The Forever Crew

by Stunich, C. M.

  “And then one day, we wake up and the snarky Charlotte we know’s been replaced with this weird, uptight, stone-faced girl—like a female Church—and one by one, we slowly go missing—”

  I cut Micah off before they can get too deep into their ridiculous plotting.

  “No talk of cults tonight, we promised,” I say, looking up at the glossy banner that’s being hung across the back of the stage, with the academy logo and the year of our graduating class.

  Jesus, I’m like, not ready.

  My hands fist together in my skirts, but Spencer stops my nervous fidgeting with a hand over mine.

  “You okay, Chuck-let?” he asks, and I glance his way, letting the passion in his eyes calm me down. The year is flying by, but I have a lot to look forward to. I’m just … nervous about the change is all. And I know we still have three months of school left, but senior prom is sort of a big deal. We’ve just finished midterms, the quarter is over, and I’ve somehow managed not to get anything less than a B.

  It’s a miracle.

  I’m pretty sure the universe likes to laugh at us all and keep its own perfect balance though—if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

  “I’m okay. I’m excited to wear my way-too-expensive dress and dance with five kick-ass boyfriends while my dad glares at me from the punch table.”

  “Doesn’t that sound nice?” Spencer says, sweeping one arm around my waist and using the other to grab my hand. He pulls us into the middle of the dance floor and even though there’s no music, he spins me around like we’re at one of Church’s parents’ fancy parties.

  My laughter ringing out in the large room is the only tune there is.

  Too bad that later on that night, it’d be my scream ringing through the room instead.

  Now that the girls’ dorm is officially open and occupied by only three students, it’s the perfect place to put all of our visitors from Everly. I’m not happy about it. Hell, I wasn’t happy about it when they started construction back up on the place and took away my sanctuary. Then again, now that the boys aren’t committed to making my life a living hell, I’ve got plenty of other places that are just as good, like the Culinary Club classroom.

  That means that I’m the only girl getting ready in the boys’ dorm, sitting with my mirror on the dresser at the end of my bed and doing my makeup while Church gets ready in Ranger’s room. They have their doors open, and the hallway is teeming with people, so I figure I’m safe in here with the door locked and my phone by my side.

  The custom dress the boys gave me sparkles from inside the closet, like a jewel winking at me from the shadows. To get my makeup worthy of such an outfit, I’ve spent the last two hours watching YouTube videos and trying to modify my usual routine.

  Gold sparkly shadow for my eyes, dark falsies for my lashes, and a pink lipstick that matches the color of the dress. My hair’s too short to put up, but I tame the ringlets and tuck the left side back with my mother’s clip. The pearlescent white color of it goes well with the lace at the top of the dress.

  “Are you done in there yet?” Ranger asks, rapping his knuckles against the door.

  “Almost!” I call back, standing up quickly and pausing the music on my phone. The dress is a little hard to get into by myself, and I know I’ll need one of the boys to tie the pale pink ribbons on the back, but I want to be as ready as I can be before they see me.

  I step into it and pull the stiff bodice up, slipping my arms into the short lacey sleeves. I’m fully prepared for some bedroom action tonight, with my pink panties over the top of my garter belt and thigh-highs. Monica would be proud of me. Speaking of, I take a quick selfie and send it to both her and Ross. I’d video chat them, but they’re both huge gossips, and it takes forever to get off the phone.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I can see that the sun’s already on its way down.

  It’s time to go.

  Slipping my heels on, I move over to the door and open it to find all five boys waiting in their suits. They’ve each chosen their own color, like they did the night we went to that fancy restaurant with my mom.

  “Damn,” the twins say together, exchanging a look before Tobias turns back to me with a smile and presents a crown, woven through with fresh flowers. “We figured five corsages was a little much,” he adds, placing the crown on my head.

  “And a crown wasn’t?” I joke, but I’m flushed from head to toe as Spencer comes around behind me to get the laces on my dress. He cinches me in, his fingers teasing the bare skin of my back as he leans close to whisper in my ear.

  “You look good in this dress, but I bet you look better out of it.”

  “Perv,” I grumble, but I can’t hide the goose bumps on my bare arms.

  “Five corsages might’ve been too much, but one should do,” Ranger says, offering one up to me. It’s made up of pink roses, baby’s breath, and a glittering cupcake pendant that gets me all choked up and shit. I’ve never been good with emotions, but I’m trying to work through my intimacy issues. How can I not, with the five of them looking at me the way they are?

  He slips the corsage on as Church, dressed in a stunning white suit, watches from the back of the group. He tries to stand back, to be the leader, and I appreciate it, but I want him to have some fun, too.

  “Let’s get down there before Mark and his loser friends eat all our cupcakes,” I say, trying to keep the mood light as I hook my arms with Church on one side and Micah on the other. It’s hard to forget though that Mark isn’t just a bully and an asshole—he’s part of the Fellowship of the Divine, the pieces of shit responsible for Jenica’s death, Eugene’s, and Jared’s.

  No, Chuck, no, no cult talk tonight, I remind myself as the guys walk me down the stairs like a princess. I really feel like one in that moment, too, much like I did the day they took me to the fairy-tale suite in Disneyland.

  My dress sweeps the stairs as we move down them together and tears sting the corners of my eyes.

  “You okay, Chuck?” Micah whispers, but I can only nod because I never expected anything like this to happen to me. And I don’t just mean the plethora of dick (see, I’m deflecting to humor because I have a problem accepting my own emotions). The Bornstead University acceptance letter kept me company the whole time I was getting ready.

  “Totally fine,” I choke, but the words are high and reedy, and Micah chuckles at me, putting his head up against the side of mine for comfort.

  “You’ll be alright,” he says, and my eyes tear up even more.

  Dad’s waiting at the bottom of the stairs, like a proper father on prom night. To say I’m surprised is an overstatement. Usually, he’s a headmaster first and a father second. Maybe discovering that his only child is being hunted by a vicious, wealthy, powerful cult has shifted his life views a bit?

  He takes a picture of me with his phone, no warning, just a flash in my face that has me blinking back stars. Yep, yep, okay, he’s definitely in dad mode tonight.

  “Charlotte,” he says, looking half-pleased at seeing me in my dress and half weirded-out that I have five boyfriends to take to prom. I mean, I’ve never been an overachiever in anything in life: lower than average grades, passable surfing skills, a karaoke voice that’s beyond forgettable.

  I guess the one thing in life I’ve decided to overachieve is the boyfriend thing. Pretty sure I’m nailing this shit.

  Oh, and also, I have awards in blurting embarrassing crap, and acting like an asshole without meaning to. Those are my other rare talents.

  “Dad,” I say, trying not to get choked up again. “You came.”

  “Of course I came,” he says, a bit of that blustery headmaster voice in his tone. “You’re my only daughter. Besides, I promised your mother I’d get pictures for her. Why don’t you kids”—unnecessary emphasis on the word kids, but that’s okay—“scoot a little closer together.”

  Spencer, Ranger, and Tobias stand on the step behind me while I stay in the center with Church on my left
and Micah on my right.

  My heart is beating so loud, I can barely hear my dad when he tells us to smile.

  But I do, I smile big.

  He takes several pictures with the group, and then makes the boys rotate, so I have one couple photo with each.

  “Thanks, Dad,” I say, and we look at each other for a moment before he finally turns away. Our relationship is improving, but it’s not perfect. And that’s okay.

  “I’ll see you at the dance,” he says, disappearing out the door and heading down the path ahead of us.

  Before we step out the door, Spencer grabs the white wool coat I got for Christmas from my mom and slips it over my shoulders. The night is cool, but it’s obvious that spring is on its way, keeping the frosty bite out of the air.

  Students stream around the side of the main building, heading for the propped open door that leads into the ballroom. Already, I can hear music playing, loud pop songs that used to be my jam back home. I mean, I still like them, but I’m starting to experiment with other genres, too. Church always puts on classical music when he’s studying, and it’s starting to grow on me.

  We head inside, and it’s like entering another world.

  There’s an arch of fresh flowers above our heads, a professional photographer with a full-sized gazebo to the right, and servers bringing drinks to the round white tables.

  There’s one in the very front, next to the dance floor, with a sign on it that reads Reserved for the Student Council. Someone’s added sit here and we’ll beat you up in red on the bottom, probably the twins or Spencer.

  “I have to say, with all that money you rich people horde and refuse to pay in fair wages to your workers, you sure know how to put together a nice party.”

  “Aww, thanks, babe,” Spencer says, putting a hand to his chest. Yep, the irony’s completely lost on them. He grabs my hand before I even get a chance to sit down and pulls me onto the dance floor, like he did earlier today. Nobody else is dancing yet, but that doesn’t stop the turquoise-eyed boy I fell in love with from spinning me around in a completely and utterly unpracticed sort of way.

  “You’re not the best at this, are you?” I whisper, leaning my head against his chest and breathing in his scent. He smells like temptation, but temptation that’s been given into, indulged. The spicy mix of his cologne is twisted up in his own unique scent, something indescribable but irreplaceable. Between the feel and smell of him, the strings of rose lights lit up with gold bulbs, and the sway of our bodies, I feel dizzy. But in a good way.

  “I’m not a dancer, not like Church,” he says as I lean back and look up into his face. “And, apparently, neither are you.” I slap him in the chest with a palm, and he flashes one of his naughty grins at me. “We could take lessons together though. Bet you’d like that, huh?”

  “Bet you’d like that,” I retort, and he shrugs, dressed in a charcoal gray suit and purple tie that makes his eyes seem even more vibrant than usual.

  “Bet I would. I’m certifiably obsessed with you, Chuck-let.”

  He holds up my hand and encourages me to do a quick spin as the music comes to an end, and my father gets onstage to make an introductory speech. Typical Archie. He lives for speeches and assemblies and award ceremonies. Pretty sure that when he realized he couldn’t attend them anymore, he decided to become a headmaster so he could host them.

  Spencer and I take our seats just before the servers come around and take our dinner orders. Dinner orders. Like we’re at a restaurant or something. There are only a few choices on the menu, but damn, it’s all swanky stuff.

  “Why am I so surprised by all of this when we’re the ones that planned it?” I ask, tapping a fork against my lips. There’s not a girl at that party who doesn’t walk by and look at me sitting at a table full of hot dudes without some sort of reaction.

  “Because you’re a shitty assistant, and you never pay attention?” Micah asks, but he softens the blow of his words with a grin. The twins are wearing different colored suits tonight—Micah in red and Tobias in black—and I have to say, they make a very pretty picture together.

  “I am a shitty assistant, aren’t I?” I ask, grinning as a server pours sparkling apple cider into our glasses. I’d love a little champagne right about now, but … I glance over to find dad standing at the edge of the room, entertaining a few of his favorite students. Eventually, someone’ll spike the punch. Happens at every high school event I’ve ever been to.

  “You really, truly are,” Tobias says as I grab some of the sparkly little stars that are spread across the surface of the table and flick them at him. “But we liked having you there.”

  “Definitely a prettier sight at that desk than Ross was,” Ranger says, his suit a deep blue that’s almost black. It suits his sapphire eyes and razored rock star hair. He sits with his arms crossed over his chest, eyes scanning the room for trouble. And by trouble, I definitely mean Mark. Or Selena. Or Gareth. Or Aster.

  Ugh. Too many villains to keep track of.

  “You’re not trying to look into cult stuff right now, are you?” I ask, giving him a harsh stare that he returns with narrowed eyes. I point at him, and his mouth twists to the side in a guilty smile. “You are! No more. No more detective stuff. This is our senior prom, and we only ever get one of these, and I didn’t go last year at all because I was in Santa Cruz—”

  “Okay,” Ranger says, leaning forward and putting his hand across mine. “I’ve got you, Charlotte.”

  “We could all use a break, I think,” Church agrees, pulling a flask out of his suit jacket and offering it surreptitiously to me under the table. I flick a glance in dad’s direction as I unscrew the cap, swigging some of it, and then passing it to Spencer. “And now that we know that Mr. Dave and Nathan are working on the problem, we have our solution.”

  “I can’t wait to see those psychos get put in prison,” I say, looking up at a paper star lantern above my head. Now, I totally remember procuring these babies for the prom. They remind me of that night on the roof, and I just can’t seem to help myself. I’m a hopeless romantic.

  “Or in the ground,” Ranger suggests, but even though Micah snorts, it’s very clearly not a joke.

  Our food comes, and I have to say, it’s off the charts good. I ordered some sort of phyllo wrapped chicken thing with a salad and a twice baked potato, eating until I’m stuffed, and I feel like my magic fairy dress might very well burst open at the seams.

  “Okay, enough food for Charlotte,” I say with a groan, pushing the plate back and slumping in my chair.

  “Hopefully not so much that you can’t dance?” Micah asks, giving me a saucy little look that reminds me of that day in Santa Cruz, when we went racing in his Lamborghini.

  “Um, hell no. Isn’t that what tonight is all about?” he stands up and takes my hand, pulling me away from Spencer and Church and into the gyrating throng in the center of the room. I have to say, he’s not much of a dancer either, but he knows how to move in a way that keeps me very, very interested.

  “Hey,” Tobias asks, leaning over the back of his chair to stare at us. “Are you two dancing or fucking? Because it looks like the latter, for sure.”

  “You’re just jealous, dickhead,” Micah retorts, sweeping me away again. He keeps me with him until we’re both sweaty and panting, collapsing into our chairs at the table. Every few songs, I switch up which dance partner I take out on the floor with me, grabbing small breaks in between to catch my breath.

  “Are you sure you can handle five of us?” Ranger asks as he spins me around, and I try to decide if he’s really talking about dance, or he means something a bit more … lascivious. Dancing with five different guys, I can definitely do. But if he means five of them in bed at the same time … then he’s going to have to wait a while.

  At least until college, right? That sounds like an experimental college thing to try.

  “I’m sure,” I say, enjoying him as a strong lead on the dance floor. As he escorts me back to the ta
ble, I hear the screech of a chair and look over to see Selena leaning over Aster’s table. She whispers something to the other girl, and they exchange a venomous sort of look. It’s got to be something to do with Mark. Selena hits Aster’s drink over, spilling liquid all over her dress, and then storms out the door.

  As soon as Mark sees, he’s up and out of his chair to go after her. When Aster tries to catch up, grabbing onto his sleeve, he yanks his arm away from her and disappears.

  It’s pretty damn obvious in that moment which girl he’s picked.

  “That was painful,” I snort, shaking my head and looking back at the guys. But frankly, I couldn’t care less about their disturbing love triangle. I’m just starting to get pumped for the night, like maybe I’ll dance until the freaking sun comes up. “Tobias, shall we?”

  “We shall,” he says, rising to his feet and taking my arm before he stops to glare at his brother. “And I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  Instead of just grinding our bodies together—which I liked a lot, by the way—Tobias takes it slow, putting his hands on my hips and sliding them up toward my ribcage. He leans in and kisses the side of my neck, our bodies moving at a much slower pace than all the other dancers around us. But oh my god, it’s hot.

  We’re in the middle of a huge group of people, but he’s touching me like we’re in bed, alone. Fortunately, the crowd is thick enough right now that Dad can’t see us. If he could, he’d probably burst a vein in his forehead. I mean, I’m eighteen now, so there isn’t much he could do to stop me.

  The song ends, and Tobias and I stand there breathless for a moment, separating only when an entire new song has passed.

  “Shall we get a drink?” he asks, offering up his arm. I take it, always pleasantly surprised by the muscles in his arm, and move over to the refreshments table to grab some punch. It’s been spiked, that’s for sure, but none of the administrators have noticed yet. I’m okay with it though; it’s nice to have a little bit of a buzz going. The edges of reality blur a bit, making the golden lights seem like stars above our heads. Couples are still slow dancing as Tobias and I stand there and sip our drinks, glancing at one another, and then popping a pair of miniature pink cupcakes into each other’s mouths.