by Raathi Chota
“He fucking deserved it,” Carter said as he nudged Parker with his foot.
“Fucking pervert,” Levi muttered.
“Do you know Lana and Benny already fucked?” I asked out of the blue.
“How do you know?” Carter asked.
“The hickey on her collarbone…it was faded, but it was there,” I said. Carter and Levi exchanged looks as I raised a brow. Levi whistled as he glanced around while Carter hummed. “What?”
“Nothing,” Carter replied as his eye twitched.
“Dude, I can see it on your face. You’re the worst liar ever,” I said.
“Lana and I had sex before she started dating Benny. The hickey was from me,” Levi mumbled as I clenched my fists.
“What the fuck, man? Yet you punched Parker!”
“Well, at least she wanted to have sex with me!” Levi exclaimed. I shook my head in disbelief as I glanced at my best friend.
“And you fucking knew,” I said to Carter, then walked toward the door.
“Blake,” he called out, but I ignored him as I pushed open the door, back to the regular party.
***
I let out a sigh of relief as I reached the second floor. It took me ten minutes to get up; I didn’t know why. I only had a few drinks. I looked for a bathroom to wash my hands because I realized there was blood on them. I walked down the halls, and the only thing to be heard were moans or furniture hitting against the wall. I entered the bathroom to see a couple passed out in the bathtub. I shook my head as I glanced in the mirror. My eyes were red and droopy, hair in all directions, face jacked up. I looked like shit. I washed my hands under the faucet and ignored the sting when I flexed my hands. Once I was done, I walked out of the bathroom, only to bump into someone.
“Sorry, dude,” a girl said as she placed her hands on my wrists.
“It’s cool,” I murmured, then looked down at the blonde. Even though she wore a miniskirt and crop top, she was hot.
“I don’t know why, but I have this sudden urge to kiss you,” she said, then rested her palm on my chest.
“Why don’t y—” I cut off when she smashed her lips against mine. My back hit the wall as her hands lingered. I placed one hand on her waist and the other on her ass. As we kissed, I spun around and pinned her against the wall. She moaned against my lips as her arms wrapped around my neck. My hands trailed down to her thighs as I raised them. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around my waist. I removed her hands from my neck as I pinned them against the wall. I kissed down her neck as she puffed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an open door next to us. I kissed her again as I placed my hands on her ass while I walked. I went into the empty room and kicked the door shut with my foot. I threw her down on the bed, and she looked up with a smirk. I took off my jacket and shoes to join her.
“You’re a fucking good kisser,” she said as I hovered over her. I smirked as I kissed down her neck. I swiftly pulled off her skirt and no surprise—she didn’t have any underwear. I removed my shirt as she undid my belt. I took off my jeans and tossed them aside. We kissed again, but this time it was more energetic as our breaths filled the room.
***
I blinked rapidly when a pillow hurled toward me. I sat up and saw the blonde anxiously getting dressed. There was a huge commotion downstairs as the music stopped.
“The fuck is going on?” I groaned as I put on my clothes.
“Cops,” she said. My eyes widened, and I quickened my pace. I glanced to the side and noticed that it was one in the morning. The previous event entered my mind as I realized we fucked half an hour ago. The door was suddenly pushed open as an officer ran into the room.
“Don’t move!”
We raised our hands as he ushered us out the room. I watched the many teenagers being escorted out of the house, and my first instinct told me to find the guys. I finally found Levi against a cop car. I jogged toward him with an anxious look.
“Dude, what happened?”
“Someone snitched about the drugs,” Levi replied as he shook his head. “Now they’re taking tests with those machines.”
I followed his gaze to see a bunch of people lined up as a cop used a mouth machine to test for any usage.
“Let’s go,” another cop said as he handcuffed Levi and me.
“What the he—”
“Apparently the person who fucking snitched said we were with Jaden at the time.” Levi shrugged as we walked to a van. The police officer shoved us in the back of the van where we found Parker, Jaden, Keene, Axel, Carter, and two girls. I thought of Austin because he was the only other person with us who wasn’t here.
“Hey, brother.” Axel winked at me. I sat next to Keene as the police shut the doors while the other started the car.
“I need to piss,” Parker whined. I glanced at the two officers in front to see the one drank a bottle of water. Once he was finished, he threw it behind him.
“Piss in this.”
Parker caught the plastic bottle with ease, then observed it. He shook his head as he threw the bottle back.
“The thing that I wanna do will not fit in that bottle,” he said as we groaned.
“Well, keep your shit, because you’ll have plenty of time to get rid of it,” the police officer grumbled. We arrived at the station, and thankfully I didn’t see any familiar faces. We were put into one cell as the police took the girls.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Axel said as he stopped the officer from taking the girls. “There’s still space in here, Officer.” He pointed to our cell. Carter laughed as the officer rolled his eyes and continued to walk with the girls. I leaned against the bars and glanced around the cell, the place I promised myself not to go again.
“What the fuck?” Keene trailed off as he walked toward the bench. We followed his gaze to see a guy in a clown costume. The clown didn’t move; he sat there with a big smile on his face.
“Yo, dude, Halloween’s over.” Jaden inched closer. He was two feet away when the clown turned to him and laughed. It was that annoying clown laugh, as if he’d do something crazy. “Shit,” Jaden said as he threw his hands up and backed away. The clown stopped but still looked at us with that freaky smile.
“Yeah, err…he’s a weird one,” the police officer who sat at his desk opposite us retorted.
“I hate clowns,” Carter said as he stood next to me. “Dude, guess what I just found out?” he asked as we crouched down to sit on the floor.
“I don’t know, but I think you’re gonna tell me,” I said.
“Jennifer Brighton is a lesbian,” he said as I raised a brow.
“That’s not true. She’s friends with Kelly. Probably fucked you more than once, and maybe even that clown,” I said as Carter shook his head.
“Dude, I saw her making out with a chick at the party.”
“Maybe she’s bi.” I shrugged.
“Yeah…if she is a lesbo, I wanna ask her if she ever liked my di—” Carter cut off when the clown laughed again. We watched as he threw his head back and laughed like a psycho.
“Dude, shut the fuck up,” Parker groaned as he took a piss.
“Why are you in here?” Axel asked as he stared at the clown. The clown didn’t reply; he just laughed even louder. Axel threw his hands up in defeat as he leaned against the wall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Levi walk toward the clown, a pissed look on his face as he raised his fist. He must have still been angry from earlier.
“Whoa!” Jaden exclaimed as he blocked Levi from the clown. I stood up and dusted off my clothing.
“Hey, don’t start, boy,” the police officer said as he propped his feet on the table.
“Why can’t you take him to another cell?” Keene asked.
“I’m not going near him,” the officer replied as he shivered. Loud footsteps were suddenly heard as I spun around. I placed my hands on the bars as I tried to peer through. A familiar man who wore a suit stepped into the building. Axel stood next to me as he put his hands on the cell.
“No way,” he mumbled as the guy looked at us.
“Fuck,” I muttered as he smirked and walked over to us.
“The Gunner brothers, nice to see you again.”
“Officer Kale, what are you doing in Illinois? I thought you only work in Minnesota,” Axel said as I glared at the guy who I hated back in Minnesota.
“I moved, and that’s Detective Kale now,” he said, then turned to me. “I’m watching you, Gunner.”
I watched him walk off and immediately ran my fingers through my hair. He’s the cop who always busted me back in Minnesota. While I waited for someone to bail me out, he’d sit in the cell with me and talk. I hated him.
“All right, you boys get two phone calls,” the police officer said as he handed Levi the card for the phone. We watched as Levi walked over to the phone in the corner of the cell and put the card in. He put in the number and placed the phone to his ear.
“Who you calling?” Carter asked.
“Someone who owes me a little favor,” Levi replied with a smirk.
Chapter Ten
Miranda
I covered my face with my hair as I laughed and looked at Marcus, who smiled at me through my laptop.
“Can you blame him? It’s a good show! It even takes place in the eighties,” I said, since we talked about Liam’s addiction to Stranger Things.
“True, true,” Marcus said as he pulled off his shirt and sat on his bed.
“Ooh, are we getting to that part of FaceTime?” I asked and looked at his toned abs. He chuckled, then ran his hand through his curly brown locks. Marcus’s bright expression changed when he frowned. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just weird…that detective at Lana’s house,” he mumbled.
“Why would he ask you, though?” I tilted my head. Marcus shrugged, then looked into the distance. “Is there something I need to kn—”
“Oh, wait! That day in the cafeteria when Aidan and Lana were fighting, then she took out the pills,” he began. “I was the last person to touch it because I threw it away in the trashcan, remember?”
“Then how the heck did it get there? At a freaking crime scene?”
“Maybe when the garbage collectors were emptying the trashcans it fell out when they got to the alley.”
“Yeah, maybe…” I sighed, then looked at him. “Hey, err…thanks for covering Lana, though. I appreciate it, babe.”
“Anything for my girlfriend’s best friend.” He bit his lip.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just—Nick and Benny seemed quite surprised when that detective questioned me.”
“Well, it’s not every day that a detective comes and asks you about a guy who’s missing.”
“True, but don’t they seem off to you, babe?”
“Off?” I raised a brow.
“Yeah, like they’ve become very…distant. I don’t know how to describe it, but you get me, right?” Marcus asked.
“They do seem a bit off. I thought it was only me. Especially that night when we all slept over.”
“Yeah, that night still gives me the chills. I wanted to call the cops, as any sane person would, but Aidan said I shouldn’t. And that’s coming from the guy who used a frying pan as a weapon.”
“That night was weird…also when Benny and Lana were yelling. It’s as if they knew—”
“That it was coming!” Marcus and I said in unison. I sat on my bed for a moment as I tried to remember everything that happened that night.
“Wait—Nick, Liam, Benny, and Lana were in the room when they were yelling. Then how does it involve Aidan?” Marcus asked.
“Remember they went to follow the guy who climbed out of Lana’s room? Maybe the guy threatened them or the—”
I got cut off when a squeaky voice came through the laptop. Marcus turned to the side as he smiled.
“Mom wants you to come and massage her back!” I recognized the voice as Marcus’s little sister, Elenore.
“It’s past midnight. Is she crazy?” Marcus asked as I laughed. Elenore came into view and waved at me. Marcus groaned as he stood up and slipped on a hoodie.
“Hey, El,” I greeted as she smiled at me, which displayed the little gap. Her tooth had come out recently, so Marcus and I took her to the park to see her friends.
“Hi, Miranda. Don’t worry, bro, I’ll stay with your girlfriend,” she said as Marcus smiled.
“I think Miranda’s tired n—”
“You always say that,” Elenore whined as I chuckled.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” I said as she pouted.
“Night baby. Sweet drea—” he said, then ruffled Elenore’s hair.
“Hehe, you said baby.” Elenore laughed as my cheeks flushed. Marcus and I laughed as Elenore stared at us. I shook my head then ended the FaceTime as I shut my laptop. I placed my computer on my desk then walked to the light switch. Suddenly, my phone went off as “Fireworks” by Katy Perry played. I raised a brow because who would call at this hour?
“Hello,” I answered the phone as I sat on my bed.
“Hey, sweet cheeks,” Levi greeted as I squinted my eyes.
“Why are you calling me?”
“Aww, can’t I talk to my best friend’s best friend?”
“What do you want?”
“I need you to pick us up,” he said, to which I raised a brow.
“From where?”
“The station,” he mumbled as I snorted. “Look, the officer will explain when you get here…”
“And why would I want to help you and your buddies?” I muttered.
“You owe me a little favor, Stevens. I spoke to Marcus the other day, and he seemed quite proud. Does he know what happened last year?”
“You wouldn’t, Radcliff,” I said through gritted teeth as I gripped the phone.
“Oh, you know me, sugar. I like people knowing the truth. You know what they say: honesty is the best policy,” he sang as I pushed myself off the bed.
“Fine, I’ll be there soon,” I muttered, then ended the call. I was frustrated and tugged on my hair. I quickly put on a sweater and Converse, then walked downstairs, where I saw my mother on the sofa. The Cooking Channel was on as my mom sipped her brandy.
“Where you going?” she asked, her gaze still fixed on the television.
“Bailing someone out,” I answered as I put on a coat.
“Okay. Just make sure the car is returned in one piece,” she stated.
“Okay,” I said, then walked out the door. I climbed into our car and drove off. We could only afford one car, so Mom used public transport to get to work. It was the usual routine when I went out; Mom asked where I went and then told me to return home safe with the car. She still hadn’t gotten over Dad, who left us fifteen years ago. I tried to get in contact with him, but Mom said I shouldn’t. I realized she still loved him. From what I remembered, I got my blue eyes from him and that he loved baseball.
By the time I arrived at the station, it was almost three a.m. It looked creepy. I entered the building where I saw a woman sitting behind the desk. Her tag read Jackson.
“H-hi…I’m here for, err…” I mumbled because I hadn’t done this before.
“Name?” she asked.
“Err…Levi Radcliff and…”
“You haven’t done this before, have you?” she asked as she grabbed a clipboard. I nodded, which made her chuckle as she read off the clipboard. “No charge.”
“What? I thought I was supposed to bai—”
“Honey, half these people here are from that party up on Lewis Street. It turns out there were drugs, and some of them are in here because of that.”
“What about the others?”
“We did tests, and some of them only had drug usage, while others were just drunk as hell.”
“So who didn’t do drugs?” I asked, then folded my arms. The woman sighed as she read off the clipboard again.
“Axel Gunner, Blake Gunner, Carter Halls, Levi Radcliff,
and Erwin Chambers, who got dropped off by Deputy Paul because he was crying too much. Poor kid.”
“Who did drugs?” I asked as she swung the keys in her hands.
“Err…Keene Stoner, Parker Collins, and Jaden Reid,” she said as my eyes widened.
“Umm…I’ll take the first four, please,” I said with a tight-lipped smile. The woman nodded and motioned me to follow her. We walked through the building past random cells filled with people in a drunken state.
“Do your parents know that you’re here?” the woman asked.
“Surprisingly, yes,” I mumbled as we stopped. I took in my surroundings to see an officer sitting behind a desk with his legs propped up on the table. He ate a bag of chips. I followed his gaze to see that he stared at the guys who were in the cell.
“These four kids are free to go.” The woman dropped a note on his desk.
“Cool,” the guy replied as he stared at the note. The woman threw her arms up as the man ate his chips.
“Well? Go get them!” she demanded. He jumped from his seat. He took the keys from her and stared at the cell. The guy squirmed as he slowly put the key through the hole. “Hurry up!”
“Hold your horses, Jackson! I don’t like clowns, and this one has been laughing non-stop,” the man blurted out as I looked at the clown. He honestly looked scary in the dim light as he smiled. I diverted my eyes somewhere else to where I saw Keene and Jaden. While the officers argued, they walked over and leaned against the bars.
“Hey, Blondie…you’re looking good.” Jaden smirked as he eyed me up and down.
