Dead Boy Walking

04 - C I T Y

Kingsley was at my side less than a moment later. He walked on the curb as though it was a tightrope. His arms widened to keep his balance and the boy could have been floating with that gentle elegance that radiated from his body in waves. Kingsley's face was illuminated by the yellow glow of the streetlamps that lined the pavement and brought a scary dimension to his features. His eyes seemed deeper, jawline sharper, under-eye bags darker.

"If you insist on joining me to the party," I began and he turned his attention to me. "You should help me find your killer. You know, point me to the potential murderers so that I can question them and stuff."

He scrunched his nose and walked backwards to eye me up at the same time. "Why would I do that?"

I sighed in frustration and crossed my arms over my chest. "I know this must be difficult for you. Obviously, you don't want to be dead. I get it, that sucks. But you can't just follow me around forever, so you better suck it up and help me out. Alright?"

He huffed and continued walking, ignoring me. The harsh tone of my voice had cut through the calm of the night and I regretted it. I knew what type of people these Easton boys were. They had to be nurtured and babied if they were to do anything and I'd ignored the first rule. Kingsley had every right to not help me figure this out. He wouldn't be missing out on anything.

We finally reached Arlo's house and I opened the front gate. We barely ever hung out at her house and so the cobbled path to her doorstep was all that I had familiarised myself with. My house or the fields nearby had always been our go-to.

I knocked on the door and it didn't take long for Arlo Han to rush out in a whirl of vanilla perfume and jangling jewellery. Her long hair fell behind her shoulders in elegant, black curls and her makeup expertly done. Arlo was a lot better at makeup than anyone I knew. At prom times, she always did the girls' makeup from school and never charged nearly as much as it was worth.

Arlo pressed the cool metal of the car keys into my hands and pulled my arm towards her brother's car on the pavement. I didn't know much about cars but this one was small enough to hopefully fit between all the others that would pile up by the party house. Not that I knew where we were going.

"Arlo, where is this party again?" I wondered when we sat in the leather of her brother's car, torn with wear.

She laughed. "Sorry, I forgot to say. It's in the city, by the sea. You remember that surfing party we went to in summer, yeah? It's there. The houses right along the beach, proper nice too."

I started the car and it roared to life, igniting the radio as it played pop hits through the speakers. I flicked on the heaters and a comforting warmth radiated through the car before I switched on the lights and slowly swung from the pavement, ready for the long and dark drive ahead.

The rear-view mirror caught my attention as it showed Kingsley sat silently in the back, an expression too complex to decipher adorned his face. I half thought about telling Arlo about him then. As he sat in the back like a child, I wanted to tell her everything.

I didn't, though. I couldn't.

"Is this an Easton boy party?" I asked over the music.

"Uhh, yeah," she answered absentmindedly while trying to roll up her window to stop the bitter chill of night. I figured if this was an Easton party we'd be more likely to find a suspect worth our time.

"Why? You got your eye on one of them?" Arlo teased while the wind breezed through her dark hair.

I threw her a half-smile. She knew better than anyone how I felt about relationships. I just didn't need them. I loved the thrill of a kiss but dreaded the burden of love. That's just the way it was for me.