But no. Police cars and fire trucks came barreling down the street, lighting it up purple as the red and blue spun together.
The faces in the crowd dropped one by one, including Elias’s. Kai could feel his disappointment.
“Did you take a bus here?” Kai asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
“Yeah, you?” he replied. His eyebrows lifted, and his eyes were bright. It was unclear whether he wanted Kai to say yes or no, but he got his answer when Kai said yes and Elias’s eyes immediately darkened again.
Kai had it in his mind that he would go alone, he would dance with his arms in the air alone, and then he would get on the bus alone, and then go home alone, and then go to sleep in his own bed—you guessed it—alone. He didn’t invite Elias to the concert for a reason, and now as soon as Elias showed up, the entire venue died. Perhaps he was an omen of ill fortune.
Kai scoffed. He should have chased the candle around the backyard longer.
He contemplated saying goodbye and walking off, or even walking offwithoutsaying goodbye. It’s not like he owed Elias anything. But what if they ended up on the same bus together anyway? It would be like when you’re saying goodbye to a friend, and you know that you need to go on the same direction as them, but you can’t because it would be too awkward, so you go the opposite way and take the strangest, most elaborate route back to your house just to avoid the fallout. It would be exactly that, except it would be a forty-five-minute drive inside of what was essentially an aluminum can on wheels. No escape. And then they would have to see each other almost every day for the rest of the summer, if not longer. This was an introvert’s nightmare.
After carefully weighing all his options, Kai finally suggested, “Maybe we should walk to the bus station and go home?”
“This is some bullshit,” Elias said, taking an incredulous look around, as if he was waiting for someone to jump out and tell them that they were being pranked. “It’s all those light bulbs outside. This building was probably built during the Cleveland administration.”
Kai folded his arms, amused. “Which one?”
“The first one.”
“Are you deflecting because you’re embarrassed?”
“Why would I be embarrassed?” Elias asked, looking at Kai like he’d suggested the most absurd thing he’d ever heard.
“Because you looked like you were about to throw hands when I saved you from rolling your ass off the balcony, but then you clung to me like a baby koala the second the lights went out.”
Elias paused for a second before saying, “Let’s just get out of here.”
Admittedly, the moment touched him. Kai didn’t have any siblings, and usually, he was the one everyone wanted to protect. “This is your first life,” Bobby would tell him. Bobby would always be the one to drive him around, to say something if Kai’s order came out wrong, to talk on the phone if they were ordering takeout. No one had ever sought out Kai for protection. It felt different. Good, even.
The walk backtothe bus station felt infinitely longer than the walkfromthe bus station. The ground was uneasy beneath Kai’s feet; he was intensely aware of every step that he took. He didn’t want to walk next to Elias, but he really didn’t want to walk behind him either. Or in front. There seemed to be no good choice that wouldn’t inadvertently send the message to Elias that Kai was either threatened by him, trying to exert dominance, or still wanted to be friends. Therefore, the two danced around each other like ballerinas in a jewelry box throughout their entire walk.
The pervasive din of the city was much louder than Kai was used to. There were so many noises and sights and smells all at once. Frankly, it was overwhelming. Yet, Elias seemed right at home in the chaos and downright mournful to be leaving it behind.
The two finally approached the bus station. Where it had been bustling before, it was now completely abandoned. They were the only ones rushing back home after the canceled concert. Everyone else would probably try to make something out of the night. He knew that if he were with Bobby, Winter, and Emmy, they’d be exploring the city and eating absolutely anything and everything in sight.
The bus station smelled like mop water, and the lighting in there was so harsh that you could almost hear it. Elias took a sharp right toward the lockers but stopped short when he realized the door toaccess them was locked. He pulled on the handle again, only managing to wiggle the door in its frame.
“What the hell?” He groaned angrily.
Noticing a sign on the door, Kai put his hand on Elias’s arm to stop him from ripping the door handle off. He pointed to the locker hours. A vein began to pulse out of Elias’s forehead. “Why is the bus station open twenty-four hours, but the lockers are only open until eight p.m.? What kind of sense does that make?”
“The locker room opens at four a.m. Just come back tomorrow,” Kai suggested. “I’ll cover for you with Moodie. Or even if you tell him, I’m sure he’d understand.”
“No, my house key is in there. There’s no way I can get back into my apartment.”
“Moodie has a spare.”
“It’ll be late by the time we get back. He gave me a curfew that I’m deliberately defying right now. I can’t ask him for help.” Elias huffed. “I should have read the stupid sign. I’m not used to these country-ass hours.”
“Do you want to stay at my house, then?” Kai suggested.
Elias looked sideways at Kai. “Trust me, I’m not the kind of surprise guest that parents like.” He turned his attention back to the locked door. “How much force do you think it would take to break it down?”
“Probably enough to land you in jail.”
“That wouldn’t be too smart, would it? Our job really isn’t the kind you can do remotely.”
