"I just fucking said that, didn't I?" he mumbled unhappily. He didn't bother going into detail about how he'd been shot. He may as well let Percy believe he was shot for something good, like being in a fight or stealing something. Let Percy believe that he was shot for doing something cool. Of course, every other time he had been shot it was for something idiotic. He still remembered the first time. He had followed James out to some sort of meet up with another gang, even after James had told him to stay put in his room. He had been about twelve, maybe thirteen, and was starting to think highly of himself. Something along the lines of "I'm already this old, so I should be allowed to go too!". So, he had followed James and a couple of the other members out to the meet up, making sure to be quiet enough so that they wouldn't hear him. In his defence, he had done a good job. Neither James nor one of the other two members noticed him. However, he happened to be hiding in a place that was open for the opposing gang to see, and when things started going downhill, one of the members of the other gang decided it would be smart to shoot the kid. After all, it was a known fact that James was soft hearted, so there was no doubt that he'd take care of any kid, wether he knew them or not. Kallen had ended up being shot once in the shoulder and once in the stomach. He had been so shocked that he let out a scream and simply ran to James.

Kallen laughed slightly, shaking his head. He was such a stupid kid. Not that he was much smarter now, but he at least knew how to fight for himself.

Next thing he knew, they had arrived in a dingy alley, and were standing in front of a door. Turns out Percy was right about it not being far away. He held back a laugh when Percy said what he assumed to be the secret password. God it sounded so stupid. Then again, so did every secret password. Without missing a beat, the door opened slowly. So slowly it felt like they were in a slow-mo part of an action movie.

It took only a few seconds for someone to accept Percy's secret password. It let the person on the other side know how many people were there and that their purpose was to bring information. It was the only password Percy knew, but there must have been others because lord knew what all Lux got up to in his little hideaway. The girl who opened the door wore a dirty pair of overalls and couldn't be older than twelve. Percy had no idea what her connection to Lux was, but she was always there and somewhere between smiling cutey, and violent little punk.

"He's in the backroom," Miki said with a jerk of her thumb. "Who's your friend blondie? He looks kinda screwed.

Percy just about hissed at her as much from the nickname as her general tone. "Just tell him to get his butt over and fix my friend up and we'll give him all sorts of goodies."

Miki ran off and Percy led the way to the secret clinic, having been there once before.

Kallen felt his mouth twitch when the young girl called him screwed. He wasn't sure if he should be offended by it, or just find it funny. Either way he felt himself become a little worried for the young girl. She was obviously in her pre-teens, and Kallen almost felt bad for her. Being here so young, he knew how troublesome it could be. Shaking his head, he made all the thoughts about the young girl go away. She seemed like she had spunk. He was sure she was fine.

Kallen silently followed Percy into a small room that had a cluttered desk and one bed. Suddenly feeling exhausted, Kallen plopped down on the bed, giving a loud yawn as he did. This day had been long and tiring, and the pain from getting shot was finally starting to really sit in. But more than being in pain because of the pain, he was agitated. He just wanted to get it to stop hurting.

"What kind of information will this guy be looking for anyways?" Kallen asked Percy after letting out another yawn.

Percy took a seat in a plastic chair that had seen better days. Despite the small size of the room, it housed just about every piece of equipment a black market dealer could get his hands on. In some ways, it was better equipped than a legal clinic, except that anything that wasn't necessary for life or death wasn't there. No little fix it's and make it look pretty sort of equipment. The whole smelled acidic.

"I don't really get his logic, so I usually just gossip. Basically, if an enemy gang might want to know it, it's fair game. Weaknesses and upcoming 'events'. Soft spots. But then sometimes he wants information that I can't understand at all." He always got the feeling that Lux was ten times smarter than the average person.

Barely a minute after they sat, a tall man entered the room. He wore a the smock of a doctor and looked very professional except for his dyed purple hair that even tied back high on his head still reached his waist. The tattoo on his cheek gave off both a deadly and elegant air. "I heard I have a gunshot patient. Before I get started, I'd like to know how you intend to pay. Who's this friend you brought me, Blondie?"

Kallen let himself fall onto his back on the bed as Percy spoke. He let out a small groan, both from tiredness and the small shoot of pain that he got in his shoulder when he laid down. "If it's stuff like that, then I've got tons of it," he mumbled. He was sure he had at least some dirt on most of the big gangs around by now. People seemed to tell him their secrets unknowingly, or gave them to him on purpose during a trade of some sort. Just like what was about to happen.

When he heard footsteps coming in, Kallen simply looked up towards the entrance, refusing to even move a little bit. He stared a bit skeptically at the tall man with purple hair, but nonetheless found himself wanting to trust him if not just a little bit. Anything was better than being stuck with a damn bullet in his arm.

"I do believe we're paying with information, or secrets or whatever you'd like to call it," Kallen mumbled, his tone icy and uncaring. He seemed to be slipping into a worse and worse mood. Though it wasn't unusual for him to act like this. He would admit that his personality wasn't exactly the nicest. "And he and I aren't friends. Just...acquaintances of sorts," Kallen added, establishing his and Percy's position. Being known as friends would cause nothing but trouble, and Kallen knew it. He wasn't about to let himself get that sort of label. He didn't bother giving his name to the man, unsure if he could really trust him or not. If the guy decided to sell them out to Kallen's gang...er ex-gang, then Kallen knew he was as good as dead. He wasn't that stupid.

Lux chuckled with one trimmed eyebrow rising in a little quirk. "Impressive, you brought a smart one. And I didn't think Blondie could ever associate with anything worth having a conversation with."

Percy bristled at that, but no matter how easily he talked about coming here, he had a fearful sort of respect for the man. Anyone that ever crossed paths with Lux learned quickly that he was neither friend nor foe and could ruin anyone and everyone. Percy would be surprised to find he had a pair of sharpened chopsticks hiding someone and could kill with them. Probably the only person safe from his coldness was Miki. "Come one, just fix him up already. Let's just say you can pick what you want to know about and between us, we probably know." He glanced at Kallen. The other boy didn't seem willing to say much about himself here although it would probably hurry things along. If Lux knew who they were, he'd know they had tons of dirt on others.

Lux seemed to accept this answer though. "Alright, lay back kid. How about a secret for every stitch then? And yes, I do intend for you to tell them as I work. I will leave the job unfinished if you run out." The tall man smiled with that, all coldness and sharp edges.

Cheap bastard, Percy thought.

Kallen grumbled a bit and shifted uncomfortably on the bed. He could honestly say that he felt threatened by Lux. He seemed smart, really smart at that, and seemed like he wouldn't care about hurting others if it got him what he wanted. Then again, that was how a lot of gang members acted, but something about Lux just made him seem powerful and terrifying.

Kallen let himself fall on his back onto the bed, ignoring how uncomfortable it was. It was obviously an old mattress that had been used a lot, even too much. It was stiff and Kallen could practically feel the springs on his back. He listened to Lux carefully and glanced down at his shoulder. How many stitches would it take? His eye twitched slightly at the thought of having to give out secrets as he was being stitched up. The thought of just letting Percy spill of his secrets crossed his mind, but Kallen wasn't that trusting. He was more or less scared that Percy would run out of secrets and make up some bullshit information, and Lux would catch it. Sure it was the worst possible outcome, but Kallen didn't want to know what would happen if someone tried to trick Lux.

He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "What do you wanna know?"

Lux hummed with something like happiness, knowing he would get exactly what he wanted. "Let's start with any of the lovers of members of your gang you may happen to know..." He let Kallen talk, a name for each rinse off of his wound before he slipped on gloves and set to work digging out the bullet with very little warning. "This might hurt a bit." He hadn't offered any of sort of anesthesia. "Blondie, feel free to fill in while he's screaming in pain."

Percy swallowed hard and stuttered out something about the locker one of his gang members used to store some cash he stole from his own gang, claiming it was winnings from a casino. Since he hardly called the guy a friend, he didn't mind sharing. For the most part though, he just watched Lux work with a nervous air. It wasn't the first time he got this view, but today it felt especially intense.

Kallen hummed for a second, trying to think up all the names he could. He slowly began to list names of all the lovers he knew of, both female and male, mindlessly. He could care less if this got someone in trouble, and if it did then it served them right for shooting him. Sure, it was childish to think that way, but Kallen didn't care. They had to have known that Kallen would spill at least some secrets that could hurt them in revenge. It was nature after all.

When Lux started to work on getting the bullet out, Kallen ground his teeth together to try to hold back the yell of pain. The pain was intense and constant, not letting him have a second of rest. He couldn't even think of things to say so that the doctor would continue, and he had to rely all his trust onto Percy to do so. His face scrunched up as he kept his mouth closed either by grinding his teeth together or by biting his lip, switching from one to the other every so often.

Percy kept talking because he was the only one that could and did his best not to stare at Kallen as Lux worked. Pain like that, he didn't want to see, but he couldn't look away either. It was strange like that. Minutes passed. Percy stopped thinking about the things he said and just prattled. Lux was almost done when he held up one hand, marred with blood. "We're good. Keep some for next time, Blondie." The demand surprised him, but he clamped his mouth shut nonetheless. He didn't want to believe it, but it almost sounded like Lux was giving them a break. It was nice to believe anyway.

Finally, the purple-haired man pulled back and finished patting Kallen's bandage into place. "There you are. Good as new." His smile still looked cold when he said that though. "You two look like crap, so rest here until morning if you want. I think I've got enough information to cover the cost of that as well." With that, Lux left Percy alone with Kallen.

After Lux was finished, Kallen ignored the urge to give some sort of sarcastic reply to the man once again and instead lay in the bed unmoving for a few minutes. When he finally moved again, Kallen sat up rolling his shoulder slightly with a small groan. "Ugh, that hurt like a bitch," he mumbled. Part of him wished that he had taken an anaesthetic before having the bullet removed from his shoulder, but the other part of him was thankful that Lux hadn't even offered. If it was offered, Kallen knew he would have accepted, and if he had accepted that would mean he'd be so out of it right now that he wouldn't be able to fight in case something bad happened.

He glanced over a Percy, and gave a small smile, one that almost looked like a smirk. "Thanks for taking me here and givin' out some of that info," he said. He had to admit he was lucky that Percy was with him. If he wasn't then Kallen would probably still have the damned bullet lodged in his body.

Percy offered a weak smile back. After a second, he shifted closer so they could converse without having to raise their voices much. Besides, he felt like being a little closer. "Yeah, you're welcome. I mean...I kinda felt I had to..." he muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't explain why he did, but he had. It was just as simple as that. "He wasn't too bad today so I guess we're lucky. He gets a little mean with those who scream. Ah...would you like some water?" Without waiting for a response, he popped up and started searching around, muttering about clean cups under his breath the entire time. He knew the tap water here did well enough and there was always something. After a minute, he found a cup holding various things and dumped them out, rinsed the cup and offered it to Kallen. "It's not as good as painkillers or anything though..."

Kallen nodded, even though he noticed that Percy didn't wait for a reply. "'S a good thing I didn't scream then, huh," he said with a light laugh. However, Kallen could honestly say that he didn't want to see Lux being mean. He already seemed to not exactly care about the "patient". He grabbed the cup of water from Percy with a thanks. "It's better than nothing though," he said after a sip of it, licking his lips. It had a slightly weird taste to it, but he expected nothing less. They weren't exactly in the part of town where they'd have the cleanest water supply.

He let them sit in silence for a few moments before rolling his shoulder again--absently thinking about how rolling the injured-ish shoulder was going to become a habit for a while--and speaking up again. "So, I don't mean to rush us or anything, but what do we do now?" he asked. He didn't know the territory over here, so he couldn't say anything, but nonetheless Kallen knew they'd have to make a plan if they didn't want to be caught.

"Yeah, you're totally cool. Tough stuff," Percy continued to prattle. He played with the hem of his shirt for a while as they sat in silence, avoiding looking at Kallen because otherwise he'd stare and zone out. When the other boy spoke, he glanced up, a little startled. "Oh...well." He let out a little laugh. "Haven't we already been over how crappy I am at making plans? We were going to lay low right?" Percy knew he'd rushed into this having different plans in mind, but he didn't know now. He could always just leave Kallen because they had nothing to do with each other anymore, but he still couldn't bring himself to, even if he wasn't sure he wanted to use Kallen for his own benefit. "You can't go back to your gang. Didn't you think about what you would do after?" Percy would probably try to go back to his own.

Kallen felt his lips twitch at Percy's comment. He sat still for a few minutes thinking. He could probably leave Percy at this point, and he was sure Percy was thinking something along the same lines. Yet somehow he felt that he didn't really want to. At first he was really only sticking with the other male to keep his chances of surviving higher, but now it was just nice to be around him. Not as lonely as being alone. Kallen gave a short hum, "Nnn, nah. I didn't really think that far ahead. Probably just get out of gang territory for a bit. Maybe come back. Who knows," he paused. Was it worth asking? Sure, sure it was. "And you?" he continued, "Are you gonna go back to your gang...or rather will they take you back?"

Percy sighed at Kallen's words. "Ah yeah...I guess I wanted to. Not sure if I can. At least not...without some kind of bargaining chip." He only just managed not to look at Kallen and give away the sort of bargaining chip he had considered. Because he really wouldn't now. "Ugh!" Percy dragged a hand through his hair which must have looked like hell by now. It had been through so much and long hair never like to play tame for long. "Can I just tag with you for a while before I figure this stuff out?" he asked. It might have sounded pathetic, but it was as far as his plan went and as long as he didn't have one, he might as well stick with Kallen. "I don't think I can get out of gang life though. I don't have anything else going for me."

Kallen nodded in understanding. Most gangs were like that. If you fell, then you fell and there was no way of getting back unless you offered them something. Simple as that. He glanced over at Percy again and shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me if you stick around or not," he said in a nonchalant way. Despite what he said though, he was happy Percy was even thinking of sticking around for a bit. It gave him some company, and he wasn't going to lie he was starting to enjoy having Percy by his side.

"Eh," he shrugged again, "You never know, maybe if you get out of it you might find some hidden talent." He gave a short laugh before running a hand through his hair. "But I think I'm with you on that, I don't think I can get out either. Not that I wouldn't be able to find my way, I'm admittedly unusually good at that, but something about being in a gang is somewhat addicting, and almost fun." At this point he wasn't really speaking to Percy, but more to himself. He knew it would be hard to get out, and he'd come back to it one way or another. He had had many chances to leave, and if he had wanted to he would have a long time ago. But it was something that gave him purpose and gave a spark in his life. He wasn't about to abandon it for the rest of his life. For a little bit, sure, but not forever.

Percy found himself nodding his head. Even if kallen just talked to himself, it was words he understood only too much. He felt the same about the gang, almost exactly the same. He liked it and could only imagine his life with in. One couldn't just walk away. Some people were just born for life outside of society. "Yeah..." Percy knew he didn't have a special talent except screwing up. He let out a laugh, running a hand over his face as he did so. "God, we should just create our own gang! That would be so much easier!" he exclaimed. Dropping his hand, he paused in his laugh. What was this crap he uttered? It was utter crap for sure, then why did it sound so appealing right now? It would be impossible though. Alex would kill him. They were just two punk kids. But if they didn't fit in somewhere....no, it was a stupid idea. He shook his head. "Never mind. Just ignore me."

Kallen gave a short pause to what Percy said. At first he couldn't tell if the other boy was joking or not, and almost waved it off as such when he said to just ignore it. But something about just the idea seemed appealing. It sounded dangerous, but fun. Though Kallen wasn't sure if he was exactly the right kind of person to run a gang, considering how much he lied and how bored he got with things, but it still sounded like a fun idea. "I dunno...it would be fun to try out," he paused again before releasing a sigh, "but probably impossible. We'd be killed before anything happened." It was truth, but Kallen was still sure that if he had the opportunity now he'd want to try it out. Damn, now his stupid idea is stuck in my head

"No way, I'm not serious!" Percy exclaimed with a bit of a laugh. He said that, but he couldn't quite shake that stupid idea that came into his head. "Get killed...yeah, totally," he said with a sigh. "We'd never get anywhere with just us." And neither of them really had anyone else. Percy pushed himself to his feet to pace just a little this way and that to get rid of some of his excess energy. He wanted to make it look like he just discarded what he said earlier, but he didn't think he could succeed. Impossible....yeah, it was totally impossible. And yet, it was the best idea he'd had in a long time. "Anyway, lux offered us a place to sleep so we might as well take advantage of that. This day has been like hell!"

Kallen stretched his arms up in the air, giving a bit of a tired grunt as he did. He scratched the back of his neck and gave a small yawn. "Yea...and it's better to stay here than on the streets," he said. He didn't push on about the more-or-less joke of starting their own gang. It seemed useless and silly to think about it any further, let alone talk about it. "I'd like to get out of here early in the morning though," he thought out loud, "Just in case my former lovely gang members find us, or Lux decides we've overstayed." He still didn't trust Lux all that much, though he did have respect for the man. As for his former gang...well he just didn't want to run into them for a while, for obvious reasons.

Percy nodded his head vigorously. "Oh yeah, no point in staying here too long!" He glanced at the door as if he half expected Lux to hear his comment. He didn't put it past the guy. They were probably safer than most of the city here for the night when that man accepted them, but still best to get the hell away in the early morning. "We can get out as soon as the sun is up, maybe before the rest of the world wakes." It would give them a little extra time to put some distance between them and danger. Percy stretched a bit and poked around the room before finding some clean looking towels in lieu of blankets. There was only one cot and two chairs so he settled back into the chair, using the other as a foot rest. "The light switch is over there, so whenever you're ready to sleep."

((exams are all done :DDDD I'm now free for the next few months))

Kallen nodded, giving a short hum as he did. "It would be good to leave at sun rise, even just a bit before it. That'll give us a good head start," he sighed. He sat in the cot thinking for just a few minutes. They would have to be smart to evade his gang, seeing as they would probably split up in order to find Kallen and Percy. Plus, right now, Kallen wasn't too sure who the gang would try harder to recapture, Percy the family of another gang's leader, or Kallen the gang betrayer. At this point in time Kallen was hoping they'd rather capture Percy, but he figured that it was either be captured or killed when it came to himself. He had to make sure he got away, that was for sure.

Glancing over at the light switch Kallen fought off another yawn. He stood and made his way over to the switch, resting his finger on it before looking over at Percy.Somehow I feel bad that he's sleeping on chairs, he thought, Ugh stupid conscience . "Y'know, you can sleep on the cot instead. I don't mind sleeping on chair," he said. Even if it probably wouldn't be good for his wound, for some reason Kallen would have rather that Percy be comfortable.

Percy shifted a bit, trying to make his little chair bed work a little better. His height made it a little weird, though he doubted having a shorter frame would improve things much. He glanced over at Kallen, just staring at him for a second. "Dude what?" It took a second for the other's comment to really work its way into his brain because it just sounded too ridiculous and surprising. "You just got shot and sewed up by a crazy man. Why would you want to sleep in a chair. That's so stupid and pointless," he said. A hint of harshness came out in his tone and he couldn't much help it. He really did not want Kallen trading places with him and ruining the whole point of this healing rest.

Sighing, Percy turned away, his arms crossed over his chest. "Turn off the light already and go to sleep. Honestly, the cot's only big enough for one person and there's no way I'm kicking you off." That would just be too unacceptable and he couldn't even say why.

Kallen bit back another comment that would've come out as less than polite, and instead opted for childish grumbling. He knew Percy was right, but he still felt bad about it. "Well sorry for trying to be nice, won't do that again," he grumbled under his breath with a scowl. He knew at this point that he was just acting like a kid and there really wasn't any reason to be upset, but he couldn't help it. Shaking his head he brushed off all his feeling. "Whatever, sorry," he said with a softer tone, albeit still grumbling.

"See you bright and early I guess," Then he switched off the lights and went back to the bed. The moment his head hit his pillow he could feel himself fall into a deep sleep. The past days had been way too much for him, and the tiredness finally caught up.