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The bike ride to the Palace Arcade was filled with the usual pointless chatter, mostly about Halloween coming up in a few days. It took a while, but as they got closer to the arcade, Sam noticed something. She and Maya were doing most of the talking.
Come to think of it, Jordan had been pedaling behind them, saying little to nothing the whole ride. Maybe a few sentences and a laugh, but nothing much.
She knew Jordan was usually quiet, but this was too quiet, even for him.
"Hey," Sam looked back at him. "You good? You haven't said much."
"Yeah," Jordan nodded as he kept pedaling, his movements slower than usual. "Just a little drowsy."
"Don't fall over," Maya warned playfully, earning an eye roll from him.
"Seriously, Jay..." Sam pressed, slowing down to get a better look at him. His eyelids looked heavy, his grip on the handlebars looser than it should be. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"Sam, I'm fine," Jordan repeated, running a hand through his hair. "I probably just didn't get enough sleep last night."
"That would explain how jumpy you were earlier," Maya pointed out. "Like, more than usual."
"Yeah, 'cause you two tried to give me a heart attack." Jordan gave a pointed look to the two blondes.
"You're welcome!" Maya responded with a cheeky smile.
"Hey, wasn't Corey supposed to go with us?" Jordan changed the subject immediately.
"Grounded. Again," Sam replied.
"Not surprised," Maya commented.
"I'm surprised he hasn't killed someone yet," Jordan snorted.
"Corey wouldn't go that far." Sam shook her head, though even she sounded unsure.
"I doubt even he would realize when he does," Maya said, and Jordan pointed at her in agreement.
"Still, he's a pretty great guy when he wants to be." The young Buckley shrugged with a slight smile.
Sam never understood Corey and Jordan's dynamic. She still remembered the one time the two got in a fight. It was always just arguments and a little shoving between them... until Corey decided to shove Jordan a bit too hard that day. Sam never thought she'd see anyone put her cousin on the ground. And she definitely never expected Jordan of all people to be the one doing it. The fight wasn't pretty at all. Both boys had bleeding lips and Corey had a black eye by the time her aunt had gotten there to break them up. The next day, however, instead of another fight like Sam had expected, the two boys shook hands and called a truce. Since then they'd developed some kind of weirdly strong friendship.
"Boys being boys," Maya had told her when Sam looked at her in confusion.
Back to the topic at hand, as much as he asserted he was fine, Sam couldn't shake the thought that something was off with Jordan. Then again, she'd always worried for him, especially for the past year. Much like Will, Jordan had seen things that no one should see last November.
