Page 28 of Hilarina and the Ogre

But it was too late; the embarrassment was already terminal. Had it sounded like he was inviting himself along? Like he was a loser who couldn’t occupy himself otherwise.

But Trenton’s expression had changed again, very serious all of a sudden. “You’ll come, won’t you?”

It made Hilary even shyer. “You want me to?”

“I always want you.”

Fucking hell. “You really don’t know how to speak to humans, do you?”

“That phrasing assumes I’m better with some other species.”

Right, there probably wasn’t an animal alive the boy couldn’t reduce to a puddle of embarrassment.

That stupid mouth twitched again. “If you won’t come, we can go to the studio instead so I can see you dance,” Trenton offered.

The Shitheap was nearly at hand, but it wouldn’t rescue him. He was between a rock and harder rock. “Maybe if you ask in a less embarrassing way.”

“Then teach me how not to be embarrassing.”

“If that were possible, I would have done it already. Stop pulling.”

But Trenton didn’t stop pulling—seemingly urgent, like it all required a great hurrying. “When I introduce you to the others, can I call you my friend? Or should I only use that word between us?”

“What does it matter? It’s not like it’s private.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Stop being weird.”

But Trenton was even better at being weird than he was at being embarrassing, though the kids at the dojo were kind of weird too.

“Are you the dancer?” was the first thing one of them—a boy named Casey—asked. He was almost pathologically friendly, and also had far too much energy.

So much for Trenton’s offer of privacy. “He told you about me?”

It was the girl, Savannah, who explained. “He’s been like Fort Knox, mostly, but we know he ditched us for ballet recently, and that there had to be an instigator. You’re really handsome.”

Well, at least she’d said handsome. Only his dad ever called him handsome. “You can have him back.”

Trenton didn’t like any of that. “Don’t flirt with him.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “I’m a lesbian, jackass.”

“That didn’t stop Aspen.”

“Who the fuck is—”

It was time to cut in. “Are you going to do your Aikido or not?” Hilary demanded. He never liked being the center of attention, and certainly not when he was sure Trenton would only continue to heap on more embarrassing garbage.

“I told you,” the boy said, proving the prophecy true, “I’d rather be with you.”

Casey solved it by pulling Hilary physically into the action. They even got him a uniform, though Trenton told him he didn’t have to wear it.

Aikido was different from what Hilary thought it would be. It didn’t seem like fighting at all, and he accidentally impressed the others a couple of times.

“You’re like a rubber band,” Savannah said. “I didn’t know joints could stretch that much.”

And this from a girl who could kick straight up into the air.