"Hey, new kid!" Michelle greeted me. "Everyone's in the back waiting on you."
I followed her to her backyard. Preston sat in a lawn chair. He raised a can of Coke at me.
"Hey, Scott's here!" he called.
I took a seat at the lawnchair between Drake and Preston. The heat radiated on my face and my arms. The occasional breeze and crackles of the fire was so relaxing.
"Don't fall asleep on us, Wynter," Preston said.
I looked at him, his blonde pompadour turned a light orange from the fire, "I'm so comfortable, though." He laughed and held his hands out towards the fire.
"The first person that falls asleep, we're gonna draw on them," Savannah said.
"How old are you? That shit's for little kids," Jason said.
Savannah just sat back in her chair with a pissed off look. Later, Michelle came out with a tray full of chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers and set them on her patio table. I was up there and made my s'more in a millisecond. I stuffed the whole s'more in my mouth.
"You really like s'mores don't you Scott?" Candy asked.
I looked at her, the s'more held in my mouth. I looked stupid, but it made Candy, Michelle and Jessica laugh and that was all that had mattered. I felt Cameron, Dex and Asia glare at me but I had too much pride to care. Drake elbowed me.
"I think Jess is looking over at you," he said.
I looked over in Jessica's direction and could see that she was staring at me. When I looked over at her, Candy and Michelle giggled. I smiled back and turned to Drake.
"Yeah, she was," I said.
Drake rested his head on his hand, "You know, I can see you and Jess getting together. You'd be a great boyfriend, way better than Cameron'd ever be."
I turned to him, "You really think so?"
"Bro, I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't meant it," he stated.
I nodded, "Fair point."
I stared at the fire, and then I lost myself in a daydream. I dreamed of Jessica and I walking down the hallway together, holding hands. Her black hair fell to her back and it bounced with every step she took. Her deep blue eyes cut into my soul like diamonds. She held my hand firmly, signifying she never wanted to let me go. That daydream faded away and I found myself back at the bonfire. I also found myself wondering what was going on in Jessica's mind. Was she daydreaming too?
"Wynter, you good?" Jason asked.
I jumped and looked at Jason, "Yeah, I was just daydreaming."
Jason snickered, "Bet I know what you were dreaming about." He signaled with his head over to Jessica and I nodded. He smiled and patted my shoulder. But deep down, I knew Jessica was too attached to Cameron and I had no chance with her. All my daydreams would stay daydreams and I was okay with that.
"Wynter, this is such a shitty thing of me to ask, but can I stay the night with you tonight?" Preston asked.
"Yeah, I guess. Why?" I asked.
"My parents took away my car and they're fighting. Not really in the mood to go home to that right now."
"You're in luck. My mom is in Tucson for a vacation. As long as you don't trash my apartment, you're good."
Candy was the first to leave but before she left we took a group picture behind the fire. Of course, Cameron, Dex and Asia didn't get in it because I was there. The fire began to die down and we all left. Preston accompanied me and Drake since he was staying the night with me.
"How far do you live?" Preston asked.
Drake hummed, "About another half mile."
Preston groaned, "Man I'm tired. That fire made me all relaxed and shit."
"Drake, I shoulda hooked you up with Candy," I said.
Drake stopped in his tracks, "No. Let me do it on my own."
"Wynter's got a point. You've been talking about her since the sixth grade and you haven't made a move," Preston revealed.
Drake blushed, "Fuck y'all."
I snickered, "'Y'all'."
Suddenly, Drake perked up, "The hell was that?" I looked around. I didn't see or hear anything.
"Must've been the wind," I suggested. We continued walking down the sidewalk. Then I heard it: the slight sound of footsteps behind it.
"I heard it, Drake," I said. We all looked around, but we didn't see anything again. I was somewhat scared. I started speed walking and Drake and Preston followed suit. Once again, we heard it. I had had enough and turned around sharply, "Show yourself!"
Out behind a line of bushes, 3 figures came out. They came under the streetlight and we could finally make out that it was Cameron, Dex and Asia. My heart flooded with frustration.
"Do you have anything better to do with your time other than follow us around and try to fight me?" I asked.
They laughed and didn't say a word. They kept walking towards us. I was a little creeped out how they just walked towards us without saying a word. I backed away slowly.
"Why are you all so obsessed with fighting me?" I asked.
Cameron finally spoke, "I told you never talk to Jessica. So now we're gonna make sure you don't."
The sharp tongue took over, "Why the fuck do you care about me talking to Jessica? You clearly don't care about her."
"She's my girl. I'm gonna do anything for her," he answered.
"She's one of your girls. I know about Farah from John Adams, you're not that clever."
Cameron was seething when I said that. Preston and Drake were on their guard, waiting for a move. Dex and Asia stepped forward. It looked like they wanted to fight me, one on two. It was unfair, but I could make it work. I stepped forward.
"Scott, you're fucking crazy if you think I'm letting you fight them alone," Preston said.
I simply looked at him, then back to Dex and Asia. Dex then rushed me and went for a haymaker, but I crouched, and he fell. Asia came in slow, his hands up in a boxer pose. He probably knew something about fighting. I dodged the first 2 of his punches, but his third one hit me in the side of my face. I recovered quickly and rushed with a couple jabs, both of which worked perfectly. He stumbled onto the ground and landed on his ass. I heard Dex come in with another haymaker and this one got me. I recovered quickly, although I was kind of dazed. I rushed him and hit him with a hard left jab. I finished him with a hard kick to his balls. He groaned and fell to his knees. Asia came in again, but I hit him with a hard jab to his nose. It didn't break, but I somehow managed to knock him out. I looked back at Drake.
"These guys aren't scary at all. They can't fight for shit!" I said.
In the distance, I could hear the faint sound of police sirens. Cameron quickly went down to Dex and Asia to help them up. There was a large chunk of pavement sitting on the sidewalk. I picked it up and ran at Cameron. He looked up at me with surprise.
"Eat road, bitch!" I yelled.
I smashed Cameron in the head with the piece of pavement. It shattered into a million pieces and he was knocked out.
I could've said something better than 'eat road'. It sounded so childish.
I could see the lights of police cars fade into view.
"Fuck, the cops are coming. Quick, run through the alley! This is a shortcut to my apartment," I said.
Preston, Drake and I ran down the alley. The sirens grew louder. We turned left at the end of the alley and we were practically right next to the apartment complex. We rushed inside, and shut the door. Thankfully, my mom was out of town for a couple days, so I didn't get reprimanded for running inside. We watched outside as cop cars slowly drove down the street, looking for us.
"You're a tough son of a bitch, Wynter. You know that?" Preston said later on that night.
"Thanks. That fight was so unfair, though," I replied.
"Before my dad made a break in the stock market, we used to live in Maryvale, the shitty part of Phoenix. There always seemed to be fights going down over the most pettiest shit: car keys, someone's fence too close to someone's property. Hell, I saw a guy get stabbed for $5."
I looked at Preston with humorous surprise.
He continued with his serious anecdote, "One thing I learned was that in the streets, nothing's fair. Both sides try to use any means to make sure that they win the fight. Cameron used both his friends to fight for him, and somehow you whooped their asses."
"The only reason I beat them was that they're terrible at fighting. Well, except for Asia, he was actually pretty decent at fighting," I interjected.
"You're also lucky that they didn't have weapons or anything," Preston observed.
I nodded. The thought of weapons sent chills down my spine and sent the thought of Adelaide back in my head again. I rubbed my head in a futile attempt to get her out of my head.
But I knew I would never forget her, no matter how hard I tried to.