The next day at school I managed to ignore Kevin completely until I got to my study period. Our arrangement of pretending not to run in the same circles meant that I could tune him out somewhat and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until my study period when he came over to ask if I wanted help with my math. I tried not to look up at him as I kept my face in my book, “No thank you. I think I understand this lesson.”
I could feel him standing there for a bit until I heard him mumble, “Okay. You’re going to want to keep track of your negative signs when you move them to the other side of the equation.” He pointed to one of the problems I had written out in my notebook and then walked away. I let out a quiet breath and kept my face covered with my long hair as I erased my mistake and fixed it, then went back to stumbling through the math problems until I heard the bell ring.
After school Brittney gave me a ride home and as we pulled in the driveway Kevin was mowing my lawn. I looked at Brittney with hesitation in my eyes and she asked, “Did you want me to come in with you?”
I shrugged and she took that as a sign to shut the car off. We got out and started up the driveway. Kevin shut the mower off and called out to us.
“Hey!” He said happily, “Did you guys have a good day?”
“It was fine, Chess club,” Brittney replied as she pulled out her phone and turned it on, not even slowing her pace towards my house.
He shot me an odd look and then said, “I’m almost done. Are your parents around?”
Brittney spun around and gave him a cross look, “Not tonight, Chess club. We have to wash our hair and put on mud masks. You understand right? We need to look pretty for all the guys in our lives.”
“Uh, yeah…” He replied slowly as he watched us quickly head into the house.
I let out a long sigh as I closed the front door behind me and Brittney gave me a light punch on the shoulder, “It will get easier, slut. Stay strong.”
I nodded and we went up to my room. As we checked out some cheer stuff on the internet and went through our social media and exchanged gossip, I happened to look out the window of my bedroom and saw Kevin trimming the bushes along the fence in our backyard. As I looked out he happened to look up. When our eyes met he smiled at me. I quickly closed the blinds and went back to talking with Brittney.
++++++++++++++++++++
Two days later I still hadn’t really talked to Kevin at all. I was out shopping with Brittney, Rachel, and Tiffany as we chatted and laughed. We were looking at dresses for the dance when I got a text message from Kevin. I looked down at my phone and sighed.
Hey, haven’t talked in a while. Is everything cool with us?
I pulled Brittney to the side and showed her the screen, “Just ignore him. He’ll get the hint eventually.”
I sent back, Can’t talk now. Out with the girls shopping for a dress for the dance. Super busy lately. Is that not okay with you?
I watched as Rachel came out in a lovely robin’s egg blue dress that left her entire back bare and she spun slowly, “Well?”
“Oh, that’s the one!” Tiffany squealed.
“You said that about the last three dresses she came out in, Tiff,” Brittney chided her.
“Well she looks hot in all of them,” Tiffany fired back.
“I still like the silver one,” I chimed in as my phone chirped again.
I looked down to see the text, Oh sorry. Didn’t mean to bug you. I’ll leave you be. Just let me know when you want to chat again. Both of you just seemed a bit distant lately. I was worried I did something wrong.
I rolled my eyes and put my phone away.
++++++++++++++++++++
I was sitting in lunch the next day when Brad looked over at me, “So Sweets, have you decided what time I should pick you up for the dance or what?”
I let out a slow breath and Brittney nudged me under the table. I looked at her and she eyed me back and then looked over at Brad as she commented, “You don’t want to meet at the dance? You and Vince can do disgusting boy stuff right up until it starts.”
“No way, Britt. I want to show up at the dance with the hottest girl at school on my arm. How will anyone know Amy came with me if she doesn’t show up with me,” he replied.
“You’re such an ass. She’s not the only girl here you know,” Brittney replied back and Tiffany nodded.
“I know she’s not the only girl here, but she is the hottest.”
“Ugh,” Brittney said as she rolled her eyes and Vince and Brad high fived each other.
“So your house at six?” Brad asked me as he flexed his arms, “I’ll bring both my guns and we can take some pictures and shit.”
“Uh, sure. Whatever,” I said as I glanced in Kevin’s direction and then back at Brad.
Brittney caught my glance and gave me a disgusted look while Brad continued on, “Oh, make sure your dress isn’t too long. I like to slip a hand up underneath every now and then while we’re at the dance. It kinda gives me a preview of how moist you are so I know when you’re primed and ready for the main event. Oh, but the dress shouldn’t be too slutty. I mean my parents are going to see the pictures and everything.”
“Yeah, I just remembered I have to meet Ms. Davis for a math thing,” I said as I stood up and started to leave.
“I’ll come with you,” Brittney said as she stood up as well.
“Can chicks do anything by themselves? You go to the bathroom in groups, you go shopping in groups. You can’t even talk to teachers unless you’re in a group,” Vince said as he laughed and high fived another football player.
Brittney sneered at him and then we both started walking towards the exit. Suddenly she veered off and started walking toward Kevin. I continued on my path but stopped to watch at the doors as she went through the lunch room like she was on a mission until she was standing right behind him. She then popped the lid off her slushy with her thumb and held it over his head and dumped it. He was in the middle of talking to someone and his eyes went wide open as the cherry flavored frosty drink hit his head and went down his shirt and into his lap. He turned to look at her and she tossed the cup at him and then stormed away. I saw a confused look on his face as he watched the two of us leave the lunch room. Meanwhile every football player stood up and jeered from the table we had recently vacated.
++++++++++++++++++++
Brittney started her car but before she could put it in reverse there was a tapping on my window. I looked over to see Kevin standing there in a shirt with a large red stain down the front of it. I let out a groan as he tapped on the window again and Brittney used her switch to roll it down.
“What do you want?” Her voice sounded harsh.
Kevin looked at both of us and then asked, “Hey, I know I’m sort of breaking protocol here, but you guys don’t really respond to any of my text messages and we haven’t talked in a while. Did I do something wrong? Or something that pissed you guys off? I’m sorry if I did. Let me know and I’ll…”
“I’m done with you,” Brittney interrupted him loudly and his mouth snapped shut as he looked at her.
“Stay out of my body and stay away from me!” She paused as she stared hard at him and with venom in her voice added, “Well that’s what I want, but you’re a guy. So you’ll do whatever the fuck you want anyway. I just want you to know that I’m done going along with it.”
“What did I…” Kevin started to ask but I cut him off too, “We need space Kevin. Just give us space okay?”
He looked wounded as he took a step back from the car but nodded, “If that’s what you want. Sure.”
“It is,” I replied with a curt nod.
“Can I at least know…” He started to say and then suddenly large hands grabbed him and shoved him forward onto the hood of Brittney’s car. Vince stood on one side holding him down and Brad stood on the other side pinning his arms behind his back.
“What the fuck are you doing, loser? How many times does it take to get it through your thick skull? Stay the fuck away from the cheerleaders!” Brad said as he made a fist and jabbed it into Kevin’s side just below his ribs. Kevin let out a pain filled “oomph” noise as he winced.
“Brad!” I started to say until Brittney put the car in reverse and backed up, causing Vince and Brad to stumble and Kevin to fall to the pavement. As she turned the car Vince picked Kevin off from the ground and held him with his arms behind his back. Brad cracked his knuckles as he looked Kevin over with malicious intent. Brittney called out across me, “Make sure Chess club gets a good one to the face from me, otherwise he’ll never learn.”
Brittney then rolled up the window and I saw Brad pull back and crack his fist off the side of Kevin’s face, spinning his head around as I saw some blood fly out. I gasped and looked at Brittney who hammered down the gas pedal and sped off.
“That was a super harsh, Britt!” I called out as I tried to look over my shoulder and catch another glimpse of what was happening, but her car was already leaving the parking lot and the one sided fight was behind several rows of cars.
“Fuck him. He deserves it,” she said as she gave me a sour look.
“No, he doesn’t deserve to have his teeth knocked out!”
“Yes. He does. He was using us. Toying with us. Well, now he’ll find out why that wasn’t a good idea.”
I let out a sigh and looked out the window. I was worried about Kevin and tried to catch one last look as we zoomed down the street past the school, but the only thing I managed to witness was one arm pulling back above the tops of some cars and hammering back down. I gulped as I hoped Kevin would be okay.
++++++++++++++++++++
I was putting my earbuds in and just stepping out the door when I saw Kevin’s car coming down the street. I leaned against the garage door as I brought my leg up and stretched it. I saw Kevin shove the door of his car open with his shoulder and stumble out. His stained shirt was torn in several places and on top of the red slushy stains were new black sooty spots he must have gotten from rolling across the pavement. His right eye was swollen shut and badly bruised and the other side of his face was bleeding. He held his right arm across his ribs and his left arm hung limply by his side. As he stumbled to the door of his house, I saw his head turn my way and I saw him look at me with his one good eye. He stopped for half a moment and then looked down at the ground and continued to his front door.
“Oh my sweetie, what happened to you?” I heard his mom exclaim as the front door swung open.
“I fell down the stairs at school,” Kevin replied back in monotone.
“You fell down the stairs? Like all of the stairs in the entire building? Twice? Look at you!” She paused as she reached out and grabbed his head and looked at his face, “C’mon in and sit down. I’ll get some ice and the first aid kit.”
I felt terrible as I watched him disappear into the house. I pulled out my phone and texted Brittney, You have to stop this with Kevin. Brad almost killed him. He got beat to a pulp. I get that we are done being his puppets, but we’re going to get him killed. I hit send and then started out for my jog. I didn’t get very far before my phone chirped with a response, How do I know this is really you? F him. F you Chess club!
I felt my eyes start to water at the response and tucked my phone away instead of getting back to her. I shook my head as I ran and wondered how everything got so messed up so quickly. As the emotions churned inside of me the jog turned to a run, and the run turned into a sprint. My feet pounded against the ground as my lungs started to burn and my muscles started to ache but I kept pushing as hard as I could until eventually my body just gave out and I collapsed in a park. I panted and sobbed loudly as I curled up and wept until my emotions were completely drained out of me.
++++++++++++++++++++
A week and a half had passed since Kevin came home beaten to a pulp. He had given us as wide of a berth as he could at school, but the harassment continued as Brad worked out his aggression on him almost every day. Brittney was still just as pissed with him and routinely questioned me when we first met up and usually didn’t open up to me until she saw Kevin somewhere and knew he wasn’t inside of me.
I was putting the finishing touches on my make-up when my mother called up to me, “Sweetie! Your date is here!”
“Coming, Mom!” I called back and looked at myself in the mirror.
My hair was pulled back with two small braids starting at my temple and pulling back to wrap around the tight bun on the back of my head with some baby’s breath weaved into my hair. My make-up was done lightly to accentuate my eyes and my long lashes fluttered when I blinked. My pink lips shimmered in the light and I did my best to pull them into a small smile. This was supposed to be a happy occasion right? Why didn’t it feel that way then?
The dress I was wearing was basically red lace down my shoulders and over my breasts going down over my trim stomach, with red mesh over my cleavage to hint how proudly my bosom stood out from my chest while still keeping the girls firmly in check for no slip outs. It vee’d deeply down my back and the skirt flared out at my waist nicely with its hemline well above my knees, but low enough to be decent. I had glittering dangly earrings on and my red stiletto heels matched them perfectly. I grabbed my small clutch and made my way down the stairs.
My father smiled proudly at me and I could see how happy he was. My mother hugged me and exclaimed, “Oh! You look so beautiful!”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said with a deep blush and then heard Brad ask, “Okay! Are we ready to snap some pictures? Otherwise we’ll be late for dinner.”
“You look very handsome, Brad,” I said as he stood there in a nice suit that was obviously tailored just for tonight.
“Yeah, I’ve been doing some extra rounds at the gym to make sure I’d look great babe,” He said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started to type a text message. My father looked at him sourly and cleared his throat as he said loudly as if hinting at Brad, “You look gorgeous, Amy.”
“Let’s take pictures out by the rose bushes!” My mother cut in to redirect my father, which caused him to hold up the camera and nod.
We made our way outside and as Brad and I posed in front of the rose bushes Kevin had painstakingly nurtured to bloom, I felt guilt gnaw away at my insides once more. Despite that I put on a happy face and smiled brightly as my father began snapping pictures. My mother stood by his side and occasionally asked us to look a certain way or move an arm to a certain position. I tried not to change my expression at all as Brad’s hand worked its way to my ass and he gave it a squeeze while my parents were discussing if they needed any more pictures.
When they had all of the photos they wanted we made our way to Brad’s little red sports car. He quickly climbed into the driver’s side and called out, “Hurry up, Babe! We have to make up some time here.”
I smiled at my parents and opened the passenger side door and got in as my mother called out to have fun and my father called out to drive safe and reminded me of my curfew. Brad quickly backed out of the driveway and then gunned the throttle as we rocketed down the road. As he drove he looked over at me with his normal swagger and said, “So, I got us in at that little restaurant downtown. It’s pretty exclusive. My dad had to pull a few strings to get us in.”
“Sounds lovely,” I replied as I kept my hands in my lap.
Brad reached over and tugged at the hemline of my dress, “So what are you wearing under there? Do I get a preview before tonight or are you going to keep me in suspense?”
I pressed the clutch into my lap to stop my dress from coming up as I replied, “I think you’re going to have to wait!”
“You naughty little vixen! I like surprises I guess,” he said as he went back to driving.
When we arrived at the restaurant, Brad got out and called one of his buddies while I waited patiently beside the car and then we went in to eat. Brad ordered for me and told the waiter to just bring me a salad and a half sized meal because I was watching my weight. I pursed my lips as the waiter looked at me with surprise but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to start a fight in public. I texted Brittney to see how she was doing and let her know that I still thought Brad was a total dick. She came back with a roll eyes emoji and reminded me that I would basically be a shoe in for her spot on the cheerleading team next year and how this would help my popularity sky rocket. After our meal Brad argued with the waiter that he shouldn’t have to pay full price for my meal since it was a half portion and finally I took the credit card out of my purse and just paid for the whole thing. We then got back in the car and as we left the restaurant Brad lit up a cigar.
I coughed and looked at him with disapproval and asked, “Could you not smoke that in here? My hair will reek like cigar for a week.”
“Babe, it’s like my pre-game warm up!” He said and then added, “You’ll be fine. You girls have all that scented shampoo anyway. Just wash it twice or something.”
“Can you at least roll down your window?” I begged as I coughed again.
“Babe, I don’t want the wind to mess up my hair. Are you always this needy?”
I bit my lip shot another text off to Brittney.
When we got to the dance, I stopped by the entrance to say hi to Rachel and Hannah. Brad left me there to head inside and meet up with his friends. I went inside to find him and then sent a text to Brittney to find out when she would be arriving as I was already dying without her. Tiffany was there with me, but she was sitting on Trevor’s lap with the rest of the football team at a table off to the side of the dance floor. A few of them were taking up skirt pictures of Tiffany as she sat there but she either didn’t notice or didn’t care. I fired a text message off to her, and when she glanced at her phone her eyes went to my face and then she fidgeted on Trevor’s lap until he let her change positions.
I went over to Brad’s side and touched his shoulder, “Should we go dance?”
“Babe, calm down. We have all night. Vince has some booze he smuggled in so we’re going to work on our liquid courage for a bit and then we’ll go out there. Just grab a seat next to me,” he replied and patted the chair.
I looked over at Jackson as he readied his phone in case he could get a shot up my dress and I let out a breath, “I’m going to stand thank you.”
“Suit yourself,” Brad said as he fist bumped Jackson who looked a bit disappointed.
Finally I saw Brittney walk in with a guy on her arm I’d never seen before and I told Brad, “I’m going to say hi to Britt.”
“Okay, but don’t be gone too long, sugar. You know that I like your ass to be close by to keep my hand warm if it gets cold,” he replied back and slapped me on the backside as I walked away.
I let out a groan as soon as I got over by Brittney and whined, “Why did I ever agree to this?”
“Oh calm down. It’s just one night, slut,” she said as she popped open her compact and checked her make-up. “Reginald this is Amy, Amy, Reginald.”
He took my hand and kissed it gently as he said, “Charmed.”
“Oh, it’s so nice to meet a man with manners,” I said as I smiled at him.
“Why, thank you! It’s so lovely to meet a charming young lady such as yourself! I appreciate you not calling everyone you meet a slut,” he replied as he rolled his eyes at Brittney.
She looked at him dryly and as the song changed she let out a squeal, “I love this song! Come dance with me, slut!”
She dragged me onto the floor and we met up with a few other girls and started to dance and laugh. When the song ended we let out a cheer and the band paused for a minute as the lead singer started talking to us and then called out the next song they would be playing. I suddenly got a look of shock on my face and Brittney saw it.
“What?”
“The guitar player,” I replied.
She looked and suddenly her face mirrored my own as I asked, “Did you know Kevin could play the guitar?”
“If you didn’t, then I wouldn’t.”
The next song started and we shook our shoulders and got back to dancing. Almost half the event was done before Brad finally came out onto the dance floor. When he did he stumbled up to me and grabbed my ass as he called out, “C’mon babe! Let’s slow dance!”
He dragged me away from Brittney who in turn went to look for her own date as the other football players also stumbled out onto the dance floor to claim their own dates, shoving people out of one section of the dance floor. Brad pulled me tightly to him and then started to sway back and forth as both his hands grasped my back side. We turned in slow circles slightly off beat to the song and as we turned I looked up to see Kevin calmly playing. His eyes were scanning across the room but stopped as he noticed me looking at him and I gave him a half smile. He returned the half smile for a pregnant second and then dropped his eyes down to his guitar. I noticed his face was still bruised on one side. I put my head on Brad’s shoulder and sighed.
“Oh, hey babe, I forgot to tell you! I got us a room for tonight,” he declared proudly as he let go of my ass to fish a plastic keycard out of his pocket and hold it up to my face.
“Brad, I have a curfew! I can’t stay out all night,” I reminded him.
“Babe! It’s one of those rooms with the Jacuzzi right in it! C’mon! I shelled out big cash for this thing!” He complained back to me, “Just shut your phone off. Your parents will forgive you. It’s not like you’ll be dead or anything, you’re out with me.”
“Brad, I…” I started to say until Trevor tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the stage and interrupted me, “The fucking douche is on stage. Did you see that shit? We should mess him up afterwards before we go to the hotel.”
“No, you shouldn’t!” I said as I pulled back from Brad’s arms, “He’s been through enough. You need to leave him alone.”
“Why do you care what happens to that fuckstick?” Brad asked as he laughed.
“Because I don’t want him to die. You’ve beat him enough. He’s not even coming close to me anymore.”
“Babe, the beatings are like a warning to the rest of the losers in this school. If we stop with him, we’ll have to start with another one of the random chodes that think they’re as good as us,” Brad replied as he held up his hand to high five Trevor.
“I need to get a drink,” I declared and left Brad on the dance floor.
I found Brittney by the punch bowl and told her about the football team’s plan for after the dance. She didn’t seem concerned. I huffed off to the bathroom and she followed me.
Inside as we were checking our make-up in the mirror she looked at me, “You have to let him go. I don’t know what he’s still got on you, but just forget him.”
“I could probably forget him if I didn’t have to see him come home bruised and bloody every other day. How can you not care?”
“I’m still pissed,” she replied as she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
“If we’re friends, you will stop trying to get him beat up,” I told her plainly as I looked at her in the mirror.
“It’s like that?” She said as she re-applied her lipstick, “You’re picking sides like that? Are you still doing things with him?”
“No Britt, I’m not. But I can’t watch anyone get beat like that day in and day out. No matter how mad I am at them.”
She pursed her lips and put away her lipstick and sighed, “Fine. Help me find my date and I’ll see about calling off the beat downs.”
“You lost your date?”
“Shut up, slut. He was just some college boy from the country club who looked good in a suit. I barely know his name, but I know I didn’t want to go with some immature high school boy who was going to grab my ass all night,” she replied as we left the bathroom.
We left and started going around the dance floor looking for Reginald but couldn’t seem to find him anywhere. As my eyes scanned across the dance floor, I saw Brad dancing with some other girl. I shook my head and nudged Brittney and pointed at the two of them.
“Perfect night. So magical,” I said sarcastically.
“He’s such a pig,” she replied and then we left the gym to check the few hallways that were open to see if Reginald was out there.
“Did he leave?” I asked as we couldn’t find him out in the hallways either.
“I drove, so if he left he hitched a ride with someone,” she said with a shrug and we headed back into the gym where the dance was set up.
“Oh, for fucks sake,” I muttered as I saw my date now in a full make out session with the girl he had been dancing with from before on the middle of the dance floor. He had one hand slid under the exceedingly short hemline of her dress and was obviously getting quite the handful. Some of the football players were standing by pumping their fists in the air and encouraging him.
“He’s such a fucking pig,” Brittney replied as she shook her head and then pointed off to the side of the gym. “Is the equipment room door open?”
“It almost looks like it,” I replied and we headed that way.
As we walked across the gym, several cheerleaders came rushing over to us with distress on their faces. They crowded around me and said, “Did you see what Brad is doing and with who? I always knew Gisselle was a slut. Can you believe her? Are you going to go over there? You should totally bitch slap her and put her in her place.”
I stopped momentarily and looked at all of them and then held my chin high as I said, “They’re both assholes and neither of them is worth my time. I hope they make each other very happy while giving each other new STDs.”
The girls smiled and giggled as they nodded in agreement and we all followed after Brittney. She was already pulling at the slightly open equipment room door to bring it out its full arc and both her hands shot to her face as she gasped. The rest of us got there and peered in, and suddenly we had equally shocked looks on our faces, except for Tiffany who let out a muffled squeal as she covered her mouth.
Reginald was down on his knees with Trevor’s cock in his mouth as he enthusiastically swallowed the football player’s meat stick. Trevor had his shirt off with his eyes closed as he bucked his hips and softly moaned, “You take it all in your face! Tell me you want it! Oh I want to come on your face! Fuck, I love a little bit of facial hair brushing against my dick!”
“WHAT THE FUCK TREVOR!” Tiffany screamed at him. His eyes popped open and he looked over at her and then tried to push Reginald off his dick.
“What the fuck man, I’m not gay! What the fuck are you doing?” Trevor yelled as he turned his back to the door and tried to stuff his cock back in his pants.
Reginald leaned back and looked at him with wide eyes, “You hit on me you ass!”
“Fuck you, you pansy! You better get the fuck out of here or the entire team is gonna beat your faggot ass!” Trevor said as he turned back around with an obvious erection still pressing against his pants.
I saw Brittney looking to the stage and followed her eyes to Kevin as he stood there playing with his back to the crowd oblivious to everything before looking back to me and declaring, “He has to be behind this somehow!”
It was difficult to respond as Tiffany wept loudly, spun, and started to run out of the gym. Trevor pushed past us as he swung his arms in his shirt and ran across the gym in the opposite direction from his girlfriend. Brittney tapped her foot as she went back to staring at her date who looked at her and shrugged, “You didn’t realize I was gay? I was wearing a matching ascot at the country club. I figured you just wanted to bring a guy who could actually dance.”
Brittney closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose and I turned to start after Tiffany. I spent most of the rest of the dance trying to comfort the poor girl and keep Rachel away from her as she gloated about the fact that she couldn’t believe her and Tiffany almost got in a spat over a gay guy. Every time she mentioned it Tiffany would break out sobbing once more. Finally when Rachel commented that it was now obvious why Trevor had chosen Tiffany because of her manly shoulders, I kicked her out of the bathroom and texted Brittney to keep Rachel managed and away from the bathroom. I finally got Tiffany calmed down when Hannah stopped by to tell me that she had taken her own car and would give the still slightly crying Tiffany a ride home. After dealing with that drama I was ready for a breather, so when I walked out of the bathroom and almost knocked down Brad I found myself gritting my teeth.
“Babe, are you almost ready to go,” he asked as he swayed on his feet. I could smell the liquor on his breath.
“What fucking planet do you think you’re on?” I yelled back at him.
“What crawled up your ass? Let’s just get to the hotel and I’ll do a little exploring and see if I can’t dig that stick out of there for you!” He said as he grabbed for my breasts.
I swatted his hands away, “Fuck you! Go take your new best friend to the hotel! Gisselle seemed to be all primed and ready for you a little while ago!”
“Babe, you know you’re my number one girl! Gisselle is fun to mess around with, but she’s nowhere near as hot as you. C’mon! I wanna go and get laid!” He said as he tried to wrap an arm around my shoulders.
I ducked his arm and shoved him back and dropped my ultimatum, “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on. I am not your number one girl. Don’t talk to me, don’t come near me or the next time I will punt your balls through your throat! You cheated on me right in front of me! In front of everyone at the school! How do you not understand that, you moron!”
He stood back and held his hands up as he shook them, “Woah babe. You just had to say you were on your fucking period this weekend and I’d have found a different girl. I do not need all this emotional screaming.”
I clenched my jaw as my eyes narrowed on him and I could feel my blood boiling, “I can’t believe you, but you know what? This is my fault. I should have told you off a long time ago. I should have kicked your balls to the moon the first time you cheated on Britt! No one deserves this. Why don’t you go fool around with Trevor if you need someone to take to the hotel room that bad? I’m sure he’s got a big set of blue balls right now!”
I spun on my heels and stormed off and heard Brad coming after me so I yelled out over my shoulder, “I swear I will hose you down from head to toe with pepper spray if you follow me Brad!”
“But Babe… What am I supposed to do here? Rub one out? In the room by myself?” I heard him ask as he stopped walking, but I ignored him and texted Brittney, Are you still here? Can you give me a ride home?
My phone chirped moments later and I opened a text from her, At the car. C’mon slut I’ll give you a ride. It’s been a hell of a night. Can I sleep at your house? I don’t wanna go home and be alone tonight.
I let out a sigh of relief and headed out to meet her. As I dropped into the passenger seat I blew a stray strand of hair out of my face and looked at her with a tired sigh, “I’m skipping the next dance.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied as she started the car and we headed out.
As we drove Brittney suddenly started to giggle until it built up into chuckling and that built into full-fledged hysterical laughing. As she kept going I couldn’t help but start to laugh as well. She looked over at me with tears in her eyes as she asked, “Did my date for the dance really have a dick in his mouth?” She then started to laugh even harder.
I nodded as my laughter became uncontrollable until we suddenly felt the car lurch and felt a loud thunk as the wheel jerked in Brittney’s hands. She slammed on the brakes, we stopped, then got out and looked back at a nasty pothole in the road behind us. We then looked back to Brittney’s car, which was now leaning at an angle as the air quickly gushed out of the tire.
“Perfect ending to a perfect evening,” she declared as she leaned back against the side of the car in her dress and brought a hand to her forehead.
I suddenly heard another car coming, looked up and saw the headlights and then noticed it was slowing down. It turned its hazards on as it slowed, pulled over to the side and stopped behind us. I saw the door open. It wasn’t until the driver was all the way out that I saw who it was.
“Kevin?” I asked the shadowy figure.
“Oh, for fucks fucking sake. It’s like today just wants to shit on me as many times as it can!” Brittney declared as she pushed off the fender and went to the driver’s side of the car and sat down.
“Flat tire?”
I just nodded back to him.
“Okay, pop the trunk,” he replied and motioned at the back of the car.
I looked at Brittney whose only response was to slam her door shut and lean back against the headrest of the seat.
I looked back at Kevin and said quietly, “I’ll get it.”
I got in the passenger side and reached across Brittney to push the small button and heard the trunk release. As I straightened up she hit the electronic lock button for the doors and held her hand up against the window with her middle finger pressed to the glass.
“Look, whatever. You don’t even have to talk to me. I’ll fix the tire and then I’ll leave. No contact at all, okay?” He said to us through the glass as he quickly went to the trunk and moments later came back with the jack and a tool he must have found in there somewhere as well. He knelt down and went to work on the tire with the tool and a few grunts and then I felt the side of the car raise up. I looked at Brittney but she kept staring straight ahead and ignored both of us. I saw Kevin pull the tire off and carry it to the back of the car and then return with the spare tire. He knelt down once more and I heard more noises and a few more grunts and then felt the car lowering. He then went back to work on the tire for a bit. Once he was done with that he carried the tool and the jack and I heard them hit the bottom of the trunk with a thud. The trunk then slammed shut and I heard him knock on it a few times to let us know he was done before he went back to his own car. His hazard lights turned off and he pulled around us and drove down the street without saying another word.
I looked over at Brittney who was now gritting her teeth and then she finally let out a long breath as she started her car and drove off after Kevin’s tail lights had disappeared out of sight. She was stone silent the entire ride home, and as she pulled into my driveway she put the car in park. I got out and saw Kevin in the driveway next door with the hood up on his car.
“I’m going over to say thank you,” I told Brittney.
“Fine. But now I have to come because otherwise I won’t know if he’s in you or not. But I am NOT getting any closer to him than the edge of the driveway. And I am NOT saying thank you,” she huffed back at me.
I walked across the lawn and stopped a few feet away from him and softly said, “Um… Hey, I just wanted to thank you for your help with the tire.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said without looking up from whatever he was wrenching on under the hood.
“How is your face?” I asked as I looked at him in the dimness of the mechanics light he had hanging from the underside of his car’s hood.
“Its fine,” he replied, still without looking up.
“It looked like it hurt,” I said with a shrug.
“Not as much as other things,” he replied, still not looking at me.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?” Brittney suddenly screamed at him from the end of his driveway loud enough to startle us both and as Kevin jumped his head slammed into the underside of the hood.
He turned around while rubbing his head and glared at her as he set the wrench down on the front of his car, “What’s my problem! What’s your problem? I don’t even know what I did!”
Suddenly Brittney was running at him. He leaned back against the front of his car and she shoved at him, tipping him backwards over the engine and she grabbed a hold of the collar of his shirt and then pushed him roughly to the ground alongside the car.
“Brittney!” I called out as I watched her grab the wrench off the front of the car and hold it high above her head. Kevin covered his head with his arms.
She swung the wrench down in a wide arc and connected with the middle of Kevin’s back with a loud thud. He yelped in pain while she stood over him with a heeled foot on either side of his body. Brittney suddenly started to sob loudly and dropped the wrench on the concrete next to him, which caused a loud clang to ring out in the night.
“You were going to leave us! You were going to leave Amy! You were going to leave me!” She yelled at him, “You just decided to play with us like toys and then when you were done you’d just walk away and leave us behind used and abused like every other fucking man on the face of the planet!”
“What are you talking about, you crazy woman?” Kevin asked as he pulled his arms down from his face.
“Was it a game to you?” She kicked him in the stomach with her foot, “We didn’t even matter did we?” She kicked him again, “We were just something to pass the time, huh?” She kicked him another time and then went back to sobbing loudly and covered her face with her hands as she bent forward and cried harder.
“I thought we were all having fun! What did I do that crossed a line?” Kevin questioned her.
“You were…” She got out in between sobs, “Going to,” she gasped for air, “LEAVE!” she yelled as she balled her fists. I thought she was going to start swinging at Kevin and he also brought up his arms protectively over his head once more, but then Brittney suddenly collapsed heavily on top of him as tears began to flow from her eyes. She panted as she cried loudly.
Kevin slowly brought his arms down from around his face and put them around her as she lay on top of him weeping. He then slowly brought a hand to her head and gently petted her messed-up hair as he looked at me with questioning eyes. Brittney kept crying, occasionally bringing a balled fist up into the air and smacking it against Kevin’s shoulder lightly as though she had already spent everything she had in her but wasn’t done hitting him yet.
Finally she cried herself out and she sniffled as she pulled back. Her mascara was smeared all over her face as she looked at him and asked softly, “Why? Why would you show us this just to leave us here?”
He pushed her into a sitting position and then grunted as he spun to lean against the car. He pulled her back against his chest and stroked her hair some more as he asked, “Who said I was leaving?”
Brittney didn’t respond with words, she just pointed at me over her shoulder and sniffled as she buried her head into his chest. Now it was my turn. The emotions that had been building and the guilt that had been churning in my gut since I had seen Kevin get beaten on the hood of Brittney’s car came flooding out at once. I dropped to my knees as the tears came streaming from my eyes and I managed to sputter out, “I saw into your mind again.”
Kevin gave me a confused look as I paused and took a breath to keep myself from losing it quite as much as Brittney had before I continued, “I saw it all. All of the things you did. All of the places you’ve been. You’ve never stayed in one place for very long. You’re constantly moving around, and you spend even less time in one place since you found out about your powers. After that it was maybe a month in one spot or even less. I told Brittney about it. I told her we didn’t stand a chance against the entire rest of the world!”
“So you decided to get me beat up until I left?” He looked at me like I was a crazy person.
I shook my head, “We were just going to stop talking to you. I don’t know what happened. It just got out of control and all messed up! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” I said as the tears started to flow faster.
“I was pissed,” Brittney said as she pulled back and looked into his eyes, “I was so pissed off at you, and I wanted you to hurt as much as I could,” she managed to get out before she started to cry again.
Kevin took a deep breath and pulled Brittney’s head to his chest, “Are you both okay? You’ve had a big night.”
Brittney’s hand came back in a balled fist once more and she brought it down into Kevin’s shoulder, “Why! Why are you still being so nice! You’re supposed to hate us back!”
Kevin laughed as he shrugged, “I dunno. I just can’t hate you two. I think I love both of you, and we’ve had kind of a messy relationship so far, so I just figured this was part of it. I mean, it’s got to be a lot for you ladies.”
Brittney sniffled and then let out a wheezing breath, “So you’re not leaving us?”
Kevin sighed and kissed Brittney’s head and motioned for me to come over to him. I sat down next to him and leaned against the car as he put his arm around me and stroked my arm, “Brittney, I figured you’d leave me and Amy.”
Brittney pulled her head back and gave Kevin a disbelieving look. She shook her head as Kevin continued, “It’s your senior year. I figured you’d be off to college while Amy and I still have a year of high school left.”
“But…” Brittney started to sob again and Kevin shushed her and then said, “Hey, that’s why I got a car. She doesn’t look like much but she’s a good runner. Plus it’s got big bench seats. I thought we could use it to come and visit you in college, and I thought after you’ve been in college for a year, Amy would be going somewhere the following year, and I wanted to be able to drive anywhere in the country. Even if you’re on the east coast and Amy’s on the west coast we can still take road trips back and forth and we won’t even need a hotel or anything in between.”
“That sounds kind of fun,” Brittney said as she wiped at her eyes.
“But what about everything you’ll be missing?” I asked him as I tried to hold back more tears.
“Amy, I’ve moved around my entire life. Now add in the body hopping and the randomness of that. When I met you guys I thought for the first time in my life I found a place I could happily stay put and still have all the fun I could handle. I am so ready to not wake up in a bed and wonder where the hell I am. Have you ever had to call the front desk of a hotel just to ask them what city you’re in? It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Kevin told me with a happy look in his eyes.
“Really?” I said as I wiped tears away from my eyes.
“Did you guys know I turn eighteen in a week and a half? I kinda already told my Mom and Dad that I was going to stay here and finish out high school even if they moved again. And after that it’s off to college, but again, that’s why I got the car,” Kevin said as he banged his head off it lightly.
He let out a chuckle after a moment and then added, “Plus I was kind of hoping maybe all three of us would pick colleges close by each other, or maybe even the same one.”
“I wanna do that,” Brittney whispered as she nodded slightly.
“So can we go back to talking now? Even if it’s in secret,” Kevin asked as he rested his head against the car. “This has sucked for me. I hate not seeing both you. That’s been the worst part of all of this.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder, “I’m so sorry Kevin. I didn’t know…”
“Oh hush. It’ll be fine. Bruises heal and chicks dig scars, right?” he said with a smile.
“I still shouldn’t have looked into your mind. It led to all of this,” I said as I looked out down the now quiet street of my neighborhood.
“You should look if you want to,” he replied back, “I do all the time when I’m in someone.” He paused and then stared into my eyes, “The thing is, you have to be careful. If you are worried about something, ask me. I’ll be honest. The other thing to keep in mind is that people have a lot of thoughts going through their heads. They don’t always say or act on them though. So, like, you may see someone thinking they want to stab someone… but they don’t… Like for example, how many times have you wanted to stab your math teacher? You can’t really judge someone on what they think. Thoughts pop into people’s heads all the time.”
“Yeah, okay. Actual communication using words.”
“Exactly.”
We suddenly heard soft snoring and we both looked down to see Brittney fast asleep. Kevin laughed softly as I rolled my eyes, “What are we going to do with you, Britt?”
“She’s an emotional firecracker,” Kevin said, “We’re going to have to handle her with care. Right or wrong, when she’s had her fill she’s going to blow up on us.”
I nodded and he looked back to me, “I’m going to have to get better at talking things out. Letting you ladies know what I’m thinking. I should have probably put up more of a fight for both of you too, instead of just standing back.”
“Is that what you think?” I said as I elbowed him softly, “So what do I need to work on then? In your expert opinion.”
“You need to work on your confidence,” he said without skipping a beat. “You don’t see how amazing you are. Anyone that has you in their life is lucky.”
“You are such a suck up,” I said as I let out a groan and bounced my shoulder into his.
Brittney’s head slowly rose and she looked up at Kevin, “Did I fall asleep?”
“Yeah, we should probably all get to bed, it’s been one hell of a night,” Kevin told her.
“Are you coming to bed with us?” Brittney asked, and the pleading in her voice matched the look in her eyes.
“Not tonight, Pet. You need sleep. We’ll play tomorrow if you’re up for it.”
“Boo hiss,” Brittney replied quietly as she pouted and stood up with Kevin’s assistance and then brushed off her dress.
I stood up and then offered a hand to Kevin who took it and groaned as he got back to his feet. All three of us went back across the yard to Brittney’s car. Kevin opened the back door and pulled out her overnight bag and carried it for her while he walked us to my front door.
“Oh hey, I didn’t know you could play the guitar so well!” I said as I pulled out my key.
“I didn’t know Brittney’s date could play the skin flute so well,” Kevin replied. Brittney let out a peal of laughter that ended in a snort and she slapped her hands over her face.
“You’re in a band?” I questioned him as I went to turn the key in the lock.
“No, the regular guitar player broke his wrist and they needed someone for the night. I knew all the songs and so I helped ‘em out,” Kevin replied with a shrug.
“Helped who out?” I suddenly heard my Dad’s voice as the door swung open with my key still in the lock.
“Oh hi, Daddy!” I said as I turned to suddenly see him.
“You’re late,” his voice was stern as he frowned at me.
“What?” I looked at my phone to see the time.
“You were supposed to be home fifteen minutes ago,” His eyebrow arched, “And who is this?”
I gave him an exasperated sigh and looked up at him with an upset look on my face, “You know who Kevin is, Daddy. He takes care of our lawn.”
“Why is he standing on my porch fifteen minutes after your curfew?”
“I found these two on the side of the road with a flat tire, Sir. I thought I’d be able to change it faster, I apologize. They were late because I should have been quicker with the jack,” Kevin said in an apologetic tone.
I saw Daddy look at Brittney’s car and acknowledge the spare tire. He then looked back at me, “Where is your date? Why wasn’t he there? Seems to me there should have been three cars in all of this. Brittney’s car. The boy’s car. And your date’s car.”
“My date was a jerkface. He’s probably at some hotel right now getting even more drunk and trying to hook up with Gisselle. I turned him down and came home with Brittney. Kevin happened to be driving by and saw us.”
I saw Daddy eyeing Kevin suspiciously, especially as Brittney had her arm wrapped around his waist and was leaning against him. He looked at Britt and asked, “Where is your date? The boy doesn’t look dressed up enough to be coming from a dance. Why did you all have to drive separate cars?”
Brittney let out a sigh and looked up at Daddy and said, “Well Mr. Summers, half way through the dance I found my date in the equipment room of the gym giving Tiffany’s date a blow job. As far as I know they went home together and our whole ride situation got a little screwed up after that… So we had to improvise.”
Daddy’s eyebrows rose and he looked at me, “So your date tried to bring you to a hotel, and her date was giving someone a blow job? What is going on at that school?” He suddenly stopped and sniffed in my direction, “Were you smoking?”
I let out a sigh and groaned, “Stupid Brad smoked a cigar in his car on the way to the dance and now I smell like a dirty old bar. Ugh! My hair is going to smell nasty for a WEEK!”
“Two tablespoons of baking soda in a spray bottle with a cup of water,” Kevin said as he shuffled his feet.
“What?” Daddy asked him.
“Mix up two tablespoons of baking soda in a spray bottle of water. Spritz your hair with that stuff. Let it sit for a bit, then wash your hair like normal. The smell will come out,” Kevin said with a shrug. “We used to camp a lot and my mom hated the smell of camp fire in her hair for the next week.”
“Well that was… helpful… I guess…” Daddy said as he blinked and then looked back at me, “He was smoking a cigar and drinking?”
“Stupid football players. Never again,” I said with a sigh.
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t go to the hotel, sweetie. I wish you would have called to let us know what was happening, but I suppose we can call it a wash and not ground you for a week,” Daddy said as he scowled at me.
“Thanks, Daddy!” I said as I popped up on my toes and kissed his cheek, “Brittney is staying over. We’re going to eat ice cream and talk about how boys suck, okay?”
My father’s eyebrows rose and he looked at Kevin, “What about him?”
“What about me? I didn’t have a date. I was playing in the band. I changed a flat tire and made certain two girls got home safe. I’m going to bed now. They’re your problem for the rest of the night,” Kevin said as he handed my Dad Brittney’s bag and shrugged his shoulders, “Good luck Sir!”
As Kevin turned and left, Brittney stepped into our house and thanked my Dad for taking her bag. She strutted off towards the living room leaving just me and my father looking at each other in silence. I smiled brightly up at him and said in a sing-song voice, “Worst dance ever, Daddy.”
“Sorry, Sweetie. Why don’t you come inside and I’ll break open my secret stash of chocolate ice cream.”
I bounced up and hugged him tightly, “Thanks Daddy, you’re the best.”
As I walked into the living room, my mom was sitting on a chair chatting with Brittney. She looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Oh Sweetie, I’m sorry about your night! Why don’t you sit down and tell me all about it?”