Nicki POV
Where am I? Why is everything so dark and just... dark? I whirled around, my heart pounding out of my chest. How did I even end up here?
"Ototo..."
I spun around once again as my brother came into view. A gasp made its way past my lips at his disheveled form.
"C-Caleb? What happened to you?"
He had blood pouring down his head and his hip and had purpling bruises all over his body. I wanted to cry but I knew that wasn't very mature so I held it back.
"Find me Nicki. I know you can... Find me."
"B-But nii chan... (big brother)" I said with a touch of desperation. "No one would help me. I don't even know where in the world you'd be!"
"Don't worry. You'll have my help," Came a familiar, heavily accented voice.
That guy from street walked up to us, putting a hand on my shoulder with a small smile. 'Wow... he has a REALLY cute smile,' I thought absentmindedly.
"I'll help you. Don't worry, you'll always have me by your side, Suītohāto."
My face heated up at that word. 'Sweetheart?'
"Wait, how will I find you then!"
"You'll know when you know, ototo..." Caleb said, his voice slowly fading away.
Michael turned to me and touched my cheek.
"See you later, dork."
I sat up in my bed, drenched in sweat and rubbed my head. 'A dream. A stupid... stupid dream...' I looked at my clock, then flopped right back onto my bed, closing my eyes. Just a few more minutes of sleep. I had just started to drift off to sleep when I heard a small thud. At first, I sighed and ignored it. 'Kaa san was probably just dropped some laundry.' Right as I drifted off, a force jumped onto my chest, pushing the air from the lungs and making my eyes fly open. Before I could yell for help, a hand clamped over my mouth.
"Quiet, dork."
I blinked up as he pulled off his hood, revealing street guy, as I'd named him.
"Now, if you scream when I take my hand off, your family is going to find you with a bullet right..." He poked the bridge of my nose. "There. Got it?"
"Mmmmhhhmmmph," I tried to say.
Of course, that probably wasn't a very good answer so I just relaxed and nodded at him. He pulled his hand off and rolled off my chest. I sat up and he leaned against my nearby desk.
"Never thought we'd meet again-"
"I don't want to meet you. I want to work with you."
'That dream... No way...'
"What do you mean-"
"Now I know your brother is missing."
"How do you know that?" I asked curiously.
"When you live on the streets, you hear a couple of things sweetie."
"Can you not call me that?"
"Why?"
I stared at him. The way he cocked his head at me, raising his eyebrow in such a patronizing way was infuriating but I kept my cool. Besides, the word sweetie just sounded so wrong when he said it.
"Just... It sounds so-"
"Threatening? Cold? Wrong?" His face twisted in cold fury. "Listen up. If you want my help, you won't try to change my ways. Don't worry, I won't call you anything that bad as long as you be a good little boy and follow the rules."
I stood up, my fists clenching. I wanted to find Caleb so bad, but this guy was ticking me off. I stepped forward, chest to chest with him.
"You listen here, buddy," I spat. "My brother is missing and though I may need help, I'm not just going to be a compliant, docile baby. I'm actually going to fight and-"
"Fight? Love, you can't even begin to think about what I could do to you."
Out of nowhere, my door is opened and Matt came in.
"Hey Nicki, sorry to wake you up but-"
He stopped, looking at Michael and Street Guy. That's when I remembered that I legit had no shirt on. Our faces both went scarlet. He smiled at me.
"Well well well, OTOTO... this must be the boy..."
"No no no no no! Matt, just no!"
Street Guy smirked at me and stepped forward.
"Hi, sure is nice to meet you. I've heard a lot from Nicki."
"How do you know my name-"
He punched my stomach subtly then stuck out a hand.
"I'm his boyfriend. Michael."
"Oooh, nice to meet you too. Can't believe he scored such a beauty like you," Matt teased.
Michael's eye twitched, but he kept a smile.
"Now, if you'll leave us to what we were doing..."
"Oh- OHH... yes yes yes, sorry!"
"Wait Matt-"
He scurried out of the room, shooting me a wink before closing the door. I wanted to actually strangle Michael.
"WHAT THE HECK MAN?"
"Whatever, sweetie. He wasn't going to leave us alone. Now c'mon. Let's go."
He walked over to the window. I grabbed him by the arm.
"Wait, go where?"
He slapped me away, glaring murderously at me.
"Do you want for me to knock your teeth out?"
I stood taller, trying not to focus on the fact that his look made me feel as insignificant as a bug. Not to mention that he was shorter than me.
"You think I'm scared of you?"
"That's a question you should ask yourself, honey. Now c'mon. Let's go, or I'll send in the word to kill your brother."
My shoulders stiffened.
"You mean, you know who has him?"
"Of course I do," He muttered, bitterness lacing his words. "And if you would like for me to show you where he is, then I will. Pack a bag."
I blinked in a bit of a daze.
"W-Wait a sec! Where is this so called place?"
"Just at the other end of New York. Let's go, or they'll be gone before we get there."
He walked over to the window then turned around, eyes holding some sort of ice cold anger within them. It made him seem even more dangerous.
"And don't expect a lot of chit chat from me. I do what I do and I don't like small talk. Get a shirt on."
His words made my ears burn and I nodded, grabbing my nearby sports bag. I threw my phone, wallet, and tablet in it. He turned away as a show of politeness as I got dressed.
"Okay, I think I'm ready."
He eyed my outfit.
"What's with the color?"
"There's nothing wrong with the color of my clothes."
"Tell that to every spy imaginable. Don't you have something a bit less bright?"
"These are my clothes."
He rolled his eyes.
"Fine, get shot. Let's go."
With a hesitant look at my room, I followed him to the window. He swiftly jumped down, rolling expertly to land. I nervously looked down.
"Uh, any other way to get down?"
"Don't worry, I'll catch you."
I stared at him in suspicion before sighing. I slung my bag over my shoulder and climbed out. Then I jumped down. There was a small grunt as Michael caught me under my armpits as well as a curse.
"You're heavy."
"Actually, I-"
"Don't lecture me. Let's get going."
With that, he stalked off and I ran after him. For someone with such tiny legs, he really can walk fast. I never knew that taking this small "trip" would change my life forever.