On Edge (8 page)

“Escaping is probably easy.”

“It can be. But Warp had a cop pull a gun on him before. A rookie fresh outta the academy. I thought Pops was going to explode.”

Haze grinned. “Your dad…or Pops, sounds like a formidable dude. I'm surprised he didn't take someone out.”

“His brother's a cop in Metro Detroit. In high crime cities, cops are a little jumpy. Everyone trying to kill them every day and all. I can understand their asshole-ery, I suppose, yanno? And Pops taught us to respect police authority while pushing our limits. It's a weird balance that sometimes gets screwed. Warp, these days…” I silenced myself and shook my head. I felt a sense of loyalty to my brother, knowing he wouldn't want me talking about him behind his back, especially to a guy he'd taken an instant dislike to.

“You're worried about him.”

It wasn't a question, since he'd obviously read concern on my face, but I didn't want to talk about it.

Probably sensing my reluctance, he changed the subject. “So when are you gonna teach me?”

“Uhh…”

“Unless you're too busy?”

I wasn't busy so much as under the heel of a very protective and prone-to-violence brother, but teaching Haze meant spending more time with him. I'd have to find a way.

***

“You're damned crazy, girl!”

Surge and his plainspeak always made me grin.

“Oh, come on! You'll love it, Surge.”

“Going behind your brother's back to train a guy he wants to beat the crap out of? I'm not loving it at all.”

“Haze probably wouldn't lose in a fight against Warp.”

Surge stared me straight in the eye with his unamused chocolate browns. “Focus, LL.”

I laughed and sat down on the curb at the corner. We were a few feet down from my house, but I wasn't ready to go home yet. I needed to convince Surge to help me with teaching Haze parkour.

“There isn't much to do. It's all about teaching him the technique, how to fall, how to land, and all that. Everything else comes from him, so I'm pretty much asking you to call an ambulance when he cracks his head or sprains something.”

The corners of Surge's mouth crinkled in that disapproving way of his, which usually indicated his eventual cave.

“Look,” I pressed on. “I'd do it myself but if I went off on my own, Warp would want to know why. He'd get all up in my business and then freak if he found out. A huge war between writers and traceurs would—”

“Okay, okay,” Surge conceded in a huff as he sat down next to me. He hooked an arm around my shoulders and squeezed harder than was necessary. “You're a pain in my ass, LL, but I love ya. Not much I wouldn't do for you.”

I turned toward him, grinning. “It's a mutual thing, Surge.”

For a second, I thought I saw some of that sexual confusion Surge had confided to me cross his face and wondered if he was contemplating sneaking a kiss to see how it felt. Or maybe I had it all wrong and he just had something really important to tell me.

A horn honked several times and we both turned our attention to the car.

“What the…?”

A half-block away, a true beater of the eighties revved its engine. Tires squealing, the car took off from the stop sign and roared past Surge and me at the corner.

I caught a glimpse of Haze in the passenger seat, staring at me with a look of confusion and possibly hurt. I frowned, and felt the impulse to yell, “It's not what you think…he's kinda gay,” but there wasn't time, and I wouldn't destroy Surge's trust, no matter how helpful it would be for me. With Decay at the wheel, the vehicle sped down the road, fishtailing in an attempt to show Surge and me how cool the idiot driving thought he was.

“Wasn't that your boy? He didn't look thrilled.”

“He's not my boy,” I said. When I noticed Surge's eyes on me, I caved. “Yet. And if he isn't thrilled, then he has his own assumptions to blame.”

Despite my outward attitude, inside I hoped Haze would let me explain before giving up on me for good.

Ten

All morning I had the feeling people were looking at me weird.

By mid-afternoon, I knew for sure I wasn't paranoid, because everyone
was
looking at me weird. I sat in English Lit scratching the back of my neck, feeling like bugs were crawling up my spine.

What the hell was everyone's issue?

In second period, I'd told Liv about my heebies and she checked me from head to toe. No embarrassing bleeding, toilet paper, or wardrobe malfunctions. And my hair…well, I had a blue streak in my hair, but that wasn't exactly a new development.

“I don't know, Ellie,” Liv had said. “There isn't anything different about you for them to stare at. Want me to start eye-gouging?”

Even now in English Lit I grinned remembering the conversation. Liv's violent solutions to every problem rivaled my brother's, and if the two of them could be in the same room with each other without bickering, they might make a good couple. Of course, I'd bite my tongue out before saying such to Liv.

Bonnie cleared her throat, practically hanging off her chair as the last minute of class ticked by.

I thought about ignoring her but rudeness isn't my thing. Even though she probably had more fun news about Wenda's newest hate campaign, I broke down and glanced her way. She pointed at the clock and held up her index finger, wanting me to wait. Apparently, Mrs. Rosnek had spoken to her about her constant note-passing and jawing during class so she was counting the seconds.

Once the bell chimed, she was on me.

“Oh my God! The pic is making the cell rounds. It's really cool! Who did it?”

Okay, I was officially lost in Bonnie's babble.

“Huh?”

“Looks like a cool anime cartoon of you painted on the side of the pizza shop on Evans Street.”

Come again? “What…pic?” My mind raced, wondering if I'd taken any cell phone pics of my ass or something. Considering I barely used my phone, because everyone I knew, except Ander, was usually within shouting distance, my logic won out over instinctual panic.

“You mean you don't know?” Bonnie bit her lip and squee-d. “I'm totally going to the bathroom to send it to you. Put your cell on vibe! Oh, and text me back!”

And then Bonnie ran down the hall, eager to be the first to show me this pic. My mind ran up and down the humiliation checklist, wondering which one of many pranks was pulled on me. Perhaps someone doctored a pic of me. Probably photoshopped my head on some animal body and sent it around as a cruel joke. It'd have to be someone from the gymnastics team. No one else hated me that much.

Decay
.

Crap. I'd forgotten about that jerk.

My phone vibrated in triplicate, letting me know I had a message. I berated myself for shaking as I pulled my cell out of my pocket. Taking a deep breath, I clicked to accept the image and blinked.

The side of a pizzeria came into view with a graffiti piece of me painted on it. Beneath rays of the sun peeking between unfinished clouds, my large-as-life face grew out of a swirling background on the side of the building. All of my features were slightly exaggerated, and the blue streak in my hair cascaded from the center of my forehead, down my nose before dramatically sweeping to the side near my ear. Bonnie was right, I looked really cool and—beautiful.

But it also looked like Haze couldn't keep a secret to save his life. OMG, dumbass much?

If my brother saw this…

Oh, hell.

At least I knew why everyone took turns staring at me all day. They wanted to know who the artist was, and they figured I knew, but no one braved coming right out with it.

I hurried to my locker in hopes of getting in and out before true trouble could descend, but I'd barely opened the gilled door when it was slammed shut by my brother's shoulder. Standing behind him was Liv, her brow creased in worry, and I figured she'd found out about the graffiti this past hour too, and, like my brother, raced to my locker to see what was up. I wanted to tell her everything right then, but she was with my brother. I couldn't help but wonder if she was
with
my brother. On his side.

“What the hell was that for?” I hoped I sounded befuddled. That was a good word…befuddled.

“Care to tell me why that Haze guy is creating a replica of your face on the wall of a pizza delivery place?”

“Whoa, what?”

Liv gripped Warp's shoulder and guided him back long enough to slip in. “There's a picture floating around of your face up on the wall.”

“I just saw it myself and I have no idea who would throw me up on any wall.”

“It's that asshole, Haze, challenging me. I know it.” Warp's face twitched with every angry word, but there was something else. Something in his eyes made him look almost excited. I was right to be worried. Warp was going to use this graffiti to start a war between crews. Shit! I needed to call Surge and tell him it was time to duck.

“What are you talking about? No one is challenging you! I don't think you're—”

“It's not up to you to think,” Warp countered.

I whipped my book bag at his shoulder, taking satisfaction in his stumble back. I could only hope I knocked some sense into him. “Haze doesn't even know me! It's not him.”

Warp blinked at me, his color changing from red to purple like my father did when he thought someone was lying to him. “He knows you're my sister!”

“Like everyone else out of Kennedy!”

“If not Haze, then who?” he asked between clenched teeth.

Liv, too, looked at me with a curious tilt of her head.

“I have no idea.”

“You're lying!”

“Hey!” Liv jumped in, and I was relieved to lose Warp's rage-filled focus as he turned his glare on her.

“You have no idea if it's Haze. You're stabbing out there with a wild guess. It could be other members of his crew, or someone unrelated to them, with a crush on Ellie,” she defended, but her keen eyes frisked me for the truth. “I'm your best friend, and as far as I know, you're not with anyone, are you?”

I felt glad that I wasn't going to have to lie. For all intents and purposes, as my father would say, I wasn't technically “with” Haze. “I'm not with anyone! For all I know this is someone trying to start trouble. That guy Haze doesn't strike me as the type to start a war or to waste his time painting me on the side of a pizzeria. Not even to get you mad, Warp.”

“I'm going to find out who painted it,” he promised.

“Knock yourself out.” I'd hoped he wouldn't go too far in investigating.

After Warp stormed away, Liv grabbed my arm and squeezed, staring hard into my gaze. “You'd tell me, right?”

I could see the hurt, and I gave her a big hug. “You're my best friend. Of course I'd tell you.”

I was totally going to hell.

***

Haze barely had time to jerk me into the closet before we were both running over each other.

“What the hell is the matter with you? You paint me on the side of some pizza joint?”

“Who was that with his arm around you on the corner of your street yesterday?”

“What?” we both asked simultaneously.

“Okay, you first.” Haze took a seat on the laundry sink again and I followed suit on my bucket. “What are you talking about?”

I took out my phone and pulled up the photo, handing the cell to him. His eyes rounded and then narrowed.

“That isn't mine. I'll take care of it, though.” He tossed my phone back to me.

I caught it and took another look for myself. “I thought…it was you. Even though it's not completely finished, it looks similar to the Heather one I saw you do. Warp thinks so, too.”

He cussed softly.

“Exactly.” I nodded. “Now he's demanding to know about us, making assumptions it's you trying to use me to start something with him.”

“If he comes to me with it, I'll tell him the truth. It wasn't me.”

“If he comes at you with this, you should run because I'm doubting reason is on his to-do list when talking to you.”

His bottom lip bowed as he blew an annoyed sigh into the front of his hair. “I wouldn't do something like this, LL. I wouldn't jeopardize getting to know you better. Now, things are getting out of control.”

I had a feeling he was about to back out and the thought made my heart race. I didn't want to give this up. “I guess our closet-time-fun is over, hm?”

The smile spreading across his face made me relax a little. He obviously thought I was a nub for saying such a thing. “I don't care how hard it is on us. I'm in it. I dig you. More than I thought I would and I'm not going to let someone bully me out of what I want.”

He hopped down from his perch and grabbed my hands, pulling me up to face him. I suddenly felt—silly. Like a little girl playing at being an adult when I didn't know the first thing about the grown-up world. I'd thought, once I knew where Part A docked with Part B, I was in the know on relationships and the steps would come naturally. It suddenly dawned on me, in that moment, there was more than one Part A.

“But,” he continued as I tried my hardest to hear over my erratic breathing, “…I don't want you to think my decision should be yours, or that I'll think badly of you if you wanna skip out on this. I know your brother makes your life difficult, and I'm making things worse. I don't want that for you.”

Men. Did they all know how to be romantic
and
take control in the same breath? I thought of Ander and the girls he used to bring around, back before he had scruples. Yup, all men. Even my saintly older brother.

That damned Sneaky Gene was trying to manipulate the situation again and I wasn't above beating it with a stick.

“I'll decide what works for me.” I informed him, but my agitation with his high-handedness didn't bother me enough to pull my hands out of his. “You're right that things will be a little harder, but I have to have faith that everything will work out. I don't like hiding things but I guess I have to right now.”

“We both do,” he reminded gently.

“I wanted to tell Liv, but I'm not sure if she has much of a poker face. Besides, if we don't really know for sure if we're going to—um, be together—”

When did the conversation turn into a bad episode of a nighttime soap opera?

“Can we just do the wait-and-see thing?” I asked timidly.

The award-winning smile was back, and with his nod I released the breath I held onto.

Which turned out to be a happy accident.

The moment I relaxed, he moved in, mouth first, capturing my lips in a kiss that literally made me dizzy enough to fall into him.

He wrapped his arm around my waist to hold me steady and tilted his head to get a better angle on my mouth. I whimpered. I actually whimpered, which gave his kiss Redbull wings, and in he delved, tongue first.

Whoa! I hadn't meant to give him a blatant invitation, but after the initial shock wore off, I realized I was glad he took it as one.

I folded my arms around his neck and pulled myself up to deepen the sweep of my tongue against his. Wow. Mouthwash, heat…and the purest energy I ever tasted. I lapped at it all, thirsty for this kiss to continue but after a minute or two, Haze eased away.

Our puffy saturated mouths hovered near, sneaking in tiny kisses between excited breaths. How much time had passed? A minute? An hour?

“Did the bell ring?”

Haze gave a quick, preoccupied laugh and dropped his hands to my waist, pushing back until there was a little distance between us.

“So, who was that guy you were with?”

***

Haze looked at me as if I proposed he have dinner with a family of preachy Creationists.

“I want
you
to teach me,” he said. “Not some guy who probably fantasizes about kicking my ass.”

“Surge isn't the type. He's a nice guy. And I can't go missing every night from the crew without my brother thinking much about it. A couple of nights I can say I'm practicing at the gym with the girls, but the other nights he expects me to be near him. Surge and I are known to go off on our own sometimes, and on those nights, we can hang with you.”

His mouth tightened. “I hate that we can't just…be.”

I smiled. “I hate it, too, but until we can get a good handle on the situation, we're doomed to play it safe for a little while.”

“Do you see the situation, LL? Because where I'm standing, we're wasting time on hoping anyone will understand us.”

“When did you get pessimistic?” He shuffled his feet, obviously embarrassed by being called out on his sudden, negative nancy-ness. “If things work out between us—”

“I think I proved that they have.” He leered, seeming more like himself.

I playfully slapped his arm. “If things work out between us,” I repeated, attempting to sound more stern, “then I'll bring in the big guns and clear a way for us. We only need to wait for it.”

“What do you mean ‘wait for it'?”

“Because the big gun, in this case, is my big brother and he's not due home for a while.”

“And he's going to do what?”

Slipping out of Haze's hold, I sat down on the bucket and peeked up at him. “Honestly? I'm hoping he'll kick Warp's ass back into reality. Or at least be able to bully him into admitting to whatever chip he has on his shoulder. And I'll have him put pressure on Warp to accept us.”

Haze looked doubtful. “I don't know about that. I don't feel comfortable having your big brother try and mesh out our shit.”

“The other alternative is what? Violence? Will either of us be able to live with ourselves if one of our friends winds up on that hearted wall out there? I can't take that chance, Bren.”

He smiled, catching the fact I used his real name. In my opinion, certain situations demanded the use of it.