Why Should I Worry?

There was a pause between them and the air thickened with tension. He wondered what he could be thinking. Was he recalling it all? The laughter the two of them shared together the moment they got out of a tough spot? Hiding in closed spaces from whoever they’d managed to piss off that day. Bodies pressed together… their skin hot and their pulses racing. Back when there was no one else in the world but them. Man, did he ever want that back. Those moments were long gone now but they lived in his memory. His heart beat with the love he felt for him. Could they ever get back to it? Maybe, he could convince Dodger to get into trouble with him this one time and it would push them back together again like he never left. When Dodger spoke, he could feel the anger in his bones like the Earth was trembling with it. He couldn’t help but draw back away from him for a second. “Dodge, please.” He tried to get out in between his words, but his own voice was drowned out. He could do nothing more than listen until he was finished. “Aw, come on. You’re just- You’re being-” He stammered. Frustrated, he shook his head. “Not all dreams need to be crushed, Dodger. Can’t you just give me another chance?” He said to go home and he openly frowned at him. “I can’t.” 

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          “I’m being what?!” Dodger demanded an answer. He wanted to hear Tramp explain what he saw. Betrayal stormed behind his eyes, thundering through him. It gave way to anger that had been turned to rage and disbelief. It was hard for him to believe that Tramp could really be so naïve; so caught up in his own fantasy that he couldn’t see what was clearly in front of him. “You should have thought about that before you crushed mine.” His voice was low, a warning growl. “Then find a new home. You’re good at that.” There was malice in those words. They were meant to hurt him, to get under Tramp’s skin so that he could feel everything that Dodger did. 

Not to say Tito was disappointed but Tito was disappointed. “Yeah yeah yea….” Einstein was really getting up there in years and if Tito hadn’t come to his aid, he could have been seriously hurt! Sure he may have been overreacting but- what if something HAD happened? Something bad? All because Roscoe felt like being an all around asshole. “Really?” He was somewhat surprised at the easy answer. If Dodger gave him permission there was no doubt Tito was gonna do it. “I was thinking of hot wiring and stealing his wheels but a punch in the nose could be fun too!” And VALIDATING, hella validating. 

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       “Do whatcya want.” Dodger confirmed with a nod, reaching for the sunglasses that laid near his recliner. As long as Tito left him alone long enough for the headache to subside, he didn’t really care what he did. Pulling them onto his face, he leaned back into the fabric. “Hot wire his car, steal his wheels, punch him in the nose, but don’t get yourself into too much trouble. Einstein wouldn’t want that on his conscience.” As far as he was concerned, there was nothing to worry about with Tito. As long as things didn’t get out of hand everything would be fine.  

Lady let out a laugh covering her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry - but great catch, your reflexes are quick.” she noted breaking off the rest of the dangling heel so she held it in her hand. “I think i’m the one who should be asking you that question, those keys are sharp and the fluffy ball on that keychain…gotta watch out for that.” she teased lightly. Layla shook the heel in her hand so he could see the malfunction. “A shoe incident caused well…this incident.” she told him hobbling over. “I’d take my shoe off but I don’t think it’s a great idea to walk around barefoot here not with how my night’s been going.”

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        “Thanks.” Dodger let a smirk reach his lips, letting them glisten under the streetlights. “Pom poms are very dangerous. You’ve gotta be careful with that thing. It’s a dangerous weapon.” He joked with her, happy to have run into someone who could be so lighthearted about the entire incident. “You have to be careful with heels. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never worn them myself, but I’m sure that I could rock them.” Dodger teased. “Do you want a ride home?” He offered, sure she would think he meant a car ride instead of the piggy back ride he was offering.

Even in her slight annoyance, Rita smiled as Dodger laughed. It was the kind of laugh that made her stomach flutter. When he smiled fully and the dimples on his cheeks made their rare appearance. It was a glimpse of the boy she had once knew. Before “the life” had made him cooler. More untrusting. Still, no matter what she stood by him, as she always swore to do. She felt better knowing he’d been out scouting and not doing…other things. Something that wasn’t a far off assumption. She had no right or claim to be jealous when he did, but that didn’t stop her from feeling that way. And if there was one thing she could trust Dodger on it was his word. He never lied, not to her anyway. “Sure you are princess.” she rolled her eyes chuckling. they neared the open house, the silly little balloons dancing in the wind. Her pace slowed. “Let’s check this out.” she said nonchalantly. “There’s probably free food…”

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      Dodger rolled his eyes playfully at the annoying nickname that was meant to get under his skin. The morning had started off too good for anything to bring him down, or so he thought. That was until they approached the open house and things finally clicked. This wasn’t just some random happening. This was calculated, whether it was meant for Dodger to see or not. He knew that she was trying to get out of the life. That she wanted to live an honest life. His smile was gone, replaced by a frown that occupied the space now. He couldn’t help feeling disappointed. It felt like she was leaving him too. “Then go get some food.” He stopped where he stood, not wanting to go any further. 

Tramp gave him a smile when he said that he was sure he did. Just the other night he’d bumped into Tito. The two of them talked and walked together like he’d never been his enemy at all. Part of him wondered if the boy mentioned it to Dodger at all. Part of him wanted him to have. A selfish part of Tramp longed to be on Dodger’s mind. Just the same way he wanted to be on Rita’s. He didn’t want to admit it out loud. How much he missed them. How he’d substituted them with every other person who’d give him attention… It was a little pathetic, now that he was thinking about it. He said nope and Tramp let out a small huff. Trying not to let out that he was a little irritated that Dodger was pretending he didn’t remember it all. “Well, then. I guess I outta remind you somehow then. I bet I could get them chasing us again…” He dared to say, a devil’s grin crossing his lips. “How about it, Dodge?” He couldn’t help but push him a bit. 

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        With every breath he could feel his pulse picking up. His heart raced, slamming against his ribs in an effort to escape it’s cage. Just the thought was enough to excite his body. Even if he refused to bring the memories back up, his body remembered. Instinct sparked, seizing control of his senses. He could feel the adrenaline working its way through his veins, bringing his body to life. He was awakened, set alight by the very idea of running through the town with Tramp at his side like nothing had ever changed, like all the lies and deception were some nightmare he had awoken from to find that Tramp had never left. If things were that simple, it would have saved a lot of heartache between himself and Rita. They had both suffered the loss of their friend. “No.” He repeated, trying to keep his voice steady. “No, you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to act like this is a game when you’re the one who got out without scars. When you have a heart that still beats the same way it did when we met.” The adrenaline had turned to anger so quickly, he was shocked that fire hadn’t blown out with the words. “I’m done playing games with you, Tramp. Wake up. These streets aren’t lined with gold anymore. All there is is broken dreams and violence.” It all came pouring out before he could stop it. “Go home.” 

“Fair enough. A man’s gotta walk.” Tramp replied before adding, “I do it on your turf all the time.” He was well aware that it could be a show of disrespect to say that to him. It implied something far too close to the truth. He never feared Fagin’s Gang. Or Buster’s for that matter. Tramp went where ever he pleased. Edging close to dangerous situations and knowing full well that he could get out of them. It even gave him a thrill. Just talking to Dodger now was giving him a little thrill. Alone in this alleyway together. It reminded him of old times. Memories that neither of them dared to talk about much now. Like everything they went through together was a dirty little secret. He noticed Dodger keeping his space from him. A few months ago he might have punched him for getting that close. Tramp stood where he was, staying still for now. “They’ve never scared me, Dodge. You know that. We used to have a lot of fun together right under their noses. Don’t you remember?” 

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         “I’m sure you do.” He knew that Tramp did. Probably more than he even realized it. It was who Tramp was. He had no respect for rules or boundaries, deciding to make his own rather than the follow the ones put in place. “Nope.” He denied. It was a lie and they both knew it, but Dodger didn’t want to remember. Part of his heart lived there; underneath the star-blanketed sky where they stole hidden kisses after recovering from the adrenaline rush of escaping Roscoe or Buster. He had never left there. He saw it in his dreams and the quiet moments when he could hear his blood rushing in his ears as he tried to control his breathing when he was hiding from either of the rivals. Tramp never once left his thoughts — not really  — he lived in Dodger’s mind, making a home for himself in the corners where his thoughts didn’t dare to linger. It was hard to ignore him when he stood before him, all sculpted muscle and damned temptation. It was worse than being around Rita. At least with Rita, he knew where they stood. She had never betrayed him. 

“Oh man I have a billion trillion dillion ideas! I am so ready man! I got this in the bag, tons and tons of ideas! Now do we wanna go lethal or non-lethal? Frankly I’m angling for lethal but non lethal has some solid stuff too. Public humiliation, making life more difficult, and there’s always the classic chicken feathers. I really like that idea if we’re going non lethal but also if we do do lethal we gotta swat him, I wanna break at least a nose, ya know?” He exclaimed. “The store. The dirty scoundrel knew we wouldn’t let shit go down here, we too good ya know? He’s scared of us for sure, and we’re gonna give him reason to be even more scareder-er… that don’t sound right.” He realized with a blink of his eyes. 

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        Now would have been a great time for Oliver to be a full fledged member so that he could whisk the energetic Tito off to take care of Roscoe while Dodger did his best to treat the the headache that quickly morphing into a migraine. It would have been a great time for Rita to come back from where she had ran off to, but something told Dodger that he was on his own with this one. “Non-lethal.” Dodger said as if it was obvious because it should have been. They were going to kill Roscoe over groceries. They would just have to find a creative way to collect enough cash to buy more. Then how about you break his nose and get it over with?” If it got Tito’s anger out and it was just a nose break, he didn’t see why that couldn’t be a good idea. Dodger massaged his temples, trying to calm the growing headache.

“The sound is lovely yes. It’s the words that tend to drive me up a wall.” She teased him. “Wouldn’t know. I don’t really know what it’s like to be alone.” She said back to him. Rita always had someone with her. Dodger, Tito, Einstein, Oliver, Tramp. The few moments of peace she did have were fleeting. As she grew older, her patience for being constantly tugged in different directions grew thinner and thinner. She turned, heading in the direction of an open house she planned to visit. She hadn’t been hiding it from Dodge, she simply just hadn’t told him. Still “coming across” it naturally seemed like an easier thing than telling him it was preplanned. “You got home late.” She pointed out. “I’m surprised you’d even want to be in the sunlight this early.”

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        Dodger laughed, letting out one of his rare full belly laughs. Rita had a point and he knew it. Getting under his skin, even, and especially when he wasn’t trying to was his specialty. “I heard rumors and wanted to see if there was any truth to ‘em.” Dodger tried not to be out too late, knowing that it left the ship vulnerable under the shadow of the night. He preferred to be home in case something happened. Last night had been different though. Dodger needed to know what Buster was planning and if there was any validity to the whispers that had been circling him. It threw a wrench in his plans with Oliver if they did. He thought he had more time to teach the kid, to find a way to convince Rita that him becoming a full fledged member wasn’t a bad thing, but if the things he was hearing were true it would speed up that process significantly. “What can I say? I’m used to the sunshine this early.” He flirted, a smirk hidden underneath the tone of his words. 

Layla had ended the date she was on early. The night just kept getting worse, not only was her date late but she could tell the only reason he had asked her out was because she came from money. It was all he could talk about. The waiter had also knocked over her water and spilled it all over her dress, it was then that she knew it was time to call it a night. She politely thanked him for the dinner and mentioned she wasn’t feeling all that great and headed out. On her way to her car her heel at broke making her stumble and throw her keys. “Dammit.” she cursed looking up at and immediately apologizing to the person she had basically thrown her keys at. “Oh I’m so sorry - I hope I didn’t hurt you with those. 

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         Feeling something hit him square in the chest, Dodger instinctually reached up to grab whatever it was. Feeling the cold, sharp metal keys, he opened his palm to reveal them. Trying to put together what had actually occurred, he looked up to see a disheveled looking woman approaching him. “You’ll have to try harder than keys to take me down.” He only half-joked as his lips curved upward in a polite smile. The woman was beautiful, stunning in her dress. If he hadn’t known better he would have assumed she was a damsel in distress, but knowing Rita made it hard to believe that any beautiful woman were helpless. “You okay?” Dodger asked, handing the woman her keys back.

“What hasn’t he done? That rat bastard doesn’t have an off switch! The man just doesn’t stop and gotta learn that ain’t okay, we gotta teach him a lesson man, stick something in his brain to make him remember not to mess with us!” He exclaimed speedily, almost out of breath with the amount of energy he poured into his vocals. “Einstein, the old timer was getting groceries man and Roscoe couldn’t let that be done in peace. He was like— ‘Groceries? No!’ He stole em man!! How low is that??”

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        It was a good point. Roscoe had done enough to the group to go after him without much more reason than that, but he wanted to know what it was this time. Dodger let out a soft chuckle at Tito’s passion. “Got any ideas?” For someone so ready to fight, he didn’t seem like he had a plan other than to go in guns blazing, which contrary to Tito’s beliefs, was not a plan. “Where at? The store or out here?” The location was important. 

Tramp smiled a bit at his words. “Thanks.” It had been a long time since they were alone together. Even the usual busy street by the alleyway was quiet. Leaving no possible distractions from the other person. Standing not too far from each other in a cramped alleyway. Old memories came to mind but he quickly tried to push them down. He didn’t need to be thinking about that right now. They weren’t that close anymore. They weren’t even friends. All that was there between them now was bitterness. It least, that was how it was supposed to be. He wasn’t feeling too bitter himself… but Dodger’s tone carried a hint of it. “Just lookin’ out for you ol’ pal.” He told him easily. “The cops are cracking down on this neighbourhood. I would be careful where you stretch those legs of yours.” He said, taking another step towards him as he did so. Looking down at him from his slightly taller height. 

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       “All I’m doing is walking.” He replied innocently. Dodger hadn’t been on that side of town for anything but exploring. There was a rumor going around that Buster was moving to recruit new members to the Junkyard and if that was actually the case, Dodger needed to know. There were preparations that had to be made when it came to Oliver. The thought twisted his stomach. Rita was going to fight him to the end about letting the young man participate as an active member of the gang. Tramp took a step closer and Dodger’s eyes moved up to meet the man as he approached, leaning back to create space. Being so close only forced memories he had worked so hard to bury to the forefront of his mind. Taking a step back, he put more distance in between them. “If there’s so many coppers out here why are you here?” 

Rita walked beside Dodger silently. She needed to get away for awhile, get some alone time and clear her head. Naturally, that didn’t happen. The second her hand touched the door knob he was next to her asking a thousand questions. “The DEAL was you could come if you didn’t talk.” she reminded him, stopping and turning to face him. “IF you’re bored feel free to go back. I’m capable and willing to walk alone.”

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        “I thought you liked the sound of my voice.” Dodge replied, trying not to sound as offended as he felt. “Being alone gets lonely.” At least it did for him. He didn’t like to admit it, but without the rest of the group, he felt alone -- especially without Rita, though. For as long as he could remember she had been at his side. 

“Hey-a, Dodge.” Tramp found himself saying the moment the other man had finally noticed him, sauntering over to meet him. His eyes darting down the other man’s body as if he were checking him out. “You know you’re on the wrong side of the tracks, right?” He told him with a bit of a smile curling his lips. Not that he was one for borders anyway. Even when he was apart of the Junkyard Gang, he never did follow them. Which may have gotten him into trouble one or two times… It was never any trouble he couldn’t slip out of. “So. What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you just came to see me?” He joked.

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       Dodger thought that after all this time, Tramp’s voice wouldn’t have the same effect it did when they were younger. His pulse quickened, hear thrumming in his chest as the man moved towards him. The way his body reacted was involuntary, but he worked hard to keep it off his features. “Tramp. Lookin’ scruffy as ever.” Tramp’s eyes felt hot against his body, burrowing into his very core. Dodger felt seen. Shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, he stood up straight to try and remedy the overwhelming sensation of inadequacy. “I’m not worried about what side of the tracks I’m on. Why are you?” There was genuine curiosity behind the venom laced words. “I didn’t come here for you. I came to stretch my legs.”

“Slow down- slow down?! How could you say that to me man? There’s no way we could be slow about this! We gotta- we gotta move! We gotta plan some kind of sneak attack! Be like cobras slither into the night and then BITE their heads off! Roscoe that ugly donkey butt was making trouble for old man Einstein, we gotta do something! Stir a little trouble for em! Make em know that they come for ours, we come for theirs! And we come with the VENGENCE of a thousand screaming cobras!” 

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       Tito only got faster when Dodger told him to slow down. It wasn’t unexpected, but rather a simple annoyance. His head throbbed, brain pounding against his skull in an attempt to escape. The pressure was yet to be relieved, only worsening as he tried to focus on the words escaping from Tito’s mouth at Mach speed. “What did Roscoe do this time?” He asked, expecting a full recount of the events. “Talking about Einstein, where is he?” 

         Dodger found himself walking down a strange alleyway on the wrong side of town every now and then. He liked to take risks and Buster was no match for him, no matter how much that ugly mug thought he was. When Tramp had quit the gang, they lost all manner of intimidation for Fagan’s gang. Now they were just a bunch of scoundrels running around with their heads cut off. The sound of a rock hitting the brick of the wall to his right, Dodger spun around coming face to face with Tramp. Speak of the devil. “Were you following me?”

        Walking next to Rita, Dodger was in his happy place. There wasn’t anywhere he liked to be better than next to the woman he loved; not that he would ever admit that he loved her. Rita was his friend. A good friend. “Why did I agree to this again?” He asked, glancing down at her as they walked through the park.