Chapter 43

                                    

                                          
Three Years Earlier 
                          
Freshman year
                          
The week before Homecoming 
                          
"Pass the Miller," Blake Baron demanded. "I believe the winners of the losers should be allowed the last pack."
                          
Kyle Fisher tossed a bottle at his friend. "Fine, you pathetic idiot. But only because the real winners have already drank enough to fill the wall of the liquor store we stole from," he chuckled. 
                          
"My liquor store," Laurel Fletcher hiccuped as she finished off her own bottle. "My dad's going to kill me when he finds the store cleaned out, but the cash register weighing a little on the empty side."
                          
"He'll get over it," Taylor McGee assured her. "Just to tell him raccoons accidentally got in the store."
                          
Laurel sighed at her friend. "That excuse only works so many times."
                          
All eight friends chuckled and clinked together the bottles of their last round of drinks in celebration of another night of rivalry football between Baylor High School and Brentwood High School. Even though Baylor had won, as they always did, none were in bad spirits because once again, they had evaded their peers and managed to slip into another night of happiness despite the strict restrictions currently being beat into them by their upperclassmen. 
                          
GG glanced over at the coast of the lake, whose small lights seemed to be getting farther and farther away, almost disappearing into the thick fog of the night "Your parents are going to be back any minute with the food. What are they going to think when they see us floating right above Davy Jone's storage locker?"
                          
Blake rolled his eyes. "They don't care. The thing they should be worried about is when they realize Jacob isn't with them, and he isn't with us either."
                          
"Where could he be?"
                          
The young quarterback shrugged, unconcerned. "Helping Davy Jones pack for all I care. That little bastard pushed all of our food into the lake, so he deserves to be alone."
                          
Seth Baker stood up and suddenly began beating his chest. "I'm king of the world!" He slurred happily. "Nobody can stop me. Nobody can stop the Baylor Bulldogs! We will rock you, and cock you, and blow you away," he boomed. 
                          
Blake scoffed at his drunken best friend. "Get down before you hurt yourself, Seth."
                          
Seth waved around his bottle, carelessly spilling droplets on Taylor and Adeline. "How would I hurt myself?" He challenged. 
                          
"Well soon enough you're going to break down in tears and beat yourself up when I'm the one that takes the best team to state," Blake shrugged. "And just so we're clear, that best team is the one and only Brentwood Bruins!"
                          
Blake, Seth, Kyle, and Anthony soon fell into a heated argument. Both Blake and Seth were starting quarterbacks for their high school teams, and both were dubbed early rising stars, and predicted to be good enough to lead their teams fearlessly to state. It was a subject both constantly thought about whenever they were together, but tried to divert the conversation for the sake of the dynamics of the group. 
                          
But now, because both were drunk off their asses, the topic could be avoided no longer. 
                          
"Anthony, tell Seth how many touchdowns we've scored in only the three games we've played," Blake demanded. 
                          
"Ten bitch!"
                          
The boys bumped chests. 
                          
Seth scowled. "And how many touchdowns have been scored against you? Ah, yes, twelve. Meanwhile, Baylor is about to set a record for the highest number of shutouts in the first half of the season."