He shot me a questioning look.
I hesitated for a moment, weighing up how much I should tell him – what I should tell him – but then I thought, He’s right. I could tell him anything.
So I did.
When I was done with the story, he just stared at me. I was sitting beside him on the bed now, and I nudged him.
‘Say something. Please.’
Theo was shaking his head. ‘You know, if you don’t want to be friends anymore –’
‘What? No! Why would you say that?’
‘I thought you were going to tell me the truth. Instead I get some bullshit story about creating a guy from clay and some magic potion Libby cooked up in the kitchen?’
‘It’s the truth! Here, I’ll prove it.’ I pulled out my phone and messaged Libby.
You kind of forgot about me there didn’t you? Left me and Guy and Alex hanging.
I didn’t mean to!
It’s fine, just fine. Alex decided to head home rather than wait around for you two to sort out your drama, so I was stuck there with Guy, thinking, What the hell do I do now, just hang around in this driveway waiting for Katie? Then one of Theo’s sisters – the oldest one, Sophia – arrived home and was like, ‘Uh, why are you just hanging around in our driveway?’ It wasn’t awkward at all.
Oh come on, I know for a fact she invited you in for tea. It wasn’t that bad.
Sure. Keep telling yourself that.
Anyway, I messaged Libby to join us. When she appeared with Guy in tow, Theo immediately pushed himself off the bed, putting his weight on his non-injured foot. He tugged at his shirt before puffing out his chest and crossing his arms. I almost laughed – until Guy rushed over to me, basically crash-tackling me back onto the bed.
‘I was getting worried,’ he said.
I struggled out from under him, pushing my broken glasses back on my face and smoothing my hair with a nervous laugh. Guy’s arm was still encircling my waist. Theo was looking down at us. He did not seem impressed.
‘KC tells me she made you in a mixing bowl,’ he said to Guy.
‘I thought you didn’t want to tell anyone,’ Libby said, frowning.
‘It’s just Theo,’ I said.
‘Who is KC?’ Guy broke in.
Theo shot me a triumphant look.
‘Ah, that’s me,’ I told Guy. ‘That’s just what Theo calls me. It’s my initials, you know.’
‘Ah.’ Guy smiled, his arm moving from my waist to my shoulder, which he gave a little squeeze. ‘Then yes, the information you have is correct,’ he said to Theo. ‘Although the mixing bowl was only part of it, as I understand it. I –’ As Guy blabbered on, Theo stared at me, his face looking more alarmed by the second.
‘Guys – what is this?’ he finally said, looking around the room. ‘Have you got a hidden camera around here? Did you decide to start a prank channel or something?’
‘Look, what’s more believable?’ I said. ‘That we created this guy, or that he’s actually some random tall blond handsome stranger who is suddenly interested in me?’
Theo didn’t say anything for a moment. He looked from Guy to me, taking us both in. Then, with a smirk, he said, ‘Fair point.’
I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed. ‘Hey, you said it.’
‘Show him the bellybutton!’ Libby said.
I asked Guy to stand up and show Theo the smooth skin where his bellybutton should be.
Theo bent over to take a closer look, then glanced up at Guy. ‘Can I?’ He gestured to his midriff.
‘Go ahead, short boy,’ Guy said cheerfully.
‘The name’s Theo,’ he mumbled as he reached out to touch Guy’s stomach. He stood up straight, his eyes full of something approaching wonder. He tugged at his shirt again. ‘I can’t believe this.’
‘But you do, right?’ I said, getting excited now. ‘You have to.’
‘Yeah,’ Libby said. ‘Because we need you.’
‘You need me?’ Theo said.
‘We do?’ I said.
Libby looked at both of us and then flicked her gaze from Guy to Theo’s bed.
‘I’ve just had a brilliant idea.’
‘Libby, you’re a genius,’ I said as what she was suggesting dawned on me.
‘I know,’ she said.
‘Are you guys going to enlighten me anytime soon, or what?’ Theo said.
‘Theo,’ Libby said, gesturing at Guy with a flourish. ‘Meet your new roommate.’
Theo shook his head and raised his hands as if to defend himself from a physical attack. ‘Uh-uh. No way. Not gonna happen. Don’t even. You won’t talk me into it.’
Seven
‘I can’t believe you talked me into this,’ Theo muttered as I settled into the bed next to him.
I laughed. The truth was it hadn’t taken much to convince Theo to let Guy crash at his place (at least until we figured out a more long-term solution). Oh, he grumbled about it, sure, but he couldn’t deny the logic of the plan. With his room separated from the main house, it was the perfect hiding spot for Guy. And, if he needed to, there was a good chance he could convince his dad to let his ‘new school friend’ Guy stay for a while because of all the trouble he was having at home. We’d concocted a story about Guy’s parents kicking him out because he’d dropped out of school. It was the best we could come up with without making Guy seem like someone you wouldn’t want in your home. I’d wanted to make the cover more elaborate – there were car accidents and abusive foster parents involved – but Libby and Theo had agreed it was better to keep it as simple as possible. I just hoped it would be enough to convince Theo’s dad, when it came to it – although he’d let Alex stay before without much fuss. Both the Papadopoulos men were suckers for strays.
‘Dad hasn’t been around much lately, anyway,’ Theo said.
‘Oh really? How come?’
‘Oh . . . he’s just been busy with work and stuff, you know.’
‘Well, that’s handy for us,’ I said. Theo gave a small shrug.
The harder task was convincing Guy.
‘But I don’t want to be away from you,’ he’d said to me, pulling me close, a full-on pout shaping his perfect lips. They were so pretty I got distracted for a moment, thinking about what it would be like to actually kiss them.
I was broken out of my reverie by a snort from Theo. ‘I know you forgot to give him a bellybutton, but is there anything else missing?’ He was lying behind us on the bed, pressing an icepack into his ankle. ‘Like, you know, some balls?’
‘Actually –’ Guy started to say, but I interrupted him before he could get any more out.
‘Real mature, Theo.’
‘He does have a point, though,’ Libby piped up from where she was crouched on the floor, flipping through Theo’s collection of vinyl records. He was obsessed with them. He liked anything old and musty.
‘What?’
‘We really need to teach Guy the difference between “co” and “in”.’
‘I know the difference,’ Guy said. ‘“Co” means joint, while “in” means to be enclosed –’
‘Uh, that’s not what I meant,’ Libby said. ‘I was thinking more about what happens when you combine each of them with the word “dependence”.’
‘. . . Co-dependence and independence?’ Guy asked with a tilt of his head.
‘Nailed it!’ Libby said, and Guy gave her a gratified smile. ‘See, the thing is, adding “co” makes dependence bad, while the “in” turns it into something very good. Comprendé?’
‘Oh, I don’t speak Spanish,’ Guy said.
‘She means you two need some space,’ Theo cut in, looking pointedly at where Guy’s arm was still wrapped around my shoulder.
‘We’ve had space all day,’ I said at the same time as Guy said, ‘Why would I want space from Kate?’ He nuzzled into my neck as if to reinforce his point.
Theo exhaled. ‘Right. Rule number one. If you’re gonna stay here: no PDA in my room.’
‘PDA?’ Guy asked, not taking his eyes off me.
‘Public displays of affection.’
Guy finally turned to Theo, who was looking at him like he was a pitiful thing.
Theo shook his head. ‘It’s alright, bro, just stick with me. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.’
I suddenly had a very bad feeling about this whole plan.
‘You know,’ I said. ‘Maybe . . . I should stay here? Just for tonight. Just to, um, ease the transition?’
‘Ugh, you’re as bad as he is,’ Libby said, at the same time as Guy exclaimed, ‘Yes! Stay here. Stay with me.’
I turned to Theo, giving him my most winning look. I even batted my eyelashes. Or, well, I blinked rapidly. That’s what batting your eyelashes is, right? I’ve never quite figured it out.
Theo sighed. ‘Should I even bother trying to say no?’
As Libby and I left Theo’s – she was heading home, while I was going to grab my pyjamas (a cute paisley print shorts-and-singlet combo rather than my daggy old nightie this time) – she looped her arm through mine.
‘What a day, huh?’
‘You can say that again.’
‘What a day, huh?’
I shook my head at her terrible joke, but laughed anyway.
‘I’ve been thinking, we should try again.’
‘What?’ I said.
‘You need to repeat experiments in order to verify the results. So we should –’
‘What?! Libby, we’re barely managing to contain our first experiment right now. Maybe we should cool it on the science for a little while and just, you know, try to make it through this?’
She pulled a face. ‘Just because all you care about is getting his tongue down your throat –’
‘Hey, that’s not fair.’ I smirked. ‘I want to get my tongue down his throat, too.’
Libby made a disgusted noise, then said, ‘But just think about the possibilities, Katie. This is perhaps the greatest discovery in human history.’
‘Mmm. Perhaps. Or maybe it was just a freak accident.’ We stopped at my front gate and faced each other.
‘Do you know how many important discoveries started out as freak accidents?’ She waved her arms around as she talked. ‘Penicillin, microwaves . . . Viagra!’
‘Isn’t that more of an impotent discovery?’ I cracked up laughing, but Libby was on too much of a science rant to even notice my joke.
‘That’s why we need to repeat the experiment! To prove it’s viable.’
I nudged her foot with mine to bring her focus back to me. ‘I just think we need to lie low for a little while, you know? Play it safe.’
Libby chewed her lip but didn’t respond.
‘First things first,’ I said. ‘What are we gonna do with our large son in there?’
‘You really need to stop talking about him like that. It’s gonna get hella awkward when you finally get around to the whole tongues-down-throats thing.’
‘I can’t help it if I simultaneously want to protect him from the world and, like, jump his bones. Don’t you?’
‘I definitely, absolutely, one hundred per cent do not want to jump his bones,’ she said. I felt a weird sense of relief. I guess I hadn’t admitted it – even to myself – but a part of me had been wondering how Libby felt about Guy, and the whole situation – especially how interested he was in me. I mean, I knew Libby had Michael. But Guy . . . Guy was perfect. How could you not want to jump his bones?
‘I do get the protective thing, though,’ Libby went on. ‘He’s just so . . . soft. On the inside, at least.’
I grabbed her hand. ‘We must protect him at all costs.’
She sighed. ‘This world is gonna break him.’
‘Not if we can help it,’ I said. ‘So, tomorrow? Let’s work out a proper plan for him. Besides hiding him in Theo’s room, I mean.’
Libby pulled a face. ‘I’m meant to be hanging out with Michael tomorrow. I could cancel, though.’
‘No, no, it’ll be okay. Let’s chat when you’re done.’
‘Alright. Wonder Boy is all yours for the day. Have fun.’ She gave my shoulder a light punch and started walking away.
I couldn’t resist one last tease. ‘You want to create more, but you can’t even be present for our firstborn!’
She spun around, walking backwards for a few steps. ‘Have fun pashing that firstborn!’ She made retching noises as she turned back around.
Telling Mum I was staying at Theo’s for the night wasn’t as simple as I had anticipated.
‘You haven’t slept over there in years,’ she said, narrowing her eyes.
‘So?’
‘So why are you tonight?’
‘For old times’ sake?’
Apparently I didn’t sound very convincing.
‘You and Theo – you’re not – you aren’t – you and Theo aren’t getting up to any hanky-panky, are you?’
‘Mum!’
‘Well?’
‘It’s Theo.’
‘And? He’s a handsome boy, even with the extra weight. You know, I told his dad those anti-depressants were a bad idea –’
‘Mum . . .’ I rubbed my face, not even knowing where to begin with all the messed-up things that were coming out of her mouth. I decided to go with the most messed-up. ‘Those anti-depressants weren’t a bad idea. They helped him a lot.’
She started to say something in response but I rushed on. ‘And his weight has got nothing to do with anything. God. I don’t know why you’re making this weird. Theo’s a friend. We just wanted to hang out tonight. It’s not that deep.’
She studied my face. ‘Why do I get the feeling you’re lying to me?’
Probably because I am. Gulp.
I dropped the bag I’d been stuffing my things into, preparing to lay it on thick. ‘Look. If it’s that big a deal, I’ll stay here. Theo and I were just talking about how we used to make blanket forts when we were younger. You know, when we wanted to feel safe? It made us all nostalgic or whatever. But I’ll message him and say you don’t want me staying over there because I’ve got boobs now or something.’
I felt a little bit guilty when I noticed the emotional look on Mum’s face. I knew she was probably thinking about why we used to build blanket forts so often. Why we were in such desperate need of a safe space.
That year, when we weren’t at the hospital visiting Theo’s mum, we spent all our spare time building blanket forts in the back room at Theo’s – what was now his room, but was then just a junkroom-turned-playroom. We’d lie in those blanket forts for hours, watching movies or music videos or playing games. Sometimes talking, but mostly not. Sometimes we’d just lie there holding hands.
Our blanket forts were the opposite of the stark, overwhelming, uncomfortable world of the hospital. They were ours. Something we could control. I wondered what had made me think of them in that moment.
‘No, don’t be silly. Go, go!’ Mum waved her hands in the air. ‘Just be good.’
I grinned and kissed her on the cheek, grabbing my stuff to head through the door.
‘And make sure the doors and windows are all locked before you go to sleep!’ she called after me.
‘Mum, have you seen my footy shorts?’ I heard Luke shout as the door crashed shut behind me. Considering Luke’s footy shorts were currently on Guy, it seemed I’d escaped just in time.
When I got back to Theo’s, I found him teaching Guy how to play Grand Theft Auto.
‘Don’t tell me I’m going to lose my boyfriend to the PS4 before we’ve even kissed,’ I said, flopping down on the bed. Boyfriend. It felt weird to say that out loud. I remembered how surprised I’d been before when Guy had called himself that. We still hadn’t talked about it. But what else was he?
Wow. I have a boyfriend.
I looked at Guy.
I have the hottest boyfriend in the world.
I pinched myself for about the fiftieth time in the last twenty-four hours. Just to be sure.
&nb
sp; ‘We could kiss now, if you like?’ Guy said, raising an eyebrow.
‘No, no. I do not like,’ Theo said. ‘Remember our discussion about PDAs? Besides, now is clearly not the right time.’
‘What do you mean?’ Guy asked. He was looking at Theo like he was the font of all wisdom.
This was not going to work in my favour.
‘Hey, eyes on the game!’ Theo said, and Guy turned back to the screen. Theo glanced at me and licked his lips. ‘Don’t you know? Katie Camilleri’s first kiss has to be perfect. The most romantic thing to ever happen. Like something out of a rom-com. Isn’t that what you’re, uh, here for?’ He turned back to the game.
Guy was gazing at me thoughtfully.
I felt myself blushing.
‘Quick, run over that old woman!’ Theo cried.
It turned out to be a really fun night. Even though I would have much preferred some alone time with Guy, it felt unfair to kick Theo out of his own room. And at least it was better than trying to sneak Guy around my tiny house without my parents noticing and risking both of our (figurative) (maybe) deaths. Plus it made me feel weirdly warm inside to see Guy and Theo getting along.
Theo decided it was his duty to get Guy to talk ‘properly’. By which he meant totally improperly.
‘Leave him alone, he talks fine,’ I said.
‘He just needs some chill, alright?’
‘My temperature is at a comfortable level,’ Guy chimed in.
Theo looked at me as if to say, See?!
‘Alright, first lesson,’ Theo said. ‘Proper use of the word “mate”.’
‘Ah, mate. It means friend. Or sexual partner.’
I nearly choked on the popcorn I was in the process of scoffing down, which made Theo laugh so much he snorted. Which made me laugh, which made Guy laugh. Soon we just had to catch each other’s eyes to start laughing all over again. My stomach began to hurt.
Were you all high or something? It’s . . . not that funny?
I guess you had to be there.
Wow, way to make me feel excluded.
That’s not what I meant! You know I was kidding.
Lol relax, so was I.
Oh, okay. It’s just after everything –
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