Felix cleared his throat. “So, wanna hang? I just need to shoot off a text and then I’m free as a bird.”
“Sure,” Jacob said, still suspicious. “To who?”
“Group project,” Felix said.
“I thought that ended last week.”
“New one,” Felix said dismissively, digging his phone out of his pocket. He typed something quick, then shoved it away and turned toward the house Jacob had just walked out of. “So this is the great David’s house! Is he cool?”
“He is,” Jacob said defensively. “I mean, he seems like he’d be the ideal roommate.”
“Cool,” Felix said, rocking back and forth on his battered sneakers. “Cool, cool, cool. Awesome. Look at you, making new friends!”
Jacob laughed uncomfortably. David wasn’t going to be hisfriend, judging on that comment on small talk and their identical tendency to avoid people. But he didn’t want to admit that.
“Just remember not to make any rash decisions,” Felix continued. “You have two months until the semester ends!Anythingcan happen in two months.”
Jacob dropped his fake smile. Felix was really still trying to talk him into moving in with him? He hadn’t brought it up in weeks. Jacob had hoped he’d gotten over it. “Dude,” he said. “I’ve made my choice. Itoldyou.”
Felix laughed, too loudly. “Sure! ButfutureJacob of two months from now?—”
“Mess. You’re not changing my mind.”
“Right,” Felix said. He tugged at his blond hair, looking around the street like he was searching for something.
Jacob felt like shit. His go-to coping mechanism when he felt like shit was to get away from everyone. Or failing that, go rage to Felix. But if he was becoming a new version of himself, he could get cooler coping mechanisms, right? Social ones.Funones. Maybe if Jacob tried it enough, he would start finding it fun as well. Like sex—he was nervous at first, but he just needed to get into it.
“What if…” Felix continued haltingly. “I mean, what if I?—”
Jacob talked over him. “Even if you suddenly got house-trained, it wouldn’t work. We’d drive each other crazy. We drove each other crazy during sleepovers, how do you think we’d do if welivedtogether?” Jacob laughed, skittish for reasons he couldn’t figure out. "Hey, can we go somewhere? Like a bar?”
Felix said nothing. Jacob had cut him off, he realized. Again.
“Sorry,” he said. “You were saying something.”
Felix swallowed. A strange expression passed over his face—disappointment? Regret?—but only for a second before he pulled up a tight smile.
“Nothing,” Felix said. “You want to go to abar? Did David actually kidnap you? Are you a clone who actually knows how to have a good time?”
He swayed close, tugging at Jacob’s cheek like he was inspecting the skin.
Jacob slapped him away. “Cut it out, man. Do you want to go or not?”
Felix rocked back. He didn’t even try to grab for him again. He just stood there, watching Jacob with a strange smile.
“Brand-new Jacob,” Felix said quietly. For once, he didn’t sound happy about it. Then he grinned. “Let’s do it!”
CHAPTER 11
Felix slumped over the bar, glaring.
Jacob was on the other side of The Last Call, beingsocial. Which was good! Felix had been pestering him to be more social for years. He just never expected Jacob to do it. Without his help, even. Felix had retreated to the bar five minutes ago to see if Jacob would seek him out like he always did.
But this time, Jacob stayed in that crowd of people from his stats class whom he’d barely talked to before tonight, chatting and laughing and only looking a little bit like he wanted to hide under a table.
Felix should be proud of him. Hewasproud. But the pride was buried under so much panic he could barely notice it. He was losing more of Jacob every minute. Would they still hang out every day after they both moved off campus?
Jack Smith whistled from behind the bar. “Hey. You need a top-up?”
