Cheap Thrills

Jett hadn’t seen the man reaching for the gun until it was too late. The world seemed to move in slow motion after he heard the gunshot. He was too shocked to move, his body frozen in place.
It felt like a pinch when it hit him, right in the stomach. That was it? He thought maybe it hadn’t hit him after all, it couldn’t possibly hurt that little. But then he was reaching down and sure enough, there was already blood staining his shirt, dripping down his abdomen. He thought he was fine, really. But then his knees were giving out and he found himself lying on the ground, unable to do anything but stare open mouthed as the man ran off into the darkness.
And then he realized that maybe the absence of pain was a bad thing. The edge of his vision was already going black, his eyes drooping.
Looked like his scamming was finally catching up with him.

Jett Jones was a prick.
He had little regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and certainly didn’t care about hurting someone else as long as it benefitted him. He was too smart and manipulative for his own good.
It was why he had found work as a drug dealer despite having never done anything himself other than smoke weed. Druggies were possibly the easiest group of people to manipulate in the world. They were willing to do anything for their precious drugs. And they never even realized the shit Jett sold them was fake until he was long gone. But really, he didn’t know how more people weren’t in this business. A baggy of oregano doubled as marijuana, baby powder for cocaine, bright colored children’s vitamins as ecstasy. He received hundreds of dollars in a single night of work when he had never spent more than twenty on any of his “products.” But he never dealt in the same place twice, just in case someone wasn’t very happy with him once they realized they’d been screwed. This was a smart idea. But unfortunately Jett had never came up with a plan of action if someone discovered the trick before he had time to escape.
And now here he was, about to die because of his damn cockiness, because he had been convinced that he was smarter than all of the pathetic meth heads he would encounter.

Eustass was one the prowl for new pack members. It was something he should have done long ago, but he'd been swept away by Thatcher and the start of their family. After that, it was raising his children that kept him busy. He couldn't put it off any longer. The Luno pack had been attacked recently by a band of hunters. Eustass was an exceptionally strong alpha, but even he wouldnt be able to take on an entire group of hunters on his own. They were skilled and well informed on werewolves and their weaknesses. With no pack to protect his home, the entire family was at risk.
Eustass couldn't have that.
So he was finally on the hunt, Vitaly at his side for back up. He had been hesitant to bring the boy, but Vitaly was valuable as a former assassin and Eustass had no one else to ask. He'd protect the Russian with his life, if that was what it came down to.
The man paused as the blast from a gun echoed throughout the area, metallic scent of blood hitting the air only seconds later.
"That sounds promising -ya. Let's go check it out." The alpha stayed infront of Vitaly at all times, leading them through several grungy streets before he finally reached the source of all the commotion.
It was just a kid. He was lying in the filthy street, blood puddling rapidly around him. On a normal night, Eustass would have acted much faster.
But this was just a kid -
Having children of his own had softened him, not physically, but emotionally to the point where the first thing Eustass did was drop to his knees beside the boy, hands unfathomably gentle as they cradled the kids head.
"Hey, you look a little young to be dying out here -ya." Eustass was carefully examining the boys injuries, his heart sinking at their severity. He always prefered consent when handing out the bite, but in the case he didn't think he could wait much longer. The wound was fatal. His only hope was to administer the bite and hope for the change to come.

Jett could comprehend the man's words in his half-conscious state, but he couldn't even try to form a coherent response. Instead he was trying to blink his eyes open, feeling like there were weights attached to each of them. It was a constant struggle and even when he succeeded, everything was blurry.
There was a man hovering over him, huge with fiery red hair and glowing red eyes to match. He should be completely terrifying. But for some reason, Jett didn't feel like the man would hurt him.
He still attempted to move away though, just because he couldn't like the thought of a stranger putting their hands on him while he was so vulnerable.
"G'way from me... who're you?" His words came out slurred and garbled and he could only hope that the man could understand them.

"Calm down, kid. I'm the man who's hopefully about to save your life." If not, he'd still be the last thing Jett ever saw. Time was of the essence, but Eustass still found himself hesitant. Even if this worked, the boy would experience the worst pain of his life going through the change. As his alpha, Eustass would do everything in his power to ease that hurt.
"Just listen though-ya, if you see a bright light, don't you dare go into it. You fight, alright? You fight as hard as you can and i'll take care of the rest." Eustass took one more second to compose himself, cradling Jett in his arms as he would a small infant. And then he took the leap, allowing his fangs to sink into the tender flesh of Jett's neck. Pulling back, he held onto the boy tighter. All he could do now was wait and hope for the best.

Jett jammed his elbow into Eustass's gut as the sharp pain of fangs in his neck registered. He was a fighter, even on death's doorstep.
But then the real pain was setting in, a burning radiating from the still tender spot on his neck, going all the way down to the bone. He was on fire and had no fight left in him. All he could do was scream, clutching onto the man who had inflicted this pain upon him and begging him to make it stop.
As the minutes passed and his suffering only worsened, he began to wonder if he had truly died and this was hell. Surely he was headed there one day and this was definitely the worst pain he'd ever felt. "I want to die." He pleaded with the red haired man. "Make it stop."
He was begging for what felt like years, until his eyes were bloodshot and his throat raw from screaming.
And then it was over, nothingness replacing the pain. There was nothing, not even his body aching like it should be after all the stress. He felt perfectly fine.

Eustass held the boy until he was certain Jett was through the worst of it, his entire body relaxing as he felt the bite take.
"We'll take him home now. He's going to make it." The alpha flashed Vitaly a relieved grin, carefully hoisting Jett with him as he stood. He carried the boy home himself, listening intently to each beat of Jett's heart assuring him that administering the bite had been the right call. Eustass didn't let the boy go until they were safely back at the house. He had several spare rooms made up, picking out the one with the most comfortable bed to lay Jett out on. For the rest of the night, Eustass sat at the boy's bedside keeping silent vigil. When Jett finally woke, he'd find the alpha slumped in a chair just next to the bed, far enough that the boy could feel safe, but still close enough to reach him if needed.

Jett was immediately on edge when he woke, staring at the room around him for a moment, trying to assess his surroundings.
Then he saw Eustass, nearly jumping out of the bed altogether at how close the man was.
"What do you want?" He spoke firmly, eyes scanning over every inch of the redhead. Then he paused, glancing down at his abdomen where he knew the gunshot wound had been. He just remembered, he had been shot. Why the hell wasn't he in a hospital. But upon lifting his shirt up to examine his injury, he found nothing but his usual smooth pale skin.
Something was not right.
"Who the hell even are you?" He was folding his arms across his chest then, attempting to look stubborn and maintain some control of the situation even though he knew he had none. This man was fucking huge. "What happened to me?"

"Well, you were bleeding out from a gunshot wound when I found you. It was fatal." Eustass hadn't moved, sitting still and slouched as not to intimidate the boy any further. "And I am the man who so graciously decided to save your life. My name is Eustass." The man wore an amused smile as he watched Jett size him up, knowing that there was nothing he could do to take away from his towering form. The kid would get used to it, and eventually he'd feel safe whenever Eustass was around.
"Oh, and I guess it's worth mentioning that I am a werewolf. An alpha. I bit you last night, and luckily it took, so you lived. But because it took, you underwent the changing. You're a werewolf now, too. A beta. My beta." The alpha finally moved, sitting up straighter and allowing his fangs to show. They were sharp and powerful, glinting dangerously in the light coming in from the window.
"You'll have fangs now, too. As your alpha, i'll teach you how to use them and how to control your changing. You'll have a home here, and all I want in return is your loyalty." The kid could refuse him, but it wouldn't be long before he was drawn back to his alpha.
"How does that sound kid?"

Jett listened to the man's words, brow furrowed as he tried to comprehend it all. He was immediately skeptical. The guy didn't look insane, but Jett was sure he had lost his fucking marbles, preaching about werewolves and fangs and alphas and all this bullshit. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Wasn't being shot bad enough?
He knew it would be smarter to play along, as these crazy bastards could be quite easy to anger and this man could destroy him with no effort at all. But he groaned anyway, refusing to sit here and be the man's playmate in whatever pretend game of werewolves this bastard wanted to play.
"Listen buddy, I've seen this shit in all the crime shows and I'm sorry but I'm not your dead husband or son or brother or whoever the fuck you lost that you're trying to replace. And I don't know what mind games you're trying to play with the werewolf shit or if you're really just fucked in the head but I'm not really buying what you're selling. I appreciate whatever magic you worked on my gunshot wound though, so thanks for that I guess."

"Ah, I see. You're going to be stubborn and make this hard." Eustass merely shrugged at the boy, not at all bothered by his outburst. The kid had a right to be skeptical and scared. He would come around.
"Its your call kid. You can go. I'll be here when you're ready to talk more. If I feel you shift though, I'm coming to get you. I can' have you roaming the streets and hurting people because you don't know how to control yourself." The man stood then, his broad form towering and intimidating. Despite his stature, Jett had no reason to fear him. He would bring no harms to his beta's. It was his duty to protect and teach them. Jett would learn that soon enough.
"We have food downstairs if you're hungry before you go. When you need me, you'll be able to find me-ya." Eustass shifted then, his eyes burning red and bright. He had no want to scare the kid, but he couldn't have Jett wandering off thinking that his situation wasn't serious. He was a wolf now. He had potential to kill or seriously hurt someone.
"Some myths are true kid. Us wolves happen to be one of them." The alpha made his way to the doorway, pausing one more time to offer Jett a wide and toothy smile.
"You're still welcome to stay, kid. Like it or not, you're part of a pack now. You'll always have a home."

Being set free was exactly what Jett was hoping for, despite the fact that he had never been actually trapped in the first place. But seeing that Eustass was willing to let him go so easily had him moving to his feet, jogging down the hall after him, surprised when he felt completely fine, body not aching like it should after his ordeal.
"Hey, don't walk away from me." Jett's words were spoken as a command, not a request. He managed to always act as if he were in charge somehow. "You don't just drop the werewolf bomb on someone and then walk off if they don't believe you. Explain." He gave Eustass no room to argue, daring to reach out and grab the man's arm, tugging him back. "Explain everything." He wanted to know all of it, if he really had these fangs and glowing eyes, what all that burning pain had been, why he had felt drawn to follow the man when he left. What the hell was going on?

Eustass turned as he felt the boys hand on him, his expression one of amusement and pride. Jett wasn't his kid, but the boy was his very first beta and he was proving himself to be brave.
"Wow kid, your balls must be the size of watermelons. No one's ever been man enough to physically grab me. You got guts. I like that, ya." The alpha wasn't bothered by Jett's demanding him, if anything he was impressed. This kid just saw him shift. He had no idea what Eustass may be capable of, and yet he was still bossing the werewolf around. It was endearing, really.
"What's there to explain? I told you, werewolves are a thing. I was born this way. Im a true, full blooded alpha. Some people get turned, like you did. Sometimes they are strong enough to become an alpha themselves, but its rare. And it only happens when their initial alpha dies. Otherwise, they are like you. You are a beta, my beta. Being a beta means you belong to a pack. All wolves have one, even if they choose not to honor it. If you do choose to try and go solo, you'll be considered a omega. They are the weakest in the world of wolves. They can still shift, but they aren't protected by a pack. They're easily picked off. Im not saying that to scare you. I just want you to understand that you're safer with me. As your alpha, it's my job to take care of you and teach you how to control yourself." Eustass gave this a moment to sink in, watching Jett carefully in order to gauge the boy's reaction. "I get that this is all hard to believe, and you'll have plenty of time to adjust. But the alternative to this, was me letting you bleed out and die on that filthy street. Maybe it isn't what you wanted, but at least you're alive. You're alive and now you have a family. You don't have to like us kid, but you need to accept us. This is your reality now. Denying it isn't helping anyone, especially not you."

Jett listened, dark eyes trained on Eustass's face, trying to examine and see if there was any sign that the man was lying. But he found nothing.
Of course if the man was truly delusional he wouldn't think he was lying, but this was besides the point.
Jett... kind of wanted to believe him. No matter how fucking ridiculous it was.
"I guess if you're a psycho then I'm going down with you because I kind of believe it." He stared down at himself then, as if expecting his body to look like a werewolf's. But nothing seemed different. "If your job as my big bad alpha wolf is to teach me then you better get to it. How do I make those come out?" He arched an eyebrow, being so bold as to reach out and touch one of the man's sharp fangs protruding from his mouth.

Eustass's shoulders sagged with relief as Jett finally gave in. It didn't mean the kid would stay, but at least he wasn't doubting the situation anymore. The alpha could work with this.
"You don't know boundaries, do you kid?" Eustass allowed the boy to touch him, entirely entertained by Jett's bold nature. "I don't even know your name yet, and you've got your fingers on my fangs. You move fast." The alpha was teasing now, nipping playfully at Jett's hand. "It'll probably take time for you to get it, but eventually the shift will be easy. It's like reaching for a glass of water. You don't think about it, you just do it."Eustass offered out his hands and allowed sharp claws to appear where his nails had been as an example. "I think you'll be a natural once you've got the hang of it. You sure as hell have plenty of potential, ya." The man gestured back down the hall. "Whenever you're ready, i'll introduce you to the rest of the pack and we'll start your training. You can pick any unclaimed room in the home as yours."

"I don't have to tell you anything." Jett spoke in response to the man's comment about not knowing his name. And yet, it seemed like he was just doing this to be stubborn because immediately afterwards he told the man anyways. "But my name is Jett. Jett Jones." He tried to mimic Eustass's movements, holding up his hand and trying to will claws to appear. But nothing. He only groaned then, deciding to wait and listen to what the alpha was saying for now. He didn't know why the man saying he had plenty of potential made him almost proud. He'd never needed anyone's approval before now, what made this big bastard any different? "Do I have to live here?" He questioned, arching an eyebrow. Once again though, it was just a case of him being stubborn and wanting to act like he was doing Eustass a favor by staying here, even though he truly wanted to.

"Man, you've got a stubborn streak in you that won't quit." The alpha gave a fond chuckle as he watched Jett attempt to form claws. The kid was endearing. "You don't have to live here. It's just safer for you to have the protection of a pack. I'm not forcing you to do anything. You aren't a prisoner here. Im just offering you a place to call home. And you don't have to decide right now, ya. You can spend the day here and see how you like it. Then you can go and do whatever you want as long as you aren't hurting anyone." Eustass wasn't particularly concerned about Jett leaving, he could already sense the boy wanting to stay. And even if he did go, Eustass would be able to save him before anything bad happened. He was a caring alpha, not gathering a pack in the hopes of power, but instead wanting to expand his family. The man had always been a sucker for strays.
"Now, do you want to go eat and meet the rest of your pack or do you want to hide up here all day and keep trying for claws?"

"I'll meet them. And I am fucking starving." Jett nodded slowly, though still eyeing his hands, glaring, as if trying to intimidate his claws into obeying him. "Are there a lot of them?" He questioned, following the large man as he led them to wherever they were eating. He didn't particularly like people and didn't know if he'd want to meet them all at once but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he'd immediately feel comfortable around them, like he did with Eustass. Either way, he figured it couldn't be too dreadful. And if he was going to see these people a lot, he better meet them sooner rather than later.

"Not really. I have two kids, Malakai and Oleander. They were both born wolves. Thatcher is my husband. He's in the service. He wasn't born a wolf, I had to turn him after he was wounded in battle. They didn't expect him to live so his best friend brought him here, ya." Eustass led them into the kitchen where he'd already prepared breakfast. He'd had time while Jett was still resting. It had taken the alpha several hours before he felt safe enough to leave the boy, but Jett eventually stabilized and Eustass wanted him well taken care of whenever he woke.
"His bestfriend's name is Bellamy. He's a soldier too, but he belongs to a different pack. Normally I wouldn't bother with rival pack members but he's special to Thatcher and his mate Vitaly is my best friend. Vitaly came from Russia. He met and married Bellamy and they adopted a child together. That's Nikita. He isn't a kid anymore, twenty four years old now, ya. Legally he isn't even mine, but I think of him as my own. He has one younger brother, a bit of a miracle baby. Vitaly came from a bad place. He'd been sterilized there, so they never expected to conceive a kid naturally. Vitaly had a lot of work done on himself, dangerous surgeries and insane hormone treatments. They paid off though, and he gave birth to Boyd. Its only six people, but they mean the world to me, ya. You'll be one of them now, part of my family. It means whatever you need, whenever you need it, you've got me." Eustass sat the boy down at his dining room table, turning to go and make him a plate of food.
"Im not trying to overwhelm you kid. I just want you to know that you aren't alone here, ya."

Jett only nodded slowly before seating himself at the table, watching Eustass make him a plate. It was odd, already feeling more like a typical family with this stranger than he ever had with his own parents, who were always gone for work, leaving him to do everything for himself. Even when they were home they never sat at the table and ate together, they would each make themselves a plate before carrying it off to their own separate rooms.
This was nice.
"Thank you." The words were uncharacteristically kind from the normally cold boy. "For making me breakfast and everything." Everything Eustass was telling him was a bit overwhelming, but he didn't quite mind.
Then a thin boy with chestnut brown hair was yawning as he made his way down the stairs, hugging Eustass around the waist before he even noticed Jett at the table.
"Thanks daddy." He murmured tiredly before standing on tip toes to press a kiss to the man's cheek. "You're the greatest." He got himself a plate before taking a seat at the table across from Jett, only then opening his eyes enough to see the unfamiliar boy sitting there. "Who's this?" He arched an eyebrow at his father, much more awake at seeing a stranger in his home.

"That's Jett Jones. He's part of the pack now, so be nice to him. He might be living here, but even if he isnt you should get used to him, ya. He's one of us now." Eustass brought the plates to the table, obviously proud as he introduced his first beta. "And this is my son, Malakai. I don't have many rules here but ask that you pull your weight and restrain from any physical fighting. There will be arguments in any pack, but I don't tolerate real violence." The alpha took a seat between the two boys, merely taking a moment to watch them and savor the moment. His little family was growing.
Eustass glanced up as he noticed more movement in the doorway. Oleander was padding into the kitchen, eyes sweeping over everyone at the table while his expression remained blank. He made his own plate, and sat across from the unfamiliar face.
"So I see dads taking in more strays. Wonderful. Im Oleander. Don't touch my things and we'll get along just fine, Mr.Jones." The boy rolled his eyes, barely taking the time to glance Jett over before he was on to better things.

Jett eyed the two new boys, making an attempt to look at least somewhat friendly as they were introduced.
"Nice to meet you." He murmured quietly. Despite Eustass saying this was his family now, he still felt very much like a stranger. Normally he was much more brash and aggressive in situations where he was meeting new people but Eustass was being kind, opening up his home to him. Jett wanted to respect him for now, not be rude to his children when they'd just opened their eyes. He'd assert his authority later, when he was more comfortable.
A moment later and Thatcher was lumbering into the kitchen. He was grinning, as usual, blue eyes shining brightly as he made his way to the table, pressing kisses to the top of Malakai's and Oleander's heads.
"Morning, my beautiful boys." He smiled at them before making his way to Eustass. "Don't think I forgot my biggest beautiful boy." He snickered, capturing the man's lips in a quick but passionate kiss. It might seem like a bit much for a quick morning kiss but Thatcher could never help himself. He'd just gotten home last week so he was still taking as much of the man's affection as he could get.
"Hey there, newbie." He nodded at Jett then as he took a seat at the table after getting himself a plate of food. Eustass had woken him up immediately after bringing Jett back to the house to let him know they'd found someone. "I'm Thatcher. I'm the one stuck with Eustass's cranky ass for life." He cracked a grin. "But really, nice to meet you. I hope you make yourself at home here."

The love Eustass felt warmed the entire room, his feelings as an alpha surging through every member of the pack. He was always like this when Thatcher came home, so proud and overjoyed to see the man there was no one who could be around him and remain unaffected.
"You guys are pretty fucking gross, you know that?" Oleander watched his mother sit down, quietly sharing in Eustass's joy at having the man home. His expression remained passive, even as he pulled at the chair to his right and motioned for Thatcher to sit next to him. If anyone were to mention it, Ollie would deny wanting his mother with him. But that didn't change the reality that he did want Thatch as close as possible, as long as possible. Eustass could feel it, and he hoped that Thatcher felt it too.
"We know. We aren't sorry." The alpha smiled at his son, leaning over to place one last kiss to his mate's temple. They were nearly inseparable when Thatcher was home, Eustass always trying to make up for lost time.
"Vitaly and Bellamy should be here soon. Then you'll have met the whole pack." The alpha nodded to Jett, carefully watching the boy to assure he wasn't overwhelmed by all the new faces.
Just as Eustass said, Bellamy was knocking on the door soon after. The rest of his family knew better than to knock, all having a spare key of their own, but the solider himself wasnt home enough to feel comfortable just barging into Eustass's house. Soon the broad shouldered blonde was wandering into the kitchen, pausing as he found everyone gathered around the table.
"Good morning? You guys are all up early." He'd already noticed Jett, knew that Vitaly had gone out the night before to help Eustass locate the boy. Bellamy had hated letting his lover go, wanting every second of his time home to be spent holding his mate and making up for lost time with his children. He'd slept in Nikita's room until Vitaly returned home, and since then he hadn't let go of the Russian's hand, their fingers still intertwined as he stepped into the kitchen. The soldier paused beside Jett, offering out his free hand in introduction.
"Im Bellamy Odair. I live next door." He motioned to Vitaly, a proud grin splitting his features everytime he so much as looked at his lover. "And this is Vitaly, my mate. He was with Eustass last night when they found you." The soldier nodded towards his children, blue eyes glinting with adoration.
"That's Nikita, my oldest son." Bellamy reached out to wrap an arm around Nikita's shoulders, tugging the boy closer so Jett could get a better look at one of his proudest accomplishments. Bellamy loved his children, that much was obvious.
"And this is Boyd, my youngest." The soldier glanced back for Boyd, not surprised to see that he had eyes only for Malakai.
Boyd hadn't even noticed the new face in the crowd. He had been immediately drawn to Malakai's side, stumbling over his words in an attempt to say a simple 'good morning'.
"Don't mind him. He's just easily distracted." Bellamy called the boys name, waiting for Boyd to stutter out a few more words to Malakai before he made it to his father's side. It was only then he noticed Jett, his cheeks coloring immediately as he realized how rude he must seem.
"Sorry about that, I uh, I guess I didn't see you there. Im Boyd." The boy had been rubbing his forearms nervously, only stopping long enough to offer Jett his hand.

It was all Jett could do not to literally gape at the newcomers. He could not remember ever seeing a family that was all so damn handsome.
"Yeah, nice to meet you all." Jett nodded, eyes lingering on Bellamy and his rippling muscles before drifting to Nikita who was already moving to pull up a chair beside Oleander, stealing food off of the boy's plate instead of getting his own.
Then he saw Boyd, just as the boy was tearing his eyes away from Malakai and awkwardly apologizing for ignoring him.
"It's okay." He assured. "I'm Jett." Boyd wasn't as strikingly muscular and handsome as his brother or father, but he was gorgeous in his own way. He had softer features, a slimmer body. But Jett was still interested, regardless. He was confused as to how Mal practically ignored the boy, despite obviously having all of his attention.
Jett was skilled in reading people. He'd always been more perceptive than others. But it didn't take a genius to see the way Boyd was constantly rubbing his forearms. Jett had spent enough time with addicts to know what this meant. He shook the boy's hand, his touch lingering for a moment longer than necessary as his eyes lingered over Boyd's forearm. He glanced around then, seeing that everyone seemed to have moved on from him for the moment, gathered around the table.
"Heroin?" He arched an eyebrow. His face wasn't exactly friendly but he didn't appear to be judging either. He was just stating a fact. Boyd was clearly struggling and in a way he wanted to let him know that it was alright, he knew what he was going through and was here to talk.

"O-Oh I uh, I..." Boyd was immediately reduced to sputtering, face suddenly flushed in his embarrassment. He was just meeting this boy, and already he'd been pegged as an addict. He knew Jett wasn't judging him and he didn't need to, Boyd did that himself.
"Yeah. Th-Thats uhm, that's right." The boy's green eyes, which had been bright with curiosity only moments before had clouded over with shame. "It was a bad habit, a-and uh, it made me a bad person." It had made him distant and almost cold. He'd made his mother cry. "But I-Im getting better so you uh, you wont have to worry about me, okay? I was a junky and i'll always be pegged as one but im really trying to recover. I'm uh, I'm a year and a half sober." At first it had been only heroin, but eventually it was alcohol and pills too. Boyd still craved Oxy more than anything, but he was doing a good job at finding other things to occupy his mind. Malakai was one of those things, but as it turned out thoughts of Mal only made things worse. When Boyd was buried by rejection, he always craved a release.
"So I uhm, I really hope we can still be friends." Boyd drew his hand back, fingers immediately finding their way once again to his scarred forearms. He forced himself to look Jett in the eye, sincere as he spoke. "But I uh, I'd understand if you don't want to hang out with me. You can tell me. I'll uh, I'll stay out of your way."