Page 121 of Where Roads Lead

“What’s up?” Will asked, staring only at me. “Did you forget something inside?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I, um, came with Theo.”

Idiot. He can obviously see that.

I looked to my date for help, thankful when he leaped in with an explanation.

“We’re going to the Fall Festival,” he said, hands slipping casually into his pockets. “The street is full, so I figured you wouldn’t mind if we parked here.”

“Nope,” Will bit out so sharply that I almost thought he meant we needed to leave. “Don’t mind at all.”

Theo sensed the change in the air the same way I did and tilted his head at Will in question.

For a moment, I wondered if I had miscalculated completely.

Maybe he didn’t want me to date his friend because he didn’t want me to have another reason to stick around any longer than necessary.

“How fun,” Ava said, shifting her purse from one arm to the other. “I haven’t been to that in a few years.”

“You should go,” I told her, because what else was I going to say? Everyone else had suddenly taken a vow of silence, and I needed to speak, if only to diffuse whatever tension was clouding the air.

“Oh, actually, I—” Ava opened her mouth to respond, but Will beat her to it.

“You know what? That’s a great idea. How about we all go?”

“What?” Theo reeled. “You literally swore off all town events this morning.”

“Yeah, well, if Ava wants to go, then I don’t see why we shouldn’t make it another one of those fun group outings like we had last time.”

“No, really, that’s okay,” Theo said, giving Will a pointed look that he seemed not to pick up on. “I think Elsie and I were hoping to get to know each other better. You know, alone.”

“Let them go, Will.” Ava huffed. “Don’t be stubborn.”

“Earlier this morning you asked me to come, didn’t you?” Will said, as if Theo were the one who didn’t understand. “And I changed my mind. It seems like everyone in town is going to this thing, so why not?”

I bounced on the heels of my feet, clearly missing important context to the silent battle occurring between the two friends. The traitorous part of me wanted Will to come with us because he had a way of making everything better. But another part of me was irritated beyond belief.

I mean, he was the one who told me I needed to put myself out there. He practically forced me to accept this date. And now he was pissed that it was his friend who asked me?

Well, tough luck.

“Will—” Theo protested, but I laid a hand on his arm, the lesser side of me winning out against my pride.

“No, it’s okay,” I told him, catching Will watching us from the side of my vision. “They should come. That sounds fun.”

“What do you say, Ava?” Will asked tightly. “How about we make it another one of our group outings?”

“Uh,” she said, staring between Theo, who was trying to subtly shake his head no, and Will, whose quiet intensity had her backed into a corner. “Okay?”

“Great,” Theo muttered. “Really, really super.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Will

There was no world that existed in which Theo and Elsie should be a ‘we.’

“We’re going to the Fall Fest.”