The Zombie Zovels (Book 5): Pretty Dead

by Lake, D. K.

  "Err...no." he laughs. "I got put back...twice."

  "So how old are you?"

  "Twenty in two months."

  "Why'd you move to Radley?" I ask, trying not to look at his black eye or his split lip, but my curiosity gets the better of me and I can't help but stare.

  "I got expelled and this was the only school that would take me." he says as he slides his hands into his pockets.

  "Why'd you get kicked out?" Nessie asks with a judging tone.

  "Got in a fight." he replies casually and I swear I hear Nessie snort. His eyes slide to her for a split second with a dark look on his face. "So what are you girls up to?" he asks, changing the subject and looking back at me.

  "They have the best slushies." I answer.

  Nessie coughs and tilts her head to the side, wanting to leave.

  "What's your name?" he asks and I realize we haven't even introduced ourselves.

  "Oh, I'm Kelsey and this is Nessie."

  "Nessie?" he repeats.

  "It's short for Vanessa, but she doesn't like it so everyone calls her Nessie."

  I catch Nessie glaring at me.

  "What's wrong with Vanessa?" he asks and I see Nessie's cheeks getting a little red and she quickly looks away.

  "I'm Jacob, but you can call me JT, everyone does."

  "What does the T stand for?" I ask, mixing my slushie.

  "Torres, Jacob and Mitchel Torres." JT says, pointing behind me.

  I turn around and see Mitchel leaning against the brick wall with one leg bent and his foot resting on the wall, and Boston is sitting on a pushbike a few feet away.

  "You girls wanna join us?" JT asks.

  I hear Boston snort. "Don't waste your time with those two. Daddy's girl with too much money that thinks she's better than everyone else," He points at Nessie. "And her weird little sidekick."

  Little? I could live with the weird part, but little!

  "Really, is that what you think of me?" Nessie snaps, rolling over to him. "Why don't you say that to my face?"

  Boston laughs and quickly peddles away from her.

  "What you gonna do, ginger?" Boston taunts, turning his bike around.

  "Ginger?! I dare you to say that again, I'll even record it. You won't be laughing when I show it to my brother!"

  "Ginger, ginger, ginger, ginger!!" Boston laughs.

  "I'll show you, you little turd," Nessie yells, rollerskating after him as he peddles away and disappears around the corner.

  No one has ever called Nessie 'ginger' and gotten away with it. She's strawberry blond, don't you know?

  "I should probably go and fetch her." I say, turning to follow her.

  JT chuckles and walks into the convenience store. I feel my cheeks grow warm as I get closer to Mitchel. I look up and catch his eye, and he flashes me a slanted grin that doesn't help me to stay calm. If anything it makes things worse and my heart starts to pound rapidly and I feel dizzy.

  I pray I don't pass out. What is wrong with me?

  I look back down and keep my eyes on the ground, the last thing I want is to trip on a stone or something stupid like that.

  As I pass Mitchel he grabs my wrist, surprising me and I slightly lose my balance but turn toward him and grab his hoodie and he grabs my waist to steady me.

  "I wouldn't worry, they won't go far." he tells me.

  He tilts his head to the side and gestures for me to follow him around the side of the convenience store. My tummy feels funny and I wonder if having butterflies in your tummy is actually a thing 'cause it feels pretty real to me.

  "So your name's Kelsey?" Mitchel says.

  "Uh-huh. I think you were in my English class this morning." I say casually but we both know he was in my English class.

  When we turn the corner I don't see Nessie or Boston anywhere. Seriously, how fast is she?

  "She should try out for the rollerskating Olympics." Mitchel jokes.

  I smile and look around for her but all I can see is the dark alleyway and a load of dumpsters. I'm not worried as I can see people moving around at the other end of the alleyway.

  "Who's her brother?" Mitchel asks, leaning back against the wall.

  Tonight he's wearing a black hoodie with the hood up and a faded denim jacket over the top, the same skinny jeans, and black Vans.

  "Oh, uh, Stephen Conrad. He was in English class this morning."

  "I think I know who you're talking about. Is he your boyfriend?"

  "What? Stephen?!" The very thought of it makes me laugh and feel kinda grossed out at the same time.

  "No!" I assure him in case he misunderstood me.

  "So not your boyfriend?"

  "Definitely not!"

  I suck on my straw and he asks, "Do you have one?" and I nearly choke on the smallest lump of ice ever.

  "No. No boyfriend." I croak out, trying to breathe normally.

  I suck on my straw again to distract myself.

  "What flavor?" he asks.

  "Blue raspberry."

  He nods. "Do you come here a lot?"

  "Most days. I can't get enough of this stuff."

  He smiles and I see his perfectly white teeth, just like his brother's teeth. He flips his hood down and runs a hand through his hair and all I can think about is how much I want to run my fingers through his hair. It looks soft, not dirty or layered with products, just soft. I hear someone coming and turn to see JT approaching with a pack of beer under his arm. He stops just next to me and opens the pack and hands one to Mitchel and then offers me one and I politely decline. JT pops the lid off his beer and looks around.

  "Where's Boston gone?"

  "No idea." Mitchel answers.

  I look down the alleyway wondering where they have both disappeared to.

  "I'll go look for them." JT says, walking away with his pack of opened beer under his arm. I assume he used a fake ID to buy it.

  I turn back to find Mitchel watching me and an awkward silence washes over us so I start thinking up things to ask him.

  "Did you just move here with your family?" I ask.

  "Uh, yeah. Just our mom."

  "Oh, where's your dad?"

  "I dunno where my dad is, but JT's dad is in prison."

  "Oh."

  I'm surprised he shared such personal information with me but then again he does appear like the type of guy that doesn't let much bother him, the laid-back type. I want to ask why they have the same last name but I don't want to sound too interested. Boys don't like girls that ask a million questions.

  He lifts the beer to his lips and I can't help but be drawn to them as his tongue snakes out and licks the beer off his lips. I jump around in my roller skates, the cool night air is starting to bite and I'm only wearing a pair of black leggings, a long vest top, and a knitted black sweater. I usually stay warm when we're skating so I never bring a jacket but now that I'm standing around I'm starting to shiver.

  "You cold?" he asks.

  "No, it's probably just the slushie making me shiver. I'll be fine when I get going."

  He hands me his beer before I can say no and slips off his denim jacket which he holds out to me.

  "No, I'll be fine, really."

  "Just put it on." he says firmly, and we do a switch, he takes his beer back and holds onto my slushie while I slide my arms into his jacket.

  I have to restrain myself from sniffing it. I want to so bad, though. I want to know what he smells like. Is that weird?

  "So do you guys move around a lot?" I ask.

  "Every so often depending on how much trouble we get into."

  "You must have been around a bit then."

  Ohmygoodness...did I just say that out loud? I didn't mean it like that!

  "You know, from place to place." I quickly add.

  "Well, this is the ninth high school I've been to."

  "Wow, that many?"

  I study his face, wondering if he's been put back a year.

  "How old are you?"

  "Eighteen i
n four days."

  "Oh, me too. I mean, I'm eighteen. Today."

  "It's your birthday today?" he says with surprise.

  "Yup."

  He tilts his head to the side, considering something.

  "Did you get everything you want?" he asks.

  "Almost." I say before I can stop myself.

  He finishes his beer and tosses it into the dumpster. I skate a little way down the alleyway, trying to see if I can spot Nessie at the end with the group of people I can see standing about but Mitchel comes up behind me and gently pulls me over to the side. He takes my empty slushie cup and places it on the ground then he reaches out and touches my hand, looking at my face the whole time trying to gauge my reaction. I hint at a smile and move my hand closer to his and he wraps his hand around mine and pulls me close.

  I know deep down he's probably only after one thing and that he's probably only nice to girls to get what he wants. He pushes my windblown, straggly blond hair over my shoulder and strokes the side of my face with his thumb which is surprisingly warm. I can feel my heart racing again and my breathing is unsteady as I look up and find him studying my face.

  I'm not the type of girl to kiss strangers, especially in dark alleyways, but something about him makes me feel safe. No one has ever made my heart race as much as Mitchel does. I stand there like a statue, not sure what to do or where to put my hands. My eyes fall to his lips, thinking he's going to kiss me. I want him to. So badly. Even if he never speaks to me again I don't think I'll care if I just have this moment to hold onto. Ok...I will care but you get the gist. My first ever kiss, with Mitchel Torres.

  I watch his tongue slide across his bottom lip, and I look up at his eyes to find him watching my lips. I draw my bottom lip into my mouth to moisten it and before I know what's happening he takes my face in his hands and pulls me toward him, crushing his lips to mine. I close my eyes and cling to his hoodie, kissing him back. His lips are soft and gentle. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right, I've had no experience so I let him lead. I feel his tongue slide along my bottom lip, and I open my mouth and invite him inside. I always thought my first kiss would be a quick sloppy disaster, but this was turning into the most amazing kiss ever that I would remember for the rest of my life. I don't have much to go on or anyone to compare him to but whatever it is he's doing, I love it! His tongue touches mine, slowly sliding over it, and he lets me explore his own tongue at my own pace. His hands find their way inside the denim jacket and around my waist and pull me flush against him and I place my hand on his chest and can feel his heartbeat, beating fast like mine. Going crazy. Possible about to burst. I get a little braver and reach up and slide my hand into his hair. I think he likes it because he groans a little and kisses me harder, gripping my waist.

  I don't want the moment to end but voices at the end of the alleyway distract me. One of them sounds like Nessie. I pull away, breathing hard. Mitchel still has his mouth open, staring at my lips, like I'm some drug he wants more of. He looks into my eyes and I think we both know that wasn't just a kiss. Something just happened between us, I'm not sure what...but I want more.

  He takes my face in his hands again and pulls me close for one last kiss. Short and sweet with a smile included.

  "Mmm...Blue raspberry. I like it." he says, licking his lips.

  He takes a step back to give me some space and I try to act normal as Nessie, Boston, and JT walk over to us. I don't think any of them have seen us kissing in the shadows.

  "Thanks." I say quietly, glancing at him sideways.

  "For what?" He looks at me curiously.

  "My birthday kiss." I whisper just before Nessie reaches us.

  When I made my birthday wish earlier, I wished for Mitchel Torres to be my first kiss. Silly, I know, but he was the only thing on my mind when I made the wish.

  As Boston gets closer I can see his sweatshirt is drenched down the front and Nessie is missing her slushie. JT grins at his brother with a knowing smile before looking in my direction.

  "Come on, we're leaving!" Nessie says, grabbing my arm.

  "Oh...uh, what? Ok." I babble, still reeling from the kiss, not wanting to come down from cloud nine just yet.

  "Wait, your jacket." I say, looking in Mitchel's direction as Nessie drags me away.

  "It's cool, give it back to me another time."

  I let her pull me away but I can't resist looking over my shoulder and I see Mitchel watching me, not taking his eyes off of me. I turn around not wanting to trip and let Nessie lead me away.

  "Kelse!" Mitchel calls.

  I slow down and spin around with a huge grin on my face. I love the way he shortened my name, no one has ever called me Kelse before (Kelsey with no eee sound).

  "How about Friday we do this again?" He smiles, leaning against the corner wall.

  "What is he talking about?" Nessie asks.

  "I have no idea." I lie.

  I do know, of course. It's his birthday on Friday and I'm hoping he wants the same thing. I wait until we're back home before I tell her everything that happened. She's shocked and appalled but I know secretly she's pleased for me 'cause she knows I've been waiting forever for my first kiss. She tells me to be careful, giving me the whole 'boys like that are only after one thing' speech, and the Torres brothers are trouble with a capital T. I know she's right, I should stay away, but I can't, not now, not after that kiss! I know Nessie has a secret crush on JT, but she denies it and says he's too much trouble and her parents would disown her if she ever got involved with someone like him. I wait until Nessie has gone home before I lock myself in my room and put Mitchel's jacket back on.

  After I catch up on my homework I crawl into bed just after midnight, still wearing his jacket, refusing to take it off. It smells of smoke but it still has that clean laundry smell with a hint of mint. I should hate it, but I secretly love it. It's his smell. And I'm in love with it.

  I just hope he doesn't turn into a dick overnight and act like nothing happened tonight, or worse, come tomorrow he might ignore me and pretend I don't even exist.

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