lighter flicked open or a flashlight turned on, throwing pinpricks of light across the apartment like stars at a planetarium. Lu grinned at how fucking poetic she was sometimes.
When they passed through the living room, Will/Jon muttered, âCrap. I hope itâs dark enough that no one goes mistaking me for the real Jon.â
Lu shot a sidelong look at Will, and felt a twinge of satisfaction. Will got everything he wanted. So let him struggle for once.
Except Will wasnât exactly struggling. It wasnât that dark, and people were definitely mistaking him for the real Jon Heller. As in, full-on moving out of his way to let him pass. There was some Red Seaâlevel parting going on. Lu gawked. Was this what life was like for Will, too? No wonder heâd wanted to be cool.
As he squeezed between two brunette sophomores to get to the front door, one of them turned and put a hand on her hip, all like, Ex- cuse me . When Will moved out of a shadow, she instantly flashed him a smile. âOh, hey, Jon!â
Will looked freaked. âUh, hey,â said Will. âSorry, who are you?â
The girl burst out laughing. âYou are so funny !â she said, and turned back to her friends.
Lu caught Willâsâor Jonâsâeye.
âShut up, Luella,â he said.
Lu grinned. âI didnât say a word!â
They made their way through the party, past the leering ITâS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT sign and the guy wearing the snorkel, laughing a sinister, horrible laugh, and out the front door, where Lu paused to take a giant breath. She made up a mantra that she repeated over and over in her head.
I can breathe.
I am not anesthetized.
I am a renowned warrior.
The four of them stood on the stoop for a second. Lu looked at the others.
Flashâ
Tiny, her best friend, flickering in and out like she was some kind of hologram.
Flashâ
Will, her onetime friend and maybe more, who had changed so much since the years in between, had completely transformed again into a totally different person.
Flashâ
Nathaniel, the brains behind the operation, who had disappeared off the face of the planet or at least the high school social scene, and thrown himself into his work, was now, kind of, bizarrely, superhuman.
And then there was Lu, cut off from everything, numb to the heat, the cold, the wind, and anything else that might come her way.
They had been struck by lightning, all right. But the bigger question on Luâs mind was: What the hell had the lightning done to them?
The sidewalk was dark, but it hadnât started raining yet. The clouds rumbled discontentedly, and she knew that it would rain soon. The sky was black, and the clouds were heavy, and she couldnât see the stars. The storm wasnât over.
It was only just beginning.
Wil1
They walked to the subway, hoping it hadnât been shut down yet.
On the way, Will thought about fear. He mentally cataloged all the things heâd been afraid of since high school started.
Making the soccer team.
Not making the soccer team.
Lu loving him back.
Lu not loving him back.
Staying the same.
Not staying the same.
All his fears came in twos.
Then Will thought about the thing that plagued him the most:
Turning into someone he didnât recognize anymore.
Heâd wanted to be someone different. Well, here he was. Itâs like the lightning knew.
Will flinched. He thought about how hard heâd worked the past three years to turn into the person heâd become. The crazy diets, the compulsive workout routines, waking up at five a.m. to run every day just to feel like he deserved his spot on the soccer team. Going along with the team groupthink mentality, letting the guys decide what he did and where he went and who he talked to. Lately the anxiety spirals, the nightmares. Pretending to be someone he wasnât. No, not pretending. Believing.
He turned to Nathaniel.
âHey,
When they passed through the living room, Will/Jon muttered, âCrap. I hope itâs dark enough that no one goes mistaking me for the real Jon.â
Lu shot a sidelong look at Will, and felt a twinge of satisfaction. Will got everything he wanted. So let him struggle for once.
Except Will wasnât exactly struggling. It wasnât that dark, and people were definitely mistaking him for the real Jon Heller. As in, full-on moving out of his way to let him pass. There was some Red Seaâlevel parting going on. Lu gawked. Was this what life was like for Will, too? No wonder heâd wanted to be cool.
As he squeezed between two brunette sophomores to get to the front door, one of them turned and put a hand on her hip, all like, Ex- cuse me . When Will moved out of a shadow, she instantly flashed him a smile. âOh, hey, Jon!â
Will looked freaked. âUh, hey,â said Will. âSorry, who are you?â
The girl burst out laughing. âYou are so funny !â she said, and turned back to her friends.
Lu caught Willâsâor Jonâsâeye.
âShut up, Luella,â he said.
Lu grinned. âI didnât say a word!â
They made their way through the party, past the leering ITâS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT sign and the guy wearing the snorkel, laughing a sinister, horrible laugh, and out the front door, where Lu paused to take a giant breath. She made up a mantra that she repeated over and over in her head.
I can breathe.
I am not anesthetized.
I am a renowned warrior.
The four of them stood on the stoop for a second. Lu looked at the others.
Flashâ
Tiny, her best friend, flickering in and out like she was some kind of hologram.
Flashâ
Will, her onetime friend and maybe more, who had changed so much since the years in between, had completely transformed again into a totally different person.
Flashâ
Nathaniel, the brains behind the operation, who had disappeared off the face of the planet or at least the high school social scene, and thrown himself into his work, was now, kind of, bizarrely, superhuman.
And then there was Lu, cut off from everything, numb to the heat, the cold, the wind, and anything else that might come her way.
They had been struck by lightning, all right. But the bigger question on Luâs mind was: What the hell had the lightning done to them?
The sidewalk was dark, but it hadnât started raining yet. The clouds rumbled discontentedly, and she knew that it would rain soon. The sky was black, and the clouds were heavy, and she couldnât see the stars. The storm wasnât over.
It was only just beginning.
Wil1
They walked to the subway, hoping it hadnât been shut down yet.
On the way, Will thought about fear. He mentally cataloged all the things heâd been afraid of since high school started.
Making the soccer team.
Not making the soccer team.
Lu loving him back.
Lu not loving him back.
Staying the same.
Not staying the same.
All his fears came in twos.
Then Will thought about the thing that plagued him the most:
Turning into someone he didnât recognize anymore.
Heâd wanted to be someone different. Well, here he was. Itâs like the lightning knew.
Will flinched. He thought about how hard heâd worked the past three years to turn into the person heâd become. The crazy diets, the compulsive workout routines, waking up at five a.m. to run every day just to feel like he deserved his spot on the soccer team. Going along with the team groupthink mentality, letting the guys decide what he did and where he went and who he talked to. Lately the anxiety spirals, the nightmares. Pretending to be someone he wasnât. No, not pretending. Believing.
He turned to Nathaniel.
âHey,
Similar Books
