Pus Junkies

by Shane McKenzie

  “What’d you say, you little faggot?” Chuck took a long step toward Kip.

  Kip closed his eyes, turned his head, and awaited the fist that was surely on its way to his face. Chuck had never actually hit him before, had kept it to verbal abuse, a few shoves here and there. But Kip had never stood up to him, had always just taken it.

  “What’s going on in here?”

  Kip’s eyes burst open at the sound of Mrs. Lee’s voice. One of the assistant principals. She was always nice to Kip, always making sure nobody messed with him. She shot Kip a quick smile and nodded, then turned toward the boys and scowled.

  “I suggest you boys walk away before you find yourselves in the principal’s office. Wouldn’t it be a tragedy for you to miss the big game?” She gasped and covered her mouth, eliciting a few giggles from the other kids.

  Chuck and his buddies were already backing away. Chuck kept his eyes on Kip the whole way, smiling, nodding. His friends did the same, elbowing each other and snickering.

  “If I see you boys picking on Kip again, I promise your coach will be hearing about it. And I’ll personally see to it that you don’t play. Understand?”

  Chuck and his buddies nodded, hands up in surrender.

  Gwendolyn rolled her eyes, gathered her things, and stood. She shot another look toward Kip, sort of pursed her lips, then walked out the side door, the opposite direction of Chuck and his jock minions.

  Kip started heading the same direction as her, not to try and talk to her, but because it seemed like the best route to avoid another confrontation. He couldn’t even look at Mrs. Lee, just wanted to be out of there.

  “See you later, Toad. See you real soon,” Chuck said, cracking his knuckles and licking the front of his teeth. Cash and Jerrod thought this was hilarious.

  Throb…throb…throb.

  ***

  “What the fuck is that?” Zak blew smoke from his nostrils as he flicked the butt of his cigarette.

  “Oh, come on. Don’t be such a pussy, man.” Jade unscrewed the top to the Crown Royale bottle, pressed it to her lips, and tilted her head back. She held it there for a few seconds before pulling it away and hissing. Then she offered it to Zak.

  “No thanks. You know it’s barely past noon, right?”

  “So what? It’s not a big fucking deal, okay?” She took another drink, then went digging around her purse again. “That’s what the coke’s for.” A small Ziploc bag full of white powder was now pinched between her thumb and forefinger.

  “Are you fucking serious right now? You’re not doing that shit in my car. God…if I knew you had that…”

  “Then what? You would have pulled your dick out of my mouth and told me to leave? I doubt it.” She opened the bag, glancing toward Zak as she did it.

  “Don’t. I’m serious.”

  “Dude, you’re totally blowing it right now. You know that?” She dipped her pinkie nail into the bag, pressed it to her left nostril, and snorted. Then she repeated for her right. Her eyes fluttered and she leaned back in her chair and moaned, smiled.

  Zak started the car and started pulling out of the woods. He already hated himself for skipping school, for lying to Kip. His cousin had probably been looking for him all day, had probably already figured out Zak didn’t show up.

  He’s gonna be pissed. I’ll have to make it up to him somehow.

  “Where the fuck’re you going, Zak? Just chill out for a second.” She checked her nose in the visor mirror, ran her tongue over the front of her teeth. “Besides…coke makes me horny. Pull over and fuck me. Right now.”

  “No. I’m taking you home. I can’t do this. I told you that…told you I came to town to get away from that shit. And you brought fucking coke with you?”

  When Zak glanced back at her, she had her shirt pulled up and her tits out. She squeezed them together and flashed Zak a painfully sexy smile.

  “Come on. Can’t you just have some fun…one last time? I prooooomise I’ll make it worth it.”

  She leaned over again, and now Zak was becoming annoyed. As fine as she was—and she was damn fine—he had had enough of her. He shoved her away, hard enough so she knew he wasn’t playing around. Her body slammed against the passenger door, shaking her tits and inducing a yelp.

  “I bit my tongue, you fucking asshole.” She pulled her shirt back down, inspected her mouth in the mirror. “I’m bleeding. I’m fucking bleeding.”

  Zak didn’t see any blood, and he refused to apologize. He remained silent as they pulled out of the woods and drove down the road back toward her neighborhood. She cursed under her breath the whole way, shot poisonous glances toward Zak every other second it seemed.

  By the time Zak pulled the car to the curb in front of her house, the Crown Royale bottle was empty and she was in the middle of snorting another bump from her pinkie nail.

  “Look, Jade. I like you and everything…but I’ve only been here a week. I think maybe I need to slow things down, you know? Get adjusted to all this shit before I—”

  “Before you what? Fuck me again?” Her window had been down, and she threw the liquor bottle hard against the pavement, shattering it, then swung her hard eyes back toward Zak.

  “Whoa. Chill out. I’m just saying that right now, I don’t think I should be seeing anyone.” He had his eyes on his knuckles, his hands wrapped tightly over the steering wheel. Then he looked up at her, startled at how red her face had become. “And I didn’t even fuck you.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You just let me suck your dick, right?” She shoved her fingers into her mouth, pushed her fist in as far as it would go, started making a sound like she was about to vomit. Then she shoved her fingers into her crotch, all the while baring her teeth at Zak.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “You’re fucking me, Zak. Don’t I feel good?”

  “Get out. Get the hell outta my car. You’re fucking crazy, man.”

  She just widened her legs more, moaned as her hand worked at her groin. There was some white residue just under her nose, like a tiny white Hitler mustache.

  Zak threw his door open, stormed around the car, opened her door, and dragged her out. By the time he had her out in the open, she had stopped fingering herself and now threw her arms like she was swatting at a swarm of attacking bees.

  “Fuck you, you bastard. Don’t you ever talk to me again, you hear me? You won’t ever know how good I am. And I’m fucking good, man. Real good.” She pushed him in the middle of the chest, retrieved her bag from the car, and stomped toward her house, shoving Zak again when she passed the second time.

  “Jade—”

  “Fuck you!” Slam!

  Zak stood there staring at her door for a second before realizing he probably wasn’t safe. He walked hastily back to his car, hopped in, and burned off before that crazy bitch had a chance to grab a butcher knife and come screaming back outside or something.

  No matter how good looking, she wasn’t worth that shit. She knew how to suck a dick though, that was for sure.

  Zak tried not to think too hard about her little “you’re fucking me” show she had put on. He didn’t think there would be enough of his load left in her mouth for anything to happen, but then again, he couldn’t be sure. The last thing in the entire universe he needed to worry about was getting some girl pregnant. And not just some girl, but that bat-shit crazy lunatic back there.

  The clock told Zak that if he sped toward school, he would still have enough time to make his last two classes for the day. But then he decided it might not be the smartest idea. What if I run into one of my teachers in the hall whose class I skipped?

  No, it would be better to just skip the entire day, make it consistent. That way if any questions were asked, he could just say he was sick. He didn’t plan on skipping again, so he hoped it wouldn’t be a bigger issue.

  Maybe I can park somewhere close by, try and catch Kip walking home.

  He lit a cigarette and found a good spot to park and wait. Not
so close to the school that someone might spot him, but the car was enough in the open that when Kip walked by, he’d see it. He hoped Kip wasn’t too pissed. Zak had planned on telling him about the Senior Skip Day party, but if Kip was upset, maybe he’d wait until later.

  His eye caught something white on the floorboard on the passenger side. Jade’s little baggie lay on its side, its contents nearly completely used up. Zak’s fingers shook as he reached for it, flicked it, inspected it. Nobody would know. He could just take it now, real quick, and not a soul would have a clue.

  But he tossed it into the street instead.

  I’m not that guy anymore. And I don’t ever want to be again.

  —3—

  “Hey, Toad! I bet your zits are bigger than your balls!”

  Kip didn’t even turn to see who said it. He could tell by the voice that it wasn’t Chuck, and at that moment, that was all he was worried about.

  He caught the usual looks, the other kids smiling and laughing at him as he passed, the quieter kids elbowing each other and whispering things, but most shouting out insults, throwing balls of paper or other harmless things. It seemed like the word Toad was on each and every one of their lips.

  Kip balled his hands into hard fists as he stomped his way across the school parking lot and toward the street. He couldn’t wait to get home. Couldn’t wait to hide in his room, his treehouse, and leave all this behind him for another day. Each day felt like a small victory, though he wondered how much of a victory today had been after his run in with Chuck.

  Which, of course, was nothing new, but today Chuck had a look in his eye. A look that Kip knew meant this wasn’t over.

  Kip hurried his walk, felt a sort of calm wash over him as he stepped off school grounds and onto the public street. But then he realized he was actually probably safer on school property where the staff could intervene, stop Chuck from stomping Kip’s face in.

  Kip checked left and right, saw that the coast was clear, and rushed down the street on his way home. Though the incident with Chuck weighed heavy on his mind, it was his cousin he was most upset about. He had really believed Zak at breakfast this morning, actually felt sorry for him.

  And then after all of that, he skipped class anyway. For what? A piece of ass? Drugs?

  Probably both.

  Kip told himself that if he were in Zak’s position, he would have blown Jade off and gone to class like he was supposed to. Then again, being in Zak’s position was as much of a fantasy as galloping down a rainbow on a unicorn’s back.

  Can I really blame him? It’s Jade Brewster for crying out loud. Staring at her tits was like staring into God’s face.

  Kip stopped in his tracks. Zak’s car was parked up against the curb down the street, his cousin leaning against it with a cigarette smoldering between his lips.

  “Oh great,” Kip said under his breath. His head drooped as he walked forward, purposefully not heading toward Zak’s car. He wanted the guy to know he was upset, to know that it hurt Kip that he had broken his promise to him.

  Zak pushed off his car with a backwards thrust of his hips, dropped his cigarette, and stomped it out. He held both arms out as if beckoning Kip toward him for a hug.

  That’s when the blue Mustang came roaring down the street, from just behind Kip. The tires squealed as the car hugged the turn and then roared right for him.

  Kip dove, smacked the right side of his face on the dry, hard grass next to the sidewalk. The Mustang flew by, and Kip had hoped that would be the end of it, that Chuck would be satisfied by nearly running Kip over.

  But then the sports car stopped. Both doors swung open.

  “Did y’all see that Toad leap? Damn, looks like the name fits better than I thought.” Chuck wore only a white muscle shirt now, tucked into his blue jeans. Cash and Jerrod followed close behind, both smiling, flexing their muscles and flaring their nostrils.

  Kip struggled to get to his feet, his massive backpack weighing him down. He carried all of his books in it at all times, never used his locker. The last time he opened his locker, there was a pile of dead flies in it, and a handwritten note that said, “Bon appetite, Toad.”

  A tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek, and Kip tried to wipe it away before the boys saw it, but was too late.

  “Aw. What’s the matter, Toad? You were such a brave man before. Remember?” Chuck rushed forward before Kip could make a run for it, grabbed him by the arms with both hands. His grip was like two pit bulls biting into the meat of his upper arms, and Kip hissed through his teeth, thought about kicking Chuck but held back, didn’t want to make things worse.

  The whole time, the chorus of his buddies’ laughter hit Kip in bursts.

  Throb…throb…throb.

  “What, your girl isn’t here and now you’re back to being a pussy? That it, Toad? I’m disappointed, man. I was hoping you’d grown some balls overnight, but I guess your vagina is alive and well.” Chuck’s knee thrust upward and slammed into Kip’s groin, exploding the air from his lungs and twisting his guts into knots.

  But Chuck still held him there. Wouldn’t let him fall even though all Kip wanted to do then was curl into a ball and weep.

  He had forgotten all about Zak.

  When his cousin’s face suddenly appeared over Chuck’s shoulder, it was like seeing Batman come to his rescue.

  Zak’s hand slammed down on the back of Chuck’s neck, squeezed hard. Kip could tell Zak was squeezing hard because the grin stretching across Chuck’s face flipped into a grimace, and Chuck released Kip and sent him crashing to the concrete.

  Kip’s knees slammed against the pavement, and he yelped, rolled around for a minute clutching them. That’s when he noticed Cash and Jerrod. Chuck’s minions rolled around and moaned in the street, neither one of them worried about Chuck anymore, too engulfed in their own pain to care.

  Chuck spun in place, shrugging off Zak’s hand. The jock threw a punch, and even Kip could tell it was sloppy.

  Zak sidestepped it easily, actually smiled at Chuck as he put his fists up.

  He really is like Batman.

  Chuck studied his friends writhing in pain on the ground. Cash clutched his stomach, and Jerrod cupped his face with both hands and squealed like a stuck pig.

  “You think you can take me, motherfucker?” Chuck spat on the street, cracked his knuckles. “I’m gonna fuck you up so bad, your face’ll look worse than Toad’s over here.”

  “Don’t fucking call him that,” Zak said as he rushed forward.

  Chuck stood his ground, threw a couple of punches at the approaching boy. They weren’t as sloppy as the last one, but neither of them landed true. His right fist brushed the side of Zak’s head, but did nothing to slow him.

  When Zak’s fist slammed into the side of Chuck’s face, Kip’s skin reacted with an orgasmic burst of pleasure. Every inch of him pulsed now, and he smiled wide as he watched his cousin’s fist hit home again, this time throwing Chuck off his feet.

  Chuck rocked back and forth on the ground, eyes pinched tight, mouth bleeding. He growled, forced himself back to his feet. His eyes rolled toward Kip, and he spat a wad of red mucus into the street, breathing hard through his nose.

  The other boys were getting to their feet too, and for a second, Kip thought they would surround Zak, jump him from every angle. And if they did, Kip didn’t know if Zak could take them, not all at the same time.

  And I’m the only one who could help him. Oh no…

  But they didn’t do that. Chuck’s minions limped and dragged their sorry asses back to the Mustang. Chuck shot them a look, twisted his mouth in disgust. He turned back toward Kip, pointed a hard finger like a stick of dynamite.

  “This shit ain’t over, motherfucker. You hear me?”

  Kip noticed that Chuck left the Toad part out. Kip smiled wider, and Chuck’s face got redder.

  Chuck turned toward Zak, looked about ready to say something, but then just stomped off, slammed his car door, and peeled out.
The car tilted onto two wheels when it turned, and then was out of sight, though Kip could still hear the engine roaring in the distance.

  “You okay?” Zak held out a hand, pulled Kip to his feet.

  Kip reminded himself that he was mad at Zak, that he was going to give him the silent treatment. But that was before he kicked Chuck’s ass. And Chuck’s minions.

  “I didn’t know you could fight like that,” Kip said, unable to make himself stop grinning. “That. Was. Awesome.”

  “Thanks,” Zak said, and dusted his hands. “All in a day’s work.”

  “Where’d you learn to kick ass so hard?” The throbbing in his skin began to calm, and the euphoric sensation dissolved bit by bit. Made it easier for Kip to get his thoughts together. He couldn’t wait to get home and pop some more of the zits, though, especially the whopper on his bottom lip.

  “I learned with you. All those super hero fights we use to have? You remember that?”

  “Of course I do! You couldn’t have learned how to fight from that. If that was the case, I’d be a bad ass. And…uh, I’m not.”

  Zak cackled, patted Kip on the back, then slid Kip’s backpack off his back for him and tossed it into the Corolla. “Okay. Maybe I had to learn to defend myself when my mom’s boyfriend decided it was fun to kick our asses all the time. But still…our battles helped.”

  Kip smiled, rubbed his shoulders where the backpack’s straps had been digging in.

  “I’m sorry about today. I promise I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Zak said.

  They walked back to the car and Kip slid into the passenger seat. He faced Zak and shrugged. “I was kind of mad. But not anymore. Thanks for sticking up for me…and for telling that asshole to stop calling me Toad. I hate that name.”

  “Of course you hate that name. It’s an awful thing to call someone. If that dickhead messes with you again, he won’t get off so easy.”

  It’s true. Things really are going to get better now that I have my cousin back. This is great!

  “So…um…”

  “Yeah? What’s up?”