"Hey, what's your problem right now?" Brandon caught up with Ryan as the two, along with Sean, got out of the jeep.

"Nothing." Ryan rolled her eyes.

"Then why'd you completely storm out of the kitchen and ignore me the whole ride over here?" he pointed out, walking close by her as Sean took the lead.

"Don't know. Guess I just didn't want to listen to you be a gross flirt any longer then what I had to." she said back with an eye roll.

"I wasn't flirting, I was messing with her." Brandon defended himself, trying to get Ryan to look his way. "Are you seriously mad?"

"I'm not mad." she argued, walking before him some more to take the lead. A few skate boys were inside the Grotto as they walked in. "Hey, come here to me."

The three boys walked over. Brandon nodded. "Any of skate bitches know who Lance Broadly is?"

"Yeah, he's like a wizard or some shit." one of the boys said back with a smile.

"Ooh, a wizard." Brandon rocked on his heels.

"He is, man." another boy agreed. "He can get you anything you want. Any girls, any drugs, any gun, anything."

Ryan's eyes fell on two people with mask near the left corner, elbowing Brandon as he followed her gaze, his hand locked in hers. "Do you know where we can find him?"

"Yeah, i'll show you." the boy nodded, walking off. Ryan looked back to the masked duo, going to let go of Brandon's hand before he tightened his palm around it.

After arriving at the location the skate boys sent them to, they ran into Trevor and Rowan. "What are you doing here?"

"Some skate bitches told us that Lance Broadly works here." Brandon answered as they looked around at the room filled with dead animals all over the walls.

"What, stuffing dead animals?" Trevor looked around in disbelief.

"Did you expect any different?" Ryan asked, soaking wet from the rain as water puddles formed at her feet.

"Ah, shit just keeps getting weirder." Sean agreed.

"Okay, well, Trevor decoder a message from Mr.Empty on the missing connections site, asking Zoe to meet him here." Rowan looked at the trio. "So, obviously Mr. Empty doesn't know that Zoe's dead."

"So both of our searches led us here." Brandon confirmed, Ryan whipped her face and saw the mascara smudge on her hand. A slight fear went over her as she hoped lacking mascara wasn't a massive face transformation.

"Which means Mr.Empty and Lance Broadly are the same person." Rowan exhaled.

"So, Mr.Empty, AKA Lance Broadly, was Zoe's boyfriend?" Trevor gave a questionable look.

"Maybe he was Dunbar's friend, too." Brandon pointed out.

"It clearly had to connect somehow." Ryan agreed with the pair. "Why else would he do this?"

"Okay, um, what was the last time any of you guys went to camp?" Rowan looked at the four. "Ryan, did you-"

"No, I didn't go to the same camp they did." she shook her head, rubbing her cold arms.

"Two summers ago. I didn't go this last summer. Ryan brought me on her paid cruise." Brandon explained.

"I didn't go either." Sean shook his head.

"I did." Trevor spoke up.

"Was Dunbar there? Who was he hanging out with?" Rowan questioned quickly.

"Mostly just by himself." Trevor answered with a minor shrug. "Or with Hawk a little bit."

"Hawk?" she shot back.

"Yeah, Hawk hung out with Alison, and Alison was at the bonfire." Sean agreed, his wet curls hung in his face.

"Ali was at camp this summer." Trevor pointed out. "I mean, she's friends with Zoe. They went to school together."

"Okay, well, this all keeps coming back to camp somehow, so did something happen at camp?" Rowan questioned, mainly looking at Trevor for an explanation.

"There was some drama with Zoe and some of the older guys." he shook his head slightly. "The counselors. I think she was mad that this guy David didn't like her, so she started a rumor that he did something to her. I don't know."

Rowan's phone chimed, pulling it from her pocket quickly. "It's Elisia. I-I gotta go."

"Look who decided to show up." Brandon spoke as Ryan walked toward his car, insisting she did so instead of having them pick her up. "With a mango and another baby watermelon."

"Sorry i'm late." she hoped into the back, passing one to either of them. "Long conversation with my mom about why I shouldn't keep spending my time with a bunch of guys. So, I didn't think it was smart to have you pick me up."

"This is exactly why you should just let us meet your mom." Brandon hummed as he looked back at her. "Trevor and I can put on our best acts and everything."

"Absolutely not." Ryan shook her head.

He looked toward Trevor, his burger only a few bites in. "Dude, you gonna finish that?"

"Go for it." Trevor encouraged as Brandon took it from his lap.

"I've never seen you turn down a burger before." Brandon hummed, taking a bite as Trevor started to flick his lighter. Ryan gave an odd look from the back when he didn't say anything. "Hey, you know it's Monday right? School and..."

Trevor exhaled. "Screw that."

"Okay." Brandon hummed, looking back. "Your excuse?"

"I'm only taking two classes and they don't start until one." Ryan shrugged, pointing to her head. "Early graduate."

"Right, you have a valid excuse." Brandon agreed, looking to Trevor again. "And when was they last time that you showered?"

"Yesterday." Trevor grinned, looking his way. "With your mom."

"Oh, okay, that's where she's been for the past ten years." Brandon confirmed with a nod of his head. "Hope she was good to you."

"Oh, she was the best." Trevor agreed, looking over with a cheeky grin. Ryan leaned forward, sniffling Trevor. "Oh my god."

"You don't smell like a mom." she confirmed, nuzzling her nose into his neck as he strained his neck at the ticklish feeling. "Just your body wash that you don't let me steal from you anymore."

"Yeah, because you drown yourself in it." be shoved her head back, Ryan infront of his face now. "You done?"

"No." she grabbed his face with a quick kiss to the forehead. "Now, i'm done."

"I'm feeling very left out." Brandon announced. Ryan turned, kissing his check. "Oh, thank you. Trev?"

He huffed, leaning over with a kiss to the cheek as Brandon hummed. "No longer left out."

His phone chimed, getting their attention. Looking down, a message from king_cobra came through. stop looking for lance.

"Maybe you should stop." Trevor pointed out as the car was silent for a second.

Brandon looked over. "Oh, you worried about me, T?"

He shook his head. "No."

Ryan exhaled, leaning on the back seat. She picked at her fingers, a few curls hanging down at the way her head was tilted. Trevor cleared his throat. "Hey, do you guys ever think about that night?"

Ryan's heart jumped, her body felt like Trevor had reached back and set her on fire with his lighter. She looked up. "The one I don't remember?"

"Yeah, that one." he hummed.

"Kinda hard to think about it when I don't remember." Ryan lied as Trevor frowned slightly, waiting for Brandon to go on.

"I mean, it's sort of hazy." he laughed slightly.

"Yeah." he looked away with a nod. "Yeah. No, I know what you mean. I barley remember it."

"Well, yeah, that's the tequilas fault." Brandon nodded, glancing back at Ryan, but like Trevor, she hadn't been looking at him. "Hense why Ryan doesn't remember a thing."

She looked up, meeting his eye as her chest heaved slightly. She looked to her right, Trevor glancing back at her as him and Brandon caught eyes again. The blue eyes boy hummed. "Do you think about it? Like, late at night in bed or, like, in the morning in the shower. Just like, Ry and Brandonnnn!!"

"Oh, my God, shut up." Trevor yanked his lighter from his hands. "It wasn't all that."

"Ouch." Ryan spoke up from the back. "It wasn't all that?"

"No, he wasn't." he shook his head.

"Screw you." Brandon laughed, looking over as Trevor took a long sip of a bottle of tequila. "Dude, I know it's five o'clock somewhere, but really?"

"Dude." Trevor huffed as Brandon took it from him, screwing the top of better and stuffing it in his door.

"He's just trying to recall our night, B." Ryan spoke up from the back, Trevor tossing his mango back to hit her in the face. "Ow!"

Brandon's phone chimed again. "Another missed connections post from Mr.Empty. You ready to crack another code?"

•

kylie speaks

straight up just chunked a
mango at her face with zero
hesitation