Chapter 7 –Riled Up

I twist my body as I squeeze between the crowd in the mall, grinning from ear to ear. "Man, I can't believe my baby brother is going to the prom tonight," I laugh, looking at Zack walking beside me. "I'm so glad you changed your mind."

His eyes dart around the people, smiling in that adorably awkward way he does. "Yes, well, if I'd known it was going to be this exciting I'd have never refused to go."

For a moment, what he said flies over my head. But then it clicks. "Wait, what? What do you mean? Why's it going to be so exciting?" I pull his arm as I stop so he stops with me, and I stare him down.

He shrugs, avoiding my gaze. "I just didn't think it through properly."

"Zack."

He attempts to casually brush a strand of hair out of his eyebrow. "Well, I mean, I don't want you to get angry, or think any less of him, because, you know, he really is-ʺ

"Jesus, kid, what has Brad done?" I groan.

"He and his brother were expelled," Zack rushes out.

My jaw clenches. "Why?"

"They were fighting at the school play."

"When?"

"After Molecule Monday."

"God damnit, Zack, are you shitting me?" I exclaim.

Just when I was starting to let myself think nicely of the guy, he reaffirms my suspicions that he's a bad influence on my brother and a dickhead.

"You don't understand, Sam. Brad's brother is a dick to him!" Zack retorts. "Although, I think they've made up now since they're coming together to the prom."

I sigh. "And I take it the prom will be exciting because Brad and his brother aren't allowed to go?"

Zack smiles uncomfortably, but I can see the genuine delight in his eyes. He's finally getting to live like a cool kid.

The reluctant smile that breaks across my face catches him off guard. "I'm glad you're having fun, Zack."

He nods, turning to resume our walk. "Me too." He looks at me suddenly, startled. "I'm also glad you're so happy with your new job!"

I grin, throwing an arm over his shoulders to hug him to me briefly. "You and me both." I let go of him, knowing he's not too keen on physical affection, and take a deep breath. "Right, let's find you a suit."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When the knock sounds at the door, I smile to myself and move over to the bottom of the staircase, not wanting to miss Zack. I hear his footsteps hurrying around upstairs before he appears and shuffles down, his face slowly turning red. I examine the grey suit jacket and trousers, the kid-on shirt, and the top hat, wishing our parents could have been decent people so they could have enjoyed this moment as much as I am.

"Zack, you look amazing," I grin, wiping imaginary dirt off his shoulders. "Do you have a date?"

"Um, no, no date," he stutters.

I squint my eyes at him, but I don't want to be too nosey this time. "Fair enough." He seems to relax at that, and I reach out to squeeze his hand. "I'm really proud of you Zack," I tell him. "You grew up into someone even better than I hoped you'd be."

He smiles at me, and squeezes me back. "I should get going," he says.

I step aside as he moves to open the door, revealing Brad dressed in a white suite with a black bow tie. He somehow manages to look classy and ridiculous at the same time.

"Hey, man," Brad says, "You ready?"

"Yeah," Zack grins.

"Cool, uh, why don't you hop in? I'll be with you in a sec," he says, slapping my brother's shoulder as Zack slips past him.

"Have fun," I call to Zack, "And remember if things go tits up, just call me."

"He'll be fine, don't worry," Brad says, smiling awkwardly.

"Well, yeah, it's only prom," I retort. I look past him as Zack sends me a final wave before slipping into the- "Jesus Christ, did you really need a white limo?" I laugh.

Brad grins. "Gotta make an impression, right?"

"Yeah, like the one you made at the school play?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest as I lean against the doorway.

"Shit," he breathes, looking at his feet. "Zack told you, huh?" I smirk when he meets my eyes again. "I was going through some shit, I lost my cool."

I nodded, trying to hide my amusement at the thought of Brad fighting in that jumper Zack made him for his presentation.

"So, uh, how's your new job?" Brad asks, seemingly genuine.

I can't help the grin that spreads across my face. "I have my own parking space," I gush involuntarily.

He chuckles. "That's awesome."

"Right?"

He smiles at me, taking his time to hold my gaze. "I'm glad you're happy."

I nod, thinking about how easy our conversation seems in comparison to the last few weeks. I really am happy now. But the guy's still Zack's age and hiding something and it still manages to flip my mood. "Yeah," I reply distractedly.

Brad frowns, apparently sensing my change in mood, and takes a step forward. "Listen, Sam, I don't know what's gonna happen after tonight, so I'm just gonna tell you what I've wanted to tell you from fucking day one." I stare up at him, anticipation crawling up my spine. I've been waiting for this moment since Zack first ever told me about Brad, and I'm dying to know what he thought was so important to hide from everyone for so long. "Sam, I'm not really-ʺ

It takes me a moment to realise the sound that cut him off was my phone ringing in my pocket. Apologising quickly, I take it out, deflating at the caller ID. "Shit, Brad, I'm sorry, it's my boss. I have to take this."

He smiles, but it's not genuine. "Yeah sure, it doesn't matter."

"Have a good night, okay? I'll see you later."

As I close the door, I see the regret on his face, the sadness, and I wonder what the hell he was going to tell me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Come on, Sam, please drive faster!" Zack exclaims, leaning forward in the passenger seat as if it'll get him there quicker.

"You told me there was a fucking explosion, Zack, I'm not exactly desperate to get you there!" I retort, straining to keep my wits about me as I push the speed limit through the streets.

"The police will already be there by now, it'll be fine! Besides, I know you want to know Brad's okay just as much as we do."

I glance in the rear-view mirror at the two other boys sitting in the back of my car, leaning forward to get a better view out of the windscreen. I sneak a glance at my little brother too, who seems to perhaps know more than he lets on. "I just don't want you to get hurt," I reply lamely.

Suddenly we turn a corner and the boys behind me start shouting over the top of each other. Zack slaps the dashboard in front of him repeatedly, grinning like a moron. "Oh my god, oh my god, look how awesome that looks!" he laughs.

I pull over at the sidewalk behind a police car and can barely open my mouth before the boys tumble out and start running. All I can see are police cars, ambulances, fire engines, and the flames burning in the background. I slowly get out of the car, my mind numb for a fraction of a second before charging a mile a minute trying to figure out how Brad is connected to all of this. It smells like smoke and blood, and the road is littered with debris and police markers. I'm completely out of my depth here and it's making me really uncomfortable.

My feet eventually bring me into a line of vision where I can see my little brother and his friends crowded around Brad, who's sitting on the bonnet of a car, wearing a white tank top with his suit pants, and a bloodied bandage around his shoulder and upper arm. He looks happier than I've ever seen him, laughing with his friends while cradling his injured arm, supposedly recounting these so-called "awesome" events, and I feel like I'm looking at a stranger.

I don't really want to engage with him at the moment, but I've found myself standing next to Zack, staring at Brad. He locks eyes with me and the laughter slips from his face. One of the boys says something, and Brad clears his throat before replying. "Yeah, I bet the captain will be impressed with your skills."

"What do you mean?" I ask, almost too afraid to speak. I glance between Zack and Brad until finally the latter answers me.

"They were a lot of help in this case," he explains quietly.

"Go wait in the car," I say, turning my head towards Zack but not looking away from Brad.

"Sam-ʺ Zack tries.

"Go!"

The boys shuffle off as Brad slowly slides off the bonnet of the car to stand with me. I stare up at him, not even sure which of the emotions swirling around in my mind to focus on.

"Listen, Sam, I'm sorry, but the guys were-ʺ

"Who are you?" I settle on. My fists are clenched at my sides, my fingernails digging into my palms, and anger burns in my chest.

Brad stares at me, his eyebrows turned up in a picture of sadness. But does he really feel that way? "My name's Greg Jenko," he says, "I'm a cop in an undercover unit specialising in infiltrating high schools. My partner and I were assigned to Zack's school to break down a drug ring."

I feel like the ground's just been ripped out from under me. I knew Brad- or, I guess, Greg, was hiding something from us all, but I'd never imagine it to be something this big, and dangerous.

"I can't believe you," I mutter, glaring at him.

"Sam, I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you everything but-ʺ

I slap away the hand that he tried to reach out to me. "Shut the fuck up, I don't care," I lie. "I meant I can't believe you dragged my innocent little brother and his friends into this shit! Zack has a bright future ahead of him and he's the only thing I have in this world and you could have got him fucking killed!"

"You don't understand how much they helped the investigation," Greg insists, "How much they helped me. Those guys are fucking awesome, okay? I love those guys."

"There are burned corpses getting loaded into those ambulances and you want to defend your decision to drag my brother into this? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"They were never going to get hurt, I wasn't going to let that happen!"

"Oh, please, you can't even protect yourself never mind three untrained teenagers!" I shout, punching his wound impulsively.

Greg holds in a yell of pain as he doubles over, holding his shoulder tightly. "Fuck!" he coughs.

"Uh, I just want to step in here and say that he only got shot because he was protecting me," a small fat guy says from beside us.

Scowling briefly at him, I turn back to Greg. "Well, at least I know I can trust my gut," I shrug, my lip curling angrily. "It was right when it told me you were an asshole."

I turn my back on him and start walking back to my car, to the disappointment on my brother's face, and I tell myself that in a couple of months, this will be but a distant memory, and by that time it won't hurt so much.