Page 102 of Should Our Stars Collide

“How do I know you’re not just waiting for an opportunity to strike?”

“Guess you don’t.”

Zeke sighs, looking rather remorseful, unlike the last time Kieran was here.

“Just so you know, I tried looking up a reverse spell, but there’s nothing about time-travel.”

“Do me a favor and never touch that damned book again. And don’tsulk.”

While Zeke continues pouting like a child who was denied candy, Gabe emerges from the kitchen wearing an apron with a picture of a croissant and the words:Just roll with it.

Kieran heaves a sigh.I should’ve stayed home.

Gabe beams when he spots him. “Hey, stranger! Haha. Get it?Stranger.”

I definitely should’ve stayed home.

“Hilarious.”

“You look better.”

“It can’t get any worse, can it? Anyways, I’m here to take you up on your offer. Future me really wants me to learn how to block your lovely cousin out.”

“Oh, sure. Zeke, will you be okay by yourself?”

Zeke is already nodding, no doubt excited that he won’t have to entertain Kieran. “No worries. I have it covered.”

“Thanks.” Gabe crooks his finger and pushes open the door to the staff room. “Come on through.”

To Kieran’s relief, he doesn’t fuck around. He sits them both down, facing each other, and says, “There are several ways you can do this, depending on how creative you are.”

“Not very.”

“That’s okay, I’ll give you some pointers.” He purses his lips, tapping a finger against them. “Ash has once described his ability as walking through the door into someone’s house, except the house is your mind. So, ideally, you wanna bolt the door shut.” He pauses to think. “But you’d also have to bolt the windows. And the basement.”

“I’m already exhausted.”

“Okay, forget what I said. Here’s another one. It’s my favorite. Imagine you’re surrounded by a forcefield.”

“So Ash gets zapped?” Kieran snorts. He likes the idea.

“Fun fact: he can,” Gabe confirms, grinning like he too likes to see his cousin suffer. “He’s extending his consciousness to mingle with yours. When he’s on your turf, you can defend yourself.”

“So I could punch his consciousness?”

“Definitely.”

“Awesome. I’m starting to like this.”

“Thought you would. And another thing, if you wanna mess with him—” This mischievous side of Gabe’s is really endearing. “You can make him see what you want him to see. As in, project your thoughts. Obviously, he’ll only pick up on it if he actually tries to connect with you, but still, it can be fun.”

“Reminds me of that final scene inBreaking Dawn.Which I didn’t watch,” Kieran backtracks quickly. “I just saw something on YouTube.”

“Of course,” Gabe says, very seriously.

“One thing really worries me, though. What if I don’t notice he’s trying to get inside my head? I know there’s the eye thing, but I’m not always gonna be staring at him. What if he catches me off guard?”

Sounds like something he would do. Something hehas done, repeatedly.