Page 96 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

“Seriously, Caleb.” Gael made a show of nodding his head with approval. “The glow-up is legit. How’d that slip under my radar?”

Caleb’s entire face burned bright red, spreading to his neck and freckled shoulders. Gael’s very vocalized flattery—as Caleb thought it far too politely, in my opinion—had drawn many eyes to him.

“He’s really keeping it all hidden under his baggy academy outfits.”

“Those abs...”

“Talk about buying the stock at zero and watching it soar.”

“Good on Kitty Kat, locking him down.”

“Honestly,” Gael said. “Katherine, Caleb, if you two are ever looking for a little spice in your life.” He gestured to himself. “Or Caleb, if you’re ever just curious, curious about the human body, or have a question for—Aaaaahhhh!”

Kenzo shoved Gael into the pool with a bit of added telekinesis which made the headfirst cannonball splash a huge wave of water.

“Asshole.”

“Gah, Gael!”

“What’s your problem?”

After the crowd simmered, most believing Gael had done this in some dramatic bid for attention, Caleb tensed, worrying Kenzo planned on throwing him in next. It was bizarre how Kenzo had stormed across the entire party to find Caleb. Not so strange he tossed Gael in the pool considering Kenzo had a very short fuse and Gael managed to light it every time they interacted.

“There’s a lap pool in the next swimming enclosure.” Kenzo frowned at Caleb, practically snarling as he tried and failed horribly to look nicer—per Gael’s advice that fluttered in Kenzo’s surface thoughts. “Figured you might be the only one here actually interested in training.”

Caleb smiled awkwardly. “Oh, um, thank you for thinking of me.”

“I wasn’t thinking of you.” Kenzo huffed. “I was thinking everyone else was lazy, treating this time like some mini-fucking-vacation or some other bullshit.”

“Oh, well, that’s still nice. Uh, I guess.” Caleb’s awkward smile strained but didn’t falter.

Kenzo glared. “So, did you wanna do some real training, or are you just gonna splish and splash and be a lazy dumbass?”

“My lil poet.” Gael slung an arm over Kenzo’s shoulder, careful with his spikes but finding he’d gotten quite good at physical contact thanks to the practice he had with Kenzo. Literally. From handshakes to hugs to pats on the back and anything else, Gael avoided over the years since he didn’t want to prick someone by accident.

Gael’s bright shark-like smile eased a nervous Caleb, who thought back to the exchange he shared with Kenny during the Spring Showcase. They fought a gargoyle together, faced off against a demon, and they buried a piece of their feud. He wondered if maybe Kenzo had buried all of it.

“You cool with me ditching?” Caleb turned to Katherine.

“I already saw the books you stuffed into your towel bag.” Katherine playfully bumped her hip against Caleb’s. “Figured you were gonna abandon the fun sooner or later.”

As willing as Caleb was to go out and explore, try new things, interact with others, all he really wanted to do most days was read, write, workout, practice his casting, and study. Caleb liked hiding in the world of words, learning anything and everything he could get his hands on.

While Caleb and Kenzo headed to the next enclosure, Katherine and Gael made a show of mingling with everyone in a quick social lap before they dived into the pool.

Before they reached the door, Kenzo grabbed Caleb by the arm and held him in place. They stood out of earshot from the rest of the party.

“About what happened during the showcase attack…” Kenzo averted his gaze. “I never apologized.”

“Apologized? For what?” Caleb cocked his head, recalling everything that’d happened, everything he’d witnessed, any possible thing Kenny could’ve done. “You didn’t do anything, though. I mean, you were kind of sort of a bit rude, but that’s fine. And it all worked out.”

“Not for the showcase attack,” Kenzo snapped, shoulders raised high and neck turtling in on itself. “For everything. Everything since my parents died. Everything since middle school. Since freshman year. Since we enrolled at Gemini Academy. I’m sorry for being a prick, for questioning your worth, for punching down every single day. I’m an asshole, and I’m not going to change. Fuck anyone who thinks I should. But I am going to change how I treat you. I’m going to work to make up for how I treated you.”

Caleb stood speechless, mind whirling in a million different directions.

“I’ll start by helping you do some real levitation training.” Kenzo nodded toward the door that’d lead them to the lap pool. “Seriously, your form is pathetic. How you expect to be a professional enchanter with such a sloppy stance is beyond me. Bird Brain and Chicken Sandwich have a tighter form, and they just started levitating.”

“I forgive you, Kenny.” Caleb smiled, then scrunched his face into this contorted, frazzled grimace. “Kenzo. I mean, Kenzo.”

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