“Aster was at the dance,” I say, feeling my palm sweat against Ranger's. His is dry and warm, and I can only hope he isn't squicked out by my moistness. I mean, the moistness in my palm that is. Like, I'm sure he wouldn't mind moistness elsewhere … I bet he'd mind the word moist though. He seems like the type to get peeved over a word. “She danced with me and Ross …” I trail off, because that's not particularly helpful information. No offense to her or anything, she was a nice enough girl, but our interactions were fairly forgettable.
“Aster, huh?” Ranger says, narrowing his eyes to slits. He squeezes my hand in his and then finally lets go, glancing my way. “You said you were sure one of the attackers was female?”
“Positive,” I reply, letting my mind follow his train of thought. “You think Aster could be one of the murderers? Or even Selena?”
“Either one would make sense, considering how suspicious Mark is,” Spencer adds as Church sits in quiet, contemplative thought. I can see the wheels in his head turning.
“Mark is guilty; we’ve known that since forever ago,” Micah says with a scoff, sitting down near Spencer and giving his twin some space. That particular sentence, I think it was meant to come out in unison. Glancing over at Tobias though, it’s quite obvious that he has no intention of playing along. “But seriously, what sort of guy could string his best friend up in a tree like that?”
“Mark is a serious cum wad,” I point out, and all five boys give their agreement in murmurs, nods, or shrugs. Also, note to self: don’t say cum around all five of your boyfriends, Chuck. It takes on a less gross and more, um, sensual sort of tone. Luckily, nobody notices my embarrassment in the dim light. “Honestly, finding out that he murdered his bestie would be less surprising than learning he has”—dramatic eye twitch—“groupies. Total vom moment.”
“But why?” Church says, breaking his silence as he looks up. “We're missing a motive here. Do I believe Mark could be dark, broken, and stupid enough to kill his best friend? Sure. But why? Why would Aster or Selena come after our Chuck?”
Our Chuck? I think, licking my lips as I take a seat near the table. Glancing around the room, I realize I kind of like that idea, of being their Chuck. Weird, huh? I mean, they used to crack eggs down my shirt and dump jars of spiders on me, give me swirlies and lock me out of the dining room at Culinary Club. And now, these Student Council Boys feel like they could be my forever crew.
“Maybe we should set up some sort of surveillance, see when Mark comes back and who with?” Tobias suggests. “I could take the first watch.”
“I'll go with you,” Micah adds, standing up, but Tobias gives him a tight smile.
“I'd rather go with Spencer, but thanks anyway.” Tobias heads for the door and lets himself out while Spencer groans and grumbles under his breath about lack of sleep. On his way out, he comes over and blesses me with a kiss to the forehead before leaving.
Micah's crestfallen face on the other hand, that haunts me well into my dreams. In it, he's looking at the dead body of his brother on the shrine’s stone altar, instead of the stranger that Spence and I saw.
It feels like a warning to me, and I don't like that.
I don't want to lose one of my crew, not now or ever.
And I really, really don't want to choose.The next morning, I wake up in a puddle of drool with my hair stuck to my face, just like Anna in fucking Frozen. Unlike Anna in fucking Frozen, I have Micah McCarthy grinning at me and taking pictures with his phone.
“If any of those end up on social media, I swear, I will destroy you.”
“Already posted to Insta,” he says with a dark grin as I reach out to swat him.
“Boner wizard,” I mumble in the most insulting way possible, pushing myself up into a sitting position and finding the rest of the room empty. The boys have rolled up their futons, folded their blankets, and stored their pillows in the closet. “Where is everybody? Did Mark ever come back last night?”
“Yup,” he says, tucking his phone away and leaning back. His red-orange hair falls into his face as he studies me with moss green eyes. It isn't lost on me that the reason he's fighting with his brother is because of me. Because he wanted to do something romantic for me. I bite my lower lip against a rush of guilt. “But Spence and Toby bailed when he and Selena started fu—”
“Okay, okay, enough. I don't need to rinse my ears out with bleach this early in the morning.” I stand up on shaky legs and yawn, trying to forget that I actually screwed both McCarthy twins on a Disneyland ride. As if I have a right to be prudish. “So, Mark came back, and not with Aster?”
