Outer Masks: Chapter 12: Awkward

Peach moaned as the sunlight from the window finally reached the bed, hitting her in the face and pulling her from slumber. 

She moaned even louder when she realized just how much her skull was pounding, the sensation growing worse when she foolishly decided to open her eyes, squeezing them shut almost immediately after. 

My head is fucking killing me. How much did I drink last night? Peach thought. 

She tried to go back to sleep but was unable to when she finally registered the ground shaking, wall thumping music coming from the floors below her. 

Is Max and the rest of these people even human? How are they partying so damn early? Reluctantly, Peach slowly sat up, her movements doing nothing to stop the pulse that raced through her head. 

This isn’t my room.  Peach looked around before finding her phone, two bottles of water, a fast-food bag, and a folded piece of paper with her name on it on the nightstand next to the bed. 

Looking at her phone first, Peach saw that it was past twelve and that she had a few missed calls and texts from her friends wondering where she was. She decided to wait before responding to any and picked up the note, unfolding and reading it. 

Peach,   

If you’re reading this then you have woken up and are probably cursing both your hangover and the loud music coming from the party. No, Max did not wake up and resume partying, the party just never stopped and has been going for over 24hrs straight, welcome to what Max calls normal. I’m sure you can now see why it bothers me so much.  

Anyway, I’m not sure if you remember but you came to me last night and refused to leave when I tried to take you to your room, so I let you sleep here last night. And don’t worry, I won’t tease you over how much of a happy drunk you are, well, at least not a lot.  

I didn’t want to wake you, so I decided to let you sleep, and I got you some water and some of the greasiest food around. Yes, I know that you like to say that you don’t eat this processed unhealthy shit, but greasy food works wonders on hangovers and we both know that you are a liar when you say that you don’t like a good burger.  

-Rory  

PS I also thought I should let you know that you snore when you sleep and it's adorable.  

Peach slowly blinked as she reread the note, imagining how Rory must have looked when she wrote it. But as she thought about Rory, memories of the night started to slowly return to her, causing a feeling of dread to fill her stomach. 

I tried to sleep with Rory, and I told her that I liked her.  The only thing that kept her from truly freaking out was that she remembered Rory halting her advances and not believing her when she confessed her feelings. 

But this did not change the fact that this was her worst nightmare, not knowing how she would be able to face Rory now without being reminded of the things she said. 

I am never drinking again! Peach crumpled the note in her hand and threw the covers over her head, falling onto her back and burying her face in the pillows. 

~X~

Rory sat on the railing, overlooking the people having the best time below her, sighing as she tried to sort through the jumbled mess that was her thoughts. 

Despite what she thought last night, Rory was not as confident as she was before that Peach would not remember everything. She was not afraid to admit that she was avoiding Peach, and that she was doing a bad job of it as she did not even try to leave the house that they were both currently in. 

Why am I so worried? I know that Peach doesn’t have any feelings for me, she didn’t mean anything she told me last night, she was wasted. I shouldn’t be afraid of seeing her and it's not like I can avoid her forever. Rory thought, kicking her legs back and forth. 

But Rory knew that she was truly afraid of Peach confirming her beliefs, of telling her that everything she said and the way she acted was just because of the alcohol. Because it would finally end any delusions that Rory held that she and Peach could become more than just friends. 

Rory was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the roof door open behind her, seeing her brother standing there when she turned around. “You know, I thought I was seeing things when I went on the beach and saw you sitting all the way up here, so I guess it was good to know that my eyes work properly.” 

“I guess.” Rory muttered as she turned back around. 

“You look like a kicked puppy,” Joe said as he now stood next to his sister, “What’s wrong? Why are you brooding up here by yourself?” 

Rory looked at her brother for a moment before sighing, “Have you ever had someone tell you something weird while they were drunk?” 

Joe looked at Rory questioningly, “I mean, Beck once told me that she could fly, but I get the feeling that’s not what you meant.” 

“No.” Rory chuckled sadly, “What they told me was something that I really, really wanted to hear from them, but I’m sure that they didn’t mean it, because they were drunk.” 

“Then what seems to be the problem? The fact that they don’t remember telling you?” 

“It's them remembering that scares me.” Rory muttered. 

Joe could see that he was missing a lot of context and greater detail, but Rory did not seem keen on explaining her situation further. 

“So, you’re worried that if they do remember what they said, then they’ll come to you and tell you that they didn’t mean any of it, and thus validating what you already knew to be true?” 

Rory nodded her head, looking away from her brother and staring at the ocean. “So, you can see my I don’t know what to do.” 

“But sitting up here, hiding from your problems isn't going to help.” 

Rory glared at Joe, “Then what should I do?” 

Joe pursed his lips, “It’s not going to be the end of the world if they tell you what they said isn't the truth, is it?” 

“No.” Rory murmured, “But it’s going to suck.” 

And probably break my heart. Rory thought. 

Joe stared at Rory, “Was it Peach? Is she the one you’re talking about?” 

Rory was unable to stop herself from flinching when her brother said Peach’s name, and Joe noticed the reaction, a feeling of dread emerging from within. 

What the hell? What did Peach-No, no way, that’s not possible. Joe thought, “Rory, do you have feelings for Peach Salinger?” 

Rory’s silence was itself an answer and Joe felt a mixture of disgust, fear, and anger as he figured out just what Peach could have told Rory while under the influence. 

I don’t know what’s worse; Peach being in love with Beck or with my sister. “You have feelings for Peach?” 

Rory refused to make eye contact with Joe, but she nodded her head in response to Joe’s question, not seeing the point of denying what they both knew to be true. 

And this just got worse. “I... Peach Salinger? Of all the women in the world, Peach? You've met her, right?” 

“Fuck off, Joe.” Rory spat, “You don’t know her like I do. I know she can be mean and sometimes a total bitch, but she’s really not like that. She’s soft and caring, and she gets me, a lot better than most people do.” 

I know exactly what she’s like, and she’s tricked you into thinking that she’s different. I knew you two becoming friends was bad, Peach is trying to do to you what she failed to do with Beck; force her psychotic, obsessive, and twisted version of love onto someone and never let them go. Wait, is that it? Did Peach finally realize that Beck will never love her and that I’m not going anywhere and decided to cut her losses and put her efforts into Rory? Peach isn’t an idiot; she must have noticed Rory’s feelings and is now using her.  

Is she trying to make Beck jealous? Is she trying to piss me off? Maybe it’s both and she’s using this as an opportunity to drive me and Beck away from each other! I bet Peach wasn’t even drunk and this is just a way of messing with Rory’s head.  

“And don’t you remember the fight between Beck and Peach in Greenwich? How do you know that this isn’t just some ploy by Peach to get my girlfriend’s attention?” 

Rory scowled at Joe, “Peach wouldn’t do that to me, she isn’t the kind of person.” 

Joe scoffed, “Rory, are you really going to pretend not to see it? Peach loves Beck! She is obsessed with her! She admitted to you that she had been trying to break Beck and I up, what makes you think that she isn’t using you as a way to make Beck jealous? How else can you explain why you two became such fast friends?” 

“I fucking done with this shit.” Rory said, swinging her legs around and hopping off of the railing, trying to walk away. 

Despite this Joe pressed on, “Rory, you know that I’m right, that’s why you’re so afraid of confronting Peach, you know that she’ll just confirm the truth.” 

Rory did not look back at her brother as she tried to leave, but she immediately stopped in her tracks when she heard the next thing Joe said. 

“If Peach really was the type of person you’re trying to delude yourself into thinking she is, then why haven’t you told her about being intersex? Because you know that she won’t want to be around, let alone associated with a-” 

“Shut up! Shut the fuck up!” Rory screamed as she turned around, “Just shut up, okay! You made your point; Peach would never want to be with a worthless freak like me! I’ve always known that no one would ever want to be with me, and I know that Peach loves Beck, I know. So, you can stop beating over the head with it, I’ve never been able to forget how abnormal I am.” 

Joe looked ashamed, “Rory, I wasn’t trying to-” 

“Just leave me alone, Joe.” Rory said as she quickly left the roof, wanting to be as far away from her brother as possible. 

Joe threw his head back once he was alone, the guilt beginning to eat at him. He had not meant to belittle his sister, but he just felt all of the emotions that he had been shoving deep inside, coming out and he took it out on her without meaning to. 

Walter and Amber, Candance, Beck, and now Peach and Rory, it was all just too much for Joe. 

What am I going to do? Joe thought, losing track of just how many times he had asked himself that question in the last few weeks. 

~X~

Rory had felt completely drained as she forced herself through the crowded beach house and was feeling worse than when she first went to the roof. 

She was angry with Joe, and she could not believe that he would speak to her like that, but that did not stop Joe’s words from hurting, as his words were those that she had throughout most of her life. 

Rory had experienced how people would treat her once they learned about her condition, either disgusted or viewing her as a strange anomaly to be gawked at. 

Peach would never want someone like me. I don't know why I was stupid enough to think I could’ve had a chance. Rory thought dejectedly. 

She honestly could not wait for Max to do his stupid video so she could leave and go back to her apartment and finally be alone. 

Rory found an empty corner and leaned her back against the wall. She considered breaking her self-imposed promise and grabbing herself a beer to drown her emotions with alcohol, but did not have a chance as someone grabbed her hand, pulling off the wall and dragging her through the crowded hallway. 

“What the fuck? Peach?” Rory yelled when she saw who was pulling her. 

Either Peach did not hear her, or she was ignoring Rory as she did not respond, continuing to lead her through the crowd. But Rory could feel Peach’s hold on her wrist tightening. 

Peach eventually led them outside, only stopping once they reached a somewhat secluded part of the property. 

“Um, is there a reason you dragged me out here?” Rory asked once Peach let go of her wrist. 

Peach turned around, looking at Rory, her face expressionless. “I remember what I did last night.” 

Rory felt her stomach drop and her mouth felt dry. “You do?” 

“I do.” Peach said, looking at the ground, “And I'm sorry that I tried to… sleep with you.” 

Rory felt herself blush, remembering how Peach looked at felt when Peach pushed her onto her bed and straddled her. “You don't have to apologize, I liked it- wait! I don’t mean  I liked it, just that you don't have to say you’re sorry because I know you were drunk. And I don't want you to feel bad because I should’ve taken you to your room instead of taking you to mine because you were crying, and I couldn’t resist your puppy eyes. Not that it was your fault! It was just-" 

Peach cut off Rory’s rambling by bursting out in laughter, amused by how absurd she found this whole situation. 

Rory scratched the back of her neck as she looked away from the other woman, “Sorry.” 

Peach shook her head, her laughter trailing off as she smiled softly at the taller woman. 

Rory tilted her head to the side as she gazed at Peach again, not understanding the soft expression that Peach was giving her. 

What is happening? Rory thought, “Was that all you wanted to talk about?” 

Peach’s smile fell from her lips, and she crossed her arms, looking away again, “I also remember what I said to you after that.” 

Rory froze when Peach said this, staring at the other woman anxiously, waiting for what she knew would be a swift rejection. 

Peach sighed, “Rory, I-” 

Rory wanted to listen to what Peach was going to say but noticed something strange from the corner of her eye. “What the hell?” 

Peach scrunched her face at Rory exclamation, and when she turned her head in the direction that Rory was looking at, she understood why Rory reacted the way she did. 

Against the side of the house, Peach as her best friend making out with a tall, shirtless blond man. 

Beck did not notice them in return, too busy trying the swallow the man who was holding her up alive, as if she was a dehydrated woman and he was a cold drink of water she found in an endless desert. 

Rory growled and was about to go over to Beck and demand to know what she was doing, but Peach pulled her back with a hand on her shoulder, leading them further away, to where they would not be seen by the pair. 

“You can't go over there.” Peach said. 

Rory knocked Peach's hand away as she glared at her. “And why not? She's fucking cheating on my brother!” 

Because you look like you’re going to beat Beck's teeth in. “Calm down, we don't know the whole story.” 

“Don't know the whole story? That's bullshit. There's no good reason that she should be kissing anyone who isn't my brother.” 

“Maybe Beck and Joe broke up.” 

Rory scoffed, “I just saw Joe and didn’t look like someone who just broke up with his girlfriend.” 

Peach sighed, “Rory, you can't go over there-” 

“Why are you defending her?” Rory asked, “What’s she’s doing to Joe is fucked up. There’s nothing she could say that could excuse this.” 

“I’m not, but Rory, this isn't your relationship! If Beck wants to make out with a Ken doll, then let her and Joe deal with it.” 

Rory scowled, “So I should just stand back and not do anything?” 

“You should.” Peach said plainly. 

Rory then laughed bitterly, “Or maybe you just want to protect you precious Beckalicious from the consequences of her actions.” 

Peach glared at Rory, “The fuck did you just say to me?” 

Rory shrugged flippantly, “You heard me.” 

“So that’s it, huh?” Peach spat, “You’re so jealous that you decided to act like a petty little bitch?” 

Rory tensed, “I’m not jealous.” 

“Really? Because you’re acting really upset that I don't want my ‘precious Beckalicious,’ to get hurt. Does it bother you, Hayden? That I-” 

“That you what? Have been in love with a girl who doesn't want you and that you lie to yourself about loving because you don't want anyone to know you’re gay? Well, newsflash, Salinger, everyone knows! You’re not very subtle and it's sad to watch!” 

Peach’s eyes widened, and she stared at Rory in shock. But just as quickly, Peach's expression changed to one of intense rage. 

Oh no… Rory licked her lips nervously, “Peach, I-” 

Peach did not give the other woman time to apologize before she pushed past Rory, knocking her shoulder into Rory’s as she stormed away. 

“Peach, wait! I didn’t mean that!” Rory shouted but Peach refused to acknowledge her, continuing her walk back to the beach house. 

“Fucking hell.” Rory muttered, throwing her head back with a tired groan. 

When she looked back at the side of the building, Beck and her hookup were no longer there. Rory does not know if Beck had just decided to leave with the man or if her and Peach’s shouting scared her off, but she was glad they were gone. 

I just want this shitty day to be over already.  

~X~

Hours Later  

Despite her searching, Rory had yet to find Peach, even when most of the house had cleared out for Max’s big finale at the abandoned beach house. 

Did she leave? Rory thought as she reluctantly began walking down the road to join the rest of the party, wanting to get this over with so she could finally go home without having to hear any complaints from Max for the next few weeks. 

When she got there, the old run-down beach house was completely covered in fireworks as the partygoers and cameramen surrounded it. 

That doesn’t look dangerous at all.  

“Rory.” A breathless voice said from behind her, causing Rory to sigh when she turned to look at Joe, and she had to fight the scowl that wanted to emerge when she saw his girlfriend standing next to him. 

“Hey, Rory. I feel like I haven’t seen you all weekend.” Beck had a smile on her face as she greeted Rory, and this only served to anger Rory further. 

“Oh, well, I’ve been around. Parties like this aren’t really my thing, but when your friends with Max, you kind of have to suck it up.” Rory said, hiding her true feelings towards the other woman. 

Beck chuckled, “Yeah, I get the feeling. I thought I knew how to have a good time, but Max is on a whole other level.” 

Rory hummed, “You two seemed to be enjoying yourselves.” 

“Is that a bad thing?” 

“No, I’m just surprised you managed to get my broody brother to have fun at a place like this. If Joe had come with me, he would have already left.” 

Beck wrapped her arm around Joe’s, “Well, I guess I just know how to bring out his fun side.” 

“That must be it.” Rory said with a sugary sweet smile, wanting nothing more than to slap Beck. 

Joe smiled at Beck, kissing the side of her head, “Of course you do. And I hate to ask, but could you give me and Rory a minute?” 

Beck looked between the two siblings, “Yeah, sure.” Beck then kissed Joe softly on the mouth and left the two alone, walking towards the crowd. 

Joe took a breath, “Rory, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to suggest that no one would ever want you. That isn’t in any way true, and I was just so angry about everything that happened between me and Beck these last few weeks and I took it out on you.” 

“You were also pretty angry about me having a crush on Peach.” Rory muttered. 

“I’m certainly not... excited  about that.” Joe winced. 

Rory snorted, “You made that more than clear.” 

“I just, you could do so much better. I mean,  Peach Salinger? She’s Satan disguising herself as human-” 

“Enough.” Rory groaned, looking at the man annoyed. 

“Right, right, sorry.” Joe quickly voiced, “You should be able to like whoever you want. And anyone would be lucky to have you, and if they can’t see past your chromosomes and genitals, then fuck them.” 

Rory rolled her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face. “Thanks, but it’s not like it matters anymore. I know that Peach will never see me like that, and even if she did, I’ve ruined any chance I would’ve had.” 

“What do you mean?” Joe asked. 

Rory went on to tell Joe just what she said to Peach that angered the other woman so much that she was now avoiding Rory and refusing to respond to any of her calls or texts. 

It’s not like anything Rory said was wrong.  Joe thought, once again irritated at the thought of Peach. Did she actually think she was being discreet with her obsession with you, Beck? Honestly, it's laughable just how pathetic and thirsty she is.  

But there was one thing that did not make sense to him, “And you just said all of this to her out of nowhere? Unprompted?” 

Rory stopped making eye contact with her brother, her body language becoming guarded and anxious, which only cemented Joe’s suspicions. 

“What did she say? Was it about Beck? Look, we both know that Peach has an obsession-” 

“It’s not about that.” Rory spoke, “I mean, it's kind of about that, but that only stemmed from a bigger problem.” 

Joe raised an eyebrow, “And what bigger problem is that?” 

Rory scratched the back of her head, still not looking at Joe as she muttered to herself, “Maybe Peach is right and that I should mind my own business.” 

Peach being right? Now I have to know what happened. “Rory, just tell me. If it's about me and Beck, then I deserve to know the truth.” 

Rory finally looked Joe in the eyes again and sighed, “When Peach and I were talking, we saw... we saw Beck kissing another guy.” 

What? Joe felt as if his entire world had shattered in the blink of an eye. 

Kissing. Beck kissing another man? Beck? My Beck? No, Beck, you wouldn’t betray me? You would never do that to me. But you also refused to tell me you loved me, Beck. First you don’t say ‘I love you’ back, and now you cheat on me, Beck? Did me saying ‘I love you’ cause you to stray? Were you that repulsed by my love for you, Beck?  

“Joe? Joe? Are you okay?” Rory quickly regretted asking such a stupid question as she looked at Joe’s now blank and far-eyed expression. 

After a few moments, Joe spoke, “Do you know who it was?” 

“Uh, no. I only saw him from the back and the side of his face, and he didn’t look like anyone I recognized. But he was tall, a few inches taller than me, with blond hair, tanned skin and was jacked with a lion tattoo on his left arm.” Rory said, recalling everything she remembered about the mystery man. 

Really, Beck? Why do you always go for the blond rich boys that only want to sleep with you before leaving you behind?  Joe started ingraining the details his sister gave him to memory, knowing that he would be looking for the man once he was away from Rory. 

“Thank you for telling me, Rory.” Joe said to his sister. 

Rory still looked at Joe with worry, “I’m sorry, Joe. I know this is the last thing you wanted to hear after the problems you and Beck have been having.” 

“I'm fine." Joe said, forcing himself to smile, “It’s nothing really.” 

Rory’s expression became pitying, which only made Joe feel worse, “Joe, you don’t have to-” 

“Trust me, Rory,  I’m fine .” Joe stressed. 

“If you say so.” Rory muttered, still not believing him, but deciding not to push him on the matter. 

“I should, I should go talk to Beck.” Joe said, his eyes scanning the crowd in search of said woman. 

Rory let Joe leave without another word, she could not imagine what was going through her brother’s head at that moment. 

And while she felt bad for causing her brother pain, Rory knew that telling Joe the truth was for the best. 

Joe is going to talk to Beck, I should figure out what I’m going to do about Peach.  

Rory wandered around for a bit longer before running into Lynn. 

“Aw, you’re not shirtless anymore. I don’t think I’ve ever been this disappointed in my entire life.” Lynn grinned. 

Rory felt his face get warmer for a few moments, “And I think yesterday will be the last time I’m ever shirtless around you.” 

Lynn laughed, “Rude.” 

Rory’s smile soon fell as she looked at the shorter woman shyly, “Lynn, have you ever had to apologize to Peach?” 

Lynn raised an eyebrow, “I have. Why do you ask?” 

Rory sighed, “I said somethings and now Peach is angry at me.” 

“And what did you say?” 

“Some stuff about her and Beck.” Rory said. 

Lynn winced, understanding what she was implying. “Damn, you really fucked up. I’m surprised you’re even alive right now, you spoke about it.” 

“It?” Rory asked. 

Lynn looked around for moment as if expecting the woman, they were talking about to suddenly appear. “About Peach being in love with Beck. Peach has been in denial about it for years and would destroy anyone who even thinks that she might be bi. Which I guess makes sense with the kind of man her dad is.” 

Barry’s homophobic?  Rory questioned, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. 

If Peach was afraid of upsetting and disappointing her bigoted father, then of course she would hide her sexuality. There was even the possibility that if Barry knew then he could disinherit his daughter or try to force her to conform to what he viewed as normal. 

But this realization only served to make Rory feel even worse than she already did, and this showed on her face. 

“Wow, why does Rory look like she’s going to throw up?” Annika asked as she joined them. 

“Rory mentioned Peach being in love with Beck to her face.” Lynn answered almost immediately. 

Annika winced, “Seriously? How are you not dead yet?” 

“That’s what I said!” 

Rory loudly groaned before the conversation could be derailed, “Can you guys just tell me what I can do to fix things with Peach?” 

Annika and Lynn glanced at each other before looking back at Rory and speaking in unison, “Beg.” 

“Beg?” Rory asked incredulously. 

Lynn nodded, “More than you’ve ever begged in your entire life. And even then, knowing Peach, that might not be enough, but it could save you from retaliation.” 

“Retaliation? What exactly do you think she would do to me?” 

Again, Annika and Lynn glanced at each other before Annika spoke, “She would try to get even, that’s what Peach does when she feels she’s been wronged. But from what I’ve seen, I doubt she would do that to you.” 

Lynn elbowed Annika in the arm, giving the other woman a look that told her to be quiet, as Lynn felt that Annika was close to revealing too much. 

If they know how Peach acts when she’s upset, why are they so confident that Peach wouldn’t do anything to me?  Rory looked between the two women suspiciously, but decided to ignore the behavior, “So that’s it? Just beg until she forgives me?” 

“Pretty much, and you have to beg hard; Peach is not a very forgiving person.” 

“You can say that again.” Rory muttered. 

The conversation about Peach soon ended when the echo of a microphone was heard through the crowd. Max had now climbed to top of a wooden platform that had been placed at the forefront of the crowd and in front of the old house. 

“Haha! How is everybody doing tonight?!” Max screamed, causing the crowd to cheer. “That’s great! As you all know this epic party was building up to the main event, seeing if I can blow this shity building to kingdom come!” 

Once again, a majority of the crowd cheered, the sound growing louder when the cameras would turn in their direction, the cameramen trying to catch everything they could. 

“He really knows how to rile people up.” Annika said aloud. 

“Well, he had to have some skills other than being blond and muscular.” Rory drawled, making Lynn laugh. 

Max then looked into the lens of the closest camera to him, “Yeah, I know that this is the moment everyone here and my loyal thrill seekers at home have been waiting for. To see if a thousand pounds of the world’s strongest fireworks are enough to destroy a beach house and the land surrounding it!” 

“Well, I think I’ve teased you all long enough.” Max’s grin grew as the partygoers cheered again, he then pointed to a counter on the platform with him. “This timer will be set to sixty seconds, and when it reaches zero, boom baby!” 

The digital counter began counting down from sixty, doing well at building up the crowd’s anticipation. And as Rory looked away from the timer, surveying the crowd, she blinked when she found the woman she had spent hours looking for a short distance away. 

Peach was standing removed from the rest of the crowd and towards the path leading towards the Rockefeller beach house, not looking up as she stared at her phone. It made Rory wonder if she had somehow missed Peach when she arrived or if Peach had moved there while Rory was talking to the others. 

Lynn and Annika were focused on the spectacle in front of them, so Rory wordlessly left their side and jogged towards Peach. 

“Hey.” Rory said awkwardly once she reached Peach. 

Peach looked away from her phone, her eyes narrowed when she heard Rory’s voice. “What do you want, Hayden?  

“I wanted to apologize.” Rory replied. 

“Well, I don’t want to hear it.” Peach spat. 

Rory sighed, “Peach-” 

Rory was unable to finish her sentence as she was cut off by a loud explosion. The countdown Max had set had ended and the fireworks had been ignited, and the sky had been painted with wide colors and fire. 

The partygoers were cheering, amazed by the spectacle, but this soon stopped when pieces of the former beach house began to fly in all directions. 

Wood, bricks, tile, concrete, and glass were now raining down on the large crowd of people that were standing close to the blown-up building. Some of the wood had caught fire, adding to the terror filled screams that now filled the night air. 

“Holy shit!” Rory exclaimed. 

Due to where they were standing, Rory and Peach were far enough away to not be caught in the mayhem. 

“Max is fucking idiot.” Peach said, and Rory could not stop herself from agreeing as she watched people running around frantically. 

Most were covered in dust and sand, some having blood dripping from their bodies due to injuries they now had from the falling debris, and a few unlucky ones were on fire, throwing themselves to the ground or running to sea to put themselves out. 

Peach turned her head, watching as Lynn and Annika broke away from the crowd and ran towards her and Rory. The pair were unharmed and, just like Peach and Rory, were clean due to the distance that had been between them and the beach house. “Honestly, why did we fucking come here.” 

“I don’t know, but if I see Max I’m going to twist his balls off. We could have died!” Annika exclaimed. 

“Well, Max definitely proved that he could blow up a beach house with fireworks.” Lynn remarked, staring at the leveled and smoldering heap. 

“What the fuck is wrong with your friend?!” Rory looked to her left and saw Joe and Beck approaching them, the two were covered in gray dust, but were otherwise fine. 

Everything. Rory thought, but did not say aloud, “Are you two okay.”

“We’re fine, we were standing by the edge of the crowd when the house exploded, so we weren’t caught up in it like most people.” Beck answered while trying to rub some of the dirt and dust off her face.

“No thanks to that fucking idiot.” Joe spat, an angry snarl on his face, “Why did we think it was a good idea to come here?”

“You're going to have to ask him some other time.” Rory muttered.

Joe turned to his sister, “What are you talking about?”

Rory nodded her head in the direction of the destroyed house, and when the others turned, they saw that Max was nowhere to be found, no longer standing on the platform. And it became clear that Max had disappeared during the initial uproar while everyone was distracted.

“That fucking bastard.” Joe growled.

Rory found herself agreeing with Joe, while she was generally able to brush away Max’s actions when it came to his channel and how reckless he could be, it was mainly because his stunts only affected himself and a small number of people.

But now, Max could have really hurt her brother and their friends, along with the fact that he did hurt a lot of the people who were here for this stunt but chose to ignore them and save his own skin.

Rory eventually heard police sirens and ambulances moving closer to them in the distance and felt both relieved and even more tired than she had before.