So I decided to write a small journal to provide some insight into my life recently. Basically, I have not been anywhere near as active on Buzznet as I used to be. I still try to check it every day, and check out my friends' stuff, but I haven't been an avid contributer.

Lately, my life has just been filled with drama upon drama, and I'm just starting to get over it. So a break from the "real" world might be just what I need! Meaning, I'm thinking of picking up on writing once again. I don't know what it'll be about, but it'll be something to just distract me from everything else going on. With any luck, a new story will be started by me shortly, and that'll be up if you guys want to read it.

I'm taking a short vacay to South Carolina next week, but after that I might get started.

~Taylor

ps I really miss everyone on this site. :(

            “Nothing?!?” Joe Trohman screamed as he stood up from where he sat behind the big table that he and Andrew had currently been sharing a joint around.

            “Apparently not sir…” Brendon replied, as he shifted his hat in his hands uncomfortably. He always hated delivering news that he knew was not what his bosses were expecting.

            “How the FUCK did they find nothing?!?” Joe shouted at him, the rage obviously radiating through his eyes and into the young man standing in front of him.

            “I…I…I don’t…” Brendon stumbled over his words, always feeling inadequate when he was in front of these two men. He was glad Ryan was the only other person who ever saw him as weak as this.

            “Chill dude,” Andrew spoke calmly as he exhaled a big puff of smoke. Brendon couldn’t see Andrew’s eyes because they were well hidden behind his Ray-Ban sunglasses that he wore all the time. “Sit down, kick your feet back, and take a hit off this.” He instructed, his partner doing exactly what he was told. “There, that’s some good shit, right?”

            “Yea, it’s nice…” Joe agreed, instantly mellowing out.

            “Now,” Andrew spoke calmly, turning his attention back to Brendon and Ryan. “Since this one’s obviously a little rattled, mind telling us the details?” he asked, facing Ryan.

            “Oh!” Ryan shouted, purely out of the surprise of being addressed. Ryan winced a little as he received an evil glare shot back at him from Brendon. He ignored it as he took a couple steps forward to stand even with Brendon. “Peter said they went through the entire apartment with a fine tooth comb, and didn’t find a single thing.”

            “We got that part.” Andrew snapped quickly, showing a little anger. He mellowed down before he opened his mouth again. “Elaborate on what you mean by ‘nothing’ please.”

            “Uhm…” Ryan’s voice waivered as he strained to think of how to answer this seemingly simple question. He really wished Brendon had been allowed to continue to speak; Ryan really wasn’t cut out for this type of pressure. “Peter said that if we hadn’t told him what kind of guy this Saporta fellow was, he never would have deduced it from going through his apartment.”

            “So by ‘nothing’, you mean there was nothing to tie him to being a drug lord?” Andrew questioned.

            “That, and…” Ryan continued. “There wasn’t anything to tie him to having a…life really. I guess they found absolutely no pictures, no old identifications. Apparently they didn’t find anything to say that he had a pervious life. It’s as if he just appeared here, but as if he hadn’t spent time anywhere else.”

            “Well he’s obviously more intelligent than even we expected,” Andrew stated, more to himself than to anyone else.

            “What do you mean?” Ryan asked, not quite comprehending that what Andrew had said wasn’t targeted to him.

            “I mean that Mr. Saporta here knew we would use any and all personal things of his to get him to fuck off.” Andrew decided to respond. “If we can’t find any traces of his old, or current life, then we have no leverage. All he has is himself, and that’s one thing he can always be sure of protecting. No strings attached anywhere else…”

The three young men cast sideways glances to one another. Each of them was seated in a red velvet chair, all three facing Gabe’s rather large mahogany desk. No one knew why they had been called here, and no one knew why their boss wasn’t even here. Whether they had been there five minutes, 30 minutes, or maybe a couple hours – no one was sure. A few more silent minutes passed before William decided to speak up.

            “Okay,” he stated as he shifted in his seat to look at the younger boy seated in the middle. “What the fuck did you do this time?”

David’s eyes suddenly grew large as the possibility that this confrontation was caused by him once again. He had tried to do better – to be better, but had he made another huge mistake without knowing. “I…I…” he stuttered, trying to think of how to respond to the slightly menacing man next to him.

            “Beckett,” Travis sighed, turning to face his partner from the other side of David. “We both know that there is no way in hell that angel face over here has gotten into anymore trouble. He hasn’t left this place without one of us, and no way in hell would he have been able to slip up with one of us by his side.”

            “True,” William replied quickly, but ready to argue anyway. “But we both know that we didn’t do anything wrong, so that only leaves…” his voice trailed off as they heard footsteps outside of the office. All three boys fell silent, and faced the desk again as the door opened.

As Gabe entered the room, both William and Travis stood up to welcome their boss. David remained seated until he received a hard nudge from William, with a hissed command to stand the fuck up. Gabe rolled his eyes slightly as he watched the sad display in front of him.

            “Sorry sir,” William spoke up. “We’re doing our best to teach him, but I’m being to think it might be a lost cause…”

Gabe spun around quickly at that statement; fire burning in his eyes. “This young man has the capability to be as good as you, or even as good as myself.” He stated, knowing that his team had to stay united through everything. “You can’t question his abilities, or he’ll begin to question them himself. I put you two in charge of bringing him up right, so don’t fuck it up or it’s on your shoulders.”

            “I apologize sir,” William stated as he bowed his head to Gabe.

            “Very well,” Gabe responded, sounded bored with the subject. “Now sit down.”

All three of the men took their seats in front of Gabe’s desk again, and watched their boss walk behind his desk and sit down in the chair behind it. He got himself situated comfortably, and took a few moments to organize his thoughts before addressing the men in front of him.

            “No one did anything wrong.” Gabe stated, sensing the fear radiating from David. “But the police did break into my apartment the other day, and obviously we can’t have my security breached like that. Do any of you three know anything about police working with TJAM?”

            “No sir,” Travis responded. “But it is to be expected. All the cops in this town are as crooked as the criminals, and in some cases even more crooked.”

Gabe took in this statement and nodded his head in response. “That seems to be the way it is in most cities nowadays,” Gabe replied matter-of-factly. “Which is why my apartment would give them absolutely no clues to anything in my life whatsoever. This little meeting is only happening to let you guys know that you need to be more careful with everything you do now. I can’t have any of my men get arrested.”

            “Yes sir.” All three responded at the same time.

            “Good, now you can leave.” He stated as he turned his eyes to some paperwork on his desk. “Close the door behind you.” He added as an afterthought.

**Thanks for everyone who reads and comments on this story. I lurve you guys. PS, I get to go see Jack's Mannequin on Tuesday! Whoop whoop!**

It had been over a week and Gabe had gotten no further contact from TJAM. Gabe wasn’t stupid enough to believe that this sudden decrease of threats had come strictly from his increased security. He knew that the infamous drug lords that comprised TJAM were probably just planning something larger. It’s not like they were in a huge rush to destroy Gabe and his budding empire. They had the force and knowledge of the territory to be able to take their time without worry.

Gabe remained calm though. Maybe he didn’t have the experience in this city, but back at his home – he had been king. No one was as cunning as he was, not even by a long shot. In fact, he moved out here solely to receive a bit more of a challenge. Life wasn’t as pleasurable for him if he wasn’t constantly competing to be the best.

He was actually slightly displeased by how long it had taken Trohman and McMahon to contact him. He had expected a warning on his first or second day in town, but yet he had waited months – months – to receive any word from them. Even though he deduced their low-level intelligence from the time they allowed him to grow stronger and familiarize himself with the area, he had to give them props for the flair they exhibited upon delivering their initial warning.

It would have been much more impressive if the message had appeared on the face of either Beckett or McCoy, but Gabe wasn’t dumb enough to hire more than one naïve employee, and David was that one – the obvious weak link. He wasn’t even sure why he had allowed him to join the… “family”. For some reason when he saw that kid on the streets, digging out of dumpsters for food, he felt the need to extend his arms to him. It was a momentary lack of judgment on his part, but he wasn’t about to go back on that now. He could train this kid. Bring him up as his protégée.

Gabe was mulling over this idea of bringing David up as his special project, with the intentions of handing him the business when he had had enough, as he walked down the street to his apartment complex.

            “Ah, and here’s where things begin to get interesting…” he mused to himself as he took in the sight of a police car parked on the curb in front of his home.

He felt his mouth contort into a simple smile as he began to walk towards the front door. As he approached the door though, it opened and the girl that he had met a week before was rushing toward him. She placed one of her frail hands on his forearm, and pulled him away from the door.

            “We’re going for a walk.” She informed him as she pulled him back down the steps.

Gabe slid his key back into his deep pant pocket, and began to walk after this mystery woman, whom he hadn’t seen since that night he saw her with a dog. “So mind telling me what your name is?” he asked her after a few minutes of silent walking had passed.

            “Mind telling me why two cops just broke into your apartment?” she retorted.

Gabe’s eyebrows rose as he tried to piece together this girl’s intentions. “I’m not sure,” Gabe replied. “I was just about to go up to my apartment, and I’m sure they would have told me when I asked them what was going on. Why’d you prevent me from doing that?”

            “Let’s just say I know that quite a few cops in these parts are crooked,” she responded, her eyes narrowing, but staying straight ahead. “And when I say ‘quite a few’ I really mean ‘every cop that I’ve met’. And you seem like a pretty good guy, so I didn’t want you to get dragged through whatever filth they’re trying to rummage up.”

Gabe smiled at this girl, knowing that she probably couldn’t see him since he was trailing a stride or two behind her. “Well I think I must return this favor with an expression of my utmost gratitude.” Gabe told her, in the most gentlemanly voice that he could procure.

The girl stopped walking, and turned to face him. “My name’s Michelle. Michelle Nolan.” She informed him as she extended a hand to him.

            “Gabriel Saporta.” He responded, as he briefly took her hand in his and shook it gently. “But you can call me Gabe…”

            “Pete, this is taking it too far.” Patrick stated, feeling sick to his stomach as he felt the cruiser slow down and eventually stop in front of a rather quaint apartment building in one of the better parts of town.

Pete sighed as he put the car into park. He knew that Patrick was absolutely correct, but he still had no intention of not following through with his orders. He told Patrick that he would get them out whenever he felt they were in the remotest danger, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. He was too scared of what his current side-employers would do to him and his best friend if they every told them no.

            “We’re fine.” Pete stated as he exited the cruiser, and placed the keys in his pocket. “The guy’s place that we’re checking out is apparently a drug dealer as well, so he’s one of the bad guys. We’re still doing our job; this is just making it easier.”

            “Bull shit Pete!” Patrick shouted, as he got out of the car as well; slamming his door closed once he was out. “So now as long as any criminal tells us that someone is up to no good, we’re going to believe them? No questions asked?”

Pete lowered his gaze, not wanted to see the disappointed look on his best friend’s face. “No,” he answered truthfully. “But why else would… they be concerned with this guy if he wasn’t providing them with competition?”

            “I don’t know.” Patrick responded, seemingly calm now. “I guess that’s the only logical explanation for them to give a shit, but I still feel like we shouldn’t be doing this without having some reason to.”

            “He’d provide us with a reason later,” Pete assured him, even though he really wasn’t sure himself. “We’re just jumping the gun here. It’s what all cops do when they get inside information.”

            “Yea, but they turn their uncovered information in to the police chiefs,” Patrick replied. “Not to some other high class criminals.”

            “We might as well let the scum clear each other off the streets for us,” Pete told his partner. “This way we don’t have to get our hands dirty, and we only have to worry about…them, and not a million other groups.”

Patrick sighed and turned his head towards the apartment building in front of them, knowing he would never win this argument. “Let’s just get this done as quickly as possible.” He said simply.

            “Alright.” Pete agreed as he patted his friend on the upper arm comfortingly before they both began to walk up to the front door.

**So, hope ya liked it. Comments are mucho appreciated.**

            “Pete, this is taking it too far.” Patrick stated as he hopped down off of his bar stool and went to stand by his fellow cop as he closed one eye and cocked his arm back to release a dart towards the board on the bar’s wall.

Pete’s tongue snuck out of his mouth slightly and ran itself against his upper lip as he released the dart and watched it soar directly into the bull’s-eye of the dartboard. “Patrick, Patrick, Patrick,” Pete replied with a smile as he turned to his companion and patted his upper arm reassuringly.  “We aren’t doing anything wrong.”

            “Bullshit we aren’t!” Patrick shouted in a hushed voice as he realized that the bartender was most likely listening to the pair. “You know just as well as I that what we are doing goes against everything we were taught in the academy.”

            “And you know as well as I that…” Pete began before Patrick jumped back in.

            “Yes, I do know that the majority of cops are crooked in at least one aspect of the word,” Patrick finished for him with a quick roll of his eyes, receiving this same exact speech countless times before. “Even so, that doesn’t mean that we should be. We certainly don’t have to be.”

Pete cast a glance at the bartender who was obviously straining to hear their conversation while pretending to clean out one of the glass mugs. “Come on.” He commanded as he walked past Patrick, grabbing his coat as he pushed past so that he could lead him out of the bar and onto the dark streets where they could talk more privately.

            “You know something is fucked up when we can’t even discuss what’s going on in a dingy, old bar.” Patrick exclaimed as they stood out in the slightly chilly Chicago air. “I mean, come on Pete. Get a clue. You’re fucking up your future, and you’re kind of taking me with you. I thought we were supposed to be friends?” Patrick glanced down at the sidewalk at his last statement, not wanting to look Pete in the face at this exact moment.

            “We are.” Pete replied, sounding slightly hurt at the notion of him being anything less than a great friend. “Best friends. You know that. If I thought any harm was going to come from this, I wouldn’t be involved with it. If I ever get the feeling that something bad is going to happen, we will cease what we’re doing. You know that. You are my best friend, and I’m just trying to help you as much as I can. You would have trouble paying your rent if we didn’t get this extra money every week, and you know it.”

            “I guess…” Patrick agreed reluctantly, as he kicked a pebble from the surface of the sidewalk.

            “No, you know.” Pete replied. “You have to know. You also know that if we don’t do what we do right now, then another pair of cops would. Then we wouldn’t have the money, nor would the situation change at all. No one will be able to stop these guys. Not even the cleanest cops. I promise you that, and I know that you know that somewhere inside of you.”

            “Okay.” Patrick finally agreed as he looked up from the previously scintillating ground that had captured his attention for the duration of Peter’s reassuring speech.

            “You trust me don’t you?” Pete asked as he made eye contact with his best friend.

Patrick nodded his head in response, not sure if he could say the words with enough conviction to please Pete.

            “Say it.” Pete commanded, firmly yet gently at the same time.

            “I trust you,” Patrick stated meekly.

            “That’s all I’m asking for.” Pete replied as he flashed his prize winning smile at Patrick, knowing that was all he needed to do to make Patrick return the smile. “You and I will do great things kid.” Pete stated in response to Patrick’s smile. Then he engulfed the man in a hug. “Great things. I promise.” He added as the slightly worried look danced in his eyes, hoping his partner wouldn’t be able to sense the fear within him.

            “You should really be nicer to Lacey,” Ryan stated after he and Brendon had been walking in silence for the last ten minutes or so.

            “I don’t have the slightest clue as to what you’re speaking about…” Brendon responded as a mischievous smile danced onto his face, curling his lips up into a twisted half smile; matching the twinkle in his eyes marvelously.  

            “She’s a great girl Brendon,” Ryan replied, choosing to ignore Brendon’s blatant attempt to play innocent.

            “And I’ve always thought very highly of her.” Brendon responded matter-of-factly.

            “All I’m saying is, don’t fuck with her head.” Ryan stated. “I mean, I understand that it must be flattering to have someone be completely obsessed with you in every way, but you really shouldn’t lead her on as some type of sport.”

            “I really haven’t a clue as to what you’re alluding to right now Ross.” Brendon responded with a hint of amusement mingled with false confusion added to his tone.

            “Whatever.” Ryan replied. “Just don’t hurt her, cause she’s fragile.”

            “I think someone’s in love…” Brendon stated coyly.

            “No,” Ryan replied honestly, but not stressing it to get his point across. He really didn’t care what Brendon thought. “I just think we hurt enough people as our job that we shouldn’t hurt people when we’re off duty. That’s just cruel.”

The amusement immediately seeped out of every pore of Brendon’s. Ryan always had a way of ruining everything. “We have a job to do.” Brendon snapped instantly, changing the subject. “Let’s leave this frivolous drama out of it.”

            “Fine.” Ryan agreed as he and Brendon continued their walk in silence until they came upon the two people that they were looking for.

            “Aw how touching.” Brendon stated as his eyes danced with delight. “Hollywood couldn’t make a more touching image than this one right here. How beautiful. Isn’t this just precious Ryan? Why don’t we embrace more?”

            “Probably because we aren’t queer.” Ryan replied blandly, never ceasing to be surprised by how quickly Brendon can go into character. If he ever decided to leave this life of crime, he could definitely make it as an actor. No doubt about it.

The two men that Brendon and Ryan were addressing immediately broke from their prior embrace, and turned to face the thugs.

            “Nice to see you Peter,” Brendon stated as he bowed his head in his direction slightly. Deciding to ignore the sneer of disgust that was plastered on the short man’s face. “We have a special request for you tonight, and an added bonus to go along with it if you get the job done.”

**I only have one more part written after this, so updates might not come as often as they have been right now. I'll try to write as much as possible though. Hopefully you like this part! I believe all important characters have now been introduced. :) **

            “And there is the lovely Miss Williams.” Brendon spoke coyly as he and Ryan sauntered out of their bosses’ office and into the heart of their corporation.

The brilliantly red-headed girl swung around as she heard the ever familiar voice say her name; causing her to abruptly end her conversation with a brown headed girl. Her face had already turned into a look of disgust as she faced the boy walking towards her. “Well look what the cat dragged in.” she responded.

            “Now, now,” Brendon responded playfully, as he wagged his index finger back and forth. “That’s no way to speak to the father of your future children.”

Hayley snorted as she turned her attention to Ryan, who was (like always) standing a step behind Brendon, being completely silent. “At least Andrew and Joe had the sensibility to employ one civilized man.” She stated as her eyes twinkled in the direction of Ryan.

Ryan raised his head slightly as she made mention of him. He made eye contact with her briefly, before quickly glancing back down at his feet once he felt the crimson flood his entire boyish face.

            “No need to toy with his heart to make me jealous,” Brendon responded coolly. “We do have other business to attend to though, so I’ll just give you more time to think about what you want to make of you and me.” He informed her. “Until then…” he added as he brought one of his gloved hands down to swoop up one of her tiny hands. He then quickly brought it up to his plush lips, and had time to place a tender kiss on the back of her hand before she pulled it away.

            “Repulsive.” Hayley responded as her lip curled up in disgust once again, and she frantically wiped the back of her hand on her shirt.

A small cough was heard from behind Hayley. All three turned around to look at the brown-haired girl that Hayley had been talking to.

            “Ah sorry Lace,” Ryan spoke up as he noticed she was there; glad to have a distraction from Hayley. He stepped forward and robotically placed his hands on her sides, as she placed her hands on his upper arms, as they both planted light kisses on each other’s cheeks.

            “Nice to see you Ryan.” Lacey responded nonchalantly as she backed out of his embrace, and stepped into the circle of people. She tried her best to play cool in front of Brendon, acting like she didn’t notice he was there.

            “Hello Lacey,” Brendon spoke up as he bowed his head slightly in her direction. He knew the game she was playing, but he was just not a willing participant. She had to grow out of this phase sooner or later.

            “Oh Brendon!” Lacey faked shock as she turned to face him. “I feel like we never get to talk anymore.” She pouted as she stuck out her bottom lip.

            “This job only has so many perks,” Brendon replied casually. “But like I said, Ryan and I have business to attend to. So we’ll just have to see you two beautiful ladies later.”

Lacey giggled. “Be safe.” She offered as a farewell.

The two boys nodded their heads gratefully at her before they turned to exit the headquarters, and step out into the streets shrouded by night. In their line of business, they did the majority of their work at night. Hidden from things that they didn’t want to find them.

Gabe sighed as he gently jammed his index finger and thumb into the corners of his eyes, as he tried to wipe away the sleep that was continually trying to make his heavy eyelids come drooping closed. “Okay, fuck this.” He finally admitted defeat as he pulled his folder closed, and dropped his pen on top of it.

He pushed his large chair back from his desk, and got up; stretching his long legs. He paced over to the corner of the room, and grabbed his knee length pea coat off of the coat hanger and quickly pulled it on, draping a black scarf around his neck; to keep him warm in the reasonably chilly Chicago air. He strolled over to the fireplace, that still contained a few glowing embers. He grabbed a handful of sand that was situated in a bucket to the left of the fireplace, and tossed it on the warm sparks.

Once the flame was entirely extinguished, Gabe made his way towards the heavy office doors. He grabbed the handle, and pulled it open, stepping out of the room and allowing the door to swing closed behind him. He slid his skeleton key into the lock, and made sure the door was locked. Then he continued to walk down the mostly empty corridor, toward the front door of the building.

            “Stay sharp.” He commanded the guy standing watch at the front door.

            “Of course Mr. Saporta.” The young man replied as he stepped forward to pull the door open for his boss. “See you tomorrow.”

Gabe nodded carelessly, and stepped out into the cold Chicago air. His breath instantly created a puff of smoke in front of his mouth, as he walked down to the street. His driver, who had been previously reading a magazine in the front seat of the car, instantly jumped out of the car and made his way to the passenger side at the sight of his boss. He opened the door, and held it open for Gabe.

            “I’m walking tonight.” Gabe informed him as he raised his hand in response to his driver’s automatic gesture. “I need the fresh air.”

            “As you wish sir,” the driver responded as he slowly closed the door once again. “I’ll be at your home, ready to go bright and early tomorrow.”

            “Don’t bother showing up until noon.” Gabe replied.

            “Alright Sir.” The driver responded before returning to his seat in the warm car.

Gabe began to walk the few blocks toward his new home. The one good thing about being one of the most feared drug bosses was that he no longer feared walking alone at night. If anyone even considered threatening his life in anyway, a snap of his fingers would instantly remove that danger from his habitat. The walks home had always been something that Gabe had needed to remain sane in this line of business though; even before he relocated to Chicago.

A half hour later and he had finally reached his apartment complex. He placed his key in the front door, and pulled it open. He didn’t like living in a place that had doormen, and all the other unnecessary, fancy luxuries. He’d rather keep to himself than have people keeping tabs on him constantly. He stepped into the apartment complex and was about to take the first step up the staircase, when something came bounding down the stairs and ended by his feet. He glanced down to see a dog panting at his side. A peculiar sight seeing as no pets were allowed in this particular apartment complex.

At the sound of human footsteps coming down the stairs, he lifted his head with his eyebrows raised quizzically. “You know that no…” he began to speak up as the dog’s owner came into view.

            “I know that no…what?” a woman asked, currently wearing pajama pants and a slightly baggy sweatshirt.

Gabe shook his head side to side, to try to free himself from the temporary hold her beauty had held over him. “Oh nothing.” He replied, not wanting to trouble this woman.

The girl smiled at him. “I’m only taking care of him for a week.” She informed him, seeming to know exactly what he was going to say originally. “So let’s keep this a little secret between you and I.”

            “What dog?” was the response that issued from Gabe’s mouth as a half smile came into play.

            “Thanks,” the girl responded as she bent down to pick up the dog’s leash that was currently trailing behind the dog. “See you around.” She added as she exited the apartment complex to take the dog out for its nightly bathroom excursion.

            “Yea…” Gabe replied softly as he tore his head away from where she had been standing moments prior, and back onto the staircase ahead of him. He was going to sleep well tonight.

**A few more characters introduced....and it's still not done. haha, Basically Chelsea and I had the intentions of just packing this story with as many people as we possibly could. I think I did pretty well with that...I have it all straight in my head, but some of you might be a little confused. If so, just let me know and I'll try to make a detailed character list for you. Hopefully you liked this part, I have the next two parts written, but after that I need to start writing some more. Comments are awesome.**

David jumped the couple feet to the pavement from where he stood on the bottommost rung on the fire escape ladder. After the resonating pain had subsided enough for him to stand in an almost upright position, he had climbed down from the roof – making a mental note never to go up on one ever again. His right hand was draped across his right side, clutching onto what he assumed would be a few broken ribs. His other hand occasionally came up to lightly touch his bruised and engraved face as he stumbled down the sidewalk in the direction of his current headquarters and home.

As he trudged down the sidewalk, he began to wonder whether there was going to be a price for him to pay because he didn’t keep his mouth shut. In the back of his mind, he knew that it would have only been a matter of time before something like this occurred, so why did it matter if he was the one who fueled the fire. Even with that thought, he briefly considered the opportunity to just leave town when he placed his hand upon the door handle to Saporta’s place of business.

He had only stumbled a few feet into the main walkway, when two people came bounding out of one of the conjoining rooms and immediately came up to him. One of them, an incredibly skinny and tall man with brown hair to his shoulders, slung a long arm across David’s shoulders.

            “We’ve been waiting for you,” he alerted the younger boy as the three of them continued to walk in the direction of Gabe’s office.

            “Mr. S figures that you got sucked into a trap,” the other man, another tall guy with dark skin and a hat covering his cornrows, said. “And by the looks of your angel face, I’m guessing he was right.” He added as he stuck his hand under David’s chin and moved his head to the side so he could get a better look at the imprints on his face.

            “Fuck.” William, the guy with his arm around David, stated as he too took in the image on the boy’s face. “I knew TJAM would be the ones with the biggest opposition.”

            “I don’t even know who the fuck TJAM is.” David responded instantly, pissed that he was the one who had gotten beat up and he wasn’t even sure by whom.

            “Well you do now little man.” Travis, the guy with cornrows, said with a laugh. “And I’m sure those marks on your face will make sure that you don’t forget either.”

The three of them stopped in front of a closed door, made of heavy wood. William raised his hand to deliver the secret knock, but before his hand could make contact with the dark wood, a voice called out to them from inside of the room.

            “Come in you three.” Gabe called from where he sat behind his desk.

David let out a nervous sigh as he watched William push open the door. Gabe was situated behind his big mahogany desk, as the fire raged majestically in the fireplace beside him. They stood in the doorway watching Gabe mess with some paperwork of some sort.

            “I believe I said come in.” Gabe snapped, while keeping his voice down, all the while keeping his attention on the papers strewn all over his desk in front of him.

William placed his hand on David’s upper back, and gave him a quick shove to thrust him into the toasty office. After David had stumbled a few feet in, he turned around to shoot a glare at William, who just smiled in return, and then David walked over to Gabe’s desk. Stopping directly in front of it. He heard the door close behind him, and he knew that William and Travis were now in the room as well; most likely standing on either side of the door.

            “Sit.” Gabe commanded, with enough firmness attached to his voice that David didn’t even process the order before sitting in one of the velvet lined armchairs in front of Gabe’s desk. “Now…explain that please.” He ordered as he looked up from his papers and motioned towards David’s face with slight disgust, as his top lip curled up slightly.

David took in a deep breath as he prepared to speak, but then instantly curled up in pain as the sharp intake of breath caused his ribs discomfort. “Well I got a call that someone wanted some goods,” David began after his eyes opened from the pain. “So naturally I went to meet them. On a roof this time, because I was assured that this would be safe from cops and other civilians…”

            “I’m going to stop you there,” Gabe interrupted as he heard Travis and William instantly begin whispering back and forth with each other. As soon as they heard their boss speak up they closed their mouths.

            “Our apologies.” William stated sincerely as he nodded his head in Gabe’s direction.

Gabe rolled his eyes out of annoyance before turning to look back at the frightened young man in front of him. “I understand you’re young,” Gabe stated calmly. “I knew that when I saw you on the street in need of a place to stay, but that didn’t deter me from allowing you to join my team. I knew this was a gamble; seeing as you had never done anything in this line of business before, but I had hoped that some of our veterans would give you some pointers along the way.” He added as he shot another icy glare at William and Travis who both hung their heads in shame. “Like any job you need proper training, and I haven’t provided adequate possibilities for you to get trained. From now on you will not do any assignments by yourself until I give you the okay. Always go with either Beckett or McCoy over here.” He added as he jerked his head in their direction.

            “Yes sir.” David agreed quickly as he felt a sigh of relief escape quietly from his lips.

            “But I will tell you right now,” Gabe continued as he smiled at David, with his eyes – not his lips. “If the person you are providing for suggests that you meet him on a fucking roof, you tell him to suck your balls and then provide a safe place that you know of.”

            “I’m…I’m sorry…” David stuttered as he glanced down at his shoes.

            “You need to be the one in charge.” Gabe continued as he placed his hands on top of his desk. “You have the goods; you’re the fucking boss. If the person doesn’t like that, then he doesn’t get our business. Simple as that. Got it?”

            “Yes.” David replied firmly as he glanced up at Gabe’s face again.

            “Good.” Gabe stated as he leaned back into his chair, now that he had calmed down slightly. He let out a slow breath, as the other three men just remained in a nervous silence. “Now…what’s this TJAM business?” he finally asked as he looked at David’s face again.

David turned in his seat to look at William for some help in providing an answer to this question. William sighed and took a few steps forward.

            “It’s a drug corporation headed up by McMahon and Trohman.” William stated, as Gabe turned to look at William. “They’re pretty well known around these parts. I’m actually surprised they hadn’t tried to contact us sooner…”

            “Ah yes…” Gabe mused as he brought his hands together, with his elbows rested on the arms of his chair. “I was warned about these guys back home. Not the best business men though, but I presume they’ve got nice brute force to back them up. Did they give me a message?” he asked as he turned his attention back onto David.

            “They told me to tell you that you’d better stop dealing on their turf, or something terrible might happen.” David answered meekly.

            “Very well.” Gabe responded as he went back to his paperwork, a cue for the three boys to leave his office immediately.

            “He got the message.” Brendon reported firmly as he held his bowler hat with both of his hands. He and Ryan were standing in front of the round table that both Andrew McMahon and Joseph Trohman were seated around, passing a joint between the two.

            “Good.” Andrew stated with a sickly smile dancing on his lips; his eyes remaining a mystery behind the Ray-Ban sunglasses that were seated on the bridge of his nose.

            “What does this mean?” Ryan spoke up, something he did only on a rare occasion.

            “I believe this means war.” Andrew replied. “Right Joe?”

            “Totally.” He replied as he took another drag from the joint he held in between his thumb and index finger.

            “You’re dismissed.” Andrew told their two right hand men as he flicked his wrist towards the door.

Brendon and Ryan both bowed their heads slightly before turning to head towards the door. Throwing their bowler hats on as they opened the door and exited the main office of the TJAM headquarters.

**Here's the second part... I hope this story captures your guys' interests. I really enjoy writing this story actually...probably because it's closer to an "original" story then what I usually write. Comments are love.**

The cars whizzed past, about 100 feet below him. The constant flow of traffic across the six-lane road was so small and blurred by his tear-rimmed eyes that it just looked like a huge stream of lights. The man, who was dangling brutally from above, snapped his eyes shut to protect them from the harsh wind that was ripping at his clothing.

The insides of his eyelids served a dual purpose though. Apart from protecting his eyes from the brutal wind, his eyelids served as a make-shift movie screen; his life’s most memorable moments serving as the feature presentation. The day he got the training wheels removed from his bike. When he got his driver’s license. His first kiss. His parents’ messy divorce. It was moments like these that defined his existence in this world; the good and the bad memories.

It was within these moments of reliving the past that he realized he had only made a minor blip on the radar of the larger scheme of things. And it was with this epiphany that he decided that he was going to make his life mean something. He was not about to die before he had ensured that people would know his name long after he left the mortal plane. It was with this newfound aspiration that he was revived of his senses. Snapping his eyes back open, he looked up at the two sets of arms that were holding onto his legs.

            “Okay! Okay!” he shouted up to the owners of the arms. “I’ll tell you who I’ve been working for. Jut pull me back up!” he shouted over the howling wind.

A deep sigh issued from his lips, accompanied by a brief ‘thank you’ prayer, as he felt his body being pulled back up the side of the building and over the ledge. Once on his own two feet again, he took a few quick steps away from the ledge, as he felt the blood rush back out of his current home in his head.

            “Start talking.” One of the captors growled, barely giving the man standing before him any recuperation time.

            “Wanna gimme a second?” the man snapped back, without thinking, as he cradled his airy head within his hands.

The man who had spoken before nodded at his light-haired accomplice, with a sinister smile dancing on his face. The light-haired man immediately sprang into action, and had the victim’s arms pinned behind his back before he even had time to react.

            “Now, Ryan and I feel that we have been more than generous to you.” The dark-haired man stated, in a sickly calm voice, as he strode up to the restrained man. He began pulling his leather glove off his hand; finger by finger, as he stopped a foot away from the detainee. “We’ve given you plenty of opportunities to speak, but I do believe that this will be your last one.” He explained, as he tucked the glove safely away in his pocket.

The restrained man didn’t say anything; he just stared at the sandy rooftop in front of him. He was trying to weigh the different outcomes in his head. Either way he would be fucked, but who would fuck him up the least?

            “Alright David, but only because you insist.” Brendon replied; false obedience clinging to his every word. He cocked his right arm back and delivered a sharp blow to the man’s stomach.

David coughed, and his knees collapsed. If it had not been for Ryan holding him up, he would have fallen to the ground as the wind was knocked out of him, seconds after impact.

            “Nice one Brendon,” Ryan exclaimed with a sadistic laugh.

            “Thank you,” Brendon replied politely, with a slight nod of his head. “Seriously, David, this is your last chance to tell us who has you running. If you don’t, we will put you back over that edge; except this time, we will drop you. 100 feet is quite a lofty fall…”

            “Fine,” David replied as he regained stability. “He’s new to this part of town. I’m not sure where he’s from originally, but apparently he’s got a huge reputation wherever that is.”

            “I didn’t hear a name,” Brendon snarled, as he clenched both of his hands into perfect fists that hung delicately at his sides.

            “Saporta,” David stuttered, as if just by uttering this name, lightning would come down from the heavens and strike him dead. “Gabe Saporta.” He finished.

            “Thank you Mr. Blaise.” Brendon replied with a gracious smile, knowing that this little tidbit of information would get him and Ryan huge praise from their bosses. “Well we have a message for this Gabe Saporta,” Brendon added, as he pulled a handful of gold rings out of his pocket. He slid a ring onto each finger on his right hand, excluding his thumb. He examined the identical seal that was engraved backwards upon each of the rings’ faces, as they slid past his knuckles. The infamous TJAM emblem that was known by all of the people of the night, and most of the people who thrived in the day.

Once the rings were situated perfectly upon each of his slender fingers, Brendon delivered several blows directly to David’s horror-struck face. This caused his knees to weaken in pain, and this time Ryan let go of his arms; allowing him to crumple to the ground like a bag full of bricks.

            “Let him know that he’d better stop dealing in our turf or something terrible just might happen.” Brendon told the fallen man, as he replaced his rings with his glove once again.

            “And make sure he gets a good look at your face too,” Ryan added. “There’s going to be a nice souvenir from us in just a couple minutes.” He stated with a laugh as he looked at the symbols that were already imprinting themselves on his face.

Brendon joined in with the laughter as he began walking towards the roof’s exit; kicking David in the stomach as he strode past him, causing him to sputter in more pain as the convulsions coursed through his entire body. The pair disappeared through the door, leaving David alone, sputtering up mouthfuls of his own blood.

**So this is the story that I started with Chelsea on our joint account, chopstixfans, so some of you may have read this part already. I think I posted like 4 parts...maybe 3? on that account, so I obviously didn't finish the story and neither Chelsea nor I had time to write. So I've decided that I will repost the beginning of this story on my account, and then finish it to the end. I have a basic outline for where I want this story to head, so as long as I get writing time, we should be golden. The story line is really...weird, and it's not really centered around music at all. I just used a bunch of band members, but gave them different personas in this story. Hopefully you'll still read it, cause I rather enjoy writing it. :) All banners were made by Sandee, cause she's wonderful! Comments are always amazing.**

After he quickly discovered that he was not getting out of this room (unless he devised a way to break down an old wooden door that had to weigh at least twice as much as himself), he began to think that Allison was lucky that she held his entire heart in the palm of her hands, or else no one would be getting married today.

In actuality, he was upset with himself that he hadn’t anticipated a stunt like this. He should have seen it coming a long ways away. Allison alluded to some sort of forced reunion time and time again, but he never expected her to be the one to instigate it; especially not on a day that was supposed to be the most special day in her life. Her big heart was always a slight downfall for her; she was definitely the most selfless person that Ryan had ever met. That being one of the many, many reasons that he loved her.

He stopped in his tracks, when he heard the heavy door open – shortly followed by the sound of light footsteps. He took a deep breath, composed himself, and then turned around so that he was facing his new guest.

            “Brendon.” He spoke without emotion, letting the new person in the room know that he was acknowledging him.

As stern as Ryan looked, Brendon equaled it out with a look of sheer terror plastering his face. The difference in their emotions being the fact that Brendon actually wanted to partake in this confrontation. He just hadn’t wanted to do it in a very secluded wing of the church; Allison had assured him she’d be outside the door the entire time though. That’s the only reason he agreed to meet there.

            “Ryan.” Brendon responded, with a hint of question in his wavering tone; his way of letting Ryan know that he wasn’t sure if he should be speaking or not.

            “Okay, I’m going to cut to the chase.” Ryan stated, releasing an exasperated sigh from between his lips. “Allison tricked me, for lack of a better term…, to come to this room and meet with you. She said that if we didn’t work through our issues, and you didn’t come out of here as my best man, then she wouldn’t be marrying me. At least not today.”

Brendon stared at Ryan, not sure what to say or if he should even try to beg for forgiveness. Ryan must have noticed the pleading look in his old friend’s eyes, as he rolled his and opened his mouth to speak again.

            “This is probably the time for you to start begging and groveling for me to forgive you,” Ryan informed him. “This may be the only chance you get to make me understand why you did what you did, or why Allison was able to forgive you so easily.”

Brendon just continued to stare at Ryan, trying to find any sign of his old friend within the aged face.

            “Or we can both agree to walk out of here, you as my best man for the day, and let me get married.” Ryan replied. “That is, if you’d rather not speak…”

            “I’m sorry Ry,” Brendon blurted out instantly, now aware that his window of opportunity was slowly closing in on him.

            “That’s all you have to say?” Ryan basically snorted at him in disgust. “If so, we should both stop wasting our time, and get Allison to let us out right now. My time’s too valuable for this…”

            “Shut up!” Brendon shouted over Ryan’s snide ranting. “Please, just be quiet. I need you to listen to me without being biased. You have to give me a fair chance to talk, because I miss you Ryan. I miss having you in my life, and I need you. You’re my best friend. I can’t do anything without you there.”

Ryan allowed silence to overtake him, but he couldn’t go down without a fight so he made a bored hand gesture to Brendon in an effort to tell him to continue.

            “I was a dumb boy.” Brendon said simply. “I made bad mistake after bad mistake constantly. Allison was my crutch, and I hate that I dragged her into the mess that I allowed to become my life. I hate that so much, and I can’t believe that she found it in her heart to forgive me.”

            “She has a big heart.” Ryan stated factually, not trying to interrupt Brendon’s train of thought.

            “I broke up with Jessica, I had to choose between my family and this lifestyle, and everything around me seemed to be falling apart.” He continued, allowing his eyes to traipse over Ryan’s slowly understanding face. “So I turned to drinking because I didn’t think it was possible for anything worse to happen.”

            “So you’re going to blame what happened on alcohol and expect me to forgive you?” Ryan asked incredulously. “I mean, if that’s the case, why don’t we call Brent and I can apologize to him as well…”

            “I am not trying to blame it on the alcohol.” Brendon spoke under his breath darkly. “And don’t ever fucking associate me with that bastard ever again.” He added as the tones of threat lined his voice.

            “Continue.” Ryan commanded after a seething second passed between the pair.

            “I’m not blaming shit on alcohol,” Brendon repeated before continuing. “I was just saying my stupid mistakes, as a stupid boy, made me turn to alcohol. The drink itself didn’t cause any of this shit; I did. I know it was my fault. I was just so used to having Allison around, and I felt comfortable with her. I mean, let’s cut the bullshit right now; I loved her. I still love her. Just not in the way that you love her.”

            “Damn straight, cause I never would have done that to her.” Ryan agreed, with the added insult to further his distaste for Brendon.

Brendon rolled his eyes slightly at his friend’s insolence before he continued his well thought-out speech. “My point being,” he continued. “You two were obviously meant to be together. I can tell by the way you look at her, and the way that she looks at you. She and I would never have worked out even if I did reciprocate the feelings that she used to have for me. You two were made for each other. That’s all I can say. I don’t want you to forgive me for the stupid shit I did; I just want you to be able to see me as the friend you used to love, and try to have me in your life again.”

Ryan stared at Brendon for what felt like eternity to the latter of the two. Then he took a few steps forward, Brendon nervous about whether or not he was going to get punched. Then he opened his mouth to speak. “It’s not my place to forgive you,” Ryan stated gently. “If Allison was able to find it in her heart to forgive you and be your friend, I certainly should be able to. I do feel the need to offer an apology to you though, and I’m hoping that you will accept it. I apologize for being a terrible friend, and letting my petty views on things get in the way of us. Would you please forgive me, and be my best man…right now?” Ryan asked as he checked the dress watch that was situated on his slender wrist.

            “Of course!” Brendon shouted gleefully as he pulled his friend into a tight embrace. “I missed this.”

            “Me too.” Ryan replied.

Allison burst into the room, throwing the huge wooden door open, with tears streaming down her face. She ran over to the two embracing men, and wrapped her arms around them both; joining in on the hug. “That was wonderful!” she exclaimed in a maternal tone.

            “Alli!” Ryan shrieked as he realized his soon-to-be-wife was now in the room. He brought one of his arms up to cover his eyes. “I’m not supposed to see you in your dress before the wedding!”

            “Yea!” Brendon agreed, happy to be involved with these two again. “And as the best man, I’m going to have to escort you out of the room.”

Allison giggled. “No escort needed.” She stated with a huge grin, “I’ll just make my way out of the room by myself. I’m sure you two have a ton of catching up to do, but it can wait until after our wedding.”

            “Honeymoon!” Ryan corrected, before his face flushed crimson. Allison laughed as she walked out of the room.

            “You two are going to be one of the happiest couples ever.” Brendon stated with a grin as the wooden door shut behind Allison.

And he was correct.

**Wow. I apologize for this taking so long, but my senior year of high school is about twenty times more hectic than I assumed it would be. So hopefully a few people enjoy this ending at least, and thank you for taking the time to read my story of the course of many, many months. I don't think you realize how much it means to me. I'm planning on posting Chelsea's and my old fanfic that we started together, on this account - and then finishing it. That might take a while for me to do though, cause I want to make sure I'll have the time to update it regularly. Keep an eye out for it though!**

Love ya guys,

Taylor

His plan was to sneak into the back of the library, and wait to catch her eye. This plan would work much better if he could actually work up the courage to enter the other room though. As he continued to try to psych himself up, he was moved from his concentration by the mass of people exiting the room.

Ryan sucked in a deep breath as he waited for the people to clear, realizing that his time for a reunion was either now or never. As soon as he saw the chance, he slipped into the room where Allison had previously been reading her short story. She had her back turned to him as she was placing her bound papers into a bag.

Ryan took a few more steps forward as he began to close the distance between himself and his best friend. He stood there awkwardly, just watching her organize things within her bag, until he cleared his throat to grasp her attention.

            “I know you’re there Ry,” Allison stated, not turning to face him right away.

            “How…?” Ryan asked after a few more moments spent staring at Allison’s back as she continued to shuffle papers.

            “I saw you pacing outside the doors for the past thirty minutes,” Allison replied as she turned around to face him; showing a smile that was beginning to spread on her face. “I’ve missed you so much.” She added.

            “So you’re not mad that I’m here then?” he asked skeptically, testing the waters before he said anything else.

            “Of course not,” Allison responded. “You lasted the longest out of anyone.”

            “What do you mean?” he questioned as he raised his eyebrows.

Allison laughed as she watched Ryan’s face twist into a confused shape. “You were the only one who never tried to contact me.” Allison answered. “Jon came to leave with me; he was the first one to actually come visit. Spencer called me like a week after I left; he just never came to visit. We talk all the time though. And Brendon…”

            “You’ve spoken to Brendon?” Ryan questioned instantly.

            “Yes,” Allison replied. “I realized how naïve I had been the entire time, thinking that he actually had feelings like that for me. You told me the entire time, but I was just too blind to see.”

            “That doesn’t excuse what he did though.” Ryan stated firmly, slightly angry that she had forgiven him so easily, when he wasn’t able to do the same.

            “I know it doesn’t.” Allison agreed. “And he knows that it doesn’t. He didn’t try to force me to accept his apology, but I was able to. I understand that that was a phase of my life, and Brendon means too much to me to just stop talking to him. In fact, he’s helping me out greatly in the financial department of things.”

            “That’s nice of him.” Ryan snapped.

            “You should really try to put this behind you Ry,” Allison suggested loosely, knowing that it was probably a lost cause. “He’s not asking for your forgiveness, but he misses you so much. He hates the way things ended.”

            “You’ve talked about all of this with him?” Ryan asked. “You’ve discussed me?”

            “Well yes,” Allison answered quickly. “I was concerned about you, and I figured you two had made up. So when I asked about you, he told me that he hadn’t talked to you either. I was worried about you.”

            “Why the fuck did you worry about me?” Ryan asked, feeling his eyes squint with anger. “You didn’t seem to care too greatly when you left me that letter. I didn’t even get a personal goodbye Alli. Do you know how much that hurt?”

            “I know Ry…” Allison said as she cast her eyes downward, off of his obviously hurt face. “I just needed my space, and I felt like I had done enough damage to you. I figured you hadn’t tried to contact me because you realized how poisonous I was to you.”

Ryan scoffed at this idea. “I haven’t spent anytime thinking about anything else but you.” He told her, not sure why he felt so at ease with revealing his truest feelings now. “You meant the world to me Al, and you still do. I love you enough to know when I need to let you go.”

            “Thanks,” Allison responded sadly, as she looked up at his face once again to see that he actually meant the words that he had just spoken.

            “So have you found anyone else?” Ryan asked her suddenly; surprising himself with his strange curiosity. “Sorry to pry…Jon just didn’t mention any guys, and I wasn’t sure…Actually, don’t even answer that. It’s none of my business…”

Allison allowed her lips to turn into a half smile as she watched him blush and stumble his way through this question, and its recall. “No.” she answered simply.

            “…Why not?” Ryan asked after a few seconds, realizing that she wasn’t going to elaborate unless prodded.

            “Well I’ve tried dating other guys…” she began to reply. “They just never worked out.”

            “Was it because of Benjamin?” Ryan asked her quickly; assuming that must be it.

She shook her head no slightly. “It was because none of their kisses felt like this.” She explained fully as she took a step forward to close the small space that was between them. She pressed her lips against his, taking him by surprise, and the pair engulfed into the most magical kiss as they reconnected. The chemistry between the two finally being completed.

**So here's the last part. Sorry if it's too cliche for you guys, but I always feel like the world could use as many happy endings as it can get; even if they're just fictional ones. I'll probably write an epilogue for this story, just cause that's what I do. Then Sarah and I will probably finish our fanfic together that was on hiatus for a while, and then I'll begin posting the one Chelsea and I started together, and finishing that one. Hopefully you'll continue to read as long as I continue to write.**