Page 46 of Pride High 2: Orange

“No! It isn’t funny. You need to stop freaking out all the time! I don’t get it.”

“What?”

“Why you’re always so pissed off!”

“Maybe I don’twantyou to get it,” Diego said, poking him in the chest.

Ricky refused to be provoked. Diego could start shoving him around or whatever else he wanted. As long as Ricky got his answer. “Why?” he insisted. “What’s going on?”

“Shut up,” Diego grumbled.

“No! Until you tell me, I’m going to keep asking questions. And youknowhow annoying I can get.”

“Fine.”

“Fine what?”

“I’ll show you!” Diego shouted before he took a deep breath. “After school.”

“Okay.” Ricky fought against a smile, feeling it wouldn’t be appropriate. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Diego said, turning around to grab a shirt from his locker. “It really was good.”

“My article?” Ricky asked in disbelief. “You read it?”

“Of course.”

Diego unzipped his backpack and pulled out a copy of the newspaper. Ricky could already see the front page title, all in bold:Suicide: A Permanent Mistake. He was proud of how provocative the headline was, feeling it would attract the most attention and—hopefully—help the most people. Even though Mr. Finnegan had needed to fight to keep it. Principal Preckwinkle had “reservations” about the title apparently.

“C’mon,” Diego said, tilting his head at the door before lumbering toward it. “We’re going to be late to class. And that’s not worth getting in trouble over.”

Ricky stared a moment. Then he followed along after him, wanting the school day to hurry up and end. Even more so than usual.

CHAPTER 11

December 8th, 1992

Diego Gomez leaned against his car and asked himself for the millionth time what the hell he was doing. He didn’t let anyone get close. Not anymore. He might be stupid, but he was smarter than that. And yet there was something about Ricky that had gotten under his skin. Almost from day one. Diego usually despised how happy some people looked. The optimism on their faces especially, like they really thought the world was a hunky dory sunshine-filled place that would grant all their naïve wishes. And freshmen were the worst. If junior high didn’t make people wake the hell up and smell the coffee burned to the bottom of the pot, then he figured they had it coming. That’s why he was going to get into his car, right fucking now, and drive somewhere. Anywhere!

Are you okay?

He sighed, his anger receding. Ricky asked too many questions in general, but that one… He’d first uttered the words after a shitty week that had ended in Diego running from the cops. He rubbed his wrists, the bruises long-since faded despite the freshness of the memory. Especially the way those words had cut through his defenses, making him feel vulnerable.

Are you okay?

Of all the things that Ricky could have said to him after the hell Diego had put him through. Oh sure, people had asked him that before, but when they did, they usually only wanted to know what was wrong with him. Ricky had sounded like he actually cared. Back then and earlier today. So he’d get the answer he craved, and when he did, that should be the end of it. Nobody wanted to deal with someone like him. Not for long.

The thought made Diego sad, an emotion he never had much use for, so he focused instead on a couple of kids walking across the school parking lot who were all bright-faced grins as they chatted about cartoons or puppies or something stupid. He glowered at them until they noticed and hurried along.

“Hi!”

Diego took a deep breath before he turned his head toward the sound of that voice. Then he did his absolute best not to laugh, because Ricky was literally waving at him while wearing a big dopey grin. And somehow it didn’t infuriate him like it did with others. Not anymore.

“Hey,” Diego said when Ricky trotted closer. He pushed off his car and gestured to it. “Get in.”

Ricky scurried around to the passenger side. “How’s it going, Frankenstein?” he asked, before pinching his nose and responding with, “I’m rather nervous about our next destination.”

“We’ve gotta come up with a better voice for him,” Diego said as they got inside. “Frankenstein would sound way cooler than KITT.”