L? What’s going on?

Watch.

John was standing behind her, wearing what was probably one of Macon’s suits. He looked like Macon used to—dark and dangerous. He was pinning a corsage to a lacy strap on Liv’s shoulder. She was teasing him, and I recognized the tone.

And Lena was right. Anyone who saw them together could tell something was going on.

Liv caught his hand as he fumbled. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t actually draw blood.”

He tried again. “Then hold still.”

“I am. It’s the pin that’s not.” His hand was shaking.

I cleared my throat, and they looked up. Liv turned even pinker when she saw me. John stood taller.

“Hello there.” Liv was still blushing.

“Hi.” I couldn’t think of what else to say.

“This is awkward.” John smiled as if we were friends. I turned to Lena without answering, because we weren’t.

“Even if this wasn’t the weirdest idea you’ve ever come up with—and I’m not saying it isn’t—how do you think we’re going to pull this off? Neither one of them goes to Jackson.”

Lena held up two more tickets to the Slush Ball. “You bought two, I bought two.” She gestured to John. “Meet my date.”

Excuse me?

She looked at Liv. “And yours.”

Why are you doing this?

“We can bring whoever we want as our dates. It’s just until we get inside.”

Are you crazy, L?

No. It’s a favor for a friend.

I looked at John and Liv.

Which one is suddenly your friend?

She reached up to put her hands on my shoulders, and kissed my cheek. “You.”

“I don’t understand.”

We’re moving forward. Let things be as they are.

I looked at John and Liv.

This is your idea of moving forward?

Lena nodded.

“Hello? If you two want to actually talk out loud, we can wait in the other room.” John was watching us impatiently.

“Sorry. We’re good now.” Lena gave me a meaningful look. “Right?”

Maybe we were, but I knew someone who wouldn’t be. “Do you have any idea what Link is gonna say about this? He’s waiting in the car with Savannah right now.”

Lena nodded at John, and I heard the ripping noise again, coming from outside. The music blasting from the Beater suddenly stopped. “Link’s already at the dance. So I guess we go, right?” John grabbed Liv’s hand.

“You ripped Link?” I felt my shoulders stiffen. “You weren’t even touching him.”

John shrugged. “I told you, I’m not really a rules kinda guy. I can do a lot of things. Most of the time, I don’t even know how.”

“That makes me feel a lot better.”

“Relax. It was your girlfriend’s idea.”

“What’s Savannah gonna think?” I could imagine her telling this story to her mom.

“She won’t remember a thing.” Lena grabbed my hand. “Come on. We can take the hearse.” Lena picked up her keys.

I shook my head. “Going to the dance alone with Savannah is the last thing Link wanted.”

“Trust me.” Two more words no guy wants to hear from his girlfriend.

What are you up to? Help me out here.

“The band had to be there early.” She dragged me after her.

“The band? You mean the Holy Rollers?” Now I was really confused. Principal Harper wouldn’t let the Holy Rollers play at a dance any more than—actually, there was no comparison. It would never happen.

Lena’s hair curled in the nonexistent breeze, and she tossed me the keys.

12.12

A Light in the Dark

I could see lights flashing through the upper windows of the gym all the way from the parking lot. The party was already in high gear.

Lena pulled me by the arm. “Come on! We can’t miss this!”

I heard the unmistakable howl of Link’s vocals and froze. The Holy Rollers were in there performing, just like Lena said they would be.

I felt a moment of panic. The Eighteenth Moon was almost here, and we were about to walk into a dance at Jackson. It seemed stupid, but then so did staying home and worrying about the end of the world when there was nothing we could do to stop it. Maybe the stupidest part was thinking I could keep it from happening.

So I did the only logical thing, which was keep my mouth shut and tighten my arm around the prettiest girl in the parking lot. “All right, L. Come clean. What did you do?”

“I wanted him to have one good night without Ridley.” Lena slid her arm through mine. “And I wanted it for you.” She looked over her shoulder to where John’s low voice and Liv’s laughter floated up behind us. “For everyone, I guess.”

The weirdest part was that I understood why she did it. We had all been stuck since the summer, as if it never really ended. Amma couldn’t read cards or talk to the Greats. Marian wasn’t allowed to do her job. Liv wasn’t training to be a Keeper. Macon barely came up from the Tunnels. Link was still trying to figure out how to be an Incubus and get over Ridley. And John had been stuck for real, in the Arclight. Even the heat stuck around, like the endless summer from hell.

Everything in Gatlin was stuck.

What Lena did tonight wasn’t going to change any of that, but maybe we could leave the summer behind us. Maybe it would end one of these days, taking the heat and the bugs and the bad memories with it.