Reed nearly collapsed in relief. Never had Nathan’s voice been so welcome. “Oh,” he gasped, heart still pounding, “Sorry.” He took a few deep breaths.
“You’re fine. Come on.”
Nathan led the way down the stairs. They crossed behind the deserted Mushroom and turned onto the sidewalk leading into the city. Neither of them said anything until they were a safe distance from the Dorms.
“Did you get away all right?” Nathan slowed to walk next to Reed.
“Yeah, I told them I was going to meet a friend. I don’t think they were suspicious.” A drop of water landed on Reed’s ear. “Great, here comes the rain.”
Nathan quickened their speed to a jog. The rain held back its full force until they had turned off the main street onto a side road amid the apartments, then it struck in a downpour. Sheets of water dropped from the sky, pounding on roofs, windows, and sidewalks as the boys dodged through innumerable streets and alleys. Reed became hopelessly lost. He had no idea there were so many apartments on the Hill.
Nathan never hesitated or slowed his pace despite the darkness and the blinding rain. They dodged puddles and avoided the occasional streetlights until Reed thought he could go no further. Nathan at last turned into a final alley and flattened himself against a wall beneath a sheltering eave. Reed followed his example, gasping for breath.
Nathan took a quick look around the corner and pulled back. “Somebody else just got here. We’ll wait a few minutes.”
Reed leaned his head back against the wall and slowed his ragged breathing. “So where are we?” He could barely see Nathan through the darkness. Thunder rolled in the distance.
“The apartment of two girls in the group.” Nathan’s voice was low but close. “Sarah and Courtney are hosting tonight.”
Reed shook water out of his eyes. The rain seemed to be slacking off. “Does ‘hosting’ mean they do all the talking?”
“No, it just means we have it in their apartment. Wilson’s usually the leader unless somebody else has something special to say.” After a moment of silence, Nathan stuck his head around the corner again. “Okay, we can go now.”
They crossed the street like shadows. The rain had slowed to a steady, soaking shower that beat rhythmically in the puddles and tumbling gutters. Nathan headed for a door across the road. A single carriage lamp twinkled in the rain. Three brick stairs and a welcome mat—Nathan didn’t bother to knock but cracked the white door open. The two slipped in.
Inside, dim light helped Reed’s eyes adjust from the dark night. He was in a small entry hall filled with wet coats hung on pegs or slung across a white washing machine. Nathan removed his jacket; Reed unzipped his. He was relieved to find it had kept him surprisingly dry.
“Hello, Nathan! You look wet.” A girl stepped suddenly into the hall. Reed jumped.
“Hey, Sarah,” replied Nathan, hooking his coat on an empty peg. “Yeah, it’s coming down pretty hard out there. I hope I’m not getting your floor too wet.”
“It’s seen worse,” she said, smiling. Then she turned. “And you must be Reed. I’m Sarah. Nice to meet you.” She had straight brown hair pulled back in a ponytail that swung as she moved. He glanced at her lightly freckled face but looked down when her friendly but frank eyes met his.
“Same here,” he replied, wriggling out of his wet coat.
“We’ve heard all about you from Nathan,” she said. “You’re more than welcome. Come in, both of you. Almost everybody’s here.” She led the way out of the hall and through a dark kitchen toward an adjoining, peach-colored living room. Dim light filtered through the doorway. Reed saw a handful people moving around inside. He hung back, suddenly shy. Maybe he shouldn’t have come after all; he felt like he had stepped into someone else’s party. Too late now. Me and my stupid curiosity. He swallowed hard and followed Nathan out of the kitchen.
The den was a small room with a pink and white couch, a few upholstered chairs, and a large picture window, heavily curtained. Two lamps diffused a warm glow from cream-colored shades. Eight or ten teenagers were scattered through the room, talking quietly.
Nathan stopped at the edge of the light. “I’m sure you’ll meet everyone eventually,” he said in a low voice, “but I’ll give you a little help with the names. You just met Sarah, and that’s Courtney over there.” He pointed to a girl across the room whose gingery hair curled to her shoulders. “They live together.”
Reed did his best to commit names and faces to memory as Nathan continued pointing around the room. The young man on the couch with brown hair and a hawk nose was Wilson, the group leader. He was talking to Gabriel, or Gabe, the dark-headed one who seemed to keep his lips pressed together. Kara, the light brunette with highlights, stood next to black-haired Krista by the window.
“Well, Nathan! Are we playing hide and seek?” A blonde girl advanced to meet them, a smile teasing at the corners of her lips. “Because if we are,” she continued, crossing her arms and arching her brows in an attempt to look severe, “then I’m really sorry I didn’t give you more time to hide. Just standing there like that makes you look like an unsocial introvert who doesn’t want to be around the rest of us.”
“Maybe I am,” replied Nathan, also folding his arms. “Or maybe we were just standing here having a good time and you interrupted us.”
“Oh, I see!” she laughed. “How are you tonight, Nathan?”
“Wet, but tolerable, thank you.” He grinned at her, then turned. “Reed, I’m sure you recognize her, but this is Lucy.”
Of course Reed recognized her. It was hard to forget the receptionist from the factory, though he had never heard her name. It seemed to fit her well. Funny, he hadn’t noticed before how pretty she was.
“Of course.” She turned to him. “We sort of met on your first day. I think you were nervous about starting… was it as bad as you thought?”
Reed was surprised she remembered him. “Uh… nah, I guess not. I mean, it wasn’t fun, but I survived.”
Another girl and a boy came up just then to greet Nathan. He introduced them in turn to Reed, who was beginning to wonder how many more there were.
“This is Katy.” Nathan indicated the petite, brown-haired girl with a heart-shaped face. “She’s Lucy’s roommate at the Dorms. And this,” he gestured to the boy, “is Alec, our undercover man. He was your shadow for the last few days.”
Reed looked the young man up and down. He seemed about Reed’s age, but he was smaller and shorter. There was something about his boyish face and light brown Harvard cut that seemed familiar. It clicked suddenly; it was the new face Reed had noticed on the hall during the lockdown.
“I think I’ve seen you before,” said Reed.
“You have,” replied Alec, his eyes twinkling. They were unusual eyes, an extraordinary blue-green color that reminded Reed of a Sprite can. “I’m afraid I got a little careless that night. I wasn’t planning on a light saber battle in the middle of the hall.”
“Yeah, those are kinda hard to predict. But how’d you stay out of sight before that? I’d never seen you at all.”
“I have my ways.” Alec raised his eyebrows mysteriously, but he couldn’t quite banish the laughter from his face. “I almost didn’t the first night, though, thanks to that creep and that stupid cat.”
Reed started. “Cat?”
“Yeah, you remember—the one in the alley? I was shadowing you guys toward the Boulevard when I slipped in there. I stepped on it in the dark.” He laughed. “We were both surprised, and he bolted through a pile of trashcans. Some guy took off from behind the pile, and I thought for sure you were going to come see what was going on.”
Reed was speechless. Two people following them at the same time in the same alleyway? Unbelievable. No wonder his uneasiness had been so strong.
“Anyway,” said Alec cheerfully, “it scared me to death, and you, too, I bet. Thank goodness the street wasn’t more crowded than it was. It wasn’t my best moment.”
Reed decided he liked Alec.
Sarah interrupted the conversation before it could go further. “Does anyone know if the other two are going to make it?” She joined the little circle by the door. “I haven’t talked to them since yesterday.”
“I did this morning,” Lucy spoke up. “They said they would be here if they could.”
“Nobody was at their apartment when I passed it,” put in another girl. Reed went down his mental list and decided it was Kara.
“We’ll wait a few more minutes then,” Sarah decided. “Elijah always comes unless something’s wrong. I hope nothing is wrong,” she added, frowning.
“There’re more?” Reed whispered to Nathan.
Nathan chuckled. “Elijah and Cody. They work for a private marketing company downtown, so sometimes they can run a little late. I really want you to meet Elijah, though.”
Reed eyed him. “Why?”
Nathan shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s just… different. I think you’ll like him.”
The door opened and shut quickly.
“They’re here!” exclaimed Sarah. She hurried off toward the front hall and returned in a moment with a figure behind her. He was tall and strongly built with broad, strapping shoulders that seemed to fill the narrow doorway. He pushed back the hood of his forest green jacket to reveal dark, crewcut hair and a well-formed, masculine face.
“That’s Cody,” Nathan said in Reed’s ear. “He and Elijah live and work together.”
Cody stepped out of the doorway, still removing his coat, and someone else appeared. He was about Cody’s height, but his head was bent as he unzipped his navy Northface jacket. Then he looked up and met Reed’s eyes across the room. Reed could only stare.
He was slender, and dark brown hair, touched with the tiniest hint of gold over the left temple, swept above his forehead. His face was clean-cut, open, and strikingly handsome. But it was his eyes that held Reed’s gaze. They were blue—pure, blazing blue. Not sky blue, or ocean blue, or peacock blue, but an intense, beautiful blue that made even Alec’s seem commonplace. And they had a depth to them—a calming deepness that spoke of understanding, perception, and something else Reed could not put a finger on.
“Sorry,” Cody was saying, “the boss was out today, and everybody had to stay pretty late. I didn’t think we’d ever get away.”
“Thanks.” Elijah smiled as Sarah took his coat. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”
“Of course not! Come in.”
As the group moved into the living room, Nathan grabbed Reed by the shoulder and steered him in their direction. Reed had a sudden reluctance to meet the newcomers, most likely because Nathan was so excited about it. Or perhaps it was the way Elijah’s eyes seemed to cut right through him; it made Reed feel like a shy second grader with cookie crumbs on the front of his shirt.
They made their way up to the newcomers, and Nathan made a quick introduction. Reed smiled automatically, sticking out his hand. “It’s—umm—nice to meet you.”
Cody said nothing, but he had a very firm grip that made Reed’s eyes water.
“It’s great to finally meet you, too, man,” said Elijah. His voice was not low, but it had a manly tone and a pleasing fullness. “We’re glad you could make it.”
“Yeah, same here,” Reed replied. Without thinking, he dusted off the front of his shirt. He wasn’t sure what to say next, but he felt something was needed. “So you guys don’t live on the Hill anymore?”
“Well, not in the Dorms,” Elijah said. “Cody and I moved into an apartment a couple months ago, but it’s technically still on the Hill. Alec says you’re in Dorm Four. You probably know Reagan.”
“Of course! He’s my roommate. Do you know him?”
Elijah raised his eyebrows and exchanged looks with Cody. “Roommate, eh? Yeah, I knew him, though we usually ran in different circles.”
Reed wasn’t sure how to reply. Thankfully, he didn’t have to because Wilson, Gabe, and some of the girls came up to introduce themselves. Reed was grateful for Nathan’s help with names beforehand; he would have been completely lost without it.
“We’ve heard a lot about you from Nathan,” Wilson echoed Sarah once the rush of introductions was over. “It’s great to have you here.”
Reed was beginning to wonder what they had heard. He didn’t have a chance to ask, however, as Gabe interrupted the conversation. “Do you think you were followed, Nathan?” he asked, lowering his voice and stepping closer. Reed noticed that he still kept his lips pressed together even when he talked.
“No, I was extra careful,” Nathan assured him.
“Did you see anyone on the way over?”
“Nope. It was pouring rain and totally deserted.”
“Nobody noticed either of you slipping away?” Gabe pressed.
Nathan turned to Reed. “You’ll have to forgive Gabe,” he said, only half-joking. “He’s kind of like our watchdog and head of security—very good, too. I don’t know what we’d do without him.”
The conversation would have gone further, but Sarah interrupted. “Since we’re all here, let’s go ahead and sit down,” she announced. “Wilson’s about ready to start.”
Everyone found a seat of some sort and settled in, although two of the guys ended up on the floor. Reed wedged in between Nathan and the arm of the couch, bracing himself for a long and boring evening.
This isn’t half as cool as TV.