Owen and Elliot are having a quiet exchange on my other side, but Elliot briskly pats him on the back to usher him away. We wave to our companions as they disappear into the tent and for the first time, we are completely alone.
8
‘Have you been to Mirrorball yet?’
The sound of his raspy voice shoots through my body and I think I’m genuinely surprised that he’s spoken to me. What did I expect? That we would sit in silence for the next hour? Possibly.
His blue eyes bore into mine as he waits for my answer to his question. My mind empties, and for a second I hate myself.
‘Oh, no. I’ve never been.’ I swallow. ‘But um, it sounds fine.’
‘Good.’ His tone doesn’t sound like he thinks this is good. ‘Let’s head over then.’
‘Wait, how do you know these places?’ I stumble behind him as he forges ahead. ‘I thought this was your first time too?’
‘Ham gave me a very intense tour when we first arrived. I know the site better than a first-timer should.’
We wander back in the direction we just came from, the drumstick swaying easily between us as we walk. There is no chance I’d be able to recall where Mirrorball is – or where pretty much anything is in this festival. The site stretches across approximately seven hundred acres including the camping,making itextremelyeasy to get lost here. Maybe a chaperone is a small blessing.
An uneasy silence sits between us as we approach a smaller tent with one side completely exposed, revealing the shimmering interior as it glimmers with dozens of disco balls hanging from the ceiling. Aretha Franklin plays over the speakers as a small group sways and sings along on a mini dance floor. Cluttered collections of beanbags and plush cushions sit invitingly on mismatched rugs around it.
Elliot leads me to the bar, where a bored looking man with golden-brown skin and a pile of wiry black hair tucked under a beanie leans forward on the counter.
‘Hi,’ he says before turning to me. ‘What would you like?’
I step closer to the bar and rest my hands on top of it, making Elliot’s follow suit. The drumstick thumps down onto the counter with a loudclickand the barman’s eyes immediately slide to it.
‘I feel like this is a… situation,’ he says with an emotionless nod at the drumstick.
‘You could say that,’ Elliot says, his tone flippant.
‘I’ll have a gin and tonic, please,’ I cut in quickly, smiling brightly at the barman to distract him from thesituation. Elliot follows suit and requests a beer.
The barman nods after one last glance at our hands and turns away to get our drinks. A load of air escapes me as the reality of our unhinged deal washes over me all over again.
‘I guess we can hardly blame people for making comments about this. We probably look completely insane.’ I stare blankly at our hands and add quietly, ‘Maybe weareinsane.’
Elliot rests his hip against the edge of the bar, leaning on his elbow in a way that somehow makes the whole ‘sharing a drumstick’ thing looknotabnormal or awkward. He’s always so composed, his body seemingly in total control.
‘We aren’t insane, princess. We just care a lot about something.’
I wonder what exactly it is he cares so much about.
‘“Princess?”’ I give him a dark look. ‘Because of the tiara? Nice. Original.’
He makes a sound that sounds a bit like a laugh. But honestly I can’t be sure.
Looking around, there is no doubt that Elliot chose the perfect place for me. There can’t be more than ten people in this tent. I feel the tightness in my body begin to slacken and try to let myself enjoy the temporary respite from the chaos of Firecrest.
The barman returns with amused eyes and slams our drinks on the bar as Elliot reaches into his back pocket with his free hand and throws a small wallet onto the bar, using the same hand to carefully retrieve a card out of it.
‘Oh wait, you don’t have to pay. I’ll get mine–’
His eyes remain impassively on me as he leans over and taps his card on the machine.
‘Thank you,’ I say, my cheeks flushing for some reason. ‘I’ll get the next round.’
We grab our drinks and retreat to a pair of beanbags sitting unnervingly close to each other. On some sort of bodily instinct, I rush to one and move it slightly further away. When I look back there’s a faint frown on Elliot’s face.
