Facing The Music

Mike's POV~

I couldn't tell my dad why I did it. He was furious that I'd vandalized a locker, but he'd be ten times angrier if he knew I'd been duped into it. The truth is, I wrote on Edward Cullen's locker on a dare. It was Tyler that put me up to it.

Bella and the Cullens were all absent from school for the second day in a row. Rumor had it that Bella had gone back to Phoenix because Edward had gotten her pregnant, but I didn't believe it. They'd pretty much ignored each other until two weeks ago, and neither of them seemed the impulsive kind. At least, I hoped not. As for the Cullens, somebody said they all had food poisoning, even the doctor.

You'd think that after talking about it between every class and all through lunch for TWO days, Jessica and Lauren would have found something else to gossip about. Anything! I mean, don't girls go on about nail polish and chocolate and being too fat? At least some of the time? But that day, it was all "Cullen this" and "Bella that" until I was ready to puke myself.

And then Tyler met me after gym. We all had lockers in that building, and he stood leaning against the one next to Edward's. When he saw me, he rolled his eyes in camaraderie. "I wish the girls would just shut up already."

"You and me both."

"Then let's distract 'em for a bit." He held up his fist, and I could just see the top part of a fat, black marker. "Swiped it from Mr. Jefferson's white board. I dare you to insult Edward," he said, nodding toward the locker.

I scowled at him, and he grimaced back. "Aw, come on! He's home chucking up his guts right now. They'll wipe it off before he gets back."

"My dad would kill me."

"For a dry-erase marker?" Tyler asked, incredulous.

"It's the businessman in him. He thinks anything that draws negative attention to us is bad for the store." I didn't add that it was stupid to think like that because almost all of our customers were out-of-staters who we'd never see again.

"Who's gonna tell him it was you?" Tyler countered. "No one will ever know."

"Why don't you do it, then?" My dad really would kill me if I got in trouble.

"Because it isn't my girlfriend who's wishing Cullen got her pregnant."

That was a low blow, and the fact that it was true made it all the worse. I snatched the marker from his hand and wrote in big black letters "ED IS GAY." It wasn't until I went to put the cap back on that the smell hit me. This wasn't a dry erase marker. I looked over at Tyler, and he all but fell over laughing. I threw the marker at him, kicked him once on the ankle, and then fled the scene of the crime.

But that was only just the beginning of my troubles.