Page 25 of Headcase
Zane sighed in exasperation. “I really, really fucking hate you.”
* * *
The diner was a dive, one of those 24/7 places that smelled like stale coffee and pancakes. It was busy enough for them to not draw much attention but not so busy they couldn’t hear each other speak. They chose a booth at the very back near the kitchen.
When an elderly server with hot pink hair wandered over, the others were momentarily rendered speechless. She had to be seventy, but her hair was the color of bubble gum and held back in a thick ponytail with blue butterflies nesting in the top. She looked bored and arched one thin dark brow at them as if daring them to remark on her wild appearance. They did not.
“What can I get ya?” she asked.
They all looked at Asa, as if asking if they were actually going to eat. He wasn’t lying when he said he was starving. Between his extracurriculars with Zane and his body dumping with Jericho, he was famished. He ordered a huge omelet with a side of pancakes and coffee.
Arlo ordered pancakes as well, and Dimitri ordered a burger. When they got to Zane, Asa leaned into his space, his hand curving over his thigh, lips pressing against his ear so only he could hear him say, “You’re not going on a hunger strike, sugar. Order, or I’ll order for you and make you eat every bite of whatever’s put in front of you. Your choice.”
Zane cleared his throat. “Can I get the bacon waffle, please?”
The server narrowed her eyes at them suspiciously but nodded. “Sure thing.”
When she was gone, Zane’s fist wrapped around Asa’s middle finger, turning so he could nuzzle his cheek against Asa’s in a way that made his dick take notice. He hissed as Zane wrenched his finger back hard.
“Touch me again without my permission and I’ll break your fucking hand. Got it?” Zane growled.
That shouldn’t have been a turn on, right? This shouldn’t be fun for Asa, but it was. He hadn’t once thought about the giant gaping hole of Avi’s absence since meeting Zane. Somehow, Zane had become his sole focus in just the span of a few hours. That had to be some kind of black magic.
Asa yanked his hand free, giving Zane a wan smile. “Whatever you say, honeybunch.”
Across the table, Arlo stared at Zane for a long moment before asking, “Were you in an accident or something? What happened to you?”
Dimitri gave Asa a knowing look before nudging Arlo, shaking his head. Asa watched as the two seemed to have a silent conversation that ended in Arlo’s eyes going wide with understanding. He blushed, then looked at Zane’s bruises and bite marks with much more interest.
“So…why are we here?” Arlo asked. “Unless we’re just here to witness whatever the hell is going on between you two weirdos?”
Dating a psychopath clearly made people bold. “We’re looking into something that happened at Henley and thought you might have some information.”
Dimitri and Arlo looked at each other. “What kind of something?”
“A string of suicides over the last couple of months.”
Arlo’s face immediately grew stormy. “Yeah, those were sad.”
“Not sad, weird,” Dimitri corrected, taking a swig of his soda.
“Weird how?” Asa asked.
“Okay, like, we’ve had the occasional unaliving around here, right? But, usually they follow a pattern. So, even if, say, a quarterback jumps off a building and an unpopular kid follows suit, it makes sense from a psychological standpoint. You know what I mean? There’s a sort of follower/followee relationship, you know?” Dimitri asked.
Asa frowned, nodding. He didn’t really know but he was hoping his point would become clear if he kept talking.
“But this recent string… They’re not in the same social circles, but they’re all on the same social tier,” Dimitri said.
“Social tier?” Zane echoed.
“Yeah. The first suicide nine weeks ago was Xander Hamilton. I only remember that because, you know, Alexander Hamilton. But he was super popular. Swim team captain. Straight A’s. Captain of the debate team. Super shocking, but maybe an outlier. The low risk kid who killed himself. But then, the next death happened and it didn’t make sense.”
“How?” Asa asked.
“The second boy—I can’t remember his name—was in a frat with my friend, Jason. Rich daddy. Tons of friends. Cocky asshole. As far as I know, the two didn’t know each other. They didn’t run in the same social circle. But they were on the same social tier. Both at the top of their respective friend groups. Now, I’m not saying popular kids don’t off themselves, but two popular kids? Three? Five? That’s fucking weird,” Dimitri finished, eyes going wide as his plate was set in front of him.
They took a couple of moments to prep their food. Asa watched as Zane drowned his bacon waffle in maple syrup, only returning his attention back to Dimitri when Zane took his first bite.
