Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance

by C. M. Stunich

  “Stop using my real name, Sonja Marie Jane Marquette,” he snaps. “Or I swear to fuck, I will ruin the rest of Devils’ Day for you.”

  Sonja jumps into the water, splashing Luke and giving her little choice but to strip down and join us. April walks along the old, rotten dock, making me nervous as hell. She sits at the end, taking off her shoes and socks and dipping her feet into the water.

  “And how would you go about managing that?” Sonja asks, swimming circles around Raz.

  “I’d tell them all about how you cried to me when you got your first period, and I had to rub your back for four hours and feed you chocolate-covered marshmallows. Oh wait, I just did tell them. My bad.”

  “You fucking prick!” Sonja snarls, and then the two of them get into a water fight, splashing each other as Luke and I swim up to the end of the dock to be near April.

  “How’s Thad?” Luke asks, glancing back at the two troublemakers we’ve somehow invited into our lives. It seems surreal. And it is. Because it isn’t going to last, is it? You don’t know that for sure. Pearl might … she could be okay, right?

  “He’s good,” April says with a soft smile, looking down at her reflection in the water. She lifts her head up and I follow her gaze, across the water to where a pair of angel statues dance in a silent swordfight, forever doomed to be trapped in a violent altercation neither can ever win. Although, I suppose if you note their cracked and broken wings and moss-covered faces, it seems that mother nature is the true victor in this scenario. “He wants to be here when the baby is born. He told his parents we’d consider giving up our baby to them if they bought him a plane ticket to come over here.”

  “Total lie though, right?” Luke asks, sounding a little nervous. She loves with her whole heart, Luke does. Now that she’s decided she’s going to be this baby’s aunt, nothing will stop her from lavishing affection and care on it.

  “Total fucking lie,” April says, grinning. “Nobody’s getting their hands on my baby. If my parents want to cut me off, if his parents do … It doesn’t matter.”

  “All you need is love,” Luke agrees, and Raz snorts from behind me, surprising me as he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close to him, kissing down the side of my neck and across my shoulder.

  “That, and a trust fund,” he says, grinning. “Luckily for you, Sonja has one. Her great-grandmother Marguerite left her a shitload of cash when she died. Marry her and you’ll be set for life. Of course, I’m pretty sure she’s half black widow, so you might get your head bitten off after the wedding, so there’s always that risk to consider.”

  “I’m going to drown you, and you’ll never get the chance to consummate things with your dream girl. Be careful: your dick is just sort of floating around down there.” Sonja gestures to the surface of the water and then clacks her long, black fingernails together. “I could very easily rip it off.”

  “You two have an interesting relationship,” I tell them, glancing over at Luke and seeing her brows raised, her lips in a soft smile. “But carry on. Just … maybe don’t rip his dick off? I’d sort of like to keep it.”

  “That all depends on his behavior,” Sonja gloats, smirking and pushing off the edge of the dock. She takes Luke’s hand and drags her away. They end up swimming across the length of the spring and disappearing behind the limbs of a bowed tree, its branches dipping low to kiss the water.

  “Go,” April says after a minute, her pale green eyes focused on the blue of the sky, and the gently drifting clouds. “I’ve got my baby, and thoughts of Thad to entertain me. Get out of here.” She splashes me with water, and I grin.

  “Thank you, babe,” I say, pushing up and out of the water. I give April a quick kiss on the cheek before jogging across the dock, hopping over broken boards. With some beers and plastic-wrapped snacks in hand, I get back in and join Raz at the island in the center of the spring.

  Later, when it gets dark, we make our own fire using some dry branches and Raz’s lighter. It isn’t anything like the raging bonfire back at the party, but we don’t need it to be. It’s just big enough for the five of us to huddle around it for warmth, wrapped in the blankets Luke bought for April. No big deal, she already has dozens.

  I sit in the circle of Raz’s arms, wondering how he managed to hide this side of himself from me for so long. Even at the cottage, I didn’t get to delve so deeply into his psyche. Is he damaged? Sure. Ignorant in many ways? Yep. But he’s not a bad person, and there’s enough good in him that I just want more. More, more, more.

  When the cold gets unbearable, we put the top up on the Caddy and let April sit inside with the heater while the rest of us clean up the mess we made, leaving this sacred site just as we found it.

  “I haven’t had anything to drink for hours,” Luke says, standing in the beams of the car’s headlights in her panties and bra, keys clutched in one hand, her phone in the other. “I’m good to drive.”

  “You’re sure?” Raz asks, closing the trunk and moving around to stand beside me, ruffling up his still-wet hair with his fingers. “I just got Karma to tattoo my name on her fucking body. I’m not about dying tonight.”

  With a laugh and a shake of her head, Luke takes one, last look around to make sure we’ve got everything and then turns back to us.

  “We’re all good. I would never risk the lives of the people I love by doing something that stupid. Hop in.” She puts her seat forward, so Raz and I can crawl in the back. With the top up, we can’t climb over the side like we did before. Besides, we’re all too wet and tired and—in mine and Raz’s case—drunk for that.

  April is asleep in the back seat, while Sonja sits in the front, glancing back at me and Raz with a sated smile as Luke closes her door and puts her seat belt on.

  “I’m so tired,” I murmur, curling up against Raz’s side and laying my cheek on his chest. My eyes close of their own accord, but I won’t let myself fall asleep, not just yet. Not fucking yet. Forcing them open again, I dig my phone out of the pocket of my discarded blazer.

  “Sleep, babe,” Raz murmurs, his own head leaned back against the headrest, eyes closed. “Come keep me warm.” As if in response to his statement, Luke turns the heater up and off we go.

  My hands shake as I take my phone off of airplane mode, shaking from more than just the cold. No, I’m terrified about what I’m going to find there. Without Luke and April, there’s nobody at the party to give me updates, so I don’t expect any. What I want to do is try Pearl’s social media accounts, or the accounts of our fellow classmates. If Pearl is dead, I’ll know about. The students at Crescent Prep are incorrigible gossips.

  Instead, when I turn the phone on, I find several texts from Calix’s number. I know it’s his because he put it in my phone last year, and I’ve never had the heart to delete it.

  Pearl killed herself. Oh, and Erina had the video; you were right.

  My mind goes blank, a dizzying buzz taking over my hearing, white splotches killing my vision. For a moment, I wonder if I might pass out.

  “You okay?” Luke asks as I shoot a quick text back to Calix, my heart racing, wondering if he’ll ignore me, or if he’ll respond.

  “Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine,” I whisper, swallowing the lump in my throat. I don’t want Luke to know anything’s wrong, just in case she crashes the car again. “Just a stupid text from my mom.”

  How? Where? is the text I sent, but while I’m waiting for Calix to reply, I add, Are you okay?

  Glancing over, I find Raz sleeping peacefully beside me. Luke and Sonja are talking, but quietly enough that I can’t quite hear them over the whir of the heater.

  Barron’s the one that found her. She was dead in the treehouse, gunshot.

  My hands shake as I stare down at his response, trying to put things together in my mind. The universe most definitely hates me. Despises me, more like. I should’ve known that sending a stupid stone heart wasn’t going to make a difference. That was too easy. Why did I let myself think it would e
ver be easy?

  I just wanted one, last day to myself. Selfish. I’m still being selfish. Do I deserve to be punished for that?

  But I should know that the universe doesn’t punish anyone; all things are balanced. I’ve been given wonderful days on this time loop, time with my mothers and sisters, time to understand my feelings for the boys, time to appreciate and forgive my best friend.

  I’m not getting any of that for free.

  Erina didn’t post our video, but I don’t like what I did to stop her. We bullied her, Karma. Why can’t I stop hurting people? I killed Pearl; I know I did. What if Erina is next?

  I start to type up a response, but another text comes through before I get the chance.

  I’m sorry. For everything I’ve done. I’m a liar, and I love you, too, Karma.

  I look up just in time to see the massive buck step into the road, his antlers casting strange shadows as the headlights catch him in their bright glare.

  Oh, come on!

  Fuck.

  “Luke, stop!” I scream, startling Raz awake. He reaches out for me, and that’s all she wrote.

  Live to fight another day, right?

  Or die to fight one.

  Either way.

  Another day, it is.

  There's blood all over my steering wheel.

  Why can’t I just spend the day curled up in bed, screaming into my pillow?

  I sit up, knowing I can't indulge my own wants and needs today. Last night was a clusterfuck. A goddamn clusterfuck. This time, I have to think about Pearl. As usual, I lock the doors and peel out of the parking lot, heading straight to the school and hiding Little Bee in the woods.

  When I get there, I have to turn the engine off and lay my head on the steering wheel for a while. No part of me wants to get out of this car and go into that school. All I want to do is dream about the way Raz’s blond hair shimmers in the sunshine, how his lips taste, how hot his hands are. Then I want to go home and paint with my moms, cook with my sisters.

  But today isn’t about me.

  That’s the whole point.

  If this didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice.

  The day I tried to join the Knight Crew, I found Pearl walking through the hallway just after they arrived at Crescent Prep. Today, I hide from Calix's dark angry eyes, Raz's laughing sneer, and Barron's scrutinizing stare, waiting until they disappear down the hall before I come out of the empty art classroom.

  Pearl Boehringer appears at the end of the hallway, and I start after her.

  Unfortunately, she doesn't like me much.

  “What do you want, Trailer Park?” she snaps at me, her bite as caustic as any member of the Knight Crew. If she didn't have a beef with Calix and Raz, she might actually be one of them.

  “I was wondering if you wanted to, like, hang out or something.”

  Shit.

  I did not think this through, did I? I’m still disoriented from last night, from the sight of the buck in the glare of the Caddy’s headlights, of Raz’s frantic grip as he reached for me.

  Why on earth would Pearl want to hang out with me when we've barely spoken two words to one another?

  The way she looks at me, like she's absolutely horrified by the prospect, does not leave me with much hope. The thing is, I have the ability to play this scene out over and over and over again until I get it right.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” she asks, looking me up and down, like I'm the scum of the fucking earth. “Why the hell would I want to hang out with the Knight Crew's bitch?”

  “Knight Crew's bitch?” I echo, blinking back at her. “They hate me as much as they hate you.”

  Oops. Again, probably not the best choice of words. Pearl scowls, tossing white-blonde hair over her shoulder, her diamond crusted spider mask glittering on her thin, pale face.

  “Seriously? Only an idiot would miss the dick measuring contests those boys are in over you. And you just eat it up, don't you?” She tosses her hair and scowls at me. “Stay out of my way, Trailer Park.”

  Pearl takes off down the hallway and I purse my lips, turning and heading out the front door to my car. I decide to head home and paint for the rest of the day. It seems that if I go home and tell the moms that I need a mental health day, they tell me they want to carry my art in the store. And I like that. A hell of a lot.

  One quick nap in the afternoon and I start at the gas station again.

  “Hey Pearl,” I say when I see her on the second day of my little mission, pausing next to her and tucking my hands into my blazer pockets. “I was wondering if I could talk to you about Calix Knight?”

  She pauses, scowling at me, but there's a curiosity in her gaze that tells me I've picked the right subject to start with.

  “Luke heard a rumor that you're the reason Calix and Raz were sent to Crescent Prep.” I pause and lick my lower lip as Pearl narrows honey-brown eyes at me. She's wearing the lavender version of the school blazer, and the solid silver skirt. It looks good on her. Maybe a compliment would help? I file that away for tomorrow. That is, if I can't get this right today.

  “The only reason Calix and Raz are here is because they couldn't keep their hands off of each other,” she replies with a smug little smirk. “Didn't know that, did you? That your boyfriend and his buddy were fucking each other?” I'm stunned speechless for a moment, and I can tell that Pearl just loved dropping that little bomb on me—whether it's true or not. Calix told me I was the only person he’d slept with; I believe him. There’s not a soul who could’ve spent the day in his arms and thought he was lying. “Have fun digesting that, Trailer Park.” This time, she flips her hair in my face and takes off.

  Fuck.

  I need to talk to Raz and Calix, don't I?

  Only, that isn't as easy as it sounds. In order to get one of them to talk to me, I sort of have to snub the other. Scrubbing my hands over my face, I add another item to my list of things to deal with later, and head home yet again. Paint again. Nap again.

  “Hey Pearl,” I start, smiling at her in a way that I hope seems open and friendly, welcoming, easy to talk to. “I was hoping I could talk to you about Calix Knight? He …” I pause and summon up some of that old hurt. It used to be like an ember, burning deep down in my belly at all times, but his apology the other day has cooled it to ash. “He broke my heart after last year's Devils' Day party.”

  “Why are you telling me this? You have the whore and the freak for besties, don't you?” Her smirking expression pushes all my buttons, but I curl my hands into fists and remind myself that she's hurting, that she cuts herself, that nearly every day since I started this time loop, she kills herself. “Go vent your emo bullshit to them.”

  “We … slept together again recently, and I'm pregnant,” I blurt. It's a lie, but I need something for Pearl to cling onto, some reason for her to trust me. “I—”

  “Why the fuck would you tell me that?” she asks, and I can see her pulse thundering in her throat. Goddamn it, why does this have to be so freaking hard?! Honestly, all I want to do is paint, hang out with my friends and family, and spend time with the boys. If I have to live on repeat, then I might as well enjoy this. I enjoy none of my moments with Pearl.

  But that's the point, right?

  This isn't about me.

  “Calix told me you had a baby with his brother, and they … the Knights, I mean … have offered to buy my baby.” I feel like a total piece of shit making up this crap, but I have to save Pearl. I have to get her to trust me. You’re not being honest, Karma; this isn’t going to work out in the end.

  She just stares at me then, nostrils flared, body shaking. It occurs to me that if I really do make it to tomorrow after this, I'll have spent all day avoiding the boys, avoiding Luke, avoiding my family, to save Pearl. And then I'll have a big bag of lies to deal with, too. I'm hoping this is just legwork for a future day.

  “They're monsters,” she tells me, turning away and staring at the floor, her eyes shimmering suddenly
with unshed tears. “But I can't help you. I can't even help myself.” She glances back at me, a modicum more interest in her gaze than there was before. “I'm not getting my baby back without a huge legal fight. And I can't do that without money, which my parents won't give me. There's no point.”

  We stand there in silence for a moment.

  “Do you want to skip class today? We can get something to eat or buy new dresses for the party or … whatever.” My voice cracks with hope which, I think, helps seal the deal for me. I still feel bad about lying, but I'll feel a lot better if Pearl doesn't kill herself today. “I've got my mom's credit card. We could have some fun?”

  Pearl looks at me like she's never seen me before, like maybe I'm not such a bag of ugly dicks.

  “Yeah, okay. You have a car? My parents didn't bother to let me keep mine.” Her tone darkens, and I can see the shadows falling across her face. She looks back up at me, almost contemplatively. “Alright, fine. Let's go.” Pearl turns and heads for the doors with me following behind. The teachers at Crescent Prep aren't really prepared to deal with their ultrarich students, so discipline is definitely lacking; we walk right out the door as the bell rings, and nobody stops us. Further proof that the academy isn't a place meant for rehabilitation, so much as it is a prison in the middle of the woods to dump unwanted kids.

  I lead Pearl into the trees where I've hidden Little Bee, and she raises her eyebrows at the damage to the front end.

  “I noticed Calix's car was trashed. Your doing?” I nod and Pearl grins, adding yet another thing to my mental checklist that I can use on her for a different day. There's no point in actually making a checklist; come tomorrow, when everything resets, it'll be gone anyway.

  Pearl examines my myriad bumper stickers before climbing in, settling herself into the seat and locking her belt, her eyes taking in the stuffed soot sprite hanging from my rearview mirror. It's a little black ball with eyes, tufted with bits of fake fur, and it's from some Japanese anime movie that Luke is obsessed with; she's the one who bought it for me, and even though I haven't seen the movie it makes me smile.