The Kids On The East Side Of Town, Chapter 3, I’ll Be There For You

It was a normal morning in Hackney, in 1976, I woke up and felt like reading a newspaper, it usually gets me ready for the day, but it depends on my level of focus. But then, I saw something that I just couldn’t believe . I saw Johnny’s face in an article. I don’t know if I was just seeing things, but I was sure that it was real . It said that he had an incident on the street, I couldn’t believe what I was reading . I think he got jumped by a group of Rejects, the title was big and bold and it made the hairs on my neck stand up on one end . My face went pale like a white bed sheet and I felt like I was gonna faint . I thought that I was keeping him safe, but turns out, you just can’t do anything more then that, I was causing more harm then good, Johnny can’t get jumped, not over my dead body . I also saw Emmett on the way out, he didn’t say much, or maybe he did, I was probably just focused on Johnny more then anything .

” Hey Liam, what’s going on, man ?, you get good sleep ?”, Emmett asked, as he was yawning and rubbing his eyes .

” There’s no time for chit chat, Emmett, there really isn’t, I need to go, Johnny’s in trouble, catch you later ”, I replied and I made my way to find Johnny . When I got there, I saw Johnny sitting on the floor, he was in bad state, I tried to talk to him but he just kept on slurring his words .

” Johnny, what are you doing here ?”, I asked him, I was furious .

” I don’t know, man, the gang’s after me ”, he replied, as he started shivering .

” What did they do ?”, I asked, desperate to get an answer .

” They pulled a blade on me, they also shoved me to the ground ”, Johnny replied .

” Idiots ”, I said, as I spoke under my breath. ” Come with me, I’ll get you dusted off ”, I added, and we headed back home . As I returned back home with Johnny, the gang heard about the incident, they were fuming with rage .

” What, don’t tell me that the gang found you again ”, Jamie said, with rage .

” They did, they better watch their step, they don’t know what’s coming their way, I’m telling you, I’m bloody raging ”, I said, as I was trying to control my anger, but I just couldn’t .

” How did you find out about this ?”, Emmett asked .

” I read it in a newspaper, I tried to get down there as fast as I could, I wanted to make sure that you were ok ”, I replied .

” Does the rest of the gang know about this ?”, Emmett asked .

” Yeah, I called Travis, Kevin and Dominick about it, they are sort of out of town at the moment ”, I replied .

” Oh ok ”, Emmett said . And I picked up my jacket and made my way out of the house .

” Woah woah woah, where are you going, Liam ?”, Jamie asked .

” I’m gonna go and talk to the gang, they’ve got questions to answer ”, I replied .

” No don’t, you’ll get hurt, I don’t want the same thing to happen to you as well ”, he said, as he tried to stop me from going outside .

” I have to, they are responsible for what happened to Johnny, I’m gonna have to tell them, sooner or later, might as well be today ”, I said .

” Ok, if anything happens, call me ”, he said, as he had a worried look on his face .

” Yeah ok, will do, I’ll talk to you later, it’s time for me to set things straight with The Rejects, I’m gonna go and beat their asses, they are in for a rude awakening ”, I said and I headed off, I made my way down to the place where The Rejects hang around, I saw them, Carter’s face was cold and fierce, he had another member of the gang with him, I didn’t know who he was, but that didn’t change anything .

” Hey hey hey ”, I shouted from the top of my voice .

” Oh look who it is ”, Carter said, with a lousy smirk .

” What did you do to my friend ?”, I asked .

” Let’s just say we smashed him ”, Carter replied, as he and the other geezer started laughing .

” What have you got to say for yourselves ?”, I asked .

” I don’t know what you mean ”, he said, as he tried to look innocent, we all know that he wasn’t innocent, he was the opposite of innocent, yeah that’s right, guilty .

” What’s the matter, Eagle, you afraid of us ?, are you just gonna run back to mummy ?”, the other person joined in .

” No I am not scared of you guys, but maybe, you guys are scared of me ”, I said, as I tried to sound tough, but inside, I was shitting bricks .

” You wish ”, Carter said .

” This morning, I saw my friend on the floor, were you guys involved ?”, I asked .

” Yes it was us, what are you gonna do about it, are you gonna call the police ?”, Carter said .

” You guys can get stitches, cause you know what happens to snitches, right ?, they get stitches ”, the other person said .

” I wouldn’t call the police, me, never, I’d do more then that ”, I said. ” I’m gonna make sure that you never come back ”, I added .

” Oh I’m so scared ”, Carter said, sarcastically .

” Yeah, we are so afraid of you, what are you gonna do to us ?”, the person asked .

” What’s the deal ?, why are you acting like sacks of shit ?” ,I asked .

” What’s your name, by the way ”, the person asked .

” Oh it’s um, it’s Liam ”, I replied .

”Oh cool, I’m Jacob, do I recognize you from somewhere ?”, Jacob asked .

” Um, I don’t know, I don’t remember seeing you anywhere around here, you’ve probably mistaken me for someone else ”, I replied .

” No, I don’t think so, I used to see you around that club, remember, you used to hang around at that rodeo place, remember that ?”, Jacob asked .

” Oh yeah, that place, I remember now, yeah, I used to hang around and take part in the horse racing and shit ”, I replied .

” Yeah that’s right, so how’s it going, have you been there, lately, had a few shots on the new horses, I have heard that there’s a new kid on the block, he’s called Tarquin Wittock, I’ve heard that he’s a real winner, might have some luck if you bet on him ”, Jacob said .

” Um, I haven’t been there in a long time, actually, I sort of had like an injury from taking part in one of those, stuck with me for a week, but it’s all better now so, definetely recovering ”, I said .

” Oh ok, that’s great, send your friends my love, say hello from me ” Jacob said .

” Ok yeah, will do, will do, it was nice catching up with you, sorry for the inconvenience, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, let’s not forget that you guys are The Rejects, the biggest bad boys around and you guys jumped my best mate and you’ve got a lot to answer for ”, I said .

” Alright, cut it out, that’s enough of the sob story for one day, we’re get gonna get down to business ”, Carter shouted .

” Which one, you leave my friend alone and no one gets hurt, or you disappear off the face of the earth without trace ”, I offered .

” Ok, I don’t think that you’ll be up for it, you’ll drop dead in the first round, I’m gonna totally put you to sleep ”, Carter said .

” Yeah, make your mind up, if you do this, there’s no going back, what do you wanna do ?”, Jacob warned .

” I think that I have already made my mind up ”, I said, and I went for a straight punch in Carter’s face. I could suddenly feel Jacob coming in front of me and he punched me in the face and after that, I got so angry, that I made an attempt to punch him but him and Carter then choke holds me, I thought that I was done for, but then, I saw two guys running behind me, and those guys weren’t Carter and Jacob, oh no, they were Emmett and Johnny, I had no idea on why they were there, but when you are battered and you have been punched in hundreds of places, you don’t have the energy to think, so I was confused .

” Leave the kid alone ”, Emmett said .

” Put that boy down right now or else ”, Johnny shouted, you could see that he was still affected by this morning .

” You don’t know who you are messing with ”, Emmett said .

” Oh look who it is, my friend has told me lots about you ”, Carter said .

” Oh really ?”, Emmett asked .

” Yeah, he told me that you are one big zilch, nothing at all, always ending up in jail, you’re a jail bird ”, Carter said .

” Hey, leave my friend alone ”, Johnny cried .

” Oh if it isn’t Johnny, nice seeing you here this morning, it was a pleasure, seeing your face whilst beating you up, watching the blood seeping down from your neck, felt like a winner, and knowing that your little stupid friends of yours were not there to rescue you, just made it 10 times better ”, Carter told him .

” You better watch it ”, Johnny warned .

” No pal, you better watch it ”, Jacob said .

” Are you sure that you wanna fight ?, you looked pretty banged up already, you ready to take that risk ?, Johnny boy ?”, Carter asked .

” Hey, take it easy ”, Johnny said .

” Oh, you guys won’t stand a chance, you’ll both be dead by the end of this ”, Carter said .

” You wanna bet ?”, Emmett asked .

” Not a chance ”, Carter replied .

” Well, let’s see then ” Emmett said .

” We’ve got this ”, Johnny told himself .

” What do you say ?”, Carter asked .

” I say bring it on ”, Emmett said with a smirk .

” Ok, your funerals, boys ” Carter said and they all started fighting. Emmett knocked out Carter with one punch and Johnny knocked out Jacob with one punch as well. Didn’t even have to do that much .

” Hah, more like ” Your funerals ” ”, Emmett said .

” Are you ok ?”, Johnny asked, as he helped me get back on my feet .

” Yeah, I think so, Gordon Bennet, that was scary ”, I said .

” No, nothing scares us, we are The Eagles, they are supposed to be scared of us, we ain’t afraid of two stinking Rejects ”, Emmett said .

” Who told you about this ?”, I asked, as I slowly picked myself off of the ground .

” Travis told us, he saw you in trouble and he ran to me, I teamed up with Johnny to come and rescue you and show them who’s boss ”, Emmett replied .

” Yeah, we came down here as quick as we could ”, Johnny said .

” Woah thanks guys,  I wonder what will Kevin, Dominick, Jamie and Travis make of all this ” I said .

” I think that they’ll love it, they’ve been in brawls and fights themselves, they’ll know how it feels ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah thanks guys ”, I said .

” No problem, that’s what friends are for ”, Johnny said . But suddenly, Emmett was a bit gutted, he wanted the brawl to be more exciting, because he loves taking part in rumbles and fights, that’s what shaped him, he is a ruffian, he was born a fighter .

” Emmett, what’s wrong ?”, I asked .

” Nothing, it’s just, I wanted the confrontation to be more thrilling, it was kind of boring, I wanted to see blood coming from Carter and Jacob, not them getting punched then running off ”, Emmett replied .

” What do you mean, it was thrilling, anyway, there’s more to come, anyway, it’s a gang, you can’t keep them, neither let them go, but they’ll be lots more to come, just you wait ”, I said .

” Ok ”, Emmett said and he smiled .

” Anyway, what was Carter thinking, did he think that he would fly when I punched him, did he think that gravity was gonna start working, honestly, what was he thinking, his trousers were gonna fall off, he looked like he just pissed himself, what a stupid boy, honestly ”, I said, as I tried to make him laugh .

” Hah hah hah, heh heh, classic Carter, I have tears in my eyes from laughing too much ”, Emmett said . ” The Rejects are nothing, they are all trying to act tough, it’s all for show, they’re shitting themselves. 10 to 6, six people can take on a ten member gang and you either win or lose, and we are the winners, they are the losers and defeat does not exist in this gang, does it ?”, Emmett asked .

” No, I guess not, nice piece of advice, I’ll try and remember that ”, I replied .

” Every time they plan attack, we fight back, we take them down, only The Eagles make history, not The Rejects ”, Emmett said .

” Looks like our work here is done, shall we head back home ?”, I asked .

” Yeah ”, Emmett replied . And we headed back home. When we turned up outside of the house, we saw something very unusual, we saw spray paint on our door, some kid probably did it, they’re always messing around, you know ?, kids being kids, it’s very harmless, but whoever did it, we had to do something .

” Oh my god, what is that, oh my god, what is that ?”, I said .

”Oh, you’re asking me ?”, Dominick said .

” Who the hell did this, I wanna know, so I could bloody cut them ”, Emmett said .

” I don’t know who done this, it’s probably some kid, it’s nothing serious ”, Jamie said . In big bold writing, it said ” Snitches Get Stitches ” and it was written in the color red .

” Are you thinking on what I’m thinking, I know who did this, The Rejects, innit ?, bloody two bins ”, Travis said .

” Yeah, that’s right, why is this an aimed attack, I thought that we dealt with them a few hours ago, if this is aimed at us, I’m gonna kick them so hard in the chest that they wouldn’t be able to breath for weeks ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, I know, these idiots are getting to comfortable, they need to stop, otherwise, I’ll tie a shoe to their ceilings and watch it knock out a few teeth ”, Dominick said .

” You know, you can give them credit cause like, it’s all written very neatly and clear and you can read the message properly ”, Kevin said .

” No Kevin, it’s not good, it’s not good at all, we shouldn’t give them credit for anything ”, Dominick said .

” They’re like back at it, hate crime, ge ge ge get us out, get us, get me out ”, Emmett said. ” Hah hah hah ”, Emmett said, as he was laughing, including Kevin .

” Emmett, Kevin, enough of that, we need to get rid of this as quick as possible, it’s gonna stain the bloody metal ” Dominick said . ” Get the tooth brush and start scraping off the paint, you as well, Emmett, don’t just stand there ”, Dominick added .

” Alright, this is gonna be fun ”, Kevin said. Then he suddenly started singing . ” Ayyyy, everybody’s having having fun fun fun ”, Kevin sang and they started the paint off with a tooth brush and Emmett started wiping the door with a cloth .

” Kevin, try harder, scrub harder, it’s not working, put in some elbow grease ”, Dominick told him .

” Alright sorry ”, Kevin said .

” Bloody hell, how is a tooth brush gonna soak up all the paint, I mean, look at that thing, it’s bloody tiny ”, Jamie said .

” It’ll have to do ”, Dominick said . Then he started dusting the door off, a bit of the paint got wiped off, but half of it still remained .

” Ok here you go, what does it say, Snitch Get Stit, hm, sounds like German, doesn’t it ?”, Emmett said, as he ran his finger along the text on the door. A few minutes later, we were in the house and Johnny and I were spending some time together and I was adamant to cut and bleach Johnny’s hair because it’s going to make him look tough in front of The Rejects, so he stood there and I was getting the hair supplies ready .

” Liam, are you sure that you wanna do this ?”, Johnny asked .

” Yes, we need to cut your hair, it’ll make you look tough, scare those Rejects away, now, sit down, I’ll start cutting it off ”, I replied .

” Okey dokey ”, Johnny said, as he sat down .

” Right ok, I can’t seem to find a pair of scissors, so I’m just gonna use your switch blade, is that alright ?”, I asked .

” My switch blade ?, oh hell nah, you’re not gonna that to cut my hair, what are you, out of your mind ?”, Johnny said .

” It’s the only way to go, Johnny, you want the Rejects kicking your ass, busting your chops and smashing you left right and center, or do you wanna cut your hair and get it over with ?”, I asked .

” Ok, cut my hair, but make it quick, I don’t wanna walk out with a slug head perm ”, Johnny said .

” Shut up, I’m not a bloody beauty guru, I’ll just make it up as I go along ”, I said .

” Alright ”, Johnny said, and I cutting Johnny’s hair and he was screaming as the switch blade went through his scalp .

” Ok, that’s all done, all we need to do now is bleach your hair ”, I said, as I was dusting him off .

” Bleach my hair ?, you’re having a laugh, ain’t ya ?”, Johnny shouted .

” No I’m not, you’re gonna love it, it’s gonna make you look tough, I’ll show you the overall product later ”, I said .

” You better not color it gold, otherwise, I’m gonna shriek havvock back at you ”, Johnny said .

” You’ll love it, keep your hair on ”, I said .

” Stop saying hair ”, Johnny shouted. Then I bleached Johnny’s hair and it turned gold, I was trying so hard not to break out laughing, but just couldn’t help it, if Johnny finds out, I’ll be dead .

” And we’re all done, here’s the finishing product ”, I said, as I pulled out a mirror, it was smashed and worn out . I’ve had it for years, it belonged to my grandmother, god bless her soul, but it’s just ended up in the cellar, it got covered in dust, haven’t used it, until now .

” Alright, I’m looking forward to this, this better be good ”, Johnny said .

” Yeah it’s good, Johnny, you do trust me, right ?”, I asked him .

” Why do you ask ?”, Johnny asked .

” No reason, just wanna know ”, I replied, as I was trying to hold it together, but I was secretly laughing .

” Liam, why are you doing this to yourself, you silly Billy ”, Johnny said .

” Look, I know that you’re gonna love this haircut, so I’m gonna show it to you, so hold on a sec ”, I said, and I held the mirror close to Johnny to reveal his new haircut, and his haircut was sloppy and it was curly and gold and he had a perm, all the things that Johnny tried to stay clear of, but ended up turning into an epic kerfuffle .

” Ok Johnny, are you ready ?”, I asked .

” Ready for what, you sure you’re not gonna drop a whole bucket full of maggots on me, I’m getting paranoid now, why do I feel like it’s one of those things where I get humiliated on live television ?”, Johnny said .

” There’s nothing to be paranoid about, you’re gonna love it, it looks good ”, I said, and I held the mirror closer to Johnny .

” Ta da, surprise bitch ”, I said .

” Cor blimey, what the hell is that ?”, Johnny shouted .

” It’s your new haircut, you like it ?”, I asked .

” Like it ?, look at it, it looks like a bird just shat on my head, looks awful, Emmett’s gonna take the piss out of me when he sees this ”, Johnny said .

” What do you mean, it looks great, it suits you ”, I said .

” What, gold ?, I told you not to color it gold and it’s bloody gold, and it’s a perm, typical . Looks mad though, innit ?”, Johnny said . It suits me ?, I look like bloody Hienz from The Tornados, oh my god ”, Johnny shouted .

” Well, Hienz Burt was a handsome, good looking young man ”, I said, trying to make it sound better .

” Ohh, oh my god, I can’t be seen with this hairstyle, I’ll get beaten up even more ”, Johnny said .

” Yeah yeah yeah, it’s fine ”, I said .

A few minutes later, Johnny and I were sitting in the living room, Johnny was eating a ketchup and egg sandwich, whilst I was reading a book, it was called Gone With The Wind . Gone With The Wind is my favorite book, I liked studying in Literature and English, I was often interested in the story. I liked many other books as well, including To Kill A Mocking Bird. I made a promise to let Johnny borrow the book when I’ve finished reading it, cause he wanted to read it as well. Johnny was in his own world, just casually eating the sandwiches that were in front of him, whilst I was reading the book aloud . A few minutes later, Johnny was playing cards and I was taking a really short nap, we all had a long day . In another part of the house, Kevin and Dominick were also playing a game of cards, which then led onto an arm wrestling contest, Dominick was a pro, he would take on Kevin any day . A few minutes later, everybody was sitting around in the living room . Johnny took it upon himself to show off his new haircut, he was so pissed off about it, but everyone else seemed to like it .

” Ok guys, Johnny got a new haircut today, done by yours truly and he’s ready to show it you ”, I said .

” What the heck, no, I’m not gonna show it to anybody, are you crazy ?”, Johnny whispered .

” Yes, we’re gonna show it, ok guys, standing here, the man himself, make some noise for Johnny Branson, Johnny, show everyone your haircut ”, I shouted, and Johnny walked in and exposed his haircut to everybody in the room. Kevin started laughing his head off, Dominick just face palmed, Jamie just stood there in the corner, cringing, Travis was just thinking ” What the heck ?”, and Emmett was laughing his head off as well .

” Cor Blimey, look at this guy with his hair, man, I can’t believe it ”, Emmett said, and just gave a grin .

” Hey, I know I look lousy, but don’t rub it in ”, Johnny said .

” Oh god no ”, Travis said, as he face planted .

” You cut your hair, you got haircut ?”, Kevin said, in a weird voice .

” Who gave you a haircut ?”, Jamie asked .

” Liam did it for me, he was that adamant to give me one, and he gave me a bloody perm, colored it gold, what is this boy thinking, honestly ”, Johnny replied .

” Yeah, I thought that the haircut will scare away any Reject, cause they’re always threatening to cut his hair with their switchblades, had to come up with something ”, I said .

” Yeah well, now it’s eve worse, everyone’s gonna think that I look like a twat ”, Johnny said .

” Oh bloody hell, stay gold, Johnny, stay gold, haha, I’m loving this ”, Kevin said, as he started laughing .

” Looks mad though, like, bloody hell ”, Travis said .

” Oh come on, Kevin, you really think that I chose gold on purpose, I would of walked out, honestly ”, Johnny said .

” Well, look on the bright side, The Rejects will stay away from you, real men are tough on the outside, but soft on the inside, on the scale of 1 to 10, they don’t hold anything against you and in the real world, looks don’t matter, looks are not gonna save you in a fight and society doesn’t doesn’t care what person you are, it’ll throw all sorts of shit at you, it will chew you up and spit you out, but it depends on how you deal with those situations. History repeats itself, time and time again and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so we just have to keep our hands open and catch it, just like a butterfly, because before you know it, it will all fade away, but not us though, looks don’t count, the only thing that does count is that we’re all here together and we are fighters, every single one of us and nothing’s stopping us now ”, Dominick said .

” Yeah, that’s a very good observation, as long as we are here, all of us together, we have nothing to lose, it’s hard out there, but as long as we’re ok, then nothing can stop us now ”, Johnny said . ” Come here, guys, thanks for being there for me, I’d be useless without you guys, I can’t think of a gang without Jamie, Kevin, Emmett, Dominick and Travis ”, Johnny added, and he went to go and hug everyone .

” And we can’t think of a gang without Johnny Branson ”, Jamie said. ” We’ll never let you go ”, he added .

” Yeah ”, everybody said, and they were all laughing all night long . After a long night, they all went to bed, ready for whatever tomorrow throws at them .

”Watch out, Rejects, The Eagles are back and they are better then ever ”

End of chapter .