Page 56 of Forged By Shadows

Skating around the oval dancefloor, I bump shoulders with Gare to start a race. He’s visibly vibrating with energy, breaking through the hold Axel and I had on each other. Hux is quick to join, the four of us speeding around with no finish line. The girls dance in the center, cheering and whooping like cheerleaders. We push ourselves until our calves are burning, not a care in the world. This feels good, right even. To be free, to live the life I’ve been gifted.

The latest tune by Charlie XCX that has been all over the radio starts to play, gaining our shouts of approval. Moving my shoulders in time with Axel and Hux, my cheeks begin to hurt from smiling for this long and I don’t plan on letting it drop any time soon.

Avery joins us as we dance side by side, overtaking and showing off her moves. I whip my phone out to catch a video of her moonwalking backwards, then turn myself to grab a couple of selfies. Garrett’s face is right there, taking up most of the screen as if I don’t already have a camera roll full of his photobombing. Pocketing my phone, a pair of small hands slide around my waist. Avery turns me to face forwards, her smile lighting up her whole face.

“Thank you for this,” she beams despite her split lip. I kiss the tip of her nose, avoiding hurting her mouth. It looks angry and sore, but Avery won’t let that stop her from having fun. She lightly tugs my arm, pulling me to the side of the rink. “I’m sorry it’s not what you were hoping for.” Garrett chooses that moment to yee-haw above the music, and I can’t help but laugh.

“It’s fine, Little Swan. Seeing you happy is all I wanted.”

“Not true,” Avery raises a brow knowingly. “You wanted us to spend some alone time together - outside of campus.” I nod, not prepared to lie to her. Drawing her into my arms, Avery leans on me for stability.

“We’ll get our turn. I’m a patient man. I can wait.”

“Oh, Dax,” Avery sighs, laying her head on my shoulder. “You shouldn’t be so quick to put yourself at the back of the line. Not when your friends are so eager to push in front.”

I snort. Story of my life, but I also know patience pays off. Today is a good day. Not all of them will be, and who Avery turns to in her times of need will be telling. Garrett and Axel can be loud and playful, and even Huxley can bolster his way in when he’s done with waiting. But not me. I’ll be here, stoic and ready. I’ll catch Avery when she falls.

“Go have fun,” I press my lips aside her forehead, resisting the urge to call her ‘my love’. On cue, Meg grabs Avery and drags her away laughing. I watch her for a short while longer before seeking out a drink. Once my skates are off and my milkshake is all gone, I stride into the arcade in my socks. Pushing some loose change into a pinball machine, I feel a presence at my side as soon as I release the first ball.

“Bet I can get onto the scoreboard before you can,” Gare whispers into my ear, licking my lobe to put me off. I misjudge the flipper and the ball plunges back into the machine. I shove Gare away playfully, spotting another pinball machine across the space and directing him to it.

“Loser buys lunch,” I shout across the space between us.

“Perfect, I’ve already ordered!” he replies with an evil laugh. Starting up the next game, I somehow lose on repeat for the five rounds until Garrett’s hands shoot into the air and he roars in victory. Motherfucker. Running over to me, he rubs his knuckles against my hair and bounces into the diner to collect his re-heated prize.

Looking around the room, I fail to spot my brothers until I notice a pair of legs hanging out from one of the booths. Wyatt’s booth, to be exact. I exhale deeply, heading over to join. Huxley is lying on his back, his head in Axel’s lap who is absent-mindedly playing with his hair. Garrett scoots in, nudging me closer to Wyatt, with a trayful of enough food to feed all of us if he permitted it.

“They’d make a cute couple, don’t you think?” Garrett asks, gesturing to the girls with his chin. They’re still in the rink while a slow song plays, dancing together sensually. Avery’s arms are around Meg’s neck, whose hands are planted on Avery’s hips. Spinning in slow circles, the two of them joke, smile and giggle together. Gare starts chanting ‘kiss, kiss’ loudly, pumping his fist in the air and shattering their moment. Happy to put on a show, Meg turns to twerk against her friend’s crotch. Avery spanks her while biting her lip before they start laughing and return to skating side by side.

“No way, those two know their way around a cock,” Huxley replies from his horizontal position without even looking. His statement bothers Wyatt and everyone sees it.

“No need to be jealous, Riot,” Garrett says around a French fry. “I’d happily play spin the bottle with you if you need some action.” He chuckles, but his attempt to lighten the mood falls flat.

“Things are never going to go back to how they were, are they?” Wyatt says stoically. Huxley sits up, the humor in the air dying a cold death.

“Different doesn’t have to be bad,” Axel attempts. Wyatt’s eyes are squarely focused on Avery and Meg, the tic in his jaw beating profusely.

“While I watch my best friends trip over themself to fuck my-” he catches himself and clears his throat. “Avery. That doesn’t sound like anything I want to be a part of.”

“What are you saying? Are you going somewhere?” Huxley raises a brow. I’m sure beneath the music I hear Axel whimper. Garrett tuts, pushing his basket of fries away.

“Or you could pull the stick out of your ass and admit you want to fuck her too.” I wasn’t prepared for Garrett’s brashness. Sucking in a breath, I divert my eyes to my lap, preferring not to see if there is any truth lingering in Wyatt’s green eyes. If what Garrett just said is true, not only have I been blind to everything going on around me, but our lives just became much messier than I anticipated.

“Who’s fucking who?” Meg asks, the girls appearing. They pull up small stools to sit at the table and help themselves to the discarded food.

“No one, yet,” Garrett winks at Avery. She smacks him upside the head before snatching a pickle from his plate. Tension returns to the table as the majority of us watch them eat in silence. The lack of conversation doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Okay, well what do you say we leave these losers to their angst?” Avery asks, nudging Meg with her elbow and grabbing their skates. They head to the booth to swap out for their sneakers, waving goodbye. “We might go catch a movie or something. Don’t wait up,” Avery calls.

I watch my idea of a dream date get flushed away as she leaves. Once the door swings closed, Wyatt stands up abruptly, shoving his hands in his pockets and stalking off without a backwards glance. Huxley is hot on his heels and Axel follows with pleading eyes.

Leaving me alone with Gare and the aftermath of their departure, I huff at the side of his face. He pauses with a half-eaten burger hovering in front of his face.

“What? Did you want a bite?”

“Don’t play dumb. Did you really have to taunt Wyatt like that?” Garrett rolls his jaw as he finishes his mouthful and places the burger down with added care. When he turns to me, there’s a starling amount of clarity in his dark brown eyes.

“The way I see it, there are three outcomes of the tightrope we’re all treading. We lose Wyatt, we lose Avery, or the pair of them stop pretending they don’t feel the attraction I’ve seen since the start and we all get to live happily ever after.” My mouth drops open and my eyes dart around, grappling for something to say.

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