“Oh my god, you weirdo! Hey!” I say, returning his embrace. “Congratulations, or something, I guess?”
He pulls away and beams at me, gesturing to move from the speakers so we don’t have to shriek at each other. He pulls a chair out for me at one of the tables, and we sit down.
“I just want to say sorry for not telling you who I am,” he says, his thick eyebrows full of concern. “This was kind of a personal exercise for me, but I should have been more upfront.”
“Are you kidding me?” I say, beaming at him. “This is the most exciting thing to happen to me personally since Damon Van Schwartz sneezed on my elbow.”
“Still, I am sorry, Eliza. And also: gross.”
“Don’t apologise,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m just . . . I don’t even . . .”
He laughs, putting his hand up.
“Believe me, I get it,” he says, and I’m struck by how good his English accent was. He’s obviously very talented. “Before I committed to anything, I needed to know I could exist in this world and this seemed like a good, if extreme, way to test myself. Damon sort of took me under his wing and told me how everything that comes with the show can be kind of intense. I wasn’t sure if I could be around it all.”
“Yep, I guess we’re kind of a weird bunch if you’re not used to it,” I say, patting his arm. “So the McKinley costume was so you could move among the mortals?”
He nods, smiling.
“I thought some of you might recognise me from the leaked episodes,” he says. “Thought it might help prepare for the show a little as well.”
My hands fly to my cheeks, and I gasp.
“You mean you wentmethod? Are you partwerewolf?!”He raises his eyebrows but neither confirms nor denies, like a seasoned pro. “Spoilers. Ilovethis.”
“I said nothing,” he says, smiling.
“You’ve decided to go ahead with the show though?” I ask.
He nods, looking around at the party.
“I’m just gonna lean into it.” I can’t help but smile as he repeats my own words back to me. “Seriously though, this weekend, this whole thing, hasn’t been what I expected. I didn’t realise a TV show could mean so much to people, and I’m excited to be a part of that. The friendships that are built because of it are unreal.”
“They are,” I say, tears pricking at my eyes.
“You look after each other,” he says, squeezing my hand.
“We do,” I say, nodding as I squeeze back.
“Thank you, Eliza. Thank you for the chair, for the crown, for all of it. You really helped me decide to take a chance on myself.” He takes my other hand and looks down at me. “I hope you’ll give yourself a chance too, whatever that looks like.”
I swallow, unable to speak, but give him the biggest, most definite nod I can.
“Life is about connection, Eliza, and sometimes you have to let yourself reconnect.”
He looks over my shoulder and smiles.
I look round just as the cannons go off, so I get to see Sadie, dressed in a blue sparkly dress, squealing at the red confetti. Roxy, stunning in goth vampire mode, spins her around like a tiny ballerina, her hand turned upwards so the confetti fallsthrough her fingers like snowflakes. Charlie’s stopped next to them, the only one not in costume, combing the petals out of his hair with his hands, but he’s smiling.
They’re all smiling.
I want to race over and spin Sadie around too, but mostly I just want to hide behind Dylan, so that’s what I do.
“You OK back there?” he says, letting me crouch behind his sizeable frame, the gentleman he is. I nod. “Was that a nod?” I nod again. “OK, because they’re coming over here.”
I peek out from his side and Sadie races up to me like she’s just found me in a game of hide and seek, so I just go with that. She jumps up and throws her arms around my neck, in all likelihood doing some long-term spinal damage, but I’m prepared to live with it because the joy radiating off this kid could cure most ailments.
I squeeze her back and she lets go, clapping her hands together.
