“Gwendal, how in ze world do you ’andle being surrounded by leetle children all day long?” Jean-Paul asked, his back leaning against the door. “I don’t theenk anytheeng could be more annoying.”
Ronan could argue with that statement. He had spent the last hour sitting next to Morgandy in chemistry feeling as if he was sitting next to a stranger instead of next to one of the most influential people in his life. The actions of the guy sitting next to him had shaped Ronan, turned him into the person he was today. He couldn’t believe that Morgandy was able to keep up this pretense that they didn’t share any history. It was absolutely maddening. Just like his questions.
“What’s your name again?” Morgandy asked.
“Are you bloody kidding me?!”
Morgandy reeled back on his lab stool as far as he could without tumbling over. “Sorry, I’m the new kid, way too many names to remember,” he replied. “You’re Rowan, right?”
Ronan was holding the pencil so tightly in his hand it was about to break. “Wrong. I’m
Slapping his hand down on the countertop, his curls bouncing a bit, Morgandy apologized yet again.
“That’s right, really sorry, truth is I’m no good with names.” He turned his focus back to the microscope and took out the glass tray that was covered with a foul-looking brown and green substance. He held it gingerly so as not to spill the contents and placed it on the counter next to the others, which all held matter that looked equally gross. Turning back to his lab partner, he asked, “Do you have the next specimen ... Ronan?”
Hearing Morgandy speak his name again made Ronan cringe.
Morgandy’s brow furrowed. Confused, he shook his head and was finally able to respond, but his voice was way too casual for Ronan’s liking. “Not playing games, just trying to finish up the assignment.”
A clean snap and the pencil in Ronan’s hand broke in two. “Stop acting as if you don’t know who I am,” he demanded, his voice quiet, but seething. “Like you don’t remember me.”
Morgandy’s confusion didn’t completely lift, but it was slowly being erased by irritation. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is,” Morgandy said. “But I don’t remember you because we never met before.”
“Seriously?!”
“Is there a problem over there?” Professor Chow asked from across the room.
Looking around, Ronan saw that his outburst had not only caught the attention of his teacher, but the rest of the class as well. “No, sir,” he muttered. “Just really excited about this lab.”
Despite the chuckles from a few of his classmates, most of the students shared Chow’s look of disbelief. Ronan wasn’t a very good actor and definitely not nearly as good as he believed Morgandy to be. “This is seriously how you’re going to play this.”
Morgandy looked around the room for support, for the right words to appease Ronan; he didn’t find either. “I don’t know what to tell you,” he said finally. “You got me mixed up with some other guy.”
“I think I’d remember the guy who shared my bed for almost a year,” Ronan seethed.
So that was it! It was all a come-on. Morgandy had heard through the school grapevine that Ronan was gay, but he also thought he had a boyfriend, the blond kid from the swim team. Morgandy, like most all the students at Double A, didn’t care about someone’s sexual preference as long as they weren’t pressured to do anything against their will. Like Ronan was obviously trying to do. “I think I need to call a time-out,” Morgandy replied. “I don’t care what you are or how you like to get off, but I don’t swing that way.”
Infuriated by Morgandy’s blatant refusal to acknowledge their history, Ronan banged his fist on the counter and jumped off his chair, knocking it backward. “You bloody liar, you most certainly do swing that way!”
Now Ronan was acting violent, and Morgandy no longer thought his flirtations were harmless; he was afraid. “I’d like a new lab partner please!”
From across the room, Chow made his authoritative presence known. “Ronan! What’s going on over there?!”
Fury prevented Ronan from speaking, so Morgandy explained the situation, censoring it for a public audience. “Mild disagreement over procedure, sir,” he said. “But I think it’s best if we switched partners.”
Again, Chow didn’t believe a word of it. Like most teachers, however, he had learned that it’s often better not to pry and just to accept a student’s version of the truth at face value and act accordingly.
Just as he was shuffling around partners, pairing Alexei up with Morgandy, and a quiet kid from the Netherlands with Ronan, the bell rang. Chow was grateful; he knew the crisis wasn’t solved, but at least it was postponed for another day.
Unlike Chow, Ronan didn’t have an academic’s patience. He wanted to corner Morgandy. He wanted to know once and for all why his one-time soul mate was acting like they had never shared a connection, like their past had never existed. But Morgandy had other plans and refused to comply. By the time Ronan got outside, Morgandy had already disappeared into The Forest, swallowed up by the trees and the dusk, which was darker than usual for this time of day.
The clouds above were sliding back and forth in the sky restlessly like they couldn’t decide in which direction to travel. They were gray, outlined in black, ripe and ominous. Obviously, a storm was brewing. Let it storm, let it rain, let the whole sky fall down for all Ronan cared, all he wanted was a bloody answer. He was about to try and follow Morgandy’s footprints in the bits of snow that were still on the ground, but out of the corner of his eye he found a better strategy.
“Nakano!”
Tired of running, Kano ignored his instinct and stayed put. He had no desire to talk to Ronan, but he also didn’t want to dwell on Jean-Paul any longer. Isn’t this what grown-ups did all the time? Choose the lesser of two evils? When Ronan caught up with him he recognized his expression—super strong, almost silent, totally taking himself too seriously. Nakano thought he had the perfect antidote. “What can I do you for on this beautiful day, chum?” he asked in a tone that was wedged perfectly between sarcasm and a friendly teasing.
It was like throwing a feather at a brick. Ronan’s expression didn’t change. “Do you know why Morgandy’s acting like he doesn’t remember me?”
Nakano tried again. “No, and honestly, mate, it’s a little long for a song title.”
Springing forward, Ronan made Nakano retreat further back into The Forest. Nakano wasn’t scared; he just didn’t feel like getting trampled. “I’m not bloody fooling around!” Ronan cried. “Ever since he got here it’s like I’m a stranger to him.”
An ex-boyfriend acting indifferent, yeah, Nakano had no idea what that was like. “Maybe you weren’t worth remembering,” he quipped. “I’ve blocked out most of the time that we spent together.”
This time when Ronan lunged forward he wrapped his hands around Nakano’s throat and lifted him two feet off the ground. He kept moving until Kano’s back was rammed into the side of a tree. “I’m trying very hard to control my temper,” Ronan growled.
Lodging several fingers in between Ronan’s hands and his throat, Kano was able to breathe. “You could’ve fooled me,” he gasped, his legs swinging freely in the air.
Coming to his senses Ronan realized what he was doing, taking out his frustration on someone who might not be entirely innocent, but who definitely didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of his wrath. He let go, and after a split second Nakano fell to the ground easily, as if he had jumped off a curb. Even still Ronan didn’t give him a moment to catch his breath before grilling him further. “What do you know about it?”
Wow, two ex-boyfriends in one day demanding answers from Nakano. He had never been so popular. “Why are you asking me? I hardly remember the guy.”
Exhibiting self-control, Ronan didn’t grab Nakano. Instead he gripped a low-hanging branch and bent it until it almost broke in two. “Because I know he’s working with David!” he explained. “Which means he’s also working with you.”
The day was turning out to be one surprise after another. Nakano had had no idea that Morgandy was now one of Them, yet another secret David was keeping from his tribe, just like his real relationship with Jean-Paul. Whatever was going on with Ronan’s ex was none of his business, and that’s how Nakano wanted to keep it. “Then I suggest you ask David, because I don’t bloody well care about Morgandy,” Nakano advised. “And we all know that David controls everything.”
