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the porch off the kitchen, where a number of students were
hanging out, and she wasn't there either. Turning to head
back into the house, he bumped into Bryce, knocking him off
balance. "Whoops, sorry, didn't see you there."
Bryce placed his hand on the wall to balance himself. "No
problem."
"The play was awesome. It's definitely the best one yet."
Bryce smiled. "It was fun. I have to give the credit to Beck
for helping me pull off this role though. I never would have
been able to do it without her." Bryce shivered and started to
rub his arms. "It's kind of cold out here. Want to head back
inside?" Derek followed Bryce back into the house and into
the living room where the bulk of students were located. The
heat from their dancing bodies made the room comfortably
warm.
Derek looked over to where Scott and the rest of the team
were standing and saw that they were still engrossed in
conversation. Scott turned, catching Derek's eye for an
extended second, then smiled and turned back to the
conversation he was having. "So you and Beck spent a lot of
time together rehearsing. She said that you are about as
serious about acting as she is."
Bryce rolled his eyes. "I think so, but there's an intensity
about Beck that I don't think anyone could rival. Don't get me
wrong. I worship her. She is amazing. But she kind of scares
me sometimes too. Do you know that she made me watch
both versions of the Hairspray movie? The John Waters
version with Ricki Lake and the one that just came out with
Nikki Blonsky."
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Derek laughed, "I'm surprised she didn't make you go to
New York with her to watch the Broadway musical as well."
"Oh, she tried. She even said that if I didn't go, and then
fucked up, she would take my nuts, put them in a blender,
and feed them back to me in a cup." Bryce shuddered
remembering the threat.
Derek laughed and patted Bryce on the shoulder. "You
should feel complimented. You aren't a true friend of Beck's
unless she's threatened some horrific violence against your
balls." Derek looked around the living room. "Speaking of
Beck, have you seen her?"
Bryce looked as if he had been caught with his hand in the
cookie jar. "She told me not to tell you."
Derek looked at Bryce with a combination of confusion and
irritation. "Bryce. Where's Beck?"
"She said that she'd ."
"BRYCE! Where's Beck."
"She ran outside to get sick." Derek took a menacing step
towards him and Bryce backed away instinctively.
"How did she get sick already? We just got here."
Bryce lowered his head. "A few of us made her do some
shots of vodka and maybe a few other liquors."
"You didn't. Bryce. Didn't you know that "
"That she can't do shots. No. I had no idea."
"How many shots did she do?"
Bryce started scratching his head as he reviewed the
shots. "I made her do a vodka shot. George made her do one
of gin. Then Malinda made her do one of peppermint
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schnapps. That's when she grabbed her mouth and ran
outside."
"Jesus Bryce. Were you guys trying to kill her? Did she do
them all in a row?"
"Yeah. But she should have told us if she couldn't handle
it."
Derek shook his head. "We're talking about Beck. Do you
really think she would ever admit to any flaw or weakness?
You could have offered her liquefied shit and she would have
drunk it just to prove a point."
Bryce trembled at the thought. "You're her best friend,
right?"
"Yeah. But what has that got to do with anything?"
Bryce shuffled his feet. "It's just that Beck is the only other
person who makes statements that are that disgusting
without a second thought." When he looked up to face Derek,
he had a slight smile on his face and his head was tilted to
the side. His eyes were peering directly at him.
A wave of annoyance passed over Derek. Beck was getting
sick and, no matter how proud she was, she needed someone
with her. "Look, if Beck is getting sick, we need to help her
out. Where is she?"
Bryce's entire posture shifted instantly in response to
Derek's clipped tone. "I have no idea. I saw her run out the
back door."
Derek shook his head. "Come on. Grab some water and a
paper towel. We're going to make sure she's ok." Bryce did as
instructed and the two of them headed into the back yard.
"I saw her head off in the direction of the cars."
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Derek headed towards the cars. Near the end of the
driveway, Derek heard what he had been listening for. Beck
was retching just a few feet away. "Beck. Beck! Where are
you?"
"Go away. I don't want anyone to see me like this." Beck's
voice was raspy and hoarse.
Derek worked his way around the car where Beck's voice [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]