The Renegades

Chapter 19

"Please?" Wesley begs, drawing out the word for as long as his breath allows him to.

"I really don't want to," Sabina says. She leans back against the wall in the school hallway. Wesley pouts.

Wesley pecks her on the lips. "Please?" He kisses her again. "Please?" He kisses her again. "Pretty please?" He kisses her again. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

She smiles but quickly withdraws it, not wanting to look like she's giving in to him. "I don't even have a costume."

It's Halloween and, despite Coach Dickson repeatedly telling his team not to since it's a Thursday and tomorrow is a big game, the Renegades are having their annual Halloween party at Jordy Bell's house by the woods on the outskirts of town. It's always the biggest party of the year with ninety-nine percent of the high school coming and a haunted woods style thing set up in the woods around the house. The tradition goes all the way back to when Jordy's dad was a Renegade. All the Bell boys since then have thrown it. Wesley wants to go, but he only wants to go with Sabina. Sabina wants to carry out her own Halloween tradition and watch scary movies by herself in her living room with a pizza, a two liter bottle of root beer, and her fuzziest blanket.

"You own clothes," Wesley says. "Just throw something together."

"Wes..."

"Why don't you wear one of your plaid skirts and be a sexy school girl?" he suggests. "I can be your nerdy boyfriend."

She sighs. "I don't have anything... I'm not sexy."

He shakes his head and kisses her. "I disagree." He kisses her cheek before starting to walk away. "I'll pick you up at eight, Bean."

He picks her up at eight. She's wearing her plaid skirt and a long sleeved crop top. He's wearing a white collared shirt tucked into khaki pants with a clip on bow tie, suspenders, and big glasses. Landon dresses as Danny in black jeans and a leather jacket and Rae dresses as Sandy in black leggings and a black crop top from Grease. Marley and Hunter show up to the party in overalls and flannels.

Rae and Landon quickly find a bowl of candy and a couch and sit down to start eating. They somehow look happier now than they ever have before. It's like getting through their fight made them realize they can do anything. It's almost like reassurance that they're meant to be together forever.

Jordy Bell walks into his house from the backyard and pauses the music blaring through his speakers. He stands up on a coffee table and announces, "The haunted woods are now open!"  People cheer as he hops down and starts the music back up.

"Let's go," Hunter says to Marley. She shakes her head. "Come on, baby. It'll be fun."

She shakes her head again. "You know I hate things jumping out at me."

He smirks, grabs her hand, and starts pulling her towards the back door. "That's exactly why it'll be fun."

Hunter leads Marley to the woods, where almost immediately a little girl in a ripped, dirtied dress pops out. Her face is painted to look like something out of The Shining. She smiles with her mouth closed at them and tilts her head way to the side. Then she screams until they move along. Marley screams back at the very beginning, clenching on to Hunter's arm. Hunter knows the girl is Jordy's little sister, which makes it even funnier for him.

They keep walking down the semi-cleared path with random figures and characters jumping out at them. Hunter keeps expecting Marley to expect the scares and not be affected by them, but she never does. She jumps every time, clinging tighter and tighter to Hunter to the point that he's starting to lose feeling in his arm from lack of blood flow and he's practically carrying her.