King

“What are we doing for Halloween?” Jasper asks, dipping his fry in adollop of mayo on his plate.We’re at our usual hangout spot, a burger joint down by BlackwoodsBay. It used to be a seedy bar before it was renovated and rebranded. But noamount of fresh paint can remove the lingering stench of stale beer.“We’re partying, of course,” Kit says, his arm wrapped around hisgirlfriend, Kara.“Did you know,” Ava, seated to my left, starts, “that people with namesthat begin with the same letter as their significant other are statisticallymore likely to stay in a long-term relationship?”I chuckle around my mouthful of fries. It’s too funny not to when Kitscrunches up his face in confusion.“Could you be any more random? We’re talking about Halloween, andyou bring up statistics?”Ava shrugs, her musky perfume tickling my nose. “It’s interesting.”Kara, dressed in Kit’s gray, oversized hoodie, tucks a lock of her brownhair behind her ear. “We’ll make sure to invite you to the wedding.”Kit chokes on his coke.On my other side, Hayley inspects her blood-red nails. “This year, Ithink we should spice things up.”“What do you have in mind?” Jasper asks, chewing loudly.“Can you not chew with your mouth open?” Hayley pulls anunimpressed face.Jasper chews even louder.Drinking the last of my coke, I place it down on the table, letting myeyes scan the crowded room. It’s peak hour, and most, if not all, tables areoccupied.“Tell us then,” Kara says, leaning into Kit.Hayley shrugs, but there’s nothing casual about it. She’s like me—boredand restless with life.“We should make bets.”“Bets?” I frown.Dragging a finger through the salt on her plate, she brings it to her lips.“Well, dares.” With deliberate slowness, she makes a show of placing herfinger on her tongue and closing her lips around it.“What kind of dares?” Jasper asks.Hayley looks away from me and repeats the process of collecting salt onthe tip of her finger. “Anything you want. But it’s Halloween, so it has tocreate mayhem.”Ava shifts uneasily to my left, while I pick up my phone and snap apicture of her.“Fine by me,” Kit replies as he tosses his crumpled tissue on the table.“How do we do this? Dole out a dare each?”Kara shakes her head. “This is stupid.”“It could be fun.”“Okay, I’ll start.” Hayley turns her attention to me. I stiffen, leaningback and placing my phone down on the sticky table. “I dare you to fuckKeira Hill.”Jasper chokes on a salty fry, and Kit bursts out laughing.“Jimmy Hill’s daughter?” Ava turns pale.Hayley keeps her sparkling eyes on me. “The one and only.”“Believe it or not,” I start. “I don’t have any interest in fucking a serialkiller’s daughter for sport.”“Oh, don’t be like that.” Hayley leans in conspiratorially. “It’s just forfun.”Scoffing, I reach for a fry.“Are you scared?” Kit asks, chuckling when Kara elbows him.“Why the fuck would I be scared? It’s just a stupid dare.”Hayley watches me closely. Too closely. “You don’t think you can do it,do you?”Now I snort. “Of course I can.”“Then what’s the problem? And don’t give me some shitty excuse abouthow it’s beneath you to fuck a girl for entertainment.”“Okay, sure. How about the fact that she has a boyfriend?”Kara levels me with a look while her boyfriend laughs behind his closedfist. “When has that ever stopped you before?”“It’s Liam,” Ava breathes out.“So?” Kara sounds incredulous. “What the fuck has that got to do withanything?”“He’s the star quarterback.”Hayley leans forward, peering at Ava on my other side. “You don’tthink King can fuck Liam’s girlfriend?”“I think he’ll get beat up if he tries.”Everyone laughs except for Ava.Wiping tears from my eyes, I wrap my arm around Ava’s tiny shouldersand pull her into me. “He can always try.”“Look, Liam is a guy who thinks the sun shines out of his ass. It wouldbe fun to pull the rug from beneath his feet.” Hayley picks up hermilkshake. “Mess with the popular kids.”She slurps the drink while I look out the window, at the rain that’sracing in rivulets toward the bottom of the glass. What have I got to lose?It’s just a bit of fun, right? “I’ll do it.”The slurping stops. Hayley’s smile grows impossibly big. “We needvideo evidence.”“And it has to be on Halloween night,” Kit says with an excited glint inhis eyes as he clicks his fingers.“Why Halloween?” I ask, frowning.“It’s the season to cause mayhem and chaos.“Not only that,” Kara says, as though she’s had a brainwave. “There’sthe town fair on Halloween night. The football team will be there.”Jasper nods eagerly. “You can fuck her right under Liam’s nose.”Kit, who’d taken a sip of his drink, starts to cough. He places the drinkback down and beats his chest with his fist. “Hell, yes.”I wet my lips as I pick up my orange lighter from the table. When Istrike the flint, a small flame flickers to life. “Let’s do it. Let’s cause somechaos.”