The Nerdiest Bad Boy [UNDERGOING EDITING]

ᏟᎻᎪᏢᎢᎬᎡ ᎢᏔᎬNᎢY

"Let me get this straight," Keaton said. "Arden's dad's the new sheriff, and he's hunting you down without knowing it's you?"

"Actually, Keaton, Arden's dad's a chicken farmer and he wants to recruit Nicky to work for him," Derrick said sarcastically.

"I was just clarifying," Keaton grumbled under his breath. "No need to get so worked up, old man."

Derrick gawked at Keaton. "I'm not old!"

"You're older than we are," Ryan pointed out.

"Don't you have a dead girlfriend to mourn over?" Derrick demanded.

"I would," Ryan admitted. "Until I found out she was a psycho bitch who wanted to kill me!"

"If it weren't for me, then you'd be dead right now," I informed him.

Ryan ducked his head down and slumped his shoulders. "I know, Nick. You've been telling me every chance you got."

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Someone's got to tell you how much of an idiot you are."

"In case you didn't realize, you're a huge idiot," Derrick added with a wink.

Ryan scowled at us. "I hate all of you."

"You don't hate me, do you?" Keaton asked worriedly. "You know I love you, Ryan, right?" Keaton latched himself onto Ryan and gave him a hug.

"Get him off of me!" Ryan screeched.

I smacked Keaton on the back of his head. "Leave him be, Keaton."

"Yeah, he hasn't moved on from Cindy yet," Derrick said while holding back a laugh.

"I thought it was Melissa," Keaton corrected.

"Wasn't it Gina?" I added.

"I get it, okay? I fucking get it!" Ryan yelled, pushing Keaton off of him in the process.

After a moment of silence, Keaton hopped onto the hood of Derrick's jeep. "Has anyone seen Colton?"

Derrick popped a cigarette into his mouth as he lit it with his lighter. "He and Nicky got into a lover's spat," he answered through closed teeth.

I sighed as I hopped onto the hood of Derrick's jeep, as well. "Don't remind me."

Derrick held the pack of cigarettes in front of me. "Want one?"

"Don't mind if I do." I pulled out a cigarette and Derrick lit it up for me. I took a long drag and stared at the hues of colours in the sky. The sun was beginning to set and there was an array of different shades of blue, red, orange, pink and purple. It was actually really nice, if I said so myself.

"Hey, cloud watcher," Keaton called out. "You really shouldn't be smoking," he warned.

"It's fine," I assured him. "I'm not addicted."

"Then stop," he said smugly.

I shrugged. "Fine by me." I took the cigarette out of my mouth and I tossed it at Keaton.

"You're gonna burn me alive!" he cried, like the overdramatic diva he was. Keaton then jumped off of Derrick's jeep and repeatedly stopped, dropped and rolled on the snow. If there was anything he had learned in his seventeen years of living, it certainly wasn't that. Keaton currently resembled a turtle who had fallen on its back and couldn't get up. In all honesty, he looked like a poster child for Life Alert. "Am I on fire?" he asked, while rolling.

"Is this your subtle way of getting us to call you attractive?" I accused.

Derrick chuckled. "I've missed hanging out with you guys."