“‘London Chem brats’?” Jek raises an eyebrow at me, and I can’t tell if he’s seriously offended or just kidding around.
“You know I don’t mean you,” I tell him. “You’re not like the rest of them. You’re always too busy geeking out in the lab.”
Jek laughs. “Was that supposed to be a compliment? Anyway, they’re just messing around. Since when do you judge people for having a little fun?”
I give him a sidelong look. “I don’t care what they get up to,” I insist. “I’d just rather not know about it.”
Jek nudges against me with his shoulder. “Afraid it will give you ideas?”
I feel my face heat up at the suggestion. “Nothing like that.”
“No? Maybe you don’t need the help. Maybe you’ve got enough depraved ideas of your own.”
I huff out a breath and turn away from him.
“Aw, come on, Lu,” he says. “I’m just kidding. I know you’re not like that.”
And that, of course, is even worse, as it sets me thinking of all the things I’ve dreamed of doing with Jek. I may not hang around with the party crowd anymore, but that doesn’t mean my mind is completely pure and innocent. There are things in my head that I’d never tell anyone.
Still, it’s tough to hide anything from someone who knows you so well, and I’m convinced Jek will draw the worst—and most accurate—conclusions from the way I’m squirming. But when I glance over at him, he’s looking out into the fog again and I can’t tell if he’s noticed.
We’re both quiet for a moment, listening to the soft patter of rain that just started.
“So what are you hiding from, out here?” I try after a bit.
Jek shakes his head. “Not hiding,” he says. “Just...getting away. Clearing my head before I do something stupid. Stupider,” he corrects himself.
I raise my eyebrows.
“My stepdad,” he explains. “There was an experiment. Everything was going just as I predicted. And then it...wasn’t.”
I hiss in sympathy. I’ve seen the results of some of Jek’s failed experiments.
“A very small explosion,” he says. “Hardly any damage. But Tom heard breaking glass and smelled smoke, and ran down to see what was going on. When he realized I had locked the door between my apartment and the main house, he hit the roof. Said it was a safety hazard. Then he went off about me being so secretive, and how they would all be burned alive in their beds one day on account of me. Things got heated, and I had to get out of there.”
“Sounds like quite a scene.”
He sighs. “I don’t know how much longer I can take it.”
I nudge my knee against his. “Hang in there, kid. Another year and a half, and you’ll be off to college.”
Jek presses his lips together and stares off into space.
“Might take off a bit earlier,” he mumbles.
I freeze. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” He shrugs. “Just... There’s always Emerson, right?”
“Your dad?” My chest tightens up at the thought that Jek might leave town, that I might never see him again. “You’d really think of moving in with him?”
“I don’t know. He mentioned it again the last time we talked. And it couldn’t be worse than this, right?”
I give a little snort. Most people would probably think life with Jek’s dad sounded like paradise. He made a bunch of money as a stockbroker a few years ago, and since then he’s “retired” to a Caribbean island. But he and Jek don’t exactly have a lot in common—Emerson believes a lot of odd stuff about how science and technology are instruments of state control and repression, and last time Jek visited him, they got into a big fight.
“I know, he’s kind of a crackpot,” Jek concedes. “But maybe it would be good for me to get to know him better. I love my mom, but between her and Tom... Do you have any idea what it’s like to be one of the only black people in this town? Hell, I’m the only black person in my own house. There’s this whole part of myself that’s completely cut off from anyone like me.”
I nod again in sympathy, but the truth is, I know I can’t begin to understand his situation. I deal with plenty of racism around this town, but at least there’s a big Latino population here, including a lot of people who care about me, who understand and support me. I can’t blame Jek for wanting that kind of community, even though it breaks my heart to think of him leaving.
“What about your lab?” I ask. “You wouldn’t have access to equipment and supplies with your dad.”
Jek is quiet for a while, considering that. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad,” he says at last.
“Jek, come on. You love science. It’s the only thing you’ve cared about for I don’t even know how long. You can’t seriously consider giving that up.”
“Why not?” he says sharply. “Who says I can’t try something new? Just because I’ve always been one way doesn’t mean I have to be like that forever.”
I stare at him. “You’re serious?”
He leans back and some of the tension leaves his body.
“No,” he says. “I don’t know. I’m just talking. What about you? You’ve been tailing me all week, so I figure you must have something big to report. Finally hack that coupon site so we can get free pizza for life?”
“Nothing like that,” I say with a snort. I glance up at him and find his gaze on me, warm and steady. For the first time in weeks, I have his complete attention, but for a moment, I can’t help being distracted by his warm brown eyes and long lashes. His intelligence is so clearly written on his features, but it’s not just that. There’s kindness and generosity, too. And, caught up with it, our whole history together: laughter and games, teasing and skinned knees. Jek looks the same as ever—same baggy, practical clothes, his wild hair tucked up under his usual knit cap—but it’s been a long time since I’ve interacted with him in nonelectronic form, and I’d forgotten how comfortably we fit together. How right it feels just to be with him.
I shake off these thoughts and focus on what I need to tell him. Now that I have him listening, I’m not sure where to begin.
“I met a friend of yours the other day, when I went looking for you,” I try. Jek’s gaze slides away from my face and he looks a little annoyed already. Not surprised, though. “Hyde,” I say, just to be clear. “He was coming out of your place.”
“And?”
“And, well...” I say, frustrated. “I’ve heard things about him. Not good things.”
Jek shrugs. “Hyde’s made some bad first impressions. Ruffled a few feathers. That’s all.”
“I don’t know, Jek. How well do you know this guy, anyway?”
“Better than you do,” he says sharply. “Come on, Lu. You of all people know better than to listen to gossip in this town.”
I can’t help wincing at the comment. Of course Jek knows how I once became the object of London’s rumor mill. Everyone knows about it. But he hasn’t made any reference to it in years—he knows how uncomfortable it makes me. For him to bring it up now means he’s either suddenly transformed into a complete asshole, or he’s desperate to change