Thorns and Fawns

Chapter 5

Cody's POV

As soon as the bell rang, I stood from my seat, grabbed my books and left. I wasn't going to sit around and wait for Chester to come along and drag me to the clubhouse. I was in no mood to deal with those assholes and my bad mood had only seemed to get worse as the day progressed.

First, there was the whole hall incident, then I failed my test in History, then I somehow managed to piss off some tough guy, which resulted in a sore cheek that would probably bruise later and now, the greying sky outside signaled an upcoming storm. So, I was set on getting home this instant before I tore out someone's throat for just looking at me the wrong way.

I managed to escape the school building without bumping into Chester or any of the other boys and was heading across the courtyard towards the school gates. As I stepped out the school gates and turned towards the forest, a dreadfully familiar scent engulfed me along with a strong arm around my shoulders.

Chester leaned down and chuckled by my ear.

"What's the rush Coco?" He tightened the grip around my shoulders a bit.

"There's a storm on the way, I don't want to be caught in it." I tried. He looked up towards the sky, raising a brow.

"I'm sure it won't start before tonight so come along Coco." He dragged my along.

I let out a frustrated sigh, but I wasn't about to have Chester beat me up. He was strong, for his... build. So, I just stumbled along. He dragged me into the forest, much to my surprise. After a bit, Jared and Dustin could be seen. They sat on a log, Dustin just staring out, Jared poking the ground with a stick. As we neared, Jared looked up and grinned.

He stood up, clapping his hands.

"There you are, now the gang is complete." He ushered Dustin to a stand. "come now!" he called.

We walked through the forest till we came to the train tracks. He climbed over them and signaled for us to do so as well. On the other side was a small hill going down, the trees clearing up at the end and then, tall white picket fences could be seen.

I furrowed my brows. This was the nicer part of town. This is where all those idyllic families lived. Those perfect parents with the perfect marriage. At most, two children. Both perfect as well of course. Maybe one of the children went to Harvard or some shit and the other kid went out and started some big million-dollar company of their own.

I sighed. The perfect people's neighborhood. What the fuck did the boys want to do here?

Jared stopped by a fence and lifted a board. I raised a brow. Chester pushed me forwards. I sent him a glare but crouched down and crawled through the fence. Dustin followed, then Chester and then Jared.

We had to help Jared since he got stuck but, in the end, he got through as well. I turned. We stood in a big garden with a large white house at the other end, with terrace and pool and well-kept flower beds. I raised a brow.

"what are we doing here~?" I asked. Chester smirked. He pointed to the house.

"The rich folks here are outta town." He then pointed to the pool. "We're gonna splash around a bit." He looked to me, grinning.

I raised a brow. "well we didn't exactly bring any fucking swim wear, now did we?" I glared at him. He just shrugged. "We others are down to skinny dip, but if you wanna be a pussy, then go ahead, run along home to your mother." He looked at me.

I took in a deep breath. "you think I'm afraid to see you guys naked?! HA! Bitch! Last man in the water is a fucking whimp!" I ripped off my shirt.

Chester laughed and undressed as well. I was the first in the water, then came Dustin, then Chester and Jared in the end. We jumped around, trying to pull each other under and splashing at each other.

I had missed this. This... feeling of friendship. We were doing something fun for once. We weren't just getting high in the clubhouse. We were out, doing stuff. It was exciting. We were all having a great time, and no one seemed to be able to stop us from having it so. Even Dustin was laughing loudly as Chester was having a coughing fit, having swallowed a bit of the water.

***

Hours passed in the blink of an eye and it was getting dark when the boys crawled out of the pool. The others got dressed. I just floated on my back in the pool.

"Ay Coco! You comin'?" Chester called. I looked over. "I'll be out in a second, you guys go ahead" I told them. They nodded and went out through the hole in the fence. I breathed out and dove down. I sat there, under the water, holding my breath for as long as I could manage.

As I came up, a loud shriek pierced my ears. I jumped and looked around frantically.

My eyes caught onto something on the terrace by the house, or rather, someone.

My jaw dropped.

Noodle boy...