Page 19 of Black Hollow: Awakening

Magic. Will felt like he was losing his mind. And to hell with magic, he could almost accept that part, but vampires? Werewolves? It was absurd. Maybe the conversation never even happened. Maybe he’d dreamed it up. Or maybe he’d inhaled some kind of fumes during the visit to KC and was hallucinating.

“Hello? Earth to Will!”

“I hear you, I hear you,” Will mumbled, though he had no idea what his friend had just said. “God, can you turn that crap off?” he snapped, irritated. The music was really grating on him.

Danny’s eyes widened.

“That’s Venom.”

“Maybe, but it’s a terrible song.”

“It’s Nocturne!”

Will snorted loudly, about to inform his friend that he knew what his favorite song sounded like, and this racket was definitely not it…

…except that after listening more closely to the lyrics, he realized he was wrong. It was Nocturne. Sort of.

“This has to be a different version,” he stated with complete conviction. Even Danny’s off-key singing sounded better than this howling! “The original sounds better.”

“Dude, this is the original! Straight from the single! Something is seriously wrong with you,” Danny declared, looking genuinely concerned.

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” Will replied, a little too sharply. He was probably trying to convince himself. “I’m just sick of it, that’s all.”

What was happening to him? Was a sudden change in musical taste also part of this whole Awakening? Apparently so, because he couldn’t find any other explanation for the fact that he didn’t recognize a song he’d listened to on repeat all summer.

They started out at the same time today, so they walked to school together. After entering the building, they stopped at their lockers. Norma walked past them.

“Hey,” she said cheerfully, smiling at Will.

Will stared at her, completely surprised.

“H-hey,” he stammered, a bit flustered. He hadn’t expected them to talk to each other openly. He wasn’t sure why.

Danny raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled, but before he could ask, Abby slipped past them.

“Hi,” she said quietly, without even looking at Will.

“Hi.”

Then Liam passed them.

“Hey,” he said casually.

“Hey.”

And finally, it was Blake’s turn.

“Hi.” This time, Will spoke first.

He shouldn’t have. Alden gave him a haughty look and walked on without replying.

Danny was in shock.

“What was all that about?”

“He’s an asshole,” Will muttered, annoyed.

“That’s not what I’m asking. Since when are you on speaking terms with Liam? And Norma? And that girl whose name I don’t even know?”