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This was better. We could have been at home talking and had an easier time of it, but if we had to be at a party, at least we looked busy talking like everyone else was doing together.
“My house tonight?” Nathan asked me.
North shot him a look. “Is that where we’re going after we get out of here?”
Nathan blinked but shrugged. “Might as well. I mean her house is empty because Marie’s out tonight. My house has more stuff to do.”
North nodded. “We might crash there tonight. Shorter distance to the diner from your house than mine.”
A rush of excitement slipped through my skin. “Like another sleepover?”
They both laughed. Silas rumbled underneath me with a chuckle, telling me he’d been listening in. His fingertips smoothed over my thigh.
“We’ll give it another hour and then we’ll get out of here,” North said. “I’m about social life’d out.” North stood, stretching. “I’m going to find the restroom. Sang Baby, come along with me.”
It wasn’t a question. I glanced at Nathan. Nathan nodded at me, silently telling me to do what I was told. This caused me to stiffen again. Something was going on that he didn’t like.
Silas relinquished his hold on me so I could slip off of his lap. I trailed behind North, carrying my water cup with me.
There was a hallway on the other side of the house. The area was quieter, but I sensed hushed voices from beyond the doors. North swung his head back and forth, scanning. He picked a door and tried the handle. Locked. He tried another one. This door opened and he pushed his head inside. He flicked on the light switch, revealing an empty bathroom. He jerked his head toward the opening. “Get in.”
I rushed in, and he followed me inside. It was a guest bathroom, with just a toilet and a sink. The white and blue tile floor was cracked in spots and one of the light bulbs in the fixtures overhead was out.
The door closed behind us and he turned on me. “Just wait here a minute,” he said.
“What’s going on?”
“Rocky hasn’t stopped watching your ass all night. I’m tired of it. I think when we go back out there, we should go back to that front room, or the kitchen.”
I blinked after him. “But what about the girl he was with?”
North lifted a dark brow. “Girl?”
“The dark haired girl who said something to you earlier? The one hanging on his arm?”
“Fuck her. I don’t know who she is. What about her?”
I sighed, unable to explain it. If Rocky had his arm around her, it made me think they were together. Why would Rocky look at me if he had a girl with him? I was still grateful North wanted to stay in a different room for the rest of the time we were here. I didn’t like the way she looked at us, at any of us. I thought I would have nightmares tonight about a girl with dagger eyes.
There was a commotion out in the hallway. Voices. They were slurred. Someone knocked at the door, and tried the handle, but when whoever it was found it was locked, moved on down the hallway.
North twisted the handle on the door. “Wait here for a couple of minutes, okay? Lock the door behind me. I'll stand outside the door. After two minutes, step out.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I don’t want people thinking we were fucking around. We’ve got enough to worry about without having to deal with twisted rumors.”
I supposed he knew better than I did about how to handle this, but his comment left me feeling nervous. What were people thinking of us now that we were here? Silas had practically claimed me as his date tonight. What would they think on Monday if Nathan and I were holding hands? Or Victor? Suddenly Kota’s suggestion that I agree to say I belonged to whoever I was with seemed inappropriate. People were bound to catch on that I wasn’t really dating anyone, unless they were willing to believe they were all my boyfriends. I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.
Victor had said it didn’t matter to him what other people thought. It had to matter to me, though. When next year came around, I would be alone. I would have to hear the rumors and deal with the aftermath. I knew about girls in my old school, the ones guys thought were easy. I didn’t want that sort of attention, and I was sure to get it once the guys transferred back to the Academy. Without the guys, I’d be without any barrier to keep guys like Rocky away.
North opened the door, stepping out into the hallway. I was happy he was concerned about my reputation. I wanted to remember to thank North and spend more time with him later. He’d promised to take me to the beach on another date at one point. I thought about suggesting we do that the next time he got a day off from working at the diner. I wanted to make sure he knew I appreciated him looking out for me, even if he was occasionally over protective and grumpy.
I counted off a couple of minutes, following up with a couple more minutes just in case. I was tempted to hide in the bathroom forever until they were ready to go. Being alone was more comfortable. I didn’t want to be there when another person needed to use the restroom, though.
I unlocked the door, and paused, letting my eyes adjust to the dim hallway again. I stepped out, waiting to hear North direct me on where to go.
The hallway was empty. North wasn’t there.
My spine bristled. He wouldn’t have wandered off without me. He said he’d be right outside.
I stepped further out into the hallway, wondering if I’d exited too soon. Maybe he was checking something out. I wasn’t sure what to do since he told me not to wander off alone.
My fingers instinctively reached for my phone at my bra, fingering the pink case. I was tempted to use the white button for North or Nathan. I didn’t know what else to do.
A figure emerged from further down the hallway. His head was bowed, his hands stuffed into his pockets. When he got close, he must have sensed that I was looking at him and his head lifted.
It was the boy with the glasses I'd seen at the football game. He stopped in the hallway, and half turned like he wasn't sure if he should continue or go back to where he had come from. He stilled, his lips parted.
"Hi," I said, feeling odd myself. I wondered if this was his house. "Um, I lost someone. Did you see a tall guy with dark hair down that way?"
"I think he's down there," he said in a low almost whisper. He pointed down the hallway he'd come from.
"Thank you," I said. I passed him in the hall, wanting to say something else. I had a strange feeling of wanting to invite him to talk to the guys at school. I guess because I felt the same as I thought he did, being shy and retreating into a book instead of talking to others.
Part of me, I supposed, still felt like I belonged in his world.
Quiet. Invisible.
The boy moved on down the hallway. He glanced back at me once. I hesitated saying anything else. I wasn’t sure why. Despite my instincts about him, he was still a stranger to me.
North’s voice drifted to me from up the hallway. Other voices joined his, some laughing. Relieved, I followed his voice deeper into the hallway. At least I knew where he was now. I gripped the red plastic cup in my hand in front of me as if it was a shield.
There was a doorway to the left that was wide open, revealing a bedroom with a large queen bed and a couple of wood dressers. It looked like someone’s parents’ bedroom.
I darted into the room. A collection of mostly guys were standing outside of the open closet. North had his back against the frame, frowning.
Next to him was the raven-haired girl. Her hand splayed out across his chest on top of his black shirt.
“It’s your turn,” she said, nearly cooing. “Closet time.”
“I’m not going,” North said.
“It’s initiation,” one of the guys said. “If you’re going to be one of us, you’ve got to go into the closet. It’s just for a couple of minutes.”
“Fuck that shit,” North said.
“What’s wrong? Gay or something? Just go in for a second,” the guy said, pointing toward the closet.
North grunted.
Was that was what she was trying to get him to do in the first place? Was this necessary? I sighed. Mr. Blackbourne wanted them to get along with the football team. He had to do it if he wanted to fit in with them.
And that sent a wave of ice through my heart. I didn‘t want to see North in that closet with the girl with the mean glare.
“North?” I called out. I didn’t know what I was doing, feeling completely out of place. The feeling reminded me of how I felt right before I was about to jump into a fight for them. All I knew was that he was in trouble and I wanted to help. “I wondered where you went.”
The cluster of people around the closet parted, eyes landing on me. One of the boys, the one who had talked before, grinned. “Well here, North. If you don’t want Jade, take that one.”
