Page 5 of Don't Let Me Go
I learned that lesson the hard way. Freshman year, I made the mistake of dying my hair pink for Halloween, then spent the next six months dodging various nicknames like Barbie Boy, Bubblelicious, and Gem and the Homo-Grams.
“Do you want us to call your dad?” Audrey asks, looking very much unconvinced by my supposed recovery.
“Or 911?” Duy suggests.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Tala demands, shoving her hand in my face. “What’s the date?”
“Guys, I’m fine!” I insist, casting a nervous glance at the shooting gallery, where my Cro-Magnon classmates are, thankfully, too occupied shooting metal ducks to notice the commotion my friends are making. “Seriously, I’m sorry if I freaked you out, but I’m good! There’s nothing wrong with me. See?”
I spin in place while waving my arms over my head to demonstrate that I have both balanceandfull control over my motor functions. Almost immediately, though, I regret that decision, as it’s apparent from my friends’ horrified expressions that I must look like a malfunctioning robot attempting to fight off a swarm of invisible bees.
“Is this what a stroke looks like?” Duy asks.
“I’m googling stroke symptoms,” Tala says, already typing on her phone.
“Guys,” I groan in exasperation. “I’mfine!”
Behind me I hear an awkward chuckle, and for a second, I’m afraid the Thunderbolts have spotted me. Bracing myself, I turn around for a fight. But instead of a rowdy football team, I find myself face-to-face with—
“Marcus?”
I don’t believe it. It’s him. The boy from my dream. He’s wearing cargo shorts and a turquoise polo instead of a tunic and sandals, but I’d recognize him anywhere. The same athletic build. The same dark blond hair. The same piercing blue eyes. Iknowthose eyes. I knowhim.
At least?.?.?.?I think I do.
The boy, though, just blinks in confusion.
“Uh?.?.?.?no,” he replies. “I’m Jackson.”
For a good ten seconds, his words are meaningless. Then, in a flash, it hits me.
Jackson is Jackson Haines. Duy’s new neighbor.
Duy’s been obsessed with him ever since he moved here from Tallahassee at the end of the school year. For the past week, Duy’s been blowing up our group text with updates about their every fleeting interaction with their “hot new neighbor,” who apparently likes to jog every morning with his shirt off.
Duy’s last update had been that they’d invited Jackson to join us at the carnival this afternoon. A decision I wasn’t too thrilled about. I don’t like strangers infiltrating our friend group before I’ve had the chance to vet them. Especially not strangers who are clearly overconfident jocks with an exhibitionist streak.
In fact, I distinctly remember standing in line for funnel cakes with Audrey and Tala and complaining about Duy’s tendency to gravitate toward such problematic sports bros just as they arrived at the carnival with Jackson in tow.
After that, though, things get a bit?.?.?.?hazy. Not to mention X-rated. That dream I had wasintensein more ways than one.
Oh crap. What if I was talking in my sleep while I was passed out? My friends might have heard everything. Worse, Jackson might have. No wonder he looks nervous. He probably thinks I’m some deranged sex freak.
“Oh. Um. Nice to meet you,” I mumble, trying to keep my cheeks from flushing in embarrassment.
Again, Jackson blinks uncertainly. “Um?.?.?.?we’ve already met.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Duy, Tala, and Audrey exchange anxious glances.
“We have?” I ask.
“Yeah. About five minutes ago. Right before you fainted.”
“Oh.”
I’m starting to think Tala might be right. Maybe I am having a stroke.
“I remember,” I lie, not wanting my friends to worry about me any more than they already are. “I just got a little confused from the fainting.”
