Souls in Peril (2 page)

“That
’
s mean. Max, how could you?” She actually looked as if she might cry.

Max
jumped up,
darted in front of
her, and
wrapped his arms around her.
“Aw, babe.
Don't be upset. It's just a joke. No harm, no foul.”

“No harm no foul to
you
. What about how they feel? Did you ever stop to think of that?” Emma jerked away from Max as he tried to gather her in his arms again. She stepped back and snapped her arms across her chest.

“Em, we've been teasing those two since we were in third grade and they were in second. It's tradition.” Max had the nerve to grin, a decision he immediately regretted. A storm was a-brewing in Emma's eyes, and the thick fringe of her lashes did little to soften the glare. “Come on, babe. It's all in fun.”

“Only to you.
How do you know she doesn’t go home and cry her eyes out, or that he doesn't go and sit in a dark room regretting having gotten out of bed in the morning?” Em turned and stormed off the field, her pompoms flailing at her side. Max followed.

“You're making a bigger deal out of this than you need to.” Em didn't slow at Max's words, instead increas
ed
her
pace
.
“Em.
Stop.”
He clasped her arm and gently spun her around to face
him. He took the pompoms and dropped them on the ground before taking both of her hands in his.

“I don’t want to fight over those two. They mean nothing to us.” Max watched as her eyes grew wide and added, “Personally, I mean. As human beings they are very important to . . . someone, I'm sure.”

She stomped her blue and gold cheer shoes. “That is so mean. Those two have mothers who love them, just like you and I. I'm sure they have friends, too, who care about them.”

Max didn't dare point out that in the ten plus years since he'd known them, never once had he seen either of them talking to anyone besides each other. “Probably,” he said
wisely, not wanting to argue with her about the two losers.

“Probably?
You don't think the
y have any other friends
?” The anger in her pretty eyes had vanished and compassion now took its place.
Em’s loving
heart amazed
Max. It reminded him of his mother
,
and he concluded it must be a female thing.

“I don't know, Em.” He scooped up her pompoms, glad the fight was over. He tucked them under his arm and took her hand, leading her to his truck. “I've never paid much attention to them
,
really. They may have friends, but I doubt it. Have you ever seen Izzy talking with anyone?”

“Not that I can think of, but you'd know better than me. You've grown up here. This is only my second year in Port Fare. Max, that is so sad.” She shook her head. “I think we should befriend them.
Clearly,
they don't have anyone but each other.”

He
stopped dead
and
turned to Emma, whose face now beamed with excitement. “Think about it, Max.
The captain of the baseball team and the head cheerleader
,
making
friends with Larry and Izzy.
People will follow our lead. They'll befriend them, invite them to parties, maybe we can set them up with dates.
”
Em seemed almost giddy with excitement. Max listened as she began laying out ways to include Izzy in activities with her and her girlfriends.

Max, however, didn’t see it like Emma. He saw things much differently. “Em, those two have no friends for a reason, number one being they smell. Who knows when they bathed last? And then there's the matter of their size. Izzy is anorexic. The girl is purposely starving herself to death just for attention. No one thinks being that skinny looks good.

“And Lumpy Larry,” Max continued, “
is
just plain disgusting. He doesn't have to be that way. He can stop eating junk food and start exercising. That alone would solve half his problems.” Max stepped back a few steps. “Look at this body, Em.” He waved a hand over his muscular frame. “I work hard at it
,
t
wo hours a day. And it's not easy. It takes discipline and sacrifice. I've never even eaten a Twinkie
,
let alone survived on a steady diet of them.”

“How do you know he doesn't have a glandular problem?” Emma pressed.

“Because I've seen the empty junk food wrappers falling out of his pig-sty locker as I've walked by. The guy doesn't have a glandular
problem. H
e has a
lazy butt
problem.”

“And you,
Maximiliano
, have a
heart of stone
problem.” Emma grabbed the blue and gold pompoms from him and stomped off. She wouldn't be eating dinner with him tonight if he didn't think fast. Why did she have to be so sensitive? Girls!

“Babe, wait.” He hustled after her, catching up as she got to her
cherry red Acura. He h
eld the door shut so she couldn't open it. She let out a hard rush of air, keeping her back to him.

“Em, if I'd known my playful little jabs bother
ed
you so
much,
I wouldn't have said anything to
The Ten
.” He weaved his fingers around a lock of her blond hair as he spoke.

“Larry and Izzy, Max. Not
The
Ten
. And you should be apologizing to them, not me.” She spun around
,
bouncing a finger in his chest. “And if you really care about me, you will.”

“I promise. The next time I see them, I will.” He slipped his arms around her waist and tugged
her
close.

“Thank you. Larry is right over there.” Em pointed over Max's shoulder. He twisted to see Larry eating a Snicker's bar while digging through his cyclone of a locker. Max groaned out loud, not his intention.

“I knew it. I knew you wouldn't apologize.” Em wiggled out of Max's arms and ripped open the door of her
car
.

“I'm going right now,” he said, exasperated with the entire conversation. He'd apologize just to end the fight. Arguing over
The
Ten
?
So
not a priority to Max.
He stomped his way across the short space between the row of senior lockers and the parking lot.

Max raced up to Larry
as he
buried
his arm
deep in his locker
, obviously
search
ing
for something in the back.
Probably a Twinkie,
Max thought.
“Hey, Larry.”

Larry didn't
turn,
he just kept digging away at the mound of trash.

“Larry,” Max said a little louder, this time adding a tap to Larry's shoulder. Larry sprung around in surprise. His arms shot up in front of his face as if to block a punch.

Max waved and stepped back
;
the guy smelled awful. “Hi, Larry,” Max reiterated.

“My name is JD. It’s short for Jayden.” JD
pushed
the smudged glasses that had slid down his nose back up to his eyes.

“When did you get glasses, JD?” Max asked.

“In third grade.”
JD's voice came out so soft Max could hardly hear him. Why hadn't he ever noticed JD'S glasses before?

“Oh. Well, Em thinks I hurt your feelings back over by the bleachers
,
and she wanted me to apologize.” Max shook his head and added, “She's probably PMS'ing. Know what I mean?”

A quizzical expression crossed JD’s face
. Clearly he had no idea what Max meant. “Anyway, I tried telling her it was all in fun and you didn't take it seriously, but she insisted.
So, no hard feelings, 'K?”
Max held up his hand and JD awkwardly slapped it.

“Thanks. No one's ever apologized for being mean to me before.” JD smiled.

Max frowned. Maybe Em was right. Maybe
JD
did just need a friend.
He twisted
anxiously,
decid
ing
to follow Em's advice. “So, if you ever want a workout buddy, let me know,” Max offered.

“Really?
That'd be great. I've wanted to get in better shape
.
I just didn't know what to do.” JD jabbed his glasses back up his nose.

“Sure. I go to the gym in town
.
W
e
’ll
go together.
Maybe on Monday, after school?”

“Oh, the gym.”
JD dropped his head a little.
“Maybe.
Gym's make my asthma act up. Thanks anyway.” JD went back to searching his locker as Max nodded and jogged back to Em.

Asthma.
It's just an excuse not to exercise
, Max thought. His best friend Leo had asthma and he worked out regularly. Leo just had to be smart about his routine. He wanted to say
I told you so
to Emma, but
not being a dummy,
he smiled and gave her a bear hug.

“You feel better now, don't you?”
she asked as he set her down.

Actually, h
e did feel better. That surprised him a little. He shrugged the feeling off. “Yes. And I invited him to workout with me sometime.”

“You did? Thank you, Max.” Em planted a big kiss on his lips. “I have the sweetest, kindest boyfriend ever.
Never leave me.”

“
I’
m here for you, Em. A
lways and forever
,” he assured her.

“
And I'm sorry for getting mad at you.”
Before he could apologize, she kissed him again.
My apology can wait
, he thought as he returned her kiss. The kiss sparked a resolve deep within his marrow. Her kisses were like no other and had a be
witching
e
ffect. He'd help Lumpy. F
or more of her kisses, he
’
d carry
the guy
over lava flows
,
whether Lumpy wanted him to or not.

Chapter 2

“Where did I put that stupid pen?” JD wiped the sweat from his brow with one hand while continu
ing
to search in vain for
Tim's
pen. He was his mother's latest boyfriend and the meanest one yet. They'd been together six months and already he had scars to prove it. Being knocked around by his mother's men wasn't new to JD. She liked the
losers
, always had. He'd seen her punched in the gut, tossed across the room, and shoved into a wall more times than he cared to remember. But this one, this Tim, had cruelty down to a science.

JD sank to the ground, fighting tears that fought to break free. He'd pay tonight. There'd be another punishment for losing Tim's pen
.
A
nother over the top beating.
Probably with the extension cord.
Tim loved the extension cord. He
’d
threatened to wrap it around his mother's
neck last week if she didn’t stop coddling
the fat lump
, as Tim liked to call him
. Yup, JD couldn't wait for this one to break his mother's heart and leave. “Better her heart than her head,” JD mumbled to himself.

Across the parking lot, Max and Emma held hands and stared into each other’s eyes. They’d been a couple for almost two years now. JD'd fallen in love with her the first time he saw her. But she could
only
see
Max
—as if JD stood a chance with her anyway. He frowned at his dirty jeans. His new hiding place wasn't exactly the cleanest one he'd ever found.

Max wants to help me work out
.
JD smiled to himself. Never had he imagined Max
Sánchez
would want to be his friend. Max.
One of the popular kids.
He played sports, had all the girls after him, and was voted
most likely to succeed
his junior year. A junior never got that honor
.
I
t had always been reserved for the seniors. Max got it both years.
If only I were that popular.

He felt honored when Max offered to workout with him, and would have done whatever Max wanted. He
’
d have lifted the weights until his arm
s
shook with exhaustion. He'd even take the beating Tim would give him for being late if it meant Max would be his friend. But
n
o way could he afford
to go to
the gym downtown
.