Well... it hasn't been over a year this time, right? Sorry for dropping off the map again guys.

The fact that so many of you are still here to read what I write is beyond amazing. Thanks so much <<<<3333

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Jake and I remained quiet while Las Vegas recounted his history with Bobby. When he finally finished, nobody spoke for a while. The sounds of bouncing balls and screaming teens permeated through the air.

I broke the silence. "So, threatening to kill you is actually a great idea." In fact, several new methods of how I could kill him formed in my head.

"Shawn!" Jake yelled, whirling around to glare at me. The blood smeared across his upper lip and cheek made my stomach churn. He may have said that he didn't know who did it, but I didn't know whether or not he'd lied. Though, I did know that I wanted to break the asshole's nose for injuring my spacy cutie.

"Uh, I think that'd just make him pissed," Las Vegas peeped, taking a step away from us. I scowled as my attention was diverted from Jake. Las Vegas peered at me with nervous eyes. Damn straight it would make Bobby mad—that's why I wanted to fucking do it. That, and he had seen Jake in the nude before I had. I didn't even know what Jake's full ass looked like! I could fantasize all I wanted, but I never really knew! Was it pale? Did it have any beauty marks or moles? I glanced down at Jake's rear; well, it definitely round. Fuck, what I would do to—

"Do you think we should move somewhere more private?" Jake asked, kicking a stray ball back into the fray of teenagers.

Oh. Right. Bobby. I would never see Jake's ass if Bobby made it so there wasn't an ass to see. I tore my eyes away from Jake's beautiful butt and back towards Vegas. Jake was too enraptured in his thoughts to notice my loving gaze shift.

"We could move to a temporary classroom—they should be easy enough break into," I said.

"Do you think our teacher will notice us go?" Jake asked, glancing towards where the woman was texting on her phone.

"Yeah, I doubt it," Las Vegas said.

The three of us slipped away from class without anyone so much as glancing in our direction. I peeked through the windows of a couple cheap cubic temporary buildings before we arrived at one with the lights off. I picked the lock on the door and held it open with a flourish. Jake rolled his eyes as he stepped in, Las Vegas not far behind.

After we ensured that the blinds were closed and the door was locked, Jake turned to Las Vegas (which immediately pissed me off). "Do you think that he loves you more than he hates Shawn?" he asked.

Vegas scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "Man, I don't know. I guess it depends on their history?"

"I stabbed him and pushed him out a window," I responded directly. "He just made the mistake of surviving."

Vegas's mouth fell open. "You what?"

I narrowed my eyes and put on a small smile. "You want me to do the same to you? Will that make you understand better?" I asked in a soft voice.

Jake jabbed his elbow at my ribs, which I caught without so much as glancing away from Vegas.

Jake huffed adorably before tearing his arm away. "Shawn, you're going to have to dial back the fucking bloodlust if any of us wants this resolved peacefully."

Who the fuck said anything about peace? I sent Jake a mocking smile. "Oh Jakey—I think you and Roy are the only ones that want this to end peacefully."

"Actually, now I kind of want you dead, too," Vegas muttered, sending me a dirty look. I made his expression wither with a glare.

Fuck I was getting pissed off! Usually, I only had to deal with Jake's blind optimism! Which was cute! Vegas trying to be intimidating was like watching my late grandmother try to teach my about the horrors of the gays. In other words; it made me feel offended and pissed.

I sneered. "What? You mad that I tried to off your owner?"

Jake groaned. "Shawn, do you really want a repeat of last weekend?"

"There won't be a repeat if Bobby is dead," I snapped. 'And if you don't want to be put into another godamned bunker, you'll side with me, Jake.'

Jake, unaware of my unsaid threat, kept speaking. "You're outclassed Shawn! It doesn't matter how much stronger or smarter you are— Smiles has access to gunmen and bombs! You're outnumbered. If you keep fighting against him, we'll just come out of it worse for wear—if at all." He stared at me with wide, incredulous eyes. "How is this so hard to wrap your fucking head around!? If we cooperate with Las Vegas, we could have an opportunity to resolve everything without anyone getting hurt any more than we already are!"

"Or we could give him the chance he needs to—"

"Shawn, do you hate Smiles more than you love me?" Jake asked, halting my train of thought.

I froze. No, he didn't fucking just say that. My eyes flitted towards Jake with a dark glower. "What? How could you even ask me—"

"Then help me resolve this peacefully," Jake said, meeting my eyes with conviction.

I felt my mood soften from furious to mild annoyance. I considered his logic; Bobby was a powerful, blood-crazed whack job who wanted to torture then kill me. I had every reason to try and solve my problems by killing him. I peered into Jake's stupid-pretty brown eyes. If I tried to kill Bobby, I would undoubtedly put Jake in danger again. That meant Jake was right... fuck. I crossed my arms. "Fine."

Jake let out a sigh of relief, "Okay." He turned away from me and towards Vegas (the action alone made me want to change my mind and kill Bobby along with his brunet boy toy). "What about you? There's a lot more at stake for you if you try to help us. You've already done so much just helping me last weekend. And I still haven't repaid you for that—I probably never can." I glared at Shawn. "Not to mention, this Asshole keeps threatening to kill you."

I scowled. This Asshole would if Jake didn't stop making eyes at the bastard I wanted nothing more than to kill in a jealous rage.

Vegas's brows furrowed as he looked off to the side. "Look... I'm not as brave as you, Jake. I run away from my problems when I can. I couldn't even help—" he stopped himself and paused to clear his throat. "But you're my friend, Jake. If I stood aside and something bad happened to you because of me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I already have enough guilt in my life—I don't need any more." He sent Jake a rueful smile. "Also, you seem like you're dealing with enough shit. I'll do whatever I can to convince Rob to back off. I mean, the worst he'd do to me is break more of my bones or something." He let out a sardonic chuckle.

I bristled. What the FUCK was that?! A love confession? He didn't need to wait for Bobby to break his bones—I could have done it right then and there! The little shit actually had the nerve to flirt with Jake while I was right there? I bit my lip and took a deep breath to refrain from lashing out.

Jake took a brief glance towards me before responding. "Thanks. It means a lot to me," he said. Oh, did it now? "And Shawn," he added quickly. "Now, let's think of a plan."

"Didn't you have one?" "I thought you already had something." Vegas and I said simultaneously.

I saw Jake's eyes flash with panic. "I do have something."

I sent him a forced smile. "What the hell did I say about lying?"

Jake furrowed his brows— I could practically see the gears whirring away in that beautiful boy's brain. "Well, why don't we just meet him in a public space and negotiate?"

This idea sounded a little too familiar. I titled my head. "Oh? Like when you met with Jade?"

Jake frowned. "Who's Jade?"

"Oh, I almost forgot that you gave him a nickname," I hissed.

"Oh my god!" Vegas shouted in exasperation. "Let's just think of a plan!" I wanted to beat the fucker for interrupting my conversation with Jake, but he had a point— then again, so did my knife.

I forced aside my frustration towards the two peace-mongering idiots beside me and focused my mind on how to best negotiate with Bobby. It could be done: the man was profit driven, and we both knew that I could help make his organization feared and wealthy. That, and the asshole had even less empathy than I did, which indicated that his grudge against me could change if I could be of use to him.

I would never forgive him for hurting Jake—never in a million fucking years—but the man was too powerful to safely kill. I also couldn't deny that having Bobby as an ally would have certain benefits that I couldn't have as a solo killer and stalker. If all worked well, I would gain protection from the police and general suspicion. Another thought hit me, and I took a quick glance towards Jake. Huh... I could also gain a variety of quick methods to spirit Jake away to another country if I ever felt the need. That solidified my decision; I would ally myself with Bobby.

I took out my phone with a sigh and dialed Bobby's number. I held the phone up to my ear.

"Who are you—" I put a finger to Jake's lips to shut him up, but then had to withdraw after getting distracted by the soft texture. Lips like those would feel great wrapped around my—

"Shawn! How wonderful to hear from you!" a grating jovial voice crooned from the phone. "Now, what can I do for you this fine day? Are you having fun in school?"

I rolled my eyes, but decided that I would play his game. "I am! You know, I just heard the most interesting story from your boy toy. You know, I never pegged you as someone capable of love! But I guess even sociopaths like us have hearts"

I grinned wide at the long silence. Jake and Vegas gaped at me with open mouths.

"Where is he?" Bobby asked in a soft and low voice laced with unsaid threats.

"Why don't I show you?" I asked before hanging up.

Jake and Vegas began blabbering at the same time. I patted Jake's head. "Shh, baby. I'm getting this all sorted out peacefully, just like you wanted," I cooed, all my previous anger at him diminished thanks to the obvious suffering I must have put Bobby through. It wasn't the revenge I wanted, but fuck did it feel good having him not know whether Vegas was dead or alive.

I opened the camera app and grabbed Jake and Las Vegas's shoulder, roughly pulling him in and snapping a photo. I pushed him away and texted the photo to Bobby.

"I'm dead," Las Vegas groaned with his head in his hands.

Jake reached to place a hand on Vegas's shoulder, but froze midway. He took a quick glance at me before closing his hand and pulling away. I felt satisfaction well in my gut; Jakey was such a quick learner. He cleared his throat. "You left it in your bag—there's nothing you can do at this point. He'll understand that, right?"

I tore my eyes away from the two when I felt my phone buzz.

Bobby: WHERE IS HE

I smiled, deciding that I would leave him hanging a while longer. I put my phone face down on the table as it began to vibrate incessantly.

Vegas's face paled as he stared at the phone. "He's not exactly an understanding guy, Jake."

Jake winced. Maybe now my Sweetcheeks understood how good he had it with me. I wouldn't ever hurt or terrorize him like Bobby did to Vegas.

A minute went by before the phone began to ring, requesting FaceTime. Vegas moved to take the phone. I gripped his wrist. "What the fuck do you think your doing?" I hissed.

Vegas gritted his teeth and tore his arm away. "I think I'm making it so that I don't have two broken arms!"

"Shawn, do you know what you're doing?" Jake demanded with crossed arms.

Fuck, these two were getting on my nerves. I sighed and answered the call.

"Where the fuck is he!?" Bobby roared into the phone. Jesus. I'd never seen him lose his cool like that when we worked together!

I pulled the phone from my face so that Vegas was on screen, looking panicked as ever. "Right here! A little worse for wear—but it's not like I did any of the damage."

Bobby took a shaky breath, his brows furrowed in anger. "So you're holding him hostage like I did with your Ace? What makes you think that would work? Not all of us are love-struck idiots."

I snorted out a laugh. "Really? Are you sure about that?"

I waited patiently for the look of angry realization to hit him. He glowered at Vegas. "Roy, dear? You wouldn't have fucking happened to fucking tell a man that fucking wants both of us dead about our FUCKING RELATIONSHIP, RIGHT?!"

Roy stammered in the background. "I-I guess—I mean, I just don't want—"

Bobby slammed a hand down on his desk. "Just because you have a little crush on Card's bitch!?"

I rolled my eyes as Bobby tore into Vegas over the phone. As much as I loved seeing the usually jovial Bobby lose his cool, I wanted to get down to business, ditch Vegas, and move the fuck on to courting my boy in peace. Speaking of which... I spared a glance towards Jake to make sure he was behaving himself (for fucking once).

Jake was pouting, his bloody nose doing nothing to lessen how cute he was. 'I'm not your bitch,' he mouthed.

I sent him a smirk indicating that he kind of was. He held up his middle finger at me. I winked at him in response.

"Card!" Bobby snapped from the phone.

Ugh. I just wanted to spend some time with Jake uninterrupted. "Yeah?"

"What do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I want to call a truce," I said. I began to detail the exact pro's and cons that I had come up with. I focused heavily on my arguments surrounding potential profit and even let Vegas throw in his own two cents. By the end of my explanation, Bobby had a thoughtful expression on his face.

He let out a long hum before speaking. "What makes you think that I'll forget about you trying to kill me in exchange for only a little extra manpower?"

"Because you know that I'll make more than enough money for you to cover past damages."

Bobby's serious expression dissipated as he broke out into laughter. "Fine, fine. I'll admit that I didn't actually come to California because of you. Getting revenge was just a nice little perk—something fun to pass the time." His eyes glinted with something dangerous. "Not that that means that I wasn't pissed at you for stabbing me. However, I can let bygones be bygones!"

"So, we've got a deal? I won't touch V— uh, Roy, and you won't so much as look at Jake?" I prodded. I didn't need the fucker trying to gift Jake to Vegas again.

Bobby waved a dismissive hand. "Of course, of course." He shifted his gaze to Vegas, who stood behind me. "Roy dear!"

"What?" Roy asked, his voice sounding exhausted.

"Would you leave the room? Shawn and I are about to finish up here and I'm not exactly comfortable leaving you alone with him—you understand, right Shawn?"

Yeah, I guess I did. I sighed. "Sure. It's not like I like being around the douchebag, anyways."

Las Vegas scrambled out of the empty classroom like his life depended on it (and fuck, I really wish it did). Jake waved him goodbye with a sympathetic smile.

I wish that I could have asked Jake to leave, but there was no way to do so without alerting Smiles of his presence-- and I was worried that hearing him say anything about Jake would make me abandon our truce and go kill the fucker. Oh well, it wasn't as if Jake being there would make his new reality any less imminent. With Bobby's support, I'd be untouchable from the cops.

I peered towards Jake. He was dabbing at his nose with the yellow gym shirt, revealing some of his lithe and smooth abdomen in the process. Shit, I really knew how to pick 'em.

Jake noticed me staring and stiffened, yanking his shirt down back over his stomach. He glowered at me with flushed cheeks. He pushed himself off of the desk he'd been sitting on and mouthed 'I'm leaving.'

I brought my hand out of the phone-camera's sight and sent him a thumbs up. The less he heard of this conversation the better. I didn't exactly want him to hear exactly who Bobby wanted me to take out. I loved his pure self-righteous heart-- but it could get a bit irritating.

"You know, I have connections all over the world in case you ever want to move out of bum fuck nowhere California. Take Ace on a honeymoon or something," Bobby joked.

Honeymoon? With Bobby's connections, I could whisk him away permanently.

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I wrote something real dramatic that I had to split into the next chapter, so you'll have to stay tuned for that! The next chapter will come... eventually? It's about 1/2 done rn.



Also, in case it feels weird that Bobby is just abandoning his revenge plan so quick. Remember that he's a profit-driven power-hungry sociopath/psychopath. And I guess in a way he's getting what he wanted in the first place with Shawn joining his ranks.

Anyways-- thanks AGAIN to all of you for bearing with me. I always enjoy writing this when I have the time (which I don't, but who cares!) and your comments/messages make me so so happy (even if I don't have time to get to respond to them all).