Great Balls of Fire

five

Everything at the fair happened a year ago. It was only last summer, in fact. However, this year everyone seemed a lot more mature. Greyson and Lucy were fifteen, Bruce was sixteen, Rio seventeen, and Vince was seventeen as well. Nobody in the friend group really liked Vince, except Lucy, of course.

The summer just started and the girls finished their freshman year, Bruce and Rio their sophomore, and Vince his junior. Poor Rio should've finished his junior year, but he wasn't enrolled in school the year he was supposed to start.

The five of them were sitting on a bunch of crates at the back of a corner store. They were drinking Coca-Cola and watching people walk by. Vince was especially interested in the ladies walking by. Rio sent glares his way.

"Are you guys doing anything tonight?" Bruce asked before taking a swig of his pop. The group all shook their heads. "Cool, okay, do you want to go to that teen club that just opened up downtown?"

"Hell yeah," Rio agreed happily with a big smile on his face.

"Just saying," Bruce added quickly after Rio's response, "there's no alcohol."

Rio scoffed in disappointment and shook his head.

Grey and Lucy looked at each other in consideration, coming to a mutual agreement. "Me and Lucy'll be there," Greyson announced.

"I'll check my schedule, but I gotta go," Vince said as he checked his watch. "Catch you later."

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"Nowhere special," he said bluntly.

The rest of the teens watched him walk to his white Mercedes with a weird smirk on his face and drive off.

"What a dick," Rio breathed out with a bitter chuckle. The others snickered, even Greyson.

"Hey, I know you guys don't like him but he is my boyfriend," Lucy defended halfheartedly. She put her coke bottle down and adjusted her tank top.

"Luce," Grey said carefully, "I'm not sure if he's being loyal. He's been leaving you wondering a lot lately."

"Jesus, you guys," Lucy complained. "He said he's not getting around. He's being loyal, he told me."

Rio wanted to tell her everything he knew, but rolled his eyes and bit his tongue instead. He knew if he said what he was thinking he'd hear it from Lucielle.

"Let's just go get me a haircut. I need a trim," Bruce broke the tension and stood up. "It's 1959 and I need to look like I know it is."

"There's nothing modern about your hair, Bruce," Rio snickered, making Grey smile sneakily.

Greyson and Bruce laughed and Lucy followed her friends as they walked to a barber shop. They talked about who would be at the club, how parents would react, if it would even stay open for long.

"Hello, son," the barber greeted Bruce and gave a sneaky glare to Rio. In return, he got an incredulous look from Greyson. "I'm Mr. Smith, what may I do for you?"

"A trim," Bruce said and sat in a chair.

Greyson stood between Rio and Lucy and said, "Me and Bruce'll catch up with you guys later."

Rio knew what she meant. He saw the look Mr. Smith gave him. "Alright. Let's go, Luce."

"Okay," Lucy said cluelessly.

They walked out the glass door, making the bell chirp.

"Oh, Rio, do you really think Vince is cheating on me again?" Lucy asked fretfully and ran her hand through her long hair. Her light brown eyes darted up to Rios's hazel ones worriedly.

Rio hesitated. "I don't know, Luce. You know how he is."

"Yeah, you're right," she sighed, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk. "I wonder who it's with this time: Sylvia or Pamela."

"Don't be like that," he told her softly. "Man, he's a loser anyway. I don't know why you like him so much."

Lucy dismissed his comment. "Let's go do something fun!" she suggested with a sudden cheerfulness."I need to get my mind off of Vince."

"I coulda' told you that," he half joked, a grin tugging at his lips. He waited for a response.

Lucy looked at him with a bored look. She pushed him off the curb, making him stumble. "Shut up," she walked off without him.

"Aw, c'mon, Luce," Rio said and he chased after her with a smirk. "I was kidding." No reply. He kept walking after her, and she kept speeding up. Soon enough, Rio was running after her and they were both smiling like maniacs.

After a few blocks of running, Lucy finally stopped to catch her breath. She bent over and put her hands on her knees and looked up at Rio. They laughed together and they sat on the ground beside each other, leaning against a brick wall.

"You're pretty fast," he panted out with a smile. "I've never seen you run so fast. At least not after you tripped over the sidewalk that one time."

"You know," Lucy started, still smiling. "I'm still mad. You have to make it up to me," she teased.

Rio blushed and a boyish grin spread across his face. "Do you have anything in mind?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"You never told me what your last name is," she informed him cheerfully.

"You know what my last name is— it's Rios," he said slyly. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the back pocket of his jeans. He struck a match using the bottom of his worn shoe and lit his cigarette.

"Rio Rios? There's no way that's your real name," she laughed and waved the smoke away.

"Rio's not my first name, but nobody knows my first name except for Bruce."

"Oh, you gotta tell me," she begged and climbed onto his arm. "Please."

He blew smoke rings into the air, letting Lucy think that he was considering her request. He gave her a half smirk and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He twirled the cigarette between his nimble fingers and very plainly said, "Nope."

"Come on," she egged him on. She pouted and flicked his ear. "How are we supposed to be friends if I don't even know your first name?"

Rio shrugged nonchalantly and took a drag of his cigarette.

"Fine, if you won't tell me your name, then tell me how you lost your tooth," she commanded, talking about the missing top right canine tooth. "Or that scar on the bridge of your nose," she suggested, tracing the diagonal mark.

He smiled bigly and grabbed her index finger and directing it away from his face. "That's another story for another day," he teased as he stood up.

"What—"

He grabbed her hand and helped her up. He quickly said, "Lets go find Bruce and Grey before they take off."