Page 30 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“Welcome to the club. That’s why we have to suffer Blake’s charm.”

“…but his charm doesn’t work on me,” Will finished firmly.

“It does, just to a limited extent. The secret to any magic trick is the audience’s ignorance. And you already know what it is and what effect it can have on you, so you’re subconsciously able to fight it. You recognize that your feelings are false.”

“I stopped looking at him with admiration even before I found out what he was,” Will confessed, frowning.

“Like I said, some people are more sensitive to that kind of stimulus, others less so.”

Strange.

Will could have sworn there was a time when he perfectly understood the fascination with Blake. And then he just… stopped. Until now, he’d thought it was connected to his Awakening, but apparently he was wrong.

Either way, he was glad he could see Alden’s true colors.

November 11 | Monday

“…how can I know you’re you and not some mimic?” Will asked, walking down the school hallway with Norma.

Things had gotten a little better since the party. Norma was proving to be not only a great source of support but also a guide to all the weird things Will still knew too little about. Liam would chat with him sometimes. He had learned to ignore Blake.

“You can’t, really,” Norma replied, as she introduced the next topic. “Though there are ways to spot them, it’s not that simple. I dated a mimic last year. He had a mole under his right eye. When he changed into someone else, the mole didn’t disappear. It’s funny, because he could look identical to another person except for that one tiny detail. Every mimic has something like that. A telltale feature that doesn’t change.”

Will was about to ask another question, but just then he spotted Oscar walking toward them with a few of his friends. Oscar saw him, too. As they passed each other, he gave Will a smile. Will returned it, though it took a considerable amount of effort.

He felt frustrated. That evening when Oscar had suggested they go out might as well have never happened, because absolutely nothing had come of it. And it wasn’t the first time. Dammit! Will regretted not pressing him for details. He should have set a specific date and time. Oh, and drawn up a formal document in duplicate, signed by both of them, since that was apparently the only way he’d get any results.

Did Oscar really keep forgetting his promises? Or was he simply losing interest?

“By the way, I’m throwing a party on Friday. Wanna come?”

“Like the last one?”

“No costumes and no late-night discussions among the freaks. Oh, and most importantly… no Blake,” Norma announced triumphantly, and Will managed a small smile. “You can invite your roommate.”

He wished she’d suggested that last time. The situation with Dan had normalized a bit, but that whole incident still gnawed at him. Sometimes Dan would make some exceptionally nasty digs, but at least they were talking to each other. Things could only get better from there.

Norma walked him to the cafeteria and then headed for the exit herself—she was meeting some guy outside. Will entered the room. He got in line at the counter, and once he finally had his food, he started looking for his friend. It was exceptionally crowded today, which was no surprise; the colder it got, the more students decided to spend their breaks inside.

He couldn’t find Dan. He was about to call him when he remembered his friend had to retake a failed test during lunch. So, Will started looking for Liam instead. The guy was sitting in the middle of the room with his teammates. They seemed to be having a great time. Will didn’t have the guts to interrupt them.

He was about to flop down at the first available seat, but then he spotted Blake. Alden was at a table by the wall. It was all his. No wonder, he’d probably berated anyone who tried to join him.

Will stared at him for a long moment, wondering if this was really a good idea. Finally, he took a deep breath and headed toward him.

Blake had made a terrible impression on him, but he’d concluded that their relationship had just gotten off to a bad start. If he was going to hang out with Liam and Norma, he should get used to Blake, too. And Blake to him.

At least, that was the plan.

“Disappear,” Blake announced icily when Will reached the table.

Will stopped.

“Are you deaf?”

“I’m waiting.”

“For what?”