Corrupt

I turned back, seeing Will still staring out the window in silence. He then twisted his head, holding his hand over his shoulder to Damon.

“Give me a bottle,” he ordered.

“Why?”

“You know why,” Will shot back, and I blinked, surprised at his suddenly sharp tone. “Give it to me.”

“Not out in the open like this,” Kai argued.

“Screw that.” Will shook his hand at Damon, urging him. “Now!”

What the hell was going on? I saw Damon shoot Michael a quick glance through the rearview mirror as if still not sure.

“Give him a bottle,” Michael said quietly.

My heart skipped a beat, wondering what he was going to do. If Kai was nervous, whatever it was wasn’t a good idea. And if Damon was nervous, it definitely wasn’t a good idea.

Will slid his mask back on his face and pulled his dark hood over his hair before reaching over, sticking his hand in the center pocket of my sweatshirt, and pulling out my matches. Then taking a bottle of liquor and cloth from Damon, he swung his door open and hopped out.

“Jesus,” Damon said, sounding suddenly worried as he shouted after him. “Fuck that bitch. I don’t even know why you care!”

But Will didn’t seem to hear him. He kept walking, fiddling with the materials in front of him.

Who were they talking about?

“Let’s go,” Michael said, opening his door and climbing out.

I watched as they all pulled on their masks and hoods and slammed their doors shut.

I clutched the handle, not sure I wanted to follow. They didn’t all seem on board with what Will was going to do, and I didn’t have a mask.

“Come on.” Michael peered through Will’s open window. “We all go. It’s the rules.”

Ooookay. All for one and one for all then? But that wasn’t really true. Damon had gotten away with doing his prank in private, but I guess, since it was a very private thing he was doing, I wouldn’t want to be around for that anyway.

I hesitated, blowing out a sigh and yanking my hood up.

I climbed out Will’s side and walked briskly next to Michael, stuffing my hands into my sweatshirt.

Scanning the area, I noticed several bystanders, teenagers and couples, and they were all staring at the men in masks. I kept my head down, trying to be invisible.

I spotted Will with a rag now stuffed in the bottle of alcohol as he, Damon, and Kai headed for what looked like the Witch’s Hat Gazebo in the park.

What?

“Why’s he going after the gazebo?” I asked Michael.

“Because he’s in love with the girl who built it,” he replied, “and she can’t stand him.”

I pinched my eyebrows together, confused and not caring who saw my face anymore.

“Emmy Scott?” I shot out, wanting to laugh.

“What?” Michael looked at me, not sharing the joke.

“Well, she’s not…” I trailed off, thinking of moody little Emory Scott in her black-rimmed glasses and overalls who never wore a stitch of make-up. “Well, she’s not really his type, is she?”

I couldn’t believe it. This had to be a mistake. Will had only ever been seen with girly girls in short skirts with perfect hair. Girls who knew how to flirt. Emmy Scott was…well, kind of a nerd by everyone’s opinion, including her own.

We stopped as we neared the gazebo, and I turned my head, seeing Michael’s piercing eyes lock with mine.

“We want what we want,” he explained, the weight of his soft words meaning more than I think he intended.

And my heart starting beating faster.

I glanced over to the guys, seeing Damon hold the bottle as Will lit the cloth, and I shook my head.

“I don’t like this,” I whispered, keeping my head down again. “Emmy’s a good person, and she worked her ass off on that gazebo. It was her senior project for Social Science. It got her into Berkeley.”

She’d built the gazebo a year ago last summer, and while she may have been thrilled to get out of here and go off to college, she’d certainly put everything she had into that gazebo, as well as a few other little projects she’d built around town.

Michael tipped his chin up. “He’ll make it right,” he assured. “Let him go through his shit.”

And then, before I could say anything, I saw a flash of light fly through the air. I held my breath as the bottle crashed into the gazebo, an explosion of flame bursting forth and drowning every inch of wood in fire.

“Oh, Jesus.” I shot my hand to my forehead, guilt filling me up. “I’m not watching this. This is a dick move!”

I spun around, but Michael grabbed my arm. “You stand with us or you can go home,” he warned.

I yanked my arm out of his grasp, scowling up at him.

I didn’t want to go home.

But this wasn’t fun, either. They were being assholes, and if I didn’t stand my ground, he’d always see me as weak.

I stalked off, back toward to the street to where the car sat.

Screw them. I’d find an open business and call Noah to pick me up.

Pulling open the car door, I dug inside the back pocket of Kai’s seat where I’d stuffed my phone and pulled it out, slamming the door.

The fire blazed only a short distance away, and several excited voices rang out around me.

“Oh, shit!” someone called, noticing the blaze.

There were more gasps and a few excited laughs. Certain people knew what to expect on Devil’s Night and had probably been waiting for it.

I ignored them and swiped the screen of my phone, dialing 911. Maybe the fire trucks had gotten back through.