Free Crush by Stefan Petrucha

himself because that just screamed “loser,” and he certainly wasn’t going to sit around the house to see his father’s good mood cross the finish line. He’d walked down to the outdoor mall and browsed through the DVD store for about an hour, checking out the latest titles. He’d checked out the electronics store, comparing the specs on digital cameras, televisions, PlayStations and X Boxes. Things he couldn’t afford—not if he wanted to get out of Warren and away from his parents—but things he definitely wanted.
    Then he found himself outside of Perky’s. The usual high-school crowd was gathered, with the notable exceptions of Emma and Toby Skabich. Ox and Cade were inside, sharing a small round-topped table with a couple of girls Jonathan didn’t recognize.
    Whatever , Jonathan thought. Without Toby, Ox and Cade seemed to have become helpless. They were like a snake without a head.
    He walked into Perky’s and went right up to the counter and ordered himself a mochachino, because he’d always wanted to try one. ( And maybe with the leftover cash I can send flowers to the hospital…for Emma .) The guy behind the counter reminded him of Myrna from Bentley’s Bookstore Café. He spoke slowly, his eyes clouded and distant. Maybe all coffee clerks were a little burned out.
    Jonathan grabbed his drink and turned from the counter to begin the search for a table. It was unlikely. On Fridays, from the moment school let out until the shop closed, the place was slammed. Kids came and went in shifts. A lot of adults, too. But luck was on his side, and he found a small table in the back shoved against the window, across a narrow alley from the men’s room.
    The counter blocked his view of Ox and Cade, which meant it blocked their view of him, and Jonathan was happy as hell about that. He pulled a book from his backpack and opened it on the table.
    He wouldn’t read. The book was a prop. Nothing more. It was weird enough being out on a Friday night. Usually he hung out at David’s, watching direct-to-DVD trashy slasher movies. But David had plans. Jonathan was on his own, but he didn’t want to just sit in Perky’s staring at everyone. So, he pulled out the book.
    He’d picked the paperback based on its lurid cover. Something cheesy, so people wouldn’t tag him as too brainy. He had no idea what the book was about, just one of the dozen remainders he’d bought cheap from the store and brought home. It didn’t matter what it was about, though. It was, after all, just a prop.
    Every time he stopped moving, every time he wasn’t distracted by conversation or motion, he thought about Emma. Or he thought about the murders.
    All week at school, everyone had been in mourning, talking endlessly about how “great” Toby had been. Even the kids he’d picked on joined in the chorus of his coolness. A lot of the kids looked scared, and Jonathan understood that. What he didn’t understand was how so many of Toby’s victims could suddenly act likethey’d lost such a great friend. He felt bad Toby was dead, but he just couldn’t bring himself to join his fan club.
    He took a sip of his drink and was surprised by how sweet it was. It tasted good and all, but he was used to coffee tasting like coffee. He never used sugar, rarely added milk. The taste so surprised him that he swallowed wrong and started coughing, just about the time Ox appeared over the counter.
    Like his name suggested, Ox was huge. His legs were probably bigger around than Jonathan’s waist. He had black hair cut short to his head, and his cheeks were stubbled with a five-o’clock shadow that belonged on a guy twice his age. He was dumb and cocky, a typical combination for a high-school hero, but when he saw Jonathan, he looked surprised, even embarrassed. He nodded quickly as he passed, making his way to the restroom.
    Jonathan didn’t know