before for free stuff for our LARP events. He’s usually pretty chill about it since he also benefits from it.
“Yeah, you know I can’t afford to pay. I wouldn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars only to prank Andreas either. He’s not worth that much trouble.”
“It really depends on what kind of prop you have in mind.”
“Nothing major. I just need a head.”
“A head?”
“Yeah, a severed head.” I smile wickedly.
“Oh my God. You want to pull the severed head in the fridge stunt on him. Awesome!”
“Yep. So, can you help?”
“You bet I can, girlie. But on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You have to record the whole thing.”
I lean back in my chair, smiling from ear to ear. “That goes without saying. If it’s not caught on film, it didn’t happen. We’re pulling the prank at his Halloween party.”
“Awesome! Man, I wish I could come, but I already have plans.”
“You can’t possibly mean that after that douche Andreas almost punched you in the face for talking to Jane.” Blake glowers at Fred.
He scoffs. “I’m not afraid of him.”
“Oh, I want to come. Andy is such a dreamboat.” Angelica makes googly eyes.
Oh crap. I forgot she was in the room. I shouldn’t have talked about the prank in front of her.
“Sure, you can come, but on the condition that you won’t say a word to anyone about the prank.”
“Yeah, Angie. Don’t be a party pooper,” Fred adds.
She widens her innocent eyes. “I won’t say a word. Promise.”
24
TROY
“You have gone fucking mad.” Andreas shakes his head. “You literally have dozens of hot girls throwing themselves at your feet and you pick Charlie to date? Madness.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why the hell do you care who I do or don’t date? I like her. She’s different.”
“Why? Because she wants to castrate you when you’re sleeping?”
“What’s with the drama? You’ve been watching too many daytime soap operas.”
“More like those dark series with serial killers,” Danny pipes up from the back seat. “Charlie seems cool.”
“She called you Pringles Boy,” Andreas retorts.
“Well, I was destroying that tube of Pringles.” He laughs.
“Trust me, guys. Charlie is awesome.”
“Oh my God. Please don’t tell me you’ve gone and fallen in love with her. That’s not you, bro.” The indignation in Andreas’s tone rubs me the wrong way.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not in love with her. Like I said, she’s different than any of the hot chicks you mentioned. She’s… exciting.”
And that’s what I crave the most in anything I do. Excitement, adrenaline. I can’t do calm, quiet, boring. I can’t let my mind have time to think about the shit I’ve done, the lives I’ve destroyed.
“Who are you, and what did you do with my friend? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head when you had your accident?” Andreas peels his eyes off the road for a second to look at me.
“I can’t believe she didn’t seek revenge after the blue-dye incident,” Danny chimes in.
“Oh, she was livid about it. But now she knows who the responsible party is.” I glower at Andreas.
“Great. Now she’s going to turn her psycho act on me. Fantastic.”
“Hey, you brought that on yourself.” I glance out the window, trying to hide my half-smile.
Charlie sent me a message earlier saying her prank idea was on. She’s going to tell me in person tonight.
“Enough about the sexy nerd. You’re coming to the next game, right? Coach wasn’t happy that you didn’t come last Saturday.”
“I had a family function I couldn’t escape from. But yeah, I’ll be there this weekend. I miss the field too much. I can’t wait to get rid of this damn sling.”
“What did the physio say?” Danny asks.
“That I could potentially return in three weeks instead of four. Coach wants me back to training next week already.”
“That’s awesome news. Well, not for Danny boy though. Sorry, buddy. Your time will come.” Andreas glances at him through the rearview mirror.
“No worries. It’s Troy’s senior year. It’d be a shame if he didn’t finish the season.”
“We’re doing well. We have a chance at winning the championship,” Andreas continues.
“As long as none of us gets injured during winter break,” I joke even though I know it’s a possibility with us.
“Before I forget, we’re going to a party after the game. Your fans miss you.”
And by fans, he means the football groupies who are only concerned with screwing one of us. Andreas is more than happy to oblige, but I value quality over quantity.
“I can’t wait.” I roll my eyes.
“Sarcasm? Really? Come on, man. It’s our