young | book one

Art

Laughter rang through the house as the Elites watched Shawn gulp down a beer in one drink.
Julius grinned at his best friend and took sip of his own drink. He kept glancing at the door, anxiously waiting for Juliet and Jaclyn to come back. He's slightly angry with the way Juliet and Shawn acted but he's used to their lack of empathy so he couldn't stay mad for long.

"Juls dude," Shawn staggered over to where Julius stood. "We going to Drop Back tonight?"

"No, we're drunk and the last time we went to Drop Back wasted, Cody broke his arm."

Cody grumbled from his position on the floor, "Yeah and it was all your fault dip shit."

Shawn laughed, "All I did was dare you to jump and grab on to the pole. You're the idiot that did it."

Julius thought back to that night. They were being ridiculously careless but it made everything so much better.

Flashback

"Come on Cody," Shawn whined. "Just slide down the fucking pole, you won't get hurt."

The Drop Back is a construction site for a hotel that was never finished. The mayor pulled the plug on the project early last fall because they wanted to renovate the mall. What was left was a half-built building and many dangerous zones. The area was off limits but with Asher being the son of the mayor, nothing was off limits for the Elites. They were there after a night of drinking.

Cody stared at the long rusted pole that was attached to a crane and shuddered. There was no way he's doing this dare.

Julius laid on the cool grass, his skin was sweaty and red. Everything about the night was hot. The air, the girls, the dares. He watched his brother contemplate going through with Shawn's dare and didn't try to stop him. This is what they did to feel right, to feel alive. The dares, the reckless acts, it was all a part of who they were.

"Codes," Shawn pressed his hands down on Cody's shoulders and forced him to stare into his amber eyes. "Do it."

Cody could feel the fight slipping right from him. He moved away from Shawn and sat down on the metal bench hooked onto a different crane. The boys whooped and hollered as Luke turned on the crane and hoisted Cody up to the third floor.

Cody released a sigh and stepped onto the floor, his eyes immediately drawn to his friends. They looked unbelievably small from where he stood. He regretted his decision deeply until they all raised their drinks, an Elite's sign of respect. Cody sucked in a deep breath and looked at the pole dangling 5 feet in front of him.

Cody jumped and reached out for the pole, grasping it tightly in his hands. Below him, his friends cheered. Relief flood into his body and then the pole came loose and Cody came crashing down three stories.

End of Flashback

Cody's broken arm didn't stop the boys from going to Drop Back. It did however keep them from going drunk again.

The front door swung open and Juliet made her way inside. She had tossed her hair into a high ponytail and was carrying her phone, typing furiously on it. Julius pushed himself off the wall and placed his hands on the side of her head, lifting it so she would look into his eyes.

"Everything okay?" He asked softly, indirectly asking where Jaclyn was.

Juliet's eyes shone with annoyance for a second before returning to their soft gaze. "Everything's fine."

She stepped away from Julius's embrace and joined her friends in the circle they were forming for spin the bottle. Julius glanced at the front door before sitting down in this circle, thoughts about the new girl swirling in his head.

~~~~
Vivian twirled a finger through a curl on Luke's head. Her eyes lazily opened, searching for red hair. Shawn and Sophie had disappeared a few minutes ago, predictions to where those two went flew around the room but then simmered when everyone became too interested in each other. Vivian prepared to search for Sophie but Luke's lips pressed lightly against her neck and her eyes fluttered shut.

"How could you treat Jaclyn like that you pig," Sophie shoved Shawn away from her when he attempted to pull her in.

"Does it matter? She's just an Extra."

"I hate the way you treat everyone who's not an Elite, Shawn. It's so disrespectful, they're just as important as we are." Sophie's green eyes glittering with anger.

Shawn glanced around at the room they were in as Sophie went on and on about how bad of a person he is. It was large and vast, filled with drawings and paintings and art supplies. This was her art room, he realized in confusion, she had never let him in here before.

"And don't you dare treat Jac-"

"These are beautiful Soph," Shawn interrupted her and walked over to look closely at a drawing of her family. "How come you haven't let me see this."

Sophie rolled her eyes at the change of subject and glanced around the room, "I hadn't realized I brought you into this room. It's kind of private, no one is allowed in here."

Shawn picked up a sketchbook laying on the floor and flipped through it. It was filled with drawings of him; playing soccer, cliff-jumping, laughing. Sophie stood silently next to him, searching his face for a reaction.

Shawn dropped the sketchbook and turned to drag Sophie into his arms. "For you, I would treat every person in the world with the utmost respect. I don't want to lose you Soph."

Sophie smiled and ran her hand through his fluffy hair. "I know."

The Reserve House was silent. Only the sounds of faint laughs, gentle kisses, and the hushed scrape of a pencil against paper could be heard.

☼