Chapter Fourteen

Juice and I headed to the front of the barn, but when we got there, everyone was rolling out of it like the thick scent of marijuana. It was crazy how marijuana could smother paint fumes, but typical of how the world worked. Paint stood nothing to gain by lingering around, so it didn't. Faith wouldn't get in trouble if cops came through and smelled fresh paint.

Juice and I stood aside as people did running dives and cannonballs into the pool. The paint portion of the party had official come to an end. I shuddered to think how much time Saylor, Faith and I would spend cleaning up the following days. Saylor ran by me, drunk off his ass, with some scrawny boy from photography and hopped into the pool.

I was glad to see him having a good time because it was incredibly rare for him to let loose. I was tempted to mess with him, but my role as birdwatcher couldn't be shucked aside. I peeked inside of the barn as Faith was rushing out of it holding hands with Kristen.

Holding hands with Kristen.

Now I had seen everything.

I was about to take off after them when the pool lights came on, illuminating the gray fleck and spire I must've overlooked a dozen times. It stopped me in my tracks. There it was, hovering over the hose reel Saylor had set up earlier. The hose had drifted away from where it had been originally. I couldn't tell whether the unit itself was the target or the spot it stood.

While I was thinking things through, chaos was ensuing all around me. Juice bumped into me from behind. He was engaged in a shoving match with a few of his friends. It looked harmless enough, but I was careful to steer clear of them. I spotted Saylor in the pool talking to a couple guys from photography. I was fairly certain he liked the scrawny one, but he looked safe, so I moved on.

The spire I'd seen by the barricade came to mind when I spotted Kristen and Faith again. They came incredibly close to running into it, but veered off down the lawn and collapsed on top of each other in the grass. They were wrestling around, but it didn't look serious. I could tell Faith was drunk and high, Kristen too. I watched a bit longer until their flirty wrestling match sent them further away from the spire.

My mind went back to the hose reel. Juice started moving toward it. I started walking over to him while keeping an eye on the spire by the barricade. I couldn't be in both places at once. I let out a sigh of relief when Juice appeared to win his shoving match, assuming I could safely focus on the barricade for the time being. Faith and Kristen were nowhere near it.

They were sitting under a light post in the yard between the barn and the mansion, kissing. Faith's sexual preference wasn't exactly fluid, especially whenever she was under the influence of anything, though she'd only been in relationships with men. As a joke between best friends, I called it 'under the excuse' of anything, which she didn't deny.

Still, if anyone had bet me those two would've been kissing by the end of the night, they'd have been the proud owner of a shoddy Honda Civic and a rather embarrassingly large collection of Pokémon cards.

In my momentary lapse, I didn't see Blake walk up to the barricade until it was almost too late. I might've been able to stop him, but I turned and saw that Juice needed me. He was two misguided backward steps away from falling over the hose reel. With no time for indecision, I sprung into action. If it came down to saving him or Blake, I could only hope Blake had good health insurance.

I ran and dove into the hose reel, shoving it with all my might, sending it splashing into the pool. I thought for sure Juice was going to trip over me and fall anyway, but even when drunk, he had insanely good balance. He bent backward and torqued his body like he was in a high stakes game of twister.

"It was the hose!" I shouted in triumph.

The only reason I hadn't shoved it out of the way earlier was because I thought doing so would've activated it on myself. I was as afraid of dying as anyone else, but in crunch time, it didn't matter. I chose Juice, my tormentor, over myself. Juice was the only one who understood what I'd done and definitely the only one who appreciated it.

From the ground, I watched two guys fish the hose reel out of the water with scowls on their faces until Juice scooped me up and carried me away. I looked over at the spot where I'd seen the other spire, but it, the barricade and Blake were gone. Whatever happened from then on was out of my hands. As Juice carried me inside of the barn, I spotted Kristen and Faith.

Both were safe, so I relaxed in his arms. I braced myself as he set me down and pressed my body up against a wall. I wasn't sure if he was scared or angry, but his eyes looked intense. I looked around the barn. It was completely deserted except for the two of us. If he'd decided that I was the witch who caused this and that things could only end with my death, I was a goner. There was no one to reach me in time.

I swallowed heavily and looked up at Juice, my Juice. He still had me pinned up against the wall, but he was panting heavily, like he'd ran a marathon. Except he hadn't and he was in too great of shape to be this winded. He lifted his hand and grabbed my face like he'd done on the bus: thumb to chin, fingers to cheek.

My arms were free, but I had no idea what to do with my hands. I crossed them around my waist. He puckered his lips and I winced my eyes closed, in case he blew air in my face. He didn't. I felt his lips press against mine, bringing my hands to life. I lifted them up to touch his face. It was only fair. Then I felt like too many hands were on faces, so I touched his body instead. I liked that much better.

My lips never stood a chance against his, but I learned not to fight fair. I sucked his plump bottom lip in between mine and bit down on it gently. Time well spent as a fifth floor voyeur. He liked that a bit too much. I could tell by how he pressed his body up against mine. His taut skin tried its darnedest to fuse with mine and I welcomed the effort.

There were only layers of paint in between us in most places, ratty shorts and white briefs in those most engaged in the fight. He smothered me, but I didn't mind. He scooped me up by my butt while keeping me pressed against the wall. I locked my ankles around his waist and let out a soft moan. I heard fireworks, but not how I expected.

No, not fireworks. A loud crash. My hopes and dreams, certainly, but it hadn't come from us. It was from outside. Jerome set me down in a start and rushed out of the barn. Jolted to attention, I chased after him. There was screaming and people were jumping out of the pool in utter confusion, though it was clear right away what had happened.

Blake made no effort to hide what he'd done. The asshole had thrown the barricade through the front window of the guest house. "I ain't got time for no dykes!"

I turned to where I'd seen Kristen and Faith last. Kristen wasn't far from it, but Faith was running right up to Blake with a pitchfork. There was no doubt in my mind that we'd laugh for years to come retelling this story, but not then. I rushed over to her and Juice, to Blake, to stop them before things escalated beyond the point of no return.

"Get them both the fuck out of here!" Faith screamed over my shoulder. "Everyone get the fuck out!" Most had already left or were on their way out anyway. Headlights were already lighting up the yard behind the barn. "None of you are welcome here, ever again! That goes for you too, Jerome!"

I thought about protesting on his behalf, but this wasn't the time. I was surprised she had let me take the pitchfork away without a fight. She was as livid as I'd ever seen her and for good reason, that wasn't some old abandoned warehouse window Blake had sent a barricade through.

"Nobody wanted to come here in the first place, you whore!" Blake was stumbling around drunk as Juice pushed him toward the barn. His hand was bleeding. I wasn't sure how bad. I didn't care. "Everyone came because they felt bad. I had to beg people to come, for you!"

I shook my head at Faith, urging her not to believe him. He knew exactly how to hurt her, as lovers often did.

"I'll be sending you a bill!" Faith shouted back, "And don't blame me if your mom's gotta remortgage that piece of shit trailer for a third time!"

She was too rich to understand how incredibly low of a blow that was. Especially, since it was true. I turned to see Blake barreling toward her. Juice hadn't been able to stop him. I was terrified, but I didn't think he'd hit Faith. He never had before. Then again, he'd never thrown a barricade through her guesthouse window before either. I wrapped my arms around Faith to protect her and braced for impact.

I didn't have to.

Saylor came out of the darkness and shoulder checked Blake into oblivion. It was horrifying and magnificent, at the same time. Juice ran over and checked on him to make sure he wasn't dead. He wasn't. He landed in the grass, but he was certainly done fighting.