Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He wasn't in Alkatraz anymore, nor on the desert island, which should be a good change but, in the outside world, things worked differently from how Cellbit was used to.

Being a wanted man, he couldn't attract any kind of attention, so violence wasn't an option and that was extremely problematic since there were a lot of assholes deserving a good stab in the ribs.

Men, women, children, and even old people, especially old people, where mean as fuck, treating him like trash, which he was used to, but in this situation, he couldn't strike back, and that alone, felt even worse than the hunger, cold, and tiredness together, which got him in a very deplorable situation.

Desperate and tired of running, he thought some money would be his way out of the streets, and the least risky way to obtain it was pickpocketing.

In a public space, he spotted a blond man who was wondering around. Luckily, he would be distracted enough to not notice the lack of weight on him.

Philza was near some food stalls wondering what he should eat, when a very suspicious guy stumbled on him.

“Oh, sorry man. My bad.”

He himself was going to apologize, it was probably his fault for standing there with his mind in the clouds again, but then, thunder lit up the sky and it started to rain torrentially, soaking them in the moment.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Phil yelled fed up with the abrupt climate change being the cherry on top of that lousy day.

The other basically jumped out of fright.

A police officer heard the bustle and hurried to see what was going on.

“Is that dirty vagrant bothering you, sir?”

Cellbit got further disrupted by the presence of the man in blue. His eyes went open like a deer about to be run over, which didn't go unnoticed by Philza.

“There's no need to be fucking rude man. I got mad about the rain, and I cursed out loud. He didn't do shit.”

“Oh, sorry sir. Didn't mean to disturb you two. Have a good night.”

The police went away embarrassed for being called out like a child.

“You ok?”

His wary look was still fixed on the cop.

“You don't like cops, huh?”

“Who does?” answered unwittingly honest.

Philza let out a sound laughter. It was so genuine that Cellbit smiled for the first time in a very long time. How long? He didn't remember, everything was fuzzy.

“You know what, was about to eat and I could use some company. What do you say?”

“. . . What's the catch?”

He laughed again.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing is free, either you're up to something or you're nuts.”

“Maybe I'm nuts, I mean, I'm inviting a stranger to my house. How do I know you are not a serial killer?” joked casually.

“Na, just an average one. But I’m not gonna hurt the only person that has treated me like a human in so long.”

“Oh . . .”

He shouldn't have said that, especially being so close to the police. Didn't even know why he did it. That guy just seemed approachable.

“So, do you like sushi?”

Gladly, the stranger didn't seem to care or didn't take his words seriously.

“Haven't tasted it.”

“Wanna try it?”

It could be a trap, but it was hard to resist as hungry as he was.

“Why not.”

“Great!”- he started looking for his wallet.

“You might need this.” avoiding eye contact, he handled him his wallet.

“Mother fucker” said with a chuckle. “I’m Philza, by the way.”

“I'm . . .” he saw the officer walking around “Getting cold.”

“Of course.” He too was beginning to feel a little cold. “Let's go.”

They bought some food and started their way to Philza's. There were still some mean people on the streets, disdainful looks, and the unpleasant, persistent weather, but the company was kind of nice.

“Welcome to my humble home.”

As he opened the door to show the place, white powder fell off the roof.

“At least it's not raining in here” he noticed the sofa was wet due to the leaks “Still better than nothing.”

He moved the couch to let it dry and placed some buckets in its place.

“You should see solitary confinement, that shit is literally nothing. This place is cozy.”

“You've been in jail? Interesting. When were you released?”

“Never. I escaped.”

Philza laughed again.

“Oh boy. You are hilarious.”

“Should tell that to the other inmates, they all think I'm a dick.”

This only added to his laughter. It was impressive how humored the man was by his company. The fact that he was a menace to society didn't seem to bother him at all.

They sat and had a very relaxing dinner. Cellbit felt incredibly comfortable with him, he could even dare to say, kind of safe.

“Oh man, you really made my day.”

“Pfft. How bad could have been then.”

“Well, I got fired. And with what I owe to the bank, seems like it’s only getting worst from now on.”

“It sure is because I'm not leaving.”

“Fine by me.”

“And don’t even bother to . . . wait, what?”

“I said it's ok man, no need to argue.” All drowsy, he laid back on the floor and closed his eyes, resting the back of his head on his arms.

“By the way, if you want to, you can take a shower while we still have hot water. I ran out of gas. That's why I bought fast food.”

“. . .Why don't you use that hot water for yourself? You're dripping wet.”

“So are you. Plus, I bet you didn't have hot water back there in prison, so, enjoy yourself man.”

Some seconds passed, and instead of any kind of answer, the sound of the door closing broke the silence.

“Ok . . . I did not expect that-

Got up from the floor, contemplating if he should go look for the guy. He wasn't his responsibility; after all, a grown ass man that could escape from prison, should be able to take care for himself, but even so, it was raining outside, and more than a dangerous man, he looked like a lost stray cat.

Put his coat back on, ready to go outside, when the door burst open revealing a panting Cellbit holding a small gas tank.

“You're gonna take a warm fucking bath. No need to argue.” Said with a broad smile.

“What the actual fuck!” Phil shouted surprised, getting him inside and closing the door behind.

“Where did you even get that?!”

“Found it.”

“You fucking stole it, didn't you?”

“Your stupid neighbors weren't using it. They won’t miss it.”

“Actually . . . I hate those fuckers. Let's install it.”

He felt happy for the approval.

“You know what, I don't think you're that bad.”

“I literally have killed people.”

“Ok, maybe just a little bit” added laughing again. “You didn't tell me your name though.”

“Cell”

“Sounds more like a nickname. Don’t you think?”

“Just a little bit” now he joked, feeling more in the mood.

Chapter Text

-------- Some years later --------

“Hey, Cellbit!” called Philza “You ok, man?”

“Yeah, I just. . . thought I saw something.” replied from under his gas mask.

It was the last concert of this tour. Everybody was already backstage. It wasn’t common for him to stay behind but could've sworn he saw a disturbingly familiar face.

Nothing too serious, since it disappeared after his friend caught back his attention.

“We should go change. I don't want us to deal with heat stroke for overusing these.” pointed to his masks.

“True.”

The corridor was empty as intended. Not a soul was allowed to be near them when they were out of stage.

From the start of their musical carrier, they kept their identities secret, since Cellbit wasn't the only wanted man on the band. So, they had a very heavy security team guarding them.

Even so, none of them removed their mask until being together in the same room, door closed. Which they already were.

“And masks off.” Philza announced after locking the door.

A collective sigh of relief filled the room.

“I’m burning!” Foolish yelled.

“I can’t get burned because I’m always on fire!”

Cellbit laughed at Baghera's joke as he opened the locker to store the masks. But there was no space left because inside were Pac and Mike, who went pale letting out the loudest scream a human voice can produce.

He immediately closed the door.

“Phil, I think I got a heat stroke.”

“If you say it for that crazy scream. You're not hallucinating, I heard it too.”

“Uff, thanks god you heard it too. I thought I was finally going nuts.” said Jaiden relieved.

“Damnit!”

“Don't worry Charlie, we'll keep trying.” Foolish promised.

“Back to the serious shit. Please tell me they didn't see your face.” Phil covered his mouth almost praying.

“It´s, worst. They know me.”

This time everyone went silent. Cellbit had no family or friends outside them, which could only mean one thing. He knew them from prison.

“Are they dangerous?”

“No.” a voice inside the closet rushed to answer.

“Great!” Foolish tried to open the door but was stopped by Philza.

“Don’t!”

“They must be lying.” Bahgera said.

“They obviously are!”

“No, we are not.” a different voice interrupted.

“Now I’m confused.”

“They are . . . complicated.”

“Why are they here in the first place?”

“We. . . we can explain.” the trembling voice offered.

Everybody looked at Philza, who nodded, evidently stressed. At the signal, they opened both doors.

The intruders came out awkwardly, wearing black and red t-shirts with the logo of the band BOLAS?!?!

“You gotta be kidding.”

“Oh my.”

“Oh! You’re fans. That’s. . . good, right?” Charlie asked looking at Cellbit who wasn't responding, or blinking, apparently not even breathing.

“Cellbit! Cellbit! Come back man, please don't faint.” Philza snapped his fingers trying to get him out of the trance.

“I think God hates me.” he chuckled with lost eyes.

“He thinks god is real!” Jaiden shouted more amused than worried.

“Oh no! He's relapsing” Charlie cried out.

“What have you done!” Baghera pushed on.

Between whimpers, barking, and other weird noises emitted by the odd group, the intruders didn't know what to do.

“Ok! Everyone's gonna calm the fuck down. You're gonna sit here, drink this,” Phil gave Cellbit a bottle of water “and these gentlemen are gonna tell us what the fuck are they doing here.”

As if by magic, the chaos stopped, and all the eyes, except for Cellbit's, were on them.

“Oh, sure. Well, we came to watch the show. Pac noticed there was much more security after than during the concert.”

“Mike said it wouldn't be that hard to brake in, and . . .”

“I was right. You owe me five bucks.” added proudly.

“Really Mike? Right now?”

“Ain't buying that.”

“They're surely lying.”

“They're not.” Cellbit finally spoke.

“You think our security can be deceived that easily?”

“I think they are dumb enough to try just to see if they can, and lucky enough to succeed.”

“On their own?”

“And only to prove they could? Bullshit, you wanted to spy on us.”

“If we knew he was part of the band we wouldn’t even go near you.”

That didn’t seem to sound very reasonable for anyone else in the room but them.

“But you do like him.” Baghera teased with a malicious smile pointing at the Band's merch they were wearing.

Cellbit looked at them for a few seconds before looking back to the floor embarrassed.

“That doesn't explain why you were hidden in the locker.”

“We heard someone coming and panicked.”

“So, you didn't come looking for Cellbit?”

“You mean Cell?”

“Why would we do that? We ran away from him.”

“It's Cellbit now.” said quietly.

“What?”

“Meu nome agora é Cellbit.” reaffirmed, this time, louder.

“And I stopped chasing you since you set foot off that island. So, let’s leave that cat and mouse routine behind. I'm not gonna harm you.”

“Why would we trust you?” Mike asked in a stern tone.

“Because now I have something to lose.”

Blackmail, insults, violence, of all the possible answers, that wasn't an expected one.

“Is he talking about us?”

“Yes, Charlie. I’m talking about you.”

A collective "Aww" lightened the mood. They immediately jumped to embrace him in a hug.

The duo felt baffled.

“Blink twice if he's threatening you.” Mike whispered.

“He's not a bad boy, he just wanna have fun, right baby?” Slime sat on his lap.

“Charlie” Philza scolded him noticing his friend wasn't in the mood for that kind of teasing.

“You feel that on my pocket Slime? is a knife, not that I’m happy to see you, at all.”

Charlie started putting.

“That's mean dude!”

“Charlie, Charlie, common. I was joking, brincadeira!” recovered his temper.

“You know I love you man. I'm always happy to see you!” kissed his head to Pac and Mike's pretty much surprise.

“And that in your pocket is not a knife?”

“Na, that part was 100% true.” took the knife out.

“Still carry one with you?”

“What for?” asked with wary.

“It’s something . . . rather sentimental.”

Looks of suspicious were the only answer.

“It makes him feel safe.” said Baghera hugging him from behind. “The silly thinks I can't kick his ass if he keeps it-

“Oh, I'm sure you can, I keep it close to suicide so I don't give you the pleasure, sucker.”

Both laughed in complicity. Pac felt something unpleasant growing in his stomach.

“So, you got a girlfriend” he said weirdly annoyed by how close those two seemed to be.

She laughed.

“Eww, of course not, we are besties.”

“Yeah, Pac. Like if he could fall for someone.”

They looked at Mike with disbelief.

“Rude.” Jaiden complained “Haven't you heard his songs? The guy is full of feelings.”

“And love.”

“And wine.”

“And those are the four. . .”

“Three.” corrected the blond woman.

“Right. The three basic requirements to be able to date in case you didn't know.” added the green-eyed guy.

“Even though we are all single.”

“No bitches.” laughed Foolish followed by the rest of the band.

“You look happy.” Pac thought aloud.

“You say it as if you've never seen me laughing.”

“Yeah, but maniacally or even unsteady, never like this.”

Cellbit remained silent with a fixed gaze.

Everybody noticed how much these two were affecting his friend.

“Good for you.” he added with a puzzling smile.

“You know what, is getting late.” Mike pretended to look at an imaginary clock on his wrist.

“We should go.” he said, noticing how gone Cellbit looked. Undoubtedly, lost in his memories.

“No, wait.” He finally woke up from his trance. “We were planning to go out to celebrate the end of the tour. You should come.”

Didn't matter how different Cell may look now, surrounded by friends and all happy, Mike didn't believe a shit of whatever he could ever say. Therefore, wasn't following him anywhere.

But Pac wasn't on the same track.

“Why not, it’ll be fun.” answered never breaking visual contact with Cellbit.

Chapter Text

Mike couldn't understand his friend concerning behavior nor Cellbit's submissive attitude, so he decided to just chill out and have a good time.

After all, you don't get the chance to be on your favorite band's tour bus every day.

Philza didn't want them to use the masks more than necessary, so they didn't have a driver, instead, took turns at the wheel.

“Which one is your favorite.” Baghera couldn't hold her curiosity.

“My what?!” Pac got scared by the question.

Was she asking for his favorite band member? Hopefully not.

“The songs! Which ones do you like?”

“Oh” his blood rushed back to the correct places.

“I like most of them, but I really love Savior, Throne, . . .”

They all looked at each other.

“Also, Downfall, and Can you feel my heart . . . What?” he asked confused by the weird reactions.

They all pointed at Cellbit quickly with their eyes.
All of those were written by him.

Pac went through the lyrics in his head.

"Remember the moment you left me alone and broke every promise you ever made.”

"Push me away, make me fall.
Just to see Another side of me"

"I'm scared to get close, and I hate being alone. I long for that feeling to not feel at all."

"I don't hate you, no. So, tell me now, if this ain't love then how do we get out?"

Words hit different when you know where they came from. Had he really been hurt by their betrayal? All this time he thought they only pissed him off.

“Fuck me.” he grumbled feeling nauseous for the sudden realization.

“If you insist.” Slime got up but was returned to his place by Cellbit.

No words needed; Mike knew what his friend was thinking.

“I like The GOVT knows.” added, trying to take the attention off his friend, to give him time to recover.

“One of this guy's master pieces.” Jaiden affectionately ruffled Charlie's hair.

“Ow, is not a big deal.”

“Its hilarious man, and so catchy.”

“Totally, it's a banger.” Pac confirmed; trying to distract himself of thinking, and, unintentionally, making Cellbit smile.

“Also, Sugar crash.”

“Oh! That one came up when we all shared our depressive thoughts.” Jaiden remembered.

“Yeah. A very, very personal experience.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Wanna know who said which part?” - Baghera hurried to offer making Philza laugh loudly.

“Hell, I do!”

“I'm on a sugar crash, I ain't got no fuckin' cash.” Sang Philza from the pilot's seat.

“Maybe I should take a bath, cut my fuckin' brain in half.” Foolish pretended to open his head sticking out his tongue dramatically.

“I'm not lonely, just a bit tired of this fucking shit.” Charlie shrugged.

“Nothing that I write can make me feel good.” resumed Foolish happily.

“Victim of the great machine, in love with everything I see.” Philza didn't lose the thread.

“Neon lights surrounding me, I indulge in luxury.” Jaiden.

“Everything I do is wrong 'cept for when I hit the bong.”
Baghera pretended to blow smoke.

“Feeling shitty in my bed, didn't take my fuckin' meds.” Slime.

“Hyperpop up in my ears, everything just disappears.” Jaiden danced on her place.

“Don't wanna be someone else, just don't wanna hate myself.” Cellbit finally joined, more relaxed by the activity.

“Where to now? Got the rest of my life just laid out.”

“Got the rest of my life to fuck around.” Baghs put an arm around his shoulder.

“Got the rest of my life to make sound Feel good.” they all sang in unison.

“And here we are.” Phil announced stopping the bus.

“Where exactly?”

“Middle of the desert, far from the road.”

Mike swallowed.

“Can I ask, why?”

“We can't eat or drink with the masks on, dummy.” Foolsih pointed out.

“Forgot that. Makes sense now that we know why you use it all the time.”

“Partially.” Philza opened the door with a shady smirk “Shall we?”

The duo didn't have time to think twice when the others were already rushing through the door, food, and drinks in hand.

It was incredible how after all the hard work they still have so much energy. They even managed to set a campfire, fed with what? Only God knows.

“Are you in the mood for horror stories?”

“Yeah!! Campfire stories!”

“Me first!”

Slime moved closer to the fire to illuminate his face with the moving light to create a spooky atmosphere.

“It was the second or third coldest day of January. Even so, I decided to take a shower, because I'm a very clean guy.”

“And you hadn't had one in weeks.”

“That might or not be true, but it's not the point.”

“Is that the scary part? Because your smell must have been horrifying.”

“Is it true?”

“No, I don't smell, well, now I do because of the concert, but . . .”

“I mean the story.”

“Of course!”

“Keep going!”

“Ok, ok. The truth is that I couldn't shower in my house, so I went to Philza's. But, when I was all covered in soap the water stopped flowing.”

“Oh no.” Philza laughed in anticipation, knowing what was coming next.

“I put on a towel to see what happened, but when I stepped out of the bathroom, the lights went out! And I fell over Phil's fucking plants, so I was covered in soap and mud!”

“Nossa!”

“Wait, it gets better.”

“Not seeing a shit, I walked through the only source of light I could perceive, it came from under a door, and when I opened it, there it was, the demon that haunts me in my worst nightmares.”

“Please tell me it wasn't him.”

“Fucking Bad Boy Halo!!”

“NO!!”

They pretended to be scared, screaming and barking.

“Everything but him!” even Cellbit joined to the fuss this time.

“Take my soul but leave me alone!”

Everyone was laughing.

“You said it was a real story.”

“It is! BBH is real man. He was our bank debt collector.”

“The mother fucker closed the water flow and cut off the power to make us go out!”

“WTF?!”

“And denied everything! The bastard laughed and said I had no evidence.”

“Nem fudendo.”

“It gets worst.” Philza chuckled.

“How?!”

“I got locked outside because I didn’t have the keys on me. I explained him I didn’t live there and he said “I know” and then called 911 to report a naked man in the street.”

“What an asshole.”

“He didn't even care about the money, just enjoyed torturing us.”

“I swear, sometimes I still can hear him.”

“Language!”

Everybody laughed.

“He didn't like swearing, so we used to hear that a lot.” Phil explained to the clueless guys.

“Thanks god he’s dead now.”

Pac and Mike got visibly tense.

“She's kidding.” Phil explained “After becoming famous we made some calls and got him fired.”

“Sounds like he inspired some of your songs.”

“He did.”

“And we thanked him with a party.”

“No way.”

“Yeah, we send him an invitation saying Losers only.”

“And he came all the way just to explain us how we shouldn't be in the party because we weren't losers anymore and he should be alone with everything there because he was.”

“Dude, that's insane.”

“I know, right! We laughed our asses off that day.”

“Loved the piñata.”

“Let me guess. It looked like him.”

“We drowned it.”

“And burned it.”

“And scattered the ashes all over his house.”

“He was so mad he almost cursed.”

“Fudging muffin-heads!”

They burst out laughing at the imitation.

To Mike's surprise, instead of digging their own graves in the middle of nowhere, they were having a good time, or at least that's what he thought until Pac suddenly stood up and walked away. Without hesitation, he followed to check on him.

“Maybe he needed to pee.”

“And he's friend to help him?”

“He must be afraid of the dark, who knows.” said Foolish, playing with the ice of his drink on his mouth.

He's not the only one afraid, Philza thought, looking how disrupted Cellbit appeared. That look in his eyes reminded him of the first time he saw him. Lost, in conflict with his own mind.

“Hey, do you want me to. . .” his words didn't reach his friend who was already on his way. With what intention? he didn't know.

The man was too anxious to keep waiting for them to come back, so he went to see what was going on.

Chapter Text

“I can't stand it anymore Mike!”

Heard Pac saying and stopped behind a rock structure.

“We can go if you want, he won't see us ever again now that we know where he is.”

“That won't solve anything!” he cried out.

“He´s stuck in my head. His songs . . . it's like he's been suffering too, and that makes me feel . . .”

“. . . bad for him?”

“. . . I wish it was that simple.”

“What do you mean?”

-He is having a great life now, so happy with his friends, laughing, smiling, and talking about feelings and shit as if he had done nothing wrong. But me . . . I can't get over it-

The pressure growing on his chest almost made him run away, until he heard the last part.

“And apparently, he already did.”

The fear got mixed with anger. That familiar feeling that used to motivate his impulsive decisions took over him again.

“Over it?!” he showed himself “YOU THINK IM OVER IT?!”

Pac felt all his body screaming to run as fast as he could, but he was done running. He wanted to face the big elephant in the room once and for all, even at the cost of his own safety.

“Looks like you are!” the words came out with a strength he didn't knew he had “Not me though, as if you ever bother to ask.”

Mike was astonished, not used to his friend's audacity lasting this long, since he commonly stepped back after saying something bold.

“Seriously?! Perhaps you didn't notice, but I almost fainted when I saw you two back there.”

“What for?! Last time I checked it was you who tried to hurt us.”

“Well, it might have something to do with me not being able to believe when my friends say they love me because you fuckers left me feeling like I don't deserve a shit!”

“Oh, cry me a river! I'm sorry I hurt Mr. Murderer's feelings.”

“I’m trying to change, you son of a . . .” took his messed hair out of his face “I should finish you off once and for all. You are basically begging me to do it at this point.”

“Do it then, psycho! At least they will realize how fucked up you really are.” Pac faced him being held by Mike, who was about to step in when, he too, got interrupted.

“We know how fucked up he is.” Philza appeared, and he wasn't alone.

“Were you . . . listening?”

“Yeah, we don't mind.”

Cellbit wasn't sure of what to do. Where they ok getting involved in a murder to help him? Or were they trying to fool him only to avoid endangering themselves? Like the unbearable duo did years before.

“No, no, no, guys, you don't understand, he's not bluffing about killing us.”

“Neither are we.” Baghera appeared from the darkness with a serious expression.

“Why would you go so far for . . .” Cellbit caught everyone's attention again, looking evidently distressed.

“Don't you dare say "someone like me" because ill kick your ass.”

“He has killed and eaten people!” Mike pointed out.

“And again, we know.”

“What?! I never told you about . . .!”

“You sleep talk man.”

“And sleepwalk.”

“And have heavy night terrors.”

“We know your fucked up dude, in more than one way. We won’t leave you for that.”

“Well, mark me as crazy too because I've already lost my mind”. Pac ruined the emotive moment.

“Hey! If you stay alive or not it's up to him, so maybe you should stop acting like a dick.”

“He won't kill us, that would be mercy and he doesn't know what that means.”

“What’s your fucking problem?!” Cellbit was losing it.

“My problem?!- he was too pissed off to think about consequences now.

“I've spent night over night crying on the floor of the bathroom, so nobody hears me. Wishing I had the guts to hit back and avoid being half-devoured by a psychopath. And it turns out he wrote the fucking songs I listened to feel better?!
My fucking problem have face and name and now it´s burned even deeper on me.” tugged angrily at his shirt, tears falling.

“Why didn't you just fucking killed me?”

"You don't get it, do you? You’ll never understand because you don’t care enough to think I do have feelings!
You didn't give a shit then as you don't give it now. Just left me behind wishing I was dead!” It felt so good to finally admit it.

“If you wanted to die so bad, why didn't you stay on the fucking island? Or used that bullet on your head?
No! You needed to come back, find amazing friends, and make me fall for you again!”

“Sorry for being desperate to get out of that living hell!”

“Common, you were like a fucking fish in the water there.”

Mike, Philza, Baghera, and Jaiden got stunned by the "make me fall for you" part, which seemed to have gone unnoticed by the ones more involved in the discussion, and a pair of neurodivergent folks.

“Because it was all I knew! I didn't have good memories from outside, everything I remember is blood and hunger, so forgive me for not knowing how to properly make friends.

But I think giving you food, money and protection was a good enough start until you decided I was too weird to be trusted, not like fucking JV.”

“You only hated him because he knew what kind of monster you are.”

“He knew nothing! He blamed me for his friend's deaths when it was a stupid accident!
I blamed myself too because it was easier to say I was a mean mother fucker than a scared idiot with cero control over his own life!”

“You had. . . you could. . .”

"But did you ever stop to hear my version of the story? Of course not! You rather believe that asshole because he knew how to smile without being scary.”

“You were a frightening son of a bitch, always covered in fresh blood. I wasn't going to ask you about your feelings!”

“For the lord's sake Pac, you saw that place, it was either being scary or someone's bitch.”

“And you wanted us to be your bitches!”

“I wanted you to be my friends!”

“I don't think you knew what friend means back then, because I don't see any of them wearing one of these.” pointed to his prosthetic leg.

“I wouldn't mind it. That looks dope as fuck.”

If a glance could kill, Slime would be dead by how Pac was looking at him.

“Are you . . . are you jealous of them?”

Pac didn't say a thing, but his evasive eyes were enough of an answer.

“Umm, Cell, Cellbit. I think it’s not that kind of . . .”

Cellbit stopped Mike from talking by raising a hand.

“Oh, I see how it is then. Begging for some relevance now that someone else likes me, aren't we?”

“Is it just me or does this seems like. . .” foolish was interrupted by Pac this time.

“Jealous? Because I can't be near an idiot that throws deadly temper tantrums every time things don't go his way?”

“Oh boy, we'll see if you call it a tantrum when I cut your stupid tongue and drink that raspberry juice you call blood.” said holding him from the collar of his hoodie.

“That sounded sexual as fuck.” slime whispered.

“Thirsty? Why don't you go drink your tears, fucking cry baby.”

“You know what, I actually think of you sometimes, when I see a 99-cent store.”

“Could've built me a whole 99 cent store with all those cheap lies you tried to sell me.” answered back closing the distance.

“Are they fighting or flirting?”

“They are literally threatening each other.”

“That doesn't answer the question.”

“The liar thinks I’m not trustworthy?! Then here's the truth. You are nothing but red meat, a deadbeat that can't do anything without his fucking pink tumor leading him.”

“Hey!” Mike protested, but wash shushed by Phil.

“Just a little rotten fruit I can squash if a want to.”

“Try it. I got humor for that, and a knife too.” held Cellbit's own knife against his cheek.

“When the hell did, he. . .?”

“Lots of practice.” said Mike proudly.

"Do you think a stupid knife and your sudden tough-guy attitude can keep me from leaving a pretty bruise on your jugular? Smart ass.”

“Dare to, sucker! Doesn’t scare me, that's what I dream about when I wake up, cold sweat, screaming your name.”

Not even a second passed since he finished the phrase when they were already kissing fiercely.

“God Damnit guys!”

“We should definitely give them some space.”

“Isn't it dangerous to leave them alone?”

“I think we are already far from worrying about it.” Mike joined the discussion.

“I love him and all, but I don't wanna see that show over there.”

“I bet I can climb that hill faster than any of you.” said Mike before starting to run.

“Faster my ass!” Foolish yelled running to get advantage.

“I'll make you go down faster!” replied Baghera followed by the rest.

“Ain't carrying anyone so don't break a fucking leg!” Phil warned, happy about not having to deal with another felony on their collective criminal record.

He knew for a long time about Cellbit's feelings although he never told him. The songs he wrote alone were way different from the ones he did with the others.

It wasn't hard for him to recognize such a broken heart that couldn't heal only with time and love. He needed resolution, but managed to get even more, in a very unusual way.

Out of sight, unaware of the world around them, a pair of idiots were unleashing the best part of those bottled feelings that hurt them for so long, and now where the beginning of something new.

Maybe some well-deserved nights of real rest, but definitely, more good bloody songs inspired by the intense feelings of this fucked up family.