Hometown Happenings: Milner’s Party

Earlier in the night

"Looking good, Denise. I see that year off before going to college is keeping that dancer's figure in tiptop shape," the ex-football player with short blond hair commented. When finished with his compliment, Palmer Malloy slid a hand up the ex-Sugarbee's hip.

“I’m not taking a year off. I don’t think college is for me,” Denise Detmer replied. “My job is waitressing at The Orchard.”

“Well, waitressing is keeping this work of art in museum form,” Palmer declared, running his hand down to the brunette’s toned ass. “How about you wait on me tonight? Say private service?”

“Aren’t you being naughty, Palmer?” Denise giggled.

“Oh, he’s being suicidal,” a voice remarked.

“Hey, Marcus!” Denise greeted, hopping over to hug one of her frequent and favorite customers. As childhood friends with Austin Rusk, Marcus had practically grown up at Miranda’s restaurant.

“Happy New Year,” Marcus greeted, kissing the sexy dancer on the cheek. “And you know better than to get on Katie’s hit list.”

“What?! You’re still dating Kaitlin?” Denise turned to glare at the wayward boyfriend. “Asshole!”

“It’s not like that. We’re kind of taking a break of sorts. I do go to college halfway across the country,” Palmer argued. “If you were in college, you’d know how long-distance relationships work.”

“Huh, that’s weird. You two didn’t seem to be on a break when Katie tackled Hazel Tarte at Metropolis the other night,” Marcus recounted. Then, leaning back, he yelled down the hall. “Yo, Max, get in here!”

“Dammit, what are you doing now?” Kieran Danforth questioned, walking into the room instead of Max to find his cousin flirting with another girl. “Nobody needs your drama with Kaitlin tonight, man.”

“Wait, that’s why that brawl broke out at Metropolis?” Denise asked, having heard about it while at work.

“Absolutely. My man, Winkie, even sliced his hand open because of it,” Marcus revealed, continuing to bury the sketchy boyfriend even more.

“That wasn’t my fault,” Palmer protested.

“Don’t you dare start anything tonight. I don’t care if we’re family. I like Rory and don’t need you screwing it up,” Kieran warned.

“You and Rory Rusk? That’s fantastic. She so needs to get out of her prison and live a little. And you better treat her well. The staff at The Orchard looks out for her, got that?” Denise challenged. After getting a promise not to hurt Aurora, Denise turned to face Marcus before exiting the room. “Thanks for the heads-up about the asshole, Marky.”

Palmer knew enough to wait at least for Denise to leave the room before issuing a threat. Still, others coming and going heard what he said. Several paused in the tracks to see if a fight would break out.

“Hell, we both know I can take you with one arm tied behind my back. I whopped you in those tackling drills,” Marcus reminded.

“Yeah, but I got friends that might want a piece of you.”

“I know most of your friends, and they like me better than you. Besides, I have way more here tonight than you do,” Marcus responded, scoffing at the threat. “And to be honest, my fists aren’t as deadly as Katie’s fingernails. You do know there are cheerleaders at this party, right?”

"Who? Margo?" Palmer questioned, glancing around until he spotted Margo Lintz, the likely captain next year. Then, taking several steps over, Palmer reached out to cup the junior's chin. "You'd never snitch on me, would you?"

“To Beal? Never,” Margo vowed, shooting a smirk at Marcus.

“That’s a good girl,” Palmer praised, causing the blonde cheerleader to shiver.

“Whatever, man. It’s your funeral,” Marcus said, turning around and going off to find Max.

Wandering through the living room, Marcus nodded at several of his teammates. Denise appeared to have found a friendly competition as Xavier Glove and Kona Sango both flirted with her. Most people would expect Xavier to win based on appearances, but the hefty Konga had an almost mystical way of charming women. Next, Marcus frowned as he saw Toby Lamb handing Oscar Vargas a beer. Toby’s fellow Brawny Boy linemate, Heath Farmer, carried a red Solo cup in each hand before giving Oscar one. Seeing a guy he once considered a good friend but found growing apart from double-fisting beers, Marcus groaned at how the two Brawny Boys treated Oscar as a surrogate Austin. I’m willing to bet everything I have that Weston is doing the same at that hotel ball.

Continuing past the foyer, Marcus felt his spirits perk up a bit as he spotted Beau Bascom and Dusty Slater entering the party through the front door. The pair of college freshmen and once Honey Hollow High soccer players might not be too high on his list, but Beau and Palmer hated each other. Hmm, Beau has always had a thing for Katie. Maybe a well-placed word could hurt Palmer in a few ways.

Finally, Marcus found a grin forming on his face upon reaching the hallway just outside of Milner’s family room. Inside, he spotted the majority of the girls at the party. And just outside, he found Max leaning against the door, watching the women. Softly shuffling up to his good friend, Marcus leaned in to whisper in Max’s ear.

“So, who am I setting you up with tonight, bro?”

“Wha–Geez! Way to give me a heart attack,” Max complained.

“Man, I was calling for you. Palmer was hitting on Denise.”

“Wow, that’s insane to do after Metropolis.”

“For sure. Now let’s see what I have to work with when it comes to matchmaking,” Marcus said, making a loud sound as if he was thinking hard.

“Match–Oh, hell, no! You are not playing Lacey for me,” Max protested.

“Shut it,” Marcus ordered. “Contestant Number One is Rosita Veliz. A sultry flirt, Rosie is known for being an elite performer in bed. And as a former Babybee, she could help quench your thirst for cheerleaders.”

“Whoa! I don’t have a thirst for cheerleaders,” Max denied. “And do you know that about Rosita from personal experience?”

“Yeah, yeah, you only have a Whitney fetish,” Marcus said, brushing off the comment and question before moving on. “Contestant Number Two is Tandy Cantrell. This candidate has only ever been a Sugarbee, so you’d be getting down and sleazy for you. Now, Tandy has a weakness for firewater, so choose wisely. I’m not sure you can handle a party girl. I know I can.”

“Maybe lower your voice so people don’t hear your BS during lulls in the music,” Max hissed.

“Oh, so sugar and spice don’t float your boat? Well, how about sweet and smart? For Contestant Number Three, I give you Gennifer Greiner! More cute than hot, Genni is popular enough to get elected school treasurer but also wise enough to dislike Lucas Prescott.”

“Can you please just stop?”

“Aw, come on, Maxey Waxey, I’m trying to get your mind off of Diamond,” Marcus groaned in frustration. “Contestant Number Four plays a mean game of volleyball. Let’s give it up for Erica Gane, your new Nubian princess!”

“Nubi–I thought you were actually being serious about helping me,” Max responded as Marcus chuckled.

“I was. I mean, I am!” Marcus insisted as Max glared at him. “If I weren’t really trying to help you, I’d suggest Joyelle or Margo.”

“If you ever suggest Joyelle, you will wake up someday with all the makeup she wears on your face,” Max vowed.

"Fine, fine, I won't, but never joke about that ever!" Marcus laughed in horror before suddenly spotting a potential solution. "Hey, I know; how about Sonia? Hot, sassy, and still local. Besides being an older woman–"

“She’s only a year older than us,” Max interrupted.

“I bet one nice perk–besides her perky goodies—is that you might get all the Luigi’s you can eat by dating her. Sound like a winner?”

Max appeared interested, then his mind flashed back to a specific blonde with blue eyes wearing her gold-and-black cheerleader uniform. The concerned expression that appeared on his face let Marcus know that Max wasn’t ready to get past his crush on Whitney. He also noticed Max’s lip quiver at a horrible thought. So with a sigh, he made a move to avoid embarrassing his friend.

“Hey, I’ll only hold Sonia for you for so long. Eventually, she’ll get put back in my prospect pool. But don’t worry; I’ll be fine. Yessiree, I’ll be all good with these fine-ass coeds back home on break.”

“Who caught your eye?” Max asked, attempting to slyly wipe a tear away over his concern about Whitney’s health.

“I’m glad you asked!” Marcus exclaimed, drawing looks and laughter. Then, lowering his voice, he rattled off a list of college freshmen and sophomores. “You know what they say about kooky girls, right?”

"They'll cut you?"

"Maybe! But the weird ones are also crazy into sex, and Destiny Bright is into some odd spiritual stuff. However, I will bet my life she's down for some mind-blowingly serious tantric sex."

“Didn’t you take your shot at Destiny last year and bomb?” Max asked.

“Not my fault. She said the moons and stars weren’t in proper alignment. No, I’m serious,” Marcus insisted as Max buckled in laughter. “New Year’s Eve might be the correct time for our connection.”

“Well, whatever you do, don’t push Dreama on me. She’s nice but a bit loony,” Max said.

“Yeah, in case the celestial gods don’t favor me tonight, I’ll go look for the horny types. Shannon McNutt and Taylor Cantrell are looking scorching on this cold wintry night.”

“The ice cream girl and Tandy’s sister?” Max questioned.

“Word is that Shannon licks more than ice cream cones, and I’ve always wanted Tay-Tay to play-play with me.”

“Better watch it. Tandy might not want you sniffing around her sister.”

“Sisters together? Yes, please!” Marcus flipped the concern with a crazy idea and a wink.

“Huh? I know who I should ask out.”

“You do? Who?”

“Tiara.”

“Aw, man. You did not just say my sister’s name,” Marcus responded, shooting him a look.

“I did,” Max teased.

“And I’ll end my ban on going after Merritt,” Marcus countered, naming Max’s oldest sister.

“Your self-imposed ban isn’t why Merry hasn’t made your list,” Max scoffed at the notion. Then, he suddenly felt a presence behind him and turned to look.

Standing in the hallway, staring into the family room with a spacey expression, was the aforementioned Dreama Bright. Then, Max and Marcus watched her green eyes blink back into focus at the view of the room.

“Uh, hey, Dreama. Is everything alright?” Max asked the junior-year cheerleader.

“Some…thing…is off,” the brunette responded slowly.

“Hey, look who’s here! Dreama! Dreama over here!” Greta Ascher waved needlessly from about fifteen feet away.

“It looks like she skipped the ball, too,” Elaine Limbreck noted. “Wise move from the weirdo.”

“Ball…By the stars of Andromeda!” Dreama shrieked as realization hit her. Then, suddenly sounding like a regular girl, she swore. “Fuck! I went to the wrong party. Whitney’s going to **** me. And Zara’s going to be so disappointed in me. I gotta go!”

“I don’t know about that girl,” Marcus commented, shaking his head.

“And you want to hook up with her sister?” Max challenged.

“Destiny isn’t as odd,” Marcus replied, shrugging.

"Damn, Withrow, did you whip your dick out and scare the Beetlejuice girl away? She raced down the hallway as if the world was ending," a handsome and cocky blond-haired guy joked. Most people would think it was a harmless, good-natured rib, but Marcus knew it to be an insult.

“Knowing Bright, she might think the world is ending,” the muscular, brown-haired teen behind the blond snickered.

“How the hell did you land here, Cork? I thought you’d be at the ball or the stuck-up party,” Marcus said, questioning Charlie Cork.

“I didn’t feel like going to the ball as Claudia went,” Charlie replied, referencing his cousin. “And I still may stop at the Falkenburgs.”

"The Corks might not be Bumbles, but Charlie can just show up," Kyler Hogan boasted about his best friend.

“And what about you? Will you be Charlie’s plus-one?” Max inquired about the wrestler.

“More like his date,” Marcus joked.

“What did you say?” Kyler growled.

“Let it pass,” Charlie said, waving his friend off. Then, he scanned the rest of the partygoers in the family room. “Gawd, talk about a sausage fest.”

“Isn’t it fantastic?” Elvis Sponder called out. He immediately chuckled at Kyler’s distasteful expression. “Hey, I’m not the guy that puts his hands over another man’s body and calls it only a sport.”

“What up, Elvis? I’d stay away from Corkscrew. He’s known to break hearts in a jiffy.” Unlike some of his classmates, Marcus felt secure enough in his manhood to joke around with the most well-known gay student at Honey Hollow High. Then, noticing the phone in the bespectacled jokester’s hand, Marcus inquired about the local gossip. “Anything happening at the Witzler?”

“You better not be spreading rumors about me,” Charlie warned Marcus.

“They do say that it’s a thin line between love and hate. Perhaps your hatred of Fletcher is due to your unrequited feelings of lust,” Marcus suggested, knowing his words might cause trouble with one of the school’s biggest heartthrobs.

“Did you just say that about me?” Charlie growled.

“Yes!” Elvis screamed.

“Fuck you, Sponder!” Kyler roared.

Immediately, Elvis threw up his hands to stop the approaching wrestler. “No, no, I’m yelling over this.”

Marcus, Max, Charlie, and Kyler all squinted at the image on the phone that Elvis held out. Suddenly, all around them, pings and buzzes went off with notifications from Nosy Nectar.

“Is that…” Max asked, trailing off in disbelief.

“No way,” Kyler said, shaking his head.

“Hell yeah! That’s my girl. Joanne “JoJo’s milkshake brings all the boys to the yard” Gibble. Oh, you didn’t know she was hot? Well, I mean, if you’re into girls,” Elvis said, directing the last line at the mind-fucked Kyler.

"I mean, that's impossible," Charlie muttered, raising his hand to rub his forehead.

“I don’t know why everyone is so shocked,” Marcus said. The family room had become filled with chatter and disbelief. “My dad’s construction crew insists on only getting their morning treats at Dream Muffs. Why? Well, first off, they bake damn good shit. And second, Mrs. Gibble and Miss Leighton are hot as fuck. Also, Zoey Gibble is the girl that sophomores go gaga over. So damn right, JoJo is going to turn out hot.”

"Interesting," Charlie said, pondering what Marcus had just laid out. Always on the lookout for a new girl to try out, Charlie mentally added JoJo to his list.

“Yo, you think JoJo is girlfriend material?” Marcus queried Max.

Max didn’t reply before Marcus felt his phone buzzing with an incoming message. Hoping for another hot picture of a classmate, Marcus instead saw a request. Momentarily frowning at the favor, his expression morphed at the possibilities.

“What’s that?” Max asked.

“A request from Delilah,” Marcus revealed before walking toward the two senior Sugarbees. “Ah, girls, it appears I have been hired to be your babysitter for the night.”

“Babysitter?” Tandy questioned, wondering if she had heard correctly.

“By whom?” Rosita inquired, already suspicious.

“By your captain and co-captain. Something about not repeating your Beehive performance from the other night at the O’Dells, I believe,” Marcus informed the two dancers.

“How dare they?!” Rosita roared.

“They don’t trust us?” Tandy asked, appearing surprised.

“Look, I can be a fair babysitter. I’ll allow you two to misbehave only if you’re around me. And if you go too far, I may have to issue spankings,” Marcus stated, sounding dead serious.

“Spank us? Why would…Oh!” Tandy exclaimed.

“I’ll admit, Mr. Withrow, we’ve been bad girls lately. I think we should be put to bed early,” Rosita revealed, raising her voice.

“Do you need me to tuck you in?” Marcus asked.

“Only if you want to, sir,” Tandy replied, picking up on Rosie’s idea.

“Should we head up now, Mister?” Rosita questioned as Marcus pulled out his buzzing phone.

“NOOO!!!!” Marcus bellowed upon reading Kessler's message.

"Humph!" the two Sugarbees sounded angrily at the loud rejection.

Suddenly, every single phone in the house buzzed, chirped, or rang.

Marcus took several deep breaths as he held in the “Motherfucker” that he wanted to shout at the sky while everyone else learned about Lana and Teresa losing their tops at the ball.

---

With a hand on her hip, the self-assured blonde stuck out her chest as if thinking her medium-sized breasts would tip the balance in her favor. Then, with the best seductive expression she could muster—one that needed plenty of work—Margo Lintz asked Oscar Vargas if he wanted to slip away to somewhere more private.

Oscar exaggeratedly glanced around him. Then, he pointed at himself.

“Are you talking to me?”

“Of course. Who else is worthy of the next cheer captain than the star running back?” Margo replied with full and misplaced confidence.

“I can think of a lot of women, little girl. Now move along before people think I’m actually interested in.”

“Hummph! Asshole!” Margo snapped before marching off. Always worried about perceptions, she did so with her head held high.

Snaking around groups of people in the living room, Margo appraised each possibility. Niles Milner? While the party's host lacked the status that Margo desired. Rafael Osuna? Yeah, right! Maybe if she were a geek into gaming. Kyler Hogan? She loved his muscles, but he needed to finally win the big one at state this year for her even to consider him. Second or third is never good enough for Margo. Besides, why date the sidekick when she deserved the main man?

Finally, the self-centered blonde spotted a sports hero worthy of her time in the kitchen. Added an extra shake to her swinging ass, Margo made a beeline for Xavier Glove. Arguably the best potential college player on the football team, the defensive back saw the wannabe queen bee approaching with her purpose. So with a sigh, he prepared for the flirting.

“Why Happy New–”

“Naw, that ain’t happening, Lintz,” Xavier cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“What’s not happening?!”

“You thinking I’d even entertain us doing something?” Xavier replied to her demand. “I got enough drama in my life right now. And you aren’t adding to it.”

“Awfully conceited of you, huh? I was merely wishing you a happy holiday. As if I would ever date you,” Margo declared loudly. “I have college men calling me constantly over break.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Xavier shrugged before turning around to smile across the kitchen at Sonia Todaro.

Over in the dining room, Max scrunched up his face as he attempted to understand Joyelle Robinson’s expression under the makeup caked on her face. It didn’t help that the junior-year cheerleader appeared quite drunk already.

Oh, gawd! Is she hitting on me? Fuck, she is!

The last thought came when Joyelle reached down to palm the non-existent bulge in Max’s pants. Even if he had been hard, Joyelle touching his groin would’ve shrunk him down to nothing faster than ice water.

“Whoa! Easy there, girl,” Max said, removing her hand from his body. “Uh, yeah, I…um, we… it can’t happen.”

“Why not?!” Joyelle responded to his attempt to reject her politely. “Aren’t I good enough for you? What’s wrong with me?!”

Max’s eyes grew wide as he saw Joyelle’s eyes start to mist. He immediately thought of three things. One: He didn’t want to be an asshole. Two: He didn’t want to cause a scene. Three: He worried about how much worse her makeup would look if the waterworks started.

"No! No, no, no. It's not that. I, uh, I just can't date you for, um, legal reasons. Yeah, that's it! You see, you're only seventeen, and I could get into a whole of trouble with the things I want to do to you," Max rambled a fake explanation.

“You’re just saying that!”

“No! I meant it. You see my unc–my cousin, he got into huge trouble with a girl your age when he was my age! Yeah, um, the girl’s dad found out and was super pissed, so–”

“My dad won’t care,” Joyelle proclaimed, seeing her chance opening.

“Oh…well, what happened to my cousin is that the school found out too. So they called the cops, and my cousin ended up in jail for like a few…six months,” Max scrambled to think up a story that sounded reasonable. Fortunately for him, Joyelle was drunk enough to believe it as others around them shook their heads at Max’s obvious lie. ”Do you see? That’s why we’re never meant to be.”

“At least not until I turn eighteen!”

“Uh, yeah, right. Oh, shit, did you hear that? Marcus is yelling for me,” Max announced before escaping, as Joyelle said in confusion that she didn’t hear anything.

Rushing off, Max barely avoided running into another cheerleader, Greta Ascher, as she carried a pair of beers back from the keg in the garage. Known for being clumsy, Greta lived up to that reputation as she ran into Dixon Solis’s back.

“Oops! Sorry! I didn’t see you there.”

The center of the basketball team and the tallest student in the school, Dixon, nearly turned to see who failed to notice him and poured beer down his back. He ended up not turning around as he recognized the high-pitched voice. Instead, he shook his head before continuing a conversation about the colleges recruiting him.

Next, Greta tripped, causing the other cup to launch a solid portion of the liquid through the air. That beer landed on Elvis. He also started to open his mouth to complain before realizing it was Greta.

“Why bother?” he mumbled, setting off to find a towel.

Still off balance but attempting to move through the crowd, Greta sloshed small portions of beer here and there. Finally, she fell into the chest of Toby Lamb. The Brawny Boy helped straighten her up to regain her balance. Little was said as a moment passed between the tongue-tied klutz and the somewhat dimwitted football lackey.

“Th-Thank you,” Greta began to say before Margo’s yell to hurry up caught her attention.

Spurred into motion by fear of her friend’s wrath, Greta managed to rush over and keep her balance. Handing Margo a cup, she waited to be thanked.

“Dammit, this is only a third full. Did you drink or spill it all?” Margo shrieked. “If I expected help this poor, I would’ve brought Fern with us.”

“So it is true. Whitney punched that Sean Tarver in the face,” Elaine confirmed, looking up from her phone and the Nosy Nectar update.

“I knew a nobody like him would lose his moment fast,” Margo stated. “The loser probably copped a feel because he expected a reward from Whitney.”

“I’m confused,” Greta admitted.

“That’s not new,” Elaine responded, looking back down at her phone.

"No, it doesn't make sense. If Whitney punched Sean, then why is Fern texting me about the Babybees being required to work as candy strippers for him? She says it's their new requirement that Whitney put in place."

“Fern doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Elaine stated. “She never does.”

"And the word is candy-stripers, not strippers. It's the girls that give old people pills at nursing homes or something," Margo explained. "Obviously, she sent that message before whatshisname pissed off Whitney."

“Um, no. I just got another one,” Greta announced, holding up her phone. “Fern says that Kizzy says that they are required to call him Sir Sean. Oh! And something about Whitney giving him a JB!”

“I think she meant to write BJ,” Joyelle laughed, announcing her drunken presence.

"That is such bullshit," Margo declared. "Whitney would never blow some high school guy I had never heard of before this week. Is he a new student?"

“I told you that he lives next door to Zoey Gibble,” Greta reminded.

"Yay, now boys will be talking about Hoey Big Tits more," Elaine complained. Then, looking up, she spotted a sophomore boy roaming his eyes up and down her body. "What the…Take those eyes elsewhere, pervert. If not, I'll gouge them out. You hear me?"

“Elaine, that is not the way to find a boyfriend. You need to add a little sugar to your attitude,” Margo suggested condescendingly.

“As if you have a boyfriend,” the dark-haired cheerleader snapped at her friend.

“I have plenty of options.”

“Look who?”

“Ooh! Tell them about Charlie Cork, Margo!” Greta cooed.

“Charlie Cork is into you?” Joyelle asked in disbelieving jealousy.

“Well, I’m not one to brag, but we did have a moment earlier,” Margo revealed. “Clearly, he sees that I’m going to be a big deal soon and wants to make his move before then.”

“I don’t know. I heard he ditched this party for the Bumble one,” Elaine mentioned.

“Yeah, Kyler looked like a lost puppy when he got left behind,” Joyelle recounted, burping at the end.

"Control yourself, Joy!" Margo hissed. "This is why we weren't invited tonight. I assume that Mercedes meant to invite me–I am her big cheersister—but she probably knew I'd bring you all with me. Do you see? I'm sacrificing a Bumble party because you'd embarrass me. You girls need to straighten up. I will not be humiliated next year by your behavior."

“Don’t worry. We’re going to be the most popular cheerleaders ever!” Greta cheered.

Immediately, she stumbled and fell into Joyelle. Then, Greta bounced off her and knocked a lamp off a table.

"Hey, that brat just broke Milner's lamp," Elaine announced, pointing at another sophomore boy, Kip Peavy, who stood near the lamp that Greta had just knocked to the floor.

---

Marcus worked his body to the groove of the beat while sporting a shit-eating grin. He'd entered the new year with a steamy three-way kiss with Shannon McNutt and Taylor Cantrell. Now, he found himself sandwiched between the two college sophomores.

Although Shannon had a reputation as a squeaky-clean, good girl who sold ice cream at her family's business on school breaks, Marcus knew the Scoops Creamery heiress had a wild side to her. Actually, she might be one of the biggest sluts that Marcus had ever met. So the redhead rubbing those Double D-Cups along his back wasn't a huge surprise. Maybe a minor one, as she did it in public, in Honey Hollow, and not in her college town.

It was the girl in front of him who shocked Marcus. Taylor Cantrell appeared to be in the middle of her slut phase, a time period many girls experienced in college. Always well-behaved and in a relationship, Marcus couldn't believe it when Shannon whispered that Taylor currently dated a pair of guys down at Vapor Valley University and that both boyfriends knew about the other.

Damn, I’m going to ring in this new year with a big bang! Marcus cheered in his head. His large cock had found a home pressed between Taylor’s toned ass cheeks. No doubt. She’s been in the middle of a sandwich or two. That thought struck a chord as Taylor’s hand reached behind to get a grip on his jeans-covered cock. Deciding turnabout was fair play, Marcus brought a hand up from her hip to cop a feel of a C-Cup breast. Then with his other hand, he reached behind to grab one of Shannon’s curvy ass cheeks.

Looking over, Marcus nodded at the jealous stares several of his teammates shot him. Also, he felt a small measure of pride at seeing Max dance with Gennifer. The class treasurer wasn’t his top choice for his friend, but anyone was better than moping over Whitney. And Marcus knew from past experience that those studious, good girls were often wound so tight they went buck wild when trying to relieve their stress.

However, when the sound ended, Marcus frowned as Max finished his dance with Genni. He immediately nodded to the other guy, drawing his attention to Erica standing there without a dance partner. And to his great frustration, Max walked right past the tennis player. With only facial expressions, Marcus tried to order Max back to the free girl.

“I gotta pee,” Max mouthed.

Marcus’s concerns over his friend vanished as the beat of a fast-paced sound hit. Taylor’s ass-grinding went into overdrive while Shannon’s tongue swirled around his ear. In heaven, Marcus couldn’t imagine it any better. Maybe if I got Tandy to join in with her sister. Oh! I’m supposed to babysit her. I can have Max watch Rosie while Tandy learns from her big sis and friend. Hell, yeah! I totally bet Shannon will be down to help.

CRASH

“What tha?” Marcus swung his head around as a loud commotion sounded from the kitchen.

“Fuck you!”

“Stop!”

“Come on, guys!”

“Gawddamnit!” Marcus growled, knowing he needed to do something.

Extracting his body from the two sex fiends, the football player hurried down the hallway to find a standoff going down in the kitchen. On one side, Toby and Heath formed a wall in front of Oscar. Marcus and Max’s old friend leaned over the shoulders of the two Brawny Boys while he shit-talked Max and Xavier. The largest member of the team, Kona Sango, attempted to push his way in front of Max and Xavier. Standing off the side, a clearly intoxicated party host appeared pissed as Milner yelled at Oscar, his backfield mate.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Marcus demanded to know.

“Lacey dumped Austin,” Nancy Weller informed Marcus from his side. The junior-year chatterbox loved reality shows, and she appeared to think she was watching one right now.

“Lacey what?” Marcus repeated in disbelief. Shit, what did Auss do?!

“He called Lacey a bitch,” Max called over, pointing at Oscar. “Fucking asshole.”

“I’m the asshole? I’m just standing up for my boy,” Oscar spat back. “You’re the disloyal friend saying that Austin probably deserved it.”

“Austin is an ass. A dumbass that eats his own shit. So, yeah, nobody but you idiots think he’s not at fault,” Xavier declared.

“For all we know, Lacey wanted to be like her big sister,” Oscar shot back, getting nods from his two protectors in front of him. Some of the assembled crowd murmured in agreement.

“Nosy Nectar hasn’t confirmed anything, but talk at the ball is about some fight between Austin and Sean Tarver,” Nancy relayed.

"Suzie told me that girls are all over Sean. The Sugarbees gave him a three-way lap dance. Wait, would that make it a foursome?" Genni asked aloud. "I guess that Cat stormed over and dragged Sean off."

“The Sugarbees did what?” Rosita questioned in astonishment.

“And we’re the ones that can’t be trusted to behave,” Tandy remarked, folding her arms.

“Yo, I heard that Owen broke up with Whitney because Peyton Tarver’s little brother was all over her,” Bobby Hopper passed along. Still bitter at how Caterina mocked his performance in the backseat of his car the other night, he had no qualms about starting rumors about the cheerleaders.

“Gee, I wonder if Lacey wanted to show Whitney that she can steal a man just like Lana.” Palmer lobbed the grenade.

“I heard that Whitney’s dad throws sex parties up there,” Shannon chimed in from behind Marcus.

“And there you have it: Lacey turned slut,” Palmer said, pulling the grenade pin.

Shouted agreements and disagreements rang around the room.

“I wouldn’t say I’m shocked,” Rosita said.

“Margo, Austin is available!” Greta screamed. Then, she immediately bumped into a curio cabinet. That caused it to shake a bit.

“Margo? Austin is mine!” Joyelle screamed. For some reason, the drunk cheerleader slapped Tandy in the face.

“Ain’t your sister friends with Lana?” Heath asked Max.

“Maybe Max knows Lacey is a slut 'cause his sister is one,” Toby speculated with his dumb chuckle.

“Oh, hell, no,” Marcus said, surging forward into the crowd as Max connected his fist to Toby’s face.

Xavier immediately threw a forearm into Heath’s face while Oscar threw a club punch at him over the two beefy guys’ backs.

Pushing and shoving filled the room.

“I think Kieran had the right idea earlier. Let’s leave, too,” Palmer told Bobby. They quickly slinked out of the house.

At that moment, the curio cabinet fell over, shattering several panes of glass. It nearly missed a dodging Tandy.

“Omigawd!”

”Kip’s dead!”

---

Note: There have been some changes on Chyoa over the last couple of days. New categories or just new names for categories. Also, certain words have been removed. From what I understand, most of those words will appear if you're logged in. But if you are unregistered, then the words might be missing. I don't know the whole word list, but I know that rough and **** are two of them. The problem is that they are also removed inside of other words. So Through becomes Th, and Drapes or Scrape turns into just a few letters. I don't know if this will be fixed or not. The best way to read the chapters is to be registered and logged in.