AS IF to make up for the lack up until now, the thunderstorms continued off and on for the rest of the week. Darren was in ecstasy. The buzzing under his skin hadn’t stopped, exactly, but it had been replaced with a happy thrum of power that sparked up again whenever the world was about to get wet. Toadstools started to pop up wherever he walked and he couldn’t get it to turn off, but he couldn’t make himself care. The smell of ozone and fresh breezes followed him everywhere and that, coupled with the end of pretesting and the start of study week on the horizon, well, he was pretty much over the moon. He’d even managed a B-plus on the physics makeup test, and with his new magic weather-energy, was performing really well in all his hands-on classes—even though he was working twice as hard, his teachers all trying to figure this latest change out.
Charlie was due to visit Vlad again that Friday afternoon, and Vlad called Darren after school in a panic, apologizing but asking if he wouldn’t please come over again for the lesson. Darren was just as happy to not spend more time staring at his lit notes and promised to be right over.
Tabitha let Darren in and pointed him toward to the living room before making herself scarce. Darren wasn’t sure if she was doing that to try to make Vlad feel more comfortable with having vampire lessons or what, but he was almost positive she was eavesdropping on the whole thing anyway.
Vlad smiled when he saw him, though his eyes darted around and he kept drumming his fingers on his knee. There was clearly still an edge of panic.
“Thank you for coming,” he said as Darren sat down. “I—I thought I could see him on my own this time, but I….” He looked at the floor. “Sorry.”
“No way,” Darren said easily. “This is super interesting! And when else am I going to witness real-life vampire lessons with real life vampires?”
“Why do you find this so interesting, but if it is written down, you don’t?” Vlad asked.
Darren made a face. “I don’t have to read this, I just have to listen. You know I’m way better at hands-on.” He wiggled his fingers. “I’ve got magic hands.”
“If you say so,” Vlad said. “Do you want something to drink?”
“No thanks,” Darren said. “I’m good. When’s he getting here?” The doorbell rang. “Oh, well, guess that answers that.”
Vlad got up to let Charlie in, and Darren rubbed at his arms, the odd but familiar itch back again. He wished he could figure out what it was for. Fae puberty was so dumb.
“Hello again, Darren,” Charlie said, nodding to him as he sat down in the armchair again. “Back again for moral support?”
Vlad looked back down at the floor, so Darren slung an arm around his shoulders. “You know it,” he said easily. He gave Vlad a squeeze before letting go to grab at a notebook. “Also, I’m in charge of note-taking duty.”
Charlie chuckled. “All right. Let’s not waste any time, then.”
“I was wondering if I could learn to heal,” Vlad said suddenly. Charlie looked surprised and Vlad hurried to add, “I did it once before, but I don’t know how or why it worked. And I don’t know if I could do it again.”
“What did you do?” Charlie asked.
Vlad explained about the time in the woods, how Darren had gotten scratched up, and what Vlad had done to fix it. When he was done, Charlie smiled.
“I see what you mean, Vlad. And I have both good and bad news. The good news is, vampire saliva does actually have minor healing properties. It causes a mild painkiller effect, as well as accelerated healing on small areas.”
“Oh,” Vlad said. “For… hunting purposes, I assume.”
Charlie nodded. “Right. Much easier to bite someone or something if the bite doesn’t hurt. And with another lick, the holes are all sealed up no trouble. So if you ever wanted to help out with minor cuts, it will work every time. You don’t even need to think about it.”
Darren furiously scribbled this all down.
“What’s the bad news?” Vlad asked.
“Well, vampires do have the ability to heal bigger things, but it’s much, much more advanced magic. It’s essentially a life-energy transfer, and so only works with older, more powerful vampires. I can’t teach you that yet. You’re too young.”
“Oh,” Vlad said again, sounding disappointed. “All right.”
“What brought on this question?” Charlie asked, tilting his head.
Vlad glanced at Darren before his eyes skittered back to Charlie. “No real reason,” he said. “I was just thinking about how I had healed Darren before and was wondering. That’s all.”
“Okay. Well, then, why don’t we get to work on something you’ll actually be able to do, hm?”
Vlad nodded.
“Excellent.” Charlie clapped his hands together. “Let’s get started.”
Charlie ran Vlad through thralling (Vlad had been practicing and was able to make the rabbit Darren had summoned roll over and hop in circles); basic mysticism and glamour (Vlad managed to make himself fade around the edges, but he was so tired afterward, shaky and panting, that Charlie spent the next hour on theory and vampire history and current events); and the rudimentary version of the shift. The latter was the hardest for Vlad; he couldn’t even make his fangs drop on command.
By the time Charlie left three hours later, Vlad was exhausted, but he had a bunch of new things to practice over the next week.
“This is great!” Darren said, flopping down on Vlad’s bed as Vlad sorted out his workload at his desk. “You’ve got so much you can work on now.”
Vlad shot him a look.
“I suppose,” he said, not sounding too excited. He tapped the side of his face with his pencil. “Do you think you could help me glamour, sometime?”
“Sure, no problem,” Darren said. “I can bring you over my old notes if you want. I’m pretty sure I can dig that stuff up. And if I can’t, I know my dad has files of all his reference materials. We’ll make you a glamour expert! And hey—” He sat up. “I bet Beth could offer some pointers on the shifting stuff. She’s got a hunting form too.”
“No!” Vlad burst out. “I mean, no, that is okay. I’d… prefer to work on the shifting on my own. I think it would be better if I wasn’t around others when I practiced it.”
“Oh,” Darren said. “Uh, yeah, okay.”
“But help with glamour would be very appreciated,” Vlad said quickly, before looking back down at his notes.
Darren nodded. “Sure thing.” He caught himself staring at Vlad’s back and redirected his attention to the plant on Vlad’s windowsill, fingering the waxy leaves. Vlad’d gotten it a while ago, and by how healthy it was looking, was dutifully watering it every week, per Darren’s instructions.
“I have a question,” Vlad said out of the blue, pushing away from the desk and spinning his chair to face Darren.
“Yeah? Shoot.”
“You might not… like it.”
Darren gave Vlad a funny look. They’d talked about so much personal stuff at this point, what the heck kinda question did Vlad have? “Okay? Is this about glamouring?”
Vlad shook his head. “I was just… wondering how you got your name. I am guessing it… isn’t your birth name?”
“Oh.” Darren flopped back on the bed. “You had me worried for a second there. Nah, it was easy. My parents didn’t know what I was gonna be, so they had a bunch of names picked out, and then this fae ritual wherein the baby chooses its own name or something? Out of the choices the parents give it. It’s all very destiny and much magic. Darren was my mom’s first pick for a boy. So I went with that. It was kinda like they’d named me all along, that way.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Yeah. And it’s a way better story than what actually happened for the naming ceremony.”
“What happened?” Vlad asked, looking down at him, curiosity obviously piqued. He was so easy sometimes.
“I didn’t have enough fae in me to do the ritual properly. I tried to eat one of the flowers instead. It had a bee on it. The ritual ended with me in baby ER.”
Vlad hissed in sympathy. “Yeah. That was also apparently how my parents found out that I didn’t react well to modern medicine. It was a great day! And one I’m so glad I can’t remember.” Darren propped himself up on his elbows. “What brought on the question? I mean, I’m cool with it, but from vampire magic to name stuff is a pretty big leap.”
Vlad shrugged. “I was just… I had wondered about it. About if… if you had involved your parents.” He looked wistful. “Charlie is a good teacher, and Tabitha is wonderful, but….”
Darren winced. “You miss ’em,” he said.
Vlad picked at his jeans. “I—it’s better, that I’m here,” he said after the silence started to press. “My parents are good people but… it is hard for them to accept differences.” His eyes flicked to meet Darren’s before he looked away. “My being turned would have only hurt them more. It’s….” His shoulders hunched. “It’s better that they think I’m dead.”
“Bullshit,” Darren growled, suddenly just—furious. “Vlad, you are amazing. I’m freaking lucky to know you and count you as a friend, and—it sucks what happened to you, but you’re dealing and you get stronger dealing with it every freaking day. Your parents were lucky to have you, and if—if you think they’d rather have a dead son than a vampire one, then… then screw them.” He reached out and pulled the chair closer, Vlad rolling along with it, and leaned into Vlad’s space. “You are here and alive and awesome. You got that?”
Vlad was staring at him, eyes wide. Darren repeated the question. “You got that?” Vlad swallowed and looked away, but he jerkily nodded. Darren breathed out.
“Good. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get—intense. It’s just. That’s not a good kind of talk. Ever. I—Okay?”
“Okay,” Vlad said.
Darren rubbed the back of his neck. “Vlad? Can I… can I hug you? Is that okay?” He opened his arms in invitation. Vlad looked at him for a long moment and then surged forward, out of the computer chair, holding on tight.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” Darren said, wishing it were more.
“I know,” Vlad said, voice quiet. “Thank you.”
WHEN JUNE hit and testing started, Darren was so relieved to finally be done with studying that he almost looked forward to the tests each day, if only to get them over with. And they weren’t so bad. There was the same usual panic of going to class knowing a final awaited, but once it was done, he was blessedly free for the rest of the afternoon.
The only dampener was that Vlad had been a little edgy lately. Darren was worried that it was because of the moment they’d had, about Vlad’s parents.
“It’s just—what else was I supposed to say?” Darren asked Bethany as they were getting ready to leave after their history final. “And now he hates me!”
“He doesn’t hate you,” Bethany drawled. “Obviously. You’re going over to his house today.”
“To help him work on his glamour,” Darren said. “Which I am happy to help with! But he keeps not looking at me. Or getting nervous. And he won’t talk to me about his other vampire study stuff at all.”
Bethany sighed. Darren should really have gone to Trisha, but she was still in testing. “Look,” she said. “He’s probably just reevaluating where he stands. He made himself vulnerable, now he’s got to fix it.”
“Uh. You do remember the part where he’s a vampire and not actually a werewolf, right?”
Bethany rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about his powers. He’s a teenage boy. And if you don’t want my advice, just go ask him what’s wrong.”
“He wouldn’t tell me,” Darren muttered. “’Cause he hates me now.”
“Ugh, boys. You’re hopeless.”
Darren couldn’t even bristle properly, just moped as they made their way to Beth’s car.
“Maybe you should just drop me off at home,” Darren said as they approached his street. “I’ll cancel today. Give him some space, you know?”
Bethany snorted and drove right past Darren’s house. “Hey!”
She stopped in front of Tabitha’s and raised an eyebrow in the face of Darren’s indignation. “Get out of my car,” she said, showing her teeth.
“You’re the worst best friend ever,” Darren said, shoving open the door.
“Hi, Vlad!” Bethany said, waving to someone behind Darren. Darren twitched and looked up. Vlad had come outside to meet them.
“Good afternoon, Bethany,” Vlad said with a smile. “Hi, Darren.”
Darren wiggled his fingers in a wave. “Hey.”
“He does smell kind of upset,” Beth murmured quietly. “Looks. Whatever.”
“Oh my god, shut up,” Darren hissed, grabbing his backpack and closing the door. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“And you can call me tonight,” Bethany said with a significant look. “Bye, Vlad!” She drove off without another word.
Darren squashed the urge to shake his fist, turning to face Vlad instead.
“Hey!” he said, shouldering his backpack. Maybe things wouldn’t be weird today. “How’s it going?”
Vlad smiled at him, but then his eyes skittered to look over Darren’s shoulder. “I am okay,” he said, sounding tense. “How was your test today?”
“Uh, good! Good. At least I hope so? Don’t know how well I did on the essay questions. I think I might’ve wandered from the topic a couple times. But hey, speaking of studying.” He tried for a smile. “I was thinking we could maybe go to the clearing today?”
Vlad froze but then nodded. “Sure. I’ll… I’ll just let Tabitha know.” He ran back inside the house without another word. Darren sagged. Still weird, then. He wished he knew what he’d done.
Vlad came out again a moment later, carrying a water bottle in one hand. He smiled at Darren, but the expression looked brittle, somehow. Darren tried to ignore it as they made their way over to the woods. It was Vlad’s business, and he was upset. Darren didn’t want to push. Even if it was kinda his business too, since the problem seemed to be with him. Whatever. They could work on glamour. That was a pretty safe subject.
Except not really. Vlad kept alternating between skittish and frustrated, and when Darren, frustrated himself, finally suggested that he drop his own glamour and put it back on again so Vlad could pay attention to how he did it, Vlad actually reared back so hard he smacked his head into a tree.
“Okay,” Darren said, holding up his hands. “Whoa, calm down. First of all because that sounded like it hurt, and second of all, what is wrong with you lately?”
“Nothing,” Vlad muttered, rubbing at his head.
“Are you kidding me right now? You’ve been acting shifty for days. Did I do something wrong?”
“Of course not,” Vlad said, crossing his arms and looking away.
Darren narrowed his eyes. Now Vlad was lying to his face about it?
“Is this because I yelled about your parents?”
Vlad glared. “No!”
“Then tell me what’s going on!”
“I can smell you,” Vlad snapped.
Darren paused. “Uh. What? No, seriously, what? That’s what this is all about? That’s not a big deal.”
“Yes it is.”
“Why?” Darren demanded. “What’s the problem?”
“That—you—ugh!” Vlad actually threw up his hands, which was about as expressive as he’d ever gotten while angry. Normally he closed off. This, while stupid and not at all Darren’s fault, was kinda interesting. “The problem is that it’s been making me want to bite you! Do you now see how that is a problem?”
“We established that I was off-biting-limits ages ago! And you said eating people made you sick!”
“I don’t want to eat you!”
“Then what’s the whole deal about the biting!”
Vlad let out a defeated breath and sat down on the ground, back against the tree. “I don’t know,” he moaned. Darren’s hackles cooled like, immediately. “Ever since I started learning about glamour, I’ve just—you were not on my radar, and now you are again, and—” He gritted his teeth. “I can control myself but I don’t know why I need to, and it’s been driving me crazy.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Darren said, sitting down too. A little away from Vlad. And hopefully downwind. “We can figure this out. In fact,” he said, lighting on an idea, “we don’t even have to. By ourselves, I mean. We can call Charlie! That’s the whole point of having a vampire tutor, right? We can go to him for this stuff!”
Vlad looked shocked. “I did not even think of that.”
Darren smiled gently. “Well, that’s why you’ve got me. Do you have his number?” Vlad nodded. “Do you want to call him now?” Vlad took a deep breath and nodded again.
They ended up putting Vlad’s cell on speakerphone, crowding next to each other as it rang.
“Hello?”
Vlad swallowed. “Hello, Charlie? It is Vlad. Is this a bad time?”
“Of course not, Vlad. What can I do for you?”
“I had a question,” Vlad said.
“Yes?”
“When I first met Darren—” Vlad took a breath. “—I… wanted to bite him. I don’t think it was because I wanted a meal. And recently it has been happening again. Not… not wanting to eat, but still wanting to bite. I was wondering if you knew why I might… want to do that.”
“Hmm.” Charlie sounded like he was mulling it over. “Ah, when you first met, did you know about Darren’s glamour?”
“No.”
“That’s it,” Charlie said. “You saw one thing but sensed something else. When you were unable to use your powers to understand what you were sensing, your instinct was to bite, to figure Darren out. Like a baby putting a toy in its mouth. And now that you’re starting to practice glamour, you’re trying to reconcile the power you’re learning to recognize with how you see Darren as a person.”
“Oh,” Vlad said, shooting Darren a look he couldn’t quite catch. “That makes a lot of sense. Thank you. I’d been wondering about it.”
“And worrying too, I’m guessing?” Charlie said gently.
Vlad dipped his head. “Yes.”
“It probably doesn’t help that Darren’s glamour is a little… unusual,” Charlie said. “But once you have better control over glamour, things should settle again, since you won’t be as sensitive to it. Unless… are you worried you might be tempted to bite him, in the meantime?”
“No,” Vlad said shortly.
“All right, then. Why don’t we talk more about this at our next session,” Charlie said. “Unless you have any other questions?”
“No,” Vlad said. “Thank you. I’m sorry for bothering you.”
“That’s what I’m here for, Vlad,” Charlie said. “Feel free to call at any time.” The call disconnected.
“Feel better?” Darren asked carefully.
“I am sorry,” Vlad said, hanging his head. “None of this was your fault. I didn’t mean to act badly.”
“I’m just glad you weren’t mad at me,” Darren said honestly. “And hey, this way you know what’s going on, right?”
Vlad rubbed at his face. “Yes. I’m glad there’s an explanation. And that it should be fixed soon. I will just have to work extra hard to master glamour. I… think it will go easier, now that I don’t have to wonder.”
“Great!” Darren leaned back on his heels. But, because he had to ask, “…and no worries about biting me?”
“I meant what I said.” Vlad met Darren’s eyes this time, holding his gaze. “I can control myself. I’m not going to bite anyone.”
“All right, then, well… good. Cool. So.” Darren tilted his head. “Ready for more glamour practice?”
“HEY, VLAD, do you wanna come over and watch a movie or something?”
“I thought you had plans to go to out for ice cream with Bethany and Trisha and Marco,” Vlad said. “To celebrate the last day of school?”
Darren sighed and adjusted the phone under his ear. “We did, but… well. Marco accidentally ate something with peanut oil in it during a class party and had to go to the ER. He’s okay, but he’s taking it easy; Trish is over at his house. And Beth’s parents surprised her and her brother Sean with a trip up north. They literally showed up at school with Layla, bags all packed. They’re gonna be gone till Saturday.”
“Wow,” Vlad said.
“Yeah. So first afternoon of summer vacation and I’m by myself, no plans, all alone. Hint hint.”
Vlad was quiet for a long time.
“Vlad? Hello? Did we get disconnected or—”
“Would you still like to go?”
“Go what?”
“Out,” Vlad said. “For ice cream.”
“What you—you mean it?” Vlad had gotten way better, freely coming over to Darren’s house and going to the woods without issue; he’d even been over to Trish’s house a few times and had met Marco, along with Mr. and Mrs. Piatek, Trish’s parents. But he’d still been leery about going outside his comfort zone, and Darren hadn’t pushed. “I—yeah! Yeah, that’d be awesome!”
“Okay,” Vlad said. “I’ll come over?”
“Yeah! Come on over. I’ll get stuff ready.”
When Vlad showed up ten minutes later, he discovered that “get stuff ready” meant bicycles. Darren had already strapped on his helmet. He held another one out to Vlad.
“My dad’s tires weren’t inflated,” he said. “And I don’t know where the pump is, so I just got out my mom’s gear—” Vlad was staring at the bike. “Oh crap, you know how to bike, don’t you? I totally forgot to ask.”
Vlad shook his head and took the helmet. “No, I can. It has just been some time. I don’t know if I still remember how.”
“What, are you kidding?” Darren grinned. “You actually can’t forget. That’s why it’s a saying. I’m serious. I know people who got on bikes after literal decades and were fine. I don’t think you have to worry about it.”
“Mm,” Vlad said, adjusting the straps of his helmet. “Is it far? To the ice cream shop?”
“Worried you’ll poop out on me?” Darren teased. “Nah. Couple of miles. Scoop’d—the one I was going to go to with everyone—is this gourmet place in the center of town, right near the school. But it’ll be crawling with kids. I don’t wanna wait an hour for ice cream. There’s a chain ice cream place off Birch Street. I figured we’d go there. The ice cream’s still pretty good, and it’ll probably be less busy.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Darren threw a leg over his bike. “Come on, let’s go!” He biked to the end of the driveway and waited there, looking over his shoulder, until Vlad rolled his eyes and mounted his borrowed bike. After a few wobbles he was just fine, and he biked up next to Darren, who started off, setting an easy pace.
“What’d I say?” Darren said with a grin, glancing over at Vlad. “Easy as pie.”
“I had trouble just baking a cake,” Vlad said, lips quirked. “I doubt pie is all that easy.”
“Ha! Fair enough. Come on, we turn left at this block to get onto Birch.”
Darren kept glancing over to check on Vlad as they biked, but though Vlad looked like he was concentrating hard, it didn’t seem like he was too uncomfortable. Vlad noticed him looking.
“What?” he asked. “Do I look funny?”
“Not even close,” Darren said honestly. “You’re a natural.”
Vlad shrugged, but he was smiling.
“I lived in a more rural area,” he said. “Cycling was how I got around.”
“Oh my god, Vlad, you need to tell me these things. We basically live in woodland that’s accidentally got a town in it. There are walking and biking trails everywhere. We could have been doing this for weeks!”
“I don’t have a bicycle here,” Vlad said.
“Uh, what do you think you’re doing now?” Darren asked. “You can borrow until you get one. I promise my parents aren’t going to mind. And I can show you around.”
“That would be nice,” Vlad said after a moment. “I like being outside.”
“It really is a good thing the sun doesn’t make you go poof, then,” Darren said.
Vlad coughed a laugh.
“Oh hey,” Darren said, pointing. “There it is. We just need to cross at this light.” They dismounted and walked across the intersection, Vlad following Darren to the little strip mall.
“Let’s lock our bikes up here,” Darren said, kneeling at the bike rack. He locked up both bikes and then stood, taking off his helmet, his hair mashed flat from the trip over. Vlad snickered.
“What?” Darren ran a hand through his hair. “So I’ve got helmet hair. It’s a thing. Not all of us can rock the ‘basically a crew cut’ look,” he said, eyeing the tight black curls Vlad kept shorn closely to his head. “You’re just lucky your head’s symmetrical.”
“Is yours not?” Vlad asked with a grin, following Darren inside the ice cream shop.
“I wouldn’t know,” Darren said loftily. “Last time I was bald, I was a baby. Hi, Romina,” he said to the girl behind the counter. “How’s it feel to be done for another year?”
“It’d feel better if I had the afternoon off to celebrate,” Romina grumbled. Her bright orange eyes narrowed at him before she straightened up, long black hair swinging behind her.
“Aw,” Darren said. “But hey, three months of freedom, right?”
She shrugged, attention on Vlad.
“Who’s your friend?” she asked, smiling at him, displaying even, pointed teeth.
Vlad stood up a little straighter, the posture he got when he wasn’t comfortable but was gonna power through it anyway. “I am Vlad,” he told her. He even managed a polite smile. Darren was so proud of him.
Romina smiled back. “Very nice to meet you,” she said. “I love your accent. Are you visiting for the summer or something?”
“Ah… yes,” Vlad said. “I am staying with my cousin.”
And okay, if Vlad wanted that to be the story, Darren was cool with it. “I’m showing him around now that I’m out of school,” Darren said, putting a hand on Vlad’s shoulder. “And I figured, what’s the best place to go to first? Ice cream!”
“Well, take your pick,” Romina said. “Feel free to ask for a sample of something,” she added, smiling at Vlad again.
“Thank you,” Vlad said politely, bending down to look at the options.
Darren already knew what he wanted; he tended to alternate between the same three flavors, depending on his mood, so he waited for Vlad to make up his mind before ordering.
“Do you have the ingredients for the daiquiri ice?” Vlad asked Romina politely. “I have a few things I do not eat.”
“Of course,” she said, ducking behind the counter to pull out a metal ring full of laminated placards. She flipped through it and then handed it over. Vlad read through it while Darren felt kind of like a moron.
“I’d like a scoop of the daiquiri ice, please,” Vlad said, handing the placards back. “In a cup.”
“Sure thing,” she said, tucking the list away again. “So, special diet?” She looked him up and down appreciatively. “Are you an athlete?”
“Ah….”
“Allergies,” Darren cut in when Vlad floundered. “That I, luckily, do not have.” He grinned at her. “Scoop of strawberry cheesecake in a waffle cone, please and thank you. And ring us up together,” he added, pulling out his wallet.
Vlad turned to him. “But—”
Darren waved off the ensuing disagreement. “It’s my treat. You can get the next one.”
“Here you go,” Romina said, handing over their orders before ringing them up. She handed Darren his receipt and, as they were making their way back outside, called out, “Vlad?”
“Yes?” Vlad asked, turning to look at her.
“Give me a call if you get sick of Darren and want another person to hang out with, okay?”
“Okay,” Vlad said, looking nonplussed before beating a hasty retreat, Darren close on his heels.
Vlad made sure they reached a part of the curb that wasn’t within view of the ice cream shop’s window before sitting down, looking flustered.
“She totally had a thing for you.” Darren grinned, mostly to break the tension. “Your first time out in the world and girls are already falling at your feet. Trisha totally called it.”
Vlad was staring at his ice cream cup. “She really gave me a phone number,” he said, sounding astonished.
“Clearly she thought you were hot enough to merit it,” Darren said, taking a happy lick of his ice cream.
Vlad frowned down at his cup.
“I’m pretty sure she didn’t, like, get her cooties in your sorbet, Vlad.” Darren paused. “Wait, you can eat that, right?”
Vlad nodded. “It’s fine, just frozen water and flavorings. It isn’t good for me but once in a while is okay.” He smiled shyly at Darren. “I texted Charlie to ask, just in case.”
“So much to celebrate!” Darren said, lifting his cone to Vlad’s cup. “So try some. That’s the whole point of victory ice cream.” Vlad took a spoonful. “And? Verdict?”
“It’s not bad,” Vlad said. “Very sweet.” His lips quirked. “I’m not used to sweet anymore. How is yours?”
“Great,” Darren said, punctuating it with another lick. “But then again, I knew that. I am very set in my ways when it comes to ice cream.”
“Oh?”
“Mm-hm. Chocolate chip cookie dough, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate moose tracks. And occasionally mint chocolate something, if my dad buys it, because I like it, but usually I forget it exists unless it is actually in our freezer.”
“Mm. I used to like mint too, but I can’t have it anymore.”
“Really? Why?”
Vlad made a face. “Peppermint oil is sort of like garlic.”
“Oh. Okay, yeah, I will keep that in mind.” Note to self: never offer Vlad mint chewing gum.
They drifted into companionable silence, leisurely eating their ice cream. When Vlad was finished with his, he got up to throw the cup away.
“Not gonna save the number?” Darren asked, crunching away on his cone.
Vlad shook his head, glancing back at Darren “She’s… not my type.”
Darren shrugged and finished off his cone. “You want to bike around a little more before we head back? We’ve got loads of time.”
Vlad smiled. “That’d be nice. You can show me around. More places.”
“Heh, no sweat.” Darren bent over to unlock the bikes and froze, a crackle of energy running through him. He jerked his head up.
“What’s wrong?”
“Thunderstorm,” Darren breathed. The weeds in the cracks of the pavement at his feet sprang up at attention. “Not yet, but—soon. I just know. It’s gonna be big. We might want to just stick around here. I don’t think we’d be able to get home before it hit.”
Vlad was watching him carefully. “Would it be dangerous? To bike through it?”
Darren shook his head. “Nah, just wet.” He smiled ruefully. “I’ve biked in storms before. It’s a rush. Sometimes it’s like—the wind and rain make me go faster.” He shook his head. “But yeah, no, no lightning if that’s what you’re worried about it. If anyone got hit, it’d be me.”
“You’ve been hit by lightning?”
“Only once.” Darren sighed, staring wistfully up at the sky. “I was buzzing for days after. Slept outside for a week to pour out some of the energy. Our garden was crazy that year. And don’t you dare tell my parents,” he added. “They thought it was because it was around the time I started my period. I already swore Trish and Beth to secrecy.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell your parents something like that?” Vlad asked, eyes wide.
“Are you kidding? I’d never be allowed out in a storm again.”
“And you… enjoyed it?”
“What, the lightning?” Darren sighed dreamily again. “Yeah.”
Vlad stared at him for a moment before nodding decisively. “Let’s go, then.”
“Huh?”
Vlad grinned at him. “Let’s bike through your storm.”
“Wha—” Darren twisted around, the bike chains dangling from one hand. “Are you serious?”
Vlad nodded. “If you’d like.”
“Okay, that’s it, I’m in love with you,” Darren said, jumping to his feet and grabbing his bike. “C’mon, we want to be off the main road before it hits. Trust me, it’ll be way better.”
They had just turned off Birch when there was a loud clap of thunder, signaling the coming of the storm, the sky darkening all at once.
“You sure you’re sure?” Darren asked as the wind started to pick up. “This might be a little intense.”
“It’s a bit late now,” Vlad replied, amused.
Darren breathed deep and glanced up at the sky. “Yeah, that’s true. Here it comes.”
They were both soaked instantly, heavy raindrops pelting down on them as they biked back underneath the downpour.
“How’re you doing?” Darren called over the rain.
“Wet!” Vlad yelled back, laughter coloring his voice.
Darren reveled in the rain, giddy with glee and the buzz under his skin as they reached his house and stowed the bikes in the garage, Vlad smiling, soaking wet right along with him, and it hit Darren all at once that wow he really wanted to kiss Vlad.
He managed to play it cool all through going inside and upstairs and setting Vlad up with a towel and change of clothes—Vlad in his clothes asghlklgf—before excusing himself, saying, “Oh man, sorry, I totally forgot. I promised I’d email Trisha some videos I found. My laptop’s downstairs—give me two minutes?” and bolting into the basement to call Trisha up in a panic.
“Trish? Hi. Hello. Help.”
“Darren? What’s wrong?”
“I think I like Vlad,” he said in a rush as he dripped on the basement floor. “As in, no-holds-barred crush. On Vlad. My friend. My super shy about people friend. Who is also probably straight. Help me. I need to not make this weird. I don’t even know what to do with crush-like feelings!”
“I suppose talking to him is out,” Trisha said tentatively.
“Oh course it’s out! I can’t talk to him about it. He’ll freak and, like, move back to Ukraine. Or go back to holing himself up in Tabby’s house. Or he won’t and he’ll actually keep being kinda-social but not with me. That’d be the worst!”
“I don’t think he’d stop talking to you,” Trisha said. “You’re his best friend.”
“Which means I can’t betray his trust by also maybe kind of wanting to kiss him maybe! Help me keep from making this weird,” he begged. “I have zero experience in this.”
Trisha sighed. Darren was positive she was rolling her eyes over the phone. “Darren, just keep being you. If you really don’t want to try anything, nothing has to change.”
“But I’ll mess up,” Darren whined. “You know I have no brain-to-mouth filter. I’ll say something stupid.”
“Darren—”
“Trish, what do I do? He’s in my bedroom. He is changing in my bedroom, Trisha!”
That gave Trisha pause. “Why’s he changing in your bedroom?”
“He went out into the storm with me,” Darren said impatiently. “It was awesome. Also, part of the reason I am having a crisis here.”
“Look,” Trisha said, voice matter-of-fact, “he clearly likes you. I don’t think it’ll be a big deal, even if he finds out. He knows you’re bi already. It happens.”
“Knowing that a dude could be interested in dudes is different from being the dude that dude is interested in,” Darren said.
“Okay, fair point.” Trisha sighed. “But really, Darren, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. He might figure it out, ’cause he’s smart, but as long as you’re not weird about it, I don’t think it’ll upset him.”
“So how do I not make it weird?”
“Well, for starters, ditching him to call me in a panic is pretty weird,” Trisha said.
Darren groaned and smacked his forehead. “Ugh, I’m so bad at this. I gotta go. Sorry.” He hung up and jogged back up the stairs to his bedroom. Vlad looked up from where he was toweling off. He was wearing the basketball shorts Darren’d given him, but was shirtless, wiping down his chest. Darren ruthlessly squashed the temptation to stare and tried for a smile.
“Sorry about that,” he said weakly. “I think my mind’s still just buzzing.”
Vlad nodded, accepting that. “Dry off,” he said, holding out a second towel. “You’re dripping all over your floor.”
“My parents expect the dripping at this point,” Darren said, taking the towel. “Why do you think the whole house is hardwood? They pulled up all the carpet when I was eight.”
“Really?” Vlad asked. “Just because you got wet a lot?”
“Well… it might’ve had something to do with the fact that the carpet kept growing mushrooms. Wood floors are a lot more stubborn.”
Vlad snorted and pulled his borrowed shirt on, thank god. And nodded at the towel Darren was still just holding. “Hardwood or not,” he said, “you should probably get dry.” He stilled, suddenly awkward. “Um. I can… leave the room, if you want to change.”
“Huh?” Darren tugged at his wet shirt. “Oh. That’s—uh. Yeah I. I’ve got a binder on underneath this, but that’s probably soaked too. I’ve got to uh, change out of it.”
“Okay,” Vlad said, sounding strangled. He was looking sort of above Darren’s right shoulder.
Darren blanched. “I just mean—you won’t see anything! ’Cause of the—I mean, my chest looks flat, but I still wear the binder for myself, even if no one can see my chest, so it’s just there, like a clingy crop top and I… I’m gonna stop talking now.” Way to make things weird already, Darren. “I just—you can leave, if you wanna,” he forced out. “I mean. I am gonna have to take it all off. The clothes, I mean. Not the glamour.”
Vlad swallowed, then shrugged. “I don’t care if you don’t,” he said. He turned around, ostensibly gathering up the wet clothes he’d left in a pile on the floor into his towel. Darren’s lips quirked as he used the opportunity to strip and tug on a dry set of clothes and set to towel-drying his hair. Vlad still hadn’t turned around.
Vlad was a good guy.
“Wanna watch a movie or something?” Darren asked, in part to signal that Vlad could turn around if he wanted to.
“Sure,” Vlad said, getting to his feet. And leaving his clothes where they were on the towel, Darren noticed with amusement.
“Okay,” Darren said as they headed down to the living room. “It’s your turn to pick the movie. I’m going to grab something to drink. You want anything?”
“Water, please.”
Darren filled two cups with water, using the time alone to get his head back together. He was going to keep hanging out with his friend, and they were going to have a good time, and Darren wasn’t going to do something stupid to mess things up just because he realized that he might be a tiny bit in love with said friend. Statistically Vlad was straight and into girls. He even had a type, even if Romina wasn’t it. And Darren was not a girl, so it didn’t matter that Darren wanted to date Vlad, because it wasn’t going to happen. Simple, rational, done. Life could go on now, please.
Nodding decisively, Darren went back into the living room. And promptly had to swallow, because he forgot that Vlad was a weirdo who always sat in the exact middle of the couch when given the opportunity. It usually meant that they gravitated to sitting practically on top of each other during the action movies they both liked, and it’s not like Darren minded, but damn it, Vlad couldn’t make things easy, could he.
“Darren?” Vlad asked, and right, Darren was frozen in the living room like an idiot. “Are you okay?”
“Fine! Totally and completely fine. What movie did you pick?”