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All the guys in the room stared at me in shock. Sam slowly walked beside me and I felt safer.

Marcus sighed and looked away, our hands were intertwined.

"Please tell me you blindfolded her before you brought her here," said the 1st guy, he was clearly upset.

"No," Marcus said simply.

"Why the hell are you holding her hand?" the 2nd guy exclaimed, staring at our intertwined hands. I wanted to let go but Marcus didn't let me.

"She's my girlfriend," Marcus replied.

All of the guys looked at me and pulled out their guns. They simultaneously pointed their guns at me and I froze. Marcus stood in front of me with a calm expression, "Put your fucking guns away."

"No. For all we know, she could be secretly part of the rival gang," the 3rd guy exclaimed.

"Look at her, man, she looks so cute. Even a maniac like Marcus could fall for her," the 4th guy said, though he was still pointing a gun at me.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

"Pleasure," he said smiling, lowering down the gun. A split second later, he deadpanned and pointed the gun at me again.

"Marcus, what the fuck were you thinking bringing her here?" the last guy said, standing up.

"I ask--" I was about to answer but Marcus interrupted me.

"James is after her," Marcus said seriously and the last guy was serious for a moment before he scoffed.

"The fuck? Is that the reason? What about the other girls you dated? Why wasn't he after them?" the last guy said.

"Whoa, what the hell did you say?" the 2nd guy asked in disbelief.

"James is after her," Marcus repeated, with a slight glare.

"James... as in the guy who killed your father?" the 4th guy asked. Marcus looked down at the mention of his father's death.

"No, Chase. James the weird dude who works at McDonald's," the 3rd guy said sarcastically at Chase.

"Oh, thank God. But why would a weirdo like him be after--" Chase said but the 3rd guy smacked the back of his head.

"Because I didn't care about them, Ian," Marcus replied to Ian, the last guy.

"What, you care for this cute girl?" the 2nd guy asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Why the hell do you think I brought her here?" Marcus rolled his eyes.

"Uh, to fuck her senseless and leave her in the middle of nowhere," the 2nd guy answered blankly.

"Trust me, I want to do that first part," Marcus bit his bottom lip and winked at me. This was not the best time to blush and but I did and Marcus smiled at my reaction.

Ian looked at me and Marcus in confusion and anger.

"Whatever. If you care about her, you would have not brought her here," the 3rd guy said.

"She's not safe alone," Marcus told them.

"And you think here is safer?" The 1st guy scoffed and lowered his gun. "Marcus has officially lost his mind."

"Shut up, Erik." Marcus glared at Erik, the 1st guy.

"Marcus, what you did is really stupid," Chase said. "But not stupid than Cameron."

Cameron, the 2nd guy, shot Chase a glare,"What the fuck are you talking about? You're the stupid one with your stupid jokes..."

"Whoa, bro, my jokes are freaking gold," Chase said with a smile.

Erik sighed,"Can you guys shut the fuck up? This is irrelevant right now."

Cameron laughed,"Your jokes are gold? Xavier was right about you."

"What did he say about me?" Chase glared at Xavier.

Sam cleared his throat and the boys looked at Marcus. He clenched his jaw and quirked his eyebrow at them.

"She was bound to find out anyway," Marcus said.

"But that's better than bringing her here," Erik murmured. The guys started talking over eachother and I looked at Marcus. "No one is supposed to know about this place," Erik said. "It's top secret."

"Bro, are you kidding me? Your fucking grandmother knows about this house." Xavier said to Erik.

"Can you guys fucking chill?" Marcus said and the guys went silent. "I brought her here because I found it safer than leaving her alone where James could easily take her and I don't want that. I care for her and unfortunately James knows that," Marcus said and everyone seemed a bit calm though still upset.

"Anyone who has something else to say, we can talk outside," Marcus said and made a cracking sound with his knuckles. The guys sighed and shook their heads. Marcus grinned. "Now where the fuck is Shawn?" he asked.

"Upstairs. The first room," the 3rd said and Marcus went up the stairs. I wanted to follow him but Sam held my arm and shook his head. I nodded and stood awkwardly in front of the guys as they eyed me. They were all wearing leather jackets and black jeans. Three of them were slumped on the couch while two were standing. The one sitting in the middle was smoking.

"So..." I cleared my throat. "My name's Alyssa."

They said nothing, they just stared at me. I nodded and my trembling fingers tugged a strand of hair behind my ear,"What are your names?" I asked.

No answer.

"Good talk," I murmured. They glared at me as I started to feel the tension grow. What I also noticed about them was that they looked like freaking Calvin Klein models. I didn't mind them staring at me, I just wanted them to talk. I sat on the coffee table in front of them, my knees touching the guy across me.

"What's your favourite food?" I asked, smiling cheekily and they didn't reply. "Wow, great answers. I like pizza, Hawaiian pizza to be exact."

I saw Cameron frown at my answer. I smiled and carried on.

I opened the door and saw Shawn staring at himself in the mirror. I looked at his reflection and saw his bruised, beat up face. My fists clenched,"What happened?" I asked, closing the door.

Shawn sighed," James' gang beat me up."

"Just like that?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

Shawn ran his fingers,"No... I met up with James--"

"You met up with James?" I repeated and I shut my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose,"Please tell me you're talking about the James that works in McDonald's."

"No... he moved away," Shawn answered.

"Behind my back? You met up with James behind my back? You didn't think about calling me and the gang for backup," I said, stepping closer.

"That's one of the reasons I didn't call you, you'd stop me," he told me.

"Shawn--" I was about to punch him and he held up his arms up in defence. I stopped myself and I slowly dropped my arm, sighing.

"I'm sorry," he whispered sadly. "I just wanted to protect you and aunt."

"You fucking can't, Shawn. You're not strong enough to take them down alone." I gritted through my teeth.

"I'm sorry okay? I saw a few of his members spying on Marí. I needed to speak to James," he said.

"You saw them spy on María?" I asked in shock.

Shawn nodded,"And James said that he didn't kill me because he wanted me to come and warn you."

"About what?"

"He told me that you should protect your girlfriend. He's after her, Marcus."

"Why her?" I asked, wanting to hear the answer from him.

"He knows that she's really important to you. And you love her. He wants to see you suffer again and for revenge," he said.

"Fuck," I murmured.

"He really wants her, Marcus. If I were you, I would get the gang to protect her 24/7. Get some of your members to walk with her when she walks home after school, get some of them to transfer in her school. I don't know but she can't be alone. James has plans for her, trust me, they aren't good."

"What's your favourite colour?" I asked them. Glaring back at me, I raised my eyebrow at them and replied to my own question,"Mine's clear."

Erik looked away from me and I saw a hint of smile.

"How old are you guys?" I asked and waited,"I'm seventeen. I know, I look like a eleven year old but... seriously I am seventeen." Not fazed by their glares, I carried on,"What are you guys--"

"Holy fuck, shut up," Xavier groaned.

"I just want you to talk to me," I whined. "Please."

Erik sighed,"He is the leader's girl, and we can't change that."

"Yes we can, call one of his exes," Chase said. I rolled my eyes, feeling a pang of jealously.

I sighed,"Let's try this again. What are your names?" I asked, although I had known.

"Erik," the 1st guy. He had dark hair, light brown skin and dark brown coloured eyes that I fell in love with instantly.

"Cameron," the 2nd guy said with a slight smile. He had black, silky hair and brown eyes.

"Chase," said the 4th guy, and winked at me. Platinum blond hair and light blue eyes. He had a visible scar on his neck.

"Xavier," the 3rd guy said. A few tattoos on his arms, dark hair and eyes and brown skin.

I looked at the last guy, expecting him to say his name.

"Uhm... dude?" Cameron nudged him as he took a drag of the cigarette.

"Ian," he replied, staring at me coldly. Long hair that covered his one eye. Light blueish-greenish, light brown skin and sharp jawline.

"You guys can trust me. I mean, look at me, don't tell me I look like a spy," I said, staring at the fine men before me.

"You do, what's with all the questions?" Ian narrowed his eyes at me.

"Whoa." I held up my hands in the air,"Excuse me for trying to befriend you guys. I didn't know what I was doing was wrong."

"Ian, the girl is too cute to be a spy," Xavier said and I looked at him with a smile. Xavier winked at me and I smiled.

"Ian has a point though," Chase mused. "No one would think she's a spy."

"Dudes," I said and they all looked at me. "I'm not a spy. I wouldn't spy on my own boyfriend's gang."

"But you might pretend to like Marcus just to get him to trust you, bring you to the house then you gather all the information you need and run to... whoever," Chase said.

I stared at them blankly,"I like Marcus, I would never do that to him and the only information I have is you guys look like Calvin Klein models, the only person I would tell that to is my friend Aaliyah."

"Aaliyah?" Xavier repeated.

"She sounds like a sexy person," Erik said.

"Oh, she is." I nodded in agreement.

Erik nodded and narrowed his eyes, thinking about something.

"You think we look like models?" Chase asked, smirking.

"Look like? I bet you are," I said.

Chase sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,"Come on, Ian. How can you not like her?"

Ian sighed and looked away.

"Are you upset because she's taken by Marcus?" Erik joked and the boys chuckled.

I awed while he glared at me,"If it makes you feel better, I think you're hotter than all of them," I said and Ian smirked.

The boys frowned and Ian looked at them with them with a smug expression.

I laughed and I stood up,"I'm going to go check up on Marcus," I informed and I walked to the stairs. I ascended the stairs as I looked at the boys. They were talking among themselves as one or two would glance at me.

Of course they didn't trust me yet but I wanted them to be comfortable around me.

I sighed and looked for the room that Marcus was in. The hallway was not that long and there weren't many rooms upstairs. I looked at the first room which was across the bathroom on the left.

I opened the door and saw Marcus sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked up at me and he smiled wearily.

"Marcus," I said and I closed the door behind me. I walked to him and wrapped my arms around his neck as he hugged my torso since he was sitting. "Are you okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah," he said, though it didn't sound true. I noticed another guy sitting on the bed, he was staring at me. As soon as I looked at him, he looked down and I furrowed my eyebrows.

I approached him and sat next to him. Marcus glanced at me before he stood up and walked to the door. "Marcus?" I said softly and he slammed the door shut after walking out. I stood up to follow him.

"He needs time to cool off," he said and I paused. I hesitantly sat to him and nevrously played with my fingers. He chuckled to himself,"Are you Alyssa Heart?" he asked me.

I nodded,"Yeah, you're Shawn right?"

He nodded and I looked at him. My heart ached at the sight when I saw his bruised, beat face. It was still bloody. My eyes widened,"Don't you want to call the--"

"No it's okay," he stopped me,"It's okay."

I looked at the small bucket that had a white cloth hung over it. I took it and wet the cloth, I crouched down and cupped Shawn's face,"I just want to clean the blood off. Can I?"

Shawn nodded and I gently touched the bruise under his eye, wiping the blood,"Who did this to you?" I whispered, looking into his eyes for moment for him to reply.

He hissed.

"Sorry," I said.

He waited for a moment before he replied to my previous question,"The rival gang. More specifically, James' gang."

James.

"Did they gang up on you?" I asked and Shawn chuckled.

"No, no. I met up with James myself and tried to get him to leave us alone, threatening him in the process which was a bad idea," he said sadly. "I wanted him to leave Marcus and my aunt, María but Marcus had destroyed his gang, made James lose thousands of dollars and more and more gangs are enemies with James' gang... all because of Marcus. James wants revenge," Shawn explained.

"Who's James?" I asked, though I remembered when Trick told me that James was the man that shot Marcus' father.

"Powerful gangleader that shot my uncle. Marcus would never forgive James because James would've shot either of his parents," Shawn said and I wiped the blood stain on his neck.

I sighed,"All done."

Shawn smiled,"Thank you, Alyssa. You're a pretty sweet girl."

I smiled and nodded,"Thanks."

"Marcus really likes you, he talks about you. A lot," Shawn chuckled.

"Really?" I said, not believing that Marcus would talk to his friends or family about me.

"Yeah." Shawn chuckled. "He says you're beautiful and smart. Caring." he looked at me when he said the last part. "You really are. And it kills him to know that you aren't safe."

Ignoring the chill down my spine, I smiled at Shawn and he smiled at me.

I hugged him tightly and he hugged back. After a few seconds, we pulled away when we heard a sound of glass breaking.

"You guys should leave," Shawn said. I nodded and turned around and walked to the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Shawn," I said.

"Same here, Alyssa," Shawn nodded and I left the room. I went in the bathroom and saw pieces of broken mirror glass on the tiles.