BLAKE'S POV
Detention. Again.
All thanks to the brilliant mind of Albert freakin' Einstein—no, not the dead one, the one currently walking beside me with the IQ of a watermelon and the plans of a cartoon villain.
We'd just gotten out of our one-hour punishment session, and I was still fuming.
This moron succeeded in getting me to miss practice today and Coach was gonna throw a brick at my head.
"Way to go, asshole. I can't believe I let you talk me into another one of your genius-level schemes," I snapped, flipping him the bird.
Einstein just grinned like a maniac. "Come on, it worked. We almost got away with it. I got a better one for next time."
I smacked the back of his head.
"There won't be a next time, you dumbass."
He winced and held his head. "Ow! Shit, that hurt!"
Honestly, I didn't even know how we became friends. He was chaos in human form—loud, reckless, and allergic to thinking things through. Every time he had a "great idea," I knew it would go south. And every time, I still said yes. Why? No clue. Maybe I enjoyed the thrill. Or maybe I was just as dumb.
We strolled down the hallway. I popped in my AirPods, trying to drown him out. Coach is gonna kill me. But maybe this counts as a forced break. My legs still feel like lead anyway. I sighed.
Just then, we turned a corner and—bam—walked right into Jessica and Anne, full-on making out in the middle of the hallway. Jessica had her hands way up Anne's skirt, and Anne was hanging off her like a jungle vine.
"Get a room, you freaks," I muttered.
They broke the kiss.
Anne flipped me off. "Like you weren't sucking Sonia's face off during chem?"
"It was the end of class, you weasel," I said. "Totally different."
Jessica scoffed. "Fucking hypocrite."
"Fuck you," I shot back, but we all laughed.
Einstein nudged me. "So… what's going on with you and Sonia, huh? You two a thing now or what?"
I scratched the back of my neck and let out a sigh. "Nah. We were just messing around. No real feelings."
Jessica let out one of those fake, loud laughs that made your skin itch. "That's rich. Like you don't have feelings for Sonia."
I didn't say anything.
She was right.
I'd had a thing for Sonia for a while now. Every time I tried to tell her, though, I froze up like a glitchy robot and switched the subject. It was pathetic.
What made it worse? Jessica could read me like a damn open book. And somehow, even when she was high out of her mind, her brain ran laps around all of us. Nobody really noticed how smart Jessica was. Maybe she didn't care. Her only life goals seemed to involve partying, chaos, and sex. But her parents still hadn't kicked her out yet, which was a miracle. Anyone else's folks would've had her exorcised by now.
It was one of her wild-ass parties where Sonia and I first kissed. She'd told me I was a good kisser. Said she wished she could kiss someone like me every day.
So I smirked and asked if that was an offer.
It should've been my chance to finally ask her out, but of course, it turned into something casual. Just physical. Just fun.
Only, not for me.
I had feelings. I wanted her. Only her. And it drove me crazy every time she flirted with other guys. She never officially dated anyone, though. So maybe I still had a shot.
For now, I was just playing along. Pretending it didn't hurt.
Jessica was our ride home, which was both convenient and terrifying. She didn't look high, but with her, you never really knew if she was sober or just really, really good at faking it.
We all piled into her truck. Jessica in the driver's seat, Anne riding shotgun. Einstein and I sat in the back. Normally, Sonia would've been here with me, pressed against my side, playing with my hair. But she'd bailed earlier when Einstein pitched his plan, saying she had "important things" to handle.
The drive was painfully boring. Sonia wasn't there to distract me, so I had to sit through Einstein talking complete bullshit while Jessica made out with Anne mid-drive.
"Eyes on the fucking road, you horny bastard," I snapped.
Einstein laughed. "I dunno, man. I think it's kinda hot. Driving and making out, y'know?"
I stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "We're gonna end up in a car crash, you lunatic."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "That'll be the day."
Then—sirens.
A police car appeared in the rearview mirror, creeping up behind us.
"Oh, shit," Jessica muttered.
Einstein practically screamed. "Fuck! Jessica, I'm loaded! You have to do something!"
Jessica growled. "Shut up! I swear, if the cops pull us over, I'm crashing this damn truck and taking all of you with me to fucking hell!."
The police car zoomed past and kept going. Thank God.
Einstein exhaled like he'd been holding his breath for a year. "That was so close."
Anne, who had been quiet the whole time, reached over and kissed Jessica's cheek. "You did amazing, babe."
Then she turned Jessica's face and kissed her full-on.
Yep. These girls were going to get us killed. No doubt about it.
The moment that moving death machine rolled to a stop in front of my house, I felt like I'd just survived a near-death experience. My heartbeat could finally go back to regular human speed. Honestly, I should start a gratitude journal just to write "Thank God I got dropped off first" every damn day.
Jessica's driving was already bad enough, but throw in a horny girlfriend, a trunk full of who-knows-what, and Einstein flailing like a headless chicken over his stash? Yeah, no thanks. I left him to his fate with those two lunatics. Better him than me. Survival of the fittest, right?
I sighed and slung my backpack over one shoulder, standing on the curb like some reflective protagonist in a low-budget teen drama. The old me, the me from like two years ago, wouldn't be caught dead hanging around people like Jessica, Anne, and—God help me—Einstein. But people change. Situations shift. And somehow, that ragtag group of chaos and fire hazards became the only crowd that made me feel—well, not safe, exactly.
Wanted.
Yeah, that was it. Wanted.
Not in some romantic movie way. Just… like I belonged. Even if they were all nuts.
I pulled out my phone, thumb hovering over Sonia's name. Thought about shooting her a quick text. "Survived another Einstein disaster. Coach will decapitate me tomorrow. Wanna come to the funeral?" or something equally charming.
Then I saw a shadow shift in the corner of my eye. Instinctively, I looked up.
There was this guy walking up. Familiar face. Couldn't quite place it. Maybe someone from middle school? Sunday school? Rehab? (Kidding. Mostly.)
The guy hesitated a little before speaking. "Can I help you with something?" I asked, eyes narrowing just slightly. I didn't mean to sound like a dick, but I'd just been in a car with two people making out over the handbrake. My patience meter was shot.
"Oh... hey, um, Blake Parker, right?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Who's asking?"
He opened his mouth like he was about to answer when—
Bam. Outta nowhere, some goth chick appeared, wrapping her arms around him like we were in the middle of a scene from The Vampire Diaries.
"There you are!" she chirped like she owned him. Then she glanced at me, flashing a sarcastic smile. "Don't mind him. We were just about to... not be here or any of your business. Don't ask. Goodbye. Have a nice evening!"
And just like that, she yanked him away like she was dragging her emotionally unstable pet raccoon back to the cave.
I stood there, blinking. Processing.
What the actual hell was that?
I watched them disappear down the sidewalk like some weird couple out of a Tim Burton movie, my mouth half open. I glanced back at my phone and sighed again.
Texting Sonia could wait.
I needed to lie down. Or maybe get high off the residual fumes Einstein left behind.
This day was seriously testing me.