Page 28 of Black Hollow: Awakening

Oh no…

“Like we were supposed to hang out or something. Did he mean this party?”

“I think he got mixed up,” Will answered evasively, not looking at him.

“Ah. I see.”

God. He was so sick of lying.

“Honestly, Norma invited me. I thought Danny was going to be busy tonight, so I agreed to come, but something fell through and he ended up staying home. When I told him I had plans, he… sort of… assumed I’d be with you, so…” Will cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks burn with embarrassment. “I just kind of confirmed it.”

“Oh. I had no idea.”

“Yeah. I know.”

Awkward. So damn awkward.

“I didn’t want to lie to him.”

“So maybe we should actually hang out.”

Will looked at him, shocked.

“Make up for tonight,” Oscar explained with a smile. “Then it’ll turn out you didn’t lie.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Then you only lied a little. How about a movie?”

Will couldn’t suppress the smile creeping onto his lips.

“Sure,” he replied happily. “I’d love to.”

“I love this song,” Oscar said as the next track started playing. It sounded vaguely familiar. “What was the title…? I have a terrible memory for these things. Ah! Nocturne!” he announced suddenly, and Will let out a quiet groan. Right. He recognized that unbearable racket now. “That’s your favorite, isn’t it?”

“Uh… Sure,” Will said slowly, deciding there was no point in getting Oscar up to speed on his controversial opinion of the song.

“Want to dance?”

“Definitely.”

And so they danced. Not just for one song, but for so many that at some point Will lost count. The distance between them quickly shrank to zero, and Will stopped regretting his decision to come. Oscar was so close… Hot, sexy, with that beautiful, charming smile of his… Will wished Oscar’s hands, resting on his hips, would dare to wander elsewhere… Oscar seemed to be thinking the same thing, because as people gradually started to leave, he made it clear he wanted to leave with Will.

But that’s when Norma pulled a daydreaming Will aside and whispered in his ear that he should stay longer.

So he stayed—in the end, in the company of Norma, Liam, and Blake.

“Abby didn’t come?” Will asked. He hadn’t noticed earlier.

“She doesn’t like parties. She doesn’t like much of anything, really,” Norma stated with a shrug.

“Get to the point,” Blake said coldly, looking impatient.

“Right. Here’s the deal. Our newbie here…” Norma put an arm around Will. “…really has no one to turn to. So we need to show him some support, okay?”

“Cool,” Liam replied, and for him, the topic was clearly closed.

“Is that why you told me to come here? You said it was important,” Blake scoffed. “You must have lost your mind.”