What could we be? There was nothing normal about Jason and me. Normal kids didn't live together with a twenty-two-year-old ex-member of a secret society. Normal kids didn't deal with death and danger as much as we did. And normal kids didn't feel the way about each other that we felt about each other.
I stroked his cheek. He stirred slightly, his lips parting. I kissed his temple, his forehead. His eyes fluttered open.
"Azazel," he whispered.
"Hey," I replied, kissing his lips.
He held me close. "This is nice. Waking up with you."
"Mmm," I agreed.
He gazed into my eyes, a small contented smile on his lips. I smiled back. Was there any reason that we had to move? Couldn't we just stay here, this close?
Hallam pounded on my door. "I mean it, Azazel!" he said. "Both of you get out here."
I sighed. "Hallam wants to talk to us."
"Yeah," said Jason. "Sounds like it." He started to push the covers aside, then stopped. "Can you get me some clothes from my room?"
I laughed. "Sure," I said. I shrugged into my pajamas and opened the door to my bedroom. Hallam was standing outside my door.
"I'm getting some clothes for Jason," I told him.
Hallam pushed past me into my bedroom. As I ducked into Jason's room to grab him a t-shirt and some pants, I heard Hallam yelling at Jason.
"This is the second time this week I've caught the two of you in the same bed," he was saying.
I sighed, rushing back with the clothes as quickly as I could. Just when I thought Hallam was starting to be kind of cool, he turned into the same prudish, overbearing jerk he'd always been.
"Jesus, Hallam," Jason was saying as I reentered the room, "can you give me a second to put on some pants?"
"Don't act like that," Hallam said. "You were off doing God knows what last night, and we were all quite concerned. Beside ourselves, really. Just because Azazel's forgiven you doesn't mean that I have. So, don't pretend for a second that this isn't serious."
I handed Jason his clothes and sat down on the bed. Hesitantly, I said, "What did happen last night, Jason?"
"Oh," said Hallam sarcastically, "so you didn't ask him that before the two of you started screwing then?"
Screwing? That wasn't a word I'd heard Hallam use before. He must be pretty angry.
"It wasn't like that," I said, studying my hands. "I had to . . ." It wasn't any of Hallam's business.
Jason was holding his clothes. "Can you give me a second, Hallam?" he asked.
"A second?"
"Yeah. To get dressed. Or are you jealous that Azazel got to see my penis, and you didn't?"
I stood up, throwing a confused look at Jason. He didn't sound like himself. He usually wasn't so flip.
Hallam rolled his eyes. "Oh, by all means, if you need your privacy." He stalked out of the room, leaving the door open.
"Jason," I said.
"What?" he said, yanking his pants over his feet.
"Where were you?"
He shook his head.
"You have to tell me," I said. "I washed all that blood off of you. Why did—"
"Not yet," Jason interrupted me. "I don't want to talk about it. Yet."
I watched him for a minute. He wasn't looking at me. Then I followed Hallam out of the bedroom.
I found Hallam in the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. I stopped in the doorway, feeling a little like I was intruding. "Where's Lilith?" I asked.
Hallam dropped his hands and looked up at me. "I sent her out for a few hours when I realized Jason was back."
"But is that safe?" I asked.
"I assume whatever threat Mr. Sutherland presented is neutralized," said Hallam. "Isn't that right, Jason?"
I looked over my shoulder. Jason was standing behind me. His hands were shoved in his pockets. He was staring at the floor.
"Well?" Hallam prompted. "Isn't that right?"
Jason raised his eyes to meet Hallam's. "Look," he said, "do we really have to do this right now? I mean, I'm kind of hungry. Maybe we should get breakfast or something."
Hallam snorted. "Breakfast," he repeated. He gestured to the other chairs at the table. "Both of you come in here and sit down."
As we did so, I was oddly reminded of sitting down with my parents in October. They'd found out that Jason and I had snuck out to a party and that Jason had beaten someone up. I'd been so certain they were going to punish me, but instead, Jason had turned their own words against them. I remembered how I'd realized in that moment that Jason was different. He wasn't like other guys. He was more serious, more intelligent, more sure of himself. I looked at him now, and I still saw all of that. I reached for his hand. He squeezed my fingers briefly and then dropped my hand.