Chapter 10: Two Dates, Two Factions

My boots thumped against the worn pavement of the parking lot, my feet landing on one of the faded mustard-colored lines of a parking space. The feeling of the cool night air flowing across my buzz cut sent shivers down my spine. Reaching out my hand, I tapped my knuckles against the driver-side window, the door opening soon after with a low whine.

"Uh-h-hey Ethan." Clar stuttered as she looked over at me. Her big blue eyes were as wide as saucers, and the cigarette in her mouth hung loosely from her lips. The steering wheel groaned as the girl's hands white knuckle gripped the plastic.

"Hey yourself—so what's up?" I was oddly calm as I watched them sitting in the car Dad told me not to drive unless I got a girlfriend. The sight of his pack of Lucky Strikes lying on the floorboard, along with the two already on their lips, should've made me furious, but once again, I was oddly calm.

"I-I…we need to tell you something." She shook like a leaf as she spoke, her eyes drifting away from my own in an attempt to avoid making contact. She looked down at Elsie sitting in her lap, trying to make herself look as small as possible, her honey-colored eyes staring intensely at the steering wheel in front of them.

"So this thing you need to tell me was so important that you fired up Betty, drove here yourselves without so much as a text, and blared the horn for the whole town to hear?" I asked as both girls flushed under my scrutinizing gaze. Elsie tried to formulate words, the short girl squirming nervously in Clara's lap. All that came out was a stuttering mumble that not even Clar could understand as she gave the girl a confused look.

"W-we wanted to say that—"

"Ethan, is everything okay?" Abby asked as she exited the store. The glow of the light leaking from the glass sliding doors shone down on her like a halo. Her black eyes took in the sight of my sister and Else, a little frown growing across her lips.

"Yeah, but it seems we'll be havin' company for the rest of the night. Come on, both of you, get out of the car." They nodded their heads as their shoulders slumped in shame, a growing flush covering their cheeks.

"Oh, that's fine, I guess. Hey Clar, Else, it's been a while." She waved at the two girls as they exited the vehicle. Of course, this came after I had to remind Clara to actually park the thing. I watched as both of them trudged into the store, with me and Abby following close behind. They looked like kids who just got busted for taking their parent's car out for a joy ride, and to some extent, I guess that was accurate.

"You guys are going to have to chill in the break room. Jerry would freak out if he saw both of you loitering here without buying anything." Both girls gave me a numb nod before shuffling behind the counter, their eyes occasionally glancing between me and Abby.

"What's up with them?" The black-haired girl asked as her shoulder bumped against mine, a playful smile growing across her face. I fought hard to keep my eyes from wandering lower; her white spaghetti strap camisole could barely contain her massive tits. Seeing her hard little nipples poking through the thin fabric told me she wasn't wearing a bra, an uncomfortable feeling growing in my groin from the realization

"I'm not sure. Maybe they saw the Bearilla!" I snickered at the stupid-sounding name. Abby giggled, too, her eyes casting a glance at the two girls who were sitting at the small circular table in the middle of the break room. I met Clar's crystal blue eyes, and I knew immediately what this was really about. A quick glance at Elsie openly glaring at Abbs confirmed it. They were here to prevent anything from developing between me and the Miller Family's oldest daughter; jealousy practically scribbled across their faces.

Shelley County was such a boring place that the locals made up many bullshit stories about cryptids and ghosts, the Bearilla being one of them. It's not a bear/gorilla hybrid but a wolfman; yeah, I know their naming sense is whack. The Bearilla is tall, bulky, with grey fur, yellow eyes that glow in the dark, and a terrifying howl that can fill a holler. It also happens to be the town's claim to fame and the tourist trap attraction the old district uses to bring visitors from across the state. The Shelley County Paranormal Museum is one such place, and it is also the creator of the toy I got caught shoplifting for Clara in this very store. Yes, tucked away in her closet is a small plush Bearilla, and it's literally her favorite possession.

"Hahaha, she used to be so cute talking about that, trying to convince you to walk the woods with her lookin' for him!" Clara flushed, her hands covering her face as she glared at Abby between the cracks of her fingers. Either the black-haired girl didn't notice or didn't care as she continued giggling. The cute sound filling the air made me want to hear her laugh more.

"I'm honestly surprised I haven't freaked out about this. My baby sister and her friend just stole Dad's car to go on a joyride, and I haven't dropped a single f-bomb. Maybe I've changed?" I sighed as I leaned against the counter, my head in my hands. Dad would find out, he always did, even when in prison. And when he learns we touched his car, I'll have to say bye-bye to my mattress when he gets back. The man came up with brutal punishments easier than breathing. I could see his smirk now when he made me sleep out on the porch one night for coming home drunker than a skunk.

"Why won't your dad let you borrow his car again?" Abby asked as she fiddled with her bracelet, my eyes wandering to the faded pink thing. Her cheeks were dyed a rosy tint as she sent me a bashful look. The sound of blood rushing through my ears drowned out the soft hum of the fluorescent lights. I swallowed the lump growing in my throat, a nervous jitter filling me.

"Uh…h-he only wants me to use it when I get a girlfriend," I mumbled as I shoved my hands in my blue jean pockets, the heat rising to my cheeks felt scalding hot. It was kind of embarrassing to admit that the reason you couldn't drive your Dad's cool muscle car is because you've been incredibly unlucky with the ladies. Even worse I confessed that to the girl who used to tease me relentlessly, the only reprieve coming from the gentle words of her little sister. Oh, how the tables have turned it seems as Abby gave me a shy smirk, her pink blush growing redder than a stop sign.

"Hmm, yep I think I can help with that hehe." Her words were followed by a nervous chuckle as she cast a quick glance at me.

"…What do you mean?" I asked as my heart beat in my chest like a jackhammer. Both of the girl's ears in the break room perked up too, their eyes narrowing into glares.

"Do you have any plans Sunday?" She asked, her ebony eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"H-he does." The words were mumbled by Elsie, the girl speaking her first words since entering the store. Abby turned her eyes towards the girl. The way they narrowed into a glare was such a 180-degree turn from the cutesy look she gave me.

"Y-yeah Sunday is chore day, and he has to take me to Wollstone to go grocery shopping." Clar chimed in, her blue eyes joyful to see Abbs's plans ruined.

"Hmph, what about Saturday?" Abby glared at the interrupters, if looks could kill it would've been a double homicide. After being satisfied with her stare down of the girls she looked back at me with narrowed eyes, the look promised pain if I couldn't deliver.

"Uh, I'm workin' security at a party on Saturday." Instead of the expected glare, I received a brilliant smile, her eyes narrowing like the cat that ate the canary.

"This wouldn't happen to be the party Dylan Lee is throwing at Rita's right?" My eyes widened, her hand reaching into her Daisy Duke's pockets as she pulled out her phone. After unlocking the pink-colored smartphone she showed me a text sent by Dylan inviting her to a back-to-school bash.

"Well I'll be damned, it seems we'll be at the same place on Saturday. I know it isn't the most romantic thing but would you mind if we hung out while I work?" Please don't say no, please don't say no, please don't say no—!

"Of course, I kind of planned to just pop in and say hi but if you're there then I'm sure I could stay with you so you don't get bored." I grinned as she spoke, her expression mirroring mine. In my head, I was doing a fist pump while Sweet Victory played.

"E-Ethan, t-that's no f-fair!" Elsie's petulant words bounced around in my head like the sound of a gong. The brown-haired girl had stood up from the break room table and was walking toward the threshold leading back to behind the counter.

"Yeah, bro, you can't just leave little Else hangin' like that…" She left out the part where she wanted to include herself in that complaint. Both girls glared at me like I'd committed some massive act of betrayal even though I'd never agreed to be in a relationship with either of them.

"Oh what's this? Does little Elsie have a crush on Ethan?" Abby's voice was sickly sweet as she asked the question, her eyes wandering over the brunette girl's body like she was unimpressed.

"I-I do, Ethan please go out with me and Clara to the football game on Friday night." Clara and Abby's eyes widened like saucers for entirely different reasons. Clara cast a nervous look to Abby who was busy picking her jaw up off of the floor. She was probably wondering if the ebony-haired girl heard her being included in Else's date proposal. Abby seemed shocked by the shorter girl's audacity to confess right after she had just asked me out. Both of them turned to me and suddenly the weight of everything fell on my shoulders.

"I'll take you guys but Me, Ricky, and Billy will be there selling ponchos." Every time it rains it pours and there's always a sucker who forgot his umbrella. By buying a bunch of the cheap one-dollar ponchos at the dollar store and paying for three tickets to the game we can sell them at a marked-up price and make a killing on people desperate to not get wet.

"T-then how about a movie night after we get back from Wollstone?" Clara asked as she cast a nervous glance toward Abby. The black-haired girl glared daggers at her before deciding to speak.

"If that's the case you guys can have it at my apartment, I've got a projector and everything set up for movies plus all the streaming services." She knew we couldn't afford the monthly subscriptions like Netflix, our only source of cinematic entertainment being the rare time we could scrounge up enough pocket change to go to the Rivera family and their video rental service attached to the arcade.

"Does that work for you two?" I asked, the headache pounding at my skull from this conversation made me really wish for a cig.

"I-I guess," Elsie said with a pout, Clara reluctantly nodding. Abby grinned, a look of total victory plastered on her face.

"Good, now if you'd excuse me I'm gonna go take a smoke break." I waved to them as I had seemingly teleported in front of the automatic sliding doors. In my hand was my lighter and a pack of cheap cigs, and by the end of my 'fifteen-minute break' (more like 30) a good portion of the cigarettes would be nothing more than butts on the ground.

***

(Abby Miller POV):

"Ugh—those stupid bitches!" I slammed my hands against the steering wheel as my car roared down Highway 37. The top was up as I wasn't in the mood to be pelted with frigidly cold air; the trip north to Wollstone would be miserable like that. My fingers twisted the volume of the radio up as high as it would go, No Sleep Till Brooklyn blaring from the speakers.

"Phew, calm down Abby. It's not like today was a total loss, we even got a date with Ethan!" I practically squealed as I thought about it, my eyes flicking to the bracelet wrapped around my wrist. A fond look spread across my face, the memories of a Summer spent between me and Ethan playing over and over in my head.

"Fufufufu, he's such a dummy." I giggled to myself as I sped down the highway. The bright beams of my headlights illuminated the yellow lines of the road with a glow, the reflectors dotting the center of the road sparkling as I passed by.

I began singing, my hand drumming across the steering wheel as I gave it my all vocally. Tonight was a great night as I was one step closer to my dream, my eyes gazing at the pink band wrapped around my pale skin. Engraved in the cheap fading rubber was a single word, Love. I grinned like an idiot as my fingers traced the letter's indents.

"I love you too Ethan."