"Okay, we've got one shot at this. Quick, in and out, we'll be good." Hawk ran over the plan again, Cora standing between him and Tory. He looked to Kyler. "Know what you gotta do?"

"Hell yeah." Kyler chugged the last of his beer.

Cora took of sip of hers, reaching for the tiny thing of salt in her bag. Tory gave an odd look. "You just carry around salt wherever you go?"

It got to rest of their attention as she started to sprinkle it on the rim. Cora's eyebrows shot up. "How else am I suppose to get the ghost away if they come after me?"

"Why would ghost come after you?" Hawk looked her way.

"Because I like to mock them sometimes." Cora said in return, getting questionable looks. She made a "ooh" ghost noise, waving her hands around.

Hawk tried not to laugh, Tory and Kyler failing. Cora shook her head. "I'm being so serious right now. I don't want to catch a ghost."

Hawk shook his head, putting an arm around her to press her face into his shirt in order to keep her quiet.

"Someone took their sweet ass time." Tory spoke up as Cora pulled away, looking back to see Robby walking their way.

"You invited him?" Hawk looked in minor disbelief.

"I did. Why? You got a problem with that?" she shot back, almost daring him to have a problem with it. Cora reached back to rub Hawks back slightly, in hopes of being a good distraction to the annoyance dancing around his face.

"Here you go, Keene." Kyler passed him a can.

"I'm good." Robby denied the beer with a minor shake of his head.

"What, you can't handle a sip of beer?" Hawk scoffed in disbelief.

"I just don't need to drink to pretend to be cool." Robby said back casually, Cora's eyebrows shot up.

Hawk noticed in jealously. "Yeah, that's funny."

"All right. Let's get going." Tory cut in with a knowing look to the pair. Hawk latched onto Cora's hand tightly, and very obviously, walking through the cut fence while she followed.

"Did you think he was funny?" Hawk looked her way, slightly disbelief.

"What? No. No." Cora said quickly with a shake of her head. "I just didn't expect him to say it."

He didn't seem to believe her, a minor eye roll. He wasn't mad at Cora, he was mad at Robby, only taking it out on her because Tory made him back off Robby. Cora's heart fell, her lips forming into a frown as she followed him behind him through the zoo entrench, toward the back were the destination was.

"Hold this." Hawk placed the bag in Cora's hand when they made it to the snake cages. He pulled a sack from the bag, looking to Kyler. "You got the snake pole?"

Kyler winced. "Ah, shit. Snake pole, right."

"Kyler, that's all we asked you to bring." Cora looked in disbelief.

"I orchestrated this entire plan and you didn't bring the one thing you were in charge of?" Hawk shot back his way in disbelief, pulling his backpack away from Cora to put back on his shoulders.

"I forgot, okay? I've got a lot on my mind right now." Kyler argued, defending himself quickly. "If I don't pass trig this semester, my dads gonna shit in my mouth."

Cora's mouth gapped slightly as she blinked his way in disbelief.

"Just reach in and grab the snake!" Tory whisper-shouted his way.

Hawk gave her a crazy look. "Are you insane? I'm not gonna stick my hand in there."

"He could be nice." Cora leaned down to be on the eye level with the snake. "Hi, little fel-"

It hissed at her, Cora backed up quickly, bumping into Kyler as they both hit the wall, causing a lot noise. "Hey! Who's in there?"

"Look what the two of you did." Hawk looked in disbelief.

"The snake scared me." she shot back with an annoyed look, taking off quickly while the rest followed close behind, following the trail they got here in.

Cora ducked through the fence, backing up as the rest came with her. Hawk hit Kyler in the chest. "What the hell, dumbass?"

"Dude! At least I brought beer." Kyler shot back.

"We failed the mission because of you!" Hawk argued louder his way, Cora looked around to count them.

"We forgot someone in there." she spoke with wide eyes. "We left a soldier behind!"

"I'm here!" Robby called, ducking through the open fence. "And, who says we failed?"

They turned, hearing the hissing sound coming from the sack he carried. Tory looked in disbelief. "No way. You got it? Unreal."

"You put your hand in there?" Cora laughed in disbelief, slapping Robbys shoulders as he beamed widely at all the praise. "Badass, dude!"

Hawk looked in disbelief at her, shaking his head and ignoring the sudden attention put on Robby.

"Hawk." Cora spoke softly when they got back to her house, Christmas Eve suppose to be their night together. He'd been silent the entire way back over, the house was dark, the only light from the stove light and Thors tank that shined enough. "Are you mad at me?"

"No." he said back, but annoyance was in his tone, throwing his bag on the couch.

Cora stayed stood close to the door, rocking on her heels slightly and pulling at her fingers. "Do you wanna break up?"

"What? No. Jesus, why are you getting so dramatic?" he shot back, flipping the light on and turning her way. "I literally never said I wanted to break up."

"Yeah, but you're acting like you're really mad at me." she didn't know how to handle it, how to deal with a fight. She'd never been in one before, not like this. She'd been yelled at by plenty of the guys in her life, but they were never her boyfriends, they were never like how her and Hawk were.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm annoyed with you. There's a big difference." he shot back, pulling on the collar of his shirt slightly as he huffed her way. "What, are you into Robby Keene now?"

Cora blinked in disbelief, her eyebrows frowned together. "What?"

"I told you how I feel about him and then you were all over him when he got that stupid snake!" Hawk rose his voice at her, but like before, it wasn't Cora he was mad at. This time, he was mad at himself for not being man enough to grab the snake like Robby had. Because, if he had, he wouldn't be dealing with the insecurities of loosing Cora to him.

"I just was surprised." Cora shook her head quickly, feeling guilty for something she definitely shouldn't have been. "I'm not into him. I'm with- me and you are together. I can't believe you'd actually think i'd be into another guy."

"Oh, forgive me for thinking you might go off and jump on the next guy to look in your direction." Hawk immediately regretted his words when be said them, his face fell, eyes widening when he realized he actually just said that. "Shit. Cora, I didn't-"

"No, that's okay." her voice was weak, her eyes casted down. She wished he hadn't flipped the light on like he did, because her eyes watered the second he said it and she felt like throwing up. "Can you- can you go? I've got to get the place cleaned before my parents get home."

He stared in guilt. "I didn't mean that, C. I'm so sorry."

Cora shook her head, biting down on the side of her mouth, her heart was at her feet. "Can you go? Please."

He didn't want to go, not with how things were gonna be left. Hawk gave a guilty look, walking her way as Cora spun, going down the short hallway toward the guest bathroom. When he heard the door shut, Hawk exhaled guilty, grabbing his bag and the sweater she knitted, looking down the hallway. "I'm sorry, Cora."

But, he got nothing back, making him leave.

Cora rubbed her eyes, glad she held herself together until she heard the door shut. A cry escaped her lips as she rubbed her eyes painfully hard, hurting herself in the process of trying to stop crying. Cora's hand grabbed the side of the counter, inhaling shaky as guilty and insecurities hit her. It wasn't like what he said wasn't true, and it wasn't like Cora didn't expect him to not feel that way either. But, it didn't stop it from hurting when he said it. Especially when he'd never spoken that way to her before.

All of Cora's hope of him being different then the guys from the past washed down the drain when she turned the faucet on to splash her face.

•

kylie speaks

i told yall i was gonna
cry with how much i
relate to her.