Chapter Forty-One
I can’t believe what I’m watching.
I’m in bed, watching a video on Zarmenus’s phone.
It’s a video of the man who appeared in the church wearing the white robe: a man I now know is the leader of the Order of the Golden Sun.
Apparently he’s been orchestrating things behind the scenes, which is something I’d probably know if I didn’t avoid all Golden Sun content like it’s the plague.
“This is the best part,” says Zarmenus, who is giddy like a kid at Christmas. After the attack, he’s remained in his true demon form. It’s obviously been noticeable, but I haven’t asked him about it. I’m happy for him, though. He should be able to be himself, if that’s what he wants.
“One of the hardest things for a man to do is admit when he is wrong,” says the leader.
The video is a live stream filmed in a crowded church.
“And I am here to humbly admit that I was wrong about demons and the threat that they pose. Thus, I have decided to disband the order, and encourage all of my followers to reconsider their stance.”
“I don’t understand,” I say. “Not that I’m not happy about this, but how do we know this isn’t some trick?”
“Because,” he says as he takes his phone back.
“My mom appeared to him last night, in his dreams. She actually appeared to everyone who has even been thinking about joining the order. She made it very clear that they crossed a line attacking me, and if the church doesn’t disband, she will show them just how terrifying she can be.
Which is pretty terrifying. You’ve met her, you know. ”
I pick at my fingernail. As happy as I would be if the Order of the Golden Sun truly was no more, something isn’t sitting right with me about this. It seems too easy, like we’re being set up for a fall.
“Why didn’t she do this before?” I ask.
“Apparently they were actually helpful in human-demon relations. Having anti-demon rhetoric most associated with a group of online fanatics was a good thing. But anyway, did you see that Adam got expelled? His father is apparently furious.”
I can’t help smiling. He did threaten me, after all.
“So it’s really over?” I ask.
“Seems so,” says Zarmenus. “We’re quite the team, huh? Ever think you’d help take down a cult?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s a totally normal thing to do your first semester of college.”
He laughs. He puts his arms behind his head, stretching. “Have you noticed I haven’t changed back?”
“Wait, really? You’re telling me you don’t always have horns?”
“I hate you.”
I chew my lip. Jokes aside, I can tell this means a lot to him. “Want to talk about it?”
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking about what you said in the car. I’m the prophesied one. Not my parents, not any of their advisors. Me. And my gut tells me I should show who I really am.”
“For sure.”
“Plus, it helps knowing you like how I look in this form.”
I remember him kissing me on the cheek in the middle of the attack. In some ways, I liked it more than our make-out, because it was so casual. It implied a closeness, a familiarity I know isn’t real.
It felt as if we really have been boyfriends all this time.
“You do like me when I’m like this, right?” he says, his tone still joking.
I know he’s fishing, so I give him a glare.
“You’re hideous.”
Twelve days.
That’s how long until the dance where Zarmenus and I are going to break up.
In some ways, this semester feels like it’s lasted a lifetime. I’m a completely different person from the guy I was when I got here. I’ve learned to not stress so much about every little thing, and to only apply that energy when it’s actually helpful.
I’ve gotten excellent grades, made a bunch of friends, and fallen in love with Point. I’d say it’s gone about as well as a first semester could possibly go. It’s been difficult at times, sure, and the schoolwork has been a lot of work, but ultimately it’s been fun.
I’m not ready for it to be over.
This is obviously coming from the fact that Zarmenus is leaving. Twelve days. That’s all we have left. Even though a lot of the pieces will still be in place next semester, Zarmenus won’t be. He’ll be back in Hell.
And then what? Will we see each other ever again?
My phone buzzes.
Nearly there! See you soon!
The message is from Ashley, and I start to smile.
Then I remember how much she doesn’t know.
She doesn’t know that Zarmenus and I kissed, and she doesn’t know how sad I am about him leaving and our fake relationship ending, or how I can’t stop thinking about how Point is going to feel weird without him.
As excited as I am to see her, I’m still worried that she will do what she always does and see right through me.
“Hey, Greene,” calls Zarmenus. He’s resting in bed, his laptop on his chest.
“Yes?”
“Have you seen that doll? I can’t find it anywhere.”
I shake my head and look around. It moves around all the time, normally winding up on my bed.
“Maybe she moved on,” he says.
“Good riddance.”
“If I find her I’m telling her you said that.”
In a strange way, it adds to the finality that has been hanging over me all morning. Twelve days. That’s all we have left. My phone vibrates again.
Okay just passed the gates see you soon!!!
“Ashley and Jackson are here,” I say as I rise from my desk chair. “I’m going to go get them. Will you be here later?”
“I could be.”
With that, I leave and go down to the entrance of Clark Hall. It’s great timing, as they pull up right as I get there. Jackson’s car is a beat-up old Toyota and I’m surprised it survived the road trip.
“Bumble!” calls Ashley as she gets out of the car. It’s a reference to our roles in Oliver!
“Corney!”
She runs up to me and pulls me into a hug.
“I missed your smell,” she says.
“Ew, weird,” I say, knowing she intentionally says stuff like that sometimes to try to make me uncomfortable.
She looks different, but only slightly. She’s clearly pregnant, and the pregnant glow is totally a thing, plus she’s put a pink streak in her hair, but that’s the biggest change.
I can’t believe this is happening. Ashley is here, at Point. Finally.
“I know, right?” she says, tossing her hair. “My skin has never been better, it’s so weird.”
There’s a moment where we just look at each other. She’s here. My worlds are colliding, and I love it.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I say, hugging her again.
“Yeah, and I’ve missed your smell, we’ve covered this.”
“You can’t give me even one earnest moment, can you?”
“Never.”
I feel tears in my eyes, and I don’t fight them. I am happy enough talking on the phone, and I still feel as close to her as I always have. We’ve made do with our situation as best we can. Even so, it’s so amazing that she’s here.
“You’re looking good,” says Jackson as he slings his black backpack, the one he takes literally everywhere, over his shoulder. “Been working out?”
“I went to the gym once,” I say. “Think it worked?”
Seeing him, I’m reminded how I got the crush in the first place.
He’s dressed as nicely as he always is, with a plain white shirt under a black jacket, and his hair expertly styled.
He looks like the kind of guy the internet would be obsessed with if he were an actor or a musician: total dream boy material.
The best thing about him, though, is that he’s not a douchebag like so many of the boys back in high school were.
He’s one of the sweetest and nicest people I’ve ever met.
His amazing hair and all that stuff might be noteworthy, but things like his kindness and his sense of humor are why I really liked him.
I remember the crush, but it’s gone now. Him telling me that I look good would’ve made my entire day once, but now it’s nothing but a nice compliment, one I could’ve received from anyone. He gives me a hug, clapping me on the back once before we break apart.
“So,” says Ashley. “Where’s Zarmenus?”
“In our room. You can meet him later, but I thought I could show you the campus first?”
“Sounds good,” says Ashley. “But first I need coffee.”
“I know just the place. They make the best matcha lattes. Do you like matcha? I didn’t like it before I got here but now it’s, like, my favorite thing.”
I’m aware I’m rambling, so I stop myself. It’s just that I really want this to go well, and given how many secrets I have, that seems like a pretty huge ask.
“I love matcha,” says Ashley. “Jacks?”
“I will never willingly drink something green, and it’s messed up that you want to. This place sells regular coffee, right?”
“We might have to ask.”
I lead them to the quad. It looks as picturesque as it always does, and it has the effect on them I was hoping it would.
The two of them ooh and ahh at all the right moments.
We stop in at the coffee shop and each order our coffees, with Ashley and me ordering matchas and Jackson getting a standard cappuccino.
Drinks in hand, we explore the library, then I show them my class buildings, including my favorite lecture hall. Our last stop is the Cube.
“So,” I say. “What do you think?”
“I love it so much,” she says. “It’s everything I hoped it would be.”
“It is very pretty,” says Jackson. “I’m starving, though, could we get some food? Ashley always shows me when you send her food pictures, and I’m dying to try the food hall.”
“I’m shocked by this,” I say, making a joke because Jackson is literally always hungry.
We go to the dining hall. I pay for each of them with a swipe of my meal plan card. Of all the places we’ve seen, this is clearly the place that’s impressed Jackson the most.
“It’s all-you-can-eat?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Everything?”
“Yup.”
“We’ve been to buffets before,” says Ashley as she rubs his arm. “You know how they work.”
“I can’t believe you don’t spend all your time here. This is amazing.”
He sets off, leaving Ashley and me at the table. We could get up and find food, but as much as I platonically love Jackson, it’s nice to talk to just her. If things had gone to plan, this, us at the dining hall, probably would’ve been a daily occurrence.
“What do you think?” I ask.
“You know I love a buffet.”
“No, I mean Point.”
“I love it,” she says. “But the best part is seeing how much you love it. You’re so proud of this place.”
I was trying to keep that dialed back, because I don’t want her to think I’m gloating. Not that she seems upset. I guess I’m being overly cautious. If I were in her position, I would want her to love it here as much as I do.
“It’s funny to think that in another life we’d have done this all the time,” she says.
“I was just thinking that!”
This is the closest we’ve ever come to talking about this. For a while I’ve had to fill in the blanks on her feelings. Even her confirming that she thinks about this as much as I do is comforting, in a way. It means my instincts on what is going on weren’t too far off base.
“You were?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “Honestly, at the start of the semester I was pretty torn up about it.”
“You didn’t say.”
“I didn’t want to make you feel bad.”
“Why would I feel bad?”
“I don’t know,” I say, shrugging. “I know how much you wanted to go here.”
She’s about to answer, but Jackson returns, and he’s smiling so hard I don’t want to keep talking about this. He’s loaded his plate with almost every type of food on offer. It has blended a little to the point where it’s not exactly appetizing, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
“What were you talking about?” he asks.
“The multiverse,” I say.
He laughs. “You nerds.”
“Jackson, baby,” she says. “Could I talk to Owen for a second?”
“On it,” he says. “I want a second plate, anyway.”
“Why would I feel bad?” she asks, as Jackson finds an empty table across the dining hall, well out of earshot.
“You really wanted to go to Point,” I say. “I get why you didn’t go, and I didn’t want you to know how much I wished you were here. It felt, like, unfair.”
“You don’t think I still want to go to Point, do you?”
“No. Not at all. It was complicated. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“It’s okay, I understand,” she says. “I just hate the thought of you not loving this as much as you could’ve because I’m not here. But we’re good, right?”
“Yup, totally.”
She takes a sip of her drink. “I saw your mom, by the way.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, at Trader Joe’s. It seems like she’s doing well. She’s so proud of you, she was telling me all about your grades.”
“She always does that.”
“It was nice to see her,” she says. “I know things have been rough, but I’ve always known the Greenes would pull through. So, are you ready to tell me why you’re stalling on introducing us to Zarmenus?”
“I’m not stalling.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
“If we make Jackson leave he might cry.”
“You’re right,” she says. “But once we’re done here you’re introducing me, okay?”