Page 179 of Sigils & Spells

“Better than doing my calculus homework.” Alice pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “I came here with my uncle, so I’ll just let him know I won’t be home tonight.”

I exchanged glances with Minho, “You won’t?”

“Going home with you.” she sent the text and grinned, “we’ve gotta be up bright and early, right?”

* * *

We pickedup hamburgers on the way back to the apartment and I explained what had happened to me while we drove.

Minho shut the door with a solid thump. He did a big dramatic hands on the hips sigh. “I am exhausted.”

“I’m sure you did a great job.” I clapped him on the shoulder as Alice shut her door, “I’ll try to actually watch next time, instead of participating.”

He snorted. “We’re going to have to tell Ruby about what happened.”

“Yeahhh,” I nodded, grimacing. “And she’s never going to let us live it down.”

We climbed the steps to our third floor apartment, and despite everything else that had happened tonight, and what would happen tomorrow, I found myself thinking about how clean my room was. Had I put away my clothes or were they still in a pile? Had the trash been taken out? It had been a bit since I’d had a girl in the apartment. Normally, when I spent the night with someone, I spent it with them, instead of bringing them here.

I unlocked our apartment door and swung it open for Minho and Alice to go in, suddenly aware of the dishes I’d left on the coffee table.

“I’m going to hit the sack,” Minho yawned as the door swung closed, and hung his cowboy hat on the hook by the door. “Night, you crazy kids. Be safe. Use protection.”

I smacked him, my face flushing, but Alice just snorted. Minho blew me a mocking kiss and disappeared into his room.

Alice stretched. “So is that one your room?”

She pointed to the open door. I opened my mouth, and closed it again, not sure how to respond, but she was already walking towards it.

“I’m just going to take my jeans off to sleep if that's ok,” she said and stopped just outside my bedroom door, waiting for me before going in. I tried to picture what state I'd left it in, but when I couldn't remember I let her in anyway.

“Do we have the same kind of phone?” she asked, already pulling off her shoes before I had the door closed. “Because I'll probably need to charge it, and I can set an alarm. What time were you planning on leaving?”

Alice continued to undress as she spoke. She stuffed her socks into her shoes and then pulled off her ripped jeans, revealing incredibly toned legs, with a tattoo of a boar’s head on her upper thigh. I tried not to stare at her legs or the tattoo, and really tried not to stare when she did that thing where she took her bra off without taking her shirt off. She was entirely unfazed, and just kept talking.

“If we don’t have the same phone it’s probably fine. I can't imagine cell reception will work in Elfhame anyway so I won’t need my phone. Just make sure you set the alarm if you know when we need to be up.”

She looked at me finally after bundling all her clothes and setting them at my rolling desk chair.

“Well?” she prompted.

“Uh, yes.” I managed, keeping my eyes solidly on her eyebrows. “Phone. I have an alarm. I think we have to be there at like 7?”

“God, that’s early.” Alice checked the time on her phone and then set it onto the stack of her clothes. “Alrighty then.”

Without hesitation, Alice hopped into my bed, scooting over, closer to the wall. I had enough pillows to soften the heads of an army, so she looked small and a little lost amongst them.

“Well?”

I must have looked really stupid just standing. I cleared my throat. “What… what are you doing?”

“Going to bed? We have to be up early.” She slapped her hand on the bed beside her aggressively. “Come on, don't be shy.”

ELFHAME

Ruby’sshed door was a gape when Minho led us around the back of the house. It was early enough that the sun hadn’t properly risen yet, leaving a gray morning with the first hints of dawn. Amber light cast a warm glow over the gravel paths both from the house and from the shed.

Despite it being open, Minho knocked on the door frame. “Ruby.”

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