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"You can't blame gravity for falling in love."— Albert Einstein
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Chapter 41
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"Raven!" I exclaimed.

She looked back at me, her shoulders raising then dropping as if she were doing something normal. "Hush, before someone hears us!" As if she didn't just break a window.

"Who cares if someone hears us? We're going to jail, anyway!" I shout-whispered.

"Hand me the spray paint," she requested, hand out.

I shook my head, my hair slapping me in the face. "No, hell no, I won't have any part in this, Raven!"

"Whose car is this?!" I yelled, at the same time her bat smashed along the drivers door.

I scooted back as she walked next to me, her hands releasing the bat. "Levi's, duh." I gulped as she grabbed the spray can from the trunk.

"But...why?!" I shouted, before I cursed at how loud I was being.

My heart pumped harder as she opened the car door.

She looked back at me, her crazed eyes visible through the night. "Have you ever heard of that song 'I'm Gonna Show You Crazy' because I guess that describes why I'm doing this."

I glared at her, my feet stomping against the pavement like a toddler. "Are you serious? Raven, this isn't some freaking Bebe song, or some book! This is reality, and reality means jail time!"

For a minute, I thought she listened. I thought that my words sort of clicked through her head, but then I remembered...

It was Raven.

"I'm willing to take those chances," she chuckled, running a hand through her wild hair.

"Raven...Raven, no!" I shouted as she grabbed her bat, again.

"Come on! One window, live a little," she pleaded, placing the bat in my hands.

I shook my head as hard as I could. "I've already done enough living in my seventeen years! And, it's kept me alive, and out of jail, so I don't—we don't need this." I tried to pass the baseball bat back into her hands.

She transferred it back into mine, her eyes searching my face for any breaking point. "You see that car over there?" She pointed to the sleek red sports car. I nodded, I wasn't blind.

"It's her car!" she threw at me, resembling a wild animal. "It's Natasha's fucking car!"

I glanced at the car again, my eyes wide in shock. Suddenly, I connected the dots.

"Levi, and Natasha...they're—" I began before I realized it.

Her head bobbed. "See! Now, I'm going to beat the shit out of her car, before I get to her. You can either stand there, or you can help," she paused to point at Natasha's car. "But, helping's a whole of a lot more fun."

Adrenaline? Drunk? Drugs, maybe.

At my frozen statue, Raven sighed. "Don't you think it's time for people like her to pay? People like them that think they run the school? Our lives!" I refrained myself from mentioning that she had been that way before we met, but I bit my tongue.

"I don't know," I trailed off, wrapping my arms around myself in self-comfort.

"Just one streak of paint, Kimberly! C'mon," she pleaded.

I chewed on my lip as I thought over the possibilities. Damn it, I had tried to be brave, but this was not brave. This was just reckless, and insane...

I shook up the spray paint, my best friend's smile growing as she realized my intentions. With a heart beating fast, and shaky fingers, I sprayed the beaten car door.

"Fuck yeah!" Raven screamed, before I shushed her. "Let's do this shit."

I couldn't understand how Levi or Natasha hadn't heard anything, yet. The only thought I could think of was that they were either busy in bed, or they were just deaf. The first assumption sounded quite correct, though.

Raven swung her hair over her shoulder, a smile of the devil stretching ear from ear. "Okay, you keep fucking up his car, and I'll go hit Natasha's." She rounded Levi's beaten up vehicle, making her way to the other car.

"You have no one else to blame except yourself if you get arrested," I scolded myself under my breath.

I was too focused on the words Raven had already sprayed on the car. My head raised as I saw her pick up the bat, again. I cringed as I knew what would come next.

"Oh, they are going to regret—"

The door to the hotel opened, our confidence fleeing. "What the fuck?!"

Shit.

I knew right then and there, that jail time was coming. I would have to await trial, I would be in prison before my eighteenth birthday even came. And, if my dad and Ryland were mad already...they'd be shitting buckets when they found out about this. How could I be so stupid?

The spray can fell from my hands, as did my heart. Raven's bat fell, her body straightening as she saw Levi.

I hadn't known Levi for a long period of time, but in the short time I had, he was sweet. He never snapped other than that night at the fight; he never acted like his friends Kade or Luke. But, right now, you would have trouble discriminating his features from the devils.

His normal soft green eyes seemed darker than ever. At his sides, his fists were clenched so tightly, they were pale, though the rest of him was red with rage.

Then, his eyes went to his car.

I scooted back as he ran to his damaged car. When his eyes raised, his words were full of venom and rage.

"What in the fuck did you do to my car?!" he shouted, marching his way over to her.

I didn't think he would hit her, actually I knew he wouldn't. But, by the visible anger, the possibilities seemed endless.

"You deserved it," she responded, a manic-like smile on her face.

Note to self: never go anywhere with a drunk Raven. 

His eyes widened. "What the fuck are you—"

"Oh, don't act like you don't have your little whore in there!" Raven shouted, her hands pushing on Levi's chest.

I had no idea where this girl grew the balls to do this, when he was already out for blood. But, I guessed alcohol had a strong control over her. One that could get her killed one day if she wasn't careful.

"What the hell are you even talking—" Levi couldn't finish his words as his anger took over. "You're...fuck!"

Levi tangled his hand in his hair, his rageful eyes scanning over the totaled car. I gulped as his raging eyes fell to me.

"How in the hell could you let her do this to my car?!" he yelled at me.

"It's just a car, man," I heard from behind me. "Quit being a pussy about it."

Him.

I turned, and placed the disembodied voice with a face. The face that I had learned to hate, then love, then hate oncemore.

I gulped down my confidence as he stepped out of the hotel. I wanted to scurry back into Raven's car, and leave this place altogether once his eyes found mine.

His chuckle was audible. Levi turned around, his eyes wide at his friend's light-heart of the situation.

"How is this funny, man? She ruined my fucking car, a car that I paid for," he shouted, the redness rushing to his face.

"Get Natasha to buy you a new one," Raven spat at him, marching back to me.

Levi wasn't finished, though. As Raven strutted away, Levi's long legs brought him closer to her, his hand grabbing at hers in a tight grip.

Her other hand shoved at his chest. "Don't touch me!" she screamed, the drunken state visible.

"I don't know where you think you're going," he growled at her. "We're not finished, not one fucking bit."

Then, Ravens' eyes went to Kade. They widened, before she shoved Levi with all of her might.

"Levi, she's—" I began, before I felt the warmth of Kade's presence close behind me.

I swallowed, turning toward him.

"Stay out of it," he said to me. "It's their business, not ours."

Ours.

I shook my head, nodding toward her. "But, she's my friend, and I can't let him—"

Kade shook his head in return. "He won't hurt her. Or, you. Trust me on that."

I nodded my head before he spoke again, "What are you doing here with her, anyway?"

"She's my best friend," I responded, my eyebrow raising.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay? That still doesn't mean you had to come here, and destroy his shit, too. If she jumps off of a cliff with a ticking bomb on her back, you gonna do that, too?"

"If the countdown time is long enough, probably," I chuckled under my breath at my own response.

When I saw he wasn't laughing with me, I swallowed past the lump in my throat to ask, "What are you doing here with him?"

"Levi, are you okay—oh shit, what happened to your car?!" everyone's head turned at the sight of a girl, who looked slightly older than us. But, she wasn't Natasha.

Raven gasped at the girl. "You guys are disgusting!" she exclaimed.

It didn't take rocket science to see Levi's frustration. "What in the...what the fuck are you even talking about?!"

Raven threw her arms in the air, turning her back to us. She turned back around, her eyebrow raised with her accusations.

Her eyes narrowed in on him in a glare, shoving a finger into his chest. "Come on, Levi! It's pretty obvious that you all had a threesome! Not that I even need to mention the obvious!"

Kade's chuckle was deep as he watched this all unfold. I blushed once I felt him step even closer to my back; his presence was too close.

"A threesome?" Levi exclaimed.

At Raven's deadly glare, it was his turn to laugh. It wasn't joyous.

"Of course, of fucking course you think that shit," he mumbled. "You really are crazy."

'Trigger pulled' I thought.

I didn't expect Raven to grow physical. I was wrong.

I jumped as the sound of fist colliding with skin sounded out. Raven was a small girl, but her punches were apparently in close proximity of a mans.

"You're the crazy one!" she yelled.

"Okay, you need to chill," the girl stepped in.

Raven's anger bounced off of her expression. "And, you need to stay the fuck out of it, you used up, cum dispenser, early 2000s defected Barbie." Her eyes raked over either man before finally landing back to the girl. "What? Did you take them up both holes, or did you—"

"Okay, that is enough!" Levi shouted, rubbing at his jaw. "This is fucking ridiculous!"

"Oh, oh." Raven laughed before continuing her rant, "So, now you're defending your...your little whore!"

"She's my sister, Raven!"

Oh. Shit.

Now, that I looked closer, I could see the similarities. Fuck. I could notice the wheels turning in Raven's head as she processed the new information.

Her expression fell. "So you, and her didn't...wait." She chuckled, scratching her head.

"What the—" Levi massaged at his temples, before he released a puff of air. "You know what? That's it."

"And," Levi paused, reaching inside the hole of his hoodie. "I had her friend make this bracelet for you because I know it's your favorite crest. I was going to try, and apologize to you with it. That's one of the reasons why I was here. Not that it fucking matters anymore." With a raging expression, he thrust a jewelry box in her hand. "Three thousand fucking dollars, and you go and fuck my car."

Raven glanced down at the jewelry box, then up to him, her eyes widened with shock. "Levi—"

His sister rolled her eyes at Raven, then clapped Levi's shoulder. "Well, good luck with that, little brother. Tell mom I said hello." With a lasting chuckle, she left to her untouched car.

Levi watched as his sister left the situation before turning back to Raven. His nostrils glared. "I should be calling the fucking cops on you right now, Raven."

Raven's discomfort was now obvious. I loved her, but we both knew that this was her own fault. She chose to come here. And, you drove her. I scolded myself.

Raven's widened eyes were now directed at me. "Kimberly, lets go," she rushed out as if the damage wasn't already done.

Levi scoffed. "Fuck no, you're coming with me. I'm sick of this bullshit from you," his tone was demanding, and it reminded me of the man standing behind me.

Speaking of Kade.

My clammy hands rubbed over the material of my jeans. "What are you doing here...with them?"

"Levi and I were supposed to go..." Kade cleared his throat, his eyes raising to Levi. "Places after he was done catching up with his sister. She got back from rehab a couple days ago, and like Levi said, he was here to pick up Raven's gift, too."

"Kade, take her home," Levi spat out, his angry eyes raking over me.

I removed myself from the icy stare, before Kades' eyes caught mine, once again. I averted my gaze to my friend. "I—no."

Levi clenched his jaw, the tick noticeable in the moonlight. "Unless you want to witness a fucking mess, then I suggest you leave with him."  

In my hesitation, I looked to Raven. I didn't want to leave her with him, or anyone in this angry state.

I shrunk back as Levi ripped his glare away from Raven's frozen statue, and marched his way over to me.

I jumped as I felt the skin connect with my arm. Before I knew it, I was looking past Kade's big shoulder. His long arm was against my stomach, pushing me away from Levi. His body was the only barrier between the raging man, and myself.

Kade held eye contact with Levi, his eyes a daring challenge as his friend continued to glare at me. But, he made no move past Kade to reach me.

"I don't give a fuck about your temper tantrum," Kade said to him in a deceptively calm voice. "But, you better back the fuck up in the next couple of seconds."

Levi continued to glower at him, his fists continuing to tighten and release as he huffed. His anger jumped back to me.

Kade gently pushed his hand against my stomach to urge me behind him. "This shit is between you, and your girl. Don't bring mine into it, because if you involve her, then you already know you involve me." He flicked hits head back at me, letting his eyes remain on his friend. "So, you can try to take a shot at her if you want, but I promise you, that'll be the last one you ever take."

Levi obviously didn't like his friend's attitude. His fists seemed to tighten. His eyes were now fixed on Kade's face, their height and muscle in close comparison.

"You already fucking involved her," Levi spat.

Those words were full of a subliminal message. I had trouble understanding the truth behind it, but I knew it was something that involved me. It couldn't be good. It never was.

Kade waited until Levi had spun on his heel and made his way back to Raven. "Let's go," he said, words quick.

"I can just..." I attempted to create an excuse so that I wouldn't have to go with him.

"You could just get in the car," Kade muttered under his breath.

I looked back to Raven, whose face was red with either anger, or embarrassment. Though, embarrassed did fit the puzzle.

With only the sounds of the night to aid us, we got into his car. The leather of the seat was cold against my arms, a shiver skipping past my lips.

As Kade shut the door behind him, I felt the intensity settle in. I avoided any type of contact with him, my eyes forced on the window.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" I mumbled as the sight of her and Levi began to disappear along with the hotel.

I could see his nod from the corner of my eye. "Levi's harmless."

"With her, anyway," he mumbled, loud enough for both of us to hear.

The conversation fell back into silence. I bit my tongue as I attempted to talk, before I figured quiet was the best. Before long, we were closer to my home then I wanted to be.

"Kimberly," he broke past the silence.

I looked at him.

"You still haven't given me an answer," his eyes were forward, though his words came barreling into me at full speed.

"Well, you still haven't given me time," I looked at him. "You can't possibly think that a couple of weeks apart can magically fix things."

"Besides..." my fingers tightened around the seatbelt as I nodded at him. "Why are you so suddenly different after everything you admitted to me?"

His lip cushioned the other, his tongue swiping across the pink flesh. I watched the motion carefully, my mouth drying at the sight.

"You wouldn't understand," he said.

"Then, help me understand," I urged.

His lips pursed, his sigh quiet. We pulled into my driveway, though I still stared at the side of his jaw as if it held all of the answers.

I shook my head at his silence. I wasn't going to allow this to be one sided again, and I knew that communication was the weakest link between us. 

"Thanks for the ride, I guess," I muttered as I reached for the door knob.

I shut the door behind me, my vision blurry. I put one step in front of the other as I quickly made my way to my door.

"I—can you sneak out tomorrow night?" I heard from behind me.

My lips parted, releasing a small sigh. Slowly, I turned toward him with a shrug of my shoulders. Somehow, he'd gotten out of the car and approached me.

"I'll be here by eight tomorrow night," Kade's brown eyes roamed over me, before they found mine. "Be ready."

My head titled. "Where are we going?"

I didn't receive an answer. Instead, I received a small smirk of his lip.

I would be lying if I said I didn't feel my heart jolt. I couldn't help the small ounce of excitement inside of me.

"Kade," I sighed, my arms crossed over my chest. "You have school."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like I haven't skipped before."

I titled my head. "You're not even telling me where we're going," I retorted.

"I'm not telling you—" he began before I interrupted.

"We can be friends, again," I said, chuckling afterwards.

His jaw dropped slightly at my words. I smiled at his reaction, before I turned and walked away.