Page 77

“Yeah, I’m excited. I want to help athletes recover quickly and safely. Plus, it’ll be some good experience for when I apply to grad school.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out. Is Kyle going to let you practice on him?”

Alex laughs softly. “Oh, he doesn’t have a choice. He’ll be my guinea pig, whether he wants to be or not.”

Elliot tilts his head, curiosity sparking in his eyes. “How did you and Kyle become friends?”

Alex pauses, replaying a fond memory in his head. “It was last year, right after practice. I was waiting for my dad in the stands and playing old-school Pokémon on my Game Boy. I couldn’t beat the Elite Four and was getting super frustrated. Then, out of nowhere, Kyle comes up, sits down next to me, and takes the Game Boy out of my hands. In five minutes, he crushes them and hands me back my Game Boy without saying a word.”

“So, he just…helped you? No conversation or anything?” Elliot asks, clearly intrigued.

“Not at first,” Alex says, smiling. “He got up to leave, and I thanked him. Then we started talking about Pokémon—it turns out he’s ahugefan—and that led to talking about other stuff. By the time my dad was ready to go, we’d made plans to hang out.”

Elliot raises an eyebrow. “I figured Kyle was the type to keep to himself.”

“He is,” Alex admits. “But with me, it’s…different.”

I wonder what Elliot’s thinking. He’s right about Kyle; our goalie is notoriously reserved, even around the team. But with Alex, it’s always been abundantly clear that their bond runs deep.

“That makes sense,” Elliot says. “Sometimes it’s easier to open up to one person than to a whole group.”

The room falls silent, but it’s a contemplative silence. I thinkabout how lucky Alex is to have Kyle and how I’ve always had Oliver and now, maybe even Elliot—if he lets me in.

“Friendships are weird like that,” I say, breaking the quiet. “You never know who will become important in your life.”

Alex nods thoughtfully. “Yeah. Sometimes, it happens when you least expect it.”

We get back to working on our pumpkins, each lost in our thoughts. I glance over at Elliot and wonder if he sees the parallel that I do—he and I could be like Alex and Kyle, an unlikely duo that somehow works.

When we’re done, we line up our final creations with the other pumpkins and take a step back to admire them. Alex’s last pumpkin is a traditional jack-o’-lantern with a crooked smile and triangle eyes. Elliot’s is an open book with scribbles for words. Mine is supposed to be a hockey mask, but it came out more of a deranged pumpkin face. “Gentlemen, I dare say these are the best jack-o’-lanterns this side of the Mississippi River. If you ask me, they deserve a place in the Louvre, not our house.”

“This was fun,” Alex chirps as he walks to the sink to wash his hands. “Did you have a good time, Elliot?”

“I did,” Elliot says. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Gerard.” Alex nods at me, making me blush. “I’m going up to Kyle’s room. It was nice meeting you, Elliot. Gerard, always a pleasure.”

The moment Alex leaves, a blanket of tension covers the room. I’m at a loss for words and actions. My hands, usually so expressive, hang limply by my sides.

Elliot breaks the silence first. “I should probably get going. Thank you again for having me over.”

“It was my pleasure,” I say sincerely as I show him out of the kitchen. “I can walk you back to your dorm.”

Elliot shakes his head. “Nah, I’m good. I don’t need a chaperone.”

I try to hide my disappointment. I hoped we could spend more time together, maybe talk about horror movies or books—even if I’ve never read any. But I get it. Elliot’s independent and doesn’t need me hovering over him like an overprotective hockey player. “Okay, cool. I guess I’ll see you around then.”

Elliot tips his head in my direction before walking out onto the porch and down the steps to the driveway. I watch his slender frame disappear into the night, his black hair and the glint of his glasses barely visible in the faint moonlight that seeps through the trees.

A strange feeling twists in my gut. It’s a chilly night with a soft breeze that carries the scent of fall and the distant echo of laughter from the frat houses down the street. The stars are shimmering diamonds scattered across black velvet, but their light is too distant to penetrate the shadows on the ground.

I bite my lower lip, worrying it between my teeth as I lean against the doorframe. Elliot’s out there navigating the unfamiliar paths that wind through campus alone.What if he gets lost? What if he stumbles into trouble?I know he’s a grown man and perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but I can’t ignore the protective instinct that surges through me.

Someone needs to follow Elliot and see that he gets back to his dorm safe and sound. And that someone should be me.I push off from the door, my mind made up.

I grab my house keys and phone, slip into my trusty slides, and step out into the night.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Following Elliot back to his dorm is aterribleidea. It’s creepy, it’s stalkerish, and it’s definitely not the way to win his trust. But I can’t help myself.