Chapter 6 #3
What about my head? It does feel a bit strange, now that he mentions it. Almost like I’m swimming underwater, but it doesn’t hurt, so it’s fine.
“You just got hit in the head,” he says flatly. “Remember? While attempting whatever that trick was supposed to be. Don’t tell me you actually got a concussion.”
Oh, right. The scorpion kick. I had, in fact, forgotten about that.
“I’m fine,” I say automatically, which is true enough.
Colten narrows his eyes. “Stay still.”
Before I can protest, he reaches up, fingers brushing through my hair. I freeze, unable to move as he picks pieces of grass off my head.
“Did you black out?” he asks.
“No.”
“Blurred vision?”
“No.”
He hums, his sharp gaze turning to my eyes, staring intensely. “Your pupils look even, if a bit dilated.”
“None of that matters,” I tell him, crossing my arms. “That’s not the point.”
“Oh, really?” Colten says, stepping back as he raises an eyebrow. “Then what is the point?”
“The point is that you need to stay away from Nico,” I say, jabbing a finger toward him.
Colten blinks, clearly not expecting that. “…What?”
“You heard me,” I tell him, glaring down at him. “He’s no good for you.”
Colten stares at me like I’ve just announced that the moon is made of cheese.
“And why would Nico be bad for me?” he asks, speaking slowly.
I lean closer and lower my voice dramatically.
“Because he’s hiding a princess in his dorm.”
Silence.
Even the music from the field seems to pause.
Colten just looks at me.
“A princess,” he repeats. “You think Nico is hiding a princess.”
“Yes,” I reply with complete confidence.
Colten rubs a hand over his face. “You’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk,” I slur indignantly.
“You’re accusing the newbie of harboring royalty.”
Was that right? I squint before nodding hard. “He told me himself!”
“Patrick...” Colten presses his lips together, the way he does when he’s trying to keep himself from laughing because he doesn’t want to ‘encourage me’, whatever that means.
“And also, you were glowing,” I continue, because that is the real issue, and it’s still very much unresolved.
Colten freezes. His shoulders go tight, and I watch his Adam's apple bob as he swallows hard.
“…You saw that?” he says.
“Of course I saw that!” I say as I step forward.
Colten instinctively takes a step back, and I take another step forward.
Then another, and another, until his back hits the metal wall of the shed with a quiet clang.
I plant my hands on the wall on either side of him. Which, now that I’m noticing it, puts us extremely close together, but that’s fine, because this is a confrontation.
“Don’t try to lie to me,” I say.
His eyes flick up to mine, glaring.
And—wait.
He’s glowing again!
It’s a faint shimmer under his skin, warm and golden, like sunlight caught on a freshly polished soccer ball.
My stomach twists. “Are you thinking about Nico right now?” I demand.
“No!” Colten drags a hand over his face.
“Then why are you glowing?”
He groans softly and covers his face with both hands for some reason while muttering to himself.
Very suspicious!
Between his fingers, I can still see that little scar on his eyebrow, the one from freshman year.
We were both going for a header at full speed. We both saw the other, but neither of us backed down.
The ball bounced off my forehead, and Colten’s head bounced off mine. There was blood everywhere, and Coach nearly had a heart attack.
Colten got four stitches and a permanent scar, and afterwards he just shrugged and said, “Next time, call it louder.”
It was the start of our friendship, and the next semester we were able to room together at the dorms.
I stare at that scar now, at the way it cuts through his eyebrow. His ponytail is loose, wisps of hair escaping and framing his hidden face. My hands itch to help pull it back for him.
“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” Colten suddenly asks from behind his fingers. “Aren’t you cold?”
“No,” I say, and mean it. I’m actually weirdly warm. “But more importantly…”
I grab his wrists, pulling them away from his face, and ask, “Why are you glowing?”
Colten resists at first, before his fingers ease just enough to see his eyes as they open and immediately lock on mine. They’re dark, immediately drawing me in.
For a moment, neither of us moves.
Then I pull his hands away completely, and—wow, he is very red. His face is flushed, spreading down from his cheeks before disappearing beneath the neckline of his shirt.
For a second, I think about tugging at the collar of his shirt to see just how far it goes before remembering that would be inappropriate and rude.
Colten is still staring at me, his eyes wide. “What are you thinking about right now?” he asks quietly.
I frown. “You, of course.” What else would I think about? He’s the only person who’s constantly on my mind, in every part of my life.
“You’re glowing,” he whispers.
I glance down.
Oh.
Oh!
I didn’t notice it because of his own glowing, but…my arms are glowing too.
Just like he is.
My stomach swoops, and I feel like I’m right back at the end of a cliff, staring at the unknown darkness below.
“…Huh,” I say.
Colten swallows. The glow under his skin brightens.
“I’m…also thinking about you,” he says softly. “Not Nico.”
My brain short-circuits. It’s total static in my head. I can’t string more than two words together.
My heart pounds as if I’m only a breath away from falling off the cliff.
Then I lean forward, let myself fall, and kiss him.