Page 86 of Villain
“Why?”
“Truthfully? I don’t know.” Lake hated that he didn’t, but it was what it was. If he were Yejun, he’d understand, but he’d never been as good at sorting through and naming his tumultuous emotions. “Does it matter? Having an answer won’t change anything. For now, you’re mine, Nix Monroe; that’s the only answer I need.”
He sighed and got up, clicking his tongue when Nix braced himself at his approach. Lake was sure to be gentle when he pushed on his shoulder, easing the other guy back onto the bed. Once he had him lying on his side, he pulled the comforter up.
“Are you seriously tucking me in right now?” Nix grunted. “Would anyone else on this campus believe it if I told them?”
“Probably not.” He didn’t exactly have a reputation for being the caring sort. “I’ll speak to West tomorrow about getting you access to your cousin's account. We’ll just need her username.”
Nix settled more comfortably against the pillow. “Okay.”
“That’s it?”
“Why would I fight you on this?” he asked.
“I could be lying to you,” Lake suggested, mostly to gauge his response.
Nix snorted and closed his eyes. “You could be, but eventually, I’d find out. Nothing can stay hidden forever, Lake, and you aren’t the only one who’s good at getting what they want.”
All of the teacher reports Nix had received since grade school said roughly the same thing.
Determined, driven, and hyper fixated on his future.
“I’ll help you get what you want, Songbird,” Lake promised. “So long as you help me get what I want in return.”
Even though he didn’t mention what that could be, Nix’s eyes reopened and he gave him a small smile.
“Deal.”
* * *
Nix must have been exhausted because, despite his present company, he was out like a light in less than half an hour.
Lake waited just to be sure, giving it an extra ten minutes before he stood and carefully undid the strap of the Songbird’s multi-slate. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Nix’s story about his cousin, he did, but he couldn’t rely solely on his instincts, not when there was a very solid way to collect physical evidence.
He used Nix’s finger to unlock the device and then perched on the edge of his chair, glancing back and forth between it and the sleeping Nix. There was no Branwen in his contacts list, and a spark of uncertainty came alive in his chest. Not wanting to feed it further, he opted to check out his messages, scrolling through them until he came to one that fit the bill.
Planets Best Cousin: Don’t come. You were right. This place is hell...
Lake clicked on the chat feed, opened it, and scrolled up, stopping at a random place in the log. The two of them spoke frequently, but a lot of it was just general pleasantries and check-ins. It seemed like more often than not it was Nix reaching out first asking how his cousin was doing, and him receiving a pretty generic response.
But there were moments when things became insightful and every time he encountered them, he paused and paid close attention.
Nix: Will you be home for the holidays this year? I miss you.
Planets Best Cousin: Sorry, no. I promised a friend I’d spend it with him. Don’t tell my parents! They’d be so annoyed with me for choosing a boy over family.
Nix: Are you seeing someone? Congrats! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?
Planets Best Cousin: It’s…complicated. We’re not officially together, but we see each other every day and we talk just as frequently. I’ve never felt this way before, Nix. I think you’d really like him.
Nix: He’s a student?
Planets Best Cousin: Sometimes we sneak off to the history section of the library for lunch, just the two of us. No one goes back there because the textbooks are so dated, so it’s like our own little world!
Nix: That’s great, but if things are going so well, why aren’t you officially dating?
Planets Best Cousin: We will, when the timing is right.