Instead Neil and Kevin ended up with Allison and Renee, and Matt and Dan sat across the aisle with Aaron and Nicky. It wouldn't have been a problem, except somehow a cheerleader ended up between Kevin and Neil. Neil recognized Marissa from the night they played JD Campbell. He didn't remember much else about her, except that she was Katelyn's roommate, but judging by the brilliant smile on her face that was good enough for her.

Neil regretted talking to her almost immediately, because she hounded him the rest of dinner. Neil had grown up making small talk with a thousand strangers all over the world, but he was long out of practice. He spent all of his time with the Foxes now, and they'd outgrown those shallow conversations months ago. If Marissa would at least talk about Exy Neil could stomach it, but she bounced between every other possible topic in the world. Neil had taken the outside seat on the bench but he still felt trapped. Leaving the restaurant after dinner was such a relief it left Neil a little lightheaded.

The downtown shopping area was a long street branching off Perimeter Road near the Green. The Vixens had to cross the Green back to their on-campus dormitories, whereas the Foxes could follow the sidewalk down Perimeter toward Fox Tower. They stopped at the crosswalk to say their goodbyes and Katelyn made sure to give Aaron a kiss goodnight. Neil wasn't interested in watching, but when he turned away he found Marissa in his path again.

"I can give you my number," Marissa said.

Neil didn't remember asking for it at any point that night. "What for?"

It wasn't the response she was expecting, judging by the way her smile twitched. She was quick to rally, though, and she laid a hand on his arm. "I would like to get to know you better. I think we could have a lot of fun together, just the two of us. You're very interesting, Neil."

She wasn't the first to say that, but Neil wondered if Andrew's opinion of him would change when he was off his medication. Neil brushed that stray thought aside as irrelevant and unhelpful and focused on Marissa.

"I wouldn't call you," Neil said. "I socialize with the Foxes or not at all."

She stared at him for an endless minute, then said with a nonchalance he didn't believe at all, "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

She went to pry Katelyn off of Aaron, and the Vixens crossed the street to campus.

"Harsh, Neil," Nicky said. "For someone who's usually so quiet you can be a real jerk sometimes. There's a way to let girls down gently, you know."

"Why?" Neil asked, but Nicky only heaved a pitying sigh. Neil shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and looked at Dan. "Do girls need kid-glove treatment? I thought they were tougher than that."