Chapter Text
Josh has always been a wanderer. He never stuck too long anywhere, because Josh doesn’t get used to places – to people. He grew up practically alone in the middle of his parents’ wealth. He used to be the typical rich boy – he even went to a boarding school in France for most of his school years. But his life was so empty, so shallow.
His family wanted him to become a doctor or a successful business man like his father or something just as fancy and that; but no one ever asked Josh if he wanted any of those things. He felt out of place in his house, in his clothes, in his own skin. And no one ever noticed because that’s Josh. He never shows his feelings, even if they’re killing him on the inside. People never noticed how repressed he felt and in a deep corner of his mind that stung a little more every day.
He tried to connect with his family as hard as he could but his parents became strangers to him and he didn’t bother with friends. Why would he? Those people were some traitorous little rats that didn’t miss the opportunity to step on their “friends” if that meant more credit for them.
People always disappointed him. First they come, they enter your life gain your trust slowly and then stab you in the back, or simply walk away from you with no apparent reason like you’re that insignificant in their life. Maybe he was; and that’s what he chose those people to be to him, too - insignificant.
He never graduated. One day during his junior year – after another yet again big disappointment on his parents – he just grabbed his bag and walked out of that stupid place. He didn’t have where to go, but it didn’t matter, because anything was better than what he was living.
And in the very first night he spent on the streets, he felt so relieved; it was like all the strings constricting his movements were being cut, and he didn’t have a curfew to follow, a certain gown to wear to be in some stupid dinner or ball and he could just do what he wanted; it was honestly the most alive he ever felt. Like his soul was slowly learning to breathe again.
For months he traveled through France with nothing. He never stuck too long in a certain place; he got small jobs which didn’t pay much, but were more than enough to eat and sleep somewhere and get the hell out of that place, to the next one.
As he grew up, he felt better, but acted worse. Somewhere along the way, bad habits came in the way and with it, bad actions.
After a while he had quite a reputation for getting in fights, for being too involved in the world of drugs and drug dealing, he was hurting people really bad too and the way he looked in itself was… tale telling. He was gorgeous - all sharp angles, strong jaw, high cheek bones, striking blue eyes, toned body - and so dangerous. Those elements, the ink tinting his skin, the black leather jacket, the soft stubble on his chin, the hair, constantly – stylishly –ruffled by the helmet of his black shiny motorcycle were what gave him away. He had the girls swooning at his feet wherever he passed by. Usually, that was one of the reasons for most of the fights. Because behind a pretty girl there was always a dumb Neanderthal thinking he owned he place and got the right to be with the girl. Well, him and his friends, of course.
It was so exhausting sometimes. All he wanted was a drink and a place to stay for a while. But then, there he was, getting the bedroom eyes from some stupid bitch, having the whole troop surrounding him, which ended with some of them knocked out in the tables without half of their teeth and the other half limping their way out before the cops that the owner of the bar called when the whole thing started, arrived.
The most tiring part though, was that he wasn’t even interested in those girls. They were all so shallow, so young, so empty and without any kind of quality of interest for Josh.
They were all the same and Josh didn’t bother loosing time with them.
Sometimes, though, he did find someone of interest; someone a bit like him. They were normally older than him, because Josh didn’t lose time with kids; girls clung to him, wanted to run away with him like in some romantic fantasy of theirs.
What Josh wanted was a woman who, like him, knew what she wanted and took it; no promises, no compromise, no feelings, just sex.
Once he got involved with a drug lord’s wife, a woman named Megan and she was the closest thing Josh ever had to a reason to stay. What they had was intense and his youth – he was only 21 – consumed her, made her feel alive. She was near 40, married for 20 years with Josh’s newest business partner with whom she had a 16 year old daughter who was lusting after Josh.
The girl was pretty just like her mother, but she didn’t have the fire Megan had. Josh would know – he took her virginity.
That was the longest he ever stayed in the same place and he only left when he found himself looking down the end of a gun’s barrel. But somehow it was him who almost killed someone that day. Rage was never a major problem for him – pride was a bigger one – but that one time, it took Megan’s screams to keep him from snapping the bastard’s neck, his stupid gun long lost all the way across the floor.
After that he found himself deciding to go back to England. It was the first time in almost 6 years but somehow he was craving it. France had nothing new to offer and Josh wanted to go. He didn’t stick around; he never did.
He found himself crossing the English Channel and back in his country in no time. It was a weird feeling, being back in England. It wasn’t really home – not really, he didn’t have one – but it felt like finding something he lost a long time ago, something he didn’t quite remember having but still brought a sensation of nostalgia with it. It was strange but not bad at all.
He didn’t want to go to London; not just yet. He knew his parents were living there – supposedly – and seeing them again was the last thing he wanted. So he wandered around for a bit.
Because that’s what Josh does; he has always been a wanderer and he never sticks anywhere for too long.
The first town he decided to stop at was a small town, south east of London. It wasn’t very busy or known for any specific motives, but every little town had their dirty little secrets, once the night settled in. Josh had heard of it, in Paris. He passed by Paris a considerate number of times, and there were people there he already knew. He didn’t call them friends – Josh had no friends - but they were the closest to it he had. They recommended the place to Josh, and gave him a few names to look for once he got there.
In this town there was a huge all boys boarding school that took almost every year approximately 1500 boys from 13 to 18 years old. Most of them came from other places of England and it turned out that the preppy boys from all boys boarding schools were also very active buyers of illegal substances. Josh had smirked at himself, well, if their lives are half as shitty as his used to be, it does make sense.
He directed himself to a pub, looking for someone to ask directions from.
It was nearly 4pm, and so, it was practically empty, safe from a couple of old men sitting at the bar, a quartet playing cards in the back and the pub’s staff. When he got in, all eyes landed on him, curiosity on them – and something else, Josh knew his aspect was kind of shady – but they didn’t move or said anything.
Helmet in hand, he neared the bar, sitting on one of the stools. It had really been a few hours sense the last time he stopped.
A boy, who appeared to be nearly his age, approached him.
“What can I get you?” he asked in a low, neutral voice.
“A beer,” he answered, “and some information.”
The boy’s brow furrowed for an instant but he attended Josh’s request nonetheless, sliding the bottle in his direction.
“Alright, what do you need to know?” the boy exhaled, cloth thrown over his right shoulder.
“I’m looking for someone. I was told he could find me a temporary place to sleep,” Josh said, examining the boy’s actions; he was probably older than him, but not much older. In fact none of the staff seemed to be older than him.
“So, you’re staying here?”
“It’s temporary. I need to find a guy named Hensley,” he told him. The boy’s eyebrows shoot up for a moment. “Jaymi Hensley,” Josh added.
“I may know him,” the boy said, “depends on who’s asking.”
Josh squared his shoulders a little bit, looking the boy straight in the eyes. “A man named Bertrand told me to find him.”
The boy smiled then, and after a moment he outstretched his hand towards Josh. “You must be the Josh Cuthbert Tom told me about,” he said. “I’m Jaymi Hensley.”
Josh shook his hand, “Josh Cuthbert,” he said. And then he added, “I thought you’d be older. And working in different… business branches.”
Jaymi smirked, “when you live permanently in a place, a cover up it’s quite handy.” Josh sniggered at that, “that’s why I don’t bother anymore. Besides, this place is a fantastic stop for… business.” At that, Josh raised his eyebrow.
“Do you own this place?” Jaymi smiled at him nodding.
“It used to be my grandpa’s, hence the loyal customers,” he added nodding towards the old men. Josh looked around one more time; he bet none of those people would even dare looking at the front doors of this place if they knew what was going on here.
Josh looked back at Jaymi and asked “Is there anything else you own in this town?” at which Jaymi answered with a smile.
~
It turns out Jaymi is not only a very decent guy – well, given the circumstances – but also a very influent young man in this town too, if the amount of places he had something to do with was anything to go by. “My grandfather was just a very rich bastard,” he said when Josh brought the subject up. “He died a couple of years ago. We weren’t that close, but he was a great man, and I his only family left.”
They ended up in Jaymi’s flat – the one he was actually living in – after a quick glance around town. “You’ll have to stay in my spare room for a few days while I send someone to prepare another place for you,” Jaymi said, opening the front door and turning on the lights. “Sorry, man, I just wasn’t expecting you.”
“It’s alright,” Josh said, taking his surroundings in. It wasn’t anything too fancy that screamed that rich people lived there. In fact it was a super simple flat of two stories with a very small amount of divider walls – it was super open and light with brick walls and furniture made of white wood that had a kind of cozy weariness to it.
There was no wall to separate the kitchen from the living room and the kitchen in itself was just the bench top and an island with high stools all around it. There was no table though, so – Josh guessed – that was probably where he ate. The living room was also very simple with a sofa and a couple of bag beans around a coffee table and facing the television behind which were a set of huge, tall windows with their blinds halfway down.
As he entered the house and went from the small hall to the living room he turned around so he could see that the second story was practically a huge balcony right above the hall where he’d come from, with some doors which were probably the rooms. The spiral staircase was on his left, when he entered the front door.
It was very nice, indeed.
“So, to your right you have the kitchen, right in front of you is the living room – in case it isn’t obvious and the bathroom in that door at your left, right past the stairs,” he said, taking his jacket off and throwing it to one of the sofas, “come with me, I’ll show you your room.”
He climbed the stairs, not even pausing to check if Josh was following him. Upstairs in the balcony, it was easier to get a look over the whole living room and the tall windows that reached the second floor where the main source of illumination to the whole house. They were sealed though – Josh noticed – and even with the blinds halfway down, he could see through the cracks that they were facing a long green field, and in the distance a tall, large and old building rose. “That’s the Boarding School. I’m sure you’ve heard of it,” Jaymi said, when he noticed him looking.
“Yeah, I’ve heard those preppy boys are not was righteous as their parents might think,” Josh answered at which the other boy laughed.
He opened the door to one of the rooms, the last one, and signaled him to enter.
“So, this is it. It’s not any suite, sorry mate, but I guess it’ll have to do for a couple of days,” he said. Josh took a look around. It was definitely more than what he was used to, with a queen sized bed with two nightstands on each side, a desk, a wardrobe and even a TV.
“It’s good; don’t worry, man, its fine, really,” he said, turning to face him. “Thanks,” he added. The other boy smiled at him “No problem. Do you need help with the rest of your stuff?”
At that, Josh snorted, clutching the strap of the only backpack he owned.
“I think I can handle it, thanks.”
~
The first night Josh spends in town, he realizes two things. First, Jaymi really is a very, very important person, if not only for the fact that he’s the one behind the place where all the shit goes down. On the back of his pub, run a club; they were connected, but, obviously, the club only worked at night and the pub during the day.
The amount of people there was honestly astonishing, especially considering that it was a week day, and a lot of those people – boys, actually was wearing an equal dark blue blazer with the school symbol on their chest pocket.
It’s a plus sixteen club, but still, he doubted many of them even had sixteen at all. Not that it bothered him; he was here to make business.
That was the second thing he realized. The alley behind the club was where all the shit went down, and there was all sorts of sinister business going on there, not only drug dealing. The whole town was a bit like that – there was something extremely shady about it, but Josh couldn’t quite point out what yet.
The first two nights he hadn’t quite understood fully what was going on there; it was only three nights after, when a kid who was running out of the alley passed past him with his shirt open, belt undone and blazer in hand, followed a few minutes later by a man, a grown man in maybe his thirties leaving the alley too from the same spot as the kid, adjusting himself, that he realized with a bit of a shock what was going on there.
Those kids were probably not even sixteen yet… and they were boys. He’d seen a lot of fucked up things, but he could say for sure, this was a first.
The whole thing threw Josh off his feet and he went back to the club, looking for Jaymi.
He found him near the bar – he wasn’t working, he was just monitoring the place, so to speak. There was a guy next to him and they were talking animatedly, with a sort of confidence and familiarity that told Josh that they were either very good friends, or-
“Josh!” Jaymi called looking beyond the boy’s shoulder. “You haven’t met JJ, yet!” he said smiling at him, a glass of some sort of blue drink in one hand and the other grasping the boy’s – JJ’s - arm lightly. There was something about it that left Josh quite apprehensive. “Josh, this is JJ Hamblett,” he said turning the boy gently by his arm in his direction, “JJ, this is Josh Cuthbert”.
The boy gave him a small smile to which Josh responded with a nod, while shaking his hand. “JJ’s one of the best suppliers around here. Tell him what you need and he’ll get it for you,” Jaymi continued.
“Is that so…?” he turned to the boy, who shrugged.
“I guess I just have plenty of contacts – the right ones, that is,” Josh nodded.
“I could use a guy like you in my list of contacts,” Josh said. It was true. It was always good to have a supplier on speed dial when you’re in drug dealing – sometimes what he had with him was enough, other times not really, and waiting for one of his suppliers to get in contact was a waste of time and money.
JJ dragged his phone out with a smirk, handing over to Josh, who took it giving him his own phone too for him to dial his number. Meanwhile Jaymi had already finished his drink and was about to address the two boys when a guy came in between them, grabbing JJ’s jacket in a strong grip.
“You fucking bastard, do you have any idea the money I already lost because of you?” JJ just smiled while saying “It’s not my fault you can’t pay for what you order, mate,” with an undisturbed calmness.
“I told you I was gonna pay back! I was waiting on my customers’ payment-!” the guy yelled at which JJ only laughed, forcing the guys’ hand out of his jacket.
“And again, it’s not my fault you’re too big of a pussy to even demand your money before they run away, right, Lenny?”
“You fucking stole my weed and left me with nothing to sell! Do you have any idea what my client almost did to me?!”
“Lenny, it’s not stealing when I’m just taking back what’s mine. You don’t pay, you don’t get the product. I gave you a fucking dead line,” JJ said, calmly.
“The guy almost killed me! He’s still threatening me and you’re the only one who can get me the fucking weed!” he said, pointing at a very recent scar in his neck.
JJ smirked at that, “too bad.”
The guy just seemed to get even more pissed off with JJ’s coolness, and was about to try to throw a punch at him when Jaymi grabbed his fist midair, saying, “Alright, I think that’s enough mate, get out of here.”
“This has nothing to do with you Hensley!” He said, struggling to take his fist back from Jaymi’s grasp, “this is between me and Hamblett!” He tore his hand from Jaymi’s grasp and drew a knife out of his pocket, bringing it to JJ’s throat.
Josh’s brow furrowed when he noticed Jaymi sighing and rolling his eyes as if he was used to this kind of things. JJ didn’t even flinch.
“Alright, that’s it,” Jaymi exhaled, impatient, and drew a gun from somewhere in his jacket, pointing straight into the guy’s forehead. “I said,” he pulled its hammer back with his thumb, “get the fuck out of my club, Larson.”
And it was right there that Josh realized why people respected Jaymi so much. He had only seen the nicer side of Jaymi, but now, while he pointed that gun straight to that guy’s head, Josh could see a whole new side of him. There was a cold certainty in his actions, no such thing as a single drop of sweat on his forehead or tremble on his hand, and Josh knew that look in his eye – he would pull the trigger if he needed to, and he wouldn’t even think twice about it.
The people around were carefully getting out of their way, without dragging much attention – most of them didn’t even notice what was happening – and a bunch of security guards were ready to intervene if they had to.
The guy carefully removed the knife from JJ’s throat and backed away slowly, hands raised. JJ was watching him with an amused smirk on his face, while Jaymi was already signaling to his security guards to take the guy away.
“Fucking prick,” Jaymi commented.
“Yeah, I thought he’d learned his lesson last time he tried to mess with me,” at that Jaymi looked back at him, putting his gun back on his jacket.
“Oh, yeah, I heard he went after your little cousin,” Jaymi said. JJ only nodded, leaning back on the bar with his elbows supporting him. “How’s the kid going?”
“George’s fine, Greg and Dan were around and beat the shit out of that bastard before he could lay a finger on him,” JJ shrugged. “Explaining the kid what was going on was a bit more problematic, though.” Jaymi’s eyebrows rose at that.
“You told George what was going on?”
“Hang on a sec,” Josh interrupted, obviously confused with the whole story, “you have a little cousin here – who apparently goes around all alone - and people threaten him to get to you and now you told the kid all about how you’re into drug dealing?” he said, eyebrows raised.
Jaymi laughed at that and JJ was smiling at him too, “George is not really a little kid,” Jaymi explained, “he’s actually seventeen but he’s a city boy, he comes from London just to study here, in the boarding school, and JJ’s the only family he’s got around. The kid just doesn’t know about the shit that goes down around here.”
“And he doesn’t need to, either,” JJ added, turning to Jaymi, and then back at Josh. “I didn’t tell him, he doesn’t need to get involved in this, and as long as I can, I’m gonna keep the kid as far away from this whole shit as I can,” Jaymi was smiling at him.
“Aww look at you, JJ, all protective of your little cousin,” he said, and tried to ruffle JJ’s perfectly styled quiff before the boy backed out of his grasp with a smirk on his mouth.
“Well, it’s about time someone takes care of the kid, after all the shit he has been put through,” At that, Jaymi’s smiled turned to a more subtle but sincere one as he looked at him with a whole new fondness.
“And who better than you, right?” Jaymi said, and JJ looked at him, a matching smile on his lips while he said “Right,” and they stared into each other’s eyes for a few minutes in silence.
There was something about that smile and the tone of their voices and the whole scene that made Josh feel a bit odd, once again, like there was something more to those words than he was catching on; but after what he’d just witnessed outside, he wasn’t sure he could deal with any more freaky shit tonight.
This town was a fucked up place, all right, and Josh had witnessed some nasty shit in his past; he just wasn’t quite sure he could handle much more of this.
He wasn’t stupid, though, after what he saw outside, it was like a new light was shining upon the whole city and suddenly Josh could tell exactly what it was so shady about this whole town. And Jaymi and JJ’s behavior around each other was a bit tale telling itself. But he was choosing to ignore it all.
~
Two nights after that incident, it was almost four in the morning when Josh left the alley, money on his back pocket and cigarette on his lips, ready to be lite up. He was about to do it when something – someone – ran into him from his left side, knocking the cigarette and lighter out of his hands.
Josh was pissed off; Josh was extremely pissed off and tired after almost knocking a guy unconscious for trying to steal from him and that cigarette was supposed to calm him up; that cigarette was also the last one he had with him, and was now split in halves of the floor. Without thinking he yanked the other person from the ground, and they almost flew against the nearest wall with Josh’s strength combined with their lightness. For a moment he thought it might’ve been a girl, but the lack of screams told him it probably wasn’t. He didn’t really care; he felt like he could spank the shit out of them.
When he faced the other person, after closing in in their personal space, Josh met a pair of wide brown eyes, lips parted in a silence shout and hair ruffled hidden under a beanie that somehow managed to stay in his head.
“Who the fuck are you?” Josh almost shouted, mouth tense, looking at the boy with an intensity that combined with the whole thing left him gob smacked.
“I-I I was ju-,“he was breathless and squirming and his eyes kept shooting to his right, where he’d come from, as if he was waiting for something to came out of the shadows. “I’m sorry, I-,“
Josh tightened his grip on the boy’s collar.
“I asked you a question,” he said through gritted teeth, jaw tense.
“Please just let me go th- there’s these guys and they’re af-after me I’m sorry just let me go p- please!” the kid pleaded, a desperate look on his face. Josh raised his fist. His breath caught at that, “George!” the boy almost shouted, eyes squinted shut, as if waiting for the blow, “my name’s George Shelley please don’t hit me!”