They’re shouting over each other now, completely ignoring the fact that I’m towering between them. Henry is mad and Caitlin is mad and scared and I can’t fix it. Knowing what they feel doesn’t help because I can’t do anything about it. I’m too buried in the emotions. I shouldn’t have come over here. I should always just stay out of it, but I’m angry about what Henry was doing and that just piles onto the garbage dump of other people’s feelings that’s building around me. I can’t even hear what Henry and Caitlin are saying now because the fear is stuffing cotton balls in my ears and the anger is making my vision go white. Adrenaline and panic are fighting each other for space in my body and I can’t catch my breath. I’m drowning, choking on lava, burning in the heat.

The next thing I know, Henry is off-balance, stumbling backward, away from my outstretched arms. When did I put my arms out? What happened to the drink I was holding? My shoes are wet—I guess that’s what happened to my drink.

“What the fuck, Michaels?” Henry barks, regaining his footing and angling his anger at me. Oh god, that is so much worse. I’m now getting a direct feed on his rage and I feel like an ant under a magnifying glass in the sun. Henry takes a step forward and I push him again.

“Go away, Henry,” I say through clenched teeth. I’m a ticking time bomb and I want to tell Henry, want to warn him against making this worse, but he’s being an idiot, so blinded by his own anger that he can’t see I’m blinded too.

“This has nothing to do with you,” he hisses.

“Leave her alone.” I’m getting into his space now, hoping he’s not so stupid that he’ll think he can match me in a fight.

“What are you going to do? Hit me?”

I guess he is that stupid.

Molten rage moves through my body, taking control of my arm and charging it up for a punch. I’m about to smack Henry’s dumb, smug face when—

“Mr. Michaels!”

“So … that was definitely a first for me.” Caitlin breaks the silence finally, the tentative curl of her feelings reaching out to me.

“Huh?” I’m still too numb and overwhelmed to form actual words. I feel like a sponge that soaked up way too much water and has now been violently wrung out.

“Getting kicked out of a dance,” she continues. “Can’t say that’s happened before.”