In high school, two of my best friends (#1 and #2) at the time got into some conflict. #1 had a thing with a very pretty (but flirtatious) girl, and then she shifted attention to #2. #1 was a scrawny guy (while #2 was pretty athletic) and hung with a "tough" crowd (i.e., gangster-wannabes), and he would show up to #2's high school with a couple of buddies to jump him.
#1 ignored my pleas to stop, and through the grapevine I heard he disregarded me as a friend. #2 challenged #1 to a one-on-one fight, but #2 and I knew #1 and his crew did not fight fair (i.e., have heard countless stories about them jumping people). Then and there, I decided to back up #2 and ensure he stayed safe.
#2, several other friends and I skipped school on Halloween to go to this fight. We even attended a Sports Authority so we could swipe some tape for our knuckles. Knowing #1 would outnumber us with their crew, my older brother called up his friends to back us up on the day of the fight. My brother's friends were pretty rowdy and intimidating. Once we picked them up, they tooled up (just in case - as a guy from #1's crew threatened to bring a gun to the fight and shoot us via AIM). They also proceeded to get high as shit and drunk off vodka.
Once we showed up to the fight, #1 and his crew were shook. My brother's friends were not only intimidating physically but could also talk a crazy game. They instantly called for more back-up, and once they realized their crew paled in comparison, they relented to just a one-on-one fight between #1 and #2. As expected, #2 came through with an uppercut to the chin for the win. As soon as the fight concluded, everyone dispersed and went back home.
I was driving back with several of my brother's friends, and I received a call from someone in #1's crew to fight again. They had recruited some local neighborhood crew full of (supposed) gangbangers, so we went back to the same spot. At this point, the majority of people on our side had left and/or were unreachable by cell, so we were outnumbered ~30:5. My brother's friend proceeded to brandish his pistol, popped off a couple of warning shots in the air, and then aimed the gun at #1 and his crew to step off. Naturally, they backed down (they had bluffed about bringing guns).
About 5 minutes after we left the spot, I (the driver) noticed a cop car was following us. Whenever I shifted a lane over, the cop car also shifted a lane over. I freaked out (me in a car with 3 grown black guys) and pulled over to a nearby, suburban neighborhood. This was the first time I've ever had guns pointed at me. The cops yelled for the driver (me) to open the car door slowly and walk backwards. They proceeded to cuff me and the others - and we sat there on the side of the road. #1's crew had called the cops on us and said that we were threatening people with a gun.
Sitting there on the side of the road, handcuffed, recently accepted to a good college, I was in disbelief. The first thing that came to mind was to repeatedly tell cops that I was a hip hop producer and the 3 guys in my cars were rappers (lol). However, the cops could not find the gun as it was hidden in the trunk (and my understanding is that they need a warrant or something to check the trunk). After some time, they eventually let us go (but one of the guys got sent to jail for violating parole).
After dropping everyone else home, I was on my way home until I received a tip that #1 and his crew were waiting outside of my home with brass knuckles, bats, etc. to jump me. By some miracle, I avoided a life-altering ass-whooping as I was like 5 minutes away from my house. For months afterwards, the same cop that cuffed me would drop notes under my home door asking my parents to give the cops a call (luckily, my parents were usually gone all day due to work). I even answered the door once when the cop came by, and he did not recognize me from that day (as I look pretty nerdy on a day-to-day basis).
I'm in my 30's now, and I still reflect back on this event. It still scares me on how differently this event could have played out, but somehow #2 and myself were able to get through it.
The worst thing to me was how #1 ended up (as we were close friends since elementary school). Different story, but his crew was not exactly the best towards him (they let him OD in a party w/o any help, belittled him as he was the scrawny one of the group, etc.). #1 went to a psychiatric hospital later on (he did not have a great family life), and he eventually died due to heart problems (related to his medication). I wish I could go back and find a different way to resolve the problem.