The girls and I finished the carnival night with a movies and popcorn sleepover. I slid a quick phone note to Emma to update her about the kiss, and the look on her face was priceless. It was that old, pre-attack glimmer that promised to rip the details out of me over a late video call.

And I looked forward to it. I wasn't ready for a public announcement, but I needed to gush over it. It was so romantic, my head still spun.

I hadn't planned for what happened next. Before sunrise, I'd woken up thirsty and snuck across the sleepy bodies on my way to the kitchen downstairs.

Adam had just closed the fridge doors and carried a couple of ice cubes in a glass. He saw me lurking around the corner and broke into an easy grin.

"Hey, there."

"I think your house is a little too cozy."

"Yeah, it has good insulation. Pays off in the winter," he spoke lowly, in search for a second glass. "Thirsty?"

"Uh-huh."

He glanced funny over his shoulder, reaching mid-way. "Like for water or...?"

I walked over the tiles, entering the kitchen. "Just water. Sorry if that's not what you hoped for."

Adam bit his lip and loaded a comical fist in the air. But he offered me a glass of icy sparkling water, nonetheless. We sipped in silence. I felt his eyes roam when I looked away, and I caught onto the game. Since coming back from the carnival, we hadn't been around each other.

And I didn't want to go back to the girls' room. At least not yet.

We'd kissed a lot, but what was it like to sleep next to a boy? I was old enough... It wasn't wrong to be curious.

"Would you get in trouble with your parents if I stayed... with you?" I asked out of the blue.

He paused his sip then slowly put his glass down. His stare plunged into mine, and I noticed the strain in his shoulders. They were muscular, well-rounded. They probably felt really good pressed against me.

"Maybe?" His throat bobbed. "But uh... as long as we don't get caught, there's no trouble I can get in. You're saying you changed your mind?"

Okay, some boundaries needed to be clear. I never meant giving away my V-card to the first guy I kiss and on the same night—while escaping my friends. A bit too rash for my taste.

"I don't mean sleeping with you. I mean sleeping. With you. While you sleep." My lips fumbled into an awkward smile. "Just having the sleepover with you."

His face cleared up but he nodded immediately. "Sure. We can just slip under the covers and talk until we're out."

I loved hearing the idea out loud. We parted ways so I could leave a note for the girls, and then I landed in Adam's bed with the door locked. The heat in my cheeks would have been a dead giveaway if it weren't for the lights out.

Everything happened as we'd agreed, though. I slipped in facing him, and he rested his head on an elbow, watching me. We did touch while rambling, little brushes here and there, knees knocking. Each one made my stomach flip. I couldn't get enough of the sight of him this close.

"What? How do you even get to the stage of dipping french fries in your milkshake?"

That perplexed frown had no business showing up on his face. "How wouldn't you think about it? It works for chicken nuggets, too. Smoothies wasn't bad, either. It's like putting classic Doritos and ranch in your sandwich and eating it all after a long day of riding waves. Perfect junk food."

"The horror. Every word you just uttered. Fast food dipped in liquid sweets? Chips in a sandwich? You have no shame."

"One day, I'll make you a sandwich and you will see how wrong you are."

"In your dreams, buddy."

Was any part of this night real? I didn't want to fall asleep but it came for us after all while we held hands. None of the girls ratted us out in the morning, and I managed to wake up before anybody else. I felt like a successful secret agent when I tiptoed back into my sleeping bag. 

▲▲▲

Public school was still new, but I was grateful for the return to a routine.

Breakfasts with Dad, homework, hanging out in the park, swimming with Adam on our free period...

I was wading through the hall with my swim bag, worried because I'd just spotted Coach around the pool. He wasn't usually present at that hour, but if Adam was meeting me there, he wouldn't bother us. I just didn't want to have to look at him. Knowing that creep was nearby was enough for me to track his whereabouts instead of having fun.

I spotted my locker amid the traffic of heads. I lifted my arm—almost there—and the instant contact with metal seared through my skin. Yelping, I jumped into a couple of students.

I stared at the ominous-looking padlock, forgetting about my poor nagging palm. It was... rumbling against the locker. Like a simmering teapot. Before I could register any of it, it unlatched, causing me to gasp.

No. What? How did that—

No way... Oh God, please, anything but...

The heat, sure, but then it—

I gawked as the words wouldn't form, until the ability to reason flowed back. Then I had the common sense of taking in the crowded hall in case someone else followed the whole thing. There, among the kids lining up for the stairs, a taller boy with brown waves at the nape of his neck was stalking away with an even taller, bigger blond dude.

He was faster than most despite the minimal strides, and he was slipping toward the cafeteria.

Fury drenched me.

I launched in pursuit of Luc, willing to break my deal to blast him in front of the whole school. He had no right. He had no right. He knew this would scare me, how could he?

I dodged a band of juniors and practically climbed over guys on the soccer team to squeeze through the double doors, but he was already far along the echoey staircase. Ben was passing him a water bottle. I was so going to douse him at his lunch table...

I bolted out of the doors myself and found them in the midst of gathering. My hands and knees were shaking, but I started for them, and stopped short. A frightened scream to the left of the aisle drew everyone's attention away, including mine. So I turned to another table where Colt had risen from his seat, his cellphone abandoned in the center.

"The picture! It's gone!" he cried, and some kid skipped across to check his screen.

Other tables began to listen in.

I peered at the mutants' corner, eyes falling on Luc's as he was opening a textbook. His flicked up and down dismissively like I didn't ring a bell.

"Moss Grove?" I heard, and more people mumbled the name of the place. I spun to Colt's table, spine straight.

"What's wrong?" I asked. A bunch of people had formed a circle and were checking their phones, anxious.

A girl in my trig class leaned in so I could look into hers. It was set on the school blog's home feed. "That picture of the attack, it went all over the news. It's been scrubbed from everywhere on the internet."

Colt shoved his hands in his hair, on the verge of tears. "No, guys! It's not just gone from the internet. I had it saved and I tried to upload it again. The image was in my freaking phone and it disappeared!"

They'll come down here poking, and then what? We have our ways. We're solid, Luc had said.

But Emma and I, we weren't safe. He'd made that clear. His people would definitely throw us under the bus if they had reasons to worry.

"Hang on, I have a screenshot of it. I'll try," an unfamiliar boy with pink hair volunteered. He thumbed around, and I snuck in between huddled folks to get a vantage point. I watched, holding my breath as he opened the media button that took him to his photo gallery.

A couple of clicks later, the post didn't upload on his profile. More kids confirmed it didn't go through.

"Check your gallery now," Colt said, arms braced against the table.

The boy rushed to do as instructed, and surprise surprise. His personal screenshot was nowhere to be retrieved. It'd been right there for all of us to witness. Wiped clean like it never existed. 

✩  

End of Book 1!