Chapter Thirty-Three
I stop in my tracks.
By this point, I shouldn’t be shocked when I walk into our room and find something strange. And yet, this thing, whatever it is, does truly shock me.
Embedded into the wall above the couch is now an eyeball about the size of an exercise ball. Aside from the fact that it’s enormous and stuck into the wall, it’s pretty normal as far as eyeballs go, meaning it looks just like a human eye.
The pupil darts up to look at me.
It’s almost as horrific as Zarmenus’s LOVE FOREVER, DREAM BIG, SMILE ALWAYS decoration. Almost.
“Hey, how was it?” asks Zarmenus.
What he’s referring to is my meeting with Janet Lewin.
I just got to meet her for a coffee, and she’s brilliant.
As well as working for one of the biggest companies on the planet, she also had a crackling wit and a dry sense of humor.
While we were speaking I found myself bewitched by her, and had to keep reminding myself just how high the stakes of our conversation were.
If she liked me enough to offer me an internship, my future would be set.
I’m already dreaming of the things I’ll do, mainly use that money to help out my parents.
“Good,” I say. “Really good. She’s amazing.”
“And did she like you?”
“I think so,” I say. “I got a little nervous and tongue-tied a few times.”
“That’s normal, she won’t judge you for it. I mean, she works for Google, for crying out loud. Even I know how big of a deal that is.”
“Yeah. She did say she was looking forward to seeing Leeke’s recommendation at the end of the semester, so fingers crossed.”
“That’s brilliant!”
He gets out of bed and rushes up to me, then grabs me in a tight hug.
“What is this for?”
“Are you joking?” he says, squeezing me tighter. “I’m so proud of you.”
The eyeball watching us blinks, making a wet sound.
“It doesn’t bother you at all?” I ask. “The internship, I mean.”
He lets me go. “No, why would it?”
I shrug. I’m not sure why it would, we’ve been clear from the start about why we’re spending so much time together. He’s trying to appease his parents, I’m trying to get the internship.
“You don’t feel like I’m using you, do you?” I ask.
“What! No, man. You saved my life with my parents. All I feel is grateful.”
“By the way,” I say, then point at the eyeball. “What’s that?”
“I actually don’t know,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.
The eye’s pupil darts between us.
“I’ve been trying to get rid of it,” he says. “Nothing has worked so far. I know I said I’d be better about this sort of thing, but this thing is stubborn.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “I know it’s not your fault. Listen, I’ll give you a pass on the eldritch horrors as long as you keep being a good roommate.”
I sit at my desk. I can feel the eye watching me, but if Zarmenus isn’t worried, I don’t think I should be, either. I trust that he would never let anything hurt me.
I try to focus on my computer science assessment, but find it hard to concentrate.
I load Point Press, and see Tyrell’s newest story is up.
It’s about Zarmenus doing charity work at a local school, reading picture books to kids.
I haven’t checked Point Press in a while, and it seems Zarmenus has been doing a lot of charity, from working at a soup kitchen to clearing trash out of a nearby river.
Each of the stories is written by Tyrell.
I find it odd that neither of them has mentioned it, seeing as I get food with Tyrell every few days and we always message about the TV shows we’re watching.
I also saw him at last week’s Gaymers meeting, and he didn’t say a word about it.
I spin in my chair to face Zarmenus. He’s lying on his bed, throwing a small basketball up and down.
“Yes?” he asks.
“I didn’t know you were doing charity stuff.”
He catches the ball. “Yeah, it was Leeke’s idea.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“I guess I didn’t want you to think of me as Leeke’s dancing demon. Tyrell feels the same—he’s pretty torn up about it.”
I close Point Press, because it doesn’t offer me the respite I was hoping for.
“By the way, what are you doing tonight?” I ask.
“Adam’s having another party,” he says. “His father is away on business again.”
Ah, damn. I was hoping he’d be free so we could go on a date. As incredible as the meeting was, I know the internship isn’t locked in yet. Janet made that very clear: the internship hangs on Leeke’s letter of approval.
As weird as it sounds, it feels like making sure everyone on campus thinks we’re a couple is the best way to secure my future.
It means I need to convince Adam we’re a real couple. He’s the main outlier I’m up against, and maybe it’s the confidence I’ve gained from my meeting with Janet, but I think if I get another shot I could convince him Zarmenus and I are a real couple.
“Could I come with you?”
He sits up straighter. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” I say. “But I think we need to be, like, especially couple-y. We need Adam to believe us.”
“Extra couple-y how?”
“I don’t know,” I say, racking my brain.
How do you convince someone you’re a real couple?
There are some ways, some physical expressions, but there’s a big wall around them.
I don’t want my first kiss to be fake. Maybe I am more superstitious than I thought, or maybe sharing a room with the prince of Hell has changed me, because I don’t like the energy of my first-ever kiss being part of a lie.
It feels like it’s setting my life up in a way I won’t enjoy.
“Maybe you could, like, touch me more,” I say. “And I’ll wear that hoodie you gave me. Let’s sell the shit out of this.”
Kissing is a hard limit for me. But touch? I’m fine with that.
“Sounds fun,” he says.
The eyeball winks.
How are couples supposed to act in public?
As the car pulls up at Adam’s mansion, I refresh my phone, hoping that Ashley will have responded to my message.
You’d think I’d know, seeing as Ashley has basically always had a boyfriend, and she’s been with Jackson for over two years now.
The three of us hung out all the time, so I was there firsthand to see how a real couple acts when they’re together.
I’ve never really felt like a third wheel; my bond with Ashley is too strong for that.
I think about the two of them, and try to picture how they signal that they’re a couple.
“Should we hold hands?” asks Zarmenus, as we approach the front door.
I shake my head. Holding hands would be a touch too far. I have only seen Ashley and Jackson hold hands a few times, and that was only when they were walking somewhere. It’s a fine line, and I think holding hands would seem too showy.
“Just stand close to me.”
“Like this?”
He steps beside me, so the sleeves of our shirts are brushing.
“Perfect,” I say.
He rings the doorbell, then gets back into position. Like last time, Adam is the one who opens the door. He smiles at Zarmenus, then narrows his eyes at me.
“Oh, hi, Owen,” he says. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
I don’t know what it is, but it’s like a switch has flipped, and I don’t feel anxious anymore.
Actually, I know what it is. It’s my meeting with Janet.
All afternoon I’ve found myself thinking about how amazing she is, and how cool it would be to work for her.
Not just because of her position, but because she seemed like the ideal mentor.
She is clearly incredibly good at her job, and I know I could learn so much from her.
My future is on the line, and I’m not going to let a nepo baby like Adam take that from me.
“Hope that’s okay,” I say.
“Sure, come in.”
We go inside. All right, this is so different from last time. This isn’t a party, it’s a performance.
Like before, there’s a drinks station set up in the kitchen. Zarmenus and I each pour ourselves a drink. He pours some of his potion into his glass. The thought of some alcohol to dull the nerves is tempting, but it’ll slow my wits, which is the last thing I need.
My phone buzzes. It’s a response from Ashley.
Hahahahahahaha why?? Going somewhere with a cute demon??
I explain myself to her as Zarmenus sips his drink.
“Who are you texting?” he asks.
“Ashley,” I say. We’re the only two in the kitchen. Still, I drop the volume of my voice. “I wanted some advice about things couples do in public. Not kissing, obviously, but, like, other stuff.”
Zarmenus reacts kind of strangely. His eyes widen, and he takes a small step away from me. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was nervous.
“Oh, sorry!”
I turn, not believing what is happening. Tyrell has just walked into the kitchen. He’s wearing a dark blazer and fits right in with the crowd. But since when does he hang out with these people?
“Hey,” he says as he gives me a hug.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Adam saw my stories on Point Press and invited me,” he says. “He said there was something he wanted me to know about you two. Any ideas what that could be?”
I have to stop myself from letting the shock show on my face. Is Adam trying to out us to Tyrell? He has to be; it’s the only thing that makes sense.
“The only thing Adam loves more than attention is drama,” says Zarmenus. “You can’t believe anything he says.”
“Yeah, I feel the same,” says Tyrell. “But I’d be a pretty horrible journalist if I didn’t at least hear him out. Anyway, I clearly interrupted, so I’ll give you two some space.”
As soon as he’s gone, I step closer to Zarmenus. “Adam’s going to tell Tyrell we’re lying.”
“Don’t worry,” he says. “We don’t know that yet. Let’s just stick to the plan, all right? What should we do?”
He’s right. We can’t stop Adam from talking to Tyrell, so the best strategy is to stick to the plan, which is to be the most convincing couple possible.