Secrets Look Different in the Light

Chapter 2

Dylan's POV

I shut the the door behind us. May hops up onto the counter, fidgeting with the sleeve of her shirt. I let the silence hang, but eventually I cave.
"Well?" 
"What?"
"What was that back there? What did you even buy from him?" I ask. 

She exhales through her nose, like I'm annoying her. Then she hops down.
"It was nothing, honest. Just weed. His prices were jacked, so I just gave him what I give to anyone else. He was just a baby about it." 

She grabs onto my hand like that'll smooth everything over. "Come on, don't make this a thing."
I sigh. "Dealers have prices. Y You don't get to pick what it's worth. You're lucky Pez is a friend of mine. Other guys? They wouldn't have let that slide."
"I got it." she says quickly. "I've learned my lesson. I'm sorry I even got you into that mess." 

I hug her, attempting to kill some of the tension. "Let's just forget it. Come on. We'll go back to my place and watch a movie or something. Sound good?" I say. 
"Perfect." she says, already heading for the hallway before suddenly stopping.
"Wait. My jacket, it's in the kitchen." She takes off, and  I hang back near the door. Pez spots me and walks over. I brace.
"What's up man?" I ask, keeping my tone even. I really don't want to return to the May topic.
"I just wanted to check if you and May were good?" He seems a little off.

I nod. "Yeah. We're fine." I state simply.

He hesitates. Something in his face shifts. He takes a breath, then says:
"Look, I know this is gonna sound hypocritical coming from me, but your girl's on more than weed. She's not telling you everything. I just figured you deserved to know. You've always been decent to me."
I roll my eyes at him. "You're full of shit man." I say, but there really is no reason for him to make this up.
"I'm her fucking dealer,  Dylan. I know what she bought from me."
I stay quiet, not knowing what to say. Like I said, he's got no reason to make something like that up. He takes my silence as a que and says one more thing.
"Sorry if I over stepped. Just thought you should know." He says and walks off.

Theo's POV

Jayden uses Avery's house to his advantage every time her parents are gone, which is often. In his mind, it's the ultimate party pad. No rules, no supervision, more alcohol than anyone could keep track of. But I don't think he realizes how that actually affects her. She doesn't like to talk about it much, but we had a conversation about it one night when Jayden was having a viewing party for a boxing match. She'd had a few too many and started slurring, but the stuff she said? It stuck.

"I hate this house," she told me, slumping in a bar stool in the kitchen. "It's too big. Everyone's always so far away. Even when they're home, they're not really... here."

Jayden thinks people filling the space makes it better. She thinks it makes it worse.

"Don't tell him I said that. He thinks he's helping."

"Helping himself, more like." She laughed- a short, tired sound- and that was the end of it. She got tired, and I carried her upstairs. She asked me to stay, so I did. She curled up next to me like I was a pillow the whole night.
Jayden? Passed out on the living room couch, snoring into an empty solo cup.

I shake the memory out off and leave the room to find Jackie. I take one step out and see her exit the bathroom, now in a John Lennon t-shirt.
"That's new." I comment.

She rolls her eyes. "It's not mine. But I kinda dig it." She strikes a pose.

I laugh. "Come on, Jayden and Avery summoned you for their after party." I state.
She groans. "Why is there always an after party with those two."

I just shrug. "Because the party isn't over until they say so apparently."

"Ugh. Am I riding with you?"

I nod. She falls in step beside me, and we head out.

Avery's POV

"Drinks already? The rest of the crew ain't even here yet." Jayden grins as he catches me behind my parents' bar- the one built into the corner of our oversized, sterile living room. The space is ridiculous. Mirror-walled, mahogany everything, black marble countertop, shelves of untouched crystal glassware. It's more a trophy case than a bar.
"You mean you don't want an old fashioned?" I ask him, dropping a cherry into mine. 
He scrunches his nose. "I don't know how you drink those. The only person I know who actually likes an old fashioned, is my grandpa." He states with distaste. 
"Well, guess I'm an old soul." I swirl the whiskey, let it hit my nose, then take a sip. Jayden walks over and lifts me off the ground with zero warning. For half a second, my brain flashes back to Theo doing the same thing I won the game. Jayden sets me on the bar, but I don't let go. I wrap my legs around his waist, holding him close.
"How long do you think we have before people get here?" I ask. 

He raises an eyebrow. "Long enough." He leans in, starts kissing my neck, and for a moment I let my mind wonder.
"2013 Carrie manages to rip off the original and make its own horrible renditions all at the same time. It's the worst remake I've ever seen." I hear a whiny voice come from the kitchen and pull away from Jayden. 
Jayden sighs. "May?" He asks, already knowing the answer.
"And therefore my Dylan." 

I slide off the bar counter and adjust the strap of my shirt. Dylan walks in,  May lingering behind him.
"I figured you'd be out longer." He says, reaching past me for the mini fridge. I shrug. "It got crowded, so we bailed." I circle around to the other side of the bar, sitting on a stool. 

Dylan starts to make himself a drink. "I don't blame you." He notices the glass in my hand. "Dad's glass?" He asks. I just nod.
"Careful with it okay? You know how he is with his shit." I roll my eyes.
"It's just a glass. He has 10 more just like it," I mutter. 

May chimes in: "I'm gonna run to the restroom real quick. Movie after?" She asks Dylan.
"Yeah I'll set it up in my room." He responds.
She heads off. A second later, the front door opens,  Theo and Jackie stepping inside.

Jackie's POV

I shut the front door behind us, rolling my eyes. "You can't say that. You weren't even there." 
Theo scoffs. "He's a guy, we basically all share one brain cell. I didn't have to be there to know he was trying to hook up." He says.
"You're gross. That's Avery's brother. And he has a girlfriend! You're not just wrong , you're a pig." We step into the living room, where Jayden, Dylan, and Avery are already scattered between the couch and bar.
"Greetings and salutations." I say in my best Christian Slater voice.
"Ugh," Dylan grimaces. "I can hear  Slater die a little every time you do that." He says as he walks away from the bar.
"You're just jealous because I do my impression is better than yours." He shakes his head and disappears into the kitchen.
Avery raises a glass toward me. "Jackie darling. Care to join me in a drink?" 

I giggle. "But of course dear." I make myself a vodka Red Bull, and clink my glass to hers. Jayden turns on music, starting with Avery's favorite song. She starts swaying as soon as the intro hits. Then we hear the door open once more. 
Avery turns to me and Theo. "Did y'all bring someone else with you?" We shake our heads. 

Jayden steps over, grabbing his drink from the bar top. "I invited a few other friends from the party." Jayden says casually, moving to the couch.
Avery's smile tightens. "What happened to VIP's only?"
In walks Haley Savellini, Bryn Knox, and Andrew James. There's nothing wrong with any of them, fairly nice and fun to hangout with. Mostly they just tend to overstay their welcome, not leaving till the wee hours of the morning which I think is what Avery dislikes about them.
"So does this after party have shots involved?" Haley says, heading straight for the alcohol. Andrew and Bryan join Jayden on the couch, Theo starts to follow when Haley pipes up once more.
"Theodore, come on. Do a shot with us." She lays out four on the counter, I hand one over to him and nudge one towards Avery. She detaches her eyes from the couch and turns towards us.
"To after parties." she says, a little quieter than usual, and we all drink.