Lisa wore the same red dress with stitched silver patterns as the rest of the girls from school. As they moved around the ballroom and the stitchings caught the light, their dresses shimmered.
Lisa hid in the shade of a pillar near the buffet instead, eating snacks piled up on her plate.
Her eyes were set on the distance, her face nearly expressionless. Her hair looked different for once—woven into a long braid that hung between her shoulders. She was wearing make-up for the first time he’d seen. But that was the thing about Lisa: she didn’t change.
She didn’t use make-up. Her face always looked the same, average. She didn’t do her hair, but her hair always looked the same—she didn’t have bad days.
Once, he’d seen her in the yard, sitting as still as stone, barely breathing. A breeze had shoved her hair over her face in a tangled mess that would have made any other person sputter. She hadn’t moved. Her hair righted itself on its own, like grass bouncing back from a boot.
Magic, obviously. The unmoving stare … meditation? Her eyes had been open. If not meditation, maybe something close.
She was a [Summoner]. He’d been given to understand that was a difficult school of magic. You needed to understand 'bio-arcane-engineering,' or else your summons would cost tons of magic—maybe she had been thinking on monster designs?
Seeing her in a dress with her hair and make-up done professionally made her look different for once, but beneath that, she was still the same.
Kyle reminded himself of that as he walked up to her side. “You know, I’ve never seen you eat a full meal.”
Lisa turned and covered her mouth with a look of surprise, far more animated all of a sudden.
He took that as a good sign. “Whenever I see you, you’re always eating, but it’s only ever tiny bites. Is that part of your noble dietary plan or what?”
I’m an idiot, he thought, but it was too late to start the conversation over. He should have waited a moment longer until she was done instead of talking about food.
Lisa swallowed and said, “My stomach is tiny, but it works hard.”
“Huh. I thought it’d be like, eating a bunch of small meals is healthier or something.”
He took a step closer.
Lisa didn’t seem to notice. She even put her empty plate aside.
They stood between two pillars near the buffet, far enough from the tables and main entrance to avoid the traffic, in a slightly shaded spot, but with a clear view of the dance floor and most of the stage.
There were a few high tables nearby with grey baskets for napkins, glasses, or cutlery that had been emptied over the course of the evening. She used one of the emptier tables as her own.
“I saw you avoiding the crowds. Must’ve had better luck than me. Ameryth dragged me out to introduce me to people.”
To soften the blow, he remembered. He hadn’t agreed to come here without covering his hand, so she’d wanted to at least get the people here used to his face. For the inevitable reveal someday.
“You?” He looked at Lisa, hoping to distract himself, and found her staring at him with a bemused look on her face.
He froze, unsure of what to do or say. She didn’t look like she was going to speak at all.
He’d known he would have to do most of the heavy lifting in this conversation, and he didn’t have a lot of practice talking to people, but if she was going to ignore him ...
His first instinct was to leave. Actually, no. His first instinct was to insult her and then leave, which would be a shitty thing to do.
Thankfully, Lisa answered before he could decide, “I’m not much of a people person. I spoke to a few adults I knew, when I knew Ms. Denner was watching, and that was it. The other people I would talk to are either absent or busy, and I don’t want to distract them.”
Oh. Kyle tried not to show his relief.
That seemed useful, being perceptive enough to know when someone was watching you.
Shitty that she’d been spending the evening alone, though. Where the fuck were her friends?
He nodded and tried to change the topic, “Makes sense. Just being here can be nice, I guess. On the sidelines of it all.”
He didn’t actually know if that was true; he wasn’t sure how to feel about Ms. Denner parading him around like some lab rat, but there was free food, awesome music, and coming here had kept her happy.
Besides, he’d avoided most of his classmates throughout the night, so that was almost neat, he’d leveled again … and he was here.
Lisa gave him another bemused glance and looked away.
This time, Kyle stood at her side. He could see what she was watching. The dance floor, or rather, a pair who had stepped onto it.
Micah and Anne danced together. It looked sort of slow, which was surprising, but they looked like they were having fun.
Kyle was glad. He’d been surprised about how chipper Micah had seemed, but then again, he was an endless well of energy. Tonight, he looked the part.
Kyle whistled. “Micah cleans up nicely.” After a moment’s consideration, he added, “A shame Ryan isn’t here.”
That got a response, if not the exact response he had been expecting: Lisa chuckled and rounded on him. “What?! You and Ryan can’t stand each other.”
“Well, not for me,” Kyle said. “Not entirely. I wouldn’t want to talk to him, but it would have been nice to see him squirm. I bet he wouldn’t have been able to keep his hands off Micah. Do you think they would’ve danced in public, or found some private spot to do that?”
Lisa looked lost. “Huh?”
Kyle went on, trying to sound casual. “You know, like in a supply closet or— Wow, that sounds sad when I say it out loud.”
Lisa still stared. “What?”
Kyle gave her an awkward smile. “You know.”
“I know what?”
“That … you know.” He swayed awkwardly, weighing his head like he was insinuating something, but Lisa just glanced past him as if he had been nodding at something instead.
When she didn’t see anything on the floor behind him, she stared at him with a blank expression.
Acting dumb, maybe …?
He couldn’t blame her. Still, Kyle said, “C’mon, Lisa. I know about them already. You don’t have to act like you don’t for their sake. I won’t tell anyone.”
“You’re going to have to give me more than that,” she said and the words were right, properly defensive, but her voice sounded genuinely confused. “I’m a little concerned you might have regenerated a head wound wrong. Something about them dancing?”
Kyle was beginning to get antsy. What if she actually didn’t know? He could try to bail now, leave her hanging, act like this was some awkward misunderstanding … but he’d come here for a reason.
Besides—
“You’re their best friend,” Kyle insisted with a nervous laugh. “There’s no way you can’t know!”
… right?
“Know what?” she asked.
Maybe she was worried about talking about them here, of all places? Oh fuck, if Kyle was the one to tip her off …
Well, he had gotten into enough near-fights with Ryan. Part of him looked forward to actually fucking him up for once. He just hoped this wouldn’t fuck him over.
“That— You know—” he leaned in and mumbled, “Micah and Ryan are … together.”
“‘Together’?” Lisa asked like he was an idiot.
Kyle felt like one as he awkwardly interlocked his fingers, no idea what he was doing. “You know, like … boyfriend and … boyfriend.” He scrunched his face up. That felt weird to say.
Lisa laughed at him, and his ears began to grow hot.
“No, they’re not.”
“Yes, they are.”
“No, they are not.”
“They really are, Lisa.”
“No, they’re really, really not. Micah has a crush on Anne.” She gestured at the pair on the dance floor.
Kyle looked. “What? No.”
“Yeah. He told me so. He tells everyone so. He’s pretty open about it, I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. You can go ask him if you want.”
Kyle stared at her, then the slow-dancing pair with a frown. He really looked this time and sure, Micah was smiling—he was always smiling—but his eyes …
He was staring at Anne. He had been staring at Anne all this time, as if she were the only other person in the room.
Kyle blinked. “Wait, what?”
“Micah has a crush on Anne. He’s probably asking her out right now. Besides, Micah and Ryan are both male— guys. They can’t be together.”
“Yes, they can,” Kyle said on reflex even as his mind scrambled to catch up, “Guys can be together, Lisa.”
He didn’t know why he was arguing. Maybe he still didn’t believe her, and what if Ryan or Micah heard her say that?
More likely, it was because he didn’t expect this from her, and it made him reconsider things, why he’d come here tonight, though he was normally too much of a stubborn fuck to reconsider anything he did.
“How would that even work?” she asked. “They couldn't have babies.”
“So what? Not every couple has to have kids.”
“Not every couple, but that’s the ideal, the goal of a relationship. If you can have children, of course you would want to have them.”
“So you’re telling me you expect every couple in Hadica to have kids?” Kyle made no effort to hide his sarcasm.
“Sure?” She shrugged. “Why not? If the people here really are so great, why not have a bunch of children to prove it?”
What the fuck was she on about? How would that prove anything? More importantly: “Wait, so when you get together with a guy, the first thing you want is to have children?”
“Well, no but—” she said.
“You just said that’s the end goal.”
“Not me. I—”
“See!” He interrupted with a pointed grin, and a dark look crossed her face. “You can’t tell people they have to have kids. That’s ridiculous.”
Lisa opened her mouth to say something, made a face as she seemed to change her mind, and turned on him. “Why do you even care? Do you want to get together with a guy or what?”
“What? No! Of course, not,” Kyle said and his frustration boiled over, “I was going to ask you out!”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
He froze.
Lisa stared. “Uh, what?”
“I mean,” he mumbled, “before you opened your mouth, that was.”
Shit.
Lisa stared for another moment and then, in an awkwardly stilted tone, said, “Well, in that case, of course two guys can’t get together. That’s stupid. You’re stupid.”
She was joking, but her words still nettled him for more reasons than disagreement.
Besides, seeing her acting awkward like this was strange, because if she wanted to reject him, why dance around the issue, why not be blunt as usual?
Somehow, that reassured him. Kyle stuck his hands in his pockets, leaned back, and casually said, “Like you wouldn’t want me to ask you out.”
Kyle didn’t know a lot about girls, but he knew you had to be confident. And Micah wasn’t the only one who cleaned up nicely.
Lisa shook her head. “I really don’t.”
“Why? Am I not rich enough? Are you waiting for some dashing knight to ask you out?” he said like he was making fun of the idea. He doubted she cared about stuff like that.
“Ideally?” Lisa lost her tone of trying to convince him. “I wouldn’t want anyone to ask me out.”
He frowned. “Why? Are you not interested … at all? Or is it a cultural thing, like your family does arranged marriages here, or … Is it because of my hand?”
“No, none of that. And to anyone with half a brain, your hand should be a plus,” she glanced at it, “but …”
See? That was exactly the type of flippant attitude he had expected from her, all this other stuff confused him. “But?”
“I’m just …” Lisa sighed and sounded weary, as if she were confessing some deep truth, “one of a kind.”
Kyle had no idea what she meant, and had no idea what to say to that, but he knew not to give attention to self-aggrandizing comments like that.
Most people their age acted off from time to time, even he cringed at a few memories of his own, and usually, they did it because they wanted attention.
The only problem was, he wanted to give Lisa attention. He was trapped.
“Wow,” he said. “Don’t we have an overinflated opinion of ourselves? I mean, I know I said I wanted to ask you out but …”
She rolled her eyes.
“… clearly, I was mistaken.” He looked around as if he was searching for someone. “You’re all wearing matching dresses, I must have gotten confused.”
“You came to me,” Lisa said, “I didn’t ask you to bother me, I didn’t even know you were interested. Why would you be?”
Fishing for compliments? In a way, that was normal. And Kyle was a guy, he could appreciate vulnerability like that. Besides she was fishing for compliments from him.
But if he were attracted to that, he might as well fight Ryan for Micah— Well, except that Micah apparently had a freaking crush on Anne.
Kyle couldn’t remember a single time the guy had even looked at a girl like that.
He was starting to wonder if he didn’t really know them, which stung. Again, in more ways than one.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You seemed cool. Weird. You didn’t care about stuff. About this.”
He waved a hand and remembered the way Lisa had looked at him during the exam. He had been interested before—she was the type of girl who could tear a monster apart with her bare hands and smile throughout, was friends with the other two idiots, and confident without being annoying … most of the time.
But when she had looked at his hand like she didn’t give a fuck … Sometimes, Kyle imagined her looking at other parts of himself with that same cool expression.
“Maybe I was just …”
“Confused,” she finished for him. “I know.”
Not what I was thinking. Not that he would have said what he was thinking out loud.
“I mean, obviously. Why else would you think that stuff about Micah and Ryan?”
Kyle scowled. “Have you looked at them? It seemed pretty obvious to me at the time. The two are inseparable.”
“They’re friends.”
“Friends who never shut up about each other. It’s always, ‘Ryan this,’ ‘Micah that’,” Kyle complained and he was ready to leave, but ...
Lisa was listening.
He hesitated, then went on. “I mean, even if they’re in the same class but in different workgroups, they stare or whisper across the classroom.”
“So? I do that, too.” She smiled. “I’ve almost managed to sneak a summon with a note past every one of my teachers.”
He’d noticed. Normally, he might have thought it was cool … but Kyle was struggling to keep up in school. He didn’t need distractions.
He pushed on, “They keep going on and on about how great the other guy is, and if you dare say something bad about the other one near them, they pull out a knife.”
“They’re best friends.”
“They were each other’s clothes.”
She frowned. “They still do that? Ryan is like, a head taller than Micah.”
So she’d known and didn’t think it was weird?
“Please, tell him that,” Kyle said. “If you thought Ryan wearing an oversized shirt was bad, watch him stretch out one of Micah’s.”
Show-off, he reserved a thought for him, and he suspected it was one most guys in the dorms had reserved for him.
Kyle had used to think Ryan did it on purpose. He’d wanted to punch him in the face every time he ogled another guy’s body in front of Micah.
Right now, Kyle wanted to punch himself. He was an idiot.
“They haven’t been living together for a while, I thought they’d stopped.”
“Yeah! And they used to live together. I thought Micah’s parents might have kicked him out because … you know. They apparently had sleepovers all the time before I moved in.”
“I heard about that. You almost got yourself stabbed, you know?”
“Again, a literal knife, Chandler! They’re stupid overprotective and—”
“They’ve been through a lot in the Tower.”
“It’s more than that. I haven’t even gotten to sh— stuff like him washing Ryan’s clothes or making perfume and then asking him if he likes it.”
He avoided cursing and lowered his voice as a pair of servers walked by and began to restock the buffet, adding a few desserts and more napkins.
Lisa eyed those but glanced back at him as he spoke. Choosing him over food.
“Where I come from, a guy wearing perfume that smells like fruit or flowers all of the time would have been asking for a beating.”
“He’s an alchemist. Besides, Anne likes how Micah smells. That sounds more like a you problem, or a problem with where you come from.”
He’d figured as much, that things were different in Hadica. It was called the City of Flowers. You couldn’t go two steps without seeing a flower bed or a box in a window.
“Yeah, no, where I come from, there’s a right and there’s a wrong, and Micah would have been a wrong needing to be fixed—or so I thought.”
Lisa smiled. “If that’s what you were taught, then why are you trying so hard to argue this? It seems like a weird hill to die on.”
Kyle would die on any hill he chose, because fuck it, it was his hill. But this time, he did have actual reasons.
“Because this,” he waved his hand, “was also a wrong.” The glove Ameryth had given him felt like an itch he couldn’t scratch. It was thin and smooth, easy to slip off, and it wouldn’t help him survive one bit, like an untied shoe on his foot.
He hesitated before he said the next part, “And my dad only had bad things to say about guys liking guys so I thought …”
Lisa looked somber all of a sudden, and he suspected she remembered what he had told them about his life growing up.
The expression fled as quickly and she said, “Oh, well in that case, if your dad had said murder was wrong—”
“Don’t be an ass,” he said with no real bite to the words. He appreciated her trying to move on from the topic.
“I’ll concede the example, but your argument still isn’t sound. Your others had more merit than that, despite, of course, your being entirely wrong.”
In general, or about Micah and Ryan? Because if it was the former, Kyle was certain. Insults had to come from somewhere, he’d listened to comments all his life, and paid far too much attention to what people thought when he’d been young and cut his hand every other morning to please them.
Besides, he had met people like that, in the months he’d spent on the road. He was surprised Lisa hadn’t and wondered what kind of rock she’d grown up under.
But if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t give a fuck about either of those things. He didn’t care if Micah and Ryan got bullied or not.
“It’s just …” He sighed and swayed on the spot, glancing up with his hands still in his pockets. “I pride myself on knowing people, okay? Take one look at someone, know exactly what kind of an asshole they are, and they’ll never surprise you, never disappoint you.”
The opposite was also true. Lisa had been his first ‘crush’ in years. He didn’t even know her.
And with Micah and Ryan …
“I was so sure.”
“Wounded pride,” Lisa said. “I get that.”
“No.” He grimaced, because he could see himself cringing about what he was going to say next. “It’s more than that. I … respected them. In a way. Because if they really had been together, and they’d been so stupidly obvious about it, I thought they didn’t care what people thought, you know? And now … what? Ryan is just an asshole, plain and simple?”
He thought back to all the times the guy had pissed him off, and all the times he had ignored it because he’d thought, Hey, at least he’s there for Micah.
“That’s so … disappointing.” He looked up at the pillars and lights of the ballroom and sighed.
Maybe he should drop out of school after all.
After a moment where the only sounds were the music and crowds, Lisa spoke up, “You were right. At least, in that they don’t care about what people think. Do you know who Micah’s parents are?”
Kyle frowned. “I heard rumors. Uh, politicians?”
“Westhill politicians.”
Kyle frowned. “What’s their deal again?”
“Hadica is divided into districts,” Lisa explained. “Each district elects representatives and a mayor, who work internally, and they elect representatives for their district externally, to represent them in Hadica and the Five Cities as a whole.”
“Sure?”
“There are political parties, but they like to focus on the areas they know they can win. So some lean toward certain thoughts on subjects, some toward others. Ryan and Micah grew up in Westhill, which leans pretty much toward hating the Towers.”
He frowned but the expression eased up immediately. “I’ve heard about idiots like that.”
There were those who had been bitten by the Tower, either because they couldn’t make it, or for a valid reason like having lost someone or been hurt.
Of course, they would want to stay clear.
But then there were the conspiracy theorists who said the Towers were cursed, surrounded by ghosts that infected their dreams, or that—and Ryan had told him this one—they had a million eyes that judged you when you took a shit or touched yourself at night.
“Officially, they stick to some valid talking points,” Lisa explained, “keeping climbers safe, especially students, reigning the guild in, making sure y— we aren’t too reliant on the Towers for food and resources …”
She gave him a knowing look, and Kyle could imagine they’d been hitting the taverns to celebrate ever since the Dwarf had hired new landscapers.
“I don’t know if they don’t exist where I come from or if they have no reason to speak up, but Ostfeld isn’t reliant on our Tower. Ours doesn’t have shit for resources. The major floors are all different kinds of deserts. Sand, snow, rock …”
Almost every adult he’d known growing up had worked in the lumber industry. After Kyle had gotten his first Skill and his mark had grown too large to be suppressed by small cuts, he’d picked up an axe and tried his hardest to get the Class, too, in the hopes that it’d make his dad happy again.
Didn’t work.
Part of him would always regret picking up that axe.
“My point is, Micah grew up with his parents and everyone else telling him how bad the Towers are. He still decided to become a climber. And when they told him no, they didn’t kick him out. He left.”
Kyle watched them dance. He couldn’t say he was surprised. He was self-satisfied. And when he twisted his mind around Micah liking girls after all … He could even be proud of the little guy.
From running away from home to dancing with a rich girl at an exclusive party that was held only every ten years? He must have had the guts to ask her, too.
“And Ryan?” he asked.
Yeah, what about Ryan? he wondered, because he’d called him Micah’s boyfriend once and the guy had reacted like he’d kicked his dying dog.
And he did stare at guys when he thought nobody was looking. And he did go out of his way to use the showers with stalls despite walking around half-naked most of the time. And he had never had a girlfriend or even a girl crush, from what Kyle had heard.
“Ryan has been right by his side,” Lisa said, oblivious to his thoughts, “every step of the way. They’re best friends. They’re there for each other. Enough that it makes me jealous sometimes, but you can definitely respect them if you like.”
She smiled and echoed his words, “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Ha-ha,” Kyle said and smiled despite himself—he didn’t mind Lisa needling him—but the smile faded as he watched Micah with the girl he liked.
“I don’t know. I’ve made it this far on my own,” Kyle said. And he wasn’t an idiot. He knew how the world worked. “If they’re that codependent, I’m more worried about what will happen when they drift apart.”
“They won’t,” Lisa said.
There was a pause. The music slowed. Kyle gave her a look. “Suuure, Ms. I Want To Marry And Have Kids With My First Boyfriend.”
“I never said that.”
“You really kind of did.”
Lisa rolled her eyes and began to walk away. After a moment, she looked back at him.
Kyle kept up.
Because he didn’t know her, she had rejected him, and he didn’t know how to feel about that, but they’d had … something approaching a conversation just now, and maybe he could get to know her better and decide how he felt later?
“I mean, if you think every relationship should end up kids,” Kyle asked and tried to sound curious as he slipped past her and turned to walk sideways ahead, “what do you think about stuff like divorce?”
Lisa snorted. “It’s just as ridiculous as marriage.”
“Explain that one to me?”
----------------------------------------
The music slowed as the evening crawled on. More and more people began to slow dance. They would have to leave soon. It was past nine, but they stayed and tried to stretch the moment a little longer.
One more minute, that same sleepy voice inside of him whispered that didn’t want to get out of bed on the rare mornings he slept through.
As he looked at Anne, Micah felt like he was dreaming, and it was a nice dream for once.
But when they turned, he spotted some of their classmates over her shoulder, getting their jackets and belongings from their tables. Others were saying their goodbyes.
He would have to catch the tram home. Anne could stay. She lived close by and was going home with her family.
One more minute.
So what if he missed the tram and had to walk? He could break the rules for once. Anne was worth it.
She broke the moment first. “Don’t you have to leave soon?”
He almost lied. He considered it. She would know but maybe she would appreciate the lie for what it was?
No. He knew he couldn’t do that, especially not to her. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I can’t wait until you get back, though. I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”
“We’ll still have a few weeks of summer break left afterward. We can see each other again, go climbing together, and … hang out? Talk?”
He nodded, and Anne smiled.
One more minute. He still wanted to steal ingredients from the buffet, but he could run.
----------------------------------------
Over a hundred miles away, Ryan got into a bar fight. The same friend who had forced a smile earlier punched him in the ear and his world spun in circles.
Daniel was struggling to stand as another one of his friends steadied him. He’d hit the ground hard.
Before Ryan could get back on his feet, someone else shoved him. A knee drove the air out of his lungs. Hot beer climbed up his throat.
The bouncer threw the five of them out. The fight followed him outside into the alley next to the bar.
He didn’t have his shield or spear. [Strength in Numbers] was useless. He didn’t fight back. Not even one against five, he was hopelessly outnumbered.