The Fire In My Eyes (8 page)

“No idea.” I wondered if the driver had really been out of control. I hadn't heard a car until the engine had revved, and the evening had been quiet. I didn't want to bring Drew into my private paranoia. “Probably just a bad driver,” I said.

“How'd you get out of the way?” Drew asked.

“Jumped.” I took a deep breath and proceeded to lie. “Must have timed it right. Hit the hood, rolled over the car.”

Drew whistled. “Just like a movie stunt, right? I'm surprised you pulled that shit off, that's awesome! You're going to be a mass of bruises tomorrow. You sure you don't want to go to the infirmary, just in case? I really don't think you should mess around with this sort of thing, man.”

“No, I'm fine, really,” I said. “Just winded. And I guess a bit of shock. I didn't expect to make it through that either. Wow.” I laughed and I slowly cracked my eyes open to peer at my hands. The headache was gone and there was no green tint to my vision. I turned my head and looked up at Drew. He didn't freak out, so I assumed that my eyes were normal again.

He helped me sit up and we just sat there on the sidewalk for a minute, both breathing heavily. I looked in the direction that I had pushed him, directly into someone's yard. There were obvious places in the snow where he had tumbled. The final marks were about twenty feet away from the sidewalk, almost to the house itself. There was no way I could have pushed him that far normally. Adrenaline spike, most likely. I looked back at Drew and saw that his left cheek was scraped and bleeding.

“You ok?” I asked him, indicating his face.

He put his hand to his cheek, then winced. “Yeah, that stings. No big deal.”

“This wasn't the exercise I was expecting tonight,” I said.

Drew stared at me, and then began to laugh. After a moment, I joined him. It was bizarre, just like everything else that seemed to happen to me at this school. We had just survived a life or death situation and all I could do now was crack a joke about it and laugh until my ribs hurt.

When we could breathe again, we started to get to our feet. We were both somewhat unsteady. Drew spun around quickly and nearly fell down. I laughed and tried to steady him, but he shook me off. “Dude, where'd the car go?”

I blinked. That hadn't even crossed my mind. We had been on the sidewalk, and the car had been coming for us from behind. It had gone right under me. I followed the trajectory of where the car should have gone, directly into a house further down the street. Tracks cut through the snow on the lawn, but the driver had apparently recovered control just in time. A tight arc led off the lawn, over the curb, and back onto the street. I squinted and thought I could see taillights. “Looks like he got away.”

“What the fuck is wrong with that guy?” Drew was fuming. “He nearly flattened us, and he couldn’t even check and see if we were ok? Son of a bitch.”

“Maybe he was just freaked out about losing control of the car like that?” I asked.

Drew shook his head. “I don’t buy it. The streets are clear, not slippery, and there’s no turn or curve here. No reason for him to be coming at us.”

I considered that and didn’t like what came to mind. Ripley’s warning echoed through my head. “Maybe we should just go back to the dorm,” I said. “I'm exhausted. That was more than enough exercise for me, to tell you the truth.”

“Nope.” Drew pointed downhill. “We're going to the gym and we're going to play until we can't walk.”

I groaned. “You can't be serious.”

“Totally serious. I need to do something to get this off my mind or I'm going to go nuts trying to figure it all out. And you, you need to stretch and work out so you don't get completely stiff tomorrow.” He led the way downhill, and after a moment, I followed him.

“You know, if we play that hard, I'm not going to be able to get out of bed in the morning,” I said.

“Me too.”

“So why are we doing it?”

“Because we have to get our minds off women and cars. Since we're guys, all that leaves for us to think about is sports. Right?”

I stared at him. “Are you sure you're the sane one here?”

“Pretty sure, why?”

“No reason.” I lifted my arms up in the air and stretched them out over my head, then felt a satisfying crack from my shoulders. “No reason at all.”

“An anti-Valentine's Day movie night? Seriously?”

“Completely,” Lisa said, planting her hands on her hips. “We’re going to get together and watch terrible action movies and wear all black and have a good time. That's what I've decided we're going to do.”

“Sounds like fun,” Drew said. “I don't have anything lined up this year. What about you?”

“I don’t know,” Max said. “It sounds pretty lame, Lisa. I'd rather be alone with my thoughts and a bottle of whatever I can steal from Andreas.”

“Jess is coming.”

Max closed his mouth with a snap. “I think I could grow to hate you,” he ground out through clenched teeth.

Lisa smiled at him. “You're too easy to read. Can I tell her? I'll be completely honest and tell her Maxie Pendleton is smitten and lusting for her. It is lust, isn't it?”

“I need a smoke.” He yanked his desk drawer open.

As he stormed out, Lisa called after him, “You are coming, aren't you?” A grunt was all the response he made before stomping down the hall. I chuckled. “He's going to show up,” Lisa said. “You guys can tell him it's at eight, ok? Is that good for both of you?”

“Hey, I didn't say I was coming,” I protested.

Lisa looked at me, then stepped closer to Drew. She tugged at his shirt and he leaned over to listen to her. He was nearly as tall sitting as she was standing. “Did he get a girlfriend?” she stage-whispered to him.

“He was talking about this one girl the other day,” he whispered back.

“Do they have a date tonight?”

“I'm not sure if he ever did ask her out, actually.”

I rubbed my forehead. “No, I don't have a girlfriend. I didn't ask her out yet.” True to Drew's prediction, I had woken up the morning after the near accident a mass of bruises and hadn't been able to move, let alone go to classes. It was a good excuse to put off my plans.

They sighed together. “Poor Kev,” Lisa said. “Well, Kaitlyn's coming tonight. Maybe you'll be interested in her! I think she's bringing her roommate too.”

Drew rubbed the back of his head. “Kaitlyn? People are only interested in her for one reason and it ain't her brains. Well, two reasons.”

“Oh, she's one of those?” I asked. Drew cupped his hands in front of his chest. Lisa smacked him in the back of the head and glared at me. “Totally one of those,” I concluded.

“She is not!” Drew started to laugh and she smacked him again. “Ok, she is, but she's not that bad! Stop laughing!” She smacked him a third time and he laughed even harder.

“She's a total valley girl,” Drew said when he had recovered enough to speak. He held his hands up to block any more attacks from Lisa. She only glared. “Pretty, but empty. Sorry, Lisa, I know you like her, but it's the truth.”

“Stop telling the truth then!” She smacked his arms. “And put your hands down. I'm going to beat you up now.”

“Look, short stack, I could put my hand on your forehead and hold you at arm's length. It’d be just like the old cartoons. You'd be swinging and swinging but your stubby little arms would never be able to reach.”

“Short stack?” Lisa's voice screeched up at least two octaves. “Stubby? Andrew Grant, you're going to get your ass kicked, right now! Stand up and fight like a man! We'll take this outside!”

Drew stood up. The top of Lisa's head came up to about mid-chest on him. “Are you sure about this?”

“Bring it on!” she declared, putting her fists up in front of her.

I had to leave before my laughter caught Lisa's attention. While Drew was probably immune to future violence from her, I wasn't sure if I was. Watching them flirt was a little uncomfortable. I walked outside to see if I could find Max. He was smoking a few feet from the door, leaning against the wall and muttering to himself.

I stepped up beside him and he glared at me. “What?”

“They're having a bit of a fight up there,” I said.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I decided to leave before it turned into something sappy.”

“Sappy.” Max blew a cloud of smoke into the air. “Yeah, that's what will happen. I hate Valentine's Day.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, you know how my family’s pretty well off? Back in high school, I got conned by a gold digger. She was a nice average girl, barely came on to me, which was a change from all the other gold diggers. I thought she was for real. She wasn’t. Senior prom rolls around, I go to pick her up in a limo and she answers the door in sweatpants. Says she can’t keep lying to me. She closes the door, I leave roses on her doorstep, and go back home.” He stubbed his cigarette out against the wall. “Sometimes I wonder what happened to her.”

“That's shitty, Max. That really sucks.” No wonder he had trust issues.

“That's another reason why I can't stand my family. All they did was blame me afterwards. Like I should have known better.” He shrugged again, then pulled out an unlit cigarette and stuck it between his lips. “Let's go talk to Andreas. Get him to come to this stupid party. He loves staring at Kaitlyn. And Kaitlyn loves being stared at.”

“Does she?” I asked.

“I guarantee you, she will wear a top that's amazingly low cut and tight. Plus something that shows off her legs. You'll stare, I'll stare, Andreas will drool, and Drew will leer. Lisa will hit Drew. A lot. He'll keep leering because it's impossible not to. You get it?”

“I guess so,” I said.

We walked upstairs and checked in with Andreas. He turned us down at first, but as soon as Max mentioned that Kaitlyn would be there, he caved in instantly. It was remarkably similar to Max's reaction when Lisa had mentioned that Jess would be there, I noted.

I buttoned my shirt and chuckled at my image in the mirror. Black dress shirts were silly looking most of the time, but I still had one around for the rare occasions where it was appropriate. Black shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, even black socks.

I walked out of the bathroom. Max chuckled as soon as he saw me. “You look like Johnny Cash! All you need is a cowboy hat.”

“It's not bad, though, dude,” Drew observed. Both of them were wearing black t-shirts and jeans. Max's shirt hung loose off his shoulders, while Drew's looked as if he had sprayed it on. They were both carrying six-packs of soda, one in each hand. “We ready to go?”

Andreas joined us in the hallway outside our room, smiling cheerfully. He wore a button-up shirt like me, except he was also wearing crisp dress slacks and freshly shined shoes. Max whistled at him. “Lady killer!”

“I am no murderer,” Andreas stated. “I merely choose to dress well for the occasion. Dressing well is a mark of maturity.”

“I don't think that will work on Kaitlyn,” Max said. “She goes for immature gorgeous assholes, not suave mature gentlemen. But good luck anyways.”

“I think you are incorrect,” Andreas said. “But that has yet to be determined. Shall we, gentlemen?”

“What's that?” I asked. He turned and I saw he had a laptop tucked under his arm. “Oh, for the movies?”

“Yes. Lisa stopped by and asked if I had one, as hers is not in the best of condition.” We walked down the hall and past the stairwell, around the corner. Each floor had a lounge with a television mounted securely to the wall. Most of the time, they were completely ignored, but people would occasionally use them for gatherings that were too large for a dorm room.

Black hearts and streamers decorated the lounge. Max and I both groaned. It was absurdly cheesy. In the back, Lisa was putting out some drinks and snacks. She was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans with her long black hair pulled back in a floppy red ribbon. She turned as we came in and grinned. “Hey guys! Drinks and snacks over here!”

Drew and Max walked over toward her. I followed Andreas toward the TV, where Jess was playing with the remote. She looked up as we approached. “You got the goods, Viking?”

“I am not a Viking,” he said, handing the laptop over to her. “You are the only one who insists on calling me that, Jessica. I do not understand.”

“He's from Norway, so I call him Viking,” she explained to me, then looked back at Andreas. “I don't get why you don't like it. Makes you sound tough.”

“I have no interest in sounding tough, Jessica. It is not a quality that I choose to cultivate.”

Jess shook her head and I laughed along with her. She was wearing a baggy black sweatshirt and loose sweatpants, and her red hair was braided and hanging down over her shoulder. She grabbed the braid and threw it back out of the way, then reached for the cable. “Well, whatever. You two should be good friends. Both trying hard to be something you're not.”

Andreas and I exchanged looks. “What are you getting at?” I asked. Unless she was just giving me shit for the gaming thing, I had no idea.

She smiled up at us. “Don't worry about it. Keep pretending.” She looked across the room. “Hey, we should be ready to go,” she called to Lisa.

“Cool! Now we'll just wait for Kaitlyn and her roommate to get here!”

“Someone call my name?” asked a voice I didn't recognize.

“Oh, wonderful, here we go,” Jess muttered.

Andreas whirled toward the doorway. I followed his gaze and felt my mouth drop open. The owner of that voice was a leggy blonde who was wearing a black miniskirt and a top that was so low cut, I was afraid – or hoping – that she'd go spilling out of it if she leaned forward. Every inch of her exposed skin was smooth and tan, indicating that she spent plenty of time in the sun, or a tanning bed.

Max had been right. He stared. I stared. Andreas drooled. Drew got punched.

She marched over to me, bouncing with every step. I wasn't sure where I should be looking, but decided that eye contact was safest. One girl back from high school would wear tops like that, then give guys shit just to embarrass them. It only took once for me to learn to avoid her. “I don't think we've met. It's so nice to see a new face here, I was getting so tired of just seeing Drew and Max and Andreas. Especially you, Andreas! You're so stiff and boring.” She poked him in the chest with a manicured finger and giggled. Her smile was bright and warm.