Crossover: Franchise Mtg. Page 8

  Strauss pointed down the hall. “They took her to Mason. I think they’re all in Nate’s room now.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Logan,” he called after me.

  “What?”

  He gestured to Tate who had stopped bawling and was watching me. Her make-up was a mess, her mascara running in trails down her cheeks. Even now, I could tell she was going to have bruises on her face. Blood dripped from a cut on the corner of her lip. The corners of both eyes were swollen. There were marks on her cheek as some bruises were already forming. I was trying not to laugh. Sam must’ve gotten a lot of hits in.

  “Logan?” she said now, a plea in her gaze.

  I walled myself off from her. “What do you want?”

  She jerked a hand up to her face. “That girl did this to me.”

  “Good.”

  “Good?” Outrage started to filter through the soft plea.

  I nodded, smirking again. “What do you want from me? You got worked over, Tate. Where’s your tough attitude now? No one’s supposed to mess with you? No one’s supposed to step up to you because you’re some badass bitch?” I rolled my eyes. “Someone stepped up and you got worked over by a girl who’s twenty pounds lighter than you.”

  She gasped as the rest of the room broke out in laughter.

  I rolled my eyes. “Get over it, Tate. I know Sam. If she stepped up, there was a reason. I’m guessing you were bullying someone. Again.”

  “Logan!”

  Shaking my head, I turned away and threw over my shoulder, “I don’t care anymore, Tate. Figure that out.”

  “Ass,” she hissed behind me.

  I had to grin at the déjà vu. Twice in a few minutes.

  Ethan grinned at me. “Is that a record?”

  “Nah. Add six more and we can talk.”

  When we got to Nate’s room, the door was closed, but we could hear shouting from inside. I told Ethan to stay put outside and headed in. I noticed it wasn’t shouting that I heard. Sam was swaying on her feet, singing, and jabbing her fists in the air at the same time.

  She danced around and sang out, “All the single ladies. Now put your hands up—” She stopped and punched the air, and then danced in a circle before landing in another fighting stance. Her feet were apart and her fists were in the air. She started to sing a different song, “I’m a survivor. I’m not gon give up. I’m not gon stop.” Then she jabbed the air with both her fists.

  My mouth dropped. I was in love. This girl was awesome.

  Mason saw me. “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  Sam started a different song, punching the air at the end of each verse. I gestured to her. “She’s been like this?”

  He grinned. “She’s drunk.”

  “I am a fighter!” Jab. Jab. Jab. “I’m not gon stop.” She grunted as she threw all her weight behind another punch. Then as she danced before landing in another fighting stance, she said, “Zip your pants, future brother of mine. Don’t be like your daddy. Keep your daddy protected.”

  I grimaced. “Did you just refer to my junk as daddy?”

  Sam wasn’t listening. Her chest was heaving, but she kept dancing around the room. Then she stopped and glared at us. Her eyes were wild. “I can stretch.” She extended her arms out wide. “And I can kick.” Her leg snapped up at the last word and then she finished, “Because I’m fifty. Five. Zero. I’m fifty. Watch me kick!” Both her legs kicked up and she landed, stumbling back, before she caught herself. “Maybe I’m not fifty.”

  “Sam, are you always like this when you’re drunk?”

  She went off on another tangent, a new song again.

  I glanced at Mason who shrugged. “You met her when I did. I have no idea.”

  “You’re screwing her. You should know.” As I said that, I frowned. He got to her first. When she began to sing “Eye Of The Tiger”, I knew I was in trouble. Fuck. Glancing from the corner of my eye at Mason, I saw him watching me. Another fuck.

  He shook his head. “Don’t even think it.”

  “She’s hot.” I couldn’t help it. And she was bad ass. She was funny. She was…Mason’s. “What happened, anyway?”

  “Kate said that she and Tate went in a room to talk about the past, but Marissa was in there.”

  The rest, as they said, was history. I grunted to myself. Didn’t take a genius to figure out that I’d been right. “Tate started bullying her or something?”

  “I guess.” Mason shrugged, leaning back against the wall. He folded his arms over his chest, watching Sam as she kept going through the motions of a fight. “Marissa’s bawling in another room.”

  “Tate was bawling when I went in there.”

  “I’m a survivor. I’m not gon give up. I’m not gon to stop,” Sam half sang/half shouted from across the room.

  “What song is that?”

  I frowned. “I think it’s that Destiny Baby’s song or something. Who cares? So how’d Sam get involved?”

  “I’m not gon stop. I’m not gon give up. I’m gon stop. I’m gon work harder. I’m a survivor.”

  Mason told me, “From what her friend said, they went in there and Tate was yelling at Marissa. Sam punched her.”

  “Then what?”

  He lifted another shoulder. “I guess Tate tried to hit her back, but Sam did this. She danced around her and kept punching her.”

  That was awesome. I shook my head, grinning. “We can’t let Tate stay now. You know she’ll be looking for payback tomorrow. She’s probably so damn shocked to do anything tonight.”

  Mason continued watching Sam who was now pretending to be a ninja. He murmured, softly, “I know. Sam wouldn’t expect that from her.”

  He couldn’t take his eyes off Sam, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He loved her. He might not know it, but he did. I’d never seen my brother look at girl like that, like he was freezing and she gave him the last blanket. Feeling as if I was kicked in the stomach, I turned away. This wasn’t good on so many levels.

  “What’s your problem?”

  I glanced back at him. He was drilling me, figuring out what I was thinking. I shook my head and growled, “Stop it. Nothing.”

  “You’re pissed about something. What’s your problem?”

  “Nothing.” I moved away, feeling my stomach began to churn. “I’ll have the guys kick Tate out.”

  “I already told Nate to do it.”

  “Oh. Never mind then.”

  Mason straightened from the wall and walked over. “What’s going on with you? This wasn’t a big deal.”

  “I know.” I jerked away. “I’m not saying it was.”

  “You’re acting like your best friend got hurt.” He narrowed his eyes. “Is this about Tate? You said you were over her.”

  “I am.” And I was. That truth rocked me. Somehow and at some time, I got over her. I was even over how she hurt me and went to him. “I don’t care about Tate anymore.”

  “Good, because she’s being kicked out of here as we speak. I told Nate to wait until I could tell you what happened.”

  “Why?”

  He leaned back against the wall, still studying me, but I knew my brother. He was cold and calculated. “Why’d you want me in here?”

  “Not here. I wanted you to see her.”

  “Sam?” She’d grown quiet. I glanced around, but didn’t see her. Where was she?

  “Tate. She got hurt.”

  He was still inspecting me, like I was some damn puzzle for him to figure it out. “Stop it. I mean it. I’m not some damn riddle for you to decipher. Spell it out, Mason. I know what you fucking want to do. You wanted me to see Tate and then you wanted to see me right after. You wanted to see if I was affected. Yeah, Tate got hurt. Sam got her good. No, I don’t care. When the fuck are you going to start believing me?”

  “Now.”

  I was thrown for a second. I hadn’t expected that response. “Now? You finally believe me now?”

  He gave me a half-smirk as one corner of
his lip curved up. “You’re not in love with her. I believe that now. You would’ve been more upset that she was hurt, but I don’t believe that you’re over her. You still care about her.”

  I grunted, but kept quiet. For once, my brother was wrong, and for once, I had no desire to correct him. I shook my head. Looking around, there was no Sam so I began to leave.

  “Where are you going?”

  I gestured around the room. “Sam’s gone. I’m going to find her.”

  “Leave her. She’s going to the pool.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “The last song she was singing.” His smirk turned into a grin, a fond one. “She was quoting Finding Nemo. Just keep swimming.” He laughed. “Doesn’t take a genius. I’ll check on her later, make sure she doesn’t drown.”

  He clapped me on the shoulder before heading out. In the distance I heard Nate say, “If you don’t like it, you can go with her.” A door slammed shut in the distance; it was over. Tate was gone. Sam was swimming. As I walked through the halls, I felt a stillness in the air. Feeling a deep hunger in me, I was growing restless. I didn’t want to think about it. The girl who had shoved me into the bathroom came around the corner. She stopped when she saw me and her eyes widened. An unopened beer was in her hand. I didn’t think. I took the beer, opened it, and took a long drag as I dragged her into a room this time. She dropped to her knees without question, and it wasn’t long before I felt her eager mouth on my dick.

  As she started, I finished her beer and then closed my eyes. I’d be using this girl for more than a blow job by the end of the night.

  EXTRA LOGAN SCENE

  Kris was sleeping next to me. I glanced over at her and smirked. Her ass was hanging out with the bed sheet covering her head. I was tempted to tickle it, but remembered how she hit me the last time. Maybe not.

  Fuck. It was six in the morning. On a Saturday morning. Kris wouldn’t be up for another couple hours, unless Helen Dearest barged into my room and gave her a heart attack. My mom did that last weekend and Kris refused to spend the night all week. I fought against laughing now at the look on her face. I begged her to sleepover. Doing it at her uncle’s house wasn’t the most enjoyable. I had to sneak in and sneak out. It was normal for most girls, but not with me. I enjoyed being able to do the strut, walking as if I owned the place. Parents hated it, but the girls loved it. The different reactions always made me laugh too.

  Oh damn. I rolled out of bed and peeked out the window. Sam and Mason would be up now. They both went running at this time every day. Saturdays were no exception.

  Water-bombing, here I come.

  After texting Ethan, I got up and dressed. Then I gathered the supplies and stored them in a backpack. It wasn’t long before I heard the short honk from outside. Kris snored softly when I brushed back some of her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She’d wake up and have no idea where I was. I chuckled to myself. Oh well. She’d have to handle Helen Dearest on her own today. After a month and a half, it was time she grew some balls like Sam had. When that happened, family dinner night would be a lot more enjoyable.

  My phone buzzed.

  Ethan: Dude. I’m tired. Get your ass out here.

  I snorted, but grabbed the bag and slipped on my sneakers. We’d be running, especially when Mason caught us. Laughing to myself, I climbed out through my window and pulled it shut, then jogged across the lawn to Ethan’s waiting Jeep. I tossed the bag of water balloons in the backseat before shutting my door.

  “Easy, dude,” Ethan snapped, glowering at me. His hair was sticking up in the front and was flattened in the back. I ran a quick hand through my own, felt the same bed-head, and shrugged. Whatever.

  As he twisted around and made sure the bag was fine, I kicked my feet on top of his dashboard and leaned back. I was raring to go. “They’re fine. The balloons are super balloons or some shit like that. Let’s go!”

  He frowned at me and fought back a yawn. “Fucker. I hate mornings and you fucking text me at six in the fucking morning.”

  “Stop swearing.” I flashed him a grin. “Fucker.”

  He pulled onto the road, but gave me the middle finger. Grimacing, he added, “Who are these for? Are we waiting for Mason?”

  When he slowed and was about to turn into Sam’s driveway, I shot forward and hit his dash. “No, no. Keep going.”

  “Shithead.” He glowered. “Calm down.”

  “These are for Mason. Get it?”

  “Oh hell,” he muttered. “We’re going to get our asses kicked.”

  I shrugged. “It’ll be worth it. We only have so many days to punk him. Let’s go. You got on your running shoes?”

  “It won’t matter with him. He’ll still get us.”

  “I know.” I loved my brother. “We’re going to soak his ass, though. It’ll be worth it.” And because I loved him so much, I filled a few with milk as an extra present from me. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. This was going to be disgusting. It’d be awesome. I pounded his dash again. “Hurry. I know their running path. We can ambush them behind Quickie’s.”

  “They? What?” Ethan threw me a scowl as he turned onto the highway. “Who’s with him?”

  “Sam.” I pointed at the station. “Don’t miss the road. It’s tiny. We can pull in and head north. Sam loves running here.”

  “We’re bombing your brother’s girlfriend too? If she slips and hurts her ankle, your brother will have our asses.”

  I waved that off. “She’ll be fine. Sam’s tougher than you think.”

  He edged the car forward and moved past the gas station. The road narrowed dramatically as it started up the hill. When Ethan slowed down, as if he couldn’t go further, I shook my head. “We can go higher.”

  “If my car rolls and crashes, you’re paying for it.”

  “Yeah, yeah. It won’t roll. Keep going.”

  He growled, but went further. “You wake me up with a text that says, ‘get your ass over here, we’re pranking.’ You didn’t tell me what the plan was. You didn’t tell who it was against and now you’re putting my baby on a very risky incline. Cars have rolled down this hill, Logan. If we do, our deaths are on you.”

  “Shit. I don’t remember you being such a pansy in the morning.”

  “Only with you.” He glared and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “You’re the only person who puts me in situations like this.”

  I shrugged. “Calm down.”

  “Logan.”

  I laughed and signaled to the road. “You can park. They’ll be running below us in a little bit.”

  “You sure they’re going down this path? Doesn’t Sam mix up her trails all the time?”

  “I’m sure.” Getting out and grabbing the bag, I told him, “I asked her last night where she was running.”

  “And she told you?”

  “I’ve never pranked her before. She didn’t know not to tell me.”

  Ethan fell in line with me as we went further up the hill, until I found a cover good enough for us. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. “It’s too early for this. It’s going to be a high-speed chase when Mason spots us.”

  “We have a car. He doesn’t.” We knelt down and I slugged his arm. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Until later,” he muttered, and hunched down. Then we waited.

  We didn’t have to wait long. Mason and Sam’s heads poked over a hill in the distance within a few minutes. We saw them long before they were beneath us. When they got closer, Ethan reached for a balloon. I held a finger up for him to wait. I wanted to them go past. It was better whenever you could hit ‘em from behind. One more second. Then I grinned. They were prime targets now. Gripping a milk balloon in my hand, I stood and launched it. Ethan threw his and I whistled, sounding like bomb falling. Just before mine hit Mason, I made the sound of an explosion and grabbed another.

  Mine hit its target. Ethan missed Sam.

  “What the fuck?”

  I laughed at Sam’s statement.
Mason didn’t react. He just dove for cover. Sam was trying to find where we were. With a smirk, I stood again and launched another one. She yelled, “Logan! I’m going to kill you.”

  “Gotta catch me first!” I yelled and let loose three in a row. Two soared right where Mason was hiding. The other one hit her smack on the head.

  Ethan doubled over in laughter, but was throwing right along with me. We only had a few left when I heard him grunt next to me, “Oh shit.”

  Seeing that he was looking behind us, I turned, but it was too late. Mason was right there. He threw his arms around my waist and tackled me. When I went down, he twisted at the waist and caught Ethan’s foot before he could run off. Ethan hit the ground hard and Mason snaked an arm in the bag, grabbed a balloon, and smashed it over Ethan’s head.

  I hit Mason with my own and flipped my legs over my head, standing in one smooth motion. Mason’s head was dripping in water and milk. He squared off against me, both of us grinning. This was the shit we used to do as kids.

  I taunted, “Something happen to you, brother? You and Sam into kinky stuff now?”

  He laughed and began circling me. “Laugh now, little brother. I’m going to make your life hell for the next week.”

  “Ha. Bring it.”

  He did. The fierce grin vanished and he dove. I expected a sideways rush and jumped to avoid it. I was wrong. He went for my feet. “Fuck.” He grabbed both legs and I fell to the ground in a rough tackle.

  I shoved at him, panting now. “Crap. I forgot how good you are.”

  He snaked an arm underneath me and flipped me over. “All state.”

  I smirked. “Only?”

  “Four year scholarship to a Division 1 school.”

  I twisted out from under him, got to my feet, and feinted to the left.

  He went to the left.

  Shit. I headed to Ethan, who was still on the ground, eyeing us both warily. When I jumped over him, Mason remained on one side and Ethan groaned. He looked between us. “Why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly? For me?”