The Exchange

Chapter 29

I got the shoes I wanted. They weren't the cutest, but when I put them on, I walked on a cloud. They were nine dollars, and I almost felt like a thief as I walked out of the store with the bag in my hand.

My inner villain enjoyed it just a little too much.

My next stop was the kitchen supply store, where Blaine found the ice cream maker that he so desperately needed. It was forty-five percent off, and it was enough to get my mind eighty-five percent off why the hell Viktor wanted me to lie to my friends. The other fifteen percent of my mind was fuming, but if there was one thing I had perfected, it was ignoring my feelings until I just couldn't hold them in any longer.

It was just one of my many talents.

When we finally returned home, even though it was three in the morning, I pulled Viktor aside in the basement to talk to him. Maybe he just wanted to think the situation through (unlikely, but possible), but if we tried to keep one more thing just between the two of us, there was approximately no chance that it wouldn't blow up in our faces.

"I can't believe I didn't recognize Lukas before. He looks different now," Viktor said.

"It's called aging, Viktor," I said. "So what the hell do you want to do about this guy? Blaine has a shovel, and I have no morals."

He rose his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"I guess I just thought that we were gonna eliminate the problem and make sure that we tell our friends about it."

All five of us knew Lukas somehow, and if we all teamed up, he sure as hell wouldn't be a nuisance any longer.

"I don't even know why we would need to eliminate Lukas. That doesn't make any sense," Viktor said.

"It makes complete sense. He kept trying to convince me that you're evil or something, which I already thought that, so he didn't convince me of shit, but—"

"It's just a funny story, Candy Cane. You don't have to overreact."

"I've literally never overreacted in my entire life, you fucking asshole," I said.

Viktor stared back at me.

"Look, Blaine never liked this dude, and I trust his opinions and judgments. Clearly, he knows how to pick a fantastic girlfriend," I said.

"Sure, but maybe you should just go to sleep for now. It's really late," he said.

"I'm fine. We need to figure this out right now."

"Go to bed, Candy Cane. Please," Viktor said, and I bit my cheek.

This wasn't over, but maybe a little bit of sleep would refresh my mind. But before I could manage to shut my mind down for the night, I needed another answer.

"Is there any reason you're trying to keep this on the low key?"

"What?" he asked.

I let out a sigh. "Why are you trying to make sure no one else finds out about this? You're making it seem like a big deal by doing that."

"Lukas just moved to Canada, right?"

I tried to hold in a laugh, but it snuck out a little anyway. "Right. He didn't get into a goddamn knife fight with anyone. Are you worried about the rumors?"

He shook his head. "Not really, but you know how Matt can be sometimes. Last week he elbowed someone in the stomach after I got high-sticked. And this was during practice."

I smiled. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"It must be in a gene that you all have or something, because you're the same way," he continued.