After a few minutes of aimlessly walking (or so it seemed to Evan), Evan decided to break the silence.
"Where are we going?" he asked the question, not caring which of the pair answered it.
"Nowhere." Evan made sure his expression showed his distaste as he glared at Michael. However, he did not return his look and walked on as if he was satisfied with his answer. Before Evan could address him again, his cousin decided to save the day.
"We're calling it nowhere," he explained, Evan's gaze turning in his direction for a brief moment. He knew it wasn't a good idea to make any contact with him, even eye contact, but he wanted him to know he was paying attention. Also, he was grateful that he didn't have to ask him a follow-up question as Ryan took it upon himself to explain further.
"It's our spot. We always used to go hole up there when we were kids." A blissful smile appeared on Ryan's face, which obviously belonged to the childhood memories that popped into his mind while he was telling the story. Evan felt his face turn red when he looked at him, so he rather looked away.
He thought for a moment, imagining the cousins as children. He knew Michael, but he had to admit that he hadn't noticed him in the past as much as he did now. Also, as sad as it was, Michael used to have a lot of friends, but as the years progressed, they dwindled more and more. At first, he felt sorry for him, then he attributed it to Michael's own annoyingness, and now he was leaning towards pity again. Or rather, to the fact that Michael was less of a snob than the other young wolves in their pack. Evan himself was surprised by his own thoughts, but although he still had negative emotions associated with Michael, the positive ones began to balance out.
Maybe it was because, in addition to self-pity, he didn't have time to criticize others, and maybe Angie's absence was to blame. Either way, he surprisingly enjoyed his company.
"Should I be afraid that you'll drag me into the forest and kill me?" Although the humour in his tone was clear, Michael looked at him as if he had said the most absurd thing in the world. Evan just rolled his eyes, knowing that while they shared a few good times, they obviously didn't share a sense of humour. What a shame.
"Don't want to spoil your fun, but I have a feeling you'd be good at defending yourself in the woods," Ryan interjected. His voice sounded light, reflecting the same playfulness as Evan's. The brown eyes followed Evan again, even though he had to lean over to see him over Michael. However, that didn't stop him from grinning.
"Not sure about that. I don't even remember the last time I saw his wolf," Michael commented before Evan could chime in with another witty remark.
"For your information, my wolf is perfectly fine," Evan replied. Although he wasn't thrilled with the life of a werewolf, he made sure his wolf was healthy. This meant that he transformed often enough that his wolf wasn't living in a golden cage inside him. He knew what it was like, and even though his wolf was a part of himself, Evan liked to think of it as a free animal.
"Maybe we could run together sometime?" Ryan picked up on it immediately, and although he voiced it as a cautious question, it was obvious that he was more than excited about the idea.
Evan didn't want to spoil his good mood, so he just shrugged his shoulders and answered: "Maybe." However, he knew in his heart that he would do everything to prevent that from happening. If they spent time together even in their wolf form, their bond would only deepen unnecessarily, and Evan didn't need that.
Trying not to think about the b-word, he took his phone out of his pocket to text home that he would be back later. Again, he decided on the safer option and opened up a conversation with his father. He didn't want to risk his mother's health and he was sure that the moment she read that he was out with the wolves from their pack, she would have a heart attack. Despite the seriousness of the thought, Evan managed to giggle. This of course caught the attention of his companions.
"What's so funny?" Michael caught on immediately. Evan was beginning to realize more and more that despite the bluntness of his questions, there probably wasn't any malicious intent behind them. Or so he thought, to make himself feel better about hanging out with him.
"Just thinking about giving my mom a heart attack," he replied truthfully. He was obviously used to hanging out with Angie, who was used to his answers, so it didn't occur to him that there was anything strange about his answer. That is until the two boys stopped by his side and looked at him in confusion.
"What?" he asked as if he hadn't just laughed at the potential murder of his mother. Although when he replayed it in his head like that, he understood what might have caused their bewilderment.
"I thought it was the princess who was crazy, not you, but obviously she was just taking the attention away from you." Evan looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a slight shake of his head. It was obvious he was joking, but Michael had to spoil his good mood right away by mentioning the one person he didn't want to talk about right now. Not that he hadn't done that in his mind just now, but that was just a small lapse of judgment. Evan liked to think hypocritically, and although it was a bad habit, he couldn't shake it.
"Do you always have to mention her?" Evan said annoyed, and the theory he and Angie had created together flashed in his mind again. Luckily, it was quickly put out of his mind by Ryan, who finally joined in on the conversation, crazy as it was.
"If you don't want to talk about her, we won't. But if you need someone to talk to, we're here for you. I'm sure that's exactly what Michael was trying to say." He glared at his cousin at the mention of his name. The latter just shrugged his shoulders as if he was not going to contradict his claim.
"Talking is the last thing I want to do," Evan admitted bluntly, looking him straight in the eye and Ryan returning the look briefly.
"Alright. So, you're ready to see the best place in the world?" His enthusiasm was contagious, and Evan found himself nodding quickly, even though he had no idea where their spot was. Ryan grinned and playfully nudged his cousin on the shoulder. And then again and again until a small smile appeared on Michael's face as well. Evan had to admit that he had never seen him so relaxed. It was weird.
"I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to pretend we're going there in a space rocket." After Michael's sentence, Evan's small smile turned into a loud laugh. He couldn't help himself. And Michael dared to say that Evan was the crazy one.
"In a what?" he asked between laughs. Michael rolled his eyes at him, obviously not realizing what he had admitted in front of him, and it was too late to take it back.
"When we were kids, I had a phase where I wanted to be an astronaut and refused to go anywhere unless it was in a spaceship," Ryan admitted with a grimace, his hand slipping into his raven hair and partially covering his right eye.
"And then there was the cowboy phase," Michael added without hesitation. Now it wasn't just one hand covering Ryan's face, but even so, Evan could clearly see the colour rising in his cheeks. He had to admit that at that moment his heart won over his mind for a second, and he thought he looked really cute like that.
"Stop!" Ryan grunted, and this time it was Michael who laughed out loud. Strangely, Evan enjoyed this situation. Not because he enjoyed shaming Ryan, but surrounded by people who did not know his problems and at the same time shared his greatest secret with him, he felt as carefree as he hadn't felt for a long time.
"Was there another phase?" He asked curiously and, judging by the desperate sound, made by Ryan and the wolfish grin on Michael's face, the answer was clear.
"Don't say it." Michael ignored the weak plea of his cousin and leaned closer to Evan as if he wanted to tell him his greatest secret. Evan, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, did the same.
Michael dramatically paused and then dropped the bomb: "A dinosaur phase."
"I was five!" Ryan immediately defended himself, throwing his hands in the air. Not only was his face red, but so were his ears. Evan braced his hands on his knees as he laughed so hard, he leaned forward. Tears welled up in his eyes and each time he looked at Ryan's offended grimace, he laughed even harder.
"It was gold," Michael got out between laughs. "Everywhere he went..." He couldn't even finish his sentence as he was laughing, and Evan had no doubt that his story was worth it.
"C'mon, that's not that funny at all," Ryan tried to save his reputation once again, only to end up grimacing and sticking out his bottom lip again.
"Sorry." Despite his rules about keeping a safe distance, Evan patted him on the shoulder in a comforting gesture. The corners of his mouth twitched with suppressed laughter, so he had to turn his back, or his apology could not be taken seriously. Not that he was really sorry. Michael, on the other hand, was openly laughing, completely ignoring his cousin's pointed look.
Taking a deep breath and waving his hands in front of him, Michael finally calmed down and put on a serious face. But not because he wanted to stop making fun of Ryan, but to be able to finish his story.
"When Ryan was five, he decided he wasn't going to wait to be a wolf, but rather be a dinosaur. He tiptoed everywhere, with his hands in front of him, growling at everyone. His mom tried to convince him that he could play wolf because he also growls, but he refused. Once he even hit his head against a wall because he claimed that's how dinosaurs fight." Sometime in the middle of Michael's explanation, Evan had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. And he did quite well, but when Ryan muttered "Pachycephalosaurus" under his breath, Evan couldn't help it and burst out laughing again.
"I hate you both." The raven-haired boy crossed his arms over his chest, staring alternately at both of his companions, waiting for them to finally stop laughing.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." This time Evan was serious, and the only sign of his earlier laughter was the small smile that remained on his face.
"Just yesterday you claimed that we should call him out with us again," Michael immediately revealed. Ryan opened his mouth blankly and glanced at Evan but quickly looked away again. It obviously wasn't something he wanted Evan to know, but he didn't try to deny it.
Evan knew it didn't have to mean anything serious, and he didn't have to overthink it, but his first thought was the bond between them and the fact that Ryan was obviously attracted to him as much as he was. It was confirmed once again that his initial plan to avoid him was the right one.
For the moment, however, he decided not to reveal what he was thinking and not to start his plan all over again. Anyway, he had nothing else to do, he didn't want to go home, he wasn't talking to Angie, and all his friends were in another city. Spending time with the Saunders was the only thing he could do.
"Alright, I hate you both today." Satisfied with his correction, Ryan nodded his head.
"Oh, no. What are we going to do." Evan placed both hands on his chest in a dramatic gesture and adjusted his tone of voice to match, stretching out each vowel.
"You can run," Ryan answered him with a devilish grin and reached for him. Evan quickly swerved, and before he knew it, he was running in an unknown direction with Ryan on his heels. Michael immediately joined them, aligning himself with Evan so he could guide him in the right direction. And just like that, they ended up in the place that was supposed to be Nowhere.