Entwined by Natalie W. (100 books to read in a lifetime txt) 📕

The people were jumping, crowding onto one another until it looked like one, big orgy. I stood on the edge, in a corner under the bleachers. The bass flowed through me like cool autumn air. Music pulsed the air around me, making it seem almost hard to breathe. I hated school dances. I wanted to take a hammer to the DJ’s table just to stop the pulsing. But no. I had to stay here. It wasn’t my choice. But what if… I looked towards the doors, where police officers stood, shouting over the music to one another. I would never work. I pulled a flask out of my cloak and poured half of the vodka into the Hi-C that someone had handed me five minutes ago. As I drank I observed how the people dance, how the girls giggled and gossiped stupidly when a boy asked them to dance during a slow dance, the boys guffawing and shoving each other towards the girls. Then I noticed the group near me. They must have noticed me, because they were shoving a pale faced, black haired boy at me. I grimaced and got ready to kick his shins if he tried anything. He came closer and stepped under one of the only lights in the gym. It was Pete. I sighed a breath of relief and took his hand, pulling him into the shadows. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the boys gaping stupidly. Pete looked back and then followed me into the shadows, glad to be out of the big moving mass of high-schoolers.
“How ya been, Babe?” Pete drawled out jokingly.
I laughed and punched him in the arm. He was joking all the time. He punched me back and smiled.
“So how’s your eye?” He touched the leather patch over my ruined eye and looked at me again.
I knew why he was worried. He was worried I’d confess. Confess that he did it. After he carried me into his house alone after accidentally shooting me in the eye with a BB gun, He had patched me up as best as he could, then drove me to the hospital.
“It’s ok, Pete.” I thought for a minute. “Hey that means less eye liner work to do in the morning!”
He laughed and glanced over at the guards. His black hair was in a mess. My white hair was pulled back for tonight, exposing my patch.
“Ivi, you wan-“
“Wanna bust ou-“
“Sorry.” He mumbled. “You go first.”
“You wanna bust out of here? I’ve been waiting for a break the whole night.”
“Ditto, Ivi, ditto.”
We grasped hands like always, pinkie twined around pinkie, even though we would never be a couple. He pulled a package of poppers out of his jacket and looked at me, flashing a lopsided grin. I pulled the flask from my cloak and offered it to him. He took a few swings then handed it back to me, and I did the same. The I stowed it away, pulled my cloak closed and fluttered my free hand twice. The signal. We had always used that as a signal. He pulled out the small bag from the box and gave me half of it, all with one hand. I fluttered my full hand again and started chucking them, one by one, at the police. They acted as a gun had been shot with each pop. They looked around wildly and started to shout over the music to the kids, telling them to get out. We slinked out the now unguarded doors and out into the night, our pinkies still entwined.
After drinking the whole flask, we wobbled down the street, slightly buzzed, laughing madly and joking, throwing the poppers in front of people’s doors and running. He had that dazzling smile on his face, his teeth slightly flashing and the left corner of his mouth turned up toward his blind eye. His other eye sparkled, a bright green color. After we had found his car parked on a side street, we got in and let the seat down so we could look through the sunroof. Thoughts swam through my mind, but I forced them away and relaxed. Suddenly Pete was propped up on his arm, looking at me curiously. I turned my head and looked back, smiling. He leaned in slowly, closer and closer, until his nosed touched mine. I knew he was going to kiss me. He was just so close. Then I was being squeezed hard.
“I LOVE YOU, IVI!”He sang.
I was so confused I started to sputter and move my hands rapidly around my ponytail.
“Haha! Gotcha!” He poked my arm hard. “Woah calm down, Ivi, I was only kidding. Dude I love you so much! But in a brother- sister way.”
I laughed, For real, and hugged him back.
“So where you wanna go, sis? A club? My house?” He nudged me at the last comment and I smiled.
“Go to Billy Bobs!”
He started the car and pulled out of the small street, onto a big deserted one. Then he gunned the engine and sped down the street towards the highway. I squealed with delight and he drove faster, happy to hear me cry out in glee. We drove through a red light into a seemingly empty four section. Our world suddenly went white as the car that came out from the left street headlights flashed into our car. I screamed, and I think Pete did to. I heard a screech as he stomped on the brakes. There was a crunch and a sharp stabbing pain in my side. The door and been crushed, and so had the passenger side of the car. There was a crunch that signaled my ribs had broken. Glass and hot metal showered down on us, but I barely noticed. I was concentrated on trying to look at Pete. I turned my head slowly and looked at him. He stared back, horrified. Black blobs had started to cross over my eye. He called out to me. I opened my eyes one more time, my head facing the passenger window, or what was left of it. Through it I could see the telephone pole the two cars had crashed into start to fall. I opened my mouth to yell for Pete to run, but my voice had failed. It crashed down on top of his side, crushing him. I tried to scream, but my throat closed completely. My vision faded, and my chest faltered, and then stopped moving. The ambulance came five minutes later. One of the men peered into our car. He saw the most extraordinary thing yet. There, in the middle of the seats, bloody from where our nails had cut skin, our pinkies were still entwined.

Publication Date: 10-19-2010

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To my gay firend, Chris: Always helped me get out of those dances.