“We’ve got a lead,” Beni announced as we ducked back into the car. “There’s this guy--way too hot to not be a serial killer--and he told us he throws a party after the festival.”

“That’s not exactly how I would have framed that,” I muttered.

“That’s it?” Evan’s doubt was obvious. “He’s hot and throws parties?”

“Tell him, Seth,” she said, but didn’t actually pause so I could talk. “Super hot, connection to the time of the murders, boom--vampire. It all adds up.”

He sighed. “Sure, why not? Makes about as much sense as everything else in this town.”

“We got his number.” She held up the back of my hand. “So tomorrow night we can swoop in for the kill.”

“We have tonight and tomorrow to prepare.” His voice changed. “You know that means.”

“No,” said Beni. “What does it mean?”

Groaning, I fell back against the seat. “Training.”

***

Sweat poured out of my whole body. I was made of sweat, the sweat and I had become one. Nothing human remained, I had become a purely BO-powered elemental. Dad’s gym had not disappointed Evan’s standards, sprawling out over the entire basement. Enough modern equipment to please any gym rat stood next to ancient warrior mannequins. Weapons of all sorts hung on the wall.

The sacred circle and its various degrees and inner rings graced the floor. Each layer told us the proper distance we needed to be from the Damned to have enough time to react. Grade school stuff, really.

Espy had called us as we’d left the school, confirming that she was just fine but hadn’t learned anything new from Song. Same old story with the old woman: Get Out Or Else.

She’d arrived at the safehouse about the same time we did, and Beni and I related what went down at Ru. Unlike Evan, Espy seemed to look upon our plan to meet at Ira’s with more favorable eyes. I’d fished my copy of my mother’s hymnal out of my bag and handed it over. She would look it over while we hit the basement.

Then it had been straight to training. We’d baptised every piece of equipment in here with a layer of our perspiration, following Evan’s lead for the reps. Currently Beni and I were sparring in the inner ring of the sacred circle while he circled, yelling instructions.

“Seth, watch your circle!”

I was trying, but keeping proper distance from Beni when my whole body felt like the red glow in a body cream commercial was almost more trouble than it was worth.

“Come on, juniors. I’ve hit every machine in here, too.” I wanted to throttle him, so help me. “Let’s make it interesting. Last man standing gets first shower.”

As one, without even thinking about it, we both turned and charged at him.

“Hey!” He went down with a laugh, and then we were all sprawled on the floor. “You cheated,” he huffed.

“You say cheat,” Beni wheezed. “I say won.”

“Won,” I gasped in agreement.

Evan chuckled. “Can’t argue with that, I suppose.”

Beni seized her moment. She rolled off us, propping a hand on her knee to force herself up. “Looks like I’m last man. Later, nerds.” And with that, she staggered up the stairs.

“Now, that was cheating,” I grumbled.

“Mhh-hmm.” Evan’s chest rumbled beneath my cheek--oh, my Josh I was stillontopofhim!

There had been no time to freak out about the kiss after it happened, but now it hit me. I had kissed Evan. I had kissed Evan. I had kissed Evan. Red blanched over every particle of my skin as I rolled to the side. Beneath a surge of humiliated adrenaline, all fatigue ran screaming. Just like I wanted to do. But he caught my wrist before I could get fully upright.

“Seth, wait.” He sat up. “Please? We need to talk.”

PANIC! “Evan, I--”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

I blinked. “What?”

“That’s what I was trying to say in the parking lot,” he said. “I was too proud to just say it. I should never have spoken to you the way I did at Song’s, and I’m sorry. She scared me.” He admitted it like the fact pained him. “I don’t do scared well. I turn it into anger, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Utterly speechless, all I could do was stare.

Gently, he asked, “Will you bolt if I let you go?”

I shook my head, and he released my wrist.

“You’re not mad at me?” I asked, voice more uncertain than I would have liked.

“I never was,” he said. “I don’t think you realize this, but being your partner is a big deal.” Off my skeptical look, he added, “No, really. You’re going to lead our people one day, and it’s my job to finish your training so you can do that effectively. That’s a lot of pressure, you know?”

“I...I guess I never thought about it like that,” I said, thoughts whirling.

“I’ve been so focused on being a good senior partner that I was too in my head about it,” he went on. “Then nothing went the way it was supposed to, and I reacted poorly. Can you forgive me?”

“If you can forgive me,” I returned. “I’ve been trying too hard, too, and it made everything worse.”

“I imagine carrying around a secret every day isn’t easy, either.” He gave me a look. “About the kiss...”

“Oh, Josh,” I moaned, burying my face in my hands.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked softly.

“Because I never wanted you to know,” I said through my fingers. “It’s my stupid crush, it wasn’t your problem. Besides it’s not like there’s anything you can do about it, and I didn’t want it to change anything between us.”

“Well, I can think of one thing that has to change.”

Alarmed, I looked up.

“The sleeping arrangements,” he finished. “I would never have made us share a bed if I had known about your feelings. That was pretty insensitive. Uh, sorry about that, too. To be fair, though, I can’t properly react to a situation I don’t know anything about. So let’s make a deal. I won’t shut you down like that anymore, and you’ll be honest about whatever you’re feeling, even if you think I won’t like it. Deal?”

“Deal.” Relief flooded through me. Evan knew I liked him, and he didn’t care. Wouldn’t treat me any differently, would actually treat me better because he knew. I felt so foolish for keeping it from him. “Wait, are you saying I can room with Beni?”

“Uh, one amendment to our deal,” he said. “Don’t tell Saint Philip about this.”

I grinned. “Deal. Again.”

“I do care about you a lot, Seth.” Now he looked embarrassed, in that way men always did when they tried to talk about their feelings. “You know that, right? That’s why I want to know what you’re going through, even if it’s about me.”

“I know,” I said. “Thanks.”

He nodded, and stood up. “Now, I think I’m gonna go use the shower in Esperanza’s room.”

“Hey!”

***

“Hey roomie,” I said entering Beni’s room in my PJs after I finally got a chance to shower. “They’re letting us bunk after all.”

She was meditating in the monk’s position, still-wet hair wound atop her head. She cracked an eye open to deadpan, “I sleep in the nude.”

“Me, too,” I chirped. “What a coincidence.”

She snorted, then relaxed back into her form. I brought my stuff in, and settled back against the bed. Originally I was going to wait for her to finish, but then I decided I was in the mood for more immediate gratification.

Casually, I said, “Evan knows.”

Beni leaped off the floor like a spring had popped out of her ass. “No way.”

“Way.”

“How’d he take it?” She lay next to me, propping her head on her hand. “Did ya kiss again?”

“Yeah, no,” I said. “I think I’ll stick to kissing guys who’ll kiss me back from now on.”

“Gotcha,” she said. “So it was more of an ‘I love you, just not like that’ kinda thing?”

I nodded. “Pretty much word for word.”

“Aw, well. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” I said. “It feels good to finally have that off my chest. ‘Sides, I always knew he was straight. No harm, no foul, and all that.

“Awww.” She ruffled my hair, and I ducked away. “They do grow up so fast.”

“Oh, knock it off,” I scowled. “I’m only a couple months younger.”

“Yeah, but that’s like five years in gay,” she pointed out.

“How do you know?” I tried not to laugh.

“I’m your best girlfriend,” she said vastly. “It’s my job to know.”

We kept up our banter as we got ready for bed. After a rocky start, things were looking up. Beni and I were roomies, Evan and I were finally communicating, but best off all, I could finally get a full night’s sleep. (If only I’d known how wrong I was.)

Author’s Note: