Vampire Weekend T-shirt. Behind him in the garage, the two other guys had water bottles tilted to their mouths.
âI know we suck,â Isaac said in a hushed voice, glancing back at the two players. âYou donât have to pretend.â
âYou only have three guys in your band?â I asked.
He wiped sweat off his forehead with a T-shirt sleeve. âNo. Derek Palmer plays saxophone. But his parents grounded him for a week because he got wasted at Kerry Reacherâs party last Friday and threw up on the living room couch after he got home.â
âNot cool,â I said.
âNot cool. And that kidââ Isaac pointed. âHeâs not the real drummer. He lives across the street. Heâs totally clueless. Jamie Weiner says heâs quitting because weâre hopeless.â
âBad attitude,â I said.
He smiled. âHey, not a bad name for a band.â
I heard a car rumble by and thought it was Nate. âNateâs picking me up for my job interview,â I said, glancing to the street.
âYeah, I know. On Fear Street,â Isaac said. âYouâll see. It looks like a normal street. Normal houses. Normal people. But itâs not normal ⦠not at all.â
âPleaseââ I started, raising a hand to silence him.
âListen to me, Lisa. Thereâs a real curse on the street. Itâs not a joke. Itâs not made up. They teach us about Fear Street and the Fear family in school. Seriously.â
I shook my head. âEvery town has its legends,â I said. âEvery town has its spooky stories. Even Shaker Heights had houses people said were haunted. Andââ
âThere were two families who hated each other,â Isaac continued. âThe Goodes and the Fears. They put curses on each other. They practiced dark magic and sorcery. They teach us all this in history class in sixth grade.â
He placed his hands on my shoulders. âI can see you donât believe me. But there have been horrible murders on Fear Street, Lisa. People with their heads missing and their blood drained andââ
âStop!â I cried. âI really donât believe this horror-movie stuff, Isaac. Stop trying to scare me.â
He held onto my shoulders. To my surprise, his expression changed. His eyes went wide. He pulled me close, lowered his face to mine, and kissed me. It was a fierce, needy kiss. His lips felt dry and rough.
I was so startled, I didnât pull back. I just stood there and let him kiss me. His hold on my shoulders kept me in place. I couldnât breathe.
I was just so surprised.
But then I turned my face away and stumbled out of his grasp. âNo, Isaac,â I managed to choke out. âPlease. You know that Nate and Iââ
I gasped as I realized I was staring at Nate. He stood a few feet down the driveway.
Did he see us kiss?
The red afternoon sun beamed down on him, like catching him in a spotlight of fire. He had the strangest expression on his face, his eyes locked coldly on Isaac.
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14.
âHowâs band practice?â Nate finally said to Isaac.
Isaacâs face was bright red. He shrugged. âYou know.â
I could still feel Isaacâs rough lips on mine.
Nate turned to me. âWeâd better get going.â He turned and strode down the driveway, kicking up gravel as he walked.
âCatch you later,â Isaac said. âIâve got to whip these guys into shape.â He flashed me a strange smile. âGood luck on Fear Street, Lisa.â
I gave him a quick wave, then turned to follow Nate. My mind was spinning. Isaac and Nate had been good friends for a long time. Isaac knew he shouldnât have kissed me.
It wasnât like a friendly kiss, either. It was too intense for that.
I knew Nate had seen us. What was he going to say about it?
Actually, Nate didnât say much as we made our way to Fear Street. He kept his eyes
Tristan Taormino, Constance Penley, Celine Parrenas Shimizu, Mireille Miller-Young