Crash into You

"I can't watch this," I said, covering my eyes with my hand then peeked through my fingers as simultaneous engines revved and everyone started clapping and cheering.

"What do you mean you can't watch?" my best friend Livvie said, pulling my hand away from my face. "They'll be fine, Clare. My bet is on Delicious Devlin for the win," she added, and her boyfriend Jared, tugged her closer to him, brushing his lips against the side of her cheek. "Bradley doesn't have the guts it takes to not veer off the road."

"I don't see the point in this," I said, my eyes narrowing on Devlin's fully restored black Chevelle. How he'd come to own the mint condition classic muscle car was as much of a mystery as the gorgeous guy sitting behind the wheel, preparing to play chicken with Bradley. Or at least he was a mystery to me since we hadn't spoken a word to each other since he transferred to our school at the beginning of the year.

"Whoever wins gets to take Celeste to the senior ball," she explained like I hadn't understood her when she came to my house all excited about seeing Bradley and Devlin trying to kill each other in an effort to secure a date with the prettiest girl in school.

"I wouldn't want to be some dumb guy's prize," I muttered as I combed my fingers through my windblown sandy-brown hair.

"Sure you would," Jared interjected, bobbing his head at the two cars on the same side of the road with Celeste in the middle of them, raising a flag to start the show. Brushing his dirty-blond hair out of his bluish-gray eyes, he added, "Not that any guy would risk his life for a date with you," he went on to say, and Livvie elbowed him in the stomach.

"Apologize right now or I'll find someone else to go to senior ball with," Livvie said, and she meant it. That was the difference between us, she had options while I would likely be spending prom night at home watching some sappy romantic comedy. She was pretty, clever and outgoing, the kind of girl I wished I could be, but unless I could get out of my head enough to talk to a guy, I'd likely end up an old crazy cat lady.

"I'm sorry, Clare," Jared muttered, earning himself a lengthy kiss from her.

Engines revved again, Celeste dropped the flag, and tires spun and squealed as Bradley and Devlin pressed down on their gas pedals. Celeste rushed away, running through the grass laughing as if she had no clue that one or both of them could die for a date with her.

I didn't want to watch - I didn't want to see them racing toward each other, gaining speed, engines roaring while their supposed friends cheered them on.

Closer.

Closer.

Neither of them were budging, neither giving the other the road. My heart raced, beating so hard and fast, thundering in my ears.

Closer, but still time enough to veer off into their own lane or off the road.

My body was shaking - I couldn't stop shaking. A scream lodged in my throat, ready to burst free the second they collided.

I couldn't look away. I couldn't. I want to, but I was frozen to my spot, staring wide-eyed at the two cars bearing down on each other.

My mind had already played out the crash in startling clarity. Twisted metal, shattered glass, the acrid smell of smoke rising from the engines, and two bloody, broken teenagers too stupid not to realize that their lives were too important to risk them for a date with the homecoming queen.

Bradley veered at the last possible second, tires screeching as he went off the road into the grass of a wide open field. His car came to a stop at least sixty feet into the field while Devlin slowed to a stop where most of the crowd waited, not far from where Bradley started the game of chicken.

Everyone rushed to the Chevelle, Livvie and Jared running on ahead of me to join in on congratulating him for being stupid enough to not veer off when he really should have.

Still trembling, every nerve-ending feeling electrified, I slowly made my way down the hill we'd been standing atop of, and worked my way through the crowd to join Livvie near the car.

Celeste pushed her way past us as Devlin stepped out of the car, and she rushed into his arms, her perfectly painted lips colliding with his. She didn't mind being his prize, and why would she? He was drop dead gorgeous, all dark and swaggery, with deep blue eyes and dark disheveled hair.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear, not even noticing how his so-called friends patted him on the back, calling him a crazy son of a bitch while the other girls whispered how amazing he was for surviving - like he was a hero for not killing himself or Bradley just to prove he didn't fear death.

Reckless.

Stupid.

I cared more about his life than he did, and I didn't even know him.

Bradley pulled his red Camero up alongside Devlin's car, and left the motor running as he got out to congratulate Devlin for stealing his long-time girlfriend away from him. Self-preservation I figured, if Devlin was crazy enough to race to his death for a date, what else was he crazy enough to do?

As the excitement dwindled away, everyone broke off into their own separate groups, but as soon as Devlin mentioned a party at the beach, loud enough for everyone to hear, another ripple of excitement went through the crowd. Livvie wanted to go, of course, she wanted to go. It was a party after all, and she loved parties.

Through lowered lashes, I watched Celeste loop her fingers through the belt loops of Devlin's low-cut jeans, and pull him flush with her body. As their kiss deepened, his eyes locked on me, and I realized two things in those moments when I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. The first was that I wanted to be the girl he kissed. And secondly, and more importantly, he didn't want to stop - he wanted to die in a fiery crash, and as his eyes strayed to the one old maple tree near the edge of the road, not far from where Bradley veered off into the grass, I understood that he hadn't planned to hit Bradley's car, he wanted to crash into the tree.