Someone yells, a collective gasp echoing through the cafeteria, but then strong arms are yanking me away.
“Easy, babe.” Conner’s words hit me as he starts dragging me away.
Cole is already shielding Hadley, glaring at Lylah and her crew with a murderous glint in his eye.
“What on Earth is going on here?” a loud voice booms.
“Oh shit, Principal Vager.” Conner finally releases me. As he grabs my hand, his eyes find mine. “Wanna face the music or run?”
I glance back over my shoulder and see Lylah in a man’s face, waving her arms maniacally and pointing in our direction.
Crap.
“It’s your call, Kenny,” he says, his eyes boring into mine.
Without overthinking it, I smirk. “Run.”
Chapter Eight
Conner
"Run." The second the word falls from Kenny’s lips, I thread my fingers through hers and together we take off.
Laughter erupts from her, and I can't help but smile at hearing her joy, at hearing the old Kenny that I remember so well.
We're still running as I pull my key from my pocket and unlock my car. "Quick, get in," I shout.
The reality is that no one is behind us, no one probably really cares that we've just run, but I'm enjoying the adrenaline pumping through my veins so I continue with the act.
We both drop down into my car at the same time and I bring the engine to life before speeding out of the lot.
"Oh my God, I can't believe we're skipping on my first day," Kenny shrieks.
Glancing over at her, I find her resting back in my passenger seat with her feet up on the dash and her pleated school skirt sitting high on her thighs.
My mouth waters, but I force myself out of the gutter and just focus on what she's giving me right now.
My friend back.
"I can't believe you expected anything else. We might be in the Bay now, but some things never change, K."
"Yeah, so I see." She looks over at me and our eyes connect for a brief moment before I'm forced to look back at the road. "You're still as big a goof as ever."
"I'm awesome, why would I change?"
She throws her head back once more and laughs, and I feel a little of the weight that’s been pressing down on me since she arrived in my life lift. It's a good feeling.
"Where are we going?" she asks once she's calmed down.
"Hmm..."
"What do you get up to for fun in this town?"
"I… uh..." I try to think of what we've done that's been fun here that doesn't involve getting drunk or being at a party. "I know just the place."
I drive us toward the ocean and pull up in the parking lot closest to the arcade.
"Come on then," I encourage when she remains in her seat as if she's changed her mind. My heart sinks, thinking that she's going to tell me that this was a mistake and demand I take her back. But thankfully, after a second, those aren’t the words that fall from her lips.
"We can’t go in there like this," she says, looking down at her uniform.
"Yeah, you're probably..." My words trail off as she sits forward and shimmies her blazer down her arms before unbuttoning her shirt. "Kenny?" My voice is so low I'm not sure she hears it, until she turns to me with mischief dancing in her hazel eyes.
"It's okay, I'm not planning on going in there in my underwear." She laughs, throwing both her blazer and shirt into the back of the car and allowing me to see that she's wearing a tank.
Can't lie, I'm totally disappointed.
"You got anything else to wear?"
"Let me check." I walk around to the trunk and pop it open.
I rummage around until I find a clean t-shirt. It's not until I drop my school shirt into the trunk that I realize she's joined me.
Looking over, I find her eyes locked on my torso and her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip.
"See something you like?" I ask, trying to keep my voice light despite how her heated stare is making me feel.
"Nah, you really need to cover that shit up."
I splutter a laugh. "This... shit?" I ask, pointing to my abs. A memory slams into me of her tracing along the lines with her black painted nail all those months ago, and my cock twitches to life in my pants. What I wouldn't fucking give right now to feel her hands on me. "Good to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor."
Pulling the fabric over my head, I close the trunk and step toward her, only she's no longer looking at me but at something over my shoulder.
"Wait here."
Before I have a chance to respond, she's halfway across the parking lot.
Resting back against my car, I watch her legs as she walks inside the small store, a smile curling at my lips. This is what I want with my best friend being in the Bay. Fun and laughter. Not her ignoring my existence as if I mean nothing.
She's back in a flash with a wicked smile playing on her lips.
"What have you done?" I ask, pushing from the car and stalking toward her as she pulls a bottle of vodka from her purse.
"Seems my fake ID works here too." She twists the cap and immediately lifts the bottle to her lips. She swallows a shot before passing it over.
"You're going to get me in so much shit, K."
"Meh, what's new?" she asks with a laugh. "Come on. Ready to show me a good time, Jagger?" She takes off toward the arcade and I'm powerless but to follow her.
I drink down two more generous shots before passing the bottle back. She does the same before tucking it into her purse, and we go inside.
The noise of the games fills my ears, and, along with the alcohol quickly making its way around my system, I instantly feel lighter, like everything is going to be okay.
Something has been missing for me in the Bay ever since we moved here, but it feels like I've finally found it. Because although Kenny’s arrival was dramatic, more dramatic than it needed to be, I know I’ve found my missing piece.
"Where to first?" I ask as she looks around.
"Bumper cars," she squeals and takes off running.
We both climb into separate cars, and, just like that, I'm a twelve-year-old boy with an infatuation for my best friend as we whip around the track, her desperately trying to get away from me but failing miserably as I bump into her over and over.
She throws her head back, laughing as if she has no care in the world, and I can't help but join her.
Fuck the Heights and the shadows that darken both of our pasts. Fuck school and the cheer bitches who don't think she's good enough for this place.
This right here is how it's meant to be.
We're both still laughing as we climb out of our cars. Kenny makes sure no one is watching us before pulling the bottle out and taking another drink.
"We should probably get some food, unless you were planning on getting shit-faced," I say, refusing her offer of more. I want to be able to get her back to her dorm in one piece once we're done here.
My heart constricts with the realization that our time together isn't going to last forever.
"Yes, food." She takes off around me and darts toward the food stands. "What's good?"