Havoc at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys #1) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,144
anime I watched with Penelope once called Yona of the Dawn.
“Eclectic crowd tonight,” I say, taking another drink of the vodka and passing it back to Vic. Without waiting for a response, I move into the thick of the crowd, the heat and the music enveloping me, drawing me in. The fog swirls around my ankles as I pause, examining the various rooms that lead branch off from the expansive foyer. It looks like the goddamn Casper house.
“They have a funhouse in here,” Cal says, appearing out of the smoke, the black hood of his sweatshirt thrown up over his hair. “Mirrors and clown shit. Good place for an ambush. Pretty sure they stole all the stuff from the old party store warehouse. But it’s also the only exit on the ground floor besides the front doors. Everything else is boarded-up or blocked.”
“I don’t like that,” Vic says, a muscle in his jaw working as he sighs. “Keep it clear and get some guys outside to watch it.” His body is tense as his ebon eyes scan the room. Not seeing Mitch or Kali or the rest of those assholes could be taken as some sort of concession, like maybe they’ve actually decided to back down, but I’m not sure that I believe it. I don’t think shooting Mitch is going to convince them to stop; I think it’s pissed them off royally. But then, that’s just my opinion. Havoc’s been at this a lot longer than I have.
I lick my painted lips and think about my list. No. 2. the best friend.
Kali is up to something; I can feel it.
“Anything else of note?” Vic asks, and Callum shakes his head. “Good. Stay sharp, but have a little fun, okay?”
“Oh, I intend to,” Cal says, reaching out and taking the vodka. He finishes the bottle off and tosses it aside, letting it shatter against the wall. He’s not the only one throwing glass bottles; everybody’s doing it. Intoxicated laughter poisons the air as he grabs my hand and pulls me into the crowd.
Vic looks decidedly pissed-off about it, but he doesn’t interfere.
“Every drug under the sun is available in here, and you’re more interested in dancing with me?” I ask as Cal wraps an arm around my waist and walks us back into the thick of the crowd. His smile is decidedly more wicked with those skeleton teeth painted across them, effectively doubling the size of his mouth.
“You’re a special sort of drug, too, Bernadette,” he tells me, leaning forward to put his mouth near my ear. “I keep wondering if I should’ve kissed you in the dance studio.” My skin prickles with goose bumps, but I don’t respond, letting Cal guide our bodies in a synchronous rhythm with the throbbing beat of the music. I don’t even recognize the song we’re dancing to, but it doesn’t matter. Callum knows what he’s doing, and he takes me with him, manipulating my body the same way he did in the studio. “If I had, what would you have done?”
“Guess you’ll have to run that experiment to find out?” I challenge, cocking a brow as my heart pounds. I’m not really sure what I’m doing here. What Vic means when he calls me his girl. What Aaron wants when he tells me he still loves me. What Callum intends by dancing with me in front of a mixed crowd from all three schools. Or what Hael thinks about when he’s looking at me with those honey-brown eyes of his. Oscar … clearly hates me, so there’s not much to dissect there.
“Oh?” Cal asks, but then Hael is interrupting the entire party by climbing onto the dais where the DJ’s set up. He requests a song, and there’s a brief pause as the DJ scrambles to accommodate his request.
“Who’s here to fuck shit up tonight?” he shouts, and the entire room goes nuts, lifting phones and bottles of liquor in solidarity. With a laugh, Hael lifts up a bottle of his own, swigs some liquid, and then raises a lighter in his right hand. He flicks the wheel and spits the alcohol out at the same time, creating a wave of flame that rushes over the heads of the crowd. Everybody just fucking loses it, and a mosh pit starts up in the middle of the room as Hael’s chosen song comes screaming out of the speakers. He’s a pretty big fan of metalcore music, so that’s what we get, this hardcore screaming