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Lunch ard Like really, really aard…

"So Rigley, excited for your college visit this weekend?" I asked casually, hoping to break soley had been more quiet than usual because he felt bad about Lincoln’s house getting nearly destroyed Friday night Lincoln, as usually quiet, hadn’t said a word to anybody because he was ley and because of the tension between him and Piper Piper was colaring atto Bree, which I found colares with ones ofin all the draer show

"Uh, yeah, sure," Rigley answered, pushing his bag of chips around the table idly "I’m not really sure what the point of it is, but ed his shoulders as if he could care less

"Why don’t you want to go?" Seth asked

"Well, it’s just that I knohere I want to go already, but they wanthis fingers for air quotes

"And where do you want to go?" Seth pressed

"UNL obviously, but they want et an athletic scholarship at a sain and went back to his chips

"You can’t get an athletic scholarship to UNL?" Seth asked I smiled at the way the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s abbreviation came unnaturally off his lips, when everyone else in the rooley answered Seth with a short laugh and an enthusiastic shake of his head, "Yeah right, I’m no Tristan Shields"

"Shut it," Tristan threatened

"UNL is a huge university," I explained gently to Seth "They have a very coram, especially in football"

"So you either have to be really good," Rigley continued, "Or have older brothers that can sweet talk you a spot onto the team"

"And which one are you?" Seth asked Tristan honestly, although the air around our table suddenly becarowled I was the only one to notice the way the tips of his cheekbones reddened with embarrassment at the mention of his future career and the way his torso shifted unco compared to his older brothers, and hated it even more when people insinuated that they were the only reason he could play for the Huskers

"So what do you think you’ll do?" I asked Rigley, hoping to defer the co storm "Your choice or your parents’ choice?"

"They’re the ones footing the bill," Rigley answered, lifting his shoulders as if he didn’t have a choice "But I’ive up their dreae athlete for a son"

"It must be nice to have parents so invested in your future," Seth offered

I turned to look at hi never heard that tone of voice before He stared at Rigley seriously, as if he were offering the best kind of truth and soht of in a very long tio to school?" Rigley asked, laughing a little to defuse the heaviness of the ing one of his shoulders The glow from inside him was completely silent as he looked back down at his school lunch His eyes were a soft shade of honey, but nothing extraordinary shone fron that he was a different species or called to soripped his arley offer so like, "That sucks…" but it was all I could do not to openly weep at the table I knew his parents were dead, but we had never talked about them I wanted to kick myself for how callous and self-absorbed I had been Just because every , didn’tpersonal about Seth Ugh, he must think me completely vain I didn’t even kno his parents had died!

But then that twitch in my heart re over lost friends, a … another traitor

"Yeah, but it was a long ti again that seemed to dictate ninety percent ofthe tiet to know Seth better He was s coolly distant between us

"It’s alright, Stella," he whispered, leaning intosloas back and there was light behind his eyes again so I loosened o"

"I just… I don’t knohat happened," Iwith tears

"Because I didn’t tell you," he reainst mine and for a brief moment there was only the two of us in the entire world I inhaled deeply, breathing hi his clean, fresh snow scent wash over reed I pulled back a little to stare up into his liquid aht… But there was el I had everdifferent and unnatural for Angels, pulled me into him Maybe the ansere in his story, in whatever happened in his past