl behind the convenience store last night. She got away, and a couple of their buddies got a little bruised in the process. Apparently, they didn't like that," he explains.

"Hey, they'll be fine," he assures her, his face softening when he sees how frightened she is and lays a gentle hand against her cheek. "Range is... a demon, Arch is plain friggin' crazy when he's mad, and Johnna... well... they were picking on you... that's all the motivation we need... and you know they can take care of themselves, even John if he has to."

John doesn't often get into fights... at least not willingly. He has no desire for violence and generally only enjoys friendly tussles with his friends. Floren had only seen him in a serious fight once, five years ago, and the sight terrified her.

That fight had also been because of her...

"Besides, those guys have had it coming for months now; they've been trying to pick a fight with us almost daily," Jared tells her, transferring his schoolbag from his stomach to his back. "They're a problem for everybody... Kicking their butts is a form of community service."

"You're not going back there." It is not clear whether she's asking him or giving him an order.

"Can't, my shift at the restaurant starts in..." Jared glances at his watch, "three minutes."

He looks back the way they'd come, and Floren can tell that he really wants to blow off work and go to his friends, but then he smiles and pulls her into a bear hug a lot more gentle than the grip he'd had on her earlier when he was helping to wrestle her onto his bike.

Floren might be feeling better now because she's definitely swooning as she smells his shampoo and deodorant. She is startled to realise that she is suddenly very close to giggling. She doesn't want to giggle; she wants to glare.

"They'll be fine," Jared assures her, rubbing her back. He finally lets her go and fastens the helmet she'd jammed on his head. "I'll give them a call when I get to the restaurant. I promise. Go put your wrist on ice."

"Fighting is not nice," she tells him as if he is a naughty toddler and watches him smile some more.

"No, it's not," he agrees, running a hand over her head again, messing up her hair. Floren waits for it to happen, but he doesn't scratch her behind her ears.

"See, ma'am, I'm wearing my helmet," he grins, and with that, he slides onto his seat, starts his bike and takes off.

"Seriously, does he even know that I'm a girl and not a pet?" she huffs.

Frustration bubbling in her stomach like acid, she irritably plucks the elastic band from her ponytail, freeing her hair and shaking out all the tangles while she enters the crumbling old apartment building.

Today, she rides the elevator to the top floor. The six-apartment building is only three storeys high, but each set of steps bends back on itself, doubling the number of steps one has to climb, and right now, she is feeling bone tired.

Stepping out of the elevator, Floren gives the door to the right of the landing - John's door – a longing look. They should be in there now, having toasted sandwiches while talking about their day. Instead, she is standing here all alone, setting her jaw, determined not to cry again. Clicking her tongue, she crosses to the door on the opposite side of the landing, dragging her heavy feet.

Home.

Floren's mother is drunk again, passed out in the nuclear disaster scene that was once her bedroom. There is a chance that she's not drunk and is simply sleeping in preparation for yet another night of debauchery. Floren can no longer tell the difference, but the array of discarded outfits scattered over the bed and floor hints that it is the latter.

She is just really relieved that her mother didn't bring company home with her today.

After locking the apartment door behind her, she tiptoes to her bedroom, dumping her schoolbag on the chair facing her rickety desk and putting the books on its scarred surface. Grabbing the abused-looking plush unicorn she'd been treasuring since she was a baby and clutching it to her chest, she curls up on a corner of her bed.

Her wrist is aching from her feeble attempts to escape her rescuers, revealing just how desperate they must've been to get her away from danger. Normally, they would never allow her to hurt herself while resisting them. Usually, they're all very gentle with her... even Ranger.

She knows she should probably heed Jared's advice and put ice on her wrist, but she's reluctant to leave her room.

From her vantage point, she can see John's bedroom across the narrow divide and will know it the second he gets home.

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