Held at gunpoint

        The passenger cabin never felt so safe. Certainly the bullet could shatter the glass like paper, but I just couldn't envision it as a possibility. The muzzle was pressed against the glass, the shouting was distorted - and the gun loaded.

        Of course one doesn't just wake up in the middle of such a situation, there is always a series of events leading up to it. Mine begins with an aquaintance 'dating' two friends of mine without their knowledge of this duality. One was oblivious, the other slightly suspicious - and I was the point of reference for this triangle. "Dennis," I said, "Dennis, you need to cut this out or it'll blow up in your face. Just resolve this before Andreea gets back from her cruise and I won't say anything. You just can't keep fucking my friends over like that, not just because of morals but also because I'll look as bad as you when this flies open. And it will." But, if there was one thing Dennis was good at it was procrastinating. A week passed, then two - still no change of situation. The other girl became suspicious also and started questioning me. Then I cracked. Laying the cards on the table, Dennis was slapped and deserted; Lindsey was distraught by the betrayal. Somehow over the course of the next week Lindsey and I hooked up, it was clear that this antagonized Dennis even further.
        Next month Lindsey, Jan and I are on our way back from a movie, Jan mentions having to drop something off at Dennis'. Naturally, this strikes me as a bad idea, but like so many other times I go along with it. Jan talks to Dennis on the phone, tells him that Lindsey and I are riding along; Dennis says it's cool. After all, this happened a month ago, Dennis is rather short, I could easily subdue him if the need arose. We pull into his driveway, all the lights of the house are out - this is strange, since Dennis was having a party a few minutes ago. Brise, the only remnant, tells us that Dennis left to get his gun. We discard this as ridiculous and not a threat; he said he was cool with us coming over and almost everyone down here has a gun, certainly he wouldn't use it against us. We retire to the car and wait for his arrival, cracking a few beers in the process. Small-talk ensues but the air is still dense, the gun-bit doesn't sit right with anyone. The house at the corner is illuminated in a flash, then the headlights point at us shortly before the jeep screeches into Dennis' driveway. Dennis jumps out of his jeep holding something in his hand, yelling.
        I instantly forgot what he yelled, however it was one of those things that people wielding guns stereotypically yell - "I'm gonna fucking kill you" or something along those lines. I grab Jan by the shoulder, half-violently: "Jan, get the hell out of here!" But Jan barely moves. He pulls the car up the street, I still don't understand why he pulled over. Dennis soon caught up, I catch him slipping a clip into the 9mm as he passes the car on the left. Parading around the front, he waves his gun around and takes the safety off: "Get the fuck out of the car, all of you." No one moves. "I said get the fuck out. I see the gun pressed against the glass, four inches from my head. Seeing no other choice of action, I leave the car. "You're going to fucking pay for this you piece of shit!"

        I don't know how I realized this in my state of mind, but it hit me. Both of us are German. The only reason he would speak English is so everyone around him could hear him. This was a show to him, a parade of power - I knew he tortured animals, but not how far he would take this. The only way out would be to play along, as much as it sickened me. "Dennis - you want to go to jail? Fuck up the rest of your life with this? There's no way you can get away with all these witnesses - think about it." - "I don't fucking care! You fucked me over, you fucked her, now you'll fucking pay!" I knew he wouldn't shoot. "Dennis - If you kill me, you're going to fry. You know this, I know this. If you don't kill me, I'll go in the hospital and you'll go to jail - AND your parents will pay for everything!" He seems to think for a second, Ben reaches for the gun and Dennis surrenders it. "Then hit me," says Dennis. Christ. "Fuck that, so I'll have started this bullshit?" I was pissed, he offered to fight in his backyard. This was all a show to him, holding me and my then-girlfriend at gunpoint.

        I restrained from physical assault, but a week later he was expelled from school and enrolled in a military academy in upstate Georgia. I didn't even have to turn him in, some teacher overheard him bragging about the incident in class the following Monday morning.