Page 34 of Black Hollow: Awakening

…a werewolf.

The thought chilled Will to the bone, and he abruptly picked up his pace.

He reached Norma’s house. The party was in full swing. It took him a long moment to get used to the loud music and the packed space, and then he started looking for Oscar. He spotted him and wanted to say hello, but Oscar was busy talking to some guy. Oscar caught him looking, though, and gave him a smile. Will smiled back, thinking Oscar would come over to him any second.

He didn’t. A small group had gathered around Oscar, and he was chatting casually with them, stealing glances at Will every now and then. Will, for his part, poured himself a drink and stood by the wall, not wanting to get in anyone’s way, all the while keeping his eyes on Oscar. He tried to be as subtle as possible but wasn’t sure how well he was succeeding. God. To think he had really come here for Oscar. And it was for that guy that he’d spent over an hour getting ready. And now, because of him, Will was going to stand here like an idiot, filled with entitled thoughts, even though they hadn’t actually promised each other anything.

“What are you waiting for?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Will looked up and saw Liam standing next to him.

“What?”

“You like him, so go make a move.”

Will turned red.

“I don’t like anyone,” he grumbled. For some reason, he didn’t feel like admitting his pathetic crush to someone like Liam.

“Really? No one? In that case, something else must have caught your eye, because you’ve been staring this whole time.” Will’s blush deepened. Great. So much for being as subtle as possible. “Though I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve looked at Mr. Surfer like that.”

“Mr. Surfer?”

“The guy looks like he just stepped off a beach somewhere.”

Will smiled, amused. The nickname actually suited Oscar.

“So what are you waiting for?” Liam urged him.

Will shot him a sidelong glance, not quite sure what to say.

“For him to ask me out somewhere.”

“Why don’t you just do it?”

“Because he already did. Sort of. At the Halloween party, he said we’d go to the movies together.”

“Okay. And?”

“And nothing, that’s the problem!” Will took a deep breath, not hiding his frustration. “He asked, I agreed, and then the subject was dropped. And it’s not the first time. It was like that all last year. We were supposedly going to go somewhere, but somehow nothing ever came of it. I don’t think he takes me seriously.”

“Let’s test that.”

Will gave him a shocked look.

“What exactly are you going to do?” he asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

“For starters, we’ll try to make him jealous. If it works, that should tell us something, right?”

Will hesitated. Maybe. Maybe not. But the most important question was, “How, exactly?”

Liam gave him a roguish smile.

“Come on, you’ll see.”

He started walking, then stopped after a few steps and, looking back at Will, called out, “You coming?”

“N-… Ye-… I mean…”