Your Sweet Six Six Six | Sitkolson [C]

Chapter 1 | Friday Night

It was dark outside. Not that creepy dark, just neighborhood dark. Trees were turning red and orange, their leaves blowing down onto the green grass. The houses weren't big or small. Medium, what you'd expect from a middle class family. This time of night, parents weren't too happy with the teenagers screwing around on their block.

Ryan could walk fearlessly, which Vinny didn't understand. The smaller pulled on his hoodie strings uncomfortably. He was only a freshmen, but being an outcast in his grade, he had to find friends in older kids. The unfortunate part of that was he was thrown into situations he wasn't too comfortable with. His parents knew he was out with friends but expected they were just at Ryan's house. Obviously, as they trekked through a neighborhood that wasn't their own, they were far from the safety of Ryan's bedroom.

The taller of the two stopped dead in his tracks. Vinny almost ran into his back because he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings. His mind was silently panicking over thoughts of what his mother would do if she found out he lied about where they were going. Ryan unlocked the gate leading to the backdoor, glancing back at Vinny expectantly. With a sigh, he followed him into Ricky's backyard.

Their raccoon friend tended to have a love for autumn unlike any other. Despite how cold it was, he had his window open. Ryan took a stick of gum out of his pocket. He stuck the mint piece in his mouth, then balled up the wrapper and launched it through the open window on the second floor. He waited a moment, getting confused when Ricky didn't notice. Ryan picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it towards the side of the window.

The noise of something hitting the house finally got Ricky's attention. He popped his head out, looking slightly annoyed. "What are you two doing here?"

Ryan continued to smack on his gum, smiling to see his favorite person. "We're going to IHOP. Wanna come?" He asked.

Nervously, he glanced back in his bedroom for a moment. "Not tonight. I, uh, I've got an essay due on Monday. I wanna get it done tonight, so I can enjoy my weekend."

"Bring it with you and I'll help you write it!" He suggested. Ryan enjoyed his company more than he'd ever admit. If he walked all this way just for a no, he wasn't looking forward to the rest of his evening.

Ricky rubbed the back of his neck as he thought of a way to wiggle out of this one. "I kind of want to do it myself. Sorry, Ry. I'm sure one of the others are free."

"Chris and Josh are both on dates. Devin went out clubbing. I already asked." Vinny replied.

"Oh." He sighed, "Well, I hope you have a goodnight." Ricky pulled his head back in his room, closing the window. He pulled the curtain over it to prevent them from seeing inside.

Ryan hit Vinny's arm suddenly, "Why'd you say that? It made it sound like he was our last choice."

"Ow," He responded as he rubbed his shoulder, "I'm sorry... Can we go get pancakes now?"

"No." He grumbled, shoving his hands in his pocket. Ryan started to walk away with his head down.

Vinny trailed after, struggling to catch up. He frowned, "Why not?"

"It's not the same... You wouldn't get it."

He furrowed his brow, "Wouldn't get what?"

"You just-" Ryan cut himself off with a sigh. He glanced up at the full moon, then back at his youngest friend, "Never mind. Yeah, we can go get pancakes."

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Ricky ran his hand through his hair and released a trapped breath. The paper on his desk was finished already. Despite his slacker look, he did work his ass off in class. By the time Ryan had showed, that paper had been done for hours. He counted his lucky stars that his best friend somehow didn't notice the motorcycle parked in front of his house.