Okonuki

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

---

Jordan was no therapist, but he was detecting a slight hint in Julie’s mood that she wasn’t too happy right now. Maybe it was the small beginning of a tear in the corner of her eye; perhaps the way her lips gathered slightly in a pout. Or maybe it was the way she had screamed “No! I sent him the fuck away!” in response to his question, grabbed his date’s hand and pulled the two of them away from the party.

It seemed his fate for the night was to simply be blown around by the winds of moody, tipsy girls. First trying to mediate Chanel’s showdown with the cup thrower, and now following Julie past the outskirts of the dance and onto damp grass as they headed towards a small grove of trees. He grinned slightly at the thought of someone looking at the trail of footprints they had left behind them- Julie’s high heels punching into the dirt as she stomped tetchily, followed closely by Chanel’s careful steps as she tried her best to keep nature away from her expensive shoes. He laughed silently at her expression every time her foot slipped slightly and dirtied the side of her heels.

Soon they had left the bustle behind and reached an area of relative isolation. The two girls perched on a large rock, and Julie magiced a small bottle of vodka from her purse. Jordan simply sprawled out on the grass, his hands behind him and his head tilted back to look up to his companions. There was a slight dew that dampened his suit pants, but it was getting late and he was he was too tired to care anymore.

“I'm sorry I snapped at you in there, it's just…” Julie started, before breaking off her sentence to take a swig of the bottle. Passing it to Chanel, she broke into a long account of the troubles of her night. Jordan nodded and sighed or gave an astonished “No!” at the appropriate moments in her tale, gratefully accepting the bottle when it made its way around to him. Sometime around her recounting her ballet encounter with Sonny he sipped the last of the vodka and put the empty bottle beside him, spinning it round gently with a finger as his hazy mind lost track of Julie’s speal.

“So whatever, I'm done with this farce!” she suddenly announced, and Jordan snapped his head back up guiltily to focus again on the conversation.

“Sounds like a rough night,” Jordan commented, for lack of anything to say. A slow smile spread across Julie’s face as they made eye contact, and she began to speak again.

“Major snaps for your work on Mr. Mister here Coco. Could be we have a new contender for King's most desirable bachelor.” Jordan blushed lightly and couldn’t help a wide grin at the compliment. The two girls smirked at each other conspiratorially before Julie directed her attention back to Jordan.

“So now we only have the other half of the set to do over! Speaking of which…” Julie paused dramatically.

“What are your actual intentions with our sweet Bea?”

Jordan was speechless for a second, and his blush deepened into rosy cheeks. Chanel sounded scandalized as she took in Julie’s words.

“Beatrice Endive? We've been together all night, man. When were you gonna tell me you and Bea were a thing?”

Jordan clamped his gaping mouth shut.

“How did you know about Bea and me, Julie?” he asked quickly. “Or more to the point, what do you know about me and Bea?” he added, before turning to face Chanel.

“And I don’t know if we are a thing. I think you’d have to ask Bea about that, because at the moment it’s all a bit of a mess.”

The "Goings On" at Upper Lake Institute

---

Julius narrowed his eyes in the face of such insulting excuses. Yeah sure, the floor manager couldn’t do anything about the party being held on their floor. To make matters even worse, as she was talking a shout of ‘turn it up!’ came from the dance floor and the guy sitting on top of the speakers happily obliged. His head was starting to ache in time with the music, and the bass was so loud that he could feel the vibrations in his breastbone. There was no way he would be able to get to sleep in his dorm tonight; let alone get any study done.

The party already had him in a shitty mood, but when Lily started suggesting other places he could go he just couldn’t keep his mouth closed any longer.

“If I wanted fucking coffee, I’d make it myself!” he snapped, his thin streak of patience with this shit snapping violently. Okay, deep breaths. He’d been forced into a short course of anger management when he was too young to bunk off, and some of the tips floated to the top of his brain. Remember, it wasn’t Lily’s fault that everyone decided to have a party. She was only in charge of the floor. Wait a second, it kind of was Lily’s fault. Shit.

He was silent for a moment as he mentally cussed out the therapist who’d been unfortunate enough to be assigned to the young Julius for not giving him better lessons, and that moment was all the time his dorm mate needed to force himself into the conversation. Life was a bitch. He’d spent most of the day trying to avoid Lou and yet somehow managed to walk straight into him as soon as he entered the party.

“You shouldn't be worried about tonight, you can have some fun. There won't be parties like this one every week,” Lou said, in an annoyingly reasonable tone of voice. Julius sighed and ran his hands through his tangled hair in frustration. Dislike Lou as he did, he still had to admit the smaller man had a point. There was no way the staff at the university would turn a blind eye to a party this size very often, and he would be surprised if the floor could even survive the toil of nights of dancing and spilt drinks. He was overdue for a night of relaxation- with all the stress of moving across the country and classes beginning he’d barely had time to sit still without the thought of unfinished homework or the way he had left things at home weighing on his brain.

And if he had to be honest, those screenwriting notes he had to revise could survive until tomorrow. While he wasn’t and would never be a party animal, perhaps he could manage a relaxing night spent at the opposite end of the hallway, far away from the speakers.

“The wings I made earlier today are over there, you should have some Julius.” Lou continued, pointing further down the table to a plate of chicken. It was a good excuse to cut his losses and get out of there, even if there was no way in hell he was touching any food Lou had cooked. Somehow he didn’t think the words ‘sanitation’ and ‘safe food preparation’ had ever passed Lou’s lips. And as for what had passed those lips…

“I prefer my chicken un-snogged, Lou, but thanks anyways,” Julius grimaced. “And I’m sorry for blowing up on you, Lily. That was uncalled for when you were just trying to help me out.” The apology sounded overly stilted and formal, as if he was reading it from a textbook without the sincerity behind the words, but an apology was getting more from him than he was used to.

“I‘ll see you guys around. Enjoy the party.” He gave the pair a strained smile before turning away. While he wasn’t keen on the chicken (besides, there was a slightly built Korean girl perched over the tray who seemed intent on keeping them to herself), there were some pangs of hunger in his stomach and he recalled seeing a plate of brownies balanced on the stack of empty pizza boxes in the hallway. On his way out of the room he snagged a beer from an opened six-pack near the doorway. Julius wasn’t a big drinker, but if he was going to waste this night he was going to go big or go home.

The brownies he’d spotted earlier were accompanied by a pair of students who were almost enveloped in the large cushions of a tatty yellow sofa. He nodded a greeting at them and dragged a spare chair over to include himself in their little group.

“Hey, I’m Julius. Are you guys the guardians of the brownies or somethin?”

The "Goings On" at Upper Lake Institute

---

Julius had bought his pair of noise cancelling headphones for eight hundred dollars earlier that year. They were a classy shade of white with gold trim, and he had been assured by the slightly greasy salesman that they would be able to block out anything short of a jet engine from ten yards.

But at the moment, Julius was sorely tempted to take the headphones and shove them up that salesman’s ass, because apparently even the latest and greatest American technology couldn’t cover up the sounds of the booze-fueled partying and debauchery going on outside the sanctuary of Dorm One. It was only thanks to his quick action that the party hadn’t spilled into his room- he’d slammed the door shut and locked it tight the instant that idiot Lou had stepped out. With luck he wouldn’t return until morning, and preferably not until after Julius had left for his early study period in the library.

Julius had considered barricading himself in his room after meeting his dorm mate, and after suffering through his prattling and quirks for five minutes he had made his excuses and done exactly that. Only emerging once in the day to refill his glass of water, he had been greeted with the sight of a near-naked Lou making out with a chicken wing. Needless to say, a drink had slipped to the bottom of his priorities.

He slammed his textbook shut in annoyance as someone rapped loudly on the door. Obviously no one else in this god-forsaken school gave a damn about their grades or, more importantly, Julius’s grades, or they would all be sitting quietly in their own dorms studying like he was. He took slight pleasure in stomping loudly over to the door, before sliding off the metal bolt and yanking it open just enough to see the face of the intruder.

“What?” he asked irritably, and the guy stumbled slightly as he tried to knock on a door which had inexplicably moved out of the way.

“Hey man, can you do me a solid and let me use your loo? The other dorms are all getting used- I think bloody Jon’s been on the shitter for the last hour and I’m absolutely busti-”

The door slammed. Julius replaced the bolt. The knocking continued.

In fact, the knocking kept going as Julius made his way back from the door to his desk, and as he opened his textbook again. It continued as he tried to find his page, and as he glared at the wall clock. It was only half nine- there was no way a party like this would fizzle out this side of midnight. Unless he did something about it.

With a frustrated groan, Julius hefted himself from his desk chair and returned to the door, repeating his earlier actions but opening the gap wide enough that the interloper could push past him and make a run for his bathroom.

“Dude, you’re like, an absolute legend or something,” he said, his voice slurred from drinking. He smelled vaguely like pot.

“Just don’t piss around in here any longer than you have to,” Julius said resignedly, before his eyes alighted on his laptop atop his desk. “And if you touch any of my shit I’ll throw you out the fuckin’ window.” He took a discarded jersey and covered the various valuables he’d left out, too lazy to put them in a drawer, before making his first excursion outside his dorm room since yesterday.

The hallway was a mess, with people leaning against the walls and chatting, clutching their plastic cups close. By the entrance of Dorm Two someone had already managed to spill a drink, the dark brown alcohol making a wide stain in the carpet that didn’t look easy to get out. As Julius forced his way through the partygoers down the hallway, the main crowd seemed to be spilling from the fourth dorm at the opposite end of the hall.

Stepping over cups and discarded beanbags, pillows and other riff-raff, he made his way through to the centre where he spotted Lily Forrester, the floor manager. She’d introduced herself to the floor on their first day, and he vaguely remembered her to being quite nice and well-mannered. It was a shock to him that she would participate in, nay, seem to endorse this shambles.

“Miss Forrester!” he had to shout over the music, yet his voice was still overly loud and the furious words carried across the room. “What the hell is going on here? Some of us are trying to get things done and this… this…” Julius waved his hand around to indicate the chaos of the party as he struggled for words. “This mess is not okay! I demand you shut this shit down right now.” Even Julius was aware of how bratty he sounded as he put his hands on his hips, but he was used to getting his way in life and by god, if he hadn’t revised his screenwriting notes by tomorrow there was going to be hell to pay.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

---

Jordan couldn’t keep an uneasy smirk off of his face as Chanel dragged him across the floor. While the confrontation with the other boy had had a certain level of physical comedy- the ringing crack of the slap, and capped off with the punch cup flung against his chest- the reddening handprint on his face was a stark reminder of what would happen if Jordan crossed Chanel tonight. The look on her face had been ferocious, and judging by the way the dancers hurried out of the pair’s way it probably still was.

Making it out the other side of the night with his dignity and face intact was number one priority- he resolved to keep his drink close and to place his empties gently into the bin. If poor Lucas’ cup had actually still had punch in it there was no doubt in Jordan’s mind that by now the local news would be typing up an obituary.

Chanel led him across the dance floor by the hand and Jordan followed, although without much of a second option. By now the party had properly kicked off- probably significantly helped along by Chanel’s booze in the punch- and people were letting loose and dancing wildly.
The flashing lights made it hard to make out faces and he hadn’t spent long enough at Palms to know most of them anyways. Yet one group of dancers stood out to him. The short girl with bushy hair could only be Bea, and she was flanked by two taller guys. A twinge of jealousy panged through him before a lighting change illuminated the two of them and Jordan had to hide a muffled snort of laughter.

Even with his limited time at the school, it hadn’t taken long to learn about the only ‘out of the closet’ student. And although he didn’t think it was confirmed, he had certainly heard whispers about Kavan too. Two gays and an autist sounded like the setup of an offensive joke, and judging by Archer and Kavan’s attempts at dancing the punchline couldn’t be any good.

Jordan’s observations were cut short by Chanel’s sudden stop. He turned to meet the blue eyes of Julie Macmillan, and nodded a greeting. It didn’t surprise him that Chanel had hunted the other girl out- she seemed to be her best friend, and the two had been practically inseparable during the week Jordan had spent with his date leading up to Homecoming. Although at the moment she was looking rather upset. He recalled that she had been paired up with the Colombian guy, Andres, who was nowhere to be found.

‘Sup Julie. Lost your date?’ he asked.

The "Goings On" at Upper Lake Institute

Julius Gardener

Name
Julius Gardener.
Don’t call him Jules.

Age
18

Gender
Male

Sexuality
Aggressively straight

Hometown
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Style
Julius finds fashion and how he presents himself very important. After all, the first thing people notice about you is how you look. He takes pains to always be wearing the latest fashions and brands. However, he has a distaste for eccentric wear and bright colours, preferring a tepid charcoal or navy blue.

Disposition
Julius dislikes changes and new situations. He can get worked up when things don’t go his way and often does.

Major
Performing Arts, major in Theatre

Dorm Room
Dorm 1

---

Likes and Dislikes
↑ Getting his own way.
↑ Acting.
↑ Reading.
↑ Having people below him he can order around.

↓ Having to bow and scrape to authority or anyone higher than him.
↓ Modern counterculture. Julius has been raised on the ideas of the ‘good old days’ by his parents and so dislikes new movements and social changes. He can be considered a bit of a stick-in-the-mud conservative.
↓ Smoking and drugs. Disgusting habits.
↓ Alaska.

Interests and Hobbies
- A big actor, Julius enjoys performing Shakespeare and the classics best.
- He enjoys a good book, but not on the level of some. Reading is fun but it isn’t his life.
- Sports. Golf, Polo and Tennis. He dabbled in basketball but found it too physical and not to his tastes.
- Julius is developing a taste for the other sides of Theatre such as screenwriting, but he isn’t great at it yet. He is taking a few classes in these things so he can get better.

---

Belief
Listen- in this world, there’s a natural hierarchy. You don’t mess with the people above you, and believe me, that leaves me with not a lot of people to tiptoe around.

Drive
I just have a need to go as far as I can I suppose. I don’t want to be just another one of the millions of idiots in this world, living their middle class lives with no excitement or interest. I go big or go home.

Fear
I’ve never really stopped to think long enough to be scared of anything I guess. Maybe being split from my family and my trust fund? I don’t think that’s very likely though.

Regret
What got me here. Shouldn’t have been drinking. Shouldn’t have gotten in that car. Now I’m in fucking Alaska, and it doesn’t look like I’m getting out any time soon.

Secret
When I was fifteen and really starting to get into acting in a big way, I was going for the lead role in my theatre group’s production of Hamlet. I only made backup… but in an unfortunate incident the guy who did get the role mysteriously fell down the backstage stairs. Unsurprisingly, he found it hard to act with a severe concussion, and my performance as Prince Hamlet attracted rave reviews.

---

Intellect
[2] Julius has a little book smarts, but he found school boring and didn’t put in much effort. Learning has never come naturally to him like it seemed to for other people.

Social
[0] Julius is rough and abrasive in social situations, and often charges forward and pisses people off with his arrogance. He also likes to attack people he doesn’t get on with even when it might be a little uncalled for.

Nerve
[4] If there’s one thing you need for standing up in front of hundreds of people and performing, it’s nerve. And that goes forward into every other facet of Julius’ life as well. He always has to be the first person into a situation, or the last to back out.

Endurance
[2] Julius used to be quite the sportsman and kept himself reasonably fit, but since arriving in Alaska he spends most of his time wrapped in heavy jerseys and avoids venturing outside. This means he has become quite sedentary and not as endurant as he is used to.

Awareness
[0] Julius has never really seen bad consequences from his decision making. This means he feels free to charge into situations without looking and often is surprised by what is going on around him. It’s as if he doesn’t care enough about what’s going on around him to notice it.

Resources
[5] Julius is the very picture of trust fund baby. Although slightly estranged from his family, which led to him studying all the way in Alaska, he still has access to massive amounts of money from his trust fund.

The "Goings On" at Upper Lake Institute

Too many nice people here. Thought I'd mix it up a little ;)

The "Goings On" at Upper Lake Institute

Julius Gardener

Name
Julius Gardener.
Don’t call him Jules.

Age
18

Gender
Male

Sexuality
Aggressively straight

Hometown
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Style
Julius finds fashion and how he presents himself very important. After all, the first thing people notice about you is how you look. He takes pains to always be wearing the latest fashions and brands. However, he has a distaste for eccentric wear and bright colours, preferring a tepid charcoal or navy blue.

Disposition
Julius dislikes changes and new situations. He can get worked up when things don’t go his way and often does.

Major
Performing Arts, major in Theatre

Dorm Room
---

---

Likes and Dislikes
↑ Getting his own way.
↑ Acting.
↑ Reading.
↑ Having people below him he can order around.

↓ Having to bow and scrape to authority or anyone higher than him.
↓ Modern counterculture. Julius has been raised on the ideas of the ‘good old days’ by his parents and so dislikes new movements and social changes. He can be considered a bit of a stick-in-the-mud conservative.
↓ Smoking and drugs. Disgusting habits.
↓ Alaska.

Interests and Hobbies
- A big actor, Julius enjoys performing Shakespeare and the classics best.
- He enjoys a good book, but not on the level of some. Reading is fun but it isn’t his life.
- Sports. Golf, Polo and Tennis. He dabbled in basketball but found it too physical and not to his tastes.
- Julius is developing a taste for the other sides of Theatre such as screenwriting, but he isn’t great at it yet. He is taking a few classes in these things so he can get better.

---

Belief
Listen- in this world, there’s a natural hierarchy. You don’t mess with the people above you, and believe me, that leaves me with not a lot of people to tiptoe around.

Drive
I just have a need to go as far as I can I suppose. I don’t want to be just another one of the millions of idiots in this world, living their middle class lives with no excitement or interest. I go big or go home.

Fear
I’ve never really stopped to think long enough to be scared of anything I guess. Maybe being split from my family and my trust fund? I don’t think that’s very likely though.

Regret
What got me here. Shouldn’t have been drinking. Shouldn’t have gotten in that car. Now I’m in fucking Alaska, and it doesn’t look like I’m getting out any time soon.

Secret
When I was fifteen and really starting to get into acting in a big way, I was going for the lead role in my theatre group’s production of Hamlet. I only made backup… but in an unfortunate incident the guy who did get the role mysteriously fell down the backstage stairs. Unsurprisingly, he found it hard to act with a severe concussion, and my performance as Prince Hamlet attracted rave reviews.

---

Intellect
[2] Julius has a little book smarts, but he found school boring and didn’t put in much effort. Learning has never come naturally to him like it seemed to for other people.

Social
[0] Julius is rough and abrasive in social situations, and often charges forward and pisses people off with his arrogance. He also likes to attack people he doesn’t get on with even when it might be a little uncalled for.

Nerve
[4] If there’s one thing you need for standing up in front of hundreds of people and performing, it’s nerve. And that goes forward into every other facet of Julius’ life as well. He always has to be the first person into a situation, or the last to back out.

Endurance
[2] Julius used to be quite the sportsman and kept himself reasonably fit, but since arriving in Alaska he spends most of his time wrapped in heavy jerseys and avoids venturing outside. This means he has become quite sedentary and not as endurant as he is used to.

Awareness
[0] Julius has never really seen bad consequences from his decision making. This means he feels free to charge into situations without looking and often is surprised by what is going on around him. It’s as if he doesn’t care enough about what’s going on around him to notice it.

Resources
[5] Julius is the very picture of trust fund baby. Although slightly estranged from his family, which led to him studying all the way in Alaska, he still has access to massive amounts of money from his trust fund.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

---

"This is Aaliyah King," Chanel said, waving a hand in the girl’s direction. "Also known as King's resident chess queen. We're not really friends, though. Associates or acquaintances would be the better word since we've only ever spoken a few times. Anyway, I just thought I'd compliment her on this amazing dress. I mean, look at her. Doesn't she look great?"

Jordan turned an appraising eye on the other girl, and he had to agree with Chanel. He couldn’t remember seeing much of her around school, but the picture in his mind was that of a scholarly looking bookworm rather than the well-dressed girl before him. A form-fitting black dress was accompanied by various jewelries and accessories which probably cost a bomb, but seemed all worth it when you saw the full picture.

Yet between the two girls in front of him, Chanel was pulling his eye more. Maybe the long hours spent organising their clothes together with his date had made Jordan biased, but she was still looking damn fine. Although it seemed at the moment she was pulling his eye towards her sculling three cups of punch in record time.

“In a rush, are we?” he said. She responded with her best Kobe impression, sinking the paper cup into a rubbish bin before latching onto his hand. "So, Jordan Henderson. What do you say we hit the dance floor? And please don't tell me you're one of those, 'I'm not much of a dancer' kind of guys. It's homecoming, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Jordan grinned at the brash way she spoke, but before he could reply she snatched her hand away from his and spun on her heel. He was momentarily confused before he connected the dots between the crumpled paper cup on the floor and the unfortunate guy Chanel was marching towards, her heels practically drilling holes in the floor. It didn’t take a genius to figure out some shit was about to go down. She tapped angrily on the guy’s shoulder before setting on him.

"Yo, what the fuck is wrong with you? Like, deadass. What's your problem? Did your parents not teach you any basic fucking home-training? Or do you always just throw shit around like niggas didn't invent garbage cans for a reason? And what if there was still some punch left in the cup that you just carelessly tossed over your shoulder? Boy, I spent hours working on this beautiful ass dress, and I'll be damned if it gets ruined before I even get the chance to take more pictures." Chanel was looking pretty heated and the thrower hadn’t even had the chance to shoot a retort back yet.

Ohh boy. Jordan hadn’t come to Homecoming looking for drama but it seemed he’d walked into some. He followed Chanel and put a reassuring hand on the small of her back, before tilting his head to talk into her ear over the loud music.

“Don’t let one dumbass ruin your night. He’s not worth it.” A probably bad idea came to him as he remembered the punch cup he still held in his left hand.
“Or if you want a shot back, here’s some ammunition,” he said with a smile, and pressed the cup into her hand.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

---

“Yeah, illegal indeed! Take it from a lawyer’s son, you want to wash your hands from this mess as quickly as possible.” Declan laughed.
“Ah, I never knew your dad was a lawyer. I guess I know who to contact next time I’m in trouble, eh? And of that roofie plot, consider it forgotten,” he said, rubbing his hands together in a mime of washing them. On Mara’s entrance, he gave Archer a smile and leaned back against the wall further. “She looks soo pissed,” he laughed. “Time to sit back and watch the fireworks.”

“Nah, Mara would never start anything, at least not in public anyway, she cares way too much about graduating,” Archer said. He gave a lazy smile before straightening up, discarding his cigarette and clamping a hand on Declan’s shoulder.

“Well this has been very pleasant Dekkie! We should make this a regular thing!”

“You supply the smokes and the chat and I’ll be there, Archie,” Declan smirked. He raised a hand in goodbye as the other boy turned away before matching Archer’s motion of throwing his cig away. Locking both hands behind his head, he gave a languid stretch and his back cracked satisfactorily. The smoke had left him feeling lethargic and he didn’t particularly relish the thought of going back inside to the pounding music and hordes of classmates.

The night was a good one- the sky free of clouds and full of stars. The numbers in the carpark were thinning with Archer and Penelope’s departures and he was in no rush to follow them back into the marquee. By the entrance, Kavan and Bea stood, the smaller girl with a cigarette in hand. Declan knew them both a little- Bea from art class and Kavan from music. It had been a while since he’d chatted to either of the pair but they seemed to be having a moment together that he was probably better off not interrupting.

His gaze dragged out further to where Santiago stood. He seemed to have a revolving door of girls, as another joined him just as Penelope left. The newcomer was unfamiliar, but the distance between them was too close for the two to be just friends. Declan didn’t rate her chances. Santiago seemed to have more than enough girls around him already.

His pocket rattled, and the soothing tunes of his ringtone emanated from his phone. Fishing it out, Declan saw the name of one of his friends from the music scene. He hit the answer button and put it to his ear.

”Aaay, my boy Dekkie! Where you at? Queens is popping right now- they’ve got this new DJ and he’s been playing bangers all night! You gotta be here!” Declan sighed.

“Max, you dope. I told you yesterday about this homecoming deal. I’m not getting out of here any time soon with my grades intact. No matter how ‘popping’ the club is.” Max sounded vaguely drunk. He snorted derisively, but his words were more light-hearted teasing than mean-spirited.

“Yeah, cause you’ve always been big on those A grades, eh Declan? If you change your mind, we’re staying till close man. Have fun drinking punch and slow dancing with your school-assigned date.”

“I’ll see you round Max.”

“See you round, Dekkie.”

The phone fell silent as Declan hung up. For a moment he stared longingly at his van parked across the street, feeling awful tempted to take the keys from his pocket and leave a strip of rubber and a squeal of tyres. But his better judgement prevailed. His dad would be mighty pissed if he showed up at Declan’s graduation and Declan didn’t walk. Plus, he couldn’t just dog Penelope like that.

With another exaggerated sigh, he spun on his heel and trudged back into the flashing lights and loud music of the dance.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

---

“Oh you know, just hiding,” Archer said, proffering an open pack of smokes from his pocket and offering them to Declan. He gratefully accepted, sliding one of cigs from the small box and placing it between his lips.

“What’s more interesting is what you are doing Dekkie? Skulking around in the dark spying on the devil?” Declan gave an amused snort, fishing through his pockets for a lighter. Wallet, keys... ah, there it was.

“Did someone send you on a mission? Or was it purely out of admiration?” Declan half choked on the cigarette hanging from his lips, coughing small puffs of smoke and pounding on his chest like an idiot at a CPR lesson.

‘You wound me, Archie,’ he gasped. ‘I gotta admit, I don’t know cars from their back wheel to… their other wheels, but even I know that thing is tacky,’ he said, and flicked his cig hand to indicate the Devil’s lambo. ‘I’m searching for the man himself, actually. Penelope sent me looking for him… something about drugging old Gomez.’ He paused for a second, in thought. ‘A plan that sounds laughably illegal, now that I think about it, even with the power of our parents’ attorneys and fat stacks behind us.’

Archer seemed to be looking over his shoulder at something, and Declan turned to see the mission objective leaning against a tree ten feet from the car he’d just been investigating. Accompanied by Penelope. Declan wrinkled his nose.
‘Well, I guess I’m no detective. Looking for people is harder than it looks.’

He turned away from the scene to see Archer’s keen eyes staring intently at him, although veiled slightly behind the haze of smoke.
‘Or are you simply hiding as well?’ The other boy smirked.

Declan’s snarky reply was cut short by the sudden arrival of a tiny blonde girl, making up for her size with an explosion of venom and a hefty shove at Santiago.

“Hey! Asshole. How about the next time you try to pull that kind of stunt you buy me dinner first? Because that shit was not kosher. I have no idea what was going on in that idiot brain of yours, but not all of us are drug-addled losers who want to flunk out of school, got it?”

Declan gave a sly side-smile to Archer and slunk back, leaning against the wall beside him.

‘She looks soo pissed,’ he laughed. ‘Time to sit back and watch the fireworks.’