Page 3 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“Well, they hit the nail on the head there.”

“What I find surprising is the assumption that either of us will get a chance to use them.”

“Well… You might.”

Will frowned, about to ask what he meant, but then he saw HIM.

Oscar Summers was one of the most handsome guys Will had ever seen in his life. Slender, about the same height as Will, with a gorgeous, golden tan that brought to mind distant, sunny beaches, and light brown, thick hair you just wanted to run your fingers through. Will had actually had the chance to do just that. In fact, he’d had the chance to do a lot more, having fooled around with Oscar several times last year. One-time make-out sessions could be chalked up to the heat of the moment, but since it had happened again, Will wanted to believe Oscar was interested in him.

The catch was that nothing serious ever came of it. Oscar had said a few times they should go out somewhere, but it was always just talk. In the end, it was Will who finally took the initiative, but Oscar happened to be busy. He said they’d talk about it later. That was back in, what, April? So they’d been talking for half a year—or rather, not talking, because Will didn’t want to seem like he was begging for it, and Oscar never brought it up, even though they had several classes and plenty of opportunities to discuss things.

“Hey,” Oscar said first, offering a warm smile.

“Hey,” Will replied.

And that was it. They each went their separate ways. Will sighed under his breath, looking back at Oscar, then shifted his gaze to Danny.

“What?” he grumbled, seeing his smile.

“Nothing. You guys are like a couple of grade-schoolers, I swear.”

Will rolled his eyes, feeling no responsibility for the state of affairs.

They entered the building and a moment later were in their classroom.

“He touched me when he walked by!” an overly excited Beth Atkins was telling her friends. “He touched me!”

They both knew exactly who she was talking about. There was only one guy in this school who caused such a stir.

Blake Alden, who had just strode into the classroom with a sweeping gait, was the dream of many girls at school. It was hard to blame them, really. A tall, slender, handsome guy with dark, piercing eyes and perfectly styled, raven-black hair was bound to attract interest. And when you added a unique sense of style, ridiculously expensive clothes and gadgets, a dispassionate nonchalance, and an aura of bourgeois entitlement, it was no wonder at all.

Sure, there was the small, insignificant detail of his truly rotten personality, but who cared about that.

“I still don’t know what he’s doing in this school,” Dan commented, watching Blake take his seat. “He should be aiming for some university or something.”

“He could finish after four years and go to a university.”

“Still, why this dump?”

“Probably lives nearby.”

“So what? Considering how much money his parents have, he should be in some elite private school.”

“Maybe they’re not as loaded as we think.”

Danny looked at him in disbelief, then let out a quiet snort.

“Seriously? Did you see his backpack? It’s a Greta Hamlin. Limited edition. It’s worth more than all our clothes combined. In fact, it might be worth more than most of our stuff in general.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Will muttered skeptically.

“Dude.”

Danny took out his phone and found Blake’s backpack in a search engine. When Will saw the price, his jaw dropped.

“Holy shit…”

He felt faint.