Pretty much everyone at the party had left. Julie was chatting with James, bravely trying to keep her conversation relevant as he talked sports with Brian Hastings. Lee was still caught between Nicki and Cindy, one of whom kept glancing over at Theo and I on the couch with an expression of pure jealousy.

I was nearly sleeping. The music had been turned to some slow love songs, the flashing lights were now, mercifully off and Theo’s arm was around my shoulder, gently letting me rest my head on him.

Half the people were still drinking, but it was probably all room-temperature beer straight from the can.

I sighed. Theo heard me.

“Tired?”

I nodded. “Yes,”

“Should I take you home?”

I smiled…

The noise of talking and music playing, very nearly had us all miss the third sound that suddenly came. Thank god for Lee, because all at once he exclaimed-

“Shit. Sirens-”

I had no idea what that meant, but apparently all teenagers are of one mind so everyone except Theo and I raced to the front window.

Julie’s warning came next.

“It is the police!”

And then everyone was running. Trying to hide beer bottles, empty or not. Lee crashed straight into James in his attempt to retrieve his t-shirt from the downstairs broom closet. I was just kind of stunned.

Police? Do police really show up at people’s houses to break up the remnants of ridiculous teenage parties?

Suddenly, Theo sat up and grabbed my hand. I looked to him for any explanation but he just whispered…

“Ravina, let’s go.”

He pulled me down the back hallway until we reached a door that looked like it went out to James’ backyard.

“Shit!” I heard someone from the living room mutter.

Then everyone was catching up to Theo and I, running to hide by the back door in case we had to escape. I squeezed Theo’s hand and looked around at the six others around us.

The house was eerily silent. Theo’s hand went to rest on the back door handle…

We held our breaths and waited. A second later, a heavy knocking from the front door stunned us back into reality, and before I could tell everyone to just be quiet a little longer, Lee was yanking the back door open and hissing at us-

“Fucking run!”

It’s a mad scramble to get outside, and then we’re all running. Me too.

All of us follow James’ lead as he takes us through the garden, back behind some bushes, down a dirt path and around a big loop until we reach the sidewalk.

We’re down the street now from the front of James’ house and our eyes widen when we see the two police cars sitting outside it, their lights still on.

I looked up at Theo, wishing he’d tell me that this was normal and it was nothing to worry about, but all around us our friends are laughing, panting from running and cursing obscenities to the wind.

We stayed hidden in the shadows of some big trees by a neighbor’s house, watching with curiosity and fear as the officers finally stepped away and got back into their cars.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

I let out a sigh of relief, as does most of our posse, but then I felt Theo’s breath on my cheek as he bent down to whisper something in my ear….

My heart raced.

“What do you mean?” I said.

His hand tightened on mine and I looked closer at the police cars as they started moving. Theo looked back and quickly repeated his message to everyone else.

“They’re coming this way.” He said.

Everyone freaked out again, and with good reason because Theo was right the cars are coming towards us. Fast.

“What do we do?” I heard someone exclaim.

My heart was racing so quickly that it started to feel good, so I did the only thing I could think of.

“Follow me!” I said.

And then I was pulling Theo behind me, everyone else joining us. There was a dark house just to the left of us across the street. No lights on.

Everyone dashes as fast as possible to follow and hide in the shadows alongside it. We’re invisible.

As the police cars drove past, towards the tree we were just under, everyone snickered and laughed because right then we felt on top of the world. And yet…

A porch light suddenly flickered on at the corner of the dark house. Right over us.

My body reacted, and before I could think of what was smart, I started running down the sidewalk.

I think people were following me but I didn’t care anymore. Theo’s hand somehow got detached from mine but I couldn’t worry about that either.

Finally, as I got to the end of the cul de sac, I realized the obvious thing to do.

When I turned around, everyone was still there. They did follow me.

We’re all winded and tired. And scared. But we’re laughing, because the ache in our bodies feels like a battle we’ve won.

“Let’s go to my house,” I told them.

I saw Lee and Brian nod, and Theo grinned at me in the streetlight.

I blushed…

“Lead the way Ravina,” Julie pushed me along.

Our attention got caught once again by the sound of the sirens. They must have turned them back on.

And we’re running again, but now it’s more joking. It was dark down this street. There were two other ways we could have gone and the police wouldn’t have any hope of finding us.

I’m laughing at my own thoughts. How the fuck did this even happen?!

When we finally got to my place, Lee and James collapsed on my lawn. Cindy and Nicky leaned against the side of my house with Brian making fun of their wild, windswept hair.

Julie suddenly hugged me out of nowhere, and I found myself laughing again. She giggled too.

“Thank god for you Ravina.” She gasped for air.

I caught Theo’s eye from a few feet away and he just smiled at me. When Julie released me he stepped closer.

“We should wait here for a few more minutes, then I can go back and get my car to take people home.” He said.

I smiled back, not missing the way Julie ducked away from both of us.

Absently, I went to check my phone. Wow, it’s 3 am. Really hope my family doesn’t wake up and decide to peek outside. That would be hard to explain…

I heard Brian talking to the girls, but Lee’s voice suddenly became the loudest-

“Hey, we should go to The Bridge!” He said.

Everyone looked at him. We all knew what he was talking about.

Anyone who’s lived in Eugene for longer than a year has at one time or another, visited The Bridge.

It was exactly as it sounds. Off in the corner of Emerald Park, arching over the river, people rode their bikes over it all day, couples took walks on it when the sun was setting and most famously, stupid teenagers went there at three am to smoke, get naked and jump into the freezing water.

Surprisingly I’d never participated.

Nicki was all for the idea, no surprise, since it was Lee’s. Cindy and Brian decided to bail, saying they'd head home. We watched them walk off and I suppressed a cheer of victory when I realised Cindy wasn't coming.

“What about you Dobs?” Lee grinned at me. “You and your friend?”

Julie shoots me a look. It was a look that said; Did we just jump at least three social levels? Why are they including us all of a sudden?

I looked back at Theo. Duh. The third musketeer was my fake boyfriend. I get invited to parties now where we run from the cops and make stupid decisions in the name of youth. I think I like it.

“I’m in.” I said.

Julie bit her lip. “I’m gonna go home, Ravina.” She said.

“What, really?”

Julie gave me a quick smile and then started walking toward her house, which was only a street away.

I looked at Theo again. He didn’t even have to say anything. James and Lee were going. I’m going. I winked at him again and he just laughed quietly.

Yes.

Score, Ravina: - Theo: -

(Should I be keeping score?)