DIAMONDS ❀ SCREAM

7 | SAFETY NETS

"My mind is a mess."

"So is your room." Will commented, kicking his legs up onto the dirtied table, shoving the papers that laid there to the floor. He removed himself from the chair and moved towards the bed, ignoring the pile of clothes that payed haphazardly on top of the grey bed sheet.

"I didn't have time to clean, you did randomly decide to show." Ava sighed, grabbing a few coat hangers and threw them onto the bed. "Now help me clean."

"Fuck that." He rolled his eyes, crawling towards the window. "Noah Foster's been pretty down huh? I have never seen him so bummed out before."

"The only person who noticed him, other than his best friend just died Will. Think before you speak."

"I thought you two-"

"Are you going to help me clean or what? I can't spend my entire day talking about Noah you know?" Ava sighed, cutting off Will and pulling on the clothes he laid on top of. He rolled his eyes, leaping off the bed and landing next to the desk he leaned against moments before. She ignored his stare and continued to clean, her brain hard wired into cleaning the room before her mother came home.

"So, Brooke was right." He hummed, moving next to her. She lazily glanced his way, eyes narrowed as he aided her. "You really aren't taking things well."

"Fuck off Will." She cursed, her eyes glaring at the neatly folded shirt in his hands. Calmly setting it onto the bed her turned, his body facing hers as she angrily shoved various shirts onto hangers.

"Did you talk to your mom about your sister?"

"No." She mumbled, slowing her pace, as she now slowly folded the wrinkled shirts that had been resting on the floor. "Why would I? She's nothing to us, nothing but a runaway teenager with way too many issues."

"Right." He hummed, bumping his hip against her own. "Your mind is a mess."

❀

"Yo! What's the nine-one-one?" Jake questioned and trailed after Will. He walked alongside Ava as he pulled her outside after the boy. She ignored the stench of sweat that lingered between them, and stopped near the truck, her hands fiddling with the ends of her cheerleading skirt. She left out a low huff, watching Will pace around the pavement while Jake played with the basketball in his hands. It took a few minutes before Will finally spoke, his eyes alight with excitement.

"I got into Duke." Will grinned, his eyes widening in glee while Jake hugged him. Ava smiled at the two before wrapping her arms around them, holding both the boys tightly in her arms. The three stood like that for a few seconds before Jake broke it off, a grin still plastered on his face.

"Hell, yeah! Huge congrats bro."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Jake, Will that's amazing!" She smirked, bumping shoulders with the two playfully. "So amazing that I'm not mad at you two for dragging me out of practice three minutes earlier."

"Why are you even mad anyways?" Jake frowned, pushing her back as well.

"It doesn't matter," Will shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I got into Duke! But no scholarship. So, I'm gonna be paying sixty three grand which may as well be sixty three million."

"That's insane, how are you gonna pay?" Ava questioned, her eyes narrowing at the thought of him going back into the old business. She turned towards Jake who copied her expression, ignoring the look she sent his way.

"Did you tell your dad?"

"Not yet, he'll never co-sign for student loans, so that's it. I'm never getting out of here." Will frowned, the disappointment was evident on his face but he forced his lips to curl up as Ava rubbed his shoulder sympathetically.

"You know, if you need fast cash for tuition, there is another option." Jake leaned in, lowering his voice so only the two could hear him. "We can finish what Nina and Tyler started."

"Blackmail?" Will scoffed, turned towards Ava in alarm, she returned the alarmed expression and lightly hit Jake's shoulder. "We're finally in the clear and you want to dive back in?"

"We're still in the clear." Jake argued, rubbing his shoulder tentatively. "This guy has no idea who we are."

"We don't even have the video, it's on Nina's laptop." Will argued.

"There may be another copy." Jake admitted, glancing mischievously at Ava and Will who only rolled their eyes in irritation.

"I knew you didn't delete everything." Will groaned and pushed back against his truck, his disappointment turning into anger. He moved towards Ava as she glared at the boy and ran a hand down her bare arms before speaking up as well.

"Goddamn Jake, you kept it?" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can't keep diving back into this safety harness you've built for yourself. Blackmailing people is not a suitable career I hope you know that, because in Lakewood it'll only get you so far."

"We have an opportunity," He muttered, pushing the basketball in his hand to Will, his frown disappearing after Ava turned away. "Look, if the guy balks, then we walk no harm no foul. But if he pays, hello, Duke."

He stepped away from the two for a moment, allowing them to think about his offer. The three stood silently before Jake moved towards them once more and pulled on Ava, dragging her back into the school without another word to Will.

"Okay, I know you're my best friend and I love you. Though I'm mad at you, I still love you." She huffed, twisting around so she could wave at the confused boy standing awkwardly with a basketball in his hands. "But you really need to stop dragging me around like a rag doll."

"Duly noted."

❀