Atoning (Darkness Rising 3.1)

"Gold star?" Maya said.

Sean smiled. "Gold star. And we'll need to figure out a way to make up for your lost weekend."

"Actually, I do have an idea," she said. "We were thinking of a rec center..."

The others returned that evening. Derek and I went to meet Tori, Simon and Kit.

"You missed nothing," Simon said as he climbed from the van. "Next time, I'm staying home with you guys. I showed up for my art lesson, and my instructor was drunk, again. He spent the entire hour moaning about the harsh life of the tortured artist. Dude, you draw comics. If you aren't having fun, quit. Which I am. Him, at least. Not art."

"He had a rough weekend," Kit said coming up behind Simon. "He missed you guys."

"So did I," Tori said. "Because, without you there, he bitched and moaned to me."

Simon turned on her. "Uh, who had to sit beside you on the helicopter and listen to the great and tragic story of the lost blue jeans."

I looked at her. "You lost your jeans?"

"I lost the jeans. The perfect pair, on the sales rack, no less. They fit exactly. Then, I took in more clothes to try on, and Haley bought them." She raised her voice. "So we are not talking until she returns them."

"Then, we're not talking for a long time," Haley called from where she stood with Maya. "Because you put them in your discard pile."

"Accidentally." She looked back at us. "Also, I lost two hours work on my MIT application project, because someone borrowed my computer and shut off my backups."

Haley flipped her the finger.

"So, we're hanging out tonight," Tori said to me.

"Speaking of backups..." I said.

"Oh, don't give me that bull. The only time you come around is when Maya and Derek are busy. It's a system that works for both of us." She turned to Derek. "I'm borrowing your girlfriend tonight. Deal with it."

"So," Simon said. "To change the subject radically, how was your weekend? Anything exciting happen?"

"Not really," I said as we headed into town. "Rae came back."

"Rae? You don't mean...?"

"Rachelle. She's back. With her mom. They'd gotten mixed-up with a crazy group that wanted to kidnap us, but Derek, Maya, Daniel and I shut them down. Captured them. Interrogated them. Called in the Nasts to take them into custody. Other than that?" I shrugged. "A completely uneventful weekend."

Fourteen

Monday night. It was Maya and Ash's birthday, and Simon, Derek and I were hanging out with them and Rafe. Rafe is Maya's ex. They're still friends. Which is good to see. When couples break up, if it isn't ugly, they say they'll stay friends, but they rarely do. That's one of the problems with living in a small place like this--couples get together, and, when it ends, it's awkward, and there's no place to escape. I saw that with Corey and Haley. With Haley and Simon, too, who dated briefly--very briefly. Really, it only happened because, of all the girls in Badger Lake, Maya and I are in relationships, Rafe's sister Annie is twenty, Tori is Simon's half sister and Sam is a lesbian. That left Haley, so of course Simon was going to give it a shot. It happened six months ago, and it's still awkward between them.

The six of us were in the community center while the others put the final touches on the birthday party prep. Well, while Annie, Sam, Daniel and Corey did. I suspected Tori and Haley had found better things to do, at least until the party started. Yes, Tori and Haley were friends again, having come to a joint custody agreement on the jeans.

Rae had offered to help with the party prep. Annie had taken her along, having appointed herself Rae's official "resident advisor" in Badger Lake. I appreciated that, because, otherwise, the job would have fallen to me, and I'm...I'm still working through how I feel about Rae.

I'd like to think we can be friends. I just...I need time, more than I thought I would. However much I'd protested that I understood what she did, it still stung, and having her around brought it back. I'd work through it and see what happened.

Daniel popped in five minutes before the party was due to start. He beckoned Ash out, with, "Need your help."

"With getting ready for his own party?" Maya said.

I braced for Ash to say that it wasn't really his party, he just happened to share a birthday with her. He'd said it before. Maya hated it, naturally, though it was, in a way, true. The Salmon Creek kids had grown up together, and they'd thrown birthday bashes for each other since they were old enough to organize them. I envy that, growing up with the kind of childhood you usually only read about it books. But Maya and Daniel make sure they do it for everyone now. Well, except Derek, who would sooner be devoured by fire ants than endure a party in his honor. I suspect Ash would prefer the fire ants, too. He'd just never say so to Maya. This time, though, he thankfully left without comment, Daniel saying only that it was a "construction thing."

A few minutes later, Daniel returned and led Maya out. "The party is at the climbing ridge," he said.

"To which you added a few holds for my birthday?"