Say Anything

by Madeleine Labitan

  We can get caught, and when that happens, there will be hell to pay. Jason's family is extremely wealthy. Their sprawling mansion by the lake is one of the biggest in our community. His parents are super influential, too. Mr. Everly is a big-shot film producer while Mrs. Everly is a well-known fashion designer. How can we go against these people if they decide to press charges?

  The implication of that thought hits me square on the face.

  We’re going to end up in jail. And my mom is going to kill me.

  “I think I'm going to be sick," I blurt out.

  Ash turns back to me, her eyes bugging out. "Please not here. I just had a carwash."

  She’s worried about the possibility of me making a mess in her car when she's off to destroy someone else's property. There's irony there somewhere.

  “Ignore her. She's just being dramatic," Holly tells her.

  I glare at the two of them. "If we get caught, I'll tell the cops I've been blackmailed into doing this."

  “No one’s arresting us, Kenzie,” Ash laughs.

  Holly stares at me for a long moment. "You really have to stop watching CSI."

  “It’s Criminal Minds."

  “Whatever.”

  “You guys are hopeless." I thump my head back against the seat in frustration.

  “Seriously, Kenzie, you're being ridiculous right now. You've been pranking Sean for years. This should be child's play for you."

  I scowl at the mention of that name. "Those weren't pranks, Holly. They were just retaliations for pranking me. You should know, you've been helping me carry them out. Besides, they're harmless compared to this."

  She shoots a sugary smile at me. "You mean like that time he contracted diarrhea and then broke out in hives so bad that he had to be sent to the hospital?"

  I feel my cheeks redden. "That was an accident. I didn't know he was allergic to laxative."

  “I wonder why he kept quiet about that. He could have told everyone it was you who put laxative into his drink. He could have gotten back at you for it. But he didn't say anything at all. It was like he was protecting you or something."

  I scoff. "He got his payback soon after, remember? He snuck into the girls' locker room during P.E. and put hair dye into my shampoo."

  “Yeah. But that was a pretty lame payback. And the dye was washable."

  “Are you kidding? I had to walk around with pink hair for two weeks."

  “That’s because you refused to dye your hair back."

  “Because I—”

  “Girls, can we focus on the plan, please?" Ash finally interjects.

  Holly clears her throat. "Right."

  I cross my arms and look out the window, realizing we're already parked. Ash managed to wedge her mini cooper between a red jeep and a black BMW.

  She takes off her seatbelt to face me. "Kenzie, you know I won't be able to pull this whole thing off without you, right?"

  Oh, great. Now Ash is pulling the best friend card. She's even using the puppy-dog face against me—the little sneak.

  She’s well aware that the look never fails to get her what she wants. With her round chocolate brown eyes and adorable curly strawberry blonde locks, she practically owns it.

  I wish I can say the same for myself. But my pale blue eyes and light blonde hair—which is either as dry as the Sahara desert or as dull as a dishwater—have yet to win me any favors.

  Even Holly—what with her "I just stepped out of the salon" shoulder-length chestnut brown hair—is way luckier than me.

  Between the two of them, sometimes I can’t help but feel like a DUFF.

  “Why can't we just deface his locker?" I say in a last-ditch effort to change their minds. "Or fill it with trash?"

  I did the latter once as a payback. Disgusting, but worth it.

  “Because we don't want to get detained after school," Ash says in a matter-of-fact voice. “Sean just landed you in detention last week, remember?”

  “Or suspended." Holly gives me a look as she applies lip gloss. "You don't want to risk it. You're the class vice president."

  Oh, look. They're more concerned about my position as a class officer than the possibility of jail time. Good to know they both have their priorities straight.

  “Let’s hire someone to do it then."

  Holly scoffs. "Where's the fun in that?"

  “What if—"

  “No,” Ash says with finality. "This is the only way. This is what I want to do. I won't settle for anything less. He owes me this. So I'm going to ask you one last time. Are you with us or not?"

  I turn to Holly. But one look at her tells me she's not letting me off the hook easily, either.

  Gah! "Fine. Let's get this over and done with."

  Ashley and Holly exchange triumphant smiles.

  This is so not going to end well.

  Now available!!!

  ALSO BY MADELEINE

  Bayfield High Series

  Truth or Dare – childhood rival romance

  Kiss and Make Up – second chance romance

  Perfectly Clueless – best friend romance

  Hate to Love (coming soon) – enemies to lovers romance

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Madeleine Labitan lives and breathes for three things: books, coffee and Netflix. Deny her of one and you'll make an enemy for life.

  A freelance writer and virtual assistant, she pretends to be a dedicated hard worker most days, while secretly preferring to instead spend hours falling in lust with hot book boyfriends and hating on their heroines (lucky bitches!).

  She's been writing most of her life, and after nearly a decade of procrastinating, finally decided to try her luck on being an author.

  Truth or Dare is her first foray into publishing world and hopefully not the last...

  And, oh, she’s in social media. Not that active, but she tries:

  Facebook: Madeleine Labitan

  Twitter: @myinkonpaper

  Instagram: myinkonpaper

  Blog: Madeleine’s Books

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