Boarding with the Bad Boy [COMPLETE + BONUS published edition]

THE BOARDERS: 42

Sam

When I arrive at Ott's, the lights are on and his is the only car in the driveway. I pull Somers' truck behind it, boxing him in, and slam into park, jumping from the driver's side and striding to the door as if I own the place. I haven't thought at all about what I'm going to say to Brandon, but I have a feeling it will come to me when I see him. At the very least, we can start where we left off at the party.

The front door's unlocked. I push it open to an empty living room. Beer cans cover the coffee table and a peal of female laughter echoes up from the basement. Brandon's apparently entertaining.

On one hand, this is good. He won't have much of a chance to prepare himself for my assault. On the other, it raises the opportunity for someone to report my behavior to Carr. But as quickly as I think it, I realize: if Carr wants to expel me for defending Somers, so be it. This is a hell of a lot more important than school. I make my way to the stairs, taking them three at a time.

Brandon's on the couch, hovering over a girl with his shirt missing and his jeans loose. I almost laugh at the absurdity of this, that I'm about to confront the kid when he has a chick under him. But my anger keeps me level.

"Ott."

Brandon leaps off the couch, spinning to face me with a roar of surprise. "What the hell are you doing?"

I lift my eyebrows pointedly. He doesn't get it.

"Seriously, Evans, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

Ott gestures behind him in feigned amusement. "I'm kinda in the middle of something right now." He smiles, goading. "Know you're not getting a lot of action this year, but surely you remember what it looks like when someone does?"

The girl giggles, leaning up and swiping at her lips with the back of a hand. She's in only a bra and underwear. Impossibly, the need to have it out with Ott grows even stronger. Where does he get off trying to get laid only hours after he was assaulting Somers?

"This needs to happen now."

"Ava, why don't you entertain yourself while Evans and I have a little conversation?" Ott suggests, grabbing his shirt from the couch and shrugging into it.

"Okay," the girl, Ava, chirps. "But don't be gone too long."

For some reason, I find myself furious at her. "Just get out of here," I snap. "This may take a while, and you don't want anything to do with this piece of shit, trust me."

I know I've just crossed a line with Ott. It's never been spoken, but we've both allowed an amount of polite respect for each other's bad decisions, no matter how ugly things got. And we've certainly never questioned the other in front of girls. Without even looking, I can tell that he's seething. But that's exactly how I want him, because I've spent the past two hours distilling my anger and I'm ready to end this. I turn and make my way back up the stairs, not waiting for Ott to follow.

A few minutes later, he appears in the living room, closing the door to the basement behind him. His face is a naked mix of rage and excitement. I wonder if he's still high and decide it doesn't matter.

"I'm going to give you one chance to be straight with me. I want to understand the thing with Somers."

Ott cocks his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He knows exactly what it means, and I don't bother answering. I just stare him down from where I stand in the middle of the living room.

Finally, he says, "you seem to have a pretty clear opinion about it."