#kidnapped1

Shane jumped at the sound of the door shutting. Even though he was anticipating it to be Nathan, the feeling of uncertainty was always lurking in the back of his head. Turning to get his brother in view, he picked up both hoodies in either hand and stood up from the steps. "I'm fine with just one." He started while handing the clothes over to the boy in exchange for the hot chocolate he had made, "Like I said before, I'm used to the cold." And it wasn't entirely false, having to sneak out every night was beginning to help build a slight immunity to the winter air. The warmth could be felt radiating from the canister which was an amazing sensational feeling against his chilled hands, twisting the cap off to cautiously take a sip, unsure if it was too hot or not but luckily it wasn't. Now taking a much larger gulp, he held it out to Nathan, not wanting to be greedy and hog the entire thing. After all, the boy did make it himself. "You want some? Don't tell me you don't because I know it's a lie. And while you're at it, you should tell me about this girl." A teasing smile showed on his face as he began walking backwards off the Vanderson property.

Nate snatched the hoodies up quickly after he handed over the canister and pulled them over his head. The sudden shielding from the cold brought a sigh of relief from him as he adjusted the hoods and pulled one up over his head. "Should I get the blankets out of my car just in case?" He questioned, recalling how his mother never let him drive around in winter without a few of them tucked underneath the backseat. He watched as Shane sipped at the drink while hoping he had mixed it all to perfectly like he tried. It was the least he could do when Shane always seemed to do everything else when they hung out. "Does it taste okay?" He questioned again as he reached out to take it as Shane handed it over. With the mention of the girl Nate had gone on about, he couldn't hide a small smile on his lips as he took a sip of the hot cocoa that thankfully tasted good. Stepping off the front stairs, he capped the canister and grinned to his brother. "You can't laugh okay?" He started, always being worried someone would mock him for his little adventures. "I kissed someone on the pier."

Shane stopped walking at the mention of blankets, taking a quick glance back at Nathan's car that sat parked in the driveway. Chewing on his bottom lip in thought, he finally decided to take them. "As long as it isn't much of a hassle for you, then sure." The boy wandered his way back towards the house only to plant himself beside the vehicle awaiting his brother to grab them from out of the backseat. "And by the way, your hot chocolate is perfectly fine, so don't worry." He made sure to give a reassuring smile along with the compliment, never wanting the other to doubt himself. Ever since their parents had gotten married, he felt a more protective role towards the only months younger lad. At this point he wasn't only viewed as one of his good friends, but his little brother who was probably the closest person to him in his life right alongside the other two Andersons. His head perked up with a childish laugh when Nate mentioned having kissed someone. Shane poked at his sides playfully raising the pitch of his voice, "Who was it? Who's the girl?" It was satisfying to hear that he had possibly found a new love interest, one that wasn't his Celibacy Club stalker... or he had hoped anyway. "Wait, it's not Tianna, right?" His mood became serious and almost suspicious as he took one of the blankets from him and wrapped it around his shoulders as if it was a cloak.

Nate shook his head, dismissing the possibility of it being a hassle. "It's not a hassle to grab a couple blankets," He reminded him as he quickly jogged over to the car. While he should have been one to lock it up all the time, the safety of the neighborhood made him forget most of the time. Tugging the door open to the backseat, he leaned in to snatch two of the blankets out from underneath the seat while being careful not to drop the canister of hot cocoa. After retrieving the blankets from the back, he nudged the door shut with his foot. As Nate heard the childlike laugh from Shane, his brow furrowed in playful annoyance. The sudden jabs to his side forced him to squirm, and he bat lightly at Shane's hands with his free one while struggling to hold in his laughs. "NO! It's not Tianna!" He called out before regaining his composure. "I'm not having a repeat of that night with her so don't worry," He reminded, still embarrassed over the situation. After Shane snatched one of the blankets, Nate moved toward his brother's car, avoiding eye contact to try and keep his level of embarrassment over the subject down. "...It was Jamie," He mumbled quietly as he leaned against the passenger side of Shane's car.

Shane let out a sigh of relief when he confirmed that it wasn't Tianna he was going for. If that were the case, he was ready to remove the blanket from around him and instead around Nate's neck to strangle him back into reality. Noticing his brother trail over towards his car, Shane stood there for a moment confused. "I'm not taking my car, little boy. If that's not a problem for you either, I'd much rather walk over to the lake. I need the fresh air right now." Inhaling deeply, he took in all of the outside for what it was worth, allowing himself to calm down from his short episode he had moments ago inside the house. Starting down the same path he was going prior to getting the blankets, he smirked at the talk of Jamie's name. She was definitely a good looking girl, but at the same time he hadn't expected her of all people that Nate would be going for. "Really? Jamie?" He asked with a slight shock sounding tone, "I don't mean that in a bad way, by the way. I'm just kind of surprised. I didn't know you two had something going on. She seems nice from all the times I've talked to her though. Really nice." There was no doubt in his mind he approved of the blonde, he might have not known her that well but from what he could gather from their conversations, she didn't seem like the malicious type. "So are you two...dating?" The question was dropped in yet another teasing manner, purposely bringing his face close to Nathan's staring him down.

Nate looked back to Shane's car, as he assumed they'd be driving despite the short distance that it would take to walk. As long as the cold didn't bother Shane, he was fine with walking. He pushed himself off of it, playfully flipping Shane the bird as he mocked him for his slightly younger age. "I could use the air too now that you mention it. I walked by Julia's room on the way out and I think I may have a secondary high coming on," He joked with a little laugh, though he didn't doubt it could actually happen when walking past her room. Nervously, he chewed on his lower lip as he noticed the surprised reaction from Shane. It was what he expected because he, too, was surprised by the fact that the whole situation had happened. He followed after Shane down the path though as soon as Shane stared him down, Nate stopped in his tracks and gave his brother a playful poke to the side of his body that didn't have stitches on it. "Shut up. We're not dating. I really like her though," He admitted quietly before he started down the path again. "She's really sweet when you get to talking to her."

Shane shook his head at him possibly being a little under the influence from those lethal toxic fumes that just lured out of Julia's room, causing all the Vandersons and even guests to fall victim. "You're lucky I'm sober to protect you from getting any dumb tattoos like myself. You'd be surprised what you walk out of the tattoo parlor with, you could end up with four giant arrows going up your forearm." He kidded, lifting his arm up running his finger up the area he was referring to for visual display before returning it back to his side only to flinch at the sudden tickling feeling that coursed through him with the poke he received from the boy beside him. "Don't." He stifled out in between his girlish sounding giggles, always hating the way he sounded when getting tickled. In this moment, the anxiety had completely vanished and he felt safe just being in Nate's presence, not feeling as though he needed to be watching every angle around him. Proudly tossing an arm around Nathan, allowing his blanket to cover the two, he continued on their walk now leading into the woods part of town. "I haven't been to the woods since that night..." He muttered under his breath while subconsciously gripping tighter onto Nate's shoulder looking into the place he used to always hang out, "But anyway, did you let her know you like her? And if you did, are the feelings returned?"

Nate cringed at the idea of staggering into a parlor under the influence. He'd leave that to Shane and avoid the tainting of his unmarked flesh. "If I ever did that, I would take myself to a psychologist and ask to voluntarily be put into an asylum." He shook his head as he spoke, dreading the day that he got a stupid tattoo like Shane always did. The girly laughs that echoed from Shane were enough to force laughter from Nathan as well. It was always amusing to hear how childish and young he sounded when he laughed. "You tickle me. I tickle you. It's a deal you can't break," He reminded in a pompous manner. The sudden feeling of Shane's arm around his shoulders brought Nate closer to his brother as they made their way down the dark path that lead through the woods. Nate hardly ventured in there, especially alone and at night after all the things that had happened but with Shane, it felt safer. His smile faded as Shane spoke up again, the memories of the riot flooding back as they moved through the trees. "Is it scary?" He asked, his voice so soft that he almost sounded childlike himself. "I don't even know," He admitted truthfully about the whole Jamie situation. Things were said that night that could have easily been interpreted for having feelings for each other, and yet at the same time, Nate didn't want to look too far into things. "She said I made her feel really good...and happy...and she liked kissing me."

Shane could hear the sounds of the loud, blaring music and drunken cheers far off in the distance, noises that were all too familiar to him. A part of him envied that they were still able to do that, while he on the other hand, couldn't find it in himself lately. He had tried to force himself back into that scene, but once again, the anxiety won the best of him and he had to break out of the crowd before he felt him cave within himself. Nothing was scarier than being your own biggest fear. "Is it scary?" That question floated in his head for a moment after it was asked before working up an answer. "No, no it's not scary really." He furrowed his brows while deep in thought, not sure how to describe the feeling. "It's full of a bunch of vultures who are just lurking in addicts to rip them off of their money and reckless kids who are looking to forget themselves for a night. Or every night, really. I mean I can't tell you how many times I've seen the same kids returning to the same spot every.. single.. night." Without realizing it, he was sort of giving a description of himself. "Don't ever try it, though, you hear me? I trust that you wouldn't anyway, but I just need to make sure. I don't want you getting mixed in with the wrong people." Patting Nate's shoulder with the hand that rested on it, the two continued traveling down what seemed to be the safe route through the woods, straying just inches away from the road that ran through them. "Well if it makes you feel better, that sounds like a girl that likes you. I don't just say those type of things to my friends. I hope that you eventually work up the courage to ask her out, kiddo, before some other guy does."

Nate lifted his gaze from the pavement that they walked near as he heard the sound of music. It was unfamiliar to him, as the party where the riot happened had been the only party in the woods he had ever attended. It was unlikely he'd go to another as the fear of another riot happening ran rampant through him. Shane's momentary silence after the question worried Nate but before he could question his brother more on it, Shane did his best to explain what he was feeling. "...It's really sad," He added quietly, his worries for Shane's sanity suddenly coming to surface. He worried every night that his brother went out there and it pained him that he could do nothing to stop him or make him feel better. "I promise. I can hardly hold my alcohol. How do you think I would react with drugs?" He questioned, trying to lighten the mood with a little laugh. A gentle shrug of his shoulders followed as memories of the pier flooded back. "I don't want to get my hopes up again. I mean, I thought things with Erica would work and that was awful. I don't want it to be like that again, Shane..." He trailed off, unable to force his worries away this time. "How's your stomach feeling?" He piped up again, shifting his gaze down to Shane's torso to eye where the stab wound was.

[[ ***WHERE IT PICKS UP AND THE KIDNAPPING BEGINS*** ]]

Shane felt his blood run cold at the clear concerning tone in Nate's voice, always knowing that his actions had repercussions on his family, or at least on his step brother and sister. The other two he knew didn't care, they never did, not even before the remarriage of his dad and step mom. They were a major influence on his misbehavior all his life and now having siblings that actually cared for him was a foreign concept he still had yet to grasp. "It is sad." He admitted himself, agreeing along with his brother whom he was glad still had some innocence left in him even after his sexual frustrating rampage. "Good, I really don't want another Julia in my life. Especially not you. I want you to know that I am proud of you, and sorry I'm getting sappy here but hell when aren't I sappy with you? Even if I am older by only a mere few months, I look up to you more than anyone else in my life." After that little moment of sappy truth, Shane brought his phone out to check it for any new texts from Jayla. Noticing a new message, he held off his reply to her when Nate went on to ask Shane about his stab wound and how it was holding up. Removing his arm from around the boy's shoulder, he paused briefly from walking and lifted up his hoody and shirt with his free hand that wasn't clutching his phone to reveal the stitches that were still all intact. "I try not to look at it, actually, I never do. I've only ever looked at it two other times prior to this." Right as he was allowing Nate to examine his still healing cut, the boy felt himself get blinded by oncoming headlights from a car driving down the road, immediately squinting and turning his head in the opposite direction. The vehicle wasn't moving too fast, but carried on to drive past the two. Now pulling his hoody back down to cover the mark, he continued on with the discussion. "It's not feeling too bad, it's definitely nowhere near as annoying and painful as it was when I was first released from the hospital." The sight of lights slowly fading back into view creeping up from behind him caught his attention, now turning to face the car that had just passed by only seconds ago driving in reverse up to the two standing by the road. In the back of his mind, his anxiety was beginning to come out again but he tried to soothe himself with the fact that Nate was right there and nothing was gonna happen. It's probably just someone asking for directions or lost, he thought to himself.

Nate was caught off guard by the claims that Shane was proud and looked up to him. Perhaps it was Nate's low self confidence that was to blame for him not understanding how people could look up to him. While he kept away from the drugs and managed to keep somewhat of a good head on his shoulders, he had done nothing in his mind to deserve that title to Shane. "Come on. I'm sure there's someone better you could look up to. I thought you and Mr. Matthews were tight," He joked, though his laugh didn't meet his eyes. He hated admitting it, and he hated feeling it, but he had always been the slightest bit jealous of Shane. From the popularity and girls to the confidence he had, Nate envied him, even though he knew deep down Shane struggled like everyone else. His brown eyes drifted from Shane down to his phone only to drop to Shane's torso again to eye the wound. The sight of it made his stomach churn a little bit. "I did the same after the car crash," He mumbled as he tore his eyes away from the wound. He was going to say more, but the sudden passing of a car stole his concentration away. It vanished down the road, and once again, Nate looked to his brother while taking the cap off the canister and sipping the hot cocoa. "Have you been taking your pain killers like they told you?" He questioned, though the lights of the car that passed were in view again. Curious as to why the car was suddenly backing up, Nate turned his body to face it as it came to a slow stop at the side of the road. He waited a brief moment for the window to go down and to have some old guy pop his head out to ask where the nearest hotel was but when the doors of the car opened instead, Nate's body tensed. Four boys looking to be in their late teens climbed out and the look in their eyes sent a chill down Nate's spine. "Well well well," One of them piped up as he crawled out of the driver's seat. "Look who we have here..." The others snickered under their breath as they came around the car, circling the North Shore boys like predators stalking their prey.

Shane could feel his eyes growing wide in caution as to what this person would want. The car itself was enough to send suspicious vibes off to the boy. Completely black with black tinted windows so there was never really a clear view inside of it, and the fact that it was late at night and dark out wasn't helping any. Once the doors opened, it was revealed to have been filled with a small gang of friends who looked to be about a grade higher than the two — the exact opposite of what Shane had anticipated. The second the other guy piped up with his "Look who we have here", Shane felt his heart come to a complete stop. He wasn't afraid for himself, he didn't care, but he was afraid for Nate. The recognizable voice sent a chill down his spine, remembering back to that Thursday night when the knife was forced inside of him, the night he had come face to face with death but managed to just barely survive thanks to his sister coming to his aid. It might have not been the guy who stabbed him, or maybe it was, he had no idea. He just remembered that specific voice being shouted muffled behind a mask at one point in the night and it clicked in his mind that these were those same guys. One of them had to have been the sociopath that stabbed him, and it only caused his paranoia to worsen not knowing which one of the four was him. "Nate, go." He tried to speak over as quietly as possible so only his brother could hear him, but right as those words had escaped his mouth, one of them snatched the phone in his hand. His mind was racing with so many thoughts that the obvious call/text someone for help had slipped from him in his state of overwhelming panic. After one of them had stolen it, they, with all the force they had, chucked it down against the road hearing it shatter, watching his phone be destroyed. His phone wasn't what he cared about, he just wanted his brother out of here. Grabbing onto Nate, he shoved him in the other direction away from the group before being shoved down himself onto the ground. "How did you manage to live after you were stabbed?" One of them spoke up before allowing their foot to painfully meet his lower stomach, knocking the wind out of Shane. Luckily for him, it had missed where his stitches were. The guy continued to kick him once more in the same spot, leaving Shane to have to gasp for air before he threw himself on top of the boy. "Nate, just go." He called out again, his voice coming out weak and faint before he was shut up by a fist connecting with his jaw and another meeting his eye. Helplessly lying there allowing the huskier guy to beat on him, he had only hoped he was a distraction for them to leave his brother alone, praying that he got away safely. Another had joined in on the fighting now and all Shane was left to defend himself with was his arms protecting any more blows to the face. A third guy witnessing it all unfold before him suggested that they do some serious damage to Shane's stab wound, unable to get his arms down there to protect it, he couldn't do anything but let out a pleading cry begging them not to.

Nate tightened his grip around the warm canister as the boys surrounded them. He didn't know who they were or what they wanted at that moment but he knew they were trouble as soon as they stepped out of the car. Looking to his left, Nate glanced at Shane and immediately, he saw the look on his face that only confirmed the fact that something awful was about to happen. "Nate, go." The quite whisper that Shane let out sent chills down Nate's arms but he was frozen. Despite how scared he was in that moment, he wouldn't leave Shane. Nate already knew that if there was a fight, he'd be down fast but he wasn't going to be a coward and leave his brother to deal with the boys alone. As Shane's phone was snatched out of his hand, Nate jumped slightly, his nerves getting the best of him as his hands began to tremble. Absentmindedly, the hand that hung at his side brushed against his jeans where his own phone was tucked away. He needed to text Kelly but there was no way he could sneak one in with them all around. Capping the drink that he still held, Nate's heart nearly stopped when Shane shoved him out of the circle. His clumsiness took over, and he tripped over his own feet and fell on the ground, his hand and the canister breaking his fall a bit. It was in that moment, where he was just far away from everyone else that he slipped his phone out, went to his messages, and sent Kelly a simple 'H' in a matter of seconds. He climbed to his feet, his phone slipping back into his pocket as he still clutched the thermos. One of the boys spoke again and clarified just who they were. His fear skyrocketed as the boy that nearly killed his brother was revealed to be in that circle. Before he knew it, Shane got kicked and was on top of his attacker. The beating his brother began to receive happened so fast that Nate had a hard time comprehending what was happening but when he heard the mention of hitting Shane where he was stabbed, Nate lost it. He ran a few feet back to the brawl, swinging the thermos in his hand at one of the guy's faces. It collided with a sickening thud and just as soon as Nate swung it, he uncapped the thermos and threw the steaming liquid into the face of another that was just about to do serious damage to Shane's torso. The boy cried out, his hands over his face but Nate's small victory was short lived. He was on the ground a moment later, his head throbbing from a punch that he didn't see coming in his fit of rage. His body was wracked with pain as the kicks came next and flashbacks to the mugging he endured months ago hit him as he curled in a ball.

Shane was thankful when the sound of a screeching pain came from the guy that was pinning him down, being released from his grip. His arms fell from his face to see that Nate had come to his rescue and threw the hot chocolate in his face. Even in a horrifying moment like this, Shane couldn't help but laugh at his brother's actions and how quick on his feet he was to think up of ways to hopefully stop this from escalating any further. The laughing came to an abrupt halt once he witnessed his brother now falling victim to their beating, and he wasn't gonna have it. Even though it was a helpless attempt, he used any kind of energy he had left stored in him to push himself up. Blood was seeping all down his face, he could feel the thick liquid oozing on his skin. With an arm gripped around his stomach, still trying to bring his breathing back to normal, he was ready to charge into the crowd that was surrounding his brother who was curled up in a ball on the ground. Before being able to build up the momentum to do so, the blanket he once so warmly used to wrap himself in, was now found aggressively wrapped over his head completely covering his eyes and the rest of his face. Trying to tug it off of him, the guy behind him was much stronger, especially being someone on the football team having endured so much training. Shortly after the blanket was brought over him, he felt a hard punch hit into his stomach, for the third time knocking the wind out of him tonight. "Leave him alone!" He tried to scream out to the group of guys. At this point, tears were pricking in his eyes, one already swelling from the punch received earlier. Crying was pathetic in this situation, and he knew it wasn't going to fix anything, but he couldn't help himself knowing that his brother was only several feet away getting the shit kicked out of him. Shane felt his legs get swooped up into another man's grip, now being literally carried by two of them and no matter how much effort he put in trying to squirm out of their hold, he was past the point of weakened and couldn't break free. The sound of a trunk opening could be heard, with his back roughly meeting the underlying part of it, having been tossed inside. The blanket now removed from his face, and right behind him followed the body of his brother who looked just as bruised and beaten up as he imagined he looked. "I'm sorry Nathan..." Shane's voice came out hoarse and low, intertwining their hands together right before one of the boys had lifted up Shane's hoody revealing the stab wound. His hand held a deathly lock on Nate's knowing exactly what was about to happen to him, one last blow was all he could take before losing the battle, falling into a state of unconsciousness due to overwhelming pain, and unfortunately for him the man had done it on the weakest spot on his entire body — directly meeting his stab wound.