Flash Fiction Friday -- Honor Bound in Flash Friday

Prompt: Write a flash about a confrontation in a parking lot

“Are you sure he’s even going to be there?” Tommy asked. He was struggling to keep up with Brian.

“He’ll be there,” Brian replied. “That loser doesn’t have anything better to do than hang out all night.”

“You know, Bri, even if this goes well, it isn’t going to fix anything,” Tommy insisted.

Brian stopped and faced Tommy.

“I don’t fucking care, Tommy,” Brian seethed. “What happened was fucking bullshit and I’m not going to let that asshole just walk away. If you’re too fucking scared to come with me, then you can leave now, but I’m going either way.”

The two teenagers glared at each other. The look in Brian’s eyes said he would not be dissuaded. Tommy broke the spell by diverting his gaze to the traffic passing on the four lane highway. He looked back at Brian.

“You know I got your back,” Tommy said.

Brian set off and Tommy followed.

Kmart and Acme were the anchor stores of the biggest strip mall in Willow Brook. In between the two nationals was a string of locally owned shops: a Hallmark store, a bakery, a shoe store, a hairdresser’s supply store and a liquor store. At the far end of the parking lot was a bank, a Taco Bell, a convenience store and a Jiffy Lube. Jeff worked at the Jiffy Lube and hung out with his friends behind the building after hours. The convenience store was open all night and the Taco Bell until the wee hours, but all the other stores closed at a respectable 9pm. The police cruised through the parking lot once around 10:30 and again around 3am.

Jeff and his friends, three guys and two girls, were sitting on crates stolen from the supermarket and drinking beers from cans. Brian approached at a pace that meant trouble. He stopped a few feet in front of Jeff. Jeff looked the teenager over.

“Shouldn’t you be home in bed by now, son?” Jeff asked. His friends chuckled.

“I got to take the trash out first,” Brian retorted.

Jeff got to his feet.

“You got some kind of problem?” Jeff asked with menace.

“You got the problem, asshole,” Brian said. “I’m just here to fix it.”

“Jerk off, I’m not getting into some fight with a stupid minor,” Jeff said. He snickered first and then his friends joined him. One of Jeff’s friends got to his feet. “You’d best be on your way now.”

“Tell your friend to sit the fuck down,” Brian demanded. “I’m here for you and you alone. Unless you’re too much of a pussy to fight me.”

“Little man,” Jeff scoffed, “I’ll kick your ass without breaking a sweat. Kyle, sit down. If this little asshole wants trouble, I’ll give him some. You just make sure his friend stays out of it.”

Jeff approached Brian. Jeff was two or three years older than Brian and about four or five inches taller. Jeff stood close enough to Brian to force the younger boy to look up at him.

“Now what the fuck is your problem?” Jeff asked.

“I’m Jackie's brother,” Brian said.

“So?”

“So, asshole, where the fuck were you today?”

“None of your fucking business where I was today.”

“Yeah, it is my fucking business because you made it my business,” Brian spat back. “Explain to me why I had to step up to clean up your fucking mess.”

Brian shoved Jeff. Jeff stepped back and then shoved Brian harder. Brian staggered and came back swinging. Brian’s right fist connected with Jeff’s jaw. Jeff returned two solid hits, one to each side of Brian’s face. Brian swung again, but missed. Jeff hit Brian squarely in the nose. Brian fell on his ass. Tommy moved forward to help his friend. Kyle got to his feet and moved toward Tommy. Jeff held out his arm to stop Kyle.

“That’s going to bruise, you little piece of shit,” Jeff laughed as he rubbed his jaw.

Brian closed his eyes tightly. The shot to the nose made his eyes water, but he didn’t want the older boys to think he was crying. He got to his feet. Tommy tried to help him up, but Brian pushed him off.

“You think it’s fucking funny, asshole?” Brain screamed. “You think it’s funny that my sister was scared shitless waiting for you to show up and then she had to come in tears begging me to drive her into Camden? I’m fucking sixteen! I don’t even have a license! But I had to drive my sister to the clinic and I had to wait around to take her home. Where the fuck were you? You were man enough to stick your dick in her, and you were man enough to promise her you’d help her take care of it when she found out she was pregnant, but when she needed your bitch ass, you were gone. You’re a fucking cunt.”

“Your sister is a slut,” Jeff shouted. His friends snickered and agreed among themselves that Jackie put out to everyone.

“I don’t care if she’s the biggest whore in the neighborhood,” Brian said calmly. “You’re still a coward and a scumbag. I hope you felt like shit when that appointment time came and went and I hope you feel like shit now. You are less than fucking dirt. At least dirt is useful.”

Brian cleared his throat and spat at Jeff’s feet. Jeff stood dumbfounded. Jeff’s friends were silent. Brian walked away. Tommy stood for a moment to see what Jeff would do and then turned around and jogged up to Brian.

“Fuck you, you little asshole,” Jeff shouted after Brian. “You and your sister can go fuck yourselves.”

Jeff and his friends yelled obscenities and threw empty beer cans at Brian and Tommy, but the boys were already well out of reach.

“Your face is going to be swollen tomorrow,” Tommy said after the boys were well out of sight of Jeff and his friends.

“I know,” Brian said. “It hurts already.”

“You know, Bri, Jackie isn’t always too selective about the company she keeps,” Tommy said. “You can’t go around confronting every loser that shits on her.”

“No, I can’t get all of them,” Brian conceded. “But I’ll get as many as I can.”

New prompts: intersection, plead, light