26. Pick a Side
Pick a Side
Nico
This isn’t the way I wanted my senior year to go. I’m listening live to Ashley while they do the announcement at the carnival of the Homecoming Court. Not that Mom would have let me go, but it would have been nice to be there to support Harper.
Eli must be leaning in to Ashley. “Everything good for tonight?”
She makes a little dismissive noise. “I know what I have to do.”
Then they’re quiet while the background noise increases and clapping happens. My door opens, and Mom pops her head in. I take one of my AirPods out.
“How are you doing? Any pain?” Mom sets some snacks on my nightstand with a soda. I haven’t had to ask for a thing, because she always brings me more before I need it.
“I’m doing okay.”
She sits on the edge of the chair next to the bed. I don’t mute the headphones, but I have time. They’re still doing announcements. Besides, Mom’s been lonely here, and the injury just gives her an excuse to focus more on me.
“How was your day?” She clears her throat and smiles. “I saw you and Harper napping, so I didn’t want to disturb you. Are you sure you have enough energy for school? You could stay home. Go back next week.”
I shake my head. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. “I’m fine, Mom. I was a little groggy, but it was mostly for Harper. She’s stressed out, and I wanted to take care of her.”
Her smile grows. “She’s such a sweet girl. And your friends seem to like her too.”
Fuck, should I tell her about all of us? Would she make a fuss about it? I don’t want her to not like Harper. The guys and Harper talked about telling our parents because at least half of them already know. I assume my dad knows, but I don’t have time to get into a discussion about it with my mom.
Not when I have a job to do.
“I’m glad we got to reconnect,” I say instead of blurting out the truth of our relationship.
That we’re not so much a couple as a group.
But then I’d have to explain that us guys aren’t together.
And no one’s homosexual, even if Jack is bi.
It just seems like the talk would go on forever and just lead to more questions.
I nod my head. “I’m doing some catch-up work.”
“Oh.” She glances at my laptop. “Of course. I’ll just go clean the kitchen.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
I feel bad. She’s lonely. It’s in her smile. I don’t know what I can do to fix it though. She needs friends. She had a few in New York, but Dad had been around more then too. If he wasn’t having an affair with Ashley’s mom, none of this would be a problem.
“If you need anything, let me know.”
“I will.”
Mom shuts the door behind her. I focus on the end of the principal’s speech. Then there’s a lot of voices as everyone exits the stage. I know this is being recorded, but if anything significant stands out, I need to let the guys know.
“I’m sticking my neck out for you.” Ashley’s whisper is harsh. “See that you don’t get my head cut off.”
Eli chuckles. “You’ll be fine. And in the end, her kingdom will be yours.”
“Yeah, that’s not as exciting as you think.”
Other voices converge on their spot, and I’m sure Eli has taken off to be with Harper.
“You like it dirty, don’t you, Ash?” Zach Gray’s voice rings in my ears.
“Fuck off, Gray. I’m not interested.”
“Come on, Ash. A little birdie told me you like it rough. Really get off on the pain.” Zach is insistent. “I could play into your fantasies, if you play into mine.”
“Still not interested. Go find a plaything who actually wants what you’re offering.” Her disdain is clear in her voice.
Zach chuckles. “You might want to be nice to me. You’ll want to be on my side when the horsemen fall.”
“And how are you going to do that?” Ashley sounds interested. “And who protects me when you fail?”
“I’m not going to fail. See that little bird over there that they hover around?” He sounds closer, like he’s leaning in. He must be talking about Harper. “I’m going to destroy her, and they’ll be scrambling to pick up the pieces. That’s when I make my move.”
“How are you going to destroy her when you can’t even get to her?” Ashley scoffs.
His chuckle is dark. “We all have our secrets, Ash. If you share yours with me, maybe I’ll share mine with you.”
“Hey.” Sidney’s voice is bright as she joins the group. “Are we going to walk the grounds or what? If I can’t eat the fried food, I want to smell it.”
There’s a tense moment before Zach says. “Can’t let my queen down.”
“Mind if I come along?” Ashley says. “I’m not sure where Emma and Hannah ran off to.”
“We don’t mind extras.” Zach’s voice has an oily tone. “In fact, we enjoy it.”
Fuck. This guy is next level creepy. But we need Ashley to talk to Sidney. If she can find out what Zach’s plan is, that would be a bonus.
“Yeah, Ashley,” Sidney says, “you need to stop hanging out with losers so much.”
“Our friends are losers?” Ashley asks. “Since when?”
Sidney laughs. “Hannah can’t get over losing Caden’s cock. Emma was fine until the party, and now she won’t even talk to me. So, I guess it’s just you and me.”
They talk about nothing for a while. Just walking around the fair and talking to people. Nothing interesting or earth-shattering.
Then they run into someone whose voice I don’t recognize.
“Hey, I need to talk to you. Alone.” The guy sounds a little messed up.
“Babe, can you get me a footlong corn dog?” Zach says.
Ashley must go with Sidney because the sounds change as they walk and get in line for the corn dog.
“What do you see in him?” Ashley asks with disdain in her voice.
“What? He’s hot and popular. And he’s better than Brewster at sex.” Sidney sounds like she’s trying to sell something she doesn’t even want.
“Is that all you really want, Sid? To be popular or with someone popular?”
Sidney makes a dismissive noise. “It’s high school. I’m just doing what it takes to make it through. Besides, the other girls need someone to look up to, and it’s not like Harper Davidson is a role model.”
“Just because they’re fucking her doesn’t make her popular,” Ashley says.
Fortunately, popularity isn’t what Harper wants. She wants us for us, not because it’s a way to be popular.
“I know, right?” Sidney chuckles. “Did you see her on stage tonight? Nervous like a little rabbit. I was surprised she didn’t run away.”
“I mean, can you really blame her?” Ashley says. “She has to stand next to Zach. You heard about what he tried to do to her in the locker room.”
“That wasn’t the plan.” Sidney scoffs. “He was just frightening her. He wouldn’t have actually raped her.”
“Wouldn’t he have?” Ashley doesn’t sound convinced. “There’s something not right about him, Sid. I’m worried about you.”
Sidney laughs. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself. Zach is going to be king of the school with my help.”
“I’ve heard he sells drugs,” Ashley whispers.
“So what? It gives him spending money, and he likes to spend it on me. Someone has to make sure the people have what they want. Why not make a profit on it?”
Fuck. She’s so dismissive of it being a problem.
“If he goes down, you don’t think he’ll take you with him?”
“One footlong corn dog, please,” Sidney says louder. Then softer to Ashley, she says, “Look, he’s not going to do it forever. And if he goes down, it won’t just be him going down for it. Besides, my uncle could get the charges dropped.”
The guys did say Sidney was connected. And there’s a reason Zach made a play for her. Maybe that’s it.
“Whatever. I don’t want to be dragged into it,” Ashley says.
“Honestly, it won’t matter after Homecoming. We have it all planned out. I’m going to win, and Luke will see that I’m obviously the best option. I mean, even his father thinks so. He’s letting Luke use Harper to find out what she knows.”
“Knows about what?” Ashley asks.
“Who gives a fuck?” Sidney laughs and thanks someone. Then they’re moving through the crowds again. “Harper Davidson won’t be an issue after Homecoming. She’s going to tuck her tail between her legs and run home.”
“I still don’t see how you guys are going to even get close enough to do anything to her.”
“Zach has plans, but with Nico down, Jack’s a fucking zombie, barely staying awake in class, and the others having to be on the court, it’ll be easy to get her away from them.
Especially since the court is announced at the game.
They’ll only have a few minutes on the field before the only ones left will be us, Zach, and her.
It only takes a minute to get her off the grid. ”
“What if the other girls in school find out you sacrificed Harper to get what you want?” Ashley asks. “How will they know they’re not next?”
“They’ll fucking thank me. After all, the guys will be free to fuck anyone again. They won’t be chained to her side.” Sidney laughs. “The guys will probably be grateful they no longer have to fuck her and only her. Can you imagine how bored they must be with her by now?”
“They don’t seem bored.”
“They will be. Or they won’t want her after.”
“After what?”
“You’ll see.” Sidney chuckles. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, babe.” Zach comes closer to the mike. “I’m ready to get out of here. What do you say, Ash? You want to come party with us? We can make it interesting.”
“I’ve got to catch up with Emma.” Ashley’s tone is light. “But maybe next time.”
She gasps, startled.
“You want to be on the winning team, Ash. Trust me. When they fall, we’ll take them all the way to the ground, and you don’t want to be with them.”
“Let me go, Gray.” Ashley doesn’t sound like someone to mess with. “I haven’t picked a side yet, but trust me. I’ll be on the winning side. Every time.”
“Good.”
“We should do a girls’ night,” Sidney says, like her boyfriend didn’t just threaten her friend. “Reconnect. I miss you guys.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” The relief is obvious in Ashley’s voice. “We need to catch up and if you need help, you know where to find me.”
She walks away from them and whispers, “Fuck.”
After a few more moments, she says, “I hope you got that. What a fucking asshole. He better not have bruised my arm.”
I have no way to communicate with her, and I’m not sure I want to. Both of us are struggling with the same thing right now. Our parents’ infidelity with each other. It’s hard to make sense of it.
The years don’t seem to have made a difference. Does her mother ever think about my mom? Do either of them consider what this affair does to all of us? Or does it even matter to my dad and her mom?
Fuck. I don’t know and I don’t care why. I just want them to stop, or for my mom to finally divorce my dad so she can move on with her life.
“Hey, Emma.” Ashley’s voice draws me back to the transmission. “Hannah.”
“How could you hang out with her? Are you actually okay with what Sidney did?” Hannah asks.
“It’s not what Sidney did. It’s what Zach did.” Ashley sighs. “And no. But I need to know what she has planned for Homecoming so we can be prepared, and nothing blows back on us.”
“Sidney hasn’t even checked in with Emma,” Hannah says.
“It’s okay,” Emma says. “I mean, she has a lot on her mind with Homecoming.”
“Her boyfriend had you attacked,” Ashley spits out.
“He’s not really her boyfriend.” Emma sighs. “I should have made it clear that’s not what I wanted.”
“Fuck that. You are not to blame.” Ashley sounds livid. “Just because you agreed to have sex, it doesn’t mean you were open to adding more. You should have gone to the police.”
“No!” Emma sounds shaken. “I couldn’t do that. My mom would flip out. It’s fine. I just want to put it behind me.”
“Someone should rip off their balls,” Ashley mutters.
After what Jack told us, someone should. This waiting for the right opportunity blows. I understand it to a degree. But guys like Zach will just wreak more havoc by getting away with shit like that.
“I don’t want to make waves,” Emma says.
“I’m on the ripping balls off side of things,” Hannah says. “If you’ve got a plan for those assholes, I’m in. There needs to be consequences. Even if Emma had turned them in, they wouldn’t have gotten anything but a slap on their hands.”
“Fuckers,” Ashley says.
I nod my head in agreement, even though only she knows I’m listening, and no one can see me. After Zach trapped Harper in the closet, I was ready to take him out. I’m sure Caden was the same way after what Tanner did to his sister. They took everything from Tanner.
Almost.
And now, he’s back and working with Zach. It’s like this shit will never end.
“Let’s get out of here,” Ashley says. “We can go get a coffee. It’s not like any of us will actually be Homecoming Queen. Pretty sure Sidney’s rigged that too.”
“Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone else wins?” Emma sounds dreamy. “Like why even put us on the court if we don’t have a chance to win.”
“At least you didn’t get bumped for Harper.” Hannah sighs. “Sidney picked me to be the odd man out. What a fucking bitch!”
“It’s okay. Sidney will get what she deserves,” Ashley says.
“But will she?” Emma laughs bitterly. “I mean, girls like her just always win. She’ll get Homecoming Queen and be a bitch about it. Then she’ll spend her time rubbing it in our faces. Fuck, I’m just lucky I got a scholarship to school, or this would have been the end for me.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re smart and talented,” Hannah says.
“And not rich.” Emma sighs. “I have to think about my family and what they can afford. I could work to put myself through school, but I’d have to fall back on them. With a scholarship, I can work and they won’t have to worry about me at all.”
I shouldn’t be listening anymore, but Ashley has to know we’re still recording her.
“Maybe Sidney shouldn’t be the queen bee anymore,” Ashley says. “Maybe her time to reign is over.”
“She does seem to be only about getting Luke back,” Emma says. “It’s obvious to everyone that’s not going to happen. I mean, you can tell he’s in love with Harper.”
“You think it’s love?” Hannah asks. “Maybe it’s more like lust.”
“No, I think Emma is right.” Ashley’s tone is thoughtful. “I mean, Harper isn’t using them for popularity. Hell, pretty sure the girl was ready to bolt after they claimed her.”
“Sidney should just give up,” Hannah says.
“We all know that will never happen,” Emma says. “Sidney’s whole world is built around her being a winner. She got Luke’s attention and held it for years. She got cheer captain. The scholarship everyone wanted, she got. She’s a winner, and winners get what they want.”
Ashley laughs. “She won’t get Luke Foster.”
“Then she’ll find another way to win.”