Chapter 2

                                    

                                          
The three-day suspension goes by quickly. I do homework. I avoid Mother. I try and fail not to think about the boys in the apartment upstairs. Sometimes I sneak out onto the fire escape, hoping to catch a glimpse of them, but there's no sign of either Tobias or Flynn. It's as if it was all a dream, and the apartment above is still abandoned. Maybe it would be better that way. I'm honestly relieved when I get back to school. I need something normal. Calculus tests, chemistry labs, Adam and Stormi. 
                          
I find Stormi in the art room before class starts, their cropped black hair pulled back from their face with an array of rainbow-colored hair clips. They're the only one in the room, even the teacher hasn't arrived yet. They're focused so intently on whatever it is they're drawing that they don't even hear me approach.
                          
As I get closer to them, their sketch becomes clearer - it's of Adam, with his disheveled dark hair, strong jaw, and perpetually concerned expression. "Nice," I say, leaning over their shoulder. "Has he seen it yet?"
                          
Stormi jumps, nearly throwing their pencil across the room. "Red!" They turn around, their smile blinding, and punch me in the arm. "What the hell happened?"
                          
"Adam didn't tell you? I was suspended. Mom had me on house arrest."
                          
"I mean, yeah, but he didn't know why." Stormi closes their sketchbook and climbs up onto the table, facing me. "He said your mom wouldn't let him see you." I sigh. Of course she wouldn't. 
                          
"It was Ellis," I say. "I may have punched him, and things...escalated from there."
                          
Stormi looks concerned for a split second, but the expression soon dissolves into a smile. "Finally." They hold up a hand, and I high-five them. "It's about time someone did."
                          
"And you're chill with it?" I say. "I mean, he's your brother..."
                          
Stormi shakes their head. "Trust me. I'm beyond chill with it." Their face seems to have gone a few shades paler, and one of their hands has curled into a fist. I change the subject quickly.
                          
"So, where's Adam?" He usually hangs out with Stormi and I before class starts, then the two of us go to our first period World History class.
                          
Stormi frowns, their eyebrows furrowing. "You haven't heard?"
                          
"Of course I haven't." 
                          
"Right. Well, he's sick. As in, sick enough to be in the hospital with a fever of 106 degrees." 
                          
My stomach turns. "What? Since when?"
                          
"Since Thursday. He looked a little off when he got to school, then he passed out in English. It was awful." Stormi's voice goes quieter at the end of their sentence. I should have helped, I think, even though I know I couldn't have.
                          
"But he'll be okay, right?" Stormi shrugs, and I stiffen. 
                          
Before I can say anything else, the warning bell rings. The art room door creaks open as the teacher enters, nodding at Stormi and setting his bag down on his desk. "You'd better go," says Stormi. "See you at lunch?"
                          
I nod, picking up my backpack and walking out. The crowds in the hallways, normally huge, are thinning out, yet they seem oddly more intimidating without Adam by my side.
                          
My day goes from bad to worse during fifth period. Typically chemistry is one of my favorite classes, and one of the few that I'm actually good at. Although that could just be because Adam is my lab partner. I'm not quite sure. And then there's Mr. Carver. He just graduated from college, doesn't post outdated memes on the whiteboard like every other teacher in the school, and mentions his boyfriend as often as possible to piss off homophobic parents. Honestly, he's unquestionably the coolest teacher I've ever had.