December 20 | Friday #11
“Group?” Alden repeated mockingly. “I’m friends with Liam.
” That much Will already knew. He just still didn’t understand how that had happened.
Blake and Liam had nothing in common. “Abby lives next door to me and we’ve known each other a long time.
And Norma just happens to possess some impressive abilities.
” Uh-oh. More ambiguity. If Blake weren’t such an antisocial bastard, Will would have concluded that he and Norma were friends with benefits.
“You can’t even control your abilities yet, so why would I hang out with you? ”
“So you only associate with people you need for something. In short, you use them.”
“No. I associate with people when I have no other choice. In your case, I have a choice, so just accept the fact that you won’t be my friend, let alone my boyfriend, which you probably secretly dream of, and leave me the hell alone.”
“Right,” Will scoffed, growing more and more irritated by his attitude. “Because everyone is dreaming of dating you, is that it?”
“No, you are. I heard you talking about me with your idiotic friend.”
“When did I… Okay, maybe it happened,” Will admitted after a moment’s thought. “But for your information, I never wanted to date you. Ever. I was enchanted by you, but now that I understand why, I see even more clearly how insufferable you are.”
“Excellent. Can we finally end this conversation, then?”
“So it’s because I’m human?”
“Yes.”
“So it’s just racism?”
“It’s… What?”
“Seriously?” Will hissed in outrage. “You have a Black friend! Maybe you should talk to him about why prejudice like that is not cool!”
“It’s not racism!” Blake seemed no less irritated. “Do you call a wolf a racist for not hanging out with a rabbit? Just accept that to me, you’re an inferior species and stop bothering me!”
“As it happens, the only wolf I know has no problem talking to me.”
For a moment, Blake was silent, and Will almost thought it was because of his argument, but when the vampire finally spoke again, it became clear it was something else.
“Did you just refer to a werewolf as a wolf? Do you realize how offensive that is?”
“And do you realize how offensive it is to call a human a pig?”
“I didn’t call anyone a pig! I used a metaphor! Can your tiny human brain even grasp that concept?”
“Oh! Who’d have thought a non-racist would consider the word human an insult!”
“It is an insult! From my perspective, not yours! Just accept that…!”
Something slammed on the tabletop and both of them jumped, looking up. Liam was standing next to them. He had apparently slammed his hand on the table.
“Hey,” he said casually. “Don’t want to interrupt you, it’s actually pretty funny to listen to, but if you keep this up, you’re going to draw everyone’s attention, and that’s a bad idea.”
“We’re done,” Blake and Will hissed in unison, glaring daggers at each other.
Liam chuckled.
“Nice to see you agree on something.”
Will was so furious about the conversation that he stewed over it for the rest of his classes. He promised himself he would never extend an olive branch to Alden again. He had tried. Dammit, he’d tried to find a single positive quality in that asshole, but he had found nothing.
When he got home, he saw his roommate in the living room.
“Hey, Dan,” he said wearily.
“Hey,” Danny muttered, his eyes glued to the TV screen.
“Weren’t you supposed to be at work today?”
“Nope. Got fired.”
Will stared at his friend in shock.
“What happened?”
Dan shrugged.
“Nothing much,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant, but it was clear it was bothering him. “I’m not needed anymore.”
“Want something to drink?” Will offered, looking at his friend with concern.
“No, thanks.”
Will went to the kitchen for a moment to grab a snack, and when he came back, he told Dan about Norma’s party.
“Feel like coming?”
“No.”
“You sure? She asked about you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m serious. She told me to bring you.”
“That’s great, but I barely know her.”
“You can always get to know her.”
“Mhm.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“For you, sure. After all, it’s your new little group. I’m sure you’ll have a great time.”
Will felt a knot in his stomach.
“What are you talking about?” he asked defensively.
“By the way, you shouldn’t be yelling at Blake in public. One of his fangirls might stab you.”
This time, Danny’s smile was teasing, but genuine. Will smiled back. Apparently, gossip about Alden traveled fast. Good thing he was planning to stay far away from him.
“If you’re not going, I’m not going either,” he declared, intending to prove that Danny’s company was more important to him. “Maybe we can watch something?”
“No, go.” Dan’s tone turned harsh again. “I’ll probably be looking for work on Friday anyway.”
And that’s just how it was.
Things were supposed to be okay, but they weren’t. Not really.
November 15 | Friday
Will was lucky. So damn lucky that he was currently trudging through a thick layer of snow after dark! What happened to that beautiful, sunny October? It had gotten much colder at the start of the week, but Will hadn’t expected Black Hollow to start resembling the North Pole in just a few days.
He huffed, mentally cursing the fact that Norma lived so far from the bus stop, and out in the total boonies, on top of that.
Since there were no sidewalks, nothing had been plowed, and while he supposed he should have realized that, Will was completely unprepared.
His skinny jeans—he wasn’t going to wear five layers to a party, for crying out loud, especially one where Oscar was going to be—were soaked almost to his knees.
Luckily, he’d managed to dig his winter boots out of the basement, though he could still feel the snow that had gotten inside them.
On top of that, Will didn’t have a proper winter jacket yet.
He thought he’d had one last year but couldn’t find it for the life of him.
There was a vague memory of a broken zipper, but he couldn’t recall if it was his jacket or Dan’s.
Last winter had been over in the blink of an eye. This year’s wasn’t looking so merciful.
At one point, a loud rustle came from behind some nearby trees.
Will jumped, startled by the sound. His heart pounding, he aimed the light from his phone, but to his relief, he didn’t see anything alarming.
He smiled to himself. He was near the forest, after all.
He’d probably heard a rabbit, a wolf, or…
…a werewolf.
The thought chilled Will to the bone, and he abruptly picked up his pace.
He reached Norma’s house. The party was in full swing.
It took him a long moment to get used to the loud music and the packed space, and then he started looking for Oscar.
He spotted him and wanted to say hello, but Oscar was busy talking to some guy.
Oscar caught him looking, though, and gave him a smile.
Will smiled back, thinking Oscar would come over to him any second.
He didn’t. A small group had gathered around Oscar, and he was chatting casually with them, stealing glances at Will every now and then.
Will, for his part, poured himself a drink and stood by the wall, not wanting to get in anyone’s way, all the while keeping his eyes on Oscar.
He tried to be as subtle as possible but wasn’t sure how well he was succeeding.
God. To think he had really come here for Oscar.
And it was for that guy that he’d spent over an hour getting ready.
And now, because of him, Will was going to stand here like an idiot, filled with entitled thoughts, even though they hadn’t actually promised each other anything.
“What are you waiting for?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Will looked up and saw Liam standing next to him.
“What?”
“You like him, so go make a move.”
Will turned red.
“I don’t like anyone,” he grumbled. For some reason, he didn’t feel like admitting his pathetic crush to someone like Liam.
“Really? No one? In that case, something else must have caught your eye, because you’ve been staring this whole time.” Will’s blush deepened. Great. So much for being as subtle as possible. “Though I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve looked at Mr. Surfer like that.”
“Mr. Surfer?”
“The guy looks like he just stepped off a beach somewhere.”
Will smiled, amused. The nickname actually suited Oscar.
“So what are you waiting for?” Liam urged him.
Will shot him a sidelong glance, not quite sure what to say.
“For him to ask me out somewhere.”
“Why don’t you just do it?”
“Because he already did. Sort of. At the Halloween party, he said we’d go to the movies together.”
“Okay. And?”
“And nothing, that’s the problem!” Will took a deep breath, not hiding his frustration.
“He asked, I agreed, and then the subject was dropped. And it’s not the first time.
It was like that all last year. We were supposedly going to go somewhere, but somehow nothing ever came of it. I don’t think he takes me seriously.”
“Let’s test that.”
Will gave him a shocked look.
“What exactly are you going to do?” he asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
“For starters, we’ll try to make him jealous. If it works, that should tell us something, right?”
Will hesitated. Maybe. Maybe not. But the most important question was, “How, exactly?”
Liam gave him a roguish smile.
“Come on, you’ll see.”
He started walking, then stopped after a few steps and, looking back at Will, called out, “You coming?”
“N-… Ye-… I mean…”
Will couldn’t decide if it was a good idea, so Liam turned back, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him toward a couch that had just opened up. They sat down on it, facing each other. Close. Very close. Their knees were practically touching.
“Now what?” Will asked uncertainly.
“Now we talk,” Liam replied calmly.
Will frowned.
“And that’s it?” he mumbled, almost disappointed.
Liam looked amused.
“Were you expecting something more?”
“No, it’s just… I don’t think he’s going to get jealous because I’m talking to another guy.”