Exotic

~ oh no! ~

I did not follow Jake to the emergency muster point. If this meant that my teachers and peers believed I'd been consumed by the unspecified reptile they were currently combing the building for, well, it would only serve as a distraction to whatever Aidan could be spreading. Student deaths tended to rank above their sexualities in gossip currency, as long as it was grisly enough. I hope it would give me enough time to set Caleb up with an appropriate defence.

I was armed with Caleb's actual number curtesy of Jake, and his blessing to pursue his brother as long as I took responsibility for explaining everything to their parents.

"Well, never mind then," I scoffed.

He slapped me lightly on the back. "You're cool, Miles. We're cool. We're cool, right?"

"We're cool," I reassured him weakly. He gave me a blinding grin, a little too shark-like to remind me of Caleb, and jogged off. I could only hope that my reconciliation with Caleb went as smoothly as my understanding with his brother. Part of me knew that it wouldn't be. Jake had a second child temperament, none of the intensity of the firstborn, and too laidback for his own good.

I texted Aaron first; I had a lot of making up to do after all the loops I had left him out of.

hey. not dead. looking for caleb.

He responded quickly.

I can ask Max to call him if...?

The implied if you're ready to tell him even a fraction of what I know made me feel ashamed all over again. But then again, Caleb's secrets weren't mine to tell Max.

thanks but no. best if i do this myself.

I'd just set off across the road when my phone chimed with an incoming call. I didn't bother to hope to see Caleb's name on the screen, which made the letdown much less painful when I glimpsed Aaron's.

"I appreciate your self-sufficiency at the best of times, you know I do," he was already saying when I answered, "But, have you considered that you'll cover a whole lot more ground with a car?"

"Wow," I drawled. "I appreciate your tough love at the best of times, but this is a really weird time to shame me for not having my license."

Aaron sighed a classic Aaron sigh, and the tension across my shoulders lessened somewhat. "Idiot. Meet me at my car."

"Aaron, I really think..."

"He's driving, you're on foot. Do you even know where to start looking for him?" he demanded. I spluttered out a less-than-confidence retort that only slightly resembled human speech. "We'll find him faster if we drive. I'm heading to the parking lot now."

"Aaron..." Click.

Well. I had a ride.

Aaron was right, I didn't have a clue where to start in my mission to find Caleb, but I thought a phone call couldn't hurt. Since all my previous communication had gone directly to Jake – a humiliation that I was sure would hit me eventually – I thought it was a better time than ever to start fresh. I entered his number into my phone, hit call, and held my breath.

It rang twice.

And then someone picked up. I could have cried, the exhaustion of my manhunt finally catching up with me.

"Caleb?" I tested.

No response. But that checked out for Caleb.

"Where are you?" I demanded, then softened my tone. There was a real possibility he was very distressed and very angry at me. "Are you okay? Please don't hang up on me, I just need to talk to you. Just for a second, and then we can go back to..."