The Masquerade (18 page)

"With sprinkles," Ben amended smiling. He looked
down at me. "Sugar addict?"

I shrugged. "I'm not ashamed."

"There are worse things." He nodded.

"Yeah, I could be a nymphomaniac." I muttered,
holding back a grin.

Ben shot me a bemused look. I met his eyes with a sweet smile and he laughed again. We continued back to his motorcycle discussing our likes and dislikes. We agreed on many things while disagreeing on many aspects
that resulted in our laughter. There was an obvious chill in the air whenever I was with Ben and it wasn't the cold, but inside of me warmth radiated to the depths of my core and it was only present when he was with me.

Ben dropped me off at my house, but before he let me leave
he pushed me up on his bike and kissed me like he was trying to make the moment last for the next twenty-four hours until we'd see each other again. After unwrapping my legs from around his waist I managed to find my way up the
driveway without falling over. Ben's kisses left my knees week and my hands jittery. My dog barked from inside the house and I whispered loudly for him to shut it, hoping Adam wouldn't wake up. It was close to midnight and the boy,
oddly enough, got to bed on time.

"Goodnight, Ben." I called from the porch. He was leaning against his motorcycle with his arms crossed. His features were intense and his blue eyes smoldering as he watched me. He lifted his head up and cocked
a crooked smile.

"Goodnight, Ella."

It wasn't until I locked myself in my house when I heard the rumble of his motorcycle's engine fading down the street. My chest tightened as
I thought through the kisses we shared throughout the evening and felt as though I would lose it if I didn't feel his lips against mine soon. Ben told me he was going to pick me up again tomorrow. I would go to bed, unable to sleep with my thoughts drifting to the anticipation of tomorrow.

I twirled the hall pass around my finger, quietly humming the tune to a song I'd listened to on my drive to school that morning. One of the large wooden doors pushed open behind me and slammed shut. I didn't pay much
attention until a familiar voice I hadn't heard in years called my name.

"Ella?"

I whirled around. "Kellan?" I questioned, my eyes growing wide in a mixture of confusion and surprise.

One of my brother's closest best friends stood before me with a smile warming his matured face. The last time I saw him he had acne scars and a boyish figure. Now he was past six feet tall and packed some meat on his bones. His light brown hair was brushed off to one side exactly the way
I remembered it.

I took off into a sprint and threw myself into his arms. He staggered back a little, but wrapped his arms around my shoulders holding me tightly and chuckling. "How's my favorite Powerpuff Girl?"

I groaned while I pulled away from him. "You're seriously never going to let me live that down, are you?"

He brought his hands to his hips and I instantly recognized
the familiar posture I was frequently known to present to anyone in my younger years. When he stuck his lower lip out in a pout I noticed the broken sore on the corner of his lip that was swelling. He'd gotten into a fight.

"My name is not Ella, it's Bubbles," he horribly
mimicked the seven year old girl I once was.

Laughing, I put my hands to my face in embarrassment. "I can't believe I made you guys role play as that silly evil
monkey."

"Yeah and if we didn't do it right you bit us," he added, laughing.

"That was one time!" I smacked his shoulder. He purposely flinched and hit me lightly on the arm with the back of his hand.

"You look good, Ella."

The circumstances of our encounter came back to me and I frowned looking around the empty school hallway. "What the heck are you doing here? You graduated like six years ago." He opened his mouth, but
another voice cut him off short.

"Who is that sweet honey you're talkin' to? She looks like sex on a stick."

Like Kellan's, I knew that voice immediately. I turned to my
right where the men's restroom was to see Chester walking towards me with his usual sloppy grin that I almost forgotten. It was the type of lazy smile that hung off his face, but the sight could make anyone's day.

"Chesta' the Molesta'," I put my hands to my hips
and leaned back. "Are you flirting with me?"

He shook his head. His curly hair draped over his eyes. It looked as though he hadn't cut his flaming red hair since the last time I saw
him. Everything about him looked the same. His face was decorated with freckles and his skin was still ghostly pale. He wasn't a very attractive guy. In fact, when he laughed his face scrunched up and he looked like some kind of wet naked
mole rat. The visual was a strange one, but it fit him perfectly. His looks weren't his selling point, but his sense of humor was. Chester was the kind of guy that had you choking on your own laughter while rolling on the floor with soda streaming out of your nose.

"Honey please, you know I only aim to tease." He opened up his arms and I jumped into them, holding onto my brother's other best friend.

The three of them were the strangest group of kids growing
up, my brother, the star football player, Kellan, the stoner, and Chester...the Molester. He was harmless, but his junior year of high school he was almost arrested for barely looking at some kid the wrong way in a public bathroom. The
kid's father flipped out on him and almost called the cops. Everyone knew it wasn't Chester. The poor guy just looked like a pedophile with his Carrot Top hair and lanky figure. After that, rather than hiding in embarrassment he owned his nickname. It was a strange, almost sick joke, but if you took one look at
Chester you understood.

"Seriously, what are you guys doing here?" Something told me the administration wasn't aware of their visit and I was worried they would be caught for trespassing. The thought reminded me that I
told the substitute I was going to the bathroom. I should have been back ten minutes ago. I would have to resort to menstrual cramps. He was a male teacher, which meant no questions asked. It was a power every female should take to her
advantage.

Kellan and Chester both exchanged hesitant glances, before turning to me. Kellan's mouth twisted into a hard smile that immediately told me whatever he said he was going to hold something back. I hadn't seen them in
years, but I grew up with the guys. They were practically my brothers and I knew their quirks well.

"We were actually just leaving," Kellan said when his gaze suddenly shifted above my head. "We got nothing, Eli."

Eli?
I spun around and locked eyes with my ex who stood a few feet away from me, his arms crossed over his chest. He tilted his head to the side, sparing me a moment's glance before he adverted his attention
to the guys.

"They were here earlier." Eli stated calmly, but the frustration was evident in his brown eyes. "They're not passing through. They want something."

I frowned, my confused eyes burning into him. I hoped my
stare would convince him to give me an explanation. What the hell was he talking about? And why the heck were Chester and Kellan involved.

"Zakk and Vlad searched the perimeter of the square and
found jack shit." Chester grunted. "Bastards move fast."

I should have known. In fact I felt stupid for not catching on right away. Chester and Kellan ran with Eli's group now. They took orders from an eighteen year old. How hadn't I known about this? Chester and Kellan
left Covington and received degrees from separate Universities. Why had they come back
here,
for
this?

"No," I groaned and turned to the two of them.
"Don't tell me you're letting that asshole boss you around." Chester and Kellan exchanged another look that made me frown. What was up with all the secrets? What was I missing?

"It's not what you think Ella," Kellan said
slowly. "We're not the bad guys."

"But your boyfriend is."

My hands froze at my sides. Slowly, I managed to move my feet so that I could see Eli again. I tried to remain nonchalant, but my eyes
gave away my shock. "What did you say?"

"The rock star," Eli explained, bitterly. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

"I really never gave much thought to what you
think," I shot back. "But I don't know what you're talking about."

Eli moved so that he stood only a few inches from me. His once, warm and thoughtful eyes, had hardened to stone. He had rings underneath
his eyes and his stubble left a dark shadow on his face. He looked rough and older than he actually was. My stomach lurched for him. He was suffering. As much as I wanted to hate him, I couldn't. I didn't want him to be in pain anymore than I wanted to live in darkness.

"Yes you do and you're an idiot if you think you know him."

I shook my head, instantly coming to Ben's defense. "You don't know anything."

"I know more than you," he countered, staring down
at me like I was a little girl, naïve to the harsh reality of the world. "You're living a lie. The worst part is I think you know it too, you just refuse to see it."

"See what?" I practically shouted before lowering
my voice. I didn't want a teacher to come into the hallway demanding answers for our lack of class participation...well at least mine. I wasn't sure if Eli was still considered a student at our school.

"Let it go, Eli." Kellan snapped. I looked over m shoulder, sparing one of Eli's glares for Kellan. He looked down at me, "You may hang with them, but you're still one of us Ella."

My frown deepened. "What does that even mean? Hang with
who
?" I crossed my hands over my chest and pressed my lips together in a firm line. It was my attempt to show them I wasn't going to back down. I wanted answers.

"Just be carful, El." Chester said, his eyes
stern. The look was rather out of character for him. He nodded to something Eli may have motioned to behind me. "We have to go, but we'll visit you soon."

"Don't dodge me," I said with pleading eyes. I
wanted to know what was going on and what it had to do with Ben. Eli had some sort of issue with him and I knew it wasn't because we were dating. "Who are you looking for and why are you wasting your time with them?"

Eli gave a short laugh. "Ask your boyfriend. He knows what we're trying to figure out." He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "In fact, when you get answers, run them by us."

"I don't have a boyfriend." I snapped at him.

"Now that's a lie." Chester grinned. "A pretty young face like yours always has some dude chasing her." Both Eli and Kellan turned to stare at Chester with guarded eyes. The three of them
shared a brief pause. In their silence secrets were communicated and I never felt more frustrated. I hated being out of the loop now.

"You're not funny," Kellan said finally. Despite
his comment, he broke into a smile.

Chester rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous because I get more pussy than the two of you combined."

"It's the hair." Kellan joked.

Unexpectedly I felt Eli's hands on my shoulders. I obliged to his silent request and turned to face him. Our eyes met and unlike the millions of stares we shared in the past, this time I didn't want to swim in his chocolate brown eyes that matched his hair color perfectly. They were cold
and looked as though they had a lot of mileage. I wasn't angry with him for the other night. I only felt sorry for him. He had his friends, but in reality he was alone. We both lost our brothers, but I still had my mother and close
friends to carry me through the day. Eli's parents were long gone. He had no one.

"I'm sorry about the other night. I shouldn't have mentioned your brother." He said sincerely.

I frowned, remembering the other night. He had claimed our
brothers weren't actually dead and it sent me over the edge. I didn't want to talk about it. Whatever drugs he was on isn't my business and I didn't care enough to ask.

"It's fine," I promised him.

He nodded. "I need you to be careful. That rock star isn't who you think he is and I know you know that. I'd tell you to break it off with him, but it's useless."

My head tilted slightly to the side. "Why?"

His hands dropped from my shoulders but his eyes remained locked with mine. He made a gesture to my face with a nod of his head. "The look on your face whenever I mention him is all I need to know."

"Know what?"

"You're in love with him."

The word itself, spoken out loud, sounded foreign. It hovered over me like an anvil ready to drop on my head. The four-letter word
wasn't sugar coated. I didn't see any rays of sunshine or flowers around it. The word brought with it a threatening storm forming in the distance, ready to destroy. The doom seeped into my bloodstream, draining me of the happiness that
such a word should provide.

I swallowed and cast my gaze to the ground. Loving him was wrong and I couldn't explain why. I was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. I needed sleep. I needed to escape, even to a place where my dreams collided with
haunting nightmares of my past.

"I don't know what that means to you," I heard Eli say and my eyes flashed back to his, "But it makes you incredibly stupid."

That was all he said before he was gone. Kellan and Chester quickly followed him out the double doors at the end of the hallway. They sent glances over their shoulders with apologetic eyes over their abrupt departure. I stared at the doors until they closed, reminding me that if I wanted, I could
trick myself to believe I never ran into them. There was no evidence of their presence and I could pretend it never happened. I continued to stare at the double wooden doors until my vision blurred and I briefly lost concept of
reality.

I finally blinked and forced my vision to focus. I couldn't ignore what just happened. The feeling in my chest was another forecast of the formidable future. Something was wrong. I could feel it. Eli knew it. The guys
knew it. Ben's actions when we were together proved it. There was something tying them all together. I needed to find out what. I wasn't going to sit back and wait for the eerie presence I felt to grow stronger.