FicWad

Standing in the alley way behind the overly heated venue, I sucked in gulps of cold, refreshing air. I could hear the hundreds of fans leaving the place and I smiled. It had been a kick ass show. The band sounded tight as hell and the fans were really into their music. Everything was going great and I loved it. Something was finally happening and I was smack right in the middle of it.

"Yo! Corey! You out here, man?" Paul called, voice sounded muffled. I rolled my eyes, knowing he still had his mask on. He wouldn't take it off until he was outside, like always. I saw his bulky frame exit the venue and whistled, letting him know where I was. He laughed, yanking his mask off with a smile. "This thing is starting to stink."

I snorted, toeing my own fallen mask. "Yeah, I know. Smells like raunchy pussy inside that thing." Paul laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the walls surrounding us. I laughed slightly with him, feeling tired and wanting a shower to wash the grit off of me. "What's happening inside?"

Paul shrugged, easing his arms out of his jumpsuit. The black shirt underneath was soaked with sweat and faintly I could smell the musky scent of him. "No idea. I left just as Mick and Jim were fighting for the shower. Like usual." he explained, stretching his arms out and laughing when his shoulder's cracked loudly.

I made a face but laughed, knowing this was his way of relaxing. I leaned my back against the cold wall and was happy that I had forgone a shirt and just wore a tank top. It was lighter and allowed more air. "We need to either get a bigger shower or start making those two shower at the same time."

"Dude, that's just gross." Shawn interrupted, stepping out the door and joining the two of us. I smiled slyly and he shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder what goes in your head. You're twisted at times."

Paul nodded his head, making an agreeing look with his eyes. I smirked, knowing Shawn was slightly right. I was twisted at some points. It was just how I was. Shawn crouched against the wall, bouncing slightly on his heels. "So, two to a room again, right?"

"Well if there are eight of us, yeah, I'd think that's how it goes." I rolled my eyes again; he asked that question all the time. It got kind of annoying. "Who do you guys want to bunk with?"

"Chris. I can deal with him." Shawn said suddenly. I didn't know why I even asked, they always bunked together.

"I want Craig." Paul offered, sounding kind of proud of his pick. Shawn and I cast him a sideways glance, wondering where that came from. He usually opted for sharing a room for Joey or at least one of the tall guitarists. He threw his hands up defensively and frowned. "Craig doesn't snore, make a lot of noise or steal the remote from me. He's easy."

Shawn and I just chuckled, shaking our head at his outburst. "If you say so, Paulie. Take whoever you want. Just as long as you don't steal my snacks like last time." Shawn ordered, shaking his pointer finger at the smirking bassist. "And I know it was you. You love peanut butter cookies."

Paul just shook his head, feigning innocent. Shawn growled slightly, gently shoving Paul. Paul laughed and pushed the percussionist back, smirking as he stumbled slightly. I sighed and moved off the side, not wanting to get into the small scuffle that was going to take place. My friends scuffled around on the cold ground, desperately trying to hold dominance over the other. I knew no one was going to win, like usual. They would fight until we needed to leave and that was the end of it.

Over the sound of my duking band mates, I heard what sounded like a crash around the corner from us. I figured it was some drunken fans trying to find a way back stage and was grateful for the fence that blocked the back alley. I pushed off the wall slightly, figuring it was the best time to get into the shower. And avoid drunken fans that wanted to try on my mask. I yanked opened the door with a sigh but before I could enter the building, another crash found my ears. Then it was followed by a cry of pain.

Paul and Shawn jumped to their feet, concern etched into their faces. I slowly walked down the alley, body tense and expecting. The others followed behind and I was glad they were here. They were big and menacing. We stopped just in front of the chain link fence, craning our necks to see down the adjacent alley. I could barely make out what looked like a group of guys standing around.

"There's something on the ground in the middle." Paul mumbled, pointing it out to Shawn and I. I leaned up slightly on my tip toes, desperately trying to see what Paul was pointing at. All I saw was a small lump on the ground and one of the guys continuously kicking it. I froze when I saw arms flinging outwards and tried to push them up.

"Where you going, pretty boy?" one of the attackers taunted, kicking the body down again. I heard a whimper of pain and something in my snap. It was six on one. That was bullshit and cruel.

I gripped the chain link and hefted myself up, climbing the fence easily and quietly. When I dropped down on the other side, I was happy to see Jim and Mick standing next to Shawn. Paul was already on his way up the fence and dropped down next to me.

"Corey, what the fuck are you going to do? There are six of them and two of you." Shawn pointed out quickly. I smiled, pointing to Mick and Jim. I pointed to the fence and didn't bother to say a word. Mick huffed and scaled the fence, Jim closely on his heels. I smirked at Shawn and he frowned, glancing up. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

Once Shawn was with us, I glanced over at the group of guys. The small guy in the middle was laying on his stomach now, arms wrapped around his head in protection. I growled slightly, looking back at my friends with anger boiling under my skin. "We're going to race down there and bash some skulls in. Any questions?"

When no one answered, I smiled. I turn sharply on my heels and raced towards the thugs. When they heard the pounding of feet, they looked up. Two of them instantly turned tail and fled. I laughed, nearly tackling the first guy I came in contact with. He grunted as we hit the black top together. I didn't even bother looking at his face; I just whipped my arm back and slammed my fist into his face. When I heard the thud it made, I knew he was out cold.

I jumped off his unconscious body and looked around. Shawn and Paul were handling a guy between the two of them. Mick and Jim each were dealing with their own scum bag. I was the only one not fighting and I was happy. Now I could help the dude who got his ass jumped. At first I couldn't find the guy but then I found him huddled against the wall, arms wrapped legs and head buried in them.

"Hey, dude. You alright?" I knelt down in front of him, touching his shoulder gently. He jerked away, mumbling something incoherent. I frowned, looking over at my fighting friends. Looking back, I tried to think of a way to get him to trust me. "We're not going to hurt you. We wanted to help. Promise."

The guy moved slightly, peeking out slightly from under his arms. I smiled sweetly, moving back and raising my arms. His eyes darted to my still friends and then back at me. "Promise?" he asked, lifting his head more. My frowned deepened when I saw his face. A deep purple bruise was forming on his face just under his eye and it looked painful. Blood dripped from a gash in his lip and fell onto the torn collar of his shirt. But it wasn't his face that bothered; it was how young he looked.

The guy, actually kid, couldn't have been more than fifteen. He hadn't even grown hair on his face yet. I shot a look at the guys on the ground and wondered why he was even with them. They were all twice his age. I shook my head and looked back over at the kid. "Yeah, kid. I promise. We're here to help."

"Yeah! You better run dirt bags." Jim shouted, laughing as the thugs scooped up their friend and ran out of the alley. Jim whooped in excitement and the kid jumped slightly, looking at him fearfully. "Corey, is the guy alright?"

I glanced at the kid, sighing and standing up. "Not guy. He's a kid, Jim." I stated, looking around at my friends. Shawn frowned and looked the kid over. Mick and Jim looked even more pissed off. Paul didn't say a word, eyes dark. "Some fucking night."

Shawn cleared his throat and we all looked down at him. The kid was trying to stand and by the looks of it, he was in a lot of pain. I darted forward, catching his arm before he face planted. A ghost of smile crossed his face and I smiled back. "Why the hell were you with those guys? They're way older than you."

The kid dropped his eyes, shuffling his toe in the dirt. "I was waiting for the show to let out. Usually I can scam a free meal from places like these. The guys you beat up were just walking by and found me." he explained shakily.

"Wait, why were you looking for food? It's past one in the morning. Why aren't you home?" I questioned, arm still holding the kid up.

"I don't have a home, I'm a drifter." he mumbled softly, not looking up at any of us. I felt someone nudge my shoulder and I looked up to see Paul looking at me with concerned eyes. I sighed, somehow knowing what he was thinking.

"Where you from? And how old are you kid?" Jim asked, leaning against the wall and rubbing his arms to keep warm. I finally noticed how cold it was and amazed that the kid was only dressed in ripped jeans and a shirt. But when I looked closer, I realized he was shaking and his skin was covered in goose bumps.

"Des Moines. I'm sixteen, so stop calling me kid." he answered, earning a chuckle from Shawn. I smiled a little more. So he was from our hometown. Wonder how I never saw him before. Then again, I was out of Des Moines the minute I had a chance.

"Well, kid . Where are you living right now?" Mick asked, smirking when the kid pouted slightly. He reminded me of Joey when he did that. Jim laughed, shaking his head and I knew he was thinking the same thing as me. We often did.

"You're standing in it." We all looked around and I knew my friends had the same thought running through their heads. This kid was not going to stay here.

"Look, why don't you come with us. We're getting a hotel for the night and we can't exactly leave you here like this. You need to get looked at." I offered, voice sounding sincere when I spoke. The kid looked at us each, eyes darting around. I saw the gears in his head moving and laughed. "You don't have a choice, kid. You're coming and that's final."

The kid sighed and nodded his head, looking somewhat relieved. "And my name is Sid. So stop with the kid stuff." Mick and Jim nodded, eyes filled with concern for our young ward. Shawn laughed and helped the kid walk towards the venue. Paul stuck close by me, eyes watching Sid carefully.

Lightly I nudged his shoulder, forcing him to look at me. He glanced over, eyes a mix of emotions. "What's the matter, Balls?" He snorted at his nickname, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"Can we keep him?" he joked, but I heard the serious in his voice. I smiled, shaking my head at his ability to like everyone. He smiled back, face loose. "You heard the kid, Core. He has no real home. We can't let him go back to the streets. Besides, the guys already like him."

"We'll see, bud. Let's get this kid looked at and then we'll see about keeping him."