Shattering Crystals

"You know how to get in?" Dean asks, pulling himself out of silence. "We can stay there, then."

Connor wrinkles his nose. "I do, but I really don't want to stay there."

"Well, I knew this guy who lives there, and he once showed me where his family keeps the spare key. We were like, best friends."

"Why don't you want to go there if he's your best friend? Will you feel guilty or something?" Lorraine asks, apparently forgetting that she wanted Connor to leave.

"I said were, didn't I?" Connor scowls. "We can stay there, I guess... as long as we can trash his house." Lorraine and Dean nod, just desperate for somewhere to stay and clean up a bit.

“No!” I almost shout, and the employees look over at the table. “Sorry, not ready to order yet,” I tell them.

"Why not?" Connor says. "I hate him, and he deserves it."

"Because we have to leave the house the same as when we go in. Or they could find our fingerprints if they notice something's out of place. We can't use a lot of water or electricity either." I'm surprised that I actually thought of that. Usually, it's Lorraine who is too cautious, but she dearly misses her comforts.

Connor nods, albeit with a sour expression on his face. "Fine. Should we go, then?”

“Not yet,” I say as my stomach grumbles. “We go after we eat.”

----

We wait until nightfall before attempting to enter the house.

"There's a key under the doormat," Connor whispers.

I pull the welcome mat off of the top step with my foot and there it is, the key in all its bronze, rusty glory.

"Well, that was easy," Lorraine says. "How stupid are we?" She bends over to pick up the key and inserts it into the keyhole. A smile creeps up onto her face as she turns the key.

But to her surprise, the lock doesn't budge. A confused look comes over her face as Connor shakes his head, not even bothering to hide his grin.

"It doesn't unlock that door," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Follow me." He holds out his hand and Lorraine reluctantly places the key in his open palm.

Connor leads us to the backyard. I try as hard as I can not to leave footprints in the cold grass. It’s easy, since I always had a light step anyways. It makes it easy to walk around, unnoticed. I can’t say the same for my friends, though.

I stare at the back of Connor's head as he takes us to a shed behind the house. He doesn't go inside it - instead, he disappears behind it for a second and returns with a small but heavy-looking safe in his thin arms. He drops it at our feet, the grass cushioning the sound.

"Here,” he says. He sticks in the key and turns it. The safe pops open to reveal a newer, shinier key. "This is the one you want," he says, handing it to me. He drags the safe across the grass and back to its original position.

I head over to the wooden porch and walk up the blue-painted steps. I put the key in the nearest door, wondering for a moment about what would happen if an alarm goes off. We have no other choice, though. But there's no sound as the door swings open to reveal a small kitchen. I hesitantly step inside, but then decide just to walk in like it’s my own house. I flip on a light switch.

"Come on," I say. "It's fine." My friends all walk in, Connor frowning at everything he sees.

“Who lives here, Connor?” Dean asks.

“Just the parents and then two guys, including the one I hate. I’m not sleeping in his bed, you know,” he replies.

“How many bedrooms are there?”

“Three, but one is used for a game room or something. Unless things changed around here, but last I head, this family hates change. Still seems that way, ‘cause everything is exactly the same as it was before.”

“So I’m guessing that the guys share a room and the other one is the parents’?”

“Yup.”

“Well, then,” Lorraine says, taking charge. “Dana and I can sleep in the parents’ room and you guys can sleep in the other room.” She yawns. “I’m gonna go find the room now. And I finally get to brush my teeth.” She smiles at us, so excited that it’s almost hilarious. She runs down the nearest hallway and it seems that she has found the stairs, because I can hear her running up them.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Dean says, follow Lorraine. I start to follow too, but then Connor stops me.

“Wait,” he says, and I turn back to face him. “I need supplies and stuff. I didn’t think about it before, but once I saw how prepared you are, I thought I should get some too.”

“Are you going to steal these people’s stuff or something?” I ask him. “You know we can’t do that. They’d definitely notice.”

“No, I’m not that stupid,” he says, giving me a look. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Then what? We don’t have enough money to buy new things either.”

“It’s not that.”

“What is it?” I ask, confused. “And why exactly are you telling me this?”

“I need you to help me break into my house.”