Some Boys

Some Boys - Chapter 2 IAN

Thank God it's Monday.

The entire weekend sucked, starting Friday night when Dad grounded me for something I didn't even do, and then it just circled the toilet from there. All that stuff with Grace Collier really messed Zac up so Dad let me out of jail to help my team mate. I took Zac to a party in Holtsville so he could get away from all the rumors for a while. I had only two beers and on the way home, hit a garbage can or maybe a mailbox — not really sure. So there's a good-sized dent in the Camry that got me tossed back into solitary confinement except for the hours of lectures on responsibility and how my sisters never did anything like this when they were my age. Pretty sure Dad's got about three hundred and sixty-five separate lectures by now. He could publish the damn things in one of those flip calendars they sell at kiosks in the mall. 365 Days of Motivating Your Teen To Get Up Off His Ass!

A roar of laughter from down the hall interrupts my thinking time. I follow the noise, spot Grace Collier on her hands and knees while Kyle and pretty much everyone else laugh like hyenas. I freeze where I stand. Grace is just about the hottest girl I've ever seen. Amazing body she likes to show off in tight black leather and metal studs, wild dark hair that goes all the way to her ass, and these intense silvery gray eyes she loves to paint like Cleopatra that practically see right through a guy when they turn in his direction. It took me two months, two solid months to work up the guts to ask her out, and just when I had it all planned out, Zac beat me to it and now — after everything that went down on Friday -- I'm almost glad I never got my shot.

Almost.

Matt helps her up but when Kyle swats the back of his head, they take off. Before she disappears into the girls' bathroom, I get a glimpse of her face and see more than just those bright eyes.

I see pain.

I wait for a minute and then head to my first class. World History. Yay. I slide into my seat at the back of the room. Zac's already there, surrounded by his fans.

"Thanks, bro. Appreciate it." He clasps hands with Tommy Rao, a kid on the basketball team. Tommy jerks his chin in acknowledgment, takes his seat, over near the window.

"Hey, Ian," Zac nods at me. "Your dad still pissed?"

I roll my eyes. "You have no idea. I'm grounded. Again."

"Sucks." Zac smiles at Miranda Hollis and Lindsay Warren when they rush over to him.

"Oh my God, we heard what she said and can't believe it. You're such a great guy, Zac." Miranda Hollis puts a hand on Zac's arm.

Zac shrugs but smiles wider. "Thanks. It helps to hear that." Miranda smiles, lowers her eyes and twirls her hair in that universal signal that says I am totally into you.

I swallow a grin. Damn, he's good. The girls take their seats and I ask, "Zac, you okay? Hear anything more from the cops?"

His smile dims and he shakes his head. "Nah. My dad's lawyer says I have nothing to worry about." He pulls out his iPhone and hands me his ear buds. "Here. Take a look."

I click the video he's got on screen and almost drop the phone. It's Grace. Holy hell, it's Grace Collier and she's — Jesus. I rip the buds from my ears and hand him back the phone. "Wow."

He grins. "I know, right? She doesn't know who she's messing with."

The bell rings and the class quiets down but I can't concentrate on imperialism after seeing that video. I've talked to Grace maybe three times total but she never struck me as a girl who'd twist the truth to get back at somebody.

By the time the bell rings at the end of class, I'm seriously happy I never got around to asking her out.

"Ian, you're free now, right? I need to stop at my locker first and then I'll meet you in the library and we can review the trig stuff."