Dear Ava(35)
“Ava! Knox! Follow me!” shouts a familiar voice. It’s Wyatt as he runs past, arms full of balloons.
We dodge people as we catch up with him, taking the stairwell. Girls and guys with water guns chase after us while Knox throws balloons at them, beating them back until they shut the door. Nice job, QB1.
We rush down to Wyatt’s floor and enter the hall, where I come to a halt, slipping a little on the water. Holy white hell. There are no cats, but a white powder coats the wet floor and walls. Flour?
The lights suddenly go out and I scream.
A tall frame pulls me close. “I got you,” Knox says. “Get on my back.”
I climb him like a monkey, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist. Well, at least I’m not thinking about the dark anymore. He runs down the hall, and I don’t even know how he can see except for the few windows at the end that allow a little bit of moonlight in.
“Where are we going?” I press my face into his neck, hoping he’s not aware that I’m totally smelling him.
“Wyatt’s. I figure he went to his room. I know the way.”
He fumbles around, opens a door, and darts inside, setting me down on my feet.
Sure enough, Wyatt is in the middle of the room, holding flashlights. He tosses one to Knox, who catches it. He laughs, looking at us before focusing on Knox. “Knox, didn’t know you did prank night.”
“Came as Ava’s backup. Didn’t think she’d like being surprised.”
“Yeah, it would have been nice if you’d told me.” I glare at Wyatt, and he grins and waggles his eyebrows.
“What’s the fun in that?”
“A friend would have, jerk,” I grumble.
He snorts. “I meant to but time got away from me at our baseball dinner.”
Uh-huh. Jagger.
The lights blink back on, and suddenly a Bluetooth speaker in Wyatt’s room explodes with a familiar tune by Rick Astley. It blares out in the hall as well.
“Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you…”
“Someone hacked all the speakers,” Knox says, shaking his head, his face incredulous. “This thing gets nuttier every year.”
“Seriously, is the entire building being rick-rolled?” I exclaim. “I’M IN HELL!” Wyatt and Knox start laughing, and I join them, saying, “It’s fun, okay, it is, but this song…it’s driving me bonkers.”
“Let’s get back out there,” Knox says with relish as he grabs a handful of balloons. He’s way too pumped for this, but I’m feeling it too—as long as he’s with me.
“One, two, three…” he yells and pulls the door open then we rush out.
HONK!
The air horn blares again, and everyone in the hall freezes, wails of disappointment coming from every direction.
I look around. “What’s going on?”
“Prank night is over. I repeat, prank night is over,” is the announcement that comes over the loud speakers. It’s a female voice, probably Miss Henderson, the dorm mom. “Please grab a mop, broom, or stray cat and put the building back together. If everyone will return to their own floor, we’ll get this place back in shape. If you don’t return Arlington Hall to pristine condition, this will be the last prank night allowed and all underclassmen will blame you forever. And please, oh please, will whoever hacked everyone’s speakers turn off Rick Astley? I can’t even think with that on.”
“Dammit!” Wyatt says. “That wasn’t nearly long enough.”
We laugh, saying goodbye as we head back up the stairwell to my floor. Sure enough, Miss Henderson is standing there, her hair everywhere, out of its usual little bun. Even her shirt and jogging pants are soaked. She tilts her head toward a cage. “Put the cats in here. In the future, please don’t bring small animals.” Her voice is stern. “They could have been hurt, and I do not approve. In fact, I plan on writing up those involved. If you know who’s responsible, please let me know.” She picks up one of the smaller cats and rubs its head, giving us all side-eye. A few of the girls giggle and she glares at them. “I believe I counted six. I want them all rounded up and safe.”
“My bet is on the freshman girls. Amateurs,” Knox murmurs as he looks at the group who was laughing. A couple call out his name and give him little finger waves as they check him out.
“Hey, Knox,” a pretty brunette says, giving him flirty eyes. “You should have been on our team.”
Another one shouts, “Wanna come help us clean up, Knox?”
They stare at me and a few whisper behind their hands, and even though most of them are younger than me, I figure everyone knows who I am.
I give them death glares.
Camilla steps forward, blocking them from my view. “I’ll take care of the cats, Miss Henderson. If they don’t belong to anyone, I’ll make sure they find a good home. I work at a humane shelter.”
Nice person.
I open the closet where we hid to grab a mop. Something darts toward the door then changes its mind and heads back inside, huddling in the corner.
“It’s our little friend,” says Knox from behind me. He was collecting pieces of balloons and stuffing them into a trash bag Miss Henderson gave him.
I pick it up, but she claws at me and tries to jump down.
“Easy now,” Knox says, taking the cat from me.
She hides her face in the bend of his muscled arm.
I scoff. “Seriously? Why would she go to you but not me?” I pet her and realize the fluffy fur is hiding skin and bones. “She’s so tiny. Are you going to take her to the cage?”
He glances down at the cat now lying on her back in his arms and kneading her little paws into him. “Maybe he wants to come home with me.”
“She. It’s a she. See, no balls.”
He smirks. “Okay, maybe she wants to come home with me.”
“I see—you dig cats. Let me add that to the list of things in my file about Knox Grayson.”
“You’re making a list?”
“Big thick dossier. Plays piano, likes cats, hates kissing.”
His jaw drops. “Hey, that is not true—”
Camilla stops in front of us. “Those stupid freshman girls. You wanna hand her over?”
Knox shifts, fidgeting. “What’s going to happen to her?”
“I heard some of the girls saying they picked up the cats from a dumpster near an alley downtown. Pretty sure they don’t belong to anyone. I imagine she’ll get adopted at the shelter. She’s little and cute.”
He mulls that over, lifts her up, and stares into her black and gray striped face. “I’m going to give her to Dane, and her name shall be Astley.”
“I think that means he’s keeping her,” I murmur to Camilla.
She nods, looking pleased. “I’d get her checked out at the vet, though. She’ll need meds and all that.”
Knox says he will, and after the rest of the cats are accounted for and the hallway is sparkling clean, he follows me back to my room. Miss Henderson has left our area, probably to check on the other floors, so she doesn’t see him sneak in.
“I really needed prank night,” I murmur as he sits on my lone wooden chair with Astley, softly rubbing her fur.
The big football player is holding a kitten, and my fingers itch to take a picture.
“I have some soda. Do you want a Coke or something?”
He takes in the textbooks and laptop on my bed. A conflicted look crosses his face. “It’s late. We have school tomorrow.”
I fiddle with the Mountain Dew I’ve pulled out of the fridge. “Ah. Dangerous to drink a soda on a school night. Noted.”
He shrugs.
I clear my throat. “I have a few cans of tuna. Let me get some for your new baby.”
He rolls his eyes. “Can you get some water too? She might be thirsty.”
I huff out a laugh, grab the tuna, and open it, setting it on the floor near the bathroom. Before I can get her some water in a mug from my desk, she’s already got her face in the can, eating delicately.
“She’s kind of prissy,” I murmur, watching as she leans down and swishes her tail.
“She’s perfect.”
“You think Dane will like her?”
He looks up at me. “Yeah. She’ll be good for him.”
I plop down on my bed, moving the books and my laptop then adjusting my pillows at the top so I can be propped up.
We don’t talk, and he seems on edge, alternately watching Astley and checking his phone.
He’s antsy, like a tiger in a cage who wants out but isn’t sure how to escape.
It’s awkward. No, scratch that—it’s weird AND awkward.
“Why are you smiling?” he says gruffly, startling me.
“You look terribly uncomfortable, and it makes me happy.”
“You like me uncomfortable?”
“Immensely! I love it when you aren’t sure what to say or do.”
“Like now?”
“Plus, you came to help out with prank night, and now you have a new pet. Fort Knox is breaking apart and getting soft, little by little.”
He grins then. “So I’m not usually like this?”
“Like, fun and lovable?”
He blinks at those words, his lips parting, and he starts to say something but stops.
“Go on, say it,” I say. “As one guy told me the first day of class, just get it all out.”