“Not for long,” Liam snorted. “Let me be clear. If I hear even one more time that you’re bothering her, then you’ve had it. I’ll find you in Dis and I’ll spawn-camp you until you drop down to level ten. Got it, Sheppard?”
Then it all lifted. My rage melted away as if it had never been. Uncle Nick always said: with people you don’t know too well, always be extra polite and civil. After all, you never know who you’re talking to. Liam didn’t seem to know that rule. In any case, I decided to play along, all the while smiling inwardly; sure, he would spawn-camp me. Ha-ha!
“I get it, Liam. You’re very convincing. I’m shaking in my boots. I won’t bother Tissa anymore.”
“Don’t play games, kid. Get it into your thick head—she’s mine. That’s it, I’m done with this. We’re getting out of this bug-infested shithole!”
Liam left the room, slamming the door behind him. In the couple of seconds while the door was open, I heard shouting from the lounge, but paid no attention. There were no words for how Liam had angered me, but he’d amused me even more. Choking back laughter, I went to join my guests.
It was a sight to see: Karina was King on her back, kicking and screaming, with Tissa sitting on top of her and holding her down, with Rita and Piper trying fruitlessly to pull them apart and Liam watching with wide eyes, not sure what to do, continually spraying that Accelerator into his mouth. Malik shouted for them to stop. Ed and Hung whistled and shouted for the combatants to play fair and not mess up each other’s make-up. Alison Wu, mouth agape in shock, was filming it all on her comm and providing a running commentary.
Before I could reach them, the girls had already been separated. Rita took the blushing and ragged Karina off to the side. Tissa watched Goosebumps go victoriously and shouted as she went:
“Don’t even think about it, you got that, slut?!”
Liam remembered himself, took her by the arm and went for the exit. But Tissa broke free and came back to say goodbye. She hugged the boys, nodded to Piper and Alison, ignored Rita and Karina, then came over to me.
“It was nice to see you. Thank you for understanding. Sorry we’re leaving, it’s just time for us to go.”
“What were you and Karina fighting over?” I asked, trying to shed some light on the situation.
“That moron thought she has a chance with you just because we look alike. I had to explain to her that I have nothing in common with her or her fat-ass friend.”
“Couldn’t you explain that with words?”
“I did explain it with words! But she didn’t understand…”
They left in total silence. AT barked twice at the uninvited guests’ departing backs.
A couple of minutes later, Karina and Rita came out of the bathroom. Goosebumps had washed and touched up her make-up, and now she looked even cuter. She’d broken one high-heel, so she took off her shoes and was the same height as me.
Everyone was quiet for a while. The only noise was Hung opening cans of beer for himself and Alison. And then everyone started talking at once. I heard Rita’s loud voice over the hubbub:
“Why did you invite them, Alex? In the short time he was here, Liam managed to put everyone in a bad mood, and so subtly that I didn’t even notice right away.”
“Nobody invited him, Tissa brought him,” Hung muttered darkly. “And as for her, we invited her, not Alex. Anyway, guys, let’s forget it. Let’s just have fun!”
“That Tissa belongs on a farm,” Karina huffed. “Psycho!”
“She really is kinda wild,” Piper shook her head. “But that won’t last long. Elizabeth will teach her manners.”
“Guys, Tissa is our friend!” Ed said, raising his hands. “Anything you want to say about her, you should say to her face.”
“Simmer down, cowboy. I didn’t mean to offend anyone!” Piper laughed. “But I already forgot how dumb and crazy school parties can be! What do you think will happen next, Alison?”
Alison suggested a food fight, a dumpster fire, another fight that would descend into an orgy. The rest laughed and soon we all forgot about the incident. The party’ was back in full swing.
Plenty did happen after that. We ate, drank, played games, discussed events in Dis, which I found fun—I got to talk about the things I’d caused and what I was as if I had nothing to do with it. Everyone who knew played along, and the ones that didn’t know just built their own absurd fictions. I doubted that Alison and Karina were playing dumb. They had no idea who they were talking to. And although Rita suspected that I was a Threat, I doubted she knew my status.
Ed let me know a couple of times that he wanted to talk. We walked off to the side.
“What did he want?” my friend asked, meaning Liam. “Does he know?”
I shook my head and quietly answered that it didn’t seem like Liam knew. Rodriguez sighed in relief.
“Have you decided which girl you’re interested in?”
“Nah.”
“Alright, then I won’t make any moves for now,” Ed smiled and slapped me on the shoulder. “But if you don’t decide by midnight, then you’re gonna have one less option!”
Right after that, Karina plucked up her courage and asked me to dance. She told me her side of the fight with Tissa: apparently, the other girl had started it, demanding that Karina kept away from me. She answered that Alex wasn’t anyone’s property and he’d decide for himself who to be with. Then one thing led to another…
The girl wanted to keep talking to me, but Rita turned up and led me away under her friend’s jealous gaze. She said nothing about me and her, just asked whether she could still join our clan. I didn’t want
