then the bastard resorted to tapping and poking. "Snap out of it... Okay, great. See my hands?" They were open wide. Bulbs of light burst under his skin. Little circles from his fingers to his elbows began to float like a cohesive substance. "I call it the lava lamp trick. It doesn't have any use, it just looks cool."

My forehead felt soothing against his neck, to a point I'd complain if he changed that. "You think we could have met differently? Like not here."

"Where else?"

"My beach. Big tourist attraction. We could have... you know? Been friends for two weeks if you visited the surf shop I worked at. I convinced parents to sign up their kid for lessons."

Luc huffed softly. "One small issue. I hate seafood."

"Don't you go to Ziggy's?"

"The good man's been trying to convert me for a while."

A challenging mission, by the sound of it. I'd join him if I'd known sooner. "You don't like shrimp and lobster?"

He shook his head. "Fish belong in water where I don't see them. By the way, your trench ghouls presentation in bio was awful. Cursed shit."

"Everyone loved it."

"Not me." He saw me pouting. "But it could have been nice... You'd see an extra face among many. Would have avoided a truckload of pain."

Knowing this part of him mattered. I couldn't imagine crossing paths and walking past one another as strangers.

"Not just pain."

Sure, a whole bunch of that. It wasn't his fault.

Luc's chest expanded and never emptied—or I didn't notice.

"It could be worse. It could be raining," he remarked.

"I could die alone."

"Don't say that."

"It's just a possibility," I mumbled, lids hovering dangerously close to the no-no. Any moment now, he'll jump on it.

"I fight odds every day. I'm winning this one, too."

"That deal we made, it can't change?" I had nothing to lose by asking, not in this state. It seemed foolish to keep it after what we endured together. He upset me like nobody else, but he'd come through at the end of the day. "I know you, I'm already neck deep in this, what would it change?"

Luc sighed and lowered his head until we were closer again. "It does sound pointless, doesn't it?"

"I don't think I want to not know you."

"So you do like me. That's encouraging. Unless you're losing more of your mind as we speak," he mocked.

He had an unnerving effect no one could deny—to power to stop you in your tracks. When he entered a classroom, he soaked up the space. I always knew which corner he stood in; hall, room or cafeteria, even without looking. Hallway kids never missed a chance to watch him pass by.

I've seen things that defied the limits of perceived reality.

And they were supposed to be alike. One kind, same goal. But Luc, he was different even among them.

For no reason, heat poured out in waves inside me. I curled up, and it became so hard to breathe again.

"Riley? Riley."

I would have answered, but we delayed this too often. He called out my name. Dots teemed, blocking out the stars and his desperate calls that broke my heart. I was suddenly so scared, it decided to gallop as if to make up for the last hour. My reflex was to cling to his voice, but the tunnel was widening. Reaching out with icy fingers.

  ✩