Now that Stephen was officially one of them – scratch that, one of their *companions* – Arthur started treating him with even more enthusiasm.

  Which was only natural, like when you were dating a girl.

  Before you were official, holding hands was all awkward and hesitant. But once you put a ring on it, *not* holding hands was practically a crime.

  Fueled by alcohol, their bond grew stronger, and soon they were slinging arms around each other and belting out songs while stumbling around.

  Thankfully, bars in those days were used to that kinda thing, so nobody thought they were crazy.

  Some other tipsy patrons saw them singing, dancing, and rapping, and joined in, swaying to the rhythm.

  Soon, the whole place had turned into a lively dance floor, even the bartender, Martin, couldn't resist joining in on the fun.

  The night flew by, so that when Stephen woke up the next day, his head felt like it was about to explode.

  He rubbed his temples and squinted his eyes open.

  He was lying on a bed, and Arthur was nowhere to be seen.

  He groaned as he pushed himself up, every muscle in his body screamed in protest.

  "Damn it, what *did* I do last night?" He looked down at the assortment of bruises covering his body, his mind drawing a blank.

  Booze will get you every time, Stephen thought.

  He definitely couldn't drink like that again, blackout drunk was a dangerous place to be.

  He looked around the room, the decor seemed familiar.

  He threw back the curtains and peered outside. It was Valentine's main street. He realized he was in Valentine's hotel.

  Looking at his disheveled state and the numerous rips in his clothes, Stephen grimaced.

  "Did I get into a fight or something?"

  Examining the tears in his shirt, it looked like someone had torn it off him pretty violently.

  These clothes were a lost cause. He dug out a spare set from his bag and went to the bathroom next door for a nice, long shower.

  Cleaned up and feeling slightly more human, Stephen stumbled down the stairs.

  He got downstairs to find Arthur was sitting at a table by the door, eating breakfast.

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  Seeing Stephen, he grinned. "Hey, sleeping beauty! You finally decided to grace us with your presence, it's almost noon!"

  Stephen pulled out his pocket watch and sure enough, it was past 12.

  He plopped down in the chair opposite Arthur and unceremoniously grabbed a water glass, chugging it down.

  "What happened last night? Did we get into a brawl?"

  "Oh yeah, big time." Arthur shrugged. "About halfway through the night, some tough guys walked in and started stirring up trouble. And you decided to put them in their place."

  "Next thing you know, the whole place erupts into chaos, and you’re beating the living daylights out of half the bar."

  Arthur stifled a laugh. "I've never seen anyone get so violent drunk like that before!"

  Stephen looked defeated. This was too ridiculous.

  Man, what a drunk.

  "I'm quitting alcohol, starting right now." He said sternly.

  Arthur burst out laughing, and said “rather than quitting drinking, you should try training it.”

  Stephen ordered a plate of food and the two ate a quick lunch. Then, they left the hotel together.

  Arthur suggested heading back to Horseshoe Overlook, and Stephen had no objections, since he had nowhere else to be.

  Horseshoe Overlook was just as peaceful as they remembered.

  "Freeze! Hands in the air!"

  As they approached the camp, someone jumped out of the trees, pointing a gun at them.

  "Come on, is that really necessary?"

  Arthur threw his hands up in the air, looking exasperated.

  Stephen squinted. It was Javier, on guard duty.

  "Haha, just kidding around!" Javier lowered his gun and laughed.

  "Weren't you supposed to be out hunting with Hosea? Where is the old timer? What about Mrs. Sadie?” Javier asked, curious.

  "Things got complicated, Hosea took Mrs. Sadie to Emerald Ranch." Arthur shrugged and gave him the quick version of the story.

  Always sad to hear, Javier sighed. "Life is full of one bad suprise after another, just gotta roll with the punches."

  "Maybe." Stephen patted his knife. "We can also hit back just as hard."

  "Hahaha! You're damn right!"

  Stephen's words clearly struck a chord, and the two laughed and walked into camp.

  "Hey, where's Dutch?" Arthur asked, scanning the camp for him.

  "He took Molly out for a walk, said he needed to clear his head."

  Javier smiled. "Said spending too much time in camp would make him go crazy."

  "Right, got a question?"

  "Of course, I invited Stephen to join us, so Dutch can make some welcomes? Right?"

  Arthur patted Stephen on the shoulder. "How can he not be a part of something so big?"

  "Wow…that’s great news. Welcome, buddy!”

  Javier rushed to offer his hand and gave Stephen a solid handshake. "We're family now."

  "I'm honored."

  Javier’s voice had carried. A lot of people in camp had heard. The others started rushing over to offer their congratulations.

  Lenny was ecstatic, throwing his arms around Stephen and grinning from ear to ear.

  As everyone was congratulating him, Dutch and his girlfriend, Molly, returned.

  Seeing all the commotion, he opened his arms wide and smiled at the crowd. "What's all this then? Old Dutch leaves for five minutes and you lot decide to have a party behind my back?"

  Arthur tugged Stephen forward. He beamed as he said, "Stephen agreed to join us last night. And I did.”

  "Hopefully you won't have a problem. Hope you excuse for my boldness."

  "Why would I? Great things only happen here. Welcome, here!"

  Dutch looked at them in surprise. He took Stephen's hand. "I hope we'll get along, Mr. Stephen Johnson."

  "I agree. You're a wise person. Dutch I am sure we will." Stephen replied, smiling.

  Now he was a member of the Van der Linde gang, and Dutch was his boss.

  A wonderful feelings.

  "Ladies and gentlemen."

  Dutch released Stephen's hand. He turned to face the rest of the camp.

  "As of now, Stephen Johnson is one of us. He's our new family member!"

  "Let's give a warm welcome to our new companion, our new comrade, our new family member!"

  "Ms. Grimshaw, bring out all the booze! Mr. Pearson, you’re going to be busy tonight. In honor of our new friend, we'll need lots and lots of food!"