Out of Character (True Colors 2)

“Did you find a Prince Neptune?” April asked as I took a portion of the piping-hot enchiladas. Her voice was even more eager than her texts, which was saying something. Neptune was unquestionably April’s favorite character so finding a cosplayer for him, even if it were Milo, made me happy. Honestly, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to make April smile. Considering everything she had to put up with, procuring a prince was the least I could do.

“Yup.”

“My hero.” She said it jokingly, but that right there was a big part of why I liked doing things for her so much. In my friend group, I wasn’t the resident genius or the best Odyssey player or the hottest person. I made an excellent sidekick. A bonus friend, there to make even numbers or crack a joke at the right moment. With April, though, every so often I got to play hero. I might be an afterthought for others, but with her I could be Super Big Brother.

“Thanks.”

“Who is it? Someone from the college?” She leaned forward. April lived for college gossip, especially since she’d transitioned to online high school after catching several bad infections from bugs going around the school. She hated being the only Quigley kid who wouldn’t graduate from our neighborhood school. She’d been down, and that was another reason why I was relieved to have found a Neptune, even if I was still less than thrilled with the who.

“No. It’s…” Oh hell. She was going to recognize him right away, and Mom would as well, if she brought April. I took a bite of too-hot food, trying to buy time, and immediately regretted it as I scorched my tongue. And my stupid brain immediately leaped to a vision of Milo from the day before, his pink tongue worrying his full lips. Damn it. Why couldn’t he be a little less hot?

Of course, if he weren’t so appealing, he wouldn’t be so perfect as Neptune. But that perfection was going to come at a cost to my sanity. For the hundredth time, I second-guessed what the heck I was doing. I’d texted with him for a good hour the night before, answering questions about Neptune lore that Milo could have discovered perfectly well on his own, only stopping when Kellan and Jasmine came to collect me for food. And really, I should have been grateful for the interruption. I wasn’t supposed to find any part of this…arrangement fun.

“Who is it?” Mom prodded, concern evident in her eyes. She wasn’t the biggest fan of some of the game-store crowd, and she was probably already visualizing someone entirely unsuitable to have around April.

Heck. No choice but to share the truth, or at least a version of it. “Milo. Funniest thing, but he came into the store, and we got to talking and he…volunteered.”

“Milo Lionetti?” Mom frowned, which wasn’t the reaction I’d expected.

“Heard he got himself into some trouble a while back.” Dad’s expression was even more grim.

“He sure is cute trouble,” April added, which got her pointed looks from all three of us.

“I haven’t seen him since the funeral.” Shaking her head, Mom cut her food into neat pieces. “Poor Cathy. That boy has put her through the ringer on top of everything else she’s had to endure. And she’s not the only one. Jasper, do you really want to get involved with him again?”

“We’re not involved.” My fork clattered against my plate. Business. This was business. A transaction. A Neptune for Kellan and April and the kids at the hospital. Some help for Milo, but even that was more for Bruno, who hadn’t deserved his dumbass brother losing his cards. Involved was not even remotely on the table.

Across from me, April smirked like she knew better. And then my phone buzzed in my pocket and I immediately wondered if it was Milo. Damn it. Even friendship would be beyond stupid. He’d proved enough times that he wasn’t to be trusted.

“Good.” Dad nodded firmly before returning his attention to his food. I got why they were both firmly anti-Milo. I’d moped for months when our friendship had ended, and they’d had to hear more than one tale of woe in the following years about Milo’s new crowd and their idea of jokes involving the smart kids.

Involved. Back then, I hadn’t allowed myself to hope for Milo being anything other than my best friend, especially once that friendship had been lost. I had been only starting to find other people cute back then, and while my heart might have had some private wishes, I tried hard to ignore any…reactions to his nearness. Unlike now, when my body most definitely had noted Milo was all grown up.

“You’re months from graduation.” My mom must have picked up my train of thought. Milo wasn’t the only one who was an adult now. I too had the real world waiting.