Blake’s probably
studying. I haven’t seen him since this morning.”
“ That’s ok,” he grinned
again. “I’m sure he’ll turn up. I’ll just stick to your side until
he does.”
“ Or maybe I can text him
again,” I fumbled in my bag for my phone, keeping it out of
Tanner’s reach. The last thing I needed was another cannibalized
text floating around.
I texted Blake to ask where he was,
not mentioning Tanner. He’d never replied to the message I’d sent
before lunch, which wasn’t really like him.
“ So, where to?” Tanner
looked around, as if there were some yellow brick road about to
form in front of us.
It was actually pretty weird that
Blake hadn’t written back. I knew he didn’t have classes this
afternoon, but I hadn’t seen him in the library.
“ I guess we can check his
room,” I said reluctantly, turning left on the concrete path
towards Blake’s dorm. “But if any iPhone pictures end up in US
Weekly, I know who to blame,” I tried to look serious. “My mom’s a
lawyer, just so you know.”
Tanner fell into step next to me.
“Maybe I should go to college,” he smirked. “You guys all seem to
think that Blake Parker is actually still a big deal.”
I shot him an angry look. “If you’re
going to be a jerk—”
“ Wouldn’t dream of it,” he
held up his hands in mock surrender. “That’s the last peep you’ll
hear out of me.”
Blake’s room was usually neater than
mine, and when we walked in, my first thought was that either some
groupie had managed to break in or that Ethan had finally lost his
fragile hold on the non-RPG world and gone off the deep
end.
Blake’s clothes were everywhere — on
the bed, the floor, flung over every available surface in sight.
His books peeked out from underneath them — not just the few that I
recognized from classes this semester, but other copies I’d never
seen before that looked antique and probably shouldn’t have been
sitting in piles of dirty laundry.
“ Whoa,” Tanner raised an
eyebrow. “Did Blake become a hoarder?”
Ethan had opened the door for us, and
he looked at me with a worried expression. “I haven’t seen him
since this morning. He tore up the room and left for class, I don’t
know. I figured you guys had a fight or something.”
I wrinkled my eyebrows, looking down
at my phone for a reply that still hadn’t come.
“ Where else could he be?”
I wondered out loud.
Ethan shrugged. “Maybe he just wants
some time to himself.”
I looked at Tanner helplessly, trying
to keep my unease off my face.
“ Don’t worry, Snow,” he
gave me a reassuring smile. “He’ll turn up when he’s
ready.”
“ Maybe I should wait
here,” I said uncertainly, thinking about Blake being late to class
this morning, his obvious distraction throughout the
lecture.
A thought flickered through my
head.
“ What did you want to talk
with him about anyways?” I asked Tanner.
He shook his head. “It’s not
important,” he evaded my question. “I can try again when he’s come
down to earth a bit.”
Ethan gave Tanner a look I couldn’t
read, and sat back down at his desk.
I glanced at the bed and recognized
the book of T.S. Eliot poetry Blake had bought on the night we met.
It was a contemporary paperback the antique dealer had given Blake
for while we were on the road that summer, and I saw the familiar
dog-eared pages where I’d marked my favorite poems.
“ You can wait if you
want,” Ethan said to me, giving me a halfhearted smile. “Or I can
just tell him you came by.”
I took the hint.
“ We’ll get out of your
hair,” I said, turning for the door. “See you later.”
Tanner was right behind me as I walked
out into the hallway, barely glancing down as we took the stairs
two at a time.
“ Want me to buy you a
coffee?” Tanner asked once we were outside.
I blinked twice, still worried about
Blake, and then a glint of metal flashed in front of me in the
sunlight. I squinted at
studying. I haven’t seen him since this morning.”
“ That’s ok,” he grinned
again. “I’m sure he’ll turn up. I’ll just stick to your side until
he does.”
“ Or maybe I can text him
again,” I fumbled in my bag for my phone, keeping it out of
Tanner’s reach. The last thing I needed was another cannibalized
text floating around.
I texted Blake to ask where he was,
not mentioning Tanner. He’d never replied to the message I’d sent
before lunch, which wasn’t really like him.
“ So, where to?” Tanner
looked around, as if there were some yellow brick road about to
form in front of us.
It was actually pretty weird that
Blake hadn’t written back. I knew he didn’t have classes this
afternoon, but I hadn’t seen him in the library.
“ I guess we can check his
room,” I said reluctantly, turning left on the concrete path
towards Blake’s dorm. “But if any iPhone pictures end up in US
Weekly, I know who to blame,” I tried to look serious. “My mom’s a
lawyer, just so you know.”
Tanner fell into step next to me.
“Maybe I should go to college,” he smirked. “You guys all seem to
think that Blake Parker is actually still a big deal.”
I shot him an angry look. “If you’re
going to be a jerk—”
“ Wouldn’t dream of it,” he
held up his hands in mock surrender. “That’s the last peep you’ll
hear out of me.”
Blake’s room was usually neater than
mine, and when we walked in, my first thought was that either some
groupie had managed to break in or that Ethan had finally lost his
fragile hold on the non-RPG world and gone off the deep
end.
Blake’s clothes were everywhere — on
the bed, the floor, flung over every available surface in sight.
His books peeked out from underneath them — not just the few that I
recognized from classes this semester, but other copies I’d never
seen before that looked antique and probably shouldn’t have been
sitting in piles of dirty laundry.
“ Whoa,” Tanner raised an
eyebrow. “Did Blake become a hoarder?”
Ethan had opened the door for us, and
he looked at me with a worried expression. “I haven’t seen him
since this morning. He tore up the room and left for class, I don’t
know. I figured you guys had a fight or something.”
I wrinkled my eyebrows, looking down
at my phone for a reply that still hadn’t come.
“ Where else could he be?”
I wondered out loud.
Ethan shrugged. “Maybe he just wants
some time to himself.”
I looked at Tanner helplessly, trying
to keep my unease off my face.
“ Don’t worry, Snow,” he
gave me a reassuring smile. “He’ll turn up when he’s
ready.”
“ Maybe I should wait
here,” I said uncertainly, thinking about Blake being late to class
this morning, his obvious distraction throughout the
lecture.
A thought flickered through my
head.
“ What did you want to talk
with him about anyways?” I asked Tanner.
He shook his head. “It’s not
important,” he evaded my question. “I can try again when he’s come
down to earth a bit.”
Ethan gave Tanner a look I couldn’t
read, and sat back down at his desk.
I glanced at the bed and recognized
the book of T.S. Eliot poetry Blake had bought on the night we met.
It was a contemporary paperback the antique dealer had given Blake
for while we were on the road that summer, and I saw the familiar
dog-eared pages where I’d marked my favorite poems.
“ You can wait if you
want,” Ethan said to me, giving me a halfhearted smile. “Or I can
just tell him you came by.”
I took the hint.
“ We’ll get out of your
hair,” I said, turning for the door. “See you later.”
Tanner was right behind me as I walked
out into the hallway, barely glancing down as we took the stairs
two at a time.
“ Want me to buy you a
coffee?” Tanner asked once we were outside.
I blinked twice, still worried about
Blake, and then a glint of metal flashed in front of me in the
sunlight. I squinted at
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