Dead End Kids

“Change of plans.” Druscilla said, appearing behind Ryan and scaring the shit out of him, causing him to drop the books he was putting into his bag.

“Jesus Christ, Dru!” he snapped, agitated. He managed to hold his face for about two seconds before laughing. “What were you saying?”

“Change of plans. We’re not going to scare little kids at the mall tonight. There’s a party at Kirk Kellerman’s and we’re going. I get off at seven so we’ll probably go at nine. Tell Spence, ‘kay?” She squeezed his arm before disappearing into the mass of students hurrying to get out of the walls of Central Vegas High.

“. . . okay.” Ryan said after a minute, rolling his eyes. Girls were weird. It didn’t matter how long he’d been friends with Dru, how long he’d been going to public school with them, how many dates he’d had. Girls were weird. End of story. And they were even weird in weird ways!

“You’re thinking too loud again.” Spencer said, suddenly leaning up against the locker next to Ryan’s and causing the older boy to glare at him. “You are.”

“You and Dru have a blood pact to annoy the fuck out of me.” Ryan muttered, shutting his locker and spinning the combination lock. “We’re going to a party at Kellerman’s tonight when she gets off work and it’s your turn to D.D.”

“Are you serious?” Spencer asked, groaning. “Well, fuck.”

“Just think,” Ryan said, “next year it’ll only be the two of you switching between D.D. You’ll never be able to get drunk together again.”

Spencer glared at him. “Well, you’ll be old. Asshole.”

Ryan grinned and shouldered his back pack. “Want to go to Starbucks and spy on Dru?”

* * *

“No raspberry Frappuccino today?” Jon asked as Druscilla took a drink of the strawberry one she had made. His voice was teasing and she stuck her tongue out at him. “Insubordination, Dru.” He shook his finger at her mockingly.

“Insubordination, my ass.” she said. “I was in school today. What was I supposed to do, keep a bag of raspberries in my bag? Don’t you remember high school? Or are your gray hairs taking over your brain?”

He gave her a look and the middle finger, discreetly, before going to greet a customer. Druscilla’s stomach was doing somersaults inside of her and she hated it. For one thing it felt funny and for another she didn’t like acting like a ‘love-struck girly girl’, as Spencer and Ryan called it.

’Aw, she’sblushing. Love-struck girly girl. You’re acting like a fucking twelve-year-old seeing Nick Carter, Dru.’

She set her drink down on a shelf and started making the order Jon was taking. Two tall Caramel Frappuccinos. She’d already made nearly two dozen of those today. Jon hated making that particular drink for some reason and Allison was in the back doing something, so she was stuck making them. “Only half an hour left.” she mumbled to herself.

“Keep talking to yourself and people will think you’re crazy.” Jon said, all too happily from the cash register. The woman who had ordered was browsing through a newspaper while she waited for her drinks. He turned around when the front door opened and rolled his eyes. “Your bodyguards are here, Dru.”

“Great.” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and continuing with the drinks. She hated when Ryan and Spencer came to see her at work. Not only were they interfering with time she spent with Jon—which was carefully logged and stored in her memory—but she was terrified they would say something to him about her. She never would tell them how much it bothered her; that would only lead to them coming by more. They were boys, after all.

After she finished the drinks, Jon took them and nodded toward the two boys fencing with straws by a table. She sighed, slightly embarrassed, and walked over to Ryan and Spencer. “Guys?” She gave a fake grin. “What the fuck are you doing here?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“Maybe we wanted coffee. En guarde.” Ryan’s fake French accent was terrible.

“You do not want coffee, Ryan Ross.” Druscilla said. “You told me Starbucks is a whorehouse for college kids with laptops.”

“Which you’ll be next year.” Spencer said, earning a smack upside the head.

“I’m not going to hang out at Starbucks and carry those damn cups around like a status symbol.” Ryan said. “No offense.” he said, waving a hand at Jon who was stifling laughter at the conversation.

“None taken, pretty boy. Dru, I’m going to check on Allison. Yell if you need help.”

Once he had gone, the girl shoved both Ryan and Spencer. Hard. “Could you guys be anymore juvenile?”

“Probably.” Spencer said, reaching out and poking Dru in the nose with his straw. “Your boyfriend was hitting on Ryan.” he added in a sing-song voice.

“Fuck you both.” she snapped.

Ryan sighed, refraining from rolling his eyes, and put his arm around the girl’s shoulders. “He was teasing, Dru.”

“Sorry.” she mumbled.

Ryan squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll see you in a bit. Come on, Spence, let’s leave Dru to her junior prom date seduction plan.” He laughed when the brunette gave him the finger.

* * *

When Druscilla got home she changed into jeans and a striped tank top and redid her make-up before telling her mom and stepdad she was going out. Ryan and Spencer were leaning against her car when she came out of the house. “Ready to go, I take it?” she asked, smiling. She was destined to be in a good mood until her hangover the next day; Jon had called her ‘cutie’ when she clocked out at work.

“Fuck yeah.” Ryan said. “Now unlock this bitch.”

The girl grinned, unlocking the white Honda her stepdad had given her for her birthday. It wasn’t a new car, or a prize by any means. He had given Dru his old car and bought himself a new one when she turned sixteen. The sound system, however, was what Ryan affectionately called ‘mint’ and that was good enough for the three teenagers.

“How do you even know where Kellerman’s is, Dru?” Spencer asked as they were driving. He was giving her directions from a piece of paper she had scribbled on. Ryan couldn’t navigate for shit.

“Google, dumbass. I ducked in the library between classes and found his address and got the directions.”

“You could have just waited until you got home.” Ryan said, rolling his eyes. “You know that they take points off if you get too many lates to one class, right?”

“Oh, shut up.” Druscilla said, giving him the finger. “You’re such a teacher’s pet, Ry.”

* * *

Druscilla’s phone rang in her pocket after a wine cooler and a half. “Hi?”

“Where are you, Dru-honey?” Liz’s voice said through the receiver.

“We’re, like, in the backyard.” the older girl said, laughing when Ryan leaned over to kiss her cheek. He was an affectionate drunk. “Get out here. I need a girl to save me from these salivating males.”

* * *

“I didn’t know she invited you.” Brendon said, voice as quiet as he could manage with Liz still being able to hear him. He knew Druscilla hung out with that boy, with Ryan Ross, the boy from his choir class. He knew that Ryan would be here, would recognize him, would probably laugh at him.

“Well, not exactly invited.” Liz said. “It’s not her party. She just told me where it was.” She reached behind her and grabbed Brendon’s right hand. His left was holding two unopened beer bottles. “She’s just a girl, baby. And she’s not interested in you.”

“It’s not her I—Okay.” They were outside now, on the porch, walking down the steps. Brendon stared at his feet as they walked.

“Hi!” Druscilla shrieked, standing up and throwing her arms around Liz, nearly covering them all with strawberry flavored alcohol.

“Hi, Dru.” Liz said, grinning and returning the hug with the arm that wasn’t attached to Brendon.

“Hi, Bren.” the older girl said when the hug broke. She turned and pointed at the two boys behind her. “That skinny fucker is Ryan and the one sulking because he’s D.D. is Spencer. Guys, Liz and Brendon. You’re both stupid, but I think you can figure out which is which.”

Ryan was staring at Brendon, a small smile tugging on the corners of his lips. “You’re in my choir class, right?”

Brendon swallowed nervously, eyes widening slightly. “I—uh, yeah.”

Druscilla gave Ryan a warning glare. He rolled his eyes. “What grade are you?” he asked Brendon.

“I’m a junior.” he said, busying himself with handing Liz a beer and opening his own.

“I swear to God,” Ryan said, “I don’t know a single fucking senior.”

“Actually, you know two fucking seniors.” Spencer said. “Literally.”

“Bitches who stuff their bras don’t count, Spence.” Dru said.