Hush

Chapter 21: Making Dreams Last

"Dude, you should've seen Hammie yesterday with that chick– what was her name again?"

"Polly."

"Polly, yeah! Like, I leave him alone for a minute and when I come back they're all over each other, I swear! It's been so long since you got some action, Lion Man,"

Not really, but Kitty wouldn't know that.

"Damn, Ham!" Peggy whizzes at me teasingly. "Did you get her number?"

"Nah," I lie. There's no way I can get away with admitting to throwing away a pretty girl's number without at least an interrogation.

Angelica raises her brow and I instinctively look down to my lap, hoping she can't look through me. "Really? That's a first,"

I shrug. "Tough luck I guess," I say to which Peggy snorts.

"Damn right tough luck, girl doesn't go to this school. You lost your chance, Tomcat,"

I fake a laugh and shift awkwardly in my seat. My head hurts, though not because of anything related to last night; I didn't even bother looking at the pee-smell cheap beer that they give at parties. No, my head hurts and my eyes sting and my chest feels as if it was filling up with boiling water and it has nothing to do with the party but about what it reminds me of. The subject of last night had been brought up from the moment we sat down during lunch and I've been begging for it to be dropped since the second it was mentioned. Saying that going to a party and making out with a stranger out of pure pettiness in order to ignore my heartache wasn't my proudest moment would be an understatement. Of course it wasn't going to help. Polly may have had spotless light skin and ginger hair and eyes that remind me nothing of John Laurens, but my brain doesn't need an excuse to think of him over and over again like a broken tape. I miss him, how can I not? From my heart and all the way to my skin I ache for him, but I'm also so mad. I still don't know why he's avoiding me like a bee fleeing freaking climate change, why he decided to just cut all connection between us without at least giving an explanation.

And I'm disappointed because the one time I'm ready to let myself have this, it flies away.

My emotions don't even make sense anymore.

Just in time to cut off my brooding, Lafayette, who had been missing from the lunch table, squishes himself between Kitty and me sporting his trademark Puppy Face. We're apparently in for a treat.

"Gil, where have you been?" Eliza asks.

"You guys won't believe this!" He exclaims instead of giving an actual answer.

She makes a borderline impatient hand gesture to prompt him to go on.

Almost like a balloon popping (out of happiness) he blurts out: "I got a date!"

Everyone gapes at the news, except for Kitty who just straight up shrieks.

"What!? With who!?" She screeches.

"Adrienne?" I ask and he nods quickly, making his big head of hair bounce.

"We're going to the movie theater!" Lafayette announces with a wide grin. I don't question why he didn't ask her dancing, but that's probably the best for Adrienne's feet.