Lady and the Tramp II

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Luke was trying to keep up with Angel. He had lost the blonde quite a while ago, and now was wandering in certain directions merely by instinct. The mix of a shuffle and a jog he had going gave him such a rush; his dads never let him out in the night. It was invigorating, the way the streets were so calm and the young boy seemed to hold so much power. Regardless, though, Luke was getting tired, so his combination of transportation was turned into just a straight shuffle.

It took Luke no less than another ten minutes until he found the location that Angel had entered. He’d caught up with the girl not too long before, a flash down the alley leading him in the right direction.

Luke pushed the banged up door to the building at the end of the alley open, sticking his head in and peeking around cautiously. What was laid out before him shocked the boy like nothing ever had. There were people everywhere, alive and awake as if it was three in the afternoon. They were dancing, listening to music, talking, and much more. Smoke filled the air, and drinks were being passed around constantly. Luke smiled to himself at the sight, pushing the door the rest of the way open and walking in. Whatever this place was, he definitely wanted to be a part of it.

As Luke threw his jacket onto a not-so-reliable looking chair, he noticed Angel walking up to a man who looked to be about in his thirties, the same buff man that had been in his alley hours earlier. Luke’s gaze caught the attention of the two, and in result, various other people’s in the building, too. The man Angel had been interacting with’s eyes had locked on to Luke’s in particular, a questioning, yet threatening glare being passed from the older to the younger. The stranger began to walk forward with that, shouts of “Go, Buster!” and “Thataway, Buster! Bust his ass off, Buster.”

Luke backed up cautiously in response, wincing as Buster asked, “Why are you here? You think you’re man enough to take Buster on?”

“Uh, no- Well, I, that’s not why I’m here. I just stumbled upon this place, I swear to god I’m not here to cause trouble.” Luke sputtered, a pleading look being sent behind Buster to Angel.

Buster’s gave broke out into a smile at that, as he laughed, “Don't be afraid! Have no fear!” The muscley man motioned for Luke to follow him, as he continued to speak. “Welome to the junkyard. Here, there are no rules.” Buster informed, nodding his head to people as he passed them. “That's right, boys. The junkyard rules this town, and Buster rules the junkyard.”

Luke was so mesmerized by what he was seeing that he didn’t notice Buster leading him up to Angel once more. The scene caught his attention when Buster was wrapping an arm around the girl’s waist, shouting, “Angel! Angel! Talk to me. Who's the king of the junkyard?”

“Oh, you are, Buster.” The blonde replied with a grimace, eyes rolling as she countered with, “And it's quite a kingdom you've got here.”

“That's my girl.” Buster stated proudly, rubbing the girl’s side.

Walking off, Buster ignored Angels cries of, “I'm not your girl. I don't belong to anyone!”

“Hey, hey. Look here, you guys. I'd say we got a new recruit.” Spoke another voice, this time coming from one of the scrawny looking boys that Luke also recognized from his morning encounter. Sparky, if he remembered correctly. Said boy was approaching him with the rest of their group, Scratchy, Ruby, Francois, and Mooch.

“The little house boy!” Francois teased, followed by Mooch’s excited cheer of, “Hey, you snuck out!”

“Yeah,” Luke mumbled, trying to space himself out from the group as they interrogated him. None of the members seemed to get the hint, though, until Ruby finally came to Luke’s defense as he was almost cornered into a wall.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Watch it!” The brunette warned her friends, before taking Luke’s hand and pulling him out of the circle. Luke looked up at her gratefully, surprised as she pulled him into a hug.

“Oh, be still, my heart. I'm getting a bad case of puppy love.” Ruby cooed at the boy as she pulled away, causing a blush and a small laugh to rise from Luke. Although she could be quite embarrassing, Luke decided that he liked Ruby.

“Whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey, Ruby.” Buster scolded, shooing her away from the boy as he joined the little gathering they had going on. “I'm the top dog around here, and nobody joins the junkyard unless I say so.” Turning to Luke, Buster then asked, “So, what's your name, sport?”

“Name's Luke.” The questioned teen nodded.

Buster let out a chuckle. “Well, howdy, Luke. So, you saw us having some fun and thought you'd join right in, huh?”

“Yeah, sure.” Luke nodded once more, unsure of where Buster was taking this conversation.

“Hey, I hate to break the news to ya, champ…” Buster continued, “But not many house kids get to run in this pack.”

“I'm not one!” Luke argued quite defensively.

“Oh, you're not?” Buster laughed again, drawing the attention of the group to the license Luke was sporting. “Then what's this badge of respectability?”

The group of friends seemed to think this was hilarious, as they all cracked up at the mention of identification.

“Hey, collar boy!” Mooch joked, followed by Ruby’s mocking call of, “How's life on the end of that chain?”

“No way! I've had it with my home life.” Luke shook his head, “Nothing there but rules, rules, rules. I want to hang out with you guys, anything’s got to be better than that.”

Although Luke felt slightly attacked by the group, he knew it’d be worth it in the long run. He’d need people to depend on once he left home for good, but not people that would tie him down. The mere thought of being on his own would have scared the boy years prior, but now all Luke wanted to do was escape his responsibilities and explore the world as it truly was.

“I don't know, kid.” Buster sighed, “Do you really have what it takes? In junkyard society, we're repelled by all propriety, humility and modesty, good manners and sobriety. I’m sure your parents taught you all about that stuff, yeah? Is that why you’re messing around on the streets, to get them back for something?”

“I’m not getting back at anyone for anything, this is where I belong.” Luke replied, caught off guard when Angel joined the conversation.

“Yeah, he's got what it takes, Buster. I saw all his moves back in that alley.” Angel spoke confidently, as Luke cringed at the memory. At least Angel was sticking up for him.

“Talented as you could be, it ain't that easy, sport.” Buster warned, as Angel agreed with, “Every day out here is like a test of survival.”

“A test! Beautiful! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Good!” Buster suddenly whooped, turning to Angel and smirking, “Baby, I always get my best ideas when you're around. That's why you're my girl.”

“I'm not your girl.” Angel whispered under her breath, quite frustrated with the manner.

“Okay, Luke, we'll give you a shot, but you gotta pass a little test of courage in Reggie's alley.” Buster finally decided, his statement being met with whispers of, “What? Reggie's alley?” and, “But it's never been done before!”

“Come here. Don't listen to them. I got faith in you, kid. You’ll be fine, you’ve got spunk.” Buster said, wrapping an Arm around Luke’s shoulders comfortingly.

“Who is Reggie, anyway?” Luke asked tentatively, only to be met with a sly reply of, “You’ll see.”

“Did you call the police?” Alex asked Jack back at their house, walking over to the seated man and taking homage in his arms.

“Yes, love. No one’s seen him.” Jack answered, burying his nose in the brunet’s hair and closing his eyes.

“Oh, Jack. Scamp's never been out all night.” Alex continued to worry, tucking his knees up to his chest so that no part of him was touching the couch any longer. “So much could happen.”

“Hey, easy, pidge.” Jack smiled softly, securing his arms around his husband and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I know what it’s like out there, and it’s not easy, but Luke will be fine. He’s a smart kid, no matter how much he really shows it. Anyways, we'll find him before he gets himself in real trouble.”

The two were interrupted by a knock on the door. Alex got up to answer it, smiling when he was met with his friends, Jacque and Trusty.

“We came as soon as we heard.” Jacque stated with a frown, eyes lighting up a bit at the sight of the couple’s daughters bounding down the stairs.

“Aunt Jacque! Aunt Trusty!” Collette and Annette called out, followed by Danielle's cry of, “Luke ran away!”

“Not to worry, little ladies.” Trusty spoke up, always glad to see the three girls. “Say, have I ever told you girls about the time I saved your father from certain death?”

The sisters rolled their eyes fondly at this, because, yes, they had heard the story many times. Jack, who had joined the small gathering not too long prior, also let out a chuckle at the mention of the event.

“Here he goes again.” Jacque teased, before the conversation was turned back to Luke’s disappearance.

“He is going to get into so much trouble when he gets home.” Danielle grinned as she thought about it.

“Hmph! I don't even want him back.” Collette remarked, revelling in the peace and quiet that they have been granted within the last day.

“Yeah. Who cares? He should know better than to run off.” Annette agreed, trying not to laugh as Alex shot the three girls a warning-filled look.

“Uh, we really do miss him, dad.” Annette confessed, not wanting Alex to get mad at them, too.

“Well, we'll be back with your brother in no time.” Jacque stated confidently.

Trusty nodded in agreement, turning around as she called out, “Lady, Tramp, let's go.”

“Yeah, come on.” Jack urged, taking Alex’s hand. "There’s no telling what he’s getting into.”

Notes

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