Page 25 of The Step Don't
Me: Might have something to do with how you’ve had me thinking about you sitting in on my app time.
I’m sure he’ll get a laugh out of that when he gets out of class.
As I start through the fourth floor of the library, I notice a familiar face at the tables set up by the Literary Criticism shelves.
“Atlas?” I say as I approach.
He’s working out a problem, his textbook open next to him, and he glances up, offering a warm smile.
“Ah, hey, Ash.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the library before.”
“I’ve been getting my ass kicked in Physics, so I’ve needed extra time to study. And Troy is distracting as fuck.”
“Yes he is,” I blurt out. “I meant, I…I…” I’m rebooting.
From what Colin’s told me, Atlas and Troy were getting together around the time I was making a fool of myself trying to get Troy to go out with me, and Atlas wasn’t exactly the friendliest with me, so in the times we’ve gotten together, I try not to talk about how hard his man used to make me.
But Atlas surprises me with a laugh. “It’s cool, Ash. I know how hot my T is, and I insist everyone knows it too. As long as you know he’s mine.”
His comment emphasizes how confident he is about what he and his stepbrother have. And it’s nice to see him smiling so big; from what I’ve heard about his and Troy’s family situation, it hasn’t always been so easy for him to smile.
“Sit down,” Atlas says. “You know anything about physics?”
“I—”
“That was a joke, Ash. I know you do.”
I chuckle as I sit down beside him, setting my bag beside the chair.
“I’m tempted to ask you for help,” he says, “but last time my stepbrother did that, it lost me a bet.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, which makes him laugh.
“Best bet I ever lost,” he says, something wicked in his expression now.
“I don’t really get that, but Troy never toldme about a bet.”
He laughs again. “Um…he probably wouldn’t tell you about this one. But I figure one day we’ll tell the world. For a bet I lost, it earned me major bragging rights for the rest of my life.”
“Now you’re just a tease,” I say, but I don’t think he really wants to share, so I change the subject to his physics difficulties.
He gives me the rundown, and I watch him work through a few problems.
“This is pretty common,” I say once I’ve pinpointed the issue. “You’re getting tripped up because you’re used to seeing similar word problems and equations in algebra and trig, but they’re flipped around in physics.”
As I’m walking him through a problem, he eyes me curiously. “You really are very good at explaining things.”
“Thank you. I enjoy explaining them. I feel like I’m good at having an objective view and seeing where people get tripped up. Then showing them where that is. I like to think of it as my superpower.”
“I didn’t know Ash Ketchum had any superpowers,” he teases.
I laugh. “I do look good in my Ash Ketchum costume. But in that case, maybe it’s not a superpower, but like my strongest Pokémon.”
His gaze shifts. “Oh, well, look who it is.”
“Atlas fucking McCallister,” Colin says as he approaches. “You having secret study sessions with mybro?”