(Guess who's late aGaIn!! It took about twenty chapters but next chapter the fight finally starts :''D Sorry to keep y'all waiting for so long lmao)

Eak nervously licked his lips when he noticed he was the first one to arrive, which was a very rare occurrence on it's own.

He was supposed to be the one being late, damn it!

Then again, he was already there at 19:30, when they were only supposed to be meeting up at 8.

He tapped his foot against the ground to the beat of the music flowing through his earbuds. Golden managed to convince him to listen to Tame Impala, after he kept spamming some of their songs in the Animatronics group chat.

On the other hand Chica kept talking about The Cardigans' Lovefool and how it perfectly captured her feelings towards a certain someone.

And as the rest of the group went absolutely feral, trying to figure out who Chica was talking about, Eak hoped she'd gotten over her crush on him already.

Okay, so yeah, maybe the whole Town and Chica having a crush on him was more of a theory, he wasn't cocky enough to fully believe it, but still.......

Eak loves himself, but they could do better.

"Eak?" The Mexican in question jumped as somebody suddenly called out his name from behind.

"Uh-oh hey, Carnal!" Eak puffed out a relieved breath as he saw the ginger before him, clad in his trademark leather jacket.

Eak grinned when he noticed a small new detail about Town's appearance. He had two black pins in the shell of his left ear.

He looked rebellious and gangster as fuck, with his bun and light stubble.

"Carnal, you look badass as fuck! When d'ya get the pins?" Eak looked up at the taller boy in amazement.

"Ah, just yesterday evening. Thought it would look kinda cool......" Town replied, flustered as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, you were right. Damn, look at you!" Eak beamed proudly, then added:

"Also! Did you bring anything for the fight?"

"Hah?" Town's face clouded with confusion.

"C'mon, man, remember that Bon checked the weapons allowed box?" Town vaguely did remember that. "You can't like, fatally stab anyone and guns aren't allowed."

"Oh....well, I don't have anything." Towntrap guiltily admitted.

"Ah, whatever. I'm sure the others brought somethin'. I've got my dad's baseball bat with me!" Eak held up the item for Town to see, nearly hitting him in the face with it.

"Eep! Uh, okay, but....why do you have that bear with you?" Town pointed at the big-ass teddy bear lying against Eak's leg.

"It's Mai's. I was supposed to give it back like, an eternity ago but I always forgot." Eak simply told him.

"And you decided to give it back to her now?" Town wasn't sure if it would be convenient to carry around a large bear during a put fight.

"I didn't know it was judgement day today!" Eak squinted his eyes at Towntrap as the ginger held up his hands in defense.

"How many gangs do we gotta fight in total?" Town asked as Eak paused.

"I....I don't know, actually? My guess is that we'll be fighting as many gangs as we signed up. We're with, what, five? Us minus me and Chica, The Nightmares plus Loon and minus Usagi, The Funtimes minus maybe Fede, The Toys and the fashion squad." Eak counted on his fingers as he listed the names.

"Okay....." Town muttered, suddenly feeling very anxious about what would be happening in less than thirty minutes. It's not every day that you take part in an underground fighting competition.

"Don't worry 'bout it, mate! It'll be alright, ay? I'm mostly gonna stay on the side-lines but if somethin' goes wrong, I'll join the fight." Eak put his hand on the taller boy's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Town curtly nodded, feeling a little more at ease by Eak's words. He was about to speak up when a car pulled up, music blasting all the way outside.

Eak recognized Madonna's Material Girl as a dark blue Kia Forte parked next to them. Eric Montero's tanned arm hung out of the window as he peered at Eak and Town through his sunglasses.

"Sup, losers." He greeted.

"Eric! Be nice, goddamn it!" Chica scolded from the passenger's seat.

"You be nice! Don't go usin' God's name like that." Eric huffed in response.

"Wait, wait, be quiet!" Toddy suddenly spoke up, effectively shutting the siblings up.

"What's wrong?" Chica whispered after a moment of silence.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted you two to shut yo mouth." Toddy casually explained, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Eak laughed out loud at that one. Classic Toddy.

"Out of my car." Eric demanded the teenage girls.

"Hey! Can you guys get home on your own after this?" Chica questioned Town and Eak. Eric rolled his eyes from beside her.

"Y'know what? Come along anyways. I doubt either of you will still be standing after the fight." Toddy interrupted, somewhat motherly.

"Okay." Eak shrugged, not minding a ride.

"Excuse me, but since when are you the one drivin' this car?" Eric shot Toddy an irritated look.

Toddy offered him an unimpressed glance in return, pulling out a ten-dollar bill from her pocket.

"Here, chauffeur."

Eric grumbled something again but pocketed the bill to show that he'd be driving Town and Eak around too.

"Does he, uh, know about the fight....?" Eak lowered his voice as he leaned down by Toddy's window to talk to her.

Toddy lowered her heart-shaped sunglasses to her nose, looking at the other teen with a grounding gaze.

"Chica told him, or else he wouldn't drive us. It's okay, though, I know he'll keep his mouth shut." Toddy reassured him.

"Guess what you guys are doin' isn't too bad, but hey......" Eric gestured for Eak to come closer, which he did, begrudgingly.

"If my kid sister gets hurt, I'll rip your balls off." Eric cheerfully threatened.

"Kinky." Eak quirked a brow at the blonde.

"Eric! Oh my God, I'm getting out!" Chica swatted her brother on the arm before stomping out of the car.

"Good. And watch your tone, I'm the adult here."

"You're 19! And my brother, I get a pass on that." Chica shot back. Eric just ran a hand through his fluffy blonde hair and decided to ignore the comment.

"I'll be down the street if y'all are done." Once Toddy stepped out of the vehicle, Eric drove off.

"He's such a douchebag......" Chica pouted, watching the car disappear into the night.

It was just Eak and Chica now, standing in silence. Toddy and Town were rambling off about something a few feet away, Toddy asking about Town's new pins.

"I'm mad at you, y'know." Chica suddenly brought up.

"Pretty sure everyone is......." Eak quietly agreed.

"You need to apologize."

"Do you want me to?"

Chica seemed taken off guard by that.

"W-well, yeah! Obviously. Eak, what you said was pretty fucked up......" Chica reminded him with a frown.

"I know. I'm gonna fix it tonight, though. Or well, show how sorry I am......" Chica's face lit up with a delighted smile at that, making her magenta eyes twinkle happily.

"I'm sure you didn't mean it. But damn right you're gonna do somethin' about it!" The gentle squeeze at Eak's arm turned more into a pinch as Chica's black-painted nails dug into his skin.

"Oww! Okay, okay! I get it, Christ!" Eak tore his arm back and pouted at the shorter girl.

Chica let out that stupid-sounding snort of hers and Eak couldn't bring himself to stay annoyed at her.

"Hey, the rest of the crew's coming!" Town pointed out, gesturing towards the area where the sound of rollers on pavement could be heard.

Sure enough, the rest of The Animatronics appeared. It was a funny sight, and yet so badass. Fox and Bonnie were skating side by side, Fox with a backpack and Bonnie with.....brass knuckles? in his hand. Golden's blue and orange-striped skateboard came in sight too, he was holding a megaphone in his hand. Than came Freddy, roller-skating over to them with a pair of shoes in his hand.

They looked like a strange mix between dorky skater kids and badass street thugs. Eak was totally digging it.

"Ayo." Fox casually greeted them.

"Looking sharp there, sleepless." Fox flipped Toddy off at the nickname. "What barbarian gave you those hickeys?"

Fox's pale face turned red at that, and then Eak noticed the matching bruises on both Fox and Bonnie's necks.

Who fucking knew what those guys were up to when they weren't high?

"None of your business....." Fox muttered, crossing his arms defensively.

"You nervous?" Eak eyed Freddy, who was smoking and sitting on Golden's skateboard while the latter helped take off his skates.

"Sorta." Freddy shrugged, then held the cigarette out for Eak to take. The Mexican took a drag of it, vividly aware of Chica and Town watching him closely as he did so.

"I'm confident we'll win. Don't think anyone's gonna get their brains bashed in tonight." Eak grinned a little to himself, Freddy nervously chuckled when he noticed the baseball bat.

Eak watched as Freddy's eyes darkened and his face did a little twitch.

"Christ, Eak, you planning on killing someone?" Fred raised a brow at him, smirking.

"If it comes down to it." Eak smirked back.

"I love you girls, but for fuck's sake, my backseat isn't a love shack!" Felix glanced at the two teens making out on his backseat through the rear view mirror.

"It's not my fault, Felix! She keeps demanding to make out at any given opportunity!" Abby giggled, looking absolutely ridicilous with the black lipstick stains on her face and neck.

Felix couldn't remember the last time Lilly actively wanted to make out with Abby in public.

"Also, since when do you wear make-up? Weren't you too much of a prude for that, darling?" He watched with a scrunched up nose as Lilly's hand slowly crept up Abby's thigh. She slapped her girlfriend's hand away with a hysterical laugh.

"Opinions change, Felix! Make-up isn't that bad after all." Lilly easily replied, leaning back against her seat.

"Besides, she looks smokin' hot!" Abby gleefully added.

They went back to kissing and Felix helplessly send Fede a look. The Dutch boy shrugged in response, but a thoughtful expression crossed his face at the same time. He leaned over and put his lips next to Felix's ear. The pinkette felt stupid for it, but his cheeks lit up at the small contact.

"Should we tell 'em? Even if it's just to get them to stop making out, I think they should know." Fede quietly murmured.

Abby would go absolutely feral if they told her. She'd been watching their slow-burn romance like a hawk since they first met each other. But still, Felix knew how supportive Abby and Lilly would be of their relationship.

"You want me to tell them or....?" Felix turned his head slightly, if he made a full turn, they'd be kissing. He liked the thought of that.

"Hey! Are you guys about to kiss??" Abby excitedly took notice of the sight before her.

"They probably said no homo." Lilly stoically reminded her, sounding a little more like her usual self.

"Actually, we didn't say no homo 'cause....." Fede bit his lip, pale cheeks darkening.

Abby's green eyes widened, even Lilly looked taken off guard.

"You mean-"

"We're together! Yaaay....." Felix did awkward jazz hands around the steering wheel.

It was quiet. Abby's face went completely blank while Lilly had a smile on her face. None of them said anything, Fede awaited the reaction with a beating heart. He hoped Abby wouldn't start-

"OH MY GOOOOOOD!!!!!!" She screamed at the top of their lungs.

Geez.

"I've waited for this moment since I was born! I can't believe it's finally happening!!" Abby bounced up and down in her seat, then shot forwards to wrap her arms around the two boys.

"No, we met when we were, like, 13." Fede huffed, still blushing like a mad man. Fucking cute, if you were to ask Felix.

"The slow-burn romance finally blossomed, hoooooly shit....." Abby literally started fucking crying, Felix playfully rolled his eyes at her.

"Calm down." He easily told her, patting her arm.

"We should take a selfie." Lilly cheerfully suggested.

"YES! This needs to be documented and put in history books!" Abby whipped out her phone at the speed of light.

The whole thing was somewhat comedic. Ariana Grande's Bloodline was rather unfitting for the moment, as much as Felix absolutely adored that song.

But it was nice, the band and atmosphere started feeling more like usual. Even Lilly, who'd been....a lot these days, started acting more like her normal self.

They took the selfie, all of them pulling stupid faces. Abby posted it to Instagram with the caption Newly Weds. Felix wouldn't be surprised if some people mistook it for their group being polyamory.

Suddenly, a song came on. Their song, holy shit!

https://youtu.be/Fi8rsCncwF8

"MY BABY DON'T MESS AROUND, BECAUSE SHE LOVES ME SO AND THIS I KNOW FOR SURE!"

The four of them were yelling at the top of their lungs like a bunch of lunatics. Free, happy and stupid. Like teenagers were supposed to be.

"BUT DOES SHE REALLY WANNA, BUT CAN'T STAND TO SEE ME WALK OUT THE DOOR?~"

Abby played fake drums on the back of Fede's seat while the latter played air guitar. Lilly and Felix were the main vocalists as the "Heeeeey yaaa" part came on. In the midst of the singing and adrenaline, Felix leaned over to Fede and pecked him on the lips.

Needless to say, it left Fede looking like a tomato. Blue eyes stared into yellow, and Felix couldn't fight the shy smile working it's way on his face.

Fede returned the kiss as Abby started clapping in the backseat. That was when it dawned upon Fede....he had a boyfriend.

A boyfriend, who he could kiss. Hold hands with. Be gross with and have sex, maybe. A boyfriend he can hold or be held by.

Felix Fabulous was his boyfriend. Goddamn.

At last, almost everybody arrived. The Funtimes came dramatically entering the scene with Felix's beaten up, neon pink Honda. Eak made a huge effort as to not look the pinkette in the eye, but there was no escaping Fede's surprisingly scary glare.

Whatever. It was fine, he'd show them all how not homophobic he truly was.

The fashion squad and The Nightmares came around too. When Eak approached Mai, Oxy's glare was mortifying.

"U-uh, I never gave your bear back......" Eak stammered out, trying to keep his eyes on Mai as he felt Oxy's eyes on his back.

"Oh, thank you!~ I already wondered when you'd give it back!" Mai was one of the few people who didn't seem uncomfortable around Eak, taking the bear from him with a smile.

Loon and Usagi arrived too. As it turned out, Town wasn't the only one with a new look. Usagi's pigtails were shorter now, and her hair was less messy than it usually was.

(Reference)

"What'dya do to your hair?!" Deuz loudly demanded. Usagi looked entirely unimpressed with his volume.

"Just cut it a 'lill. Got a problem with that?" Usagi held her head up high as Deuz scoffed and narrowed his eyes.

"You look ridicilous." Despite the statement, Deuz's cheeks still tinted pink.

"Take a look at yourself first, rat-face! You're as ugly as the skull on your jacket." Usagi was blushing in return.

"At least I've got a sense of fashion! You're walkin' around here in a mint-green leather jacket, for hell's sake!" Was Deuz's argument.

They continued their bantering as Maggie and Oxy watched on in amusement. Eak found something oddly nostalgic about the sight, even though he's pretty sure he'd never seen Deuz and Usagi bicker like this before.

"Ah, ghetto romance." Maggie dryly commented.

"Wanna bet that they'll be back together after the fight?" Oxy spoke up with a grin.

"Beats me. They're unpredictable sometimes." Maggie thoughtfully replied.

"Look who's finally here." Toddy gestured towards the small group of teens approaching them. It was The Toys. Meg was carrying around a crowbar, Bon had on finger-less gloves and Joy had a slingshot.

"Sorry we're late. Train got delayed for a few minutes." Meg somewhat apologetically told them as she approached.

"No problem. I think everybody's here now, so we should be able to get started as soon as Owynn and Cami come out." Eak spoke loud enough for most of the large group to hear.

"Whatever you want, buddy. I'm gay!" A voice suddenly chirped up from behind him, making Eak jump in surprise.

"Owynn!" Freddy energetically greeted the nerd with slicked back purple hair next to Eak.

"And Cami." Monotone as ever, Cami came to stand beside her taller friend.

"Uh....hey." Eak's eyebrows shot up at the sudden introduction.

"You're the leader, I presume?" Owynn looked Eak up and down, rather unsubtle. Eak swore he could now feel Freddy's eyes on his back, Christ.

"Well, sorta. Name's Eak. Nice to meet ya." Eak held out his baseball-less hand out for Owynn to shake.

Owynn observed the kid for a moment. So this was the famous Eak Mendez....... He was shorter than Owynn imagined, also more boyish than the manly person Owynn had crafted in his mind when Freddy had originally told him about Eak.

Still, he had this kind of presence to him. Like he could fill a room with his vibe without even saying anything. Owynn didn't know if it was the sweat mixed with a light deodorant smell, or the baseball bat and backpack, but this guy seemed.....okay. And for Owynn to think you were okay was a big-ass compliment.

Eak reminded Owynn of a song by My Chemical Romance. Teenagers, whereas Freddy and Fred were more of a Strawberries & Cigarettes by Troye Sivan.

Owynn shook his hand curtly.

"Likewise."

"You're Cami, right?" Eak turned to Cami, smiling.

"Considering I just told you my name earlier, I think so." Was Cami's dry answer.

"Friendly, huh?" Eak didn't look bothered by Cami's sarcasm, which surprised the green-haired girl in return.

"Gather 'round children, I'm about to explain the rules to y'all." Owynn clapped his hands together, then gestured for everyone to come closer.

"To those I haven't met yet......" Owynn glanced around the large group. "Hi, and welcome to your demise."

"Charming......" Loon tilted his head at the teen.

"I know, right?" Felix looked rather happy with Owynn's dramatic presence.

"Rule one, to those who've brought a knife, no fatal stabbing or....well, I'm not sure what will happen, but my boss might kill you, I dunno." Owynn sure as hell didn't hesitate on getting to the point.

Felix thoughtfully twirled his pink pocket knife in his hand.

"Rule two, your gang wins if the other one either gives up or physically can't fight anymore. Every fight you win gets you a point, the gang that ends up getting the most points in the end gets the prize money. And if requested, our freedom......" Owynn rubbed the back of his neck at the end, trying to seem casual in an attempt to hide how nervous he truly was.

"Wow, this is like a video game!" Bonnie commented, much to Spring's delight and Cami's annoyance.

"That's what I said last time!" Spring exchanged a fist-bump with the shorter boy.

"Focus, people. If you're starting to lose during a round, you're allowed to ask for one other gang member to join. You guys will be going up against five gangs, I think, and you get three breaks in total." Cami flatly announced.

"Do we get food?" Fede focused on asking the real questions.

"Ya. There's a snack table with soda and beers for the alcoholics." Cami informed.

"Little birdie told me that some of you also want to steal my position as singer for the night." Owynn send a nasty glare to anyone in his eye-sight. Freddy started wondering if it truly had been a good idea that he'd ended up telling Owynn that.

"Well, only in case you get tired......" Lilly somewhat shyly clarified, feeling called out.

"Okay, whatever. You can sing instead of me, like, once or twice as long as you don't steal my spotlight." Owynn huffed as Lilly excitedly jumped up and down. "Anyone else?"

Eak very slightly raised his hand, hoping no one else in the gang would spot him. Owynn noticed and offered Eak a puzzled expression, but thankfully didn't question it out loud.

"Okay. Everybody ready to head in?" A sly smile tugged at Owynn's lips as he received mostly confirmations. "Great! Then follow me!"

As they headed towards the abandoned subway, Joy noticed Cami's hand was shaking. Anxiety clouded her mind as she imagined holding the other girl's hand to calm her down.

Would she be overstepping her boundaries?

Would it be inappropriate?

Maybe Cami isn't even nervous???

Joy glanced back to see Bon nodding at her, a subtle hint. That was when she decided. Gathering all her bravery, Joy took a deep breath.

Chill out. You're social and Cami likes you. I think? She probably does.

Joy gently took Cami's pale hand in hers. Cami glanced up at her from behind a mop of green hair. The blonde smiled down at her, holding the other teen's surprised look.

She waited a beat. One, two.....

Cami squeezed her hand, very, very lightly. Joy barely felt it, but it was there. She was blushing like a mad man by the time Cami let go of her hand and strutted down the stairs to trail after the rest.

"Nice!" Bon grinned and lightly pushed at the taller girl's shoulder.

"Shut up, Bon....." Joy felt like her heart was gonna burst, like cupid shot her in the fucking chest.

It was a nice feeling.

(These are the stairs, to give ya a reference!)