"Heads up!"

Nolan twisted just in time to catch a bundled sleeping bag as it hurtled at his face. Andy grinned. Beside him, Willow rolled her eyes and grabbed her own sleeping bag from the back of Nathan's car, hoisting it over her shoulder. "Throw it back at him," she said.

"No-No wouldn't do that," Andy said. "He's too n—"

Nolan's sleeping bag slapped him in the face.

Laughter erupted. Even Nolan snickered as Andy blinked away his shock. "Nice," Andy finished blankly.

"What gave you that idea?" Max asked. He clapped Nolan's shoulder and held out his fist. Nolan bumped it.

"No-No's a sweetheart," Willow said with a mischievous smile. "Right, Nora?"

Nora tensed, one hand on the trunk door, the other on her sleeping bag. Nolan's eyebrows creased. Was she okay? She'd seemed fine since she arrived at his apartment, but that still didn't erase what happened at her house.

"The sweetest," she said with a grin. "Riley told me herself."

"Well, then it must be true," Andy said. He thrust Nolan's sleeping bag in the air. "Proof be damned, eh?"

"Swear jar," they chorused.

Andy rolled his eyes and laughed as he tossed the sleeping bag back to Nolan. Nolan caught it easily, a small smile drifting across his lips.

They headed for the front doors. Nora, Willow, and Andy towed along their various snacks—homemade chocolate chip cookies, Bettermade potato chips, and superman ice cream, respectively—along with their sleeping gear. Nolan's lack of contribution bothered him, but he couldn't afford to ask Greg for an extra expense.

There wasn't a point in dwelling on it. He decided to look forward to the pizza, which Willow confirmed would be there when Nathan went inside ahead of them. "He's just excited for pizza," she'd whispered conspiringly. And who could blame him? Nolan definitely couldn't.

Ryan was there to greet them at the door. "Heyo," he said. "How's everyone doing?"

"Fantastic," Nora said.

"That's what I like to hear." He took the snacks and gestured behind him. "Sleeping bags in the sanctuary, alright?"

"Alright."

The lobby was filled with laughter and scurrying feet. The occasional group stood around and chatted, away from the music blasting from the event room. Even as the sanctuary door closed behind him, the base of the song—a catchy Christian tune he distantly recognized as one of the songs that played on the radio—pulsated beneath his feet.

Sleeping bags scattered the sanctuary. They were piled on the floor, strewn across the pews, set along the walls. Nora and the others claimed one of the pews by the back. Nolan set his next to Willow's as Andy and Max tossed theirs haphazardly onto the floor.

"Pizza!" Erin exclaimed, tossing her sleeping bag next to the boys'.

"Pizza!"

The pizza was at the front of the event room—at least fifteen boxes stacked on a wooden table, along with plastic plates and napkins. The cookies, chips, ice cream, and countless other snacks had found their way to the table, too. The ice cream was already three-quarters of the way empty.

Nolan melded in with the line, blue plate in hand, and turned his attention to the rest of the room. Some kids sat at the tables lining the walls, talking and eating pizza and snacks. Others were busying themselves with board games, card games, puzzles. Still others had stationed themselves toward the middle of the extensive space—clear of any tables, with numerous games afoot. Twister, human battleship, relay races...

Nolan moved forward in line, and finally it was his turn. He nabbed two pieces of pepperoni pizza. When he took a bite, it was warm.

✝

Nolan laid down a red three and scanned what remained of his cards. Two cards left—a yellow eight and a +4 card. If he saved his +4 card for uno, he would win. Well, unless Willow got rid of her two remaining cards first.

She set down a green three. "U—"

The music cut off mid-lyric. The silence—it was deafening.

"Yes!" Nora squealed. She was sitting next to him, her own cards tilted forward, letting the entire table see her hand. She really sucked at keeping her cards to herself. It was probably why she hadn't won a single round.

"Alright!" It was Ryan, through a microphone. It took a moment for Nolan to locate him by the door, standing on a stool.

He didn't know what was happening, but his friends were at full attention, nudging each other with elbows and grinning. What was going on?

"It's finally dark outside," Ryan said. "You know what that means!"

Whoops and hollers echoed around the room. Ecstatic fists thrust into the air.

"Okay, okay, calm down." Ryan laughed. "Anyone interested in playing hide and seek in the dark, follow me into the sanctuary for the extensive rundown of rules and regulations."

All at once, Nolan's table jumped from their seats. "You're about to have so much fun," Nora said as they followed the sea of people out of the event room. She clapped her hands. "Definitely one of the best games of the night."

"Try not to fall asleep, eh, Sison?"

Willow shoved Andy playfully. He tripped and whacked Erin, almost sending her toppling over. Her face was scarlet as Andy steadied her. "Look what you did," he said. "Don't kill Erin. We like her too much."

He let her go, and she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sorry, dude," Willow said. She didn't look sorry at all.

"No worries."

The sea flowed into the sanctuary. Their pew was still free, and they slid in beside their sleeping bags. All eyes went up to the stage, where Ryan waited for everyone to file in.

"Fancy meeting you here!"

Nathan dropped into the free space next to Willow. Since arriving, they'd chatted with the pastor a couple of times, but hadn't otherwise seen much of him. He'd been drifting, making his rounds, keeping an eye on kids and chatting with the handful of other chaperones.

"Oh, you're not too cool for us now?" Willow joked.

He sighed dramatically. "I got kicked out of my other clique. They said I didn't fit the criteria."

"Well, I could have told you that."

He gasped. She smiled.

The room quieted. The excitement in the air was intoxicating. Nolan hadn't played hide and seek since he was...eleven? And that was with a handful of other players. But the group scattering the pews was over fifty—easily.

"Welcome," Ryan murmured into the mic, his voice a dramatic boom, "to the annual game of hide and seek in the dark. A better name pending."

A few laughs. Nolan's lips twitched.

"Most of you know the rules," he said, returning to his normal voice. "The premise is pretty complicated. Most of you hide. Three of you seek. In the dark." He gasped. Nora laughed. "As always, you three lucky seekers will each be given a handy dandy flashlight as a weapon. You guys will count on the stage. You'll give everyone to the count of one hundred to hide. The first person caught by each seeker will become the seekers in the next round.

"Outside is off limits. The event room is permitted, but be mindful that the lights won't be turned off, as the few kids who don't want to play will congregate there. When you're found, you report back here." He paused. "Any questions?"

None.

"Okay then. Before we start, let's get a head count. We'll start from the front left. Go."

"One," the first kid called out.

"Two."

"Three."

"Four."

On and on it went, until, eventually, it was Nolan's turn. He was thirty-seven.

"Fifty-seven players this year, huh?" Ryan said once they'd finished. "That's almost a record."

"Almost," someone in the crowd said.

"Yeah. Almost. You guys failed."

Cue the laughs.

"Alright, alright," Ryan said. "Any volunteers to seek?"

The room went silent.

"Wow, I am so surprised." Snickers as he rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way. Twenty-six!"

A girl he didn't recognize sighed loudly and stood. She dragged her feet toward the stage.

"Thank you for volunteering, Emma!"

"My pleasure."

"Forty-three!"

A guy this time, who Nolan recognized as one of the players from Bible baseball.

"Fifty-seven!"

A second guy, this one blond versus the other's brunet, stood. "Rigged!" he said.

"Well, you shouldn't have been the last number." Laughter. "Seekers, let's go!"

Nora leaned toward him. "Phew," she whispered. "I suck at seeking."

"And hiding."

She whacked Andy on the shoulder.

"Ouch!"

"I totally rock at hiding," she told Nolan. "Sometimes."

He snorted. She whacked him lightly on the shoulder, too.

Ryan handed each of the three seekers a flashlight. "Alright," he said. "Lights out in three...two...one..."

Their world went black.

"And the game starts...now!"

And they were off.

✝

There were pros and cons to Holy Trinity being so big. Pros: there were plenty of potential hiding places. Cons: the place was so big, it was overwhelming.

Nolan didn't even know where to start. For the first seven seconds he just stood there like an idiot while the other players weaved around him, contemplating which direction to take.

No hiding spots in the lobby, Nora's classroom, or the library.

He dashed down another hall, into the fellowship area.

Now that he thought about it, it was smaller than he would have thought, given the vastness of the building itself and the amount of people who attended service. Hiding place wise, the fellowship area didn't have much potential, except for the chairs lining the walls. The kitchen wouldn't be much help either, as, upon opening the kitchen door, he discovered there were already four other teens crammed inside—one hiding on the countertops, the other behind the door, and two shoved deep in the closet.

"Ninety-nine, one-hundred!"

Crap.

He scurried over to the chairs, shoved himself underneath, and made himself as small as possible.

Where had Nora ended up? He'd lost her around the count of six. What about the others? He'd last seen Andy around the count of three. Max, Erin, and Willow, around ten.

Footsteps. A stream of light fell across the floor.

Nolan held his breath. Hoped that his dark clothes would conceal him.

He really didn't want to be a seeker. How would he even know when the round was over? He barely knew anyone.

The footsteps drew closer. The light turned almost directly where he lay. He pressed his face to the floor, using his hair as a shield.

The light receded. Nolan remained tense, refusing to budge until he heard the twist of a doorknob and the creak of the opening kitchen door.

"A-ha!" Emma.

"Dang it! I wasn't the first, was I?"

"Nope. Nora was."

Well, it appeared Nora didn't rock at hiding after all.

"Thank God."

Nolan glanced at the kitchen. The door was ajar, the glint of the flashlight touching a few of the cabinets in his view.

"A-ha!"

Would he be better off getting caught now rather than later? If Emma found him, he definitely wouldn't be a seeker. Who knew if the others had found anyone yet?

The light flashed in his face.

"A-ha!" Emma's cheerful smile peered down at him. "I totally walked by you the first time. Wow."

He slid out from underneath the chairs. "Sanctuary, right?" he asked just because he didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah-huh."

"Thanks."

She nodded, and as she resumed looking, he headed for the sanctuary. The room was still dark, but the overhead lights glowed dully across the space. He easily spotted Nora in their pew.

"Nor," he whispered.

She jumped. "You scared me," she whispered back.

She moved to give him room, and he dropped beside her. "First, huh?" he asked.

She shoved him playfully. "Shut up."

"I'm not saying anything."

Another shove. He smiled.

They waited for everyone else to be found, chatting softly. Gradually, more voices filtered through the darkness. Andy arrived, then Erin, then Max. Willow remained absent the longest—Ryan had returned to the stage and was about to start the head count when she sauntered in, a couple other players behind her.

"Okay! Head count!" They counted. He gave a thumb's up. "Cool. So, previous seekers, come on up. New seekers, follow. We'll have the flashlight ceremony."

Nora sighed. "Guess that's my cue."

"You've got this," Willow assured her.

Nora scrunched her face and scooted into the aisle. Two others did the same.

"She doesn't have this," Willow said as Nora approached the stage. "But we love her anyway. Right, No-No?"

His breath caught. "Sure," he said. He cleared his throat. Willow laughed softly.

"Let the flashlight ceremony commence!"

To the drum roll of pounding feet and knee-slapping hands, the first round of seekers bestowed Nora and the other girls the flashlights. Nora bowed dramatically upon receiving hers. Emma bowed back.

"And the second round begins in three...two...one..."

Lights out.

Nolan started toward the door with everyone else, then paused. He twisted around. There was a small, draped table in the back of the room, where they kept free Bibles and info cards. He looked at the crowd. All leaving the room.

He inched toward the table, sock-clad feet silent on the carpet.

"Fifteen...sixteen..."

He reached the table, crouched, and eased himself underneath.

It definitely wasn't the most comfortable of hiding spots, but he wasn't about to fumble and search for another one. He curled in on himself and listened to the seekers count.

"Ninety-nine...one-hundred!"

He held his breath. With the drape blocking his way, he couldn't see the flashlights, so he concentrated on the sound of footsteps. Two disappeared rather quickly, but one moseyed through the area.

"Yeah, there's probably nobody in here." Nora. "Ah, well."

She walked all around the sanctuary. Was she checking every single pew? If she was being this thorough, there wasn't a chance she wouldn't check underneath the table. Crap.

He made himself as small as possible, as though that would actually make a difference. Her footsteps drew closer—

The drape tugged open, and he lifted a hand to cover his eyes.

"Whoops!" She lowered the flashlight. "Nolan!"

He sighed. "Yeah."

She laughed and held out a hand. He accepted it, and, with a little scooching, removed himself from underneath the table. He teetered on sleeping feet and sore legs. He actually started to trip, but she grasped his shoulder to steady him.

"Tall people really shouldn't be cramming themselves under tables," she said.

He chuckled, but the sound faded—they were so close. His breath caught in his throat again.

She smiled, full of triumph. "First, huh?" she asked.

He took a step back, gave her a playful shove. "Shut up."

✝

At four o'clock in the morning, Nolan was so tired he might have passed out against his will had Willow and Nora not announced they were going to sleep. With a quick goodbye to the others, he joined the girls as they left the event room. He was honestly surprised it had taken Willow this long. She'd become all but incoherent around two o'clock. But he wasn't one to talk. He'd been resisting the urge to grab his sleeping bag since 2:15, not wanting to be the first of their group to go to sleep.

Slumbering teens scattered the floor. Willow selected a clear area, and the three crawled into their sleeping bags. If he'd been more awake, he might have regretted forgetting to pack a pillow, but he collapsed without a care, his eyes closing even before he laid down.

"Night, guys," Nora whispered with a yawn. "I mean, morning."

"Night," Willow and Nolan murmured.

As he settled deeper into his sleeping bag, his exhausted mind sent a soft message to above. Still pissed. But today was good. If You had anything to do with it, thanks.

His tired, but peaceful thoughts faded away as he allowed sleep to overcome him.