The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

Crystal laughed. And her stock went higher.

“Crystal’s gonna ride with us,” I announced.

Tray shrugged, gesturing to Carter.

Then we heard an ear-splitting whistle. Carter yelled out, “Let’s go! Everyone out!”

As the crowd dispersed, Crystal walked by my side and commented, “It’s going to be a show when we all show up at that place.”

“No doubt. I hope the cops don’t follow.” Then I remembered—Tray had ‘em in his back pocket. Which would account for how he got away with all his steroid business and underage parties.

If I didn’t know the whole story, I’d called him an advantaged bastard. Or dick. That was more like me.

*

It’d started to rain as we drove to Rickets’ House and for some reason, it was depressing. Normally, I’m one to grin when it rains. It makes me want to curl up and cuddle, not alone though. It’s relaxing and meditative; makes you want to be lazy.

But this time, it was depressing and I don’t really know why.

I’d meant to talk with Crystal on the ride to Rickets’. She was a fellow Pedlamite, but maybe that was the problem. She had ties to a place I considered home, a place where I no longer had the bonds that made it home. Those were gone.

Brian…he’d been my rock. He never meant to be, it’d been the furthest thing from his mind the first time we kissed. He was an eighth grade boy, he wanted in my pants. I’m not stupid. It had been the way of so many guys. But Brian was different. There’d been a boyish charm. Yeah, he liked pissing the teachers off—but that was because Jace was already infamous, either hated or loved.

Everyone knew who Jace Lanser was.

Either the teachers hated him or was secretly impressed by him. Most of the girls, even the ‘good’ girls wanted him.

I could attest to that. I’d decimated a good two dozen trying to worm their way through me.

Brian was a…a puppy wanting to be bad. Because he had an older brother that turned greyhound overnight.

But the funny thing was, it was completely the opposite in their home. Jace was the hated and Brian the adored.

Both brothers, vying for the place each held. Just not in the same spot.

No. Brian thought he could ‘pick’ me up and he’d be after the next girl. It hadn’t happened that way.

We kissed, our first clumsy, disgustingly wet, kiss. It had been outside the elementary school, at their playground. We’d gone over there because no middle school kids would be there. And their teachers always left early.

And the next day, Brian had tried to give me the slip. He sent a note, via Grayley, telling me he thought it’d be better off if we were friends. Just friends.

I retaliated by getting our janitor to change his lock on his locker. And I grinned, in satisfaction, as B

rian cursed, trying to get into his locker for a full hour. He’d put such a dent in that locker, the janitor had to change his lock a third time. But before leaving, the janitor had pointed me out.

Brian had been mystified.

We both glared at each other, across the damn hallway, and I taunted him. I told him he better think twice before trying to ‘play’ me. I thought I was so witty.

And the funny thing is, he’d shown at my locker the next day and walked me to my class. Like nothing had happened. We had our second kiss that day, in the gymnasium, under the bleachers.

But we got caught. So time spent in detention solidified it for us. We were officially a couple, like Bonnie and Clyde.

That’s what we liked to think.

But, no, Brian had never sought out to become my rock. It just happened. My foster dad would threaten me, beat me, and I’d just go and sit outside Brian’s window. At first he didn’t even know, but one time he saw me. After that, I just crawled into his room. If he wasn’t there, I’d curl and sleep on his bed. And if he was, we’d hold hands. And kiss, but Brian had become scared of me. So he never pushed. Not really.

And sometimes I got a good foster family.