Buttons walked up the stairs leading to the second floor. She was alone, and from the looks of things so was Ricky. His ride was parked out back and Kiki's was nowhere to be seen. Buttons didn't go to the place that the others would visit, she went to the building that only they knew about. There was a chance they would have ridden together, but knowing Kiki, that girl loved the freedom she felt riding her bike.

  Ricky was rubbing the back of his head as he looked at an outstretched piece of paper.

  "You've got shitty timing." Buttons made it clear that she was upset with him.

  Looking up at her, Ricky's face told her all she needed to know. He had no clue what she was talking about. How could he, he wasn't there with her.

  "What are you talking about?" Ricky inquired.

  Buttons leaned against the wall as one of the lightbulbs flickered on and then off. "Nothing, forget about it," Buttons crossed her arms and let out a sigh. She shouldn't blame him, but things were going so well. She wished she could see the ending.

  Unwilling to let this go, after he was being blamed for something. "Nah, you started this. Where were you?"

  "That's none of your business. I showed up, so what's up?"

  Ricky pointed his finger at her, a sly grin on his face. "You were with Raven, weren't you?"

  Rolling her eyes Buttons shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. "What's that got to do with this?"

  Ricky rubbed his hand through his hair as he shook his head. He did it when he felt stressed out, but this was not something that should bother him. "Buttons, you know can't be with him. You know why, we have to leave him alone."

  He was frustrated, things were going well for them, they had a plan. He had a plan. Now it might shatter all because of one person, it just didn't make sense to him. Was he upset at Buttons? Yeah, sure. But, he knew her. Raven and her had unresolved feelings they needed to work out. Now just was not the time for that. She had to stay focused.

  "What do you mean I can't? You're not my father Ricky, you don't determine who I can, or cannot hang around with!" Buttons exploded. "Besides, is it really 'we' need to leave him alone, or just you?"

  Ricky blew out a breath of air that was loud enough to be heard by anyone standing next to him. "You know it's not even like that." He wasn't mad at her, nor did he raise his voice. He would not do that to people he cared about, that just wasn't who he was.

  "Then what is it? Please, explain." Button's voice calmed down compared to before, but Ricky acting like her guardian still pissed her off. She knew his intentions were good, but it felt like he was overreaching more than he should have. It rubbed her the wrong way.

  Ricky shook his head but didn't explain. There was nothing but silence in the room between the two of them. Buttons let out a sigh and moved to open the fridge. Grabbing two bottled waters she walked to where Ricky was and sat on the couch. She tossed him one of the waters she grabbed and he caught it with one hand.

  Her eyes scanned the outstretched paper he was looking over. It was a map of New Dawn City, and he marked down some notes on it.

  "Look, you might as well tell me what the deal is between the two of you. I mean, how long will this last?" Buttons asked him.

  She has not seen nor heard Ricky talk about Raven in forever. The last time he even mentioned his name was when they met Brandon, other than that he essentially erased Raven's name from his memories. That's how it looked to them and everyone else.

  It's a stark difference from how things used to be.

  "It's not even worth mentioning, really. It's dumb when you think about it." Ricky said as he leaned back in the chair he was seated in and cracked open the bottled water.

  Button's gave him that look telling him that answer was not going to cut it. Ricky let out another sigh. "Fuck it. You already know I linked up with you two in elementary."

  "Yeah, you were a big boy back then." Buttons commented with a smile.

  Ricky gave her a smile but continued. "You two had your own thing, but so did me and Raven. We were like brothers, even though we aren't related. Our bond, what we enjoyed, it was on another level. I never connected with anyone like that before."

  "Kiki." Buttons pointed out.

  "That's something else, just like you and Raven. But since I've known him I've always been the one living in his shadow."

  Buttons raised her hands up as she began pumping them back and forth as if she were trying to push on the brakes. "Woah, you trying to say this is all a jealousy thing? Come on Ricky, it can't be like that."

  Ricky shrugged. "No, it's not like that. Maybe I used to feel that way, but I accepted the fact that I won't be like him, and he won't ever be like me. I'm fine with where I am, I was just... I don't know, lost?" Ricky phrased it as if he was still trying to figure it out himself. "I always pictured us being close forever, you know. But then, he was suddenly leaving town. It felt like a dirft was forming, and we'd all fall apart until I was left alone."

  Buttons listened to him without interrupting what he was saying. Ricky was sharing, something he rarely ever did. He might put on this persona as a tough guy that didn't let anything faze him, but even he needed someone to lean on, someone to talk to.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "You think this has anything to do with your dad?" Buttons brought up a question she knew was a bit touchy for Ricky.

  She expected him to lash out, however, he just sighed. "Derrick's just a sperm donor, if he dies tomorrow it won't hurt my soul."

  "Yeah, but..." Buttons thought about her next words and decided it was best to refrain from saying anything.

  Ricky watched her struggle to say anything and fanned his hand telling her it was alright. "It's cool, I already buried that hatchet. He was a drunk, a loser." Ricky bawled his hand into a fist tight enough for his veins to pop out. He didn't continue, but they both knew the story and what Derrick did.

  "Don't you remember when we first started this?" Ricky asked her as he took another sip of his water.

  Buttons nodded. "In it for a little extra cash. First year of middle school."

  "Second month in Mrs. Avery's class, Jeff came in flashing his wealth around."

  Buttons had a bit of a chuckle. "He was a total douche, never knew his friends were just using him for his money."

  "Think you meant he was a total dick. Made us all feel like shit for being poor and not having enough money." Ricky was smiling even though he was talking about a period when he was at his lowest. "Motherfucker tried to buy us-"

  "Us? You mean me and Kiki." Buttons corrected him.

  "Same thing. The balls on him." Ricky shook his head. "After that, we were done and just wanted to make a little extra cash to show him. So, we got together and started hustling. Even did some smash and grabs."

  "Hey, that didn't start until after you got us into trouble with those wannabe gangsters. If it wasn't for Gin, we'd have been fucked."

  Laughing Ricky nodded in agreement. "Not my fault they were talking shit. So what if I slashed a few tires, not like they couldn't just replace them."

  "Uhuh, and without that little incident of yours, we'd never have met Gin and never began doing those smash and grabs."

  "But, we were good at it. The jobs got more complex, and we developed our craft."

  Buttons still remembered a lot of their past as if it just happened yesterday. When Gin was around, things were good. They were young and stupid, but the memories, those were all good for her. It started with the money but grew into something else, something more. So, how did they end up here? Buttons couldn't help but glance down at the ring she was wearing. How did things get so bad?

  Ricky saw this and knew the drive down memory lane was over.

  "So yeah, we all started this. But, it feels like everyone around me is bettering themselves to some degree. Me," Ricky took another sip of his water finishing it off. "Me, I'm just the same guy I've been since that first year of middle school."

  "I'm sorry, but that's not true. Look at you, look at what you've accomplished. We wouldn't be here without you."

  "That's not true."

  Shaking her head Buttons said, "It is. You kept us together, you lead us. When that war broke out, who was it that broke off ties and stayed neutral?"

  "I only took over because Raven told me to. As for staying neutral, we know where that got us. Gin's dead, the East wants us dead and so does the West. We'd be dead if Brandon didn't lend us a hand." Ricky confessed.

  The news of the east and west crews wanting them dead was news to her. Buttons didn't show how shocked she was about the sudden information, but it did rattle her. She always assumed they just kept their distance, but that was her fault for not looking at things clearly.

  "What makes Brandon so special? He wasn't even a player eight months ago, now he comes here and is untouchable." Buttons asked.

  Ricky shrugged. "Do you really want to know? Because I sure as hell don't."

  "Yes, I do," Buttons told him. "Ricky, what do we know about him?"

  "Enough. Carlos might have been iced, but his influence covered more than just this city. Let's just say Brandon is who they replaced him with." Ricky felt that was more than enough. Buttons knew what Carlos' status was within the city. Knowing that she would stop asking questions. The less they asked, the better it was for them.

  Without Brandon, they'd have died long ago. Now they have this bubble protecting them, even if they have to do a few things they don't like. Sometimes that is just the way life is.

  Buttons crossed her legs and arms. "Alright, I'll drop it. But you should tell Raven, he needs to know."

  Ricky furrowed his brow upon hearing that. "You want me to tell him about his dad? No way, do you know what he'd do if he found out?"

  "He's going to find out anyways!" She took a moment to calm herself. "He plans on going back to New Vegas, I don't know when but it'll be soon. Once he's back, it will only be a matter of time. You were the last one to see him alive, how do you think that is going to play out when Raven comes back asking you why you never spoke up."

  Running his hand over his hair once more, Ricky blew out a breath of air. "Tell him his dad is dead because of us? Because of me?" Ricky bit his lip but nodded. "Alright Buttons, you want me to come clean. Then you have to as well."

  Ricky stood up and grabbed his black leather jacket.

  Buttons looked confused by his words.

  "Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We've got this job to do by Friday, so tell him before then, or after. Doesn't matter to me, just tell him because I'm not going to be in the crossfire."

  She watched in silence as Ricky left the room leaving his empty water bottle on the table with the map. She threw her hand over her face as she sighed. How was she supposed to tell him anything? Especially when things were going so well between the two of them. His feelings might change once he found out, that was something she did not want to mess with.

  Buttons laughed at that. The past her would have never thought twice about telling him, but now she couldn't even bring herself to do it. She wanted to, but it was hard. She couldn't deny it much longer, she liked him. More than a friend, and it wasn't until he vanished did she truly realize that. Now that he was back, there was a path that led to them being together.

  However, she couldn't have him pity her for her loss. She knew him, so she knew that's how he would see her. Especially when she lost everything. Her sister, her family, her house.

  As for Raven, he still had something. Once he learned about it, nothing would be the same as it was now.

  Buttons grabbed her phone and opened her Linkster account. She hasn't been on it since Raven left, and especially not since he sister died. As much as she'd love to look at all the memories with Jenny and Raven, she wanted to check on something else. She checked on Alisha, Raven's ex. Her page was still full of pictures of the two of them.

  "No updates," Buttons said to herself as she felt a bit relieved at that fact. Then, angry. "Fucking Alisha, you just had to tell me. You just had to tell me." Buttons started to cry when she remembered Alisha showing up at the hospital with an overgrown stomach. The two of them lost contact after Raven left the city, which she was fine with. Buttons did not hate Alisha, but she wasn't that fond of her either.

  It did bug her how overjoyed the woman was when they ran into one another. Not speaking for months, then springing the news of her pregnancy upon herself. It felt a bit too much, especially when Buttons learned that she never told Raven about any of it.

  Buttons knew she knew that Alisha thought they were still in contact with one another. So she felt that Buttons would tell Raven, but Buttons didn't. She wasn't talking to Raven, he cut all of them off. And Buttons was not going to go out of her way to be the messenger.

  However, Alisha appeared that day out of the blue, and now she was gone. Completely in the wind with no sign of her ever having lived in the city. So, Buttons had to tell him, he had to know. She'd want to know if she were him. But, things between them were just going so well, she did not want to mess it up.

  Her phone vibrated as she received a new message. Her face lit up when she saw it was Raven messaging her. Then she read the text, and it felt like her world was falling apart.

  Alisha messaged me.