And then I was on him.
I thumped him directly across the knees with the bat and I heard a distinct crack and a grunt, despite the noise of the crowd. As he fell to the ground, I brought the bat down on his face, holding back just enough so he wouldn't die.
Then I picked up the football and ran like hell.
The crowd, although they could probably barely see me in the dark, screamed with feverish intensity. I wanted to get off the field before they managed to get the lights back on, otherwise I probably would never make it out alive. The charges the police would bring on me alone were enough to give me an extra boost of speed.
As I was exiting the field, one of the members of the opposing teammates leapt at me. I jumped to the side just in time and he fell into the grass with a roll.
Now this was ironic. Here I am, running across a football field, ball in one hand, baseball bat in the other, while I dodge other players. I was surprisingly good at this. I had even combined two sports into my own devilish little game. Maybe I'm some sort of closet jock.
I made it to the chain link fence and tossed the bat and the ball over. In seconds, I was on the other side. As soon as my feet hit the ground the lights went on behind me.
I heard somebody shout, "There he goes!" as I ran.
I cut through about seven backyards on my way back. Julian had not yet arrived, so I entered the car and ducked down. If Julian made it then we were home free.
My hair was wet with sweat, so I pulled off the coat and tossed it in the back. I ran my fingers over the threads of the football with a feeling of satisfaction. With a weird sense of irony I realized I had scored a touchdown.
Me, Harlan Sexton, had scored a goddamn touchdown.
Figures that the lights were out so that no one would be able to witness my moment of sports glory. Of course, in a regular football game you're not allowed to turn off the lights or use a sawed in half baseball bat to achieve your victory. It would be a hell of a lot more interesting if it were; you have to admit that.
My heart calmed down after ten minutes and Julian had not yet arrived. I was beginning to get really worried. If Julian were caught, then he would probably get arrested, and although he would never tell on me, it wouldn't be too hard for the police to figure it out, especially after my little pep rally adventure earlier today.
Julian pulled the door open and jumped into the car, startling me in a major way.
"Harlan!" he shouted, slapping me on the shoulder as he saw the football. "You did it!"
"We did it," I said, tossing the football into his lap. "Took you long enough, though."
"There was someone near the box and I had to wait. As soon as he left I threw the main switch. It was a pain getting out of there, but once I got outside, I blended right into the crowd. People were going freaking crazy. I think you busted Ross up pretty bad, they had to take him away on a stretcher."
"Does that bother you?"
"Hell no!" Julian exclaimed. "I lost what little feelings I had for my psycho of a brother about a hundred or so beatings ago. He deserved it, especially after what he did to Vlad. Maybe this will calm him down a little bit. It's not like you killed him or anything."
We went back to my house and changed into our regular clothes. I also put on a black cardigan since it was starting to get pretty cold outside. We were supposed to meet Sam and Allison at Killjoy's at nine-thirty. I threw some gel into my hair and I was set to go. Julian took a bit longer, wanting to impress Allison and all.
Killjoy's was pretty crowded. Samantha's jeep was parked outside. As we walked inside, everybody was talking about the attack at the stadium. Lots of people were there from school and they were looking at me in a whole different light because of the pep rally incident.
John Kent, an asshole that I've never liked, walked up and grabbed my hand. "Harlan! You da man! You must have balls the size of coconuts!"
I just nodded uncomfortably and kept walking as Julian smiled. I could see Samantha sitting on the other side of the room. We were walking towards them when we were accosted by a group of six attractive girls.
"Hi, Harlan," Kathy Phillips, the captain of the cheerleading team bubbled. "Why don't you come sit down with us?" She was already pulling me towards a booth and I could see Samantha frowning.
"Um, not right now," I said as politely as possible. "We're here to meet somebody."
"Okay," she said, pulling at her blond hair absently. "We should get together some time." She looked at Julian. "Sorry about what happened to your brother at the game."
"Sorry for what?" Julian asked as she looked at him oddly. "Live by the gun, die by the gun, isn't that what they say?"
We finally made it to the table and Samantha was looking at me in a strange way. I assumed she was jealous when she told me she wanted to talk to me alone. She led me out into the parking lot.
"It was you, wasn't it?" she asked. "It was you that did that to Ross."
"Yes," I said bluntly. What was I going to do, lie? Sam wasn't stupid by any means.
"You know, Harlan," she said, her eyes flashing with anger. "That was a pretty stupid thing to do. I thought you were intelligent. You can still get caught, then what?"
"I guess I'll just have to deal with it," I said, surprised at her anger. Someone I didn't even know walked up and clapped me on the back.
"You'll just have to deal with it?" Sam repeated, her eyes moistening up. "What about me, Harlan? I care about you so much. It's only been one week and I feel like I've known you for ten years. Now you can get caught pulling a stupid stunt like this and actually go to jail."
"They aren't going to send me to jail. I'm a minor remember?"
"Well, they can put you away in a home. Either way, I lose you. And what about Ross? You hurt him pretty bad."
"Sam, Ross will live. He almost killed Vlad, remember?"
"Harlan, you've been instigating Ross for months and you know it. You know he's trouble, yet you harass him all you can." She lowered her voice. "Why do you have to fight everybody, Harlan? Why do you think that you are so much different than everybody else? I admired your courage at the pep rally, but I couldn't help wondering if it was really worth it. You can be expelled now, Harlan. That can ruin your life. I care deeply about you, but I don't know if I can handle this kind of pressure. Maybe you're just a bit much for me."
It sounds like a cliché, but my heart literally dropped. My worst fear, losing Sam, might come true.
"Look, Sam," I said, grabbing her hand. "They probably won't expel me. Most people at the school seem to support what I did. If anything, I'll just get a suspension."
"It was still a stupid fucking thing to do. What is wrong with you, Harlan? Are you trying to purposely ruin your life?"
"Look, Sam. I love you. Yes, I know it hasn't even been a week, but—"
She pulled me to her. "What did you just say, Harlan?"
"I said, I love you. If I lost you, I don't know what I would do. I know it sounds sudden, but I need you. You make me feel happy. And happy is something that I'm not. For the first time in my miserable life I actually look forward to looking at the world. It's almost like you make me see things in a whole different way. I promise you that if you just stay with me, I'll calm down. Me and Ross are done now as far as I'm concerned."
She was crying now. "Say it again, Harlan."
"Me and Ross are done—"
She put her hand to my mouth. "No, you idiot. Say it again. I want to hear you."
I looked at her dumbly and then I realized. "Oh. I love you, Samantha Vance."
She pulled me to her and embraced me tightly. "I love you too, Harlan. I'm so happy that you feel the same way. I was afraid to tell you. I thought it would scare you away. I've never fallen so fast for someone before. I don't even think that I've really ever loved anyone before. Do you think it's too fast to be real?"
I kissed her on the forehead. "Want to know just how fast? I think I fell in love with you the first time you smiled at me at t
he water fountain in the park. I wrote that in my journal. Sick, huh?"
"Perverted," she whispered, and kissed me. "I hope you get away with this Ross thing, Harlan. I don't want to lose you."
"Pray for me."
She kissed me again. "I'm going to ask Jesus, Allah, Buddha, and Krishna. One of them is going to have to listen."
"Harlan Sexton!" an unfamiliar male voice shouted.
A student from school that only looked vaguely familiar pulled me away from Samantha. He planted a big wet kiss on my cheek that smelled of Budweiser and cigarettes. "I love you, man! You are the bomb! The way you went off at the pep rally was brilliant, man! Brilliant! You are going places, man!"
He walked away, stumbling as he went. He turned around and winked, pointing at me, before continuing on his way.
"Oh Jesus," I said. "It's going to be a long week."
Sam hooked herself in my arm. "You love the attention and you know it." She began to lead me back into the coffeehouse. "We better get back to Allison and Julian. By the way, Harlan. How did you manage to get the lights to go out?"
"Remember that 'fucking boom' incident I had at school?"
"Everybody knows about that."
"Well, they had me mopping floors one day at the stadium for my detention. They were practicing that night and I saw the janitor turn the lights off."
"And you just figured, Hey, someday I'm going to turn all the lights off at Rawley Stadium so I better watch closely?" she asked sarcastically and opened the door.
"Yep," I said and followed her in. "I actually did."
We had a lot of fun that night. Allison and Julian got along perfectly.
Chapter 10:
All Hallows Eve
I spent the entire week sitting in my bedroom reading books and watching movies. The police questioned both Julian and I about the incident at the stadium, but since they had no real proof they had to let us go. Sometimes life does go good. Sometimes.
Ross Morrissey got off with a broken kneecap and a fractured skull. Was I ashamed? A little. What I did doesn't really make me any better than him or any other violent person. I realize that.
As far as I'm concerned, the war between me and Ross is over.
We had Vlad sign the football before we left it in Ross's car. Vlad wrote "Hope you get better, asshole. A friend."
I'm pretty sure that Ross suspects it's me. Most people suspect it's me, which has made me sort of a folk hero amongst the geeks and the downtrodden at our school. Some people have come out point blank and just asked me if I did it, which of course I denied.
Julian spent the entire week with Allison. I barely saw him. He's already whipped. I told him this and was instantly accused of wearing a dog collar myself. Which, of course, is true.
I spent the entire week convincing Sam I'd stay out of trouble. Girls are really paying attention to me now, even the really popular ones. Sam is jealous constantly, which I love. She's very protective of me. Not too many people have cared enough about me to be protective. Julian, Suzanne and Samantha are the only ones that I can think of.
There's also some other good news, Dear Reader.
They have decided not to expel me. About 750 students signed a petition on my behalf saying that the words that I had to say contained an element of truth that needed to be spoken. Julian told me that one student even spray painted "You worship the wrong heroes, motherfuckers!" on a wall outside the school.
On Monday, I will be allowed to enter school again. The powers that be said Alisa's death had pushed me over the edge. After all, my grades were perfect. They are even going to let me make up this week's homework.
Today is one of my favorite holidays: Halloween. It seems appropriate for Vlad that he was released from the hospital today.
We're all going to get dressed up and go to Lake Angel where a party is going to be held. It was unseasonably warm again. It was supposed to be in the sixties tonight. This might actually be fun and I'm looking forward to it.
I'm going as Alex from A Clockwork Orange, a movie that I absolutely love. Julian is going as Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, fake Mohawk, army jacket, the works. Samantha hasn't told me what she's going to be, it's going to be a surprise.
"Vlad should be here any second," Julian said. It was almost sunset and we were already dressed in full costume. "He was released from the hospital early this morning."
I was fixing the fake eyelash and adjusting my derby as Julian answered the doorbell.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed.
I turned to see a total stranger standing in my living room.
After a second, I realized that it was Vlad. He was dressed like a normal teenager, no makeup, blue jeans, and his dark hair straight instead of teased. His face still had some purple bruises on it.
"Scary costume, huh?" Vlad asked, turning around to give us the full view.
"Very," I said, making one more adjustment to the hat. "Samantha and Allison will be here any minute to pick us up."
And just as I predicted, the doorbell rang again. When Sam walked through my front door Julian broke out into laughter.
"Holy Shit, again!" he exclaimed between laughter. "You look just like him!"
Samantha was me. She was wearing all black and had her dark hair teased up into the air just like mine. She had also managed to find a pair of black rimmed glasses just like the ones I owned. The scary thing was that she actually did look like me.
I didn't close my mouth and start laughing until she said, "You worship the wrong heroes, motherfuckers! Fucking boom!"
Julian found it funnier than I did, he was literally rolling on the floor.
"I'm glad you find that so amusing," I said to Julian, pulling Sam to me and planting a kiss on her lips. "Whoa, this is weird, Sam. I've always loved myself but this kind of gives it a whole new meaning, don't you think? I have a fucking double, for Christ's sake. This is some serious science fiction shit."
"I feel strange as you, Harlan," Sam said, imitating the way I constantly push my glasses up on my nose. "I feel like I want to take on the world now."
"Want some help?" I asked, smiling.
Allison walked through the door before Sam could answer. She was dressed up like Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, kinky black leather and all. She looked damn good. I could tell Julian felt the same judging by the way his mouth dropped when she walked through the door.
Julian started barking, not realizing he was showing himself as a perfect whipped dog metaphor. He walked up and started panting at her.
"Pig," Allison said, pushing him down onto the couch. "Hi, Harlan. Hi, Gary, I almost didn't recognize you."
"Call me Vlad," Vlad said from the couch. "I'm starting to get used to it."
His face still looked painful, which was probably the real reason he wasn't wearing any makeup.
We managed to all fit into Sam's jeep and it wasn't easy. Lake Angel just completely sucked. We were there for practically five minutes when the cops showed up and cleared the whole place out. Sure, here we are bothering nobody and they want use to leave so that we actually could go get into trouble. I don't think I will ever understand the adult population—or at least those in control.
"So now where to?" Sam asked, kissing me on the cheek.
"Is it, like, homoerotic to get kissed by yourself?" I asked, wiping it off.
"Ask Vlad," Julian said, really enjoying the fact that Allison was sitting on his lap. "He's the resident homosexual." He had a scholarly expression on his face. "Vlad?"
Vlad smirked. "I don't know. It's definitely homoerotic to get kissed by a man, but by yourself, I don't know. We're heading into science fiction territory here. If this was, like, an episode of Star Trek then I'm sure Captain Kirk would figure something out."
"I think Kirk would definitely say that doing this was homoerotic," I said, holding Sam away from me. "He was a macho guy, he would never make out with himself. Captain Picard maybe, but no way would Kirk do it."
Julian nodded lik
e a scholar. "But Kirk was one horny motherfucker. I bet he would fuck himself if no one else was around. Hell, I bet his ego was big enough that he'd want to fuck himself regardless. Just to say that he did it."
"Um, this is a debate that I'll stay out of, you freaky geeks," Sam said. She grabbed me and began to kiss me passionately, her tongue darting into my mouth.
"You faggot, Harlan!" Julian yelled teasingly. "This is too weird!"
Allison turned around and kissed Julian. Her catlips to his Travis Bickle face.
"Bestiality!" I yelled, pulling away from Sam.
"Man," Vlad said. "I thought I was the sick one. Harlan's making out with his twin. Julian's French kissing a cat. This night is weird. Let's make it weirder. Let's go to the cemetery."
"You know something," I said. "That idea just completely rules. Let's do it. Everybody?"
Everyone agreed that it was a good idea. How appropriate can you get? Halloween at a graveyard.
Sam parked the jeep just down the road from the cemetery and we walked up the hill and entered the land of the dead. Greyson's Cemetery is really cool. Most of the graves near the front of the cemetery are the newer ones, but we headed towards the back where things really get awesome. The back is the older section, complete with massive creepy looking headstones and mausoleums with large columns. Leprous trees dot the grass, giving the cemetery an almost stereotypical look. Red lights, situated around the graves, provide an eerie glow, as if the dead themselves are giving us something so we can see in the dark. Some of them had dimly-lit candles.
A few years ago some kids disappeared in here. I went to middle school with the youngest one. He was a mute with the nickname Silence. I can't remember his real name. Most people think they simply drowned in the lake.
The only person who was a little creeped out by the whole thing was Allison. She held on to Julian like some damsel in a B-grade horror movie. Sam wasn't scared in the slightest, in fact, I think she liked it more than Vlad or I did—she was kind of a gothic chick after all.
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