dead | ethan dolan

a party with the evil

chapter twenty three
——mackenzie's pov
december 11th, 2018

after spending the night listening to my mother crying into her pillow, the last thing i was up for on monday morning was a full day of school. but if she was going to rally and go, i was going to rally and go. i just hoped none of those crestie bitches said a word to me in the hall, otherwise there was going to be blood.

i can't believe it," i ranted to david and veronica as we walked down the main hallway. "i can't believe i ever cared about being their friend again. clearly everyone on the crest is pure evil."

"i don't know. john's pretty cool," david said, shedding his jacket. "and quinn seemed nice at dinner that night—"
veronica and i turned, and we both gave him a look that could have stopped a charging bull in its tracks. he lifted his hands in surrender.
"sorry. you're right. pure evil."
"thank you."

not that i didn't think john was cool. especially after he'd been so chivalrous at the owens' party, going against the crestie pack and getting my mom out of there after she was attacked. i just didn't feel like being contradicted in all my fury.
we kept walking. "all i know is, after the obnoxious presentation their moms put on last night, i never want to be friends with them again."

at that moment, we came around the corner and stopped, bumping into each other one by one like an overdone comedy routine.
kylie, madeline and faith were all standing right next to my locker.

"uh-oh. this is not going to be pretty," veronica said under her breath.
"unbelievable," i said through my teeth.

i shouldered madeline out of the way and spun the lock on my locker door.
"well, good morning to you, too," madeline said, almost laughing. i ignored her. my shoulder muscles were so cooled that if they sprang apart they'd take out the entire hallway full of students like a whip.

"mackenzie, we just wanted to say we're sorry about last night." kylie explained.
out of the corner of my eye, i saw ethan, grayson, hammond and the idiot twins enter the hallway.

ethan stopped at his locker a few doors down, but i could tell he was listening in. the rest of the guys came towards us.

"yeah. that's not even going to come close to cutting it," i said, jamming up on the locker handle and letting the door slam open against the wall.
"oh, that's fair," faith said sarcastically, shifting her weight from one hip to the other.

i laughed and whirled on her. "i'm not being fair? were you even there? all my mom wanted to do was please you people, and she got torn to shreds."
"well, if you don't want us to hold what your dad did against you, then you can't hold what happened last night against us," faith said, arching her eyebrows. "we didn't do anything."

my spirits fell slightly. she has a point there. except-
"really? then what was that little parting comment you made on your way out?"
faith blushed and looked away.
"she's sorry for that. right, faith?" kylie said, staring her down.
"yeah. sorry, it was a knee-jerk thing," she replied, not looking me in the eye.

"look, after last night we all got together and talked about it, and we realized you're right," kylie said, tossing her perfectly coiffed hair over her shoulder. "your dad was the one who messed up. not you."

i automatically glanced at hammond. he cleared his throat and looked away. little did kylie know that i had messed up too. big time.

"so listen, we're having our annual going away party next sunday night," madeline said.
"we're all going to meet at the new pool annex at nine o'clock. you in?"
"we're breaking into the pool?" lucas said excitedly.
"skinny-dipping! sweet!" giovanni added.
they slapped hands over their heads.

i couldn't contain the rush of excitement, even as i hated myself for having it. they were actually inviting me to something. one of our old traditions. every year we all went away for a few days over christmas, and every year we said goodbye to each other by throwing a private party in some forbidden location. of course, i wasn't hopping a flight out of newark this year, but that didn't mean i couldn't go to the going away party.

ethan quietly closed the door of his locker and wandered over, standing behind madeline's left shoulder. he made eye contact with me, and suddenly i was sweating. my hands shook as i sent an apologetic glance to veronica and david, who were on the opposite side of the hallway.

i had just swore to them that i would never be friends with the cresties again, and yet here i was, about to accept the invitation to a party.
"it'll be just like old times!" kylie said with a smile.

my heart fluttered. just like old times. they were offering a truce. a real one. wouldn't it be kind of jerky to throw it back in their faces?
"so? what do you say, mack?" madeline asked.
mack. she called me mack.

"i'm in."
"cool." madeline said with a smile. "we'll see you there."
after they had all walked away and veronica, david, and i were left alone, none of us said anything for a solid minute. with ethan gone, i finally started to cool down—to think clearly again.

"come on, you guys, it's just one party," i said.
david pushed himself away from the wall. "yeah. a party with evil."
"but you heard what they said, right?" i asked, tugging a few books out of my locker.
"and it sounded real, right? they really felt bad."

david and veronica looked at each other.
"sure. if you trust the face of evil," veronica said.
"you can't play both sides, mackenzie," david said. "you can't be both a crestie and a norm."
a tingle of apprehension went through my chest. "why not?"
"because...it's just wrong," david said, lifting both shoulders. "like, on a primordial level."

"he's right. your head might actually explode from all the pressure." veronica said, looking at david. when i didn't reply, she continued.
"we are so going to lose her."
i sighed and slammed my locker.
"okay, drama queen. you're not going to lose me. it's just one party!"

david took my hand and looked into my eyes, his expression all mock-serious.
"just promise me you'll come back."

he was kidding around, but a hard stone of guilt formed in my stomach. because one of the main reasons i said yes, one of the reasons i was really looking forward to this, was because ethan would be there.

"i promise." i said. "i'll come back."

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[1163 words]
-m
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