Page 39 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“Yes.”

In a way, that wasn’t true. In another way, it was. He had, of course, lied to Dan every time he assured him everything was fine and every time he pretended he had no idea what was happening with the electricity in their house. He saw no other way. But he couldn’t recall deceiving him on any matter not related to his troublesome abilities.

“Uh-huh,” Dan muttered skeptically.

“God, Danny!” Will hissed. Did they have to have this conversation right now?

“By the way, I transferred you the money for rent.”

“I told you that you don’t have to. Especially now that you’re out of a job.”

“That’s exactly why I have to,” Danny replied with a grim smile. “Because with all your new friends, who knows how quickly they’ll take my place if I turn out to be a bad roommate.”

Now Will wasn’t just offended. He was hurt.

“Are you serious?” he snarled, and a shadow crossed Danny’s face. Will rarely spoke in such a tone. “You think I’d kick you out?”

“Will… It was just a joke.”

“No. It wasn’t a joke and you know it. Yes, I have new friends, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. You’re my best friend. Even when you’re being a complete asshole,” he added resentfully, getting up.

“Hey, Will…”

Having no desire to continue the conversation, Will left the room. Dan called something after him, but Will ignored it. After getting dressed, he left the house without even checking when the next bus was.

After nearly fifteen minutes of freezing his ass off and a short ride in pleasant warmth, Will got off at the shopping mall. With some time to spare, he wandered around the shops before returning to the main entrance right at two p.m., where Oscar was already waiting for him.

They went to the movies. They chose a film that was starting soon so they wouldn’t have to wait, and ten minutes later, they were already in their seats. The choice turned out to be terrible—the so-called romantic comedy was so unfunny that Will was practically grinding his teeth in frustration, and the romance boiled down to embarrassingly crude lines. Oscar laughed once. Probably out of pity.

The first half of the movie was so awkward that Will wanted to sink through the floor. He thought with regret that if things continued like this, his first date with Oscar would also be his last.

But then Oscar whispered something in his ear about one of the actors, and for the rest of the movie, they turned into a two-man peanut gallery, having a great time.

The good mood stayed with them after they left the theater.

“I can’t believe it.” Oscar was laughing uncontrollably. “Show me again.”

Will replayed the video on his phone of a cute Labrador dancing to mariachi music.

“Jeez. I didn’t know you could train an animal to do that,” Oscar snorted. “I have to try that with my Boris.”

“You have a dog?” Will asked.

“No, a guinea pig.”

Will looked at him in disbelief, and then they both burst into loud laughter. This fit of giggles lasted until they sat down at a table in a coffee shop.

“You have to send me that,” Oscar said.

“Sure.” Will smiled brightly, but then he realized a crucial detail. “Except… I don’t have your number.”

“Really?” Oscar seemed surprised. “I thought I gave it to you.”

“We were supposed to exchange them once or twice…” Or five times. “But it just never happened.”

“Wow. We need to fix that.”

He finally got Oscar’s number and he should have been happy about it, but he felt uneasy. Maybe because the absurdity of the situation hit him: he was finally on a date with a guy he’d kissed and flirted with multiple times, and he just got his phone number. Damn. Did Oscar really have such a bad memory that his various declarations just slipped his mind? It wasn’t like he was shy.