Accidentally On Purpose (ONC Entry)

Chapter Six

    Gordy's basement was stuffy and hot, with windows on the top edge of each wall. A dim lamp sat on a table by the couch and gave barely enough light to see by, but still she could see how Lukas' knuckles turned white as he aggressively pressed the buttons on the controller in his hands.

She heard a frustrated grunt and saw the screen flash with the rankings of each player. Defeated, he fell back onto the couch.

"I'm sorry. You're just too good at this," he threw the controller onto the cushion next to him and locked eyes with her. "Hi," a mischievous smirk played on his lips. "Didn't think I'd see you again."

She stared at him for a moment, caught off guard, then scoffed sarcastically. "You and me both."

His smirk morphed into an amused grin, but he said nothing more. She turned her attention to Casey.

He had forced her to attend the group's first "meeting" solely because she had agreed to help him. Dev wouldn't have been so reluctant if it wasn't for her humiliating outburst at the diner. Showing up at Gordy's house now made her look like a hypocrite. There was a sense of weakness that came with giving in to Casey that she knew all too well.

"First off, I'd like to thank Gordy for letting us come over here," he began, motioning to a fiery-haired boy, who was currently buried deep within the cushions of the couch. He poked his pale, freckled face from out of the couch with an appreciative smile, then disappeared once more inside the cushions.

She watched him as he addressed the room—or rather, the only other four people in it. The shadows darkened his features and the way he stood with his hands clasped behind his back almost made him look as though he was preparing to relay tactics to a battalion of soldiers. He said nothing.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked, leaning back and squinting as if that would somehow help him decipher Casey's strange behavior.

"Brooding."

"Well, can you not do that? It's freaking me out," he sat back on the couch and began to pick at his nails. "Also, please start talking because my mom is making spaghetti for dinner and I really don't want to miss it."

"It's only three o'clock." Casey rebutted. He sounded almost offended.

"We eat early in the Quincy household."

"Fine. I'll get started," he cleared his throat and set his shoulders back. It was clear that he was taking his role as group leader way too seriously. "Gianna Kinsley died when she was camping four days ago with her friends. Can you guess who those friends were?"

The room was silent.

Casey rolled his eyes and continued. "They were Danny Garber, great-great-great grandson of the town's founder, Lissa Harrington, the most popular cheerleader at school, and Brady Carpenter, star quarterback. I'm also pretty sure that Lissa and Brady are dating. I don't know if that means anything to you guys."

Dev blinked, waiting, but he said nothing more.

"Oh, come on, guys! Show some enthusiasm!"

Lukas punched his fist into the air. "Yay . . . Woohoo. Lets go catch a murderer," he said it without any energy, and after a few seconds his arm fell back down to his side.

"Seriously? You guys all agreed to this!"

"Yeah. We agreed to help you, not attend group meetings every day," Ryan sneered. The whole room seemed to be annoyed with Casey, and for the first time that day she didn't feel so out of place. "Just because you want to waste your break on a wild goose chase doesn't mean I want to. This is our time to have fun. I want to spend it playing video games with you guys and hanging out with my girlfriend, not chasing someone who may or may not be a killer."

"But you said—"

"He knows what he said. We all do," Lukas piped in, standing up slowly from the couch. "And I think we're all starting to regret it."

"Seriously? Don't you guys realize what kind of street cred this could get you? If we solved a murder, you'd be the talk of the school for months."

"You say that, but I'm seeing several ways this could go downhill," Lukas rebutted.

Dev glanced up at him, arms crossed over her chest. For the first time, she was actually agreeing with him. She had to admit it felt a little weird. "Sounds like you did a pretty bad job of convincing them, Casey. Honestly I'd leave right now if it weren't for my noble sense of justice."

Lukas snickered, but it was obvious that Casey found her remark less than amusing. "Seriously. I can't do this without you guys."

"Prove it," Ryan challenged, eyes narrowed.

Her brother took a deep breath and glanced at
each of them, as if collecting a list in his head. "Lukas, you're dad's a cop. You're the scary one."

He sat back down on the couch and raised his arms in exasperation.

"Gordy, you're the behind the scenes man. You make the magic happen. Ryan, you're funny. You help us get connections. And Dev, you're the smart one. You're also the only girl, so you can get us into parties. I just so happen to know that there's one tonight at seven. If you're in, it's your job to get us invited."

"How?" Her eyes widened with doubt.

"Use your charm," Casey replied, as if his solution was the most obvious thing in the world.

Her confused grimace flattened to a blank stare. "I'm about as charming as a head of lettuce. Try again," she deadpanned.

"No way. At the very least, you're broccoli."

"Is that a compliment?"

"So what do you say?" Asked Casey, completely disregarding her question. He addressed the entire basement this time, eyes wide with hope.

She saw each of them exchange glances of approval. They nodded.

"Fine. I'm in," Lukas said. "But for the record, I'm not scary."

"Then what are you?" Gordy sat up from his burrow in the couch cushion, eyes round with curiosity.

"Devilishly handsome."

"Overly cocky," Dev muttered under her breath. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"So what was that about a party?"