Page 42 of A Thousand Second Chances

“What the hell is your problem, Rawley? Do you get off on pushing everyone’s buttons?”

I bat my eyelashes. “Just yours, hot stuff.” I blow him a kiss, and his grip on my shoulder tightens. I suppress a wince, staring him down.

Screw walking away.

He hates the fact I’m gay that much? Then maybe we should go ahead and get this fight over with. A crazy laugh bubbles up inside me. It’s not like it’ll matter if he beats the shit out of me. Nothing matters—not when the fickle universe will erase it all and start over again tomorrow anyway.

Before we can duke it out, a new voice interjects. “Is there a problem here?”

I jerk my head up, momentarily forgetting the stare-off I’d been having with Devon. Percy stands there, one eyebrow raised as he glances between Devon and me. I might’ve thought him the perfect picture of cool confidence if not for the slight tremble inhis lower back and the way he keeps clenching and unclenching his left hand.

Out of anyone who might’ve stepped in to defuse the situation, I’d have expected it to be Oshkoff. But one glance shows she’s completely oblivious, talking the ear off a bored-looking student.

Devon squints at Percy. “Do I know you?”

A faint blush colors Percy’s neck. “We met once or twice freshman year at a couple of the track events. I’m Percy.” He doesn’t offer a hand to shake. Neither does Devon.

Devon studies him a moment longer before his eyes widen, flicking to me. My stomach sinks, already anticipating what’s coming. “You were friends with Rawley, right?”

Percy nods stiffly. “I was.”Was. Past tense. That probably shouldn’t bother me as much as it does. “Now,” Percy continues, “is there a reason you two look like you’re about to bash in each other’s skulls in the middle of a school trip with a professor right there, or can we all behave like reasonable adults?”

Devon snorts, puffing out his broad chest. “Whatever, man. Enjoy your stupid contaminated spring.” With one last glance at me, he stalks away, his friends trailing after him.

The instant Devon leaves, Percy deflates as if all the air’s been knocked out of him. He adjusts his glasses, seeming at a loss.

My instincts scream at me to comfort him, but I nip the impulse in the bud. Instead, I say, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know.” The words come out quiet, laced with hidden meaning I can’t parse.

I want to demand why he did, then. Inserting himself into the middle of a tense situation like that is the exact opposite of his usual MO. But I refrain. Judging by the lost look on his face, I’m not sure he could have given me a clear answer regardless.

“Thanks for that,” Quinn says, beaming at Percy. “I thought I was going to have to start scratching out eyeballs there.”

He nods and smiles at her, though his gaze flicks to me. “Of course. I didn’t want things to get out of hand.”

Hold up.Had Percy beenworriedabout me? Worried enough to risk a physical altercation? Maybe he cares more than I thought.

That’s not an idea I want to delve into too closely, so I shove it away and start toward my bike with a muttered, “Come on.”

We reach British Landing without anything unusual happening, though I notice Percy’s now riding a bit closer to Quinn and me. I ignore him as much as possible, only allowing my eyes to rake over his athletic outfit once (or twice) while he and Quinn fall into a steady stream of banter. Unease grips me at the sight of my two disparate worlds colliding—at mybeforemeeting myafter. Contemplating what such a collision might lead to terrifies me.

Nothing, I remind myself.It won’t lead to anything because this budding friendship is only temporary.No matter how close he and Quinn get today, tomorrow will wipe it all away, and it’ll be as if they’re meeting again for the very first time.

Despite my litany of reservations, the thought leaves me strangely sad.

After grabbing some more greasy food from the roadside shack, the three of us end up huddled on the sand at Percy’s insistence near what looks like an ancient cannon.

“So, what’s up?” I ask, propping myself up with my arms stretched behind me. “As I recall, we’re not supposed to eat lunch together.”

A faint blush colors Percy’s cheeks. “I figured we should check in,” he says. “You know, report what we’ve found so far.”

Quinn opens her mouth, and I hurry to cut her off before she can offer a catalog of every rock, stick, and bird that crossed our path. “A whole lot of nothing on our end. Things have gone more or less like they did before. Nothing out of place.”

“Yeah, same for me.” He rakes a hand through his messy brown hair and sighs. “This is going to be another bust, isn’t it?”

“Possibly,” I admit. “But like alternate-Quinn said yesterday, just because we don’t find any answers doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time. Every step we take gives us more info and puts us closer to identifying something that’ll work.”

“Wow, sounds like other me was super smart,” Quinn says. “You should probably listen to her.”