“Full moon?” I asked, biting my thumbnail.
“Everyone’s talking about it,” added Jackson while his light-blue eyes went back and forth between the TV and an isolated corner of the hallway.
Following the trajectory of his gaze, I fell into James’s trap. He was making out with a girl.
Here’s the umpteenth warning for you, June.
And it was agony and also a little bit of a relief. Seeing him so unreachable made me go back to a comfort zone. It made me feel safe, as if I’d never left my bubble. The danger was out there, and I was comfortably protected in a place where I couldn’t hurt myself.
But an electric shock jabbed at my senses when he pulled away from the brunet’s full lips and looked right into my eyes. My stomach turned. Sure, I had feelings for Will, but they weren’t so intense. Maybe the only way to numb them was to not return his looks.
“What were you saying about this full moon?” I hid behind William, who was superconcentrated on a game with Jackson.
“That people go crazy during the full moon. They do things they shouldn’t do. They fight more. So they all become lunatics.”
“Ah,” I muttered skeptically, when I saw Poppy and Blaze come in.
Poppy was now ready to party. Her hair was in a hairdo that showed off the purple ends, and she was wearing a very tight-fitting white minidress. If I’d worn the same thing, I’d have burst out of it and looked like an egg timer in its eighth month of pregnancy.
“Brian?” Amelia asked, looking around her.
“He’ll come when he wants to,” I heard Blaze tell Amelia.
Blaze waved at me, then shot a quick glance at Jackson, who didn’t pay attention to him at all because he was so engrossed in the game.
“Come on, Blaze. I need your precision to make the cocktails.” Poppy called to him.
“Hey, birthday girl.”
James positioned himself in front of her, but his blue eyes were looking at Blaze, who was having a hard time holding his intense gaze.
“Will you come with me? I gotta do something.”
James’s words were directed at Poppy, but Blaze’s eyelids started to quiver. I felt that strong grip in my stomach again. Maybe it was jealousy? Did Blaze and James like each other?
“But Poppy . . . cocktails?” asked Blaze, while she and James had already walked away.
“I’ll help you,” offered Jackson, getting off the couch and handing me the controller.
“Do you think”—Will caught my attention—“I should get a gym membership?”
“The full moon is causing you to spew bullshit, isn’t it?” I burst out laughing, and he laughed with me. Everything would be a lot easier if we were friends.
What was just a thought started to take shape. If Will and I were really friends, I would’ve accepted him warts and all, no problem. But the weird limbo we were in wasn’t good for either of us. I decided to accept the FIFA challenge, and we spent a carefree half hour forgetting about all our problems. Suddenly I heard Ari’s silvery voice in the background, and I don’t know why, but our little bubble of tranquility burst.
I quickly glanced at her when I saw her walk through the door. There wasn’t a single guy whose head didn’t turn to look at her. She had long hazelnut hair in a tall, flowy ponytail, and was wearing high-heeled boots and an oversized sweater that went down to her knees. And seeing Will look eagerly at her made me grumble. It was the first time I’d been in a situation like this—maybe because at my old schools, I was in a corner eating my pizza slice all alone while the most popular girls shared low-fat nutrition bars and swapped football players.
“What’s going on?” asked Will, seeing my expression.
“Nothing. You beat me twice without even deserving to win!” I teased.
“You were with him, weren’t you?” Amelia’s cold voice cut through the atmosphere, pulling me and Will away from the game.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Poppy’s tall silhouette join her friends, while James walked down the stairs shirtless with his hair more tousled than usual. There was a little music in the background and more people than before, but despite that I could hear their conversation.
“Were you really with him?” demanded Amelia.
“So what? It’s my birthday, leave me alone. My mom made me promise that we wouldn’t break anything, but I already saw someone in the bathroom who—”
