Just in case Charlotte, Trick, or both were watching, I gave up and fell into my usual chair. I forced myself to eat a fry. A moment later, a shadow eclipsed my burger.

“This is ground control to Major Tom,” came Wes’s voice. “Got your helmet on?”

“Don’t tell me,” I replied, already suspecting what was coming. Ever since I’d arrived at school that morning to find our usual meeting spot in front of the first-floor radiator as deserted as this lunch table, I’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Or, should I say, the last remaining buckle-lined black boot.

“She cornered me this morning,” Wes said, sliding into the seat across from mine. “Which is why I wasn’t there.”

Elbow propped on the table, I put my still-aching head in my hand.

“So why are you here now?” I asked, even though I could guess.

“I told her to let me talk to you before she did anything rash,” he replied. “Convince you to change your mind about letting her go in with Rastin. At least before we all go through with her plan to tell the counselor about you.”

“What about me?” I asked.

“That you’re not coping, and that you’re a danger to yourself, and we’re worried for your safety. And your mental health. From there, while you’re put under lockdown, she plans to go in without you.”

“You’re being serious.”

“It’s pretty hardcore,” Wes admitted. “Even for her.”

“So that’s it?” Lowering my hand, I leveled him with a glare. “You think I should be cool with letting Charlotte go in there with just Rastin? You and I both know who Rastin is more worried about.”

“Charlotte’s convinced you’re going to get yourself killed,” he said. “And now I’m convinced that, if she gets her way, she’s going to get herself killed. She wants to go tomorrow, after school. That’s the real reason I’m here. Because it comes down to this: there’s no way I’m letting her go back into that house with just Rastin. You don’t want her to go, and I don’t want her to go. And that is why you have to let me punch you.”

My head snapped up from my plate. “What?”

“That’s good,” he said. “That’s your really pissed-off look. You don’t wear it often, because it clashes with your Captain America thing. Keep it, though. Work with it. Feel the burn. But seriously. I’ve gotta deck you. There’s really no way around it.” He sighed. “I mean, I would let you hit me first, but I’ve got to be the one to start the fight or she’ll never buy any of this.”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” I asked him.

“Maybe if I’m lucky, she’ll still give me a chance when this is all over,” he said. “More importantly, though, she’ll be safe. Plus, she’ll never suspect that I’m planning on going with you to Moldavia tomorrow morning while she’s here at school. Think about it. It’s genius. Our parents will be at work, and we’ll both be suspended. By the way, you have to hit me back in order for the zero-tolerance rule to apply. Left side, please.”