I walk straight through my apartment, pulling the front door closed behind me and hoping no one decides they want to get into my place while I’m gone. Not that there’s anything worth stealing. Lance Jacobs confiscated my laptop, and I picked up a little, but it’s still a mess in there. That alone should deter any intruders. Textbooks are about the only thing of value I have. Other than that, it’s pretty sparse.
I turn to stare out over the walkway balcony, watching the sun slowly disappear behind the mountaintop while the orange blaze over the sky starts. A whistle sounds from behind me, the appreciative kind you hear in movies when construction workers are demeaning women. I turn my head to find Todd from history class. His eyebrows shoot up in his hair. “Whoa, Blue’s Clues. I didn’t know you lived here.”
I almost roll my eyes. I’ve only lived in the same building with him for a year now. Dumbass.
He looks me up and down. “You heading out to Devil’s Hole tonight?”
I nod, glancing at the keys in his hand. I really don’t want to walk all the way out there. “Can you give me a ride?” I ask.
He winks. “You read my mind.”
I follow Todd down the steps toward the parking lot situated to the east of the building. He opens the passenger side door of his truck for me, and I jump in. He walks in front, blowing his breath into his palms and then smelling it. Ugh, God. I wince. I hope he doesn’t think I’m going to kiss him for giving me a ride because that is so not happening. Is that the payment for rides nowadays? What happened to being a good person?
When he gets in, he shoots me a wide grin as if he thinks he was invisible and I never saw him check the smell of his breath. My own smile is tight, but he is giving me a ride, so I try to be as polite as possible.
He pulls out onto East Gulch Road. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out at the Hole before, Blue’s Clues.”
I gaze over at him, disbelieving. “Really? You do know that name’s an insult, right?”
“What? Blue’s Clues?”
I nod, wondering how the hell this guy is even getting through his classes at Saint Clary’s. He’s a total moron.
“Yeah, but we’ve always called you that.” He shrugs like that’s enough of an explanation. Now, I’m not even going to feel bad if he tries to kiss me and I tell him to get fucked.
He jabbers on for the rest of the ride, not really talking about much of consequence until we turn off the highway and start down a dusty back road flanked by cacti and dirt. A quarter of a mile down the road, he pulls off and parks next to several other cars. When I glance behind us toward the road, I can’t even see it from here. Devil’s Hole is secluded, which is probably exactly why they like to party here.
I jump down from the truck and shut the door before Todd meets me in front of the car. We take a trail downward until smoke from a fire appears, wafting toward the night sky. Voices rise. Music plays. By the time we get there, it’s exactly like parties I’ve read about in books, but it’s being held in a place of legends. “I hope you’re not scared,” Todd teases.
I scoff. “Of fairy tales. Hell no.”
He looks at me appreciatively, but I glance away and look right into a solid chest. Lucas stands in front of me. His hair is going every which way, and he has a beer bottle hanging from his fingers. The bored look he usually carries is replaced by fire and a drunk-like haze. It’s obvious Lucas pre-gamed unless they’ve been here since school ended, which could very well be. I know nothing about partying at Devil’s Hole.
“Well, I’m here,” I say to Lucas, shrugging.
Todd looks at me. “You came here to meet him?”
“No,” I say at the same time Lucas says, “Yes.”
Todd sneers at me. “Used for a ride, and not the kind of ride I wanted.”
“Fuck off,” Lucas says. “Meghan’s around the corner. You’ve been sniffing around her, so have at it.”
Todd narrows his gaze. “You’re a dick, you know that?”
Lucas laughs at Todd’s attempt to get under his skin. I have a feeling not much does. When he’s out of earshot, Lucas nods toward a different trail and then starts down it. I walk behind him until he asks, “You ever been here before?”
I snort a laugh. “Yeah, right. I think the cat’s out of the bag. My family isn’t the most popular in Clary, so no, I don’t get invited to parties.”
Lucas glances over his shoulder. If I’m not mistaken, his lips are pulled down in a frown, but he quickly places them on his beer bottle and takes a few swallows.
It turns out, the trail we took just deposits us on the other side of Devil’s Hole. Big boulders dot the landscape, light from the fire playing off them. I gaze into the sky, almost smiling at how beautiful it is here. The locals say my mom hated it here, but if she did, my love for the place makes up for it. I’m not talking about the small town or the dead-end jobs, I’m talking about the scenery. The rustic, natural landscape. It’s almost otherworldly, as if I could transport myself into another place and time just by being here.
“It’s my first time, too,” Lucas says.
Jeez. I would hope so. I’d hate to think that the moment he’d gotten into town he was already invited to the primo party spot while I’ve waited for years to party it up in a secluded, sparse, somewhat dangerous place.
“What do they call it again?”
“Devil’s Hole,” I tell him.
He snickers, and I can tell from the alcohol coursing
