Colby

A surge of excitement courses through my veins as Ari's truck chews through the gravel at the end of my driveway.

It's eleven o'clock on the dot.

I stand on the front porch, palms sweating, pulse hammering. It's been an awfully long time since I did anything crazy with Wyatt and his boys. Honestly, it's been a long time since I've done anything crazy, period. When I used to hang with Wyatt and his crew, we would find trouble rather regularly, and it almost always ended with somebody being dragged away by an angry adult for one reason or another.

While I hope we don't find any significant trouble tonight, I wouldn't mind a little. The thought of it is kind of exhilarating. At least that's what I'll keep telling myself as I stand here attempting to keep my nerves from getting the best of me.

Two Ari wannabes hang out of the truck, whistling and hollering. I'm lucky my daddy isn't home yet, and my mama... well, she won't hear anything. As Ari slams the brakes, one of the wannabes nearly topples from the window, having lost his balance, only to be dragged back into his seat by an irritated Nash sitting shotgun.

"Your chariot, madam," says the one who didn't nearly plunge to his demise. He cracks the door open, extending a hand in my direction, when Mari smacks the sophomore in the back of the head.

"She's sitting in the back with me, pervert," Mari says, glaring at him. "Don't think I didn't hear what you said about her when you found out she was coming, and if you ever try to touch my butt again I'll kill you."

His eyes dart toward her warily, and then he wisely moves out of her way as she exits from the center seat in the back of the cab. The sophomore closes the door then, folding his arms over his chest and sulking over the tongue lashing.

Wyatt hops down from the bed of the truck, a grin spreading widely across his handsome face. He's dressed entirely in black like everyone else, but attempting to tear my eyes away from him feels like one of the greatest challenges of my life.

"Damn, Colby," Mari smirks. "You make one fine lookin' ninja." She throws an arm over my shoulder, squeezing me into a half hug as she walks me toward our getaway car. "You can sit in the bed of the truck with me and Wyatt, and the rest of these idiots," she says, indicating a handful of freshmen and sophomores seated along the walls.

She places her hands on top of the side of the pickup, using the tire as a step and hopping into the back. Taking a seat on the spare tire, she casually leans against the rear window.

"Sounds good, Mar," I reply, smiling as Wyatt approaches me.

My heart thuds violently in my chest when he plants himself in front of me, backing me into the side of the rumbling vehicle. His features shift, becoming more serious. He traps me against the cool metal, a hand placed on either side of my shoulders.

An audible gulp rolls down my throat, and his mouth twitches into a smirk.

"You realize the importance of this mission, correct?" He cocks his head to the side, and I roll my eyes.

"Dodge, everybody knows." I run my finger down the hard plane of his chest and his body stiffens with my touch. "Don't mess it up." I wink, patting him on the arm, and he takes a step away from me, shaking his head as he grins from ear to ear.

That smile...

I leap toward him, swiping the black knit hat from his head. "Just a little pregame practice," I say, placing the stolen cap on my head and tugging it into place.

Wyatt chuckles as he reaches toward me, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"They'll never see you coming," he says.

He places his hands firmly on my waist and hoists me up, seating me on the edge of the truck. I swing my legs over the side, taking extra care to avoid kicking any of the warm bodies in their path. I take a seat near Mari, while Wyatt launches himself into the back with us, settling himself next to me.

"Let the thievery commence!" Ari shouts from the driver's seat as we begin the trek to our target. The window separating us from the boys up front is open, and I peek in to find five guys sardined together.

Nash is seated in front next to Ari, and they sound like a couple of high-strung parents. The three underclassmen in the back snicker and bounce with nervous energy. It's like family amusement park day and they're trying to keep their kids in line, laying out the ground rules.

"You don't move—you don't even breathe unless we say so," Ari orders. "Got it?"

His minions nod in unison.

"What if we get caught?" one says apprehensively.

The car skids to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road. Lucky for us, there doesn't seem to be anyone else out at the moment.

"You can walk," Ari says tersely.

"I...what do you mean, walk?"

"Out of my truck, Andy," Ari demands. "Should only be about a thirty-minute walk from here. Even shorter if you run. Pansies will not be tolerated tonight."

Andy obediently removes himself from the truck, head hanging in shame.

"Better start running!" Nash shouts out the window.

Andy doesn't skip a beat, taking off like a shot down the shoulder of the two-lane highway. I find myself impressed by his commitment.

"Serves him right for copping a feel on my sister," Ari mumbles. "Either of you other assholes scared to get caught? If so, you better move along now while I'm already stopped." Ari pauses, awaiting their answers.

"Well?" His eyes dart back and forth between the two sophomores. "CJ? Juan? You scared?"

They shake their heads.

"You're so intimidating, Ari," Mari grumbles, oozing sarcasm. "How 'bout we get going now that we know how tough you are."

"Pedal to the metal, douchebag. We don't have all night," Wyatt says, hammering a fist against the window. He's buzzing with pent-up energy, his heel bouncing up and down erratically.

I tuck my knees up underneath my chin, wrapping my arms around them. The weather has still been nice enough, but here in the back with the wind hitting me from all angles, a shiver shudders through my body.

Wyatt notices my efforts to shield myself from the chill of the crisp night air and wraps his arm tightly around my shoulders. He pulls me in, cradling my body against him.

The warmth of his embrace is almost enough to make me forget that we're not alone, until I catch Mari's eyes on us. She's wearing a satisfied smirk, and I realize that maybe others still hope there's a future for us, too.

We arrive, pulling up a block away from South High and concealing the truck behind an abandoned grocery store. Once we've all exited the vehicle, the boys quickly devise a game plan which has us splitting into two groups once we've made it through the gate to the courtyard. This way, one group can act as a distraction while the other snatches the flag.

Our stealthy crew of black-clad trespassers cautiously makes its way up to the gate. The layout of South's courtyard works to our benefit. Their flag is at the opposite end of the large area, putting a decent amount of distance between us and anyone they may have on guard. They'd have a hard time seeing us from there.

CJ and Ari are at the gate attempting to manipulate the lock while the rest of us remain concealed, our backs against the high brick walls enclosing our objective.

Ari grows impatient and pushes CJ out of his way, quickly picking the lock open.

"My mama likes you better than me," Nash whispers to Ari. "Wonder what she'd think if she knew you were a burglar in your spare time."

Wyatt chuckles, moving behind me and pulling me against him. I get lost in the feeling of his strong arms enveloping me.

"You ready, B?" he says quietly into my ear, his breath tickling my skin. "It's time to activate badass mode...You've got this."

"Colby's a badass?" Juan hisses, stifling a laugh. "No offense or anything, but she seems more like a rainbows and butterflies type of girl."

"Then you've never seen her in action," Ari says grinning, playfully shoving my shoulder. "Just 'cause she's hot doesn't mean she can't put your sorry ass to shame."

"He's right," Nash says, and I'm reminded of old times. Really good times.

"As long as I've known her, she's been the fearless one," Nash continues, smiling in my direction. "So even if she does like butterflies, I'd bet they'd be hardcore. Butterflies with bandanas."

"Butterflies with...bandanas?" Mari giggles. "Oh, Papi, sometimes you need to know when it's time to shut up. Or maybe I should do it for you," she adds, kissing him.

"Gah!" Ari seethes. "I knew I shouldn't have let you come. We're in the middle of a mission, and you're kissing?"

"Oh, shove it, hermano," Mari snaps.

"Guys," says a quiet voice from behind us. I turn to see a worn out Andy, who's managed to make it here on foot. He's breathing heavily, but he made it.

"Finally," Ari says, huffing. "You're on their team," he adds, pointing in my direction.

Our team consists of Wyatt, Nash, Mari, me, CJ, and now Andy. We huddle briefly, finalizing our strategy. We've been tasked with retrieval of the flag, the other team taking on diversion.

I can do this.

We creep silently across the lawn toward the flagpole, where we find four sleeping JV players.

Some defense strategy.

We hover along the wall, waiting for Team Distraction to kick in. Directly across from us in the shadows, we hear something fall, making one of the South defenders stir.

This wasn't part of the strategy. Where are they?

The JV kid's head shifts, looking from one side to the other.

I know we're in trouble if he alerts the other three, so I decide it's time to take some action, Team Distraction participation or not.

I guess it's time to don my bandana and be the badass butterfly I was born to be.