Page 129 of Override

A laugh escapes me. An actual laugh. The sound surprises all three of us.

Sloane notices first. Her grin appears immediately as she points toward me. "See? I'm helping."

Wheels throws both hands into the air. "You're not helping."

"I absolutely am."

Wheels shakes his head before pointing at her again. "You're impossible."

Sloane doesn't miss a beat. She smiles so sweetly it almost looks genuine. "You're dramatic."

Wheels places a hand over his heart. "I'm expressive."

"You're exhausting," Sloane says, rolling her eyes.

A grin spreads across Wheels's face. "I'm charming."

She snorts. "You're mean." Sloane tilts her head, pretending to consider it. "No." A slow smile curves across her lips. "You're weak.”

Wheels looks personally attacked.

"I walked right into that one."

"You sprinted into it," Sloane corrects.

I watch the exchange unfold. The effortless bickering. The complete lack of self-awareness. The fact that neither of them has stopped smiling once.

And for the first time in days, the pressure in my chest eases. Just a little.

Because maybe Wheels is right. Maybe the trick isn't avoiding people. Maybe it's finding the ones worth staying for.

The opening guitar riff of "Burn It to the Ground" suddenly blasts from Wheels' pocket.

Sloane jumps before slowly turning toward him. "...Seriously?"

Wheels grins as he fishes his phone out of his pocket, silencing it with a tap. "What?"

She points at the phone still in his hand. "Why in the world is that your ringtone?"

His grin only widens. "To remember the greatest night of my life."

Sloane lets out a disbelieving laugh. "You mean the night Skee broke that guy's wrist?"

I immediately groan. "We don't have to do this."

"Oh, we're absolutely doing this," Wheels says, pointing at me. "That idiot thought it'd be funny to grab your laptop."

"I asked him to stop."

Wheels snorts. "You told him once."

"He had fair warning."

"He was drunk," Sloane argues.

"So was everyone else."

She just stares at me for a long second. "...Keaton."