Never Judge



"What are you doing here?" Cara asked as she glared at Al. "Did he drag you along to help me understand what I did wrong too?" 

Cara looked angrily at Eric as she accused him of siding with Al.

"Believe it or not, I'm actually here because I was worried about you." Eric said with a smile that made Cara blush.

"Eric." Al said in a stern tone.

"What? You guys are fighting so I thought I might as well flirt with her. You don't mind right, Cara?" Eric winked at Cara, making her giggle. 

It was the first time Al saw her smile since their fight.

"Are you really worried about her or are you just checking to see if your charm works on her?" Al asked, his annoyance clear with the tone of his voice.

"Calm down." Eric said, rolling his eyes. 

Cara seemed to have come to her senses in their exchange, when Al turned to look at her, she was no longer smiling and carried a scowl on her face. 

"Will you let me go to school today?" Cara asked Al, shifting the topic.

"Have you calmed down and do you now understand why I had to lock you up in here?" Al asked Cara. 

He knew there was a possibility that she would lie to them, but he knew Cara, her pride wouldn't let her do that.

"No." Cara said as she looked Al directly in the eyes. "You still had no right to treat me that way. So if you won't be letting me go to school, out! Both you and Eric!" 

Cara pointed to the door, much to Al's disappointment.

He wanted to argue with her, but they would be late for class. 

"My mom will visit you, he arrived this morning and told me she wanted to see you." Al said as he dragged Eric out of the room to gather their school things.

In the car to the bus stop Eric sighed and shook his head. 

"You know this is all a big miscommunication, right?" Eric pointed out to Al.

"I know." Al nodded. He wasn't stupid. "It's still too fresh for either of us to understand what the other is trying to say."

"Oh, come on Al, we might be fifteen but you are smarter and more mature than how you look." Eric rolled his eyes as he turned his back on his cousin.

"Drop it Eric." Al hissed.

Eric knew not to bring up the topic again when his cousin was angry.

For the rest of the day Al and Eric pretended that nothing was wrong.

When asked where Cara was, they simply said she was sick. Peter Jao had also called in to inform the school so that Cara would be excused. 

At the end of the day Al and Eric stood at the bus stop, waiting for two different buses. 

Al would be going to the Dean family mafia headquarters, while Eric would go to the Rocci family mafia headquarters at the other end of the city.

"Good luck." Al told his cousin as he looked down. "It won't be an easy mission and this could go on for months, or maybe even longer."

"I know." Eric said with a nod. "I'm sure mom won't make us move until this whole issue is wrapped up and tucked away." 

"My bus is here, I'll see you at home." Al nodded as the bus came to a halt and he got on.

Eric was smiling and waving as the bus pulled away.

The commute to the Dean Family Mafia Headquarters took Al thirty minutes. 

When he got there, he rushed to the designated room where they were all supposed to meet up. He was sure he would be the last to arrive since he was coming from school.

"You're late." Endrick hissed as soon as Al entered. 

"Sorry, sir. The bus took a while to arrive." Al said, panting as he bowed toward Hendrick.

"Sit." Hendrick instructed.

Unfortunately the only seat left available was next to Sora. Al couldn't believe his luck as he sat down next to the woman who clearly hated him.

"You can't be legal." Sora said as she gave Al a disgusted look. 

She then turned to face the front before calling Henrick's attention.

"Since when has the Dean Family Mafia been allowing children into our ranks? This one is clearly a minor." Sora complained.

Al watched as everyone nodded, he sank in his seat and scanned the room. He knew everyone there, everyone except one man, the traitor.

Luke Lopez looked nothing like most of the goons in the underworld. 

He was well dressed, his features were quite sharp, he didn't look like an ordinary member of the Mafia. 

Most men in the Mafia or Gangs had a roughed up look about them, Luke was the total opposite. 

He seemed more suited for small modeling gigs than being a lackey in the Mafia if Al was being honest. 

Al couldn't help but wonder if that was the reason Luke chose to betray them, he wanted out of the Mafia and he wanted to live a life different from what he had now.

The Underworld was never known for letting people go so easily. Even Francesca Rocci couldn't shake her Mafia family, but then again, it was by choice that she was still involved.

"Hey kid, I'm talking to you. Get your head out of your ass." Hendrick told Al, snapping his fingers, pulling Al from his thoughts. 

"Oh, sorry, just a bit out of it today." Al said, shaking his head. "What did you ask?"

"How long have you been in the Dean Family Mafia?" Hendrick repeated himself.

"A year." Al answered confidently. 

It was the truth, Luke could ask around and they would tell him that Al had been around for over a year at that point.

"So the Dean Family is going against the king's bottomline?" Someone asked. "Aren't the king and the Don friends?"

"I guess sometimes, they disagree on things." Hendrick said with a shrug not wanting to delve into the matter.