“Is she scarier than she looks or something?” I asked.
“Something like that,” Dorian said. “Having fun yet or will we be losing you to the nearest field?”
“I don’t know.” The look in his eye made me want to step closer to him. “What about you?”
“Things are improving.” He pulled my beanie annoyingly low on my forehead. “I like your hat thing.”
I fixed it and shrugged. “Between that, the hot chocolate, and the fire, you’d think I’d be warm by now.”
“It’s a cold night.” He set down his cup then covered my hands with his. “Is that any better?”
I squeezed my cup, surprised by the warmth in his hands. My skin prickled, and I held his gaze. He had the kind of face that got better the more you looked at it, and he was probably the one teenager in town I didn’t want to escape from. My cheeks warmed, and a little flutter in the pit of my stomach kicked in. “Yeah, actually,” I said when it became clear that he was waiting for an answer.
He grinned. “Good. Can’t have the new girl freezing to death before—”
“Introduce us to your friend, Dorian,” a girl said, stealing his cup and taking a sip. Dorian immediately let go of me and stepped back, a muscle in his neck tightening.
Two teens moved to either side of him, the short petite blonde who had spoken, and an impossibly broad skinhead who looked at me disapprovingly. I remembered him. He was one of the boys I’d tagged as a bully. The kind who had testosterone coming out of his ears.
“This is Margo,” Dorian said in a flat tone. “Margo, this is Mara and Victor. They’re my… friends.”
“Hey.” I took a sip of my drink, wondering why Dorian looked so uncomfortable.
“So you’re the newbie then,” Victor said. His eyes squinted when he talked.
“What’s your deal with Dorian?” Mara asked bluntly.
That took me aback. I looked at him, but he had squeezed his eyes shut as though wishing himself away. The other two appeared to be waiting for me to run or something. I didn’t like the aggressive glint in Victor’s gaze, and Mara’s accusatory words got my back up.
I took a step closer. “Are you his girlfriend or something?”
She folded her arms, her expression insulted. “No.”
“His sister then.”
“No,” she said through grit teeth.
“Then what the hell has it got to do with you?” I regretted my tone instantly. I was supposed to be trying to fit in, and these were Dorian’s friends, for heaven’s sake. But to my surprise, Victor and Mara laughed, instantly relaxing.
“Surprise, surprise,” Victor said. “She’s got claws.”
Dorian exhaled loudly, the tension in his shoulders finally relaxing.
“She’ll need them.” Mara wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Come meet some people.”
Dorian shrugged, his normal smile returning. I looked back at him as Mara led me away. I couldn’t read the expression on his face.
I let myself get drawn into one group then another for a while. Even Chloe joined us, unable to stay away and miss anything, despite the fact Emma was still dancing in front of the bonfire, practically screaming out for attention.
I barely remembered anyone’s names, and most of the faces kind of blurred together, but at least people were acknowledging my existence for a change. I just wished I was seeing more of one particular face.
* * *
Emma and Chloemade me sit on one of the enormous benches while they people watched, but I only kept an eye out for Dorian.
Emma stopped messing about with her lighter—this one looked holographic—long enough to pick up the end of my plait and study the ends of my hair. “Is that your natural colour?”
“Yeah.”