Thomas sat at the lunch table with Abby, Miriam, and Priya.
"Whoa, are you alright?" Priya asked, her tone laced with concern.
Thomas gave her a puzzled look. "Yeah, I'm fine—why do you ask?"
Priya pointed at his face. "You got a bruise or something?"
Abby nodded. "Yeah, a small red mark."
Thomas raised his hand to his cheek. "O-Oh... Nothing..." he mumbled, though he knew it was from running into a wall just before lunch. He picked up his spork and resumed eating.
"Man, today was tiring," Abby declared, dramatically slamming her head on the table. Miriam groaned in agreement. "It's like they worked us to death because the dance is tomorrow. What the hell?"
"So, do any of you have dates?" Thomas asked.
"Well, you already know I have Mei," Miriam replied.
Priya shook her head. "Definitely not—Shane won't go with me."
"Well, she might," Thomas said. "I think you should just tell her."
Priya shrugged. "I don't know..." she murmured.
"I wasn't sure if Carter was going to like me back, and look what happened." Thomas shrugged.
Miriam nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! So, ask her out, girl!"
"Well... maybe I will..." Priya said.
"Thomas, what's that?" Abby suddenly asked, pointing directly at his chest.
Glancing down, Thomas picked up the necklace resting there. "Oh, this?" he said, realizing she meant the necklace.
Abby's eyes widened. "Yeah, when did you get that? I never noticed it on you before."
Thomas leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper as the others inched nearer. "Mark gave it to me."
"Mark did?" Abby asked.
"Wait—you mean what happened Saturday was real? I thought I had a lucid dream," Miriam said, blinking in disbelief.
"I know... it all felt so surreal," Thomas admitted, shaking his head. "But Mark said this necklace would keep Nerraw away."
"Keep it away? How... would that work exactly?" Priya asked, curious.
Thomas shrugged. "Something about showing it to Nerraw so he can't come near me, or us."
"LIKE A VAMPIRE!" Abby suddenly yelled, a little too loudly, drawing glances from nearby tables.
"Abby, shh—" Miriam hushed her, then sighed. "Seriously... it was all so surreal."
"Tell me about it," Thomas replied.
The lunch bell rang, signaling the end of break. "I'll see you all later, alright?" Thomas said.
"Sure!" they chorused.
"And make sure you do ask Shane out!" Thomas added to Priya with a playful nudge.
"Geez, I will," she replied.
After exchanging goodbyes, Thomas headed back to class. Rounding a corner from the lunch area, he spotted Percy.
"Oh, hey Thomas," Percy greeted.
"Hello, Percy," Thomas smiled, though his thoughts wandered to Percy's shirt. He couldn't imagine Percy being just like him—his dad had said there were countless people around the globe like him, but the chance of another living in Toronto and attending the same school as him seemed almost too perfect. He'd always wanted to meet another person like him. "Maybe at the dance, I can finally talk to Percy about it," Thomas mused quietly to himself as he walked on.
Later that afternoon, after classes had finished, Thomas walked home with Carter. "Hey, wanna come over this afternoon?" Carter asked as they balanced along the curb.
"Sure... why not?" Thomas replied. "I miss playing video games with you—it feels like we haven't done that in ages."
"I honestly feel that way too," Carter agreed with a smile.
"I'm so gonna beat you this time," Thomas teased.
"You wish, tank engine~" Carter giggled.
Before long, both were at Carter's place, sprawled out on the floor with Xbox controllers in hand, completely absorbed in their video game.
"Man, it's been like a hot minute since we played this game together," Carter remarked.
"I know... and I'm still rubbish at it," Thomas grunted.
Carter giggled, glancing at Thomas. "Seems like you've gotten even worse." he teased.
"Oh, stop," Thomas grunted, then playfully tickled Carter's stomach. Carter burst into laughter and dropped his controller, giving Thomas the perfect opening to attack Carter's character on screen.
"Hehehey! no fair!" Carter giggled, quickly snatching the controller off the floor and pouting. With a swift power-up, Thomas one-shot his character.
"You're so mean!" Carter pouted.
Carter got a power up of his own, and blasted down Thomas.
"W-WHAT IN THE BLOOMING SH—" Thomas wheezed, and Carter erupted into laughter.
"That's what you get~" Carter teased.
Thomas shook his head in confusion. "How long have you been saving that power move?"
"I have my secrets~" Carter replied with a smirk.
"Not fair," Thomas grumbled.
"I'm so garbage at this game."
"You just need practice," Carter said.
They played some more for a while, then, Thomas brought up the dance.
"So... tomorrow we just go to the school?" Thomas asked.
"Huh?" Carter replied, puzzled. "You mean... for the dance?"
Thomas nodded.
"Oh! Yeah, it's supposed to be during first class. You can come early during breakfast, so we can be together. When we get on the bus, they'll pair us up as dates."
"O-Oh... so, you mean me and... um..." Thomas hesitated.
Carter giggled. "Yes, Thomas—me and you~" he said, giving Thomas a playful smirk. "Oh! And then there's Miriam and Mei, and all that," Carter added.
"And Tyler and Percy," Thomas also added
Carter blinked. "Tyler and Percy?"
Thomas nodded.
Carter stared at him. "When did that happen? It was pretty obvious that Tyler fell for him, but Percy accepted?" He questioned, looking confused.
Thomas smiled. "It was pretty obvious that Tyler had a crush on him, but Percy accepted. Mei and I overheard Percy laughing from a distance—but we didn't catch the whole conversation."
"I've never seen Tyler so bashful before," Carter remarked.
"Same here," Thomas chuckled.
Their game continued until Thomas's mind shifted to something heavier—he was leaving on Wednesday. He knew he had to tell Carter, even though he'd planned to wait until after the dance. But he feared Carter might be even more heartbroken then. 'Hell, he'll be heartbroken no matter when I tell him,' Thomas thought, deciding to be honest right away.
"Hey, Carter, can I tell you something?" Thomas asked hesitantly.
Carter looked at him, teasing, "What? That you're addicted to tickling me now?" he giggled.
Thomas's face instantly turned red. "W-What?! N-No!"
"Sure you don't—" Carter trailed off, his tone softening. "But I feel like there's something else you want to say... go on."
Thomas sighed. "Uh... well, for starters... my father finally bought the Island."
Carter's eyes widened, and his face lit up in shock. "N-No way! For real?"
Thomas nodded, and Carter gasped, wrapping him in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you! Now you won't have to worry about that anymore!" Carter held him so tightly that Thomas could barely breathe. Breaking the hug, Carter quickly kissed Thomas's cheek, making him blush.
"Uh... Thomas? You don't look happy—what's the matter?" Carter asked gently.
"I'm... leaving the day after the dance," Thomas confessed, his eyes downcast.
"L-Leaving?" Carter's expression shifted to one of devastation as he tried to process the news.
"I don't have any say in it. Dad's been planning this for who knows how long, and he can't let me stay."
"H-How long are you going to be gone for?" Carter asked.
"My dad said a few months... so, basically, the rest of the school year."
Carter looked visibly sad.
"Don't worry, I'll be back for the summer—"
Before Thomas could say anything more, Carter dropped the controller and quickly pulled him into a close embrace. "I—I'm going to miss you so much..." Carter sobbed into Thomas's shoulder.
Thomas set his controller aside and wrapped his arms around Carter's back. "I'm going to miss you too," he whispered. They sat like that for several minutes, snuggled together. "I... I just found out that I really, really love you, and I'm terrified of not seeing you for so long," Thomas admitted.
After a long pause, Thomas asked, "Do you have a laptop of any kind?"
"Yeah, I do. Why?" Carter replied.
"Well, Dad gave me a laptop to keep as my own. We can email, do video calls, and I can even send you pictures of the Island. We can definitely keep in touch," Thomas suggested hopefully.
Carter's face lit up. "S-Seriously?" he asked.
"Yes! Maybe it'll help us feel a bit closer," Thomas said with a small smile.
Carter grinned in relief and quickly kissed Thomas on his lips. "I'm so glad you got that laptop then," he murmured softly.
"Me too," Thomas agreed.
Carter wiped his eyes, noticing his own eyeshadow was a little smudged.
"Hey, your eyeshadow—"
"I—I know," Carter said, a bit embarrassed.
"Don't worry, you're still cute to me," Thomas said as he kissed Carter's cheek.
Carter blushed furiously. "I-I'm c-cute?" he stuttered.
Thomas grinned. "The cutest person in the entire school,"
Carter shook his head. "I wouldn't go THAT far."
Thomas chuckled. "Oh, come on—why not?"
Carter looked over with a playful smirk. "Because you already took that spot~"
Thomas's face exploded in redness. "C-Carterrrr..." he whimpered, covering his face, and Carter giggled.
After a while, Carter then got up from the floor and sat on the couch behind them. "Man, I'm really going to miss you," he said softly.
"I'm going to miss you too, but at least you'll have your other friends to keep you company," Thomas replied, joining him on the couch.
"But what about you?" Carter tilted his head. "Aren't you going to be all alone on that Island?"
Thomas shrugged uncertainly. He wasn't sure. There are people out there like him, but he's sure that they wouldn't be on the island. He was pretty sure it'll just be him alone. "I believe it'll just be me," Thomas said.
"Oh..." Carter sighed. "You don't deserve to be all alone. Maybe you can give your email to Mei and the rest of your friends—they'll definitely keep in touch with you." Carter suggested.
Thomas nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I could do that," he agreed. It would be nice to keep in touch with not only Carter but also Mei, Priya, Abby, Miriam, and even Tyler.
"Part of me is so sad to see you go, but another part is really jealous that you're going to skip so many months of school," Carter pouted, and Thomas giggled softly at that bittersweet thought.