Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance - C.M. Stunich Page 0,60

think that if he knew I'd driven my parents’ Taurus off a cliff the other night.

“A used car?” I ask, cocking a brow as Raz hops in and throws one leg over the door, letting it dangle outside of the car. I notice he doesn't bother with his seat belt, and I'm not his fucking mother, so I'm not about to ask him to put it on. “That doesn't seem like your thing, Raz. Tu n'aimes que les choses les plus raffinées de la vie.” You only like the finer things in life.

“I have no idea what you just said, but this used car is worth a mill and a half. Start the fucking engine.” He takes two drags on the joint before offering it up to me again. I accept, puff twice and hand it back before checking my mask in the mirror. Once I'm sure it'll stay on, I put the key in the ignition, turn the engine with a sweet purr, and put us into drive.

We crush the bright red ribbon on our way out of the parking lot, leaving it in the dust behind us, my purple hair whipping in the wind as I head down the winding dirt road toward Highway 62.

When I get to the end of the road and start to turn right, toward the spot where the Devils' Day Party is being held, Raz reaches over and grabs the steering wheel.

“Go left,” he says, joint hanging lazily out of his mouth. Since I've got nothing better to do than attend a party I've already been to twice now, I do as he says. We continue on, past the Diamond Point Mobile Home Park, and towards Eureka Springs.

Raz doesn't elaborate on where we might be going, using his phone to connect to the fancy Bluetooth stereo system. The car might be from '65, but it's got a sound system that's more than current, almost futuristic.

Feel Something, a collaboration song between three different bands—ILLENIUM, Excision, and I Prevail—starts playing. It's a slow song at first, amping up into a dubstep mix with some raucous screaming vocals. My brow goes up as the song continues playing. This is not what I expected from Raz. Usually, when I hear him and the Knight Crew blasting music, it's rap and hip-hop exclusively.

“Where are we going?” I ask, but Raz just lifts a hand and gestures languidly, encouraging me to keep driving. When we approach the curve near Thorncrown Chapel, my heart jams in my throat, and my eyes go wide. This is where I died, I think, wondering if my actions that first night are what brought me to this point. That day was not a repeat. Not some cosmic joke. That was real.

I died.

I fucking died.

If there'd been anywhere to pull over in that moment, I'd have done it. As things stood, I had to keep driving until we pulled into Eureka Springs proper.

“Where are we going?” I ask again as Raz gets out another joint and lights up. He takes my cracked phone from his pocket too, wiggles it to get my attention, and then tosses it into a cup holder.

“To get some guns,” he says, clenching the joint between his teeth. “We're going to shoot targets tonight at the party.”

“That sounds like a really bad idea,” I respond with a roll of my eyes. “Besides, where are we going to get guns? Neither of us is a legal adult.” I don't remember dealing with guns at the previous Devils' Day Parties. I can only assume that some action I've taken today has spurred Raz onto a different timeline. “My head is fucking killing me. Why don't we get coffee or something instead?”

“Coffee?” Raz scoffs, turning to look at me with those unnerving red eyes of his. “You want to get coffee with me?” He throws his head back against the seat and laughs, the bottom half of his face cruel enough that the devil mask looks like just another part of him. “What on earth would make you think I'd say yes to that? This isn't a date, Trailer Park. Take me to the Riverside Gun Shop. My dad has a friend who works there.”

“I'm not your servant,” I snap back, feeling my face heat. There's something between me and Raz that I can't figure out. I've never had the luxury to examine what that is, this tense, achy hot feeling beneath our back-and-forth insults. May as well use the time I have to