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Will R.’s house was close to where the abandoned neighborhood began. Hollis could understand why Yulia was excited. You could be as loud as you wanted over here and no one would complain.

It had two stories, and Hollis could see people’s shadows through the window, lights strobing behind them. There were two people on Will’s balcony, legs sticking out of the slats.

Brave. It didn’t exactly look stable.

The door was already cracked open so Hollis slipped inside. The music was loud enough to hurt, rattling his teeth. Walt winced and took them deeper into the house away from it.

The living room was so closely packed he had to push his way through, but the kitchen was less crowded.

There were some people he’d seen around Rose Town in there, and they made eye contact with him in a way that didn’t feel hostile. But Hollis was looking for Yulia, so he just waved.

A hand dropped on his shoulder, and Walt flinched.

“Hollis!”

It was Clementine. She’d taken her fluffy blond curls and flattened them straight; her eyes were ringed in liner. She looked a bit garish, but it was kind of interesting that she was trying so hard.

“Hey.”

It was too loud for a conversation here. Clementine grabbed his hand and tugged him to the back of the house until the music was quieter.

“I’m glad you came!” she was saying.

Hollis scanned the crowd for Yulia’s tall frame or Annie’s pink hair and came back empty.

“Do you know where Annie and Yulia are?” Hollis asked.

Clementine looked a bit disappointed, but she shrugged. “I don’t think they’re here yet.... Do you want a drink?”

She took him outside, where there were a few coolers taking advantage of the cold weather.

The door closed behind them, and it was quiet. Clementine handed him a beer, then started looking for a bottle opener.

“Here, give it to me,” Walt said.

He leaned Clementine’s bottle against the brick of Will’s house, smacked the top hard, then handed it back to her.

“Cool.”

Walt reached for the door, but Clementine grabbed his arm.

“Wait, I thought we could...”

This is annoying, where’s Yulia?

Clementine was looking up at him in a strange way.

Walt sighed. He took off Hollis’s coat; he draped it around Clementine’s shoulders.

“So, how are you?” she asked. “We don’t get much time to talk outside of class.”

Walt shrugged. “I’m not that interesting, Clementine. I’m just a guy.”

She looked down at her shoes—red Converses with pen scribbled on them—and gathered more bravery.

“Yulia said you like to bake? I like to bake too. Do you do cakes and cookies or something else?”

UGH.

We’re being kind , Hollis.

“I do. I mostly bake for her and for my family. She prefers my bread over anything, but I think she’s just too lazy to try learning to make it herself.” Walt smirked.

“You hang out with Yulia a lot,” Clementine said, pulling Hollis’s coat tighter.

“She’s my best friend.”

Clementine looked a bit relieved. “Oh.”

“Did you.... want something from me?” Walt asked. “People don’t usually invite me to stuff, much less pull me out to stand in the cold like this.”

She likes you, dumbass.

I know, simmer down.

Clementine shrugged. “I don’t know. You seem... different. I always noticed you, but it didn’t ever feel like you’d notice me back until recently. But I think maybe I might have... misunderstood that.”

She did. Get us out of here and go find Yulia.

“Clementine, I—”

The back door opened, and Timothy Reid poked his head out.

“Hollis, get in here.”

Walt gave Clementine a tight smile and gratefully seized the opportunity.