“What is it now?” asked Seiji in a weary tone. “We’re going to be late for our social engagement.”
Nicholas asked shyly, “Do you maybe… wanna be best friends?”
“Oh my God,” exclaimed Seiji. “No!”
He gave a put-upon sigh, and shepherded Nicholas out the door of their room in case they were late for their social-engagement-slash-totally-fun-bonfire.
“You act like you don’t even know what words mean,” Seiji continued reproachfully. “Best implies that someone excels at an activity. It should be perfectly obvious that I am not practiced at being friends and cannot be expected to excel.”
“But I think you’re good at it already,” argued Nicholas, prepared to be stubborn about this.
Everyone said Seiji was a fencing prodigy. It made sense he would be a prodigy at other stuff also.
“Your standards are appallingly low,” said Seiji. “Probably due to your deprived childhood.”
“Yeah, maybe so, but I still think you’re great at it,” Nicholas persisted. “So even if you’re bad, I don’t mind! Let’s do it.”
Chad of the weight-lifting bros had been walking past them, humming a tune, but his head seemed to spin around 180 degrees without his rather thick neck moving at all. The tune ended.
Seiji cast Chad a wary glance, but when he made no sudden movements, Seiji relaxed and returned to scolding Nicholas.
“No!” said Seiji. “Stop bothering me about this. I’m not ready.”
As they made their way down the back stairs, Chad lunged. Seiji sped up to get out of the way, but Chad was actually reaching for his teammate.
Nicholas, who hadn’t been expecting to be grabbed, was halted by Chad’s inexorable grip. It was instantly clear that if he tried to struggle free, both his shirt and his new raincoat would rip at the seams.
Chad’s face was unusually serious. “Couldn’t help but overhear what you were talking about with my man Katayama back there.”
“Uh,” said Nicholas. “Okay?”
“You should wait until you’re both emotionally ready, bro,” Chad told him in a stern voice.
Nicholas nodded uncertainly. Chad gave him an encouraging thump on the back that almost knocked Nicholas to the ground. Then he ran after Seiji, down the stairs, out the double doors, and into the woods. Nicholas glanced over his shoulder before plunging in among the trees and saw Kings Row waiting behind him, fancy windows blazing in the dark, as if someone had finally left a light on to guide him home.
Chad was right, Nicholas decided. He probably shouldn’t bring up being best friends again for a while, not until Seiji’d had a chance to think it over.
Maybe Seiji would be ready next week?
Maybe Nicholas should wait until they’d won the state championship. Seiji was bound to be in a good mood then.
The woods were awesome, dark and deep, like in the poem his English teacher had gotten Nicholas to read. Nicholas was pretty sure that’s how it went.
Coach had found a grove and taught them how to build a bonfire as a team, which largely meant that Harvard and Eugene did fine and the rest of them had various issues. Nicholas felt it wasn’t fair to blame him for not being good at making fires. The teachers at all his old schools had been extremely clear that Nicholas shouldn’t set fires.
“But if we’re allowed to play with lighter fluid at Kings Row, that’s cool, Coach,” Nicholas said, and Coach sent him to sit on a log with Aiden, who was mysteriously in his fencing gear and wrapped in one of the stripy woolen picnic blankets.
Since the jerk had so much confidence, Aiden was able to make the picnic blanket look like something he’d chosen to wear on purpose. He was staring into the carefully constructed pyre of branches as the flames began to catch, but he nodded to Nicholas as he sat down, in a more companionable way than he usually did.
“Before you arrived, we heard Eugene’s tearful confession of his crimes,” said Aiden. “Actually, Coach had to pretend vigorously that she couldn’t hear. You were having some trouble with various Kings Row idiots?”
That almost sounded like concern. But ha ha, who was Nicholas kidding? This was Aiden.
“Whatever,” said Nicholas. “Who cares what idiots say? And they didn’t say anything you haven’t said.”
Aiden nodded, pulling his picnic blanket close under his chin. His green eyes caught firelight, and Nicholas saw the moment his mouth twisted, about to say something nasty Nicholas planned to tune out.
Then Aiden didn’t say it after all.
“It’s possible…,” Aiden conceded, “… that I tend to go somewhat too viciously after other people’s vulnerabilities so that nobody ever has the chance to go after mine.”
“Oh, is that why you talk so much?” Nicholas asked. “Huh.”
“Even cool, rich, devastatingly handsome people have feelings, Nicholas,” drawled Aiden.
“Sorry, who are we talking about again?”
Aiden laughed. Nicholas smirked, kind of pleased with himself for amusing Aiden. After all, Aiden was older and a teammate and everybody else thought Aiden was seriously awesome.
“I know I have made fun of you frequently, for many good reasons, especially your hair,” continued Aiden. “I may have also mentioned your socioeconomic status, which you can’t help but could hide better, by having—just for example—some knowledge of how to dress or even basic—”
“What?” said Nicholas. “Speak up. Enunciate, as Seiji would say. Can’t make out what you’re babbling about.”
“Anyway… sorry,” Aiden told him.
Nicholas caught Aiden’s eye. “That’s okay, Aiden.”
Aiden raised a single brow, because he was annoying and able to do that. It made him look cool and ironic. “Oh, that you heard?”
“Yeah,” said Nicholas. “That, I heard.”
He smiled at Aiden. After a moment, Aiden smiled back.
“Just don’t fall in love with me,” warned Aiden. “I’ll only break your heart.”
“Oh no,” said Nicholas. “It’s gone again… what was that…?”
Aiden snorted and shook his head, sparks dancing in the smoke reflecting gold and red shimmers in the loose strands of his hair. Nicholas could almost see what all the fuss was about.
Not really, though.
Because Nicholas was watching Aiden, he noticed when Aiden cast a single glance through the spark and smoke at Harvard, now sitting with Coach and Eugene across the way.
Then he saw Aiden swallow and look away. A look flitted across Aiden’s face, swiftly gone as the shadow of a night bird on the forest floor. Nevertheless, the sight of it made Nicholas bite his lip.
Had Aiden and Harvard had some kind of fight? Was Aiden acting like a halfway okay person purely because he’d alienated the only one who’d put up with Aiden for so long? Weren’t friends meant to be forever?
Coach’s gaze swept around the entire team assembled around the bonfire. Panic and guilt instantly filled Nicholas’s heart and stopped him from worrying about Aiden. Seiji edged toward Nicholas so they could be in trouble together.
“Hands up, who has completed their essays?” said Coach.