It had been two weeks since Anthony and Jannet had investigated the science department.

Though he spent nearly every day in the library researching—ciphers, Silverside, primes—Conner had found no new connection, no leads. Even the graffiti, which had become more prevalent, garnered no interest without acts of violence to follow.

Every time a student didn’t show up for class or was removed from the school, Conner couldn’t help but wonder if they had been kidnapped. Perhaps, he had simply blown the whole ‘investigation’ out of proportion from the start.

Anthony had put their detective work on hold for more important school projects; Jannet always busy at hockey practice… Everything seemed to have returned to normal, which infuriated Conner. He wasn’t ready to give it up, needing some kind of closure. He was certain there was more for them to uncover.

Conner spotted Erik, who was sitting at a study cubical in the library. A small smile crossed his face as Conner sat beside him.

Erik looked up, grinning in pleasant surprise. “’Bout time you showed up,” Erik smirked, pulling Conner’s chair closer to his.

Erik was no longer suspended, though he spent most of his time furiously trying to catch up with school work. Conner, on the other hand, had finally discontinued the use of his crutches.

The only truly good thing that had come out of their sleuthing was that Erik had continued to spend almost every spare moment with Conner. Though initially feeling that his moment of confession had already passed, Conner couldn’t deny that he and Erik were growing closer.

Erik moved his laptop out of the way as he glanced at the pile of books Conner had placed on the small desk. “What is it today? Ciphers? Prime history?” Erik asked, a slightly exasperated look on his face.

Conner sighed, giving him a weak smile. “Yeah, more cryptography.”

Erik shook his head with an amused look on his face. “I admire your tenacity.”

Conner laughed, glancing at Erik's laptop. “What are you working on?”

“Physics,” Erik said, typing something out. “Let me finish this paper, then I’ll help you research.”

“Okay, thanks.” Conner beamed at him, grabbing the first book in his stack and began to skim through the table of contents.

He looked up as a girl walked over to Erik. He registered her shyness as she approached. She was pretty, long brown hair and soft brown eyes. She blushed as she said, “Hi, Erik.”

Conner felt a twinge of jealousy.

Erik looked confused, which comforted Conner. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked.

The girl seemed nervous as she shuffled her feet. “Um, I was just wondering if you were going to the Halloween dance? A bunch of frat guys are running it, but they rented a hall. It sounds pretty cool...”

Conner rolled his eyes, looking away as he felt his heart tighten painfully. Apparently, the school’s solution to rally moral against the hatefully vandalism was to plaster every inch of wall with garish orange and purple flyers, for a ‘Howling Good Time’.

Erik shifted to lean on the back of his chair. “Oh, probably? It’s not for another few weeks though, right?”

Conner glanced over again to see her blush. “That’s right…I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go with me? I wanted to ask before someone else had a chance to.”

Erik’s eyes widened slightly, awkwardly looking away. “Oh, wow. Listen, I’m really flattered, but if I am going I already have someone I’m planning on going with.” He gave her a smile that ended up looking more like a grimace.

Conner’s heart sank, not that he had expected any different. Of course, Erik was going with someone.

The girl looked crushed, nodding as a deep blush filled her face. “Oh, I didn't know you were seeing someone,” she sadly.

‘Me neither,’ Conner thought grimly.

“I’m sorry,” Erik said, clearly wanting to wrap up the conversation, “but, I’ll see you in class.” He flashed her a smile.

The girl nodded, finally walking away.

Erik huffed out a sigh of relief, returning to his paper. “I had no idea I was so popular,” he said, breathing out a laugh.

Conner frowned. “Been getting a lot of those?” He knew he sounded angry.

Erik didn’t seem to notice as he glanced over to his text book, clearly quoting something. “Ah, yeah, a few,” he muttered, distracted.

Conner was only pretending to read now. He debated for several moments if he really wanted to know the answer to what he was about to inquire. He couldn’t help it, acid in his veins. “So, who are you planning to take to the dance?” Conner asked through gritted teeth.

Erik stopped typing. When he said nothing, Conner glanced over to see Erik trying desperately not to laugh. He grinned as he said, “You’re not seriously asking me that, are you?”

Conner frowned, feeling offended. “What the hell does that mean? Am I supposed to keep tabs on everyone you talk to—?”

“Whoa, whoa! It’s a line,” he said, finally giving in and laughing.

Conner blinked at him. “A line?” he asked. He had never seen Erik laugh like that. He always gave him at most a smile or chuckle. ‘He’s cute,’  Conner thought, cursing himself. 

Erik smirked, the laughter disappearing. “Yeah, you know, that’s what I say to everyone. I’m trying to be nice when I tell them I’m not interested. I don't want to give them false hope.”

Conner nodded, shutting up only for a moment before he pressed, “So, you’re not going with anyone?”

“Not as of yet,” he said. “What about you, are you going to the dance?”

Conner’s heart skipped a beat. “I…haven’t thought about it.”

Erik caught his eye, a coy look on his face as he said, “Well, maybe you should think about it," he said as he resumed typing once more.

Conner's heart thrummed. He smiled quietly to himself, reading the book in his hands. It wasn't long before he was distracted again, this time by Erik’s phone aggressively vibrating across the desk surface. 

Conner frowned as he glanced at it.

Erik snatched it up. He gritted his teeth, swearing as he declined the call and stuffed it into his pant pocket.

Conner felt a spark of unease at Erik’s reaction. “Who was that?” he asked, wondering if it was rude of him.

Erik shook his head, irritated. “Spam.”

“You’ve been getting a lot of that recently. Can’t you block it?” Conner narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I wish,” Erik grumbled.

Conner leaned in, placing a hand on Erik’s forearm. “Hey…are you okay?”

For a moment Erik looked like he wanted to say something. “It’s fine. Just annoying,” he replied quietly. He looked at where Conner still had a hand on his arm.

Conner debated if he should move, but didn't. He waited.

Erik put his hand on Conner’s giving it a tight squeeze before lifting it off his arm. “Thanks,” he whispered, before attempting to focus on the school work.

Conner thought about the call, wondering why Erik would give a spam number a contact name; 'D'. All of his own spam calls came from long, random numbers and never called as frequently as Erik seemed to receive them.

Conner pushed the thought from his mind, he’d already overthought practically everything else. 

Instead, he imagined Erik at the Halloween dance. His mind was suddenly filled with the idea of Erik dressed as a dark, brooding vampire, surrounded by dry-ice smoke and strobe lights. 

Conner blushed, burying his face into his book. 

It might be worth going to the dance, after all.