I hated to admit it but he was right. Hell, Zeke had proved that on Tuesday. I sighed resigned.
Alexis: You want me to stick near the guys, don’t you?
Dylan: It would help me not worry about you.
I groaned. I could just tell him that I was going to stick near the guys, hell I probably was anyway. They were the only ones at school I really knew. But he didn’t need to know that.
Alexis: Alright, I’ll stick with the guys.
Dylan: Thank you.
Alexis: What are you doing after the game?
Dylan: Heading home, we’ll get back around 11:30 tonight. Then I was going to take a shower and text you to see if you were awake to talk.
Alexis: Sounds good to me.
Dylan: It’s a date. Now seriously….. bubbles?
I burst out laughing and shaking my head.
Alexis: Lol, I’ll talk to you later tonight. Good luck at the game.
Dylan: ttyl
I put my phone down and laid my head back smiling. I started getting into the music, I began to sing along. After I was done, I turned off the jets and unplugged the tub. I was still singing alone to Halestorm’s Amen when I tied a towel around me and was dabbing my wet hair with another. When I opened the door still singing and froze. All four boys were sitting there looking at me, red faced and laughing. Miles was the only one looking apologetic standing by the bed his hands in his pockets. Oh god, they heard me singing. My face went red instantly as I yanked the buds out. Their laughter filled my ears. I grabbed both ends of the towel in my hands, flipping it into a rat-tail.
“You assholes!” I shouted at them and started whipping one end of the towel at the boys on the bed. They kept laughing as they scattered out of range. I chased them out of the bedroom, nailing a few on their butts.
“Worth it!” Isaac shouted on his way out the door. In the hall, Ethan turned around out of range of the towel.
“Your voice is actually pretty good-” I threw the towel at his face and slammed the door, this time locking it. I’ll never forget to lock the bedroom door again. I finished getting ready. I did my normal hair stuff, combing. Anti-frizz. But this time I added leave in conditioner, and I dried my hair with a hair dryer while I waited for my face to turn back to normal. Then I did my usual sunscreen moisturizer, I know it's nighttime but damn it I’m very white. I did my usual make up, only tonight I made the shadow a few shades darker and the black liner thicker bringing my eyes out more. I looked at my face and thought about using a deep red lipstick. Nah, I’m wearing red already. I put on a rosy pink lipstick that was a couple shades darker than my natural lips. I stepped back and looked in the mirror. The makeup wasn’t as subtle as normally, but it still looked good. I put on my black bra and underwear. I pulled on black skinny jeans, a dark red Henley long sleeve shirt. I made sure to unbutton a couple buttons to show a little cleavage, I didn’t want to fall out of my shirt tonight. I pulled on my tall black boots with black leather straps up the outside, making sure to tuck my pants into the boots. I left the bathroom and looked at the full-length mirror in the bedroom. My hair was in sleek curls for once, no frizz or flyaways. The skinny jeans showed the shape of my hips and thighs even more than my usual boot cut jeans. And with the still somewhat modest shirt, I didn’t look real sexy until you were standing near me. That’s what I liked. Subtle but sexy. I used a quick layer of nice smelling hairspray to keep my hair from frizzing. I made sure to put my two necklaces on, tucking them into my shirt. And my onyx beads which I pulled my shirtsleeve over. I even made a point to put on the rosemary oil again. I was going to have fun tonight. No ghost drama, just normal teenage fun. Whatever the hell that means. I grabbed my keys, cell, and wallet before leaving the bedroom. I found the guys waiting in the living room. When they spotted me eyebrows went up and talking stopped. I took a look at them. Zeke and Miles were still in their clothes from this morning. Ethan was wearing black jeans, a black collared shirt unbuttoned, showing a black t-shirt underneath. Along with his usual rings on his fingers and in his ear. But he was freshly shaved. Isaac was still wearing his dark blue jeans only his orange t-shirt had a vintage look. He also wore an olive green short-sleeved collared shirt unbuttoned. Isaac's hair was actually combed.
“You guys clean up pretty good.” I told them. “Well?” I held my hands out and did a turn. I heard Zeke curse. When I was facing them again, I looked at them questioningly. Isaac had a confused look on his face.
“What?” I looked down, thinking I got makeup on my clothes or something. When I saw nothing, I looked back at him with an eyebrow raised.
“How do you do that?” Isaac asked.
“Do what?” I looked down at my outfit again, not understanding what he was asking.
“You are completely dressed, showing almost no skin and still…” Isaac trailed off.
“We’re going to spend all night making sure she’s not in trouble.” Zeke groused looking at the others. Miles' ears had turned a soft pink, Isaac’s eyebrows were up and Ethan was grinning ear to ear. I took it all as a compliment.
“Relax Zeke; I’m not planning on drinking.” His shoulders relaxed.
“Good.” His eyes ran over me again, the worry back on his face. I wrinkled my nose at him.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Ethan went over to the couch and grabbed a shopping bag. He handed it to me. “Miles and I went shopping for you.” I raised an eyebrow and opened the bag. There was a great soft black scarf with white skulls of different sizes all over it. I loved it instantly.
“This is awesome, where did you get it? I think I need this is every color.” I asked, having a big girly moment. The guys laughed as I pulled out soft black knit gloves and a black beanie with a skull and crossbones on the front. I loved them. I dropped the bag and hugged Ethan tight. “Thank you guys. I love them!” I let go of Ethan and hugged Miles who went tense but then relaxed after a couple heartbeats.
“No problem, Lexie.” Miles told me patting my back.
“Yeah, I was only thinking about my poor neck.” Ethan teased. I threw my scarf on and tucked the gloves and beanie into my jean pockets.
“Come on, I’ll drive.” I told them as I picked up my jacket. Everyone grabbed their coats, checked their charms and we headed out.
When we pulled up to the student lot, it was packed. I hadn’t realized how popular a football game was in this town. I finally found a spot and parked. We paid and went through the gate. Ethan stayed behind wanting to wait for Kristina. The crowd was thick enough that we had to go single file. I grabbed Miles' and Isaac’s hands to stop us from getting separated. Zeke was in front making a path. When we made it to a less crowded area, I let go of the boys and looked around. We were on the far right side of the bleachers. We followed Zeke down the cement steps till we were around the middle.
“This good?” Zeke asked pointing to the benches. We all said yes. I ended up on the left with Isaac and Miles to the right. Zeke sat behind me. The guys started talking about the game and injuries some of the players had. I asked about Asher’s stats and got a couple surprised looks. Then Miles was telling me Asher’s numbers. The bleachers were really filling up when Ethan found us, Kristina in tow. She had a cute face, with a button nose. Long straight brown hair and pretty brown eyes. She was wearing an oversized lavender sweater, white jeans and a khaki jacket. She was cute; there was no other way to describe her.
“Everyone this is Kristina.” Ethan announced before he pointed at each of us. “That’s Zeke, Miles, Isaac and Lexie.” Isaac said hi. Miles smiled and turned around quickly, his fingers tapping that staccato rhythm again. Kristina looked really tense, her fingers knotting in on themselves over and over again. I got an idea.
“Thank God! Another girl!” I all but shouted dramatically, I stood up and hurried across the bench in front of us to get past the boys. I was soon sitting next to Kristina, her face lit up, her eyes wide. I gave her my pleading face. “Please talk to me about girl stuff. I’m begging you.” The guys b
urst out laughing, even Kristina chuckled.
“No one wants to hear that stuff, Red.” Isaac shot over his shoulder, a mischievous half grin on his face. He knew what I was doing. I leaned over and popped him lightly on the shoulder.
“Shut up, we already talked about football stats. It’s my turn.” I shot back before turning back to Ethan’s date. I kept asking her questions to get her to start talking. She was in the school band, played the flute and piano. She was hoping to go on to college with a great music program. The more I got her to talk the more she relaxed and talked to the others. She asked me what it was like to have so many guy friends. I told her it was a hoot, in a deadpan voice. I told her about this afternoon and the whole boys listening to me sing incident. I left out that I was in a towel part. The guys snickered; I shot each of them a glare. Kristina giggled. Kristina also showed me several ways to fold and use my new scarf. I didn’t know there was more than one way to use a scarf. Huh, learn something new every day. When the game started, I got up to go back to my spot. Ethan caught my eye and mouthed thank you. I gave him a wink and went back to my spot. As the game went on, we cheered and booed the bad calls. It wasn’t until it was well into the second quarter that I realized the temperature had dropped. I could see my breath. It was cold. I had mostly lived in southern California, Arizona and New Mexico. It did not get this cold there. The metal bench under my butt seemed to steal any warmth I had. I pulled on my gloves and my beanie; I was a bit warmer but still freezing.
“Shit, it's cold.” I finally muttered.
“What’s wrong Lexie? Didn’t it get cold in California?” Isaac taunted. I blew into my gloved hands.
“Not this freaking cold.” I was starting to seriously consider sitting in one of the guys laps. I was even trying to decide whose lap I was jumping into when Zeke caught my attention.
“There’s hot chocolate at the snack bar if you want something warm.” I was up and down the aisle in a blink. I only stopped long enough to ask if someone else wanted something. They all said no, laughing as I ran up the steps. I didn’t care; I was not used to this weather. I was on my way back from the snack bar with my large hot chocolate warming my hands when I heard my name. I stopped and looked around. Eric waved to me as he hurried over through the crowd.
“So you made it.” Eric observed. “Where are you sitting?” I gestured over my shoulder towards the other end of the bleachers.
“With the guys on the end over there. It’s less crowded.” I took a sip of my coco.
“Do you think your friends will mind if I join you?” He asked his voice uncertain. Surprised I didn’t know really how to answer. I had a date with Dylan tomorrow and a phone date tonight. Did that make it weird if Eric came to sit with us during the game? I was really rusty at this.
“I-I don’t think so.” I stammered still not knowing how to answer. Eric seemed to relax and walked with me. I had just finished telling him that Zeke wasn’t as protective as he seemed today when we reached the guys.
“Hey guys, this is Eric.” I announced narrowing my eyes at Zeke, warning him not to start glaring. He gave me a smirk and went back to watching the game. I pointed out everyone as I introduced them. “This is Kristina, Ethan, you know Zeke, Isaac and Miles.” Everyone said hi, except Zeke. I decided to sit down next to Miles; keeping Zeke away from Eric seemed a good idea. I might not want to date the guy but I didn’t want to have him shit himself if Zeke sneezed. The game went on and the conversation flowed. Half time came and my phone vibrated. I checked it.
Ethan: Who’s this guy?
I made sure Eric couldn’t see my phone and answered.
Alexis: Guy from English Zeke scared off. He wanted to sit with me and I didn’t know how to answer. I’m actually not dating anyone, but at the same time I have a phone date with Dylan tonight, and a regular one tomorrow.
It wasn’t long before he wrote back.
Ethan: A double pull, nice Beautiful.
I snickered and put my phone away. No judgment from Ethan, I liked that about him. I went back to watching the halftime show. We were in the third quarter when it happened. Hoots and whistles went up through the crowd. I didn’t understand until Miles touched my shoulder gently.
“Lexie.” Miles said his voice serious. “The big screen.” I looked up and my heart dropped. There was a photo of me in my underwear. It was obvious I was changing in the locker room and that I had no idea the photo was being taken. Words flashed across the bottom of the screen. Call for a good time. Followed by a phone number. My mouth dropped. More cheers and laughter rang out through the crowd.
“Oh my goodness.” Kristina’s voice was shocked.
“What the fuck?” Ethan cursed his voice low with controlled anger.
“Who the hell did that?” Isaac growled.
“Why is it still up there?” Even Miles' voice was cold. I didn’t hear anything from Zeke, and I knew that wasn’t good.
“Is that your phone number?” Eric asked stunned. I read the number again.
“No.” I said as I took a really looked at the picture. At first, it looked bad I admit; I was in my underwear on a big screen. My underwear wasn’t skimpy; in fact, it covered more than some swimsuits. Once I thought of that, I felt better and it didn’t bother me so much. It looked like I was wearing a two-piece swimsuit. The only reason anyone knew it was underwear was because of the locker next to me and the jeans in my hand. I decided to look on the bright side and laugh this off. “At least I don’t look half bad.” I heard Kristina make a surprised laugh behind me. The twins immediately agreed with me, if only to make me feel better. That’s when I heard Zeke get to his feet and step onto the spot where I was sitting earlier. Then everything happened fast.
“Zeke!” Isaac called a warning. Zeke stepped down onto the next bench and started walking up that bench toward the center aisle.
“Oh-no.” Miles muttered.
“Lexie stop him!” Ethan shouted. I got to my feet as he began to pass me and jumped onto his back like a spider monkey.
“Zeke! Stop! Calm down!” I told him my voice hard as I was clinging to his back with my knees around his ribs and my arms around his neck. I had managed to get high enough on his back that my face was near his ear. Zeke barely noticed my weight. He kept going; he stepped out into the center aisle. “It was a girl; I was in the locker room. You can’t kill a girl. And you can’t do it with me on your back you’ll make me an accessory to murder!” I pointed out hoping that would stop him. He stopped walking.
“Get off me baby.” He growled; his whole body was tense under me. His hands went to my arms as if to pry me off. I grabbed his wrists and squeezed tighter with my legs.
“It was probably Jessica; we have gym the same period. You can’t beat up a girl.” I explained desperately. He was so pissed he was actually shaking to hit someone under my weight. He twisted his wrists from my grasp and started back up the steps. Oh, shit. Miles, Isaac and Ethan had run up the steps and were trying to stop him.
“But the guy running the damn screen isn’t. And he’s hasn’t taken the fucking thing down.” Zeke snarled still climbing.
“Miles will get him to take it down.” I assured him as I looked up desperately at Miles. “Miles go get them to take it down!” Miles instantly turned and ran up the steps two at a time. Isaac took Miles spot blocking Zeke, but it wasn’t working. They were just slowing him down. So I kept talking.
“Yeah, I’m in my underwear, but that covers more than most swimsuits do. It’s not even my real phone number.” I kept going as he kept climbing. “I’m not that embarrassed, I don’t look too bad. Sure, I need some muscle tone, so I’ll probably start working out with you guys. But otherwise-”
“It’s down,” Ethan announced, not relaxing from his defensive position. Zeke stopped a step down from them, I felt his back rising and falling as he took deep breaths. I kept talking.
“Zeke, I don't care about it. It’s okay.” I whispered to him. He shook his head.
“It’s not okay Lexie. Some assholes putting a picture of you up like that is not okay.” He snapped over his shoulder at me. He kept taking deep breaths as he was fighting to keep control. Miles came back down the stairs his face pink, his eyes running over us.
“Are we good?” He asked watching Zeke like you would a wolf. I shook my head. We weren’t good, we were out of emergency but we weren’t good. An idea sparked in my mind.
“Zeke, if you calm down we can call Rory.” I offered calmly. Zeke looked at me over his shoulder. “I just turned 17 in August and someone just put a photo of me in my underwear on display.”
“Technically, that is child pornography. It’s a felony.” Miles chimed in seeing where I was going with this.
“And I am the niece of a very overprotective cop.” I reminded him. Personally, it only irritated me, but if I had to call Rory to get Zeke to calm down, I’d call Rory. Zeke’s body relax a little under me. “Rory will scare the shit out of her and whoever helped her.” I offered in a singsong voice. He ran a hand through his hair and gave a big hard sigh.
“Fine, call Rory.” Zeke’s voice was still not back to normal. I gave him a nudge in the ribs with my right knee.
“Take me back to my seat first. Mush.” I teased hoping to get a mouth twitch. I got a snort, even better. Zeke turned around and walked down the steps carefully. We were almost back to our seats when Eric met us. His eyes went from Zeke to me on Zeke’s back.
“Not that protective huh?” Zeke didn’t stop so I could talk to him, he kept moving
“Can ya blame him?” I asked sarcastically. If he didn’t understand why one of my friends would be pissed over this, then he could fuck off.
“See you in English Alexis.” He said before heading back up the stairs. Zeke’s hands came back and wrapped around my knees giving me more support as he continued down the stairs. He gave me a gentle squeeze, probably apologizing.
“You know it’s like I’m riding a dinosaur up here.” I told him so he knew I wasn’t upset. I heard the other boys laugh behind me. I sat up a bit and started looking around. “So, this is what you see if you’re tall.” I felt him chuckle. I smiled, pleased with myself. When we reached where Kristina was sitting Zeke went down another step before he let go of my legs and squatted down enough for me to touch the ground. I let go and waited for him to get back to his feet. He looked at me expectantly.
Trying To Live With The Dead Page 34
