“I suppose I’ll make myself presentable, too,” Max says as he finishes off his yogurt. “If you see Vimlesh before I do, can you let him know that his Bodhi goggles were delivered?”
“Will do!”
The morning drags into the afternoon. Skipping my bio lab gives me extra time to shower, thoroughly clean my room, and work with Theo to tidy the bathroom and kitchen, but it still feels like it takes forever.
Finally, Theo gets the call. “We’ll be right down!”
As soon as Wren and I make eye contact in the lobby, emotion hits me like a truck, and my pace slows. Shit. I had no idea how much I missed them.
“Olli-pops!” Wren shouts. “Get your lanky ass over here!”
My legs finally cooperate, and when I stride over to them, Wren immediately wraps me in a hug, and I have to swallow the lump forming in my throat. “How the hell are you?” I ask, my voice muffled into their shoulder.
“Can’t complain,” Wren answers as they pull away. “You?”
“Same here. Damn, it’s good to see you.”
Wren smiles. “It’s good to see you, too, Oliver.” They turn to Theo, whose mouth is currently occupied by Caleb’s. “Good to know nothing’s changed here,” Wren remarks with a chuckle.
Theo peels himself from Caleb and blushes. “Hey, Wren! Good to see you!”
“Likewise, Briggs,” Wren teases.
The four of us head up to room 319, bantering and goofing around like old times. Wren excitedly discusses their experience at SCAD so far, and Theo and I share stories about life in Atlanta.
The movie posters in the living room capture Wren’s fascination almost the moment they walk through the door. Max overhears us and joins the conversation, eager to hear Wren’s favorite films. Needless to say, he’s not disappointed.
Vimlesh returns from class later in the afternoon, and Harrison arrives with five boxes of pizza around dinnertime. I’m overjoyed to see everyone getting along so well. I only wish Jude were here, too.
It isn’t until we’re eating dinner that Wren notices my new piercings.
“Whoa, whoa, what the hell are those?” Wren asks, pointing to my ears. “Are they real?”
“Oh, yeah, I got them pierced a couple of weeks ago on a whim. You like ‘em?”
“I mean, obviously, I love them, but that’s definitely going to clash with your Nosferatu costume. I could be wrong, but I don’t remember cute little sparkly studs on Orlok’s rotting earlobes.”
Well, shit. I didn’t even think of that. When Jude suggested getting piercings, I didn’t pause to consider any potential repercussions for myself. “Oops. Can’t I just take them out for a couple of hours?”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to,” Wren replies, examining them a little closer. “They’re still healing.”
“Oh well,” I say with a shrug. “I think it’ll still look dope, right?”
Wren glares at my ears. “Speak for yourself. Now I can’t use you for my catalog.”
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I mutter. “I forgot about that. Are you sure you can’t Photoshop them out?”
“I’d rather not use Photoshop for anything because the whole point is that none of my makeup requires digital enhancement, but I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“Sorry, Wren.”
Wren smiles. “I can manage. You look rad as hell with your ears pierced, so I think it balances out.”
“I agree,” Max interjects. “You really rock those studs, stud.” He winks.
“It’s a good look on you,” Theo adds.
Caleb nods in agreement, his mouth full of pizza.
