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Zeph shot him a look that melted something in Jack’s chest. “If we’re seen together all the time, they’ll spread another sort of rumour.

But I need to stop hiding. I can’t spend the next two years being scared of them and what they might do.

I was hoping they might have changed over the summer, got bored of tormenting me but they haven’t.

If I thought giving them the money would make them stop, I might have, but it won’t. ”

Jack knew how he’d have dealt with them, but Zeph didn’t have his skills.

“How come it’s only your sixteenth birthday?”

“I skipped a year when I was seven.”

“Because you were brilliant?”

“At least 1,600 lumens.” Zeph grinned and Jack chuckled.

“The first assembly sort of told me that. Full marks in three subjects!”

“You’re smart too.”

“I struggled with the latest physics homework.”

“Question four?”

Jack nodded.

“Me too. I worked it out in the end, but it was tricky. Which school did you go to?”

“I’ve never been to school.”

Zeph’s eyes widened. “Homeschooled? What about GCSEs?”

“Thomas taught me. He’s my uncle. I’ve never done any exams. I had to sit a test to get accepted at Fishbourne.”

“I can’t get my head around the idea of not going to school, but then my dad is only interested in sport. My mum… She could have managed the arty subjects and music, but she died when I was twelve. My dad married again a year later.”

“What’s his new wife like?”

Zeph shrugged. “Elisa’s a no-rules type of parent and I like rules.”

“My parents died when I was very young.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is.”

“I miss my mum,” Zeph whispered.

“I don’t miss mine. Thomas has been mother and father to me.”

“You’re lucky.”

Zeph had no idea. He owed everything to Thomas.

“My stepmother doesn’t like me. Nor do my stepsisters. My dad thinks I spend too much time alone, that I should join the football team, or any team. He thinks it will help me fit in. But I’m fine on my own.”

Jack hesitated. “You want me to go?”

“No. This is the longest conversation I’ve had with anyone for ages. So… Have you come to school to do A levels so you can go to university? Where do you want to go? What do you want to study?”

“I won’t be going to university.”

Zeph gasped. “Why not?”

“I’m going to work, travel, work some more. Explore the world.”

“What sort of work will you do?”

“Whatever needs doing.”

“Wow. I can’t imagine having that level of confidence. What do you want to be in the end when you settle down?”

“Who says I’m going to settle down? What are your plans?”

“Cambridge to do maths and computer science. Assuming I get an offer and the grades.”

“And you can’t imagine me having the level of confidence to swan around doing fuck all?” Jack raised his eyebrows. “I wouldn’t think you getting accepted for Cambridge was in doubt.”

“Based on our short acquaintance?”

“You’re smarter than the average bear.”

“That’s not necessarily true. It depends on the distribution of bear intelligence.”

“We need to discuss Gaussian theory.”

Zeph chuckled. “There’ll be a considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and that of the dumbest tourists. Luckily, no bears in the UK outside of zoos.”

“You’ll walk into Cambridge.”

He shrugged. “I should do okay grade-wise, but it doesn’t mean they’ll want me.

I have to take something called STEP, a maths exam written by Cambridge to filter the best applicants.

And it’s hard. Plus, my face might not fit.

I’m not a leader, or a team player. I don’t have any fascinating hobbies or unusual extracurricular activities, though I do take part in maths competitions.

Maybe my dad is right, I should join a team.

” He pretended to think about it. “No, I won’t. I’ll run. That’s what I like to do.”

“So do I. We could be a running team of two. You could write that on your statement. Tweak the truth.”

Zeph’s face split in a broad smile.

“What are your plans after university?”

“Government agency. Maybe GCHQ. Stopping cybercrime.”

That was…interesting. “You want to be a spy?”

“Not sure I’d be MI5 or MI6 material.” Zeph winced. “Behind a desk is more my style.”

And nothing like Jack’s. Their thighs touched, neither of them moved, and Jack missed what Zeph said after that.

“What do you think?” Zeph asked.

“That I should give you my phone number.”

As he’d hoped, it distracted Zeph from what he’d asked. He held out his phone to Jack.

Jack took it and tapped into it. “Now call me and I’ll have yours.”

He looked at Zeph’s face, at his long eyelashes, his dark-rimmed glasses, his big eyes and felt something curl and grow inside him, something that began to eat at him but not in an unpleasant way.

His phone rang and Jack cut it off. He felt as if he wanted to stay out there all night under the stars, staring at Zeph, listening to him talk. It was an unfamiliar feeling.

“What were you doing out here before I scared you?”

“Stargazing.”

“I learnt to navigate by the stars.” Jack clenched his teeth. He shouldn’t have said that but what was he giving away?

“That sounds like a useful skill. Though it would worry me that clear skies are required. I wonder if anyone’s thought to invent a GPS that doesn’t rely on an electrical supply or a battery.”

“What are you thinking?”

“You could wind it up like a flashlight.”

“Rather than use your phone?”

“Your phone battery is dead.”

“A way to wind that up?”

“You dropped it in a river. Or a ravine.”

“And not the GPS?”

Zeph chuckled. “Let’s face it, I’d die. If there were bears, I’d get eaten by one. Level of intelligence irrelevant.”

Jack smiled.

“What music do you like?” Zeph asked.

“OneRepublic. Beethoven. Hozier. Coldplay. Mika. Snow Patrol. Mozart. Adele. Grieg.”

“That’s a wide selection.”

Jack shrugged. He didn’t know any artist well. Maybe he ought to clarify what he’d said. “I might like a song or a tune but that doesn’t mean I like everything by that person or group. Same with the classical composers. And books for that matter.”

“I like Counting Stars,” Zeph said.

“The song or for real?”

“Both. Who can’t smile at what’s above us? OneRepublic deservedly had a massive hit with it, but the idea that money can’t buy happiness only applies if you have issues in your life that money can’t solve.”

Jack wasn’t sure he knew what happiness was.

He’d had long periods of contentment with Thomas, plenty of times when he’d enjoyed what they’d done or the place they’d been visiting, but…

There was a but . Jack’s future was all laid out for him and he didn’t anticipate it making him happy.

He’d be sacrificing a normal life in order to right wrongs in a way most people wouldn’t understand or agree with. Zeph included.

“Coldplay’s Viva la Vida is full of meaning too,” Zeph said. “About how power can be fleeting. One moment you hold the key to wonders, the world at your feet, the next moment you find your castles are on shaky ground and you’re about to lose everything. I wish I could write something as powerful.”

“You write songs?”

“I try. Songs and poems.”

“What’s your favourite line from Counting Stars?”

“ Everything that kills me makes me feel alive .”

Christ! “Mine too.” But for different reasons.

Zeph had a nervous smile on his face and Jack’s stomach twisted.

“I have a keyboard in my room. That’s my bedroom at the front, over the porch.”

Was Zeph going to invite him to see it? Was he supposed to ask Zeph to play for him?

Even as the thoughts formed in his head, Jack felt as if he’d walked into the sea and suddenly found nothing firm beneath his feet.

He’d swallowed water and was floundering.

So swim to safety! But he didn’t want to. Not yet. “Are we okay now?”

“We’ve always been okay. I’ve forgiven you for laughing at me.

You didn’t know what I’ve had to put up with.

We’re more than okay now. I shouldn’t have been expecting Rufus and Scott to change.

I should be the one who changes. I feel brave all of a sudden.

Though not brave enough to go back and tell them to leave the house. Again.”

Zeph’s tongue ran over his upper lip, then he bit his lower one. Jack had to drag his gaze away.

For once, he wasn’t feeling brave. He pushed to his feet. “I should go. Thomas is collecting me.” Jack sent the text. “I need my jacket.”

As they walked down the side of the house, Georgia stepped in front of them. “Where’ve you been?” Her question was directed at Jack.

“Zeph was showing me the night sky.”

“There was a tricky question in physics homework,” Zeph said at the same time.

“It’s a fucking party!” Georgia spoke through gritted teeth.

“ My party. So I can do what I like. Right? And if want to talk physics with a classmate, I can!”

Jack slipped past them into the house, grabbed his jacket and emerged quickly before he bumped into Alice. Georgia and Zeph were still snapping at each other but Georgia stalked away before Jack reached them.

“What’s the issue?” Jack asked.

Zeph turned and headed back towards the road with him. “Apparently Alice is crying. Georgia’s pissed off I talked to you.”

“Ah.” Shit.

“Do you like her even a bit?” Zeph’s voice was a whisper. Then he screwed up his face. “No, don’t answer that. Thanks for coming. Night, Jack.”

He hurried back to the house and let himself in the front door. Jack stared after him. He wasn’t sure whether he was relieved not to have answered Zeph’s question because what hovered on his lips was, I like you, not her .

Jack stopped in a layby down the road and called Thomas to tell him where he was standing. He’d waited around ten minutes before the car pulled up and he got in.

“What happened?”

“How do you know something happened?” Jack asked.

Thomas sighed. “You’re sixteen years old, it’s only nine thirty and you walked away from the house.”

“There was this girl. Alice. The one who invited me. The one whose birthday I thought it was. It wasn’t.

It was her stepbrother’s. I should have asked.

Alice thought I’d come to be with her. The flowers were a mistake.

She wouldn’t leave me alone. She behaved as if we were going out with each other.

I’ve only spoken to her a few times! But she clung to my hand and even when I managed to break free, she pressed herself against me.

I didn’t want to upset her, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it clear I wasn’t interested. ”

“You could have just told her. Said you were flattered but you don’t want to go out with anyone.”

Except he did.

“Why weren’t you interested?”

“Not my type.”

Thomas glanced at him. “You have a type?”

“It appears I do. Not Alice.”

“Why not?”

Jack didn’t answer.

“If you’re ever asked why you’re not interested, don’t detail the other person’s faults.

Don’t say they’re too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too anything, or that they’re too good for you.

That’s never going to end well. Apart from being insulted by any criticism, they might think they can fix things so you’ll change your mind.

Be vague. Say it’s not the right time for you to get involved with someone…

You’re not long out of another relationship…

You don’t feel the same way as them… Something like that. ”

“I didn’t want to upset her.”

“That’s good. It’s not kind to hurt someone’s feelings unnecessarily. Think how you’d feel if the boot was on the other foot. But if they persist, then you have to be more assertive or the hole you’re in gets deeper. That applies to any situation you need to get out of.”

“I wanted to say fuck off, I’m not interested but…”

Thomas gave another sigh. “Then that would have been unkind. Growing up is hard regardless of what gender you are. And harder for some than others, particularly if they’re confused about who they are and how they feel.

When you’re young, there’s a lot to figure out.

This is the sort of thing that mixing with your peers can teach you.

It’s okay to make mistakes in that world, not in ours. ”

“Not if Alice is a psycho.”

Thomas chuckled. “I hope you can tell the difference.”

Jack hoped so too. “She’s…young, making assumptions, not doing the right thing.”

“Finding her way.”

“Yes.”

“Like you.”

Except Jack wasn’t really finding his way. Thomas had set him on this path.

“Maybe I’ve not approached this correctly,” Thomas said. “We’ve not discussed sexuality and relationships. I could get you a young woman.”

Jack tensed. “ Get me one? You mean pay a woman to have sex with me?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Or a young man?”

“No.”

“One of each?”

“Thomas!” Oh God. “I thought sending me to school was to allow me to come to some natural understanding of this sort of stuff.”

“It was. It is.”

“Okay, then give me time to figure things out.”

“If you do start a relationship, you know it can’t lead anywhere.”

“I know.” But…

“That’s a sacrifice that has to be made for your sake and the other person’s.”

“I know,” Jack repeated. I fucking know.