Quarter Mile

Fire

TW// sexual assault and alcohol consumption

"I need a drink," Dakota mumbled as he turned to face his shocked friends, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

Eli clung to Parker's arm. He'd had to hold him back when Beck had started yelling. The whole time, Parker was watching Beck's eyes, seeing if they were going to change. And when they did, when they flashed a fierce flame inside them, he had stepped forward, ready to protect Dakota at all costs.

But Eli pulled him back, knowing that he would probably just make things worse than they already were.

Eli let go of Parker's arm and they both slowly stepped forward and pulled Dakota into a sad embrace. Dakota slumped into their arms, as if his body was giving up on him.

"Let's get out of here, yeah?" Parker whispered. Dakota nodded into his shoulder.

As they walked towards the door, Dakota gripping Eli's hand, Harvey yelled out to the crowd of people still standing around.

"The fuck is everyone looking at? Move on!"

Once the seven of them were outside, Dakota breathed a shaky breath of fresh air into his lungs.

"Hey," Parker said. "You okay?" He pulled Dakota into a hug. "Actually, don't answer that. I know you're not."

"I need a drink," Dakota repeated, slightly muffled by Parker's shoulder.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Parker asked, pulling back so that his arms were outstretched and his hands were resting on the defeated boy's shoulders.

"It's a perfectly fine idea," Dakota said as he shook Parker's hands off and walked towards his car.

"Kick ons at mine!" Macey shouted from behind them. She jumped into Parker's car, along with Peggy and Luke.

"Harvey, Eli, you guys go with Koda. We'll meet you there," Parker said as he headed towards the driver's door of his car. And then, in a quieter voice, he said to Harvey, "look after him, yeah? Find me as soon as you get to Macey's. I don't want him to be alone, even for a minute, tonight."

"Got it, boss," Harvey winked and jumped into Dakota's car.

They drove in silence to Macey's house. Eli sat in the passenger seat, holding onto Dakota's free hand. No tears were coming from Dakota's puffy eyes; he was angry now. Angry at how Beck could just throw away everything they had, just like that.

When they arrived at Macey's house, there were already people spilling out onto the street. Word had gotten out that kick on's were happening and everyone had piled out of the auditorium after they had left. Beck and Dakota's fight had brought the mood down a lot.

Parker was waiting for the other three boys at the entrance to the house. Once Dakota was close enough, Parker wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him inside, straight to the kitchen where a bottle of vodka was awaiting him.

"All yours, baby boy," Parker said as he pushed the bottle along the bench, towards Dakota. A sad smile was thrown his way as he picked up the bottle and took a long swig of the burning alcohol. "Slow down, Koda. We have all night."

The two boys shuffled through the crowd of sweating bodies to get to their friends. Dakota didn't know where Beck had gone after he walked out of the auditorium, and quite frankly, he didn't care. All he knew was that he wanted to forget about him, at least for tonight.

The music blasted through his ear drums making his head hurt, so he took two more shots of vodka in hopes to block everything out. He could sense Parker, Eli and Harvey watching him like a hawk, and it was pissing him off. He loved his friends, but he didn't want to be babied at that moment.