Page 21 of Running With Lions

Sebastian waits.

“What if they don’t want me here?” Emir’s tone is hesitant; his eyes flit to the trees rather than Sebastian’s face.

Sebastian could easily throw together a TV-dad speech about being a family, togetherness, and the beauty of team unity, but this is Emir. Sebastian unwraps his fingers from Emir’s wrist. He’s embarrassed by how long it takes Emir’s skin to return to its normal color.

“You’ve gotta try,” he says, willing confidence into his voice. “I’m not giving you an option.”

“Is that a threat?” One corner of Emir’s mouth lifts. “It won’t work.”

Sebastian waves him off, chuckling. “See you in the morning!” He likes that, temporarily, Emir isn’t scowling or seemingly ready to punch him in the back of the head. He strides away exceptionally fast.Get out before you screw this up.

“You’ll regret it!”

“I doubt it!” Sebastian waits a whole five seconds before he twists his head around. A slight smile has graced Emir’s lips. Maybe this is the start of something amazing.

7

“Traitor!”

Sebastian isn’t shocked that his cell’s only response to this accusation is to continue its shrieked alarm. He smacks it silent and is rewarded when the screen goes dark.

Willie, immune to unwanted noises, continues to snore and mumble about Mason’s treacherous Mario Kart gameplay. “Kiss my ass, you cheater” is muffled by a pillow.

Sebastian rolls out of bed. He stretches until his neck cracks. He goes through the motions of getting ready for another day: pulling on loose, comfy clothes, then his sneakers; dragging a hand through his gold-brown hair until it’s artfully messy; stealing Willie’s iPod.

Yawning, he steps into a still-cool summer morning. The low sun creates a campfire effect across the sky: orange and yellow lick the indigo out of sight. “Good morning, Oakville,” he croaks, lips twitching as the birds chirp a response.

The dirt path between him and Emir’s cabin looks like a trap. Despite last night’s talk, Sebastian is apprehensive. This could be an elaborate prank by Emir, his dark revenge for whatever happened between them that left their friendship toast—well, not toast, but ambiguous.

“Man up,” he mumbles, lifting his chin. He can do this. But when he knocks at Emir’s door, no one answers. “Perfect.”

Sebastian taps an impatient foot on the wooden porch. A brilliant idea that could also be horribly idiotic hits him. Jogging to the side of the cabin, Sebastian finds the window. He nudges and—crack!“Awesome,” he whispers. Window locks, like everything at camp, are old and worthless. The window slides up with a shudder.

He’s no future Olympian, but Sebastian has strong calves from soccer. Leg day finally pays off as he vaults inside.

“Oh, shit.”

Sebastian collapses in a heap on the wood floor. It’s unnatural for his body to pretzel like this. He doesn’t break any limbs, so it’s a victory.

From Sebastian’s current angle, it looks as though Emir has a room to himself. “Huh,” he whispers. Surveying all the extra space in the room, he stands and dusts himself off.

The air is heady with incense and cigarettes. Emir has created one giant bed by pushing the twin beds together. Sebastian forgot howneatEmir is. Everything is in its place, clean and organized, except a small crimson rug trimmed in gold that Sebastian trips on.

“Crap.”

Emir remains peacefully asleep under a messy tangle of sheets.

Sebastian almost considers leaving Emir to his dreams. Then he remembers Emir’s scowling and frowning, and his guilt dissolves. He shuffles to the bed and repeats, “Hey,” until Emir stirs.

Emir, gloriously stubborn, turns and cuddles a pillow.

“You’re kidding, right?” Sebastian complains, but Emir simply curls into a fetal position. His breaths are still even. “Are you related to Will?”

Emir’s response is a soft, easy exhalation.

“Dude,” groans Sebastian, flopping onto the edge of the bed. He considers Emir. Against a white pillowcase, dark hair lies like spilled ink. Sunbeams bronze his brown skin. Prickly morning stubble sprouts from his chin.

Sebastian decides to go with Plan B. When they were younger, sneaking into each other’s room while the other slept was the norm. Spare feathers from old pillows were used to tickle each other awake, or sometimes a finger, like the one Sebastian uses now to graze Emir’s cheek and the soft skin under his jaw.

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