The heavy bike wasn’t slowing down. It caught up with Will and pushed him forward. The back wheel spun in his face. At least they’d remember him when he was dead.
Will felt the drag of the floor as his body slowed down. The bike cruised to a stop, and pushed him gently into the wall. On the wall opposite Will was a photocopied party poster with his face on it.
Will started laughing, it was just too funny. Not only was this whole idea bat shit crazy, but he started to imagine what the look would have been on David’s face if he had been at this party. He would have had a heart attack.
“Buddy, that was amazing!” Gates said as he ran up. “Are you okay?”
“Think so,” Will said.
Will gave each limb a turn, twisting it or bending the joints. Nothing felt broken, torn, or sprained. Gates grabbed his arm and helped him up.
“You are a maniac!” Gates said and slapped him on top of the shoulders. “People are going nuts out there.”
“It was insane,” Will said, still laughing.
Will pulled off his tattered sweatshirt and shirt. Blood seeped out from tears in his duct tape skin. Together, he and Gates lifted the bike upright. It was scratched and scuffed, and the gas tank was dented, but the engine still started.
“I wanna ride the handlebars!” Gates shouted over the chugging motor.
Will mounted the bike, and Gates hoisted himself onto the handlebars.
“I can’t see,” Will shouted.
“I’ll be your eyes,” Gates said, glancing back at Will with a mischievous arch of his red-eyed eyebrow.
Will grinned. He eased into the acceleration. They cruised back down the hall. Gates held onto the steering bar and planted his feet on the front tire guard to keep his balance. The people they rode past in the hall were awestruck.
“FASTER!” Gates yelled.
Will cranked his wrist forward and poured on the throttle. Gates barely stayed on the bike as Will sped into the quad. When the crowd saw them, they lost their minds.
Will slowed the bike to a parade pace, he was going to milk every second of it. Gates was on front shaking his fists high for everyone. They cheered. Will revved the engine and they screamed louder.
Will’s smile dropped when he saw Lucy.
She was at the front of the crowd. She wore heavy eyeliner that swooped up in the corners of her eyes like a cat. Her hair was flame red. Her old blue dress was now black and cut to ribbons like she was in a swimsuit calendar. It was full of holes. More holes than dress. The neckline was a plunging V that nearly reached her belly button. The two sides were held together by paper clip chains. Will stared at her dress in disbelief. The word SLUT was hand embroidered on the dress’s bust, in haphazard, sloppily stitched red thread.
He brought the bike to a short stop right in front of Lucy and put his feet on the ground.
“Aw, come on, lets keep going,” Gates said.
Will ignored Gates. The sight of Lucy in her new threads had rocked his world. He had to play it cool.
“You, uh… I… What the fuck? You’re a Slut,” he said.
“Yup,” she said. Her eyes were cool and calm.
Gates whipped his head around to look at Lucy. His face cramped with irritation and his bad eye flickered.
“Who’s this?” Gates said.
“When were you going to tell me?”
She stayed cool. “Didn’t really see how it was any of your business considering the last thing you said to me. It was so… nice. It was such a really ‘good friend’ thing to say. What was it again?”
Will braced himself.
“Oh, yeah!” Lucy said, then she leveled her eyes at Will. “Fuck off.”
Will leaned the bike on its kickstand and stepped off it, causing Gates to have to jump off the handlebars. Gates dug his finger into his eye with a fierce rub. Perturbed, he looked around at the crowd that had quieted and was watching intently.
Will stepped to Lucy. She didn’t look happy with him, but even unhappy, she looked fantastic. He hadn’t seen her since the Stairs. Somehow, he had forgotten how perfectly her face fit together. He’d also forgotten the inescapable pull he felt toward her, the ache in his chest that used to oppress him when he was this close to her. All the duct tape and popularity in the school couldn’t protect him from that feeling.
“Look, about that night,” Will said, keeping his voice quiet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”
“Funny, that doesn’t make it feel any less shitty.”
“I was just trying to do the right thing for both of us—”
“Are you guys done?” Gates said. “Come on, Will, let’s go. Don’t let this chick ruin our party.”
The Harley engine grumbled behind him.
“You go ahead without me. I’ll catch up, man,” Will said.
“What, just me?” Gates said.
“You can’t party without your boyfriend?” Lucy said.
Ooohs erupted all around. Gates took a step toward her, and the Sluts broke through the crowd to flank Lucy. Knives out. Will kept his eyes locked on Lucy. It was clear that this wasn’t what she wanted either.
“Whoa, easy,” Will said. “No need for trouble, now. Let’s chill out, put the weapons away.”
Will gave Gates a stern look to make sure he was on board with this plan. It was the first time he’d ever stood up to Gates so directly. The anger in Gates’s face scared Will more than the fifteen-odd blades pointed at him. But in a blink, it vanished. Gates went full smile. He stepped back. He threw his arms up in the air dramatically.
“Anybody looking for fun, follow me!” Gates shouted.
Gates mounted the bike and gunned it, roaring away. The crowd closed the gap behind him with cheers, and partying resumed again.
Will turned to face Lucy. Neither of them spoke as the party swirled around them. Will felt at peace standing next to her.
“Should we talk?” Will said.
The tension eased from Lucy’s face. She seemed like she was about to nod, but some Nerd with a pompadour stepped up beside her.
“We’re gonna hit the slip ’n’ slide,” the Nerd said to Lucy.
Will looked him up and down. “That sounds good. Why don’t you get lost?”
“What’d you say?” the Nerd said.
“Bartholomew,” Lucy said quick, stepping between them. “Give me a minute, okay?”
The Nerd glared at Will, then walked away, shaking his head.
“Bartholemew, huh? Your friend has a stupid name.”
She didn’t react.
“Is this part of your new Slut personality? No laughing?”
Lucy twisted her face into a sneer. “No. We were all laughing our asses off a few minutes ago. When you showed up on a motorcycle.”
“Oof,” Will said with a nod.
“Pretty respectable party though,” Lucy said.
Will shrugged. “I had to come up with some way to get you to show up and talk to me again.”
“Yeah, right,” she said and rolled her eyes.
“I knew the best Lucy bait was pizza.”
Lucy laughed. Finally a sign that things between them weren’t actually as bad as they looked, and that they didn’t have to keep acting like they were enemies.
“So, really,” Will said. “Why did you go Slut?”
“Are you really asking, or is this a set up for a joke?”
“I’ll get back to you on the joke, but I gotta be honest, I’m still getting used to the red. I did not see that coming. Like ever.”
“You got a problem with it?”
“I guess not. So, what do you do, just sit around all day cutting the crotch out of your jeans?” Will said, cracking up.