My heart skips a beat at the thought. Axl is an outsider even in a town as small as ours, but that originality always felt like more to me. Like a beacon of hope, that somethingdifferentcould survive in this town. And not only survive, but be the best of us in every single way, because despite the constant torment and mistreatment, he still walks around with his head held high and a cocky smile on his face. He still happily greets those around him who sneer behind his back, knowing he has a more fulfilling life than they will ever understand.
It’s a fucking wonder to witness on a day-to-day basis.
But I can’t speak that out loud. My admiration for him has always been kept in a tiny box inside my chest, the key lost and forgotten. I have no intention of it ever getting out, not when it could be so detrimental to the way my life is supposed to be.
The way my life was built and crafted, with no individual thought in sight.
My cell phone vibrates on the table and I thank myself for putting it on silent, because the last thing I need is for my Avril Lavigne ringtone to play out loud in front ofthisgroup of people. They don’t deserve Avril, not in a million years.
“Oh my god,” Quinn gasps. “Is that the new hot pink Motorola?”
My lip curves. “It is. Isn’t it pretty?”
Both Hannah and Quinn gawk at it, their eyes wide with awe, but Gabby huffs out a breath. “Come on, those don’t come out until next year. It has to be a fake.”
Her statement makes the other two narrow their eyes suspiciously, falling for Gabby’s obvious attempt at undermining me. I don’t mind, though. Cattiness has always been a part of our dynamic. Our friendship with each other is more transactionalthan anything. We look like the perfect group, but there’s thorns on every single one of us, keeping us from forming any real bond. I like it that way. No one deserves to see who I really am, not even the people I call my best friends.
“My dad has a connection,” I say, matter-of-factly. “One of the perks of having a job that travels, ladies.”
I look at the text that just came through and pause, my skin suddenly tight with anger.
“I have to take this.”
My legs move without much thought, my eyes glued solely on the screen where the abhorred text sits.
Unknown Number:
Can’t give you location. Don’t want to be dead meat.
Fuck.This guy was my only hope. Not to mention, I paid him a hundred bucks to tell me the address, and now I’m shit out of luck.
There is no way I’m going to miss another racing extravaganza.Notagain. I absolutely fucking refuse.
My eyes find the tall oak once more. A lone figure sits there, his friend no longer in sight. A heavy sigh escapes me. It’s probably a bad idea. Someone will probably see and then I’ll have to make up some excuse to explain why I was interacting with him, but I can’t think of anything worse than missing another Oakson Race. My bones ache for it, for the adrenaline it will stir in them, so I set my sights on Axl and march forward.
It’s time to ask the devil for a favor.
TWO
Playing: “All I Wanted” by Paramore
The greenunder my feet is lush and cozy as Ledger and I stroll to our normal spot under the Oak. The smell of nature always tends to relax me after a long day surrounded by douchebags. They’re always wearing expensive cologne despite having earthborn scents, or wearing uncomfortable designer clothes, and it pisses me off. No one likes to be their authentic selves anymore, especially not in this town where status is all anyone cares about.
Someone walks by, ramming their shoulder into Ledger to knock him off-kilter, and murmurs “freaks” under their breath. They scurry away before any repercussions can come their way, because Ledger and I aren’t teenagers anymore, and people know we don’t take anyone’s shit. The insults are much quieter these days, passive-aggressive comments thrown our way in passing rather than declarations to our faces. It’s entertaining, seeing them scared for once, nervous to shout their bias despite feeling completely justified in it.
My friend laughs, no longer disturbed by the behavior of our peers. It’s deep and triggers my lips to curve in an amused smile.
“You’d think they’d be used to us being around by now, seeing as they’ve known us their whole lives,” I say as we step underneath the tree.
“Well, they’ve knownyoutheir whole lives. I’m still a stranger to them,” he responds, falling onto the ground with a heavy sigh of relief. His long black hair fans behind his head, with streaks of red peeking out.
For the longest time, I was a lone wolf in this torture chamber of a town. Then, one glorious day, Ledger showed up at school, and I knew my luck had changed. He grew up in Oakson Lake, but his parents were divorced, and even though he knew of Greenwood’s reputation, he followed his mother here anyway. I’m grateful he did, because he makes living in this place a lot more bearable.
I sigh, sitting down beside him. “People are afraid of what they don’t understand. And they don’t understand not wanting to follow in their squeaky clean parents’ footsteps.”
Ledger puts his hands behind his head. “Sounds like hell.”
“Completely agree. You must miss being across the pond, though,” I comment, looking at him from the corner of my eye.
