Billy wore his thick, black-rimmed glasses, and peered through them nervously at the crowd that had collected in the brand new parking lot. His nose and lip were swollen from the altercation earlier in the evening. He wore a button-up, collared shirt and slacks, though it was sweltering out. Of course, Johnny had his jacket on, but that was all for the intimidation factor. Billy had insisted on coming along, knowing that Johnny was more likely to remain calm if his little brother was with him. Johnny had told him to stay home and had expected Billy to give in to his stern command, but for once Billy had been adamant, knowing that Johnny was set on picking a fight all because of him.
"You lookin' for Roger, Johnny?" someone called out. Johnny didn't bother to answer. They all knew he was. Johnny strolled down the line of cars and stopped in front of Irene Honeycutt's pink ride. Irene didn’t smile, but her girlfriends giggled and elbowed each other. If he wanted to, he could crook his little finger at any one of the twittering females perched on Irene's car and be hot and heavy in five minutes flat. But he wasn't interested in Irene's friends; none of them could hold a candle to Maggie.
Irene looked different. She had always been a beautiful girl, but there was a stiffness and a strain in her eyes that had never been there before. She looked afraid. From what he'd seen, Johnny wasn't so sure the blue-eyed brunette was that into Roger, but who was he to question it? Roger was smart, rich, and popular, and Irene's daddy sure seemed to have plans for him. Johnny had plans for him, too. He was going to beat the hell out of Roger and all his boys and swear that it would be ten times worse the next time anyone messed with Billy Kinross.
"He isn't here, Johnny!" a plump redhead named Paula called out, and Irene leveled a look at her that Johnny couldn't decipher. The redhead squirmed nervously and ducked her head when another girl poked her in the ribs.
Johnny zoned in and moved close to the nervous little carrot-top. Tipping her chin up with a long finger, Johnny spoke loud and clear.
"Then where is he, Pidge?"
Paula stammered a little, and her cheeks flamed as bright as her hair. "I, um, I'm not sure…he just wanted us to tell you he had better things to do…or something…I think. Um…didn't he say that, Irene?"
"Then what are all of you doing here?" Johnny jerked his head, indicating the crowd, his eyes meeting Irene's, demanding an answer.
She didn't respond, but her blue eyes were wide, and the expression on her face had him smelling a rat. The crowd shifted uncomfortably, and someone cleared his throat. A few of the guys that Johnny called friends started asking questions and calling out, and everyone seemed to chime in at once-
"We haven't seen him Johnny...”
"Somebody said they thought he was here!"
"Tommy swears he saw his wheels parked here an hour ago!"
"Go home, Johnny!" someone else called out. "No one wants trash like you or your brother hangin' around here!"
The voice came from back in the crowd and Carter and Jimbo were on it immediately, a scuffle breaking out before Johnny could even see who it was. Like it had been carefully orchestrated, Roger Carlton’s friends were suddenly swarming out of the backs of trucks and cars. Fists were pumping and insults flying as Carter and Jimbo were swallowed up in the fracas. Donnie and Luke were in there somewhere, too. Luke's bright hair and superior height made him visible for a moment before someone pulled him down.
"Hey! Hey!" Johnny shouted out as girls screamed, and a few random horns bellowed as people scrambled to jump into their cars or out of their cars, depending on whether or not they wanted in or out of the trouble that had erupted.
Turning to Billy, Johnny swung his arm out fiercely, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him in close. "Stay in the car, little brother. These guys don't fight fair, and it's gonna get ugly. I can't worry about you getting the crap beat out of you while I'm wailing on Carlton."
"Just let it go, Johnny,” Billy pleaded. "We shouldn't have come here at all. I have the willies about all of this, like cooties marching up my spine or somethin'."
"Just stay out of it, Billy!" Johnny insisted again, releasing Billy’s shirt and shoving his brother back toward his car. "Take my car and head down the road a ways. I'll meet you in an hour at The Malt."
"What if I get caught? You know I ain’t got proof! And what if I wreck your car?"
"You'll be fine! Just go!" Screams and shouts pulled Johnny's attention from his little brother, and he shrugged out of his leather jacket, threw it at Billy, and took off at a run, barely intercepting an attempt to brain Carter with a piece of a two-by-four someone had snagged from the construction debris. Alarm sounds were jangling through Johnny's head as he realized these guys weren't playing around. In his periphery, he noticed cars peeling out as the ladies apparently realized this was not a place they wanted to be. Good. One less thing he had to worry about. And there was plenty to be concerned about because Johnny and his friends were sorely out numbered.
***
Maggie huddled in the front seat of Irene’s car, hiding behind the people that perched and stood around the car, shielding her from anyone looking in, namely anyone who might recognize her.
Her heart had slammed into her chest when she had heard Johnny speak. She tried to imagine him, jeans and boots and slicked back hair, demanding to know where Roger Carlton was. The girls had giggled when he had come close, and she could almost feel their tension as he had tried to coax a little help from the redhead, who had gone on to lie to him. At least she hadn’t sent him into the school. If Maggie could just keep Johnny and Billy out of the school. Then what? She chided herself. She didn’t know what would happen. She might make things worse. And if events didn’t transpire exactly as they had originally, Maggie would never meet Johnny Kinross. He would be lost to her.