"Nah dude, I don't wanna deal with a pissed off Steve and he isn't half as scary as Ethan. You just wait and see how he's gonna react when he gets to find out what we're doing to Andrew. I'm outta here. Peace out," Kaden ranted as he moved to walk past Kaleb.

Kaleb appeared as if he was about to protest but his friend already walked on from the scene. He turned to look at his two other teammates, who were smiling uneasily at him. It didn't take long for them to follow Kaden's lead.

"Fucking pussies," Kaleb muttered, sounding incredibly annoyed.

My gaze passed over to an approaching Steve and I got to admit; I was a little disappointed seeing Charlie trotting after him since I was kind of hoping Ethan would have come to rescue me. But I guess not.

"Seems like your plan is not going as planned," I uttered, despite how scared I was at that moment.

Kaleb didn't seem to care for the mockery, though he did finally let go of my collar. Keeping his stoic look, I caught his eyes darkening and without warning he grabbed my jaw with one hand, forcing me to look into his blue eyes.

"Listen to me, you fool. This is far from over." Kaleb's voice held another threat.

I opened my mouth to retort but Steve already intervened by hastily grabbing him and pulling him over to stand a few feet away from me. Irritated by Steve's act, Kaleb yanked his hand out of his before sending him daggers with his eyes.

"Why'd you do this to our friend? Are you possessed?" Steve screamed in his face. The veins in his neck became noticeable.

Charlie rushed over to where I stood, his eyes running over my body, up and down, searching for injuries. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

My gaze snapped up to Charlie's attentive one. "I'm fine. He never got a chance to."

"Oh, thank God!" Charlie's face painted with relief and I reciprocated with an appreciative smile.

"Good thing we'd decided to take out some trash and be able to stop these jerks right on time," he added.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't tell Ethan about this!" Steve screamed at Kaleb again, bringing my attention back to them. Boy, I had never seen him that mad before.

"Oh, please go ahead. No one is stopping you," Kaleb challenged him, showing no signs of worry. "But just answer me one thing, man. How many boots do you lick a day?"

Steve's eyebrows creased at his provoking question. "Have something you like to say?"

"I think I'm saying it pretty clear," Kaleb answered calmly, a hint of teasing in his voice.

I knew if I didn't interrupt these two, all the years of friendship between Kaleb and Steve was going to be at the brink of ending and knowing full well I was the one who caused it just didn't sit well with me. So, I did what every responsible person would do.

"I started it," I croaked out prompting all three heads to snap in my way.

"You should all blame me for this. I was the one who did something I shouldn't have in the first place and it hurts Kaleb's feelings."

"I don't believe it," Steve rejected my confession on the spot, his eyes wandered to Charlie who looked just as perplexed.

"It's true," I abruptly replied. I did tell the truth. Kaleb became enraged once I didn't listen to him about breaking my contact with Ethan. "He deserves to be angry at my behavior."

Kaleb cleared his throat. A faint smile appeared on his lips before disappearing. "Well, you guys heard it from his own mouth. Andrew brought this to himself."

"Andrew, you're wrong for that," Charlie pointed out to which Kaleb rolled his eyes. "Just because he's upset, doesn't give him the right to treat you this bad."

"Don't make a fuss, Char. It's already complicated enough for me," I pleaded, my eyes growing wide for him. Charlie just scratched his head in response.

"No," he refused, placing his hands on my shoulders. "It's not right. You're being bullied. I want him to apologize for his actions."

"It's always the fag who looks for a reason to cause unnecessary drama," Kaleb spoke up and his words were venomous and sharp.

I glanced at Charlie to see his reaction. He looked the same as he always did -- calm and composed. I couldn't believe the hurtful words that just rolled off Kaleb's tongue still got him at ease. I heard Steve condemn his friend's attitude under his breath.

"Damn, bro you calling me a fag won't make you less innocent. Are you sure you're not gay yourself? It's always the most homophobic one, you know?" Charlie inquired him back.

Kaleb's face pulled into a frown. "Why are you defending him so hard? No matter how much you try, Andrew isn't going to let you fuck him, so quit trying."

"Kaleb, why are you spewing this bullshit?" I asked exasperatedly, narrowing my eyes into a glare but Kaleb paid me no mind.

"I was raised to help people in need regardless of what they've done and I'm not asking anything in return," Charlie said making Kaleb chuckle humorlessly.

"To hell with your help. Andrew and I are cool now," Kaleb spat and pointed a finger at him. "You, however, are a total faggot!"

Charlie acted offended, placing a hand over his chest. "Oh, you got me! I am a faggot. At least I'm not a closet case jock who's afraid of coming out. It's okay queen, I'll help you."

I felt myself go cold. Steve frowned deeply as his eyes drifted between the two guys beside him. Kaleb was silent for a good second until he began to stomp over towards Charlie.

"I'm going to fucking kill -"

"No harm to him or you're gonna have to fight me," Steve cut him off, standing in his way.

Kaleb sneered, his anger rising. "You think I can't take down two theater kids?"

"You sure you're going to walk out of the fight with no big injuries?" Charlie cut in.

Steve looked over his shoulder, proudly grinning at Charlie, and proceeded to give Kaleb his final words. "Think again, man. You have a big game tomorrow night."

Kaleb looked as if he was two seconds away from exploding and without another word, he angrily stalked off.