Silence is Suicide.

Chapter Ten.

Jeremy's smile quickly faded. "Get down!" he warned, pushing me gently to the ground. A wooden stool flew past Jeremy's head and almost hit him.

"What... is wrong with you... J-Jeremy?" a drunken, older man yelled at him.

"Shut your face, bro! That was my decision and now it's over. Deal with it!" Jeremy yelled back at the man. He looked down at me with a worried expression. He helped me back up on my feet. "Lil' dude, we gotta get out of here..." He grabbed my arm and we maneuvered our way out of the small bar.

He sprinted down the sidewalk, I was close behind him. He slowed down to catch his breath a few blocks away from the bar. "You... Okay... Bro...?" he asked me in between breaths and coughs.

I gave him a thumbs up.

"Hey, it's late. I should take you back home."

My eyes grew wide and I shook my head, no.

Jeremy sighed, "Okay, just for tonight... Why don't you kick it at my place? I know we don't really know each other and all that, but don't worry. I'm a good guy."

I calmed down and nodded my head yes. Cool with me... bro.

"Hell yes! Party at Jeremy's!" he laughed fist-bumping the air.

We walked for a few more blocks. Past my house, past my school, then a few streets down from there. We finally reached the apartment complexes.

Jeremy pulled out an Avenged Sevenfold lanyard with a set of keys from his back pocket. "So, kid, if you ever need me, you know where to find me." he said sincerely.

The door unlocked and we climbed up the stairs to get to his main level. The inside of the apartment was large, open, and very sterile. Everything was clean and tidy. Unlike what I'm used to.

"No worries," the slender, tattooed man motioned to the leather couch. "Chill out bro, you look tense."

I sat down, but I kept my guard up. I'll learn to trust, or not to trust Jeremy sooner or later.

Jeremy opened the refrigerator. "Wait, lil' dude, I don't think I caught your real name. What was it again?"

I opened up my backpack and proceeded to pull the whiteboard and marker out again. "Emerson."

Jeremy stroked his beard, "Emerson, huh. Well, Emerson, do you want a tour of my place?"

Ah, what the Hell. I thought, so I nodded yes and Jeremy smiled.