Teen Idols And Happy Meals

Honey And Tree Houses

Nikki’s POV

If I thought he was gorgeous under the harsh industrial lights of McDonalds, he was absolutely ravishing out here, bathed in the glow of the natural firelight. His platinum hair didn’t seem so artificial out here; in fact, it seemed bunny soft and feathery out here, with an almost mystical sheen to it. His eyes though, they were affected most by the atmosphere. The flames were reflected in his irises, which appeared more grey than blue here; a beautiful pearly grey like ocean waves at dawn.

If it wasn’t for the captivating quality of his renewed radiance, I very well may have bolted. The prospect was tempting as it was. For some reason, I didn’t want him to see this side of me. But it was too late, I knew. Demi threw me under the bus before I even had the chance to do more than drop my jaw at seeing him here.

“Anything you want, Plain Jane’s got it. ‘Aint that right Janie?”

I squirmed uncomfortably as two pairs of eyes, both as brightly colored as sea glass, flickered to me. Pat’s emerald gaze was filled with only vague interest, as if he was assessing me, but Jacen’s electric blue stare seemed to hold some sort of silent challenge. For someone so apathetic, his eyes were full of a surprisingly large amount of fiery emotion.

“Sup Jane,” Pat said, nodding at me, “So you gonna hook us up?”

“Um sure,” I returned, glancing over at the silent Jacen, “What do you need?”

“Just some . . .” Pat began, trailing off as the air began to fill with the sounds of barking dogs and male shouts. At that sound, we all went as silent as the grave. Recognition and fear seemed to slowly dawn on the faces of some of the drugged up people around me, while others remained painfully unaware. I looked out to the water to see that even Scott and his playmates had paused in their intoxicated frolicking.

And for that brief moment, nobody moved. Hell, I don’t think anybody breathed. We all just stood there, frozen, as we stared up at the tree line in wordless horror. Seeing us and our obvious terror, you’d be expecting Godzilla to come stomping down the hill side. If only that were the case. But no. Something far worse than a man eating monster was coming for us . . .

Cops.

“Motherfucker,” Demi swore, and the damn broke. Snarling German shepherds pounced out from the cover of the trees, pulling their gun totting masters with them. Flash lights rained all over the docks as more and more officers seemed to pour out of the woods. The screams and shouts of teenagers began to fill the air as the officers told us to put our hands up. But we were already running.

In the chaos I scrambled for my bag, slinging it over my shoulder as I took off. People were running and screaming in all directions, but I picked my course and stuck to it. The bright lights shining over me filled me with panic. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I pushed on, shoving people out of my way.

With all the pandemonium surrounding me, I felt like I was on drugs. It was so surreal. The lights, the screaming, the people – and me, running for the woods like my life depended on it. In a way, it did. If I got caught holding this much, I could kiss my future goodbye.

So I kept on running, Joey’s sneakers pounding against the dirt in tune with the frantic beating of my heart, and my bag of poisons slapping against my thigh with every stride. The closer I got to the woods, the farther away it seemed. But somehow, I finally broke through the tree line.

But I didn’t stop running. There had been so many cops, one could have easily chosen me as their target. The forest around me seemed haunted and terrifying as flash light rays gleamed through the trees wildly and the chaotic sounds of madness seeped through.