Lethal Friends

Asking for It

It was midnight. Monday night. My eyes were wide open and frantic. I couldn't believe I was going to do this. Ryan giggled beside me. I placed a finger against my lips to shush him and he bit his fist trying to keep quiet. Was he one of those people who got the nervous laughs? I sure hoped not. I opened my phone with a tick and pulled up my contacts. Come on, come one where are you, aha. Although I hadn't spoken to him since Friday I had to text him now.

Because of Adam's bruised face. Because of the memory of me standing in only a towel being stared at by 25 guys. Because of my resentment. Because revenge. 

I bit my lip in thought. Did I really need to text him? Because I didn't want to. I wanted to do this, the this that sat tentatively in my bag, but not talk to him. But I had to make sure he wasn't home- it was crucial.

I sat back on my bed and peered out the window. I knew his spare key lay under the mat, and his parent's cars were not in the driveway. They were at conference for teachers these next two days. At least I thought it was today and tomorrow. I was praying it was today and tomorrow. Thankfully, Logan's motorcycle was gone too.

Alright let's do this. I mentally coached myself. I picked up my iPhone and sent out a message, 'Where are you? I think I saw something move in your house.'

Ryan picked up my jewelry box that sat on my desk and fiddled with it. I smacked his hand playfully and gave him a scolding look.

"I sent the text, it doesn't look like he's home anyways, but I had to check. Oh and put that down before you break it." I told him.

"Mission air-strike is on," he said seriously and I had to laugh.

"What? This is war isn't it? Can't I give our operations mission names?" Ryan pouted. 

"You're so dramatic and way too into this," I said rolling my eyes. I moved back to my bed where my phone sat hearing a ding.

'I'm far away from you. That's all you need you know. And no one's at our house stop looking for me.' It hurt a little but honestly, what else had I expected?

"Alright, let's get to work," I said and Ryan and I, dressed in black, snuck out of my room trying not to make any noises on the squeaky stairs. I winced as Ryan made a thud on the landing. I gave him a silencing look.

I felt a chill settle right underneath my skin in excitement and I smiled back at my friend holding our bag of weapons. My hand rested on the doorknob and I turned it enticingly.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard someone ask from behind us. Oh no, depending on who the person was, mission air-strike was going to be compromise. Wow who's too into this now? I thought.

It was Jordon. Phew. I gave him my best pouting face asking him for his silence.

"Oh no. I know what you're doing. You can't pull that on me," he whispered shaking his finger. But he crumbled anyways sighing and shaking his head. "This is for the war isn't it?"

Me and Ryan both nodded our heads not daring to say a word out loud.

Jordon's next words surprised me. "Can I join?"

My mouth hung open for a minute. After hearing about the fight between Adam and Logan, Jordon had sworn off any contact with the badboy.  He said Logan had enough enemies in this family already he didn't want to become the third by helping me in the war. But now here he was asking for the total opposite.

"Uh I guess. Logan's going to find this one later anyways." I said and grabbing one of each of the boys' hands I pulled them outside. I quickly explained mission air-strike before looking at him closely. "You still in?" He nodded and I let out a breathe of relief.

"Let's get going then."

I walked over to the Hunt's front door as stealthily as I could beckoning the boys to stay back until I was in. I crouched down and felt underneath the rough mat until my hand gripped what I was looking for. The key.

It slide into the lock with a click and I grinned wickedly as it opened each bolt perfectly in sync with my twisting hand. It fit. YES.

I pushed the door and it opened without a sound. The boys followed as I snuck into the black house, and hearing Jordon close it behind us we were plunged even further into darkness.

Navigation was going to be fun.

"Where's his room?" Ryan hissed into my ear unexpectedly and I jumped.

"Don't scare me like that, Ryan," I replied.

"Sorry but how are we supposed to set this up if we can't even find his room?"

"It's across from mine so it'll be on the second floor, one of the doors on the right. We'll just have to look." I should have been more prepared. Too late now.

We all walked forward hitting more than one piece of furniture as we moved. The front room was obviously the living room. Passing safely through a doorway I found that my eyes were slightly adjusted and I could tell we were now in the dining room that opened up to the kitchen. I had to stop a moment to take in what I saw around me. The look of the room was so different from Logan it was weird to think he lived here.

The walls were painted a light lavender and flowers lined the side tables and dining tables. Must be the work of his mom. The kitchen looked like a chef's palace and I could see more than one unknown cooking utensils, pots, and pans scattered around. And it was slightly messy. The whole place gave me a homey feeling. Nothing like Logan at all.

We continued up the stairs to the landing and we're faced with three doors. Jordon opened the first. Nope that was the bathroom. Ryan tried the third. Nope that was a closet.  I tried the second and found a room that obviously belonged to a teenage boy my age. Definitely Logan. Gotcha.

I surveyed the area and nodded my head in approval. There was a desk in the left hand corner next to the window and a closet door taking up half the right wall. A bed sat pushed against the wall beside me, the black and red covers not made. It was surprisingly plain and not too messy.

I grabbed the bag hanging off of Ryan's shoulder and opened it up. I could see three of them, sitting innocently beside each other reflecting the moon ray shining in through the open window. And then there were the three rolls of duct  tape. I grabbed all the objects and handed two of each to Jordon and Ryan and took the third for myself.

"Alright Ryan you tape one underneath his rolling chair to the main pole. Yup right there. Just so that when he sits down it will push on it. Perfect." I guided my friend through the placement needing it to be perfect.

"You Jordon, attach yours to the side of the handle there. Yeah, on the back side. So when he opens the door it will go. Nice."

The third I only trusted for myself. It involved placing the thing right underneath his pillows. It had to look like nothing was there and no one had touched or moved his things. 

I fluffed his pillows and placed it precariously where most I thought it would work. I was 96% sure we were going to pull this off.

I looked at Ryan. Check. I looked at Jordon. Perfect. I double checked mine. Right where it should be. All three air horns were in place.

That's when my phone dinged. The guys looked at me all of us suddenly scared and hearts beating hard. I picked it up slowly and I heard the rev of an engine park from what sounded like the front of the Hunts house. I read it quickly. 

'You said it looked like someone was in my house? I came back to check.' Dammit.

"He's here," I whispered the dreaded words.

"Well let's get out of here before he gets in the house." Footsteps sounded from the living room and someone said,'sh*t the door'. We hadn't locked the front door behind us.

All of our eyes were wide and my mind raced not knowing where to go. Then Ryan pointed to the window.  Mine sat open from across the way. Oh heck no. But that was the only way.

"We have to jump the gap between the windows to get to your room." Jordon said. I nodded slowly. I let the guys go ahead of me fearing the height I saw when looking down. They each made it across like it was nothing.

Then it was my turn. I didn't know if I could do this. But then I heard steps coming up the stairs and I put my skinny butt into action.

My palms gripped the window sill and they started to sweat with my nervousness. Please don't let me slip, oh please doctor who, and Zeus, and all other type of gods- please don't let me slip. I threw one last glance into his room and something made my heart skip a beat and my body still. There on his desk was a picture of Logan not one or two years ago holding a giggling dark haired six year old boy. It confused me. Who one earth was that? Why would he keep a picture like that in his room when he always acted like a hard-a*s or a bad-a*s? Who was that boy that he was important enough to make the only picture in the entire room?

"London, you have to move. You have to get over here. Now. Don't look down," Jordon whispered fiercely and Ryan beckoned reaching out a hand to grab me. I gulped. The sound of footsteps had stopped right outside of Logan's door. I had to jump.

As my hands left the edge of the window sill my heart rate went through the roof, and my hair whipped everywhere in the short movement of wind, and I could feel the adrenaline pumping and drowning out all other sounds in my ears.

SMACK! I made it to the other side hanging on to Ryan's hand and the ledge simultaneously begging not to fall. I fell inside pushing the curtains aside and Jordon pulled them closed behind me just as I heard Logan start moving.

"That was close" I breathed extremely relieved.

"That is the understatement of the year, London." Jordon replied. 

Ryan pressed his finger to his lips and shushed us as we waited on baited breath for the sound. A loud honk cut through the air and we heard Logan swear through the noise. He had discovered the air horns.

All three of us collapsed back on to my bed laughing. This had been stressful but so, so, so satisfying.

Ryan wiped away a tear from laughing as the sound died out.  "How long until  he finds the second you think?"

We didn't have to wait long for an answer as another loud sound broke the brief silence. I'm sure half the neighbour-hood was awake by now.

"LONDON!!!" Logan yelled after the noise cut out.

Sweet mother of cheese on toast was I a dead man walking. Even more so than after the last prank I pulled.

I smiled gleefully despite the thought. Jordon and Ryan looked at me, paused and then laughed again. I couldn't help but join in.

"I'm so tired," I yawned covering my open mouth with a hand. Ryan jumped off the bed and came back with a blanket.

"Snuggle up, buttercup." Ryan said.

"That's not how the saying goes," I said fighting to keep my eyes open.

"Weird is the new trend, London," I heard him say and more but by then I had drifted off to sleep and let the soft embrace of dark dreams take me.

******

"HHHHHOOOOOONNNNKKKKKK!!!!" A loud blaring noise woke me the next morning and I shot out of bed. I took a ninja stance and was ready to karate chop whoever had woke me up at this ungodly hour. 

SNICK! a flash went off in my face as my picture was taken.

Who in the name of the blue cheesed devil was doing this? I finally realized my eyes were still closed and so I opened them to find my one and only frenemy.

He held an air horn in one hand, some duct tape still stuck to the side, and a phone in the other. I glanced at the clock. It was 5 am!

"You gave me the opportunity to try out the very weapon you used on me. Well done. Oh and never go through my house again. This is your one and only warning. If you do, those two photos of you are going to meet not only f*******:, but i********:, and other social media's too."

Well that backfired.