Page 101 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
“I’m sure.” Logan stuck out his pinky, gaze holding mine steadily. “No, Ipromise.”
Readjusting my grip on the blanket, I reached and wrapped my pinky around his.
Logan led me back up the driveway, but instead of heading for the front door, he took me around the side of the house. It was a bit hard to see, which caused Logan to trip over his feet. A laugh burst from me, cracking more of my nerves. When he tripped again, Iwas sure he’d done it on purpose—all to put me more at ease.
But then he tripped the third time. “How are you so clumsy?” I demanded, practically holding him up at that point.
Logan grumbled, “Why is there a garden gnomeoutsideof the garden?”
“Oh, sure, blame the gnome.”
We rounded the corner of the house then, and my stomach did a little swoop. I gripped the blanket and Logan’s hand tighter.
Three people were on a blanket on one side of the fire, playing with what looked like some kind of cards, and two others were sitting on a quilt on the other side, with a pile of s’mores supplies in front of them. Two people had chairs propped up, their stretched-out legs alarmingly close to the fire.
And the last one was… reciting Shakespeare?
“‘Two households, both alike in dignity!’” he proclaimed, throwing two hands up for emphasis. He stood far closer to the flames than I thought he should, especially given the fact that, upon closer inspection, his eyes were closed. “‘In fair Verona, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, and civil blood makes?—’”
“Where.” Someone from the card-playing blanket said. It was a girl with a rainbow headband. “‘Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.’”
The boy standing in front of the fire opened his eyes. “I saidwhere.”
“You didn’t, dude.” This came from a guy in the chair. “You saidand.”
Out of all the plays, he had to reciteRomeo andJuliet. Mom and I had just watched it on Sunday, or else I might not have recognized it. Everything was starting to feel like one giant coincidence, but in a weirdly unsettling way.
“It’s called modern interpretation.” The boy shot them a dirty look, slipping back into his theatrical performance. “‘From forth the fatal loins’—oh! Newcomer!”
All the heads at the bonfire swiveled in my direction.
I wasn’t unused to attention being on me, but for some reason, I felt like I had stage fright. Maybe it was because I only recognized two people at the bonfire. Danielle and Noah sat the same way Logan and I had been sitting earlier in the bed of his truck. Danielle was crooked between the legs of Noah, whose glasses were reflecting the flames of the fire ominously.
Danielle raised one hand straight into the air. “Welcome, lovebirds!”
My hand tightened around Logan’s, to which he gave a reassuring squeeze back. “Everyone, this is Madison,” he introduced. “Say hi to Madison.”
In a unified chorus, they all replied, “Hi, Madison.”
“Hi,” I returned, sounding far shyer than I normally did.
Noah’s eyes cut to mine. “I’m surprised you came. Danielle said she invited you, but I didn’t think you would.”
Danielle twisted in her boyfriend’s arms. “You two know each other?”
Noah didn’t miss a beat. “Not at all.”
Logan was right; Noahwasprickly. But not any pricklier than Jade. “I’m grateful for the invite,” I said, glancing around. “I really was looking forward to meeting all of Logan’s friends.”
“Well, grab a blanket!” Danielle said, patting the grass. “Put it beside ours.”
Logan quickly did more personalized introductions as he laid a quilt out. The Shakespeare performer was Trevor, and the three sitting on the blanket playing cards—Magicsomething—were Charlie, Peter, and Amir. There were two others on the other side of the fire, Brian and Kelsey, who also lifted their hands to wave when it was their turn. I was overwhelmed with the names, but did my best to trace their faces, to memorize them. These people were important to Logan, so I would give it my all.
Trevor went back to finishingRomeo and Juliet’sprologue, with the trio playing cards still heckling him when he quoted it wrong.
“We’re pretty boring,” Danielle said as I settled in on the blanket Logan laid beside them. He still stood above us, dusting his hands. “Trevor’s practicing his lines for the upcoming play.”
“Right,” I murmured, remembering that she’d said they were doing a weekend performance ofRomeo and Juliet. So maybe the universewasn’tout to get me.
