Page 140 of Scattered Glitter

And now, here we are, stomachs full of pasta, Sylus plopping down beside me, giving me a look like I’m one of his embroidery projects he can’t wait to finish. He’d probably embroider some horrible phrase on it like,Be nice to yourself, you dumb bitch.

“So,” he begins, turning his attention to me and leaning in. “You sticking around for the movie?”

I know he’s trying to figure out how hard to push me to stay. Hell, I think they all are based on the unsubtle glancesthey’ve been throwing my way. We had these movie nights often enough that I could picture what would happen if I stayed easily, and that’s the problem. They’d laugh and talk while I sat here quietly, trying to figure out how to appear like I’m functioning. My chest grows tight the longer I think of it, and I rub the center of it as if that’ll help soothe it.

I look down, letting my hand slide over Jinx’s fur, focusing on the softness there, on the simple comfort of it. “I… I probably should get back to my room,” I mutter, trying to find something to say that isn’tno.

“You don’t have to beokayto hang out, you know.” Sylus’s voice drops to something that feels too understanding, too kind. “We don’t need you to fix yourself for us.” He shrugs as if it’s the simplest thing in the world, but the words twist inside me, feeling like something else entirely.

I try to brush it off, to look away, but his gray gaze holds mine, and it’s as though he can read every thought I’m trying so hard to keep buried. I want to tell him he doesn’t understand, that it’s not that easy, but he looks like he’s already guessed that too.

It makes me shift uncomfortably. When you’re stuck where I am, even kindness can feel like a demand, an expectation.I want to be here with yousounds the same aswhy can’t you be here with me?Like I’m disappointing them by not being better, not snapping out of it, not being… normal again.

At least as normal as I was three months ago.

He slowly nods. “You don’t have to explain anything, man. Just… stay. Watch the movie.”

The old urge to recoil, to shut off, surges up again. I glance down at Jinx, her eyes are half-lidded, completely at peace, and I let my hand rest on her, grounding myself in her warmth. Then, with a bit of defiance, I look up at Sylus, half-wanting to prove him wrong. “All right,” I murmur as Iturn my attention to the television. “I’ll stay. But if it’s some feel-good crap, I’m out.”

Sylus laughs. “Deal.”

What feels like an eternity later, thedefinitelyfeel-good movie finally ends, the overly cheerful notes of the last song lingering as the credits roll up the screen. Levi hums along, tapping his foot to the beat until the screen fades to black. Pebble flutters around his shoulders, seemingly as happy as Levi about the Disney movie he made us sit through.

I stretch, trying to shake off the tiredness that cloaks me and notice Sylus next to me with his phone in hand, looking like he’s debating something.

“I should probably wait,” he mutters to himself.

“Wait for what?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Texting Sparkle.”

“Sparkle?” I huff, glancing around at the others. “What’s her name, anyway?”

“Glitter,” Koen answers, a half-smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

“You guys are fucking with me,” I accuse and lean back, forcing a laugh and trying to mask the bitterness.

“It’s her stage name. God, you guys are boring,” Levi chimes in with a grin. “Still jealous I don’t have one. We should rectify that, right, Ko?”

Koen rolls his eyes as he says dryly, “Sure, Dove.”

Sylus smirks at Levi, crossing his arms as he gives him a taunting look. “I thought we were happy with Barbie and Ken?”

“Ha-ha,” Levi replies, flipping Sylus off before reaching out to let Pebble hop up his arm and onto his shoulder. “You’re hilarious.”

It feels good to see them joke around, something grounding in the back-and-forth banter, even if I’m still on the periphery of it.

“So, what’s the plan now with our glittery friend?” Levi asks, his eyes sweeping over us all but landing on Sylus. “Did you guys talk? Did she want to talk about…our little lies?”

“Nope. She said she wasn’t pissed, but I don’t believe her.” Sylus shrugs.

I huff, not even trying to hide my frustration because, really, not telling her everything from the start was a bad call, though I get why they held back.

Still, if I were her, I’d be furious.

And Ezra—Ezra fucking hit her.

I clench my teeth together as I glance at him. His jaw is still darkened by the bruise that Koen gave him as a kind of rough justice. There’s some satisfaction in that but not nearly enough.

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