REBEL HEART

GANGS

Henry's POV:

We sat at the Dark Brown Café, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. Ryan leaned in, his voice low. "Henry, don't think principal Johnson is overreacting."

I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "I'm really tired, Ryan. I don't know what to do. I wish I could just leave this gang, but it's impossible. Principal Johnson is threatening us, and there's no way out. I have a lot going on in my mind, apart from this school gangs."

Matthew chimed in, trying to lighten the mood. "And Samantha is coming back! She's so hot!"

I shot him a warning glance. "Matthew, this isn't a joke. Can't you think seriously for once?"

Matthew held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Let's just go have fun and forget about this Johnson stuff."

Ryan spoke up, his voice thoughtful. "What about Ashley?"

Just then, Emily stormed in, looking furious. "Stay away from Ashley," she warned, her eyes blazing.

I laughed , and Emily's expression turned even darker, as she held me by the shirt so tight."C'mon Emily, calm down," I said, trying to placate her.

Emily took a seat next to Ryan, her eyes still flashing with anger. "You know we're still working for Principal Johnson, doing his dirty work and shady dealings," I explained. "I'm not harming Ashley; Mr. Johnson just said we need to keep an eye on her... and you should do the same too. He said she's smart and doesn't want her to figure out about us."

Emily's expression softened slightly, but she still looked concerned. "Guys, aren't we tired of doing this? In no time, Samantha will be back, and most likely, we'll all be in jail."

Matthew spoke up. "I thought it was only Henry who was in trouble."

Emily's voice was laced with concern. "It's not just Henry; we're all in this together. Because of us, Henry is tagged as the bad boy."

I smirked, a hint of pride in my voice. "I do like that phrase... the bad boy."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Guys, enough! Aren't we tired of losing innocent souls or dragging people into this trouble gang with no way out... just like you all did to me?"

The gang laughed, and Emily's expression turned stern. "We really need to act fast. If Samantha comes back, you all know she's smart, and she's surely going to pay us back for what we did to her."

Ryan's voice was laced with concern. "And when we get in trouble, Johnson will deny us, and our parents will be mad."

At the mention of parents, I frowned, feeling a pang of regret. My mother abandoned me when I was little, and my father Started abusing me.

Emily spoke up, her voice firm. "We need a plan."

Matthew rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You all know, we are not smart. We won't think of anything right now."

The gang looked at him, unimpressed. "Hey, I'm just stating the facts," Matthew said, raising his hands in surrender.

To be honest, Mathew wasn't helping.

Just then, Emily spoke up. "Guys, we need to tell Ashley."

We all turned to her, surprised. "What?" Ryan asked.

Emily's voice was firm. "I'm just saying, the earlier we tell Ashley, the better. She can solve the problem for us. Because right now, she doesn't know I'm in some kind of gang, and I don't know if she'll forgive me if she finds out."

Emily looked at us, her eyes pleading. "She's my friend, and she really needs to know. But I'm scared..."

Her voice trailed off, and she buried her head in her hands.

I pulled Emily into my arms, which was unlike me, but one thing about me is that I care about my family. And my family is right here - the gang.

"Emily, we can't say anything yet," I said. "If we do, she might bail on us, and we might have to take drastic measures. That's which involves killing her." Emily's eyes flashed with anger as she shifted away from me.

"You can't hurt her, she's my friend," Emily said, her voice firm.

“ I know she's your friend but Remember what happened to Georgia, Peter, and James?. Even though we don't want to do it Johnson will make us do it so let's keep a low profile “ I said.

“ and what makes you think she will bail on us huh?“ She asked

I sighed. "Seriously, I don't just like that girl. I'm just pretending to have fun with her, as Johnson instructed, so she won't suspect anything."

Emily chuckled. "Keep having fun, and maybe you'll fall in love."

I raised an eyebrow. "No way. That's not going to happen. Samantha..."

Emily interrupted me. "Ashley isn't Samantha, Henry. Yes, I know you've suffered a lot, but Ashley is different." She smiled. "Quit talking about her; she's pissing me off."

Matthew and Ryan turned to look at me, curious. "What's wrong with Ashley?" Emily asked.

I shrugged. "She's just... timid. And... I don't know, there's just something about her that annoys me."

The gang gave me a skeptical look. "Is she really that bad?" Matthew asked.

I hesitated. "Whatever. I just don't like her. Her life is perfect." I said with a hint of jealousy.

Emily's eyes welled up with tears. "That's because she's not in the gang. If not for this gang, I would have had a good final year too."

Ryan pulled Emily into a hug, kissing her cheeks as she cried. Matthew rolled his eyes, irritated.

I like the fact, Ryan is good for Emily. Apart from the school gang, they were a lot of things going on in my mind, that the gang don't even know about.

Anyway I decided to stop thinking about those things.

"Enough already," Matthew said, and we all burst out laughing despite the problems ahead.

As I looked at the gang, I felt a sense of love and loyalty towards them. They were my family, and I would do anything to protect them. But despite having them in my life, I still felt like something was missing. I was like a boss to them, but to others, I was just a bad boy - troublesome and annoying.