Page 67 of Runaways

Silas nods toward the television. "Live in the wilderness like that. I think I'd be happy."

"Oh," I say, releasing the breath I'd been holding. "Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, not me, anyway."

"Really? I think you'd be good at it."

He sits up, grabs the bag of weed from his side table, and starts filling the bowl again.

"Don't pass that to me again. I can barely move," I tell him.

"You owe me a secret," he says.

"Okay. I've been thinking that I'd be fine if the aliens took me. It'd be kind of nice to be noticed."

He laughs. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious. Of the four of us, you have to admit, I'd handle it best. Mia would cry. Tate would try to fight them, and then he'd die. You'd probably think it was a hallucination and stay in denial, and I'd just be like, eh, what's one more thing?"

"Nah, I'd fight them, too. And I'd win. That's not really a secret, though."

"You tell me one, then," I say, my heavy eyelids fluttering closed.

"I didn't go to prom because I couldn't go with who I wanted to go with."

"Why not?"

"I don't know—it's complicated."

"It's never that complicated. Either you like the person, or you don't—if he wanted to, he would and all that."

"There's one other person who I've liked for a really long time, but I don't think she's ever thought of me as anything more than a friend."

"Well, you don't know unless you try."

"I've done everything except scream it in her fucking face."

"Yeah? Well, try that next time. Maybe she's just tired of trying, like I am, and she's waiting for someone to scream it in her fucking face so she can stop putting herself out there and looking stupid."

"Good to know. I'll consider that."

"Mmhmm,you do that."

When I open my eyes next, it's morning, and I'm still in Silas's bed in my prom dress with his body wrapped around mine.

Yeah, we don't do this. It must have been an accident. Still, he's warm, and he smells good. His hard chest feels good against my back, rising and falling with each hot breath against my neck. I stare at his arm draped across the front of my body and then slowly lace my fingers with his own. I like the way they look together, and I like how small he makes me feel, so maybe it's okay if I stay here like this for a minute and pretend it's an accident, too.

I close my eyes again, but my phone vibrates on the side table. Not wanting to wake Silas, I quickly reach for it with my free hand to turn it off, but grab his by mistake. Instead of setting it down, I turn it over, finding the screen unlocked and the camera open. The thumbnail in the left corner appears to be a picture of me sleeping.

My heart thuds against my ribcage. I know I shouldn't, but I click on it, and when I swipe on the photo, I find out it's just one in a collection of pictures he took of me while I was asleep.

Why would he do that?

My own phone vibrates against the table again, and I jump, dropping Silas's. It clatters against the side table before hitting the floor, causing him to stir beside me.

"Noah?"

I instantly release his hand and jump out of bed.

"Shit!" I say. "I'm so sorry. God, I'm just going to—"

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