Trains are evil. I hate them. They’re worse than crowded streets. You stand there in a metal box, pressed body-to-body with a bunch of sleepy, sweaty strangers, hoping that the lurch of the carriage as it stops, starts and leans when it turns doesn’t make you stagger and fall down like dominoes. Add that to my ‘gift from God’ and…

Yeah, trains are evil.

On a normal day, I leave early enough to avoid the morning rush. If I don’t, then the number of visions I see during that half-hour ride to school makes me want to puke. The only time that doesn’t happen is when Ryo is with me. I don’t know how he does it, but no matter how crowded it is, Ryo always manages to position us in a space that’s up against the door or wall so that we’re not surrounded by people. It’s great. This way I can use him as a human shield and pretend that I’m not trapped in an aluminium box of death while I stare out the window. 

It also meant that I had plenty of time to recognise Ai standing on the platform with Andrew as the train pulled up at her stop. 

Two days, sixteen hours, eleven minutes.

I hate to admit it, but with all the kerfuffle on my way home yesterday, I’d completely and utterly forgotten about her. That aside, what was she doing with Andrew so early in the morning? I frowned, watching as they kissed each other goodbye. 

Ryo leaned in over my shoulder. ‘You're drooling on the glass, Rin-chan. Which guy are you looking at?’

The blond psychopath in the leather jacket. ‘The guy standing with Ai over there.’

‘Huh. So that’s your type.’

‘It’s not like that. I saw them together yesterday. He's—’ a murderer. I bit my tongue and changed the wording. ‘He seems like bad news.’

Ryo squinted, framing his eyes with his hands as he pressed against the window to catch glimpse of the murderer in question before the train sped off. ‘Bad news, huh? He does look familiar. Where do I— Ah.’

I looked up at him. ‘“Ah?”’

‘That's Andrew.’

‘Yes, I know that. Andrew who?’

‘You know his name?’

‘Just his first one. Hence the “who”.’

‘Interesting...’

‘He told me.’ Or Ai did. Whatever. ‘How do you know him?’

‘Stories. Rumours. I know some guys that have run in the same circles.’

‘So he's a thug?’ I knew it.

Ryo frowned. ‘Is that what you call me and my friends behind our backs? Thugs?’

‘That's what I call you to your face. Thugs. Low lives. Cretins.’

‘Bet you used a thesaurus for that.’

‘I'm amazed you even know what one is.’

‘Rude. I study. More than a certain someone anyway.’ 

He nudged me. 

I ignored him. 

It was true.

‘Still,’ he mused, ‘that can't be good. Wonder how they know each other. She doesn't seem like the type to... you know.’

No, I didn’t know. ‘Maybe you should ask her.’

‘Ask her?’ repeated Ryo, the slightest of cracks audible in his voice. 

I smothered a smile. ‘You told Ellery that you'd be her guide, remember?’

‘She doesn't need a guide; her English is fine. And I'm...’ His eyes wandered upwards as he rubbed the back of his neck. ‘You know.’

‘Not good with girls?’

‘What does that make you then?’

‘An alien. Does it matter? She knows you better than she knows me, and you know Andrew and his reputation as well. That means you're the one in the best position to talk to her.’

‘About what?’

‘About him.’ I jabbed the window violently with my forefinger, but we'd already left the station.

‘You want me to ask her about a tree?’

‘Ryo.’

He grinned and then caught the look on my face. His expression softened, becoming almost pensive. ‘You're really concerned about them, aren't you?’ He paused. ‘And why do I feel like I'm being manipulated?’

Explaining my concern would trigger a rerun of yesterday, and the answer to the second question was that he was being manipulated. ‘Andrew is dangerous,’ I told him. It was a weak reply, but it was the best I could come up with. From the look on Ryo’s face, he knew it too.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. ‘Fine…’

‘Fine?’

‘Fine. I'll talk to her – but only because I don't like that guy either.’

I had to cough to hide another laugh. He’d said it so vehemently…

‘Jealousy isn't attractive, Ryo.’

‘I thought you weren't a girl.’

That wasn't what I meant, but touché.

* * *

Gwen was staring at me. Staring intently. Considering that the pavilion was where I went to get away from intent stares, it was more than a little unnerving. It was an odd kind of stare too. Sort of wide and shiny-eyed – a bit like the look Hobbes gives me when I'm holding a treat.

‘Gwen, are you alright?’

She froze. In seconds her usual smile was back up. ‘I should be asking you that. How's your hand?’

‘Fine.’ It was throbbing.

‘I heard you injured it rescuing a little boy at the train station.’

‘Uh-huh.’ It was unsurprising. News travelled quickly around here. There were probably twenty different versions of the story cycling around the school already – most of which would say that I’d caused the entire thing. Keeping it vague, I set about trying to open a packaged muesli bar with my teeth and good hand instead. Believe me, it’s harder than it looks.

Gwen took it from me. She had the bar free within three seconds and I had half of it in my mouth within a further five. After that she twirled her hair and watched me like a hawk as I chewed. 

Again, highly uncomfortable.

As I watched her watch me, a new expression crossed her face. Her brow furrowed. Her bottom lip protruded. She was either sulking or deep in thought; I wasn’t familiar enough with her expressions to know which. 

‘Gwen, are you sure you're okay?’

‘Of course. I just… I was wondering...’

She sounded so tentative that I started to brace.

‘I-was-just-wondering-if-it-would-be-okay-for-me-to-come-over-to-your-place.’ She took a breath. ‘You know... to help out with dinner and stuff. I, um…’ She glanced furtively to the side and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘I heard that your dad is away a lot – well, away now, actually – and that you’re all alone in a big house so I figured that you'd probably need some help with cooking and cleaning and such while you're injured.’

Whatever I was expecting, that was not it. I mean, it was a nice offer, but...

I glanced over at Ryo and Ai. They were sitting at the base of the oak tree, exchanging rapid-fire Japanese. Ai looked animated, her palms clapped together with excitement and a smile lighting up her face. Ryo, on the other hand, was just barely suppressing a frown.

I looked back at Gwen. ‘U—’ She interrupted me before I could get out the ‘m’.

‘I won't be a bother, I promise! And if you think I am, you can just tell me to leave. I won't take it personally.’

She was staring at me pleadingly, green eyes wide and earnest. Just thinking about rejecting her made me feel bad. 

‘I guess it'd be nice to have company...’

‘Yes!’ She went to fist-pump the air and caught herself half-way. Giggling, she changed it head-scratch.

And people thought I was weird.

* * *

Ryo and I were sitting on the floor in the living room, books spread across the coffee table in the pretence of study while Gwen noisily concocted something in my kitchen under the watchful eye of Hobbes. Well, I was pretending; I’d spent more time doodling on my cast than looking at my textbook. Ryo, on the other hand, was actually doing work.

Chin resting on the heel of my good hand, I watched as he stabbed at his calculator with lightning speed. 

‘So, Double-O-Shiro, how did your interrogation go?’

All I got was a baleful look in response.

He was right; that was terrible. I blame my dad. 

‘Sorry. How did it go, Ryo?’

‘Surprisingly well,’ he answered, finishing off another equation and checking the answer in the back of the textbook. ‘She’s a lot more talkative than I thought she’d be.’

‘She could probably smell your fear.’

Again, that baleful look. ‘I'm not scared of girls, Evelyn.’

‘Just petrified.’

‘No. They're the ones usually terrified of me. Knowing that makes me... nervous, I guess.’

‘Consequences of being a hooligan.’ And possibly of being known to hang out with me.

‘I'm not a hooligan—’

We both winced as something in the kitchen hit the floor with a clang. ‘Sorry!’ shouted Gwen.

Ryo sighed. ‘If anyone’s a hooligan, it’s her. What’s she even doing here?’

‘Cooking.’

I thought I saw him grimace. ‘Is that a good idea?’ he asked.

‘I hope so. She kept hinting that she wants to stay the night too.’

This time he definitely pulled a face.

Curiouser and curiouser. It made me want to probe.

‘I thought you liked Gwen. You don't get all stutter-y when she's around.’

Ryo sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ‘Don't get me wrong, I don't mind her; I mind her cooking.’

Interesting. ‘So you've tried it before.’

He froze.

Oh? Bullseye.

With an unintelligible sputter that I presume was an excuse, Ryo went back to his books.

Silently, I made a note to ask one of them about it later. As intriguing as the hidden extra details of their relationship – whatever it was – were, there were more important things to address.

‘What did Ai have to say about Andrew?’

‘According to her, he's the greatest guy on Earth. Strong. Handsome. A fantastic listener who always answers when she calls or texts. Likes long walks on the beach and has a soft spot for kittens, puppies and those annoying little trolls they call children. Always opens doors for her. Offers her his coat. Always insists on paying for their dates. In her words: “kare wa kanpekida”.’

‘He's imaginary?’

‘“He's perfect”.’

‘So that’s your type. No wonder I never see you with girls.’

He threw his eraser at me. I ducked.

Shaking his head, Ryo continued, ‘Anyway, I can see why you're worried. I talked to a couple of guys and Andrew's rep with women… it's not pleasant. Lots of beatings, broken bones or worse. How he got Ai wrapped around his finger, I'll never know. Guess he's a better actor than I thought.’

‘Yeah,’ I muttered. And the fact that she’d described him in such a disgustingly positive manner meant that it would be a waste of time trying to convince her it was all an act. Not that I’d had much faith in that strategy to begin with. Explaining things never worked. The best cure is and always has been prevention. Keep Ai away from Andrew on Thursday night – or, ideally, for the rest of her life – and, hey presto, she'd probably outlive her countdown. The only question was... 

‘Do you know if she has plans on Thursday night?’

Ryo looked at me like I'd grown a second head.

‘First you invite Gwen over—’

‘You mean: “let Gwen invite herself over”.’

‘—and now you want to “make plans” with Ai?’ He sounded strangled, like he wasn't sure whether he was supposed to snort in derision or be pleased that I'd seemed to have gotten over my general aversion to people. He ended up choking in what I think was an attempt to simultaneously do both. When he finally regained his composure, he sputtered, ‘Who are you and what have you done with the Evelyn White I know?’

‘Just answer the question, Ryo.’

‘Nope. Have to tell me why first.’

‘Because I want to invite her to a slumber party so we can read gossip magazines and giggle about which boys we like before having a naked pillow fight.’

Ryo blinked, opened his mouth, and then closed it again. ‘Am I invited?’

‘That depends.’

‘On what?’

‘On what Ai is doing Thursday night.’

‘She mentioned something about a date with Andrew.’

Great. Short of kidnapping her off the street, I was never going to be able to convince Ai to ditch a date with Mr Can-pee-keys or whatever it was to come hang out with me. Which meant I was back at square one…

I picked up my pen and prepared myself to actually do some school work. ‘Sorry, Ryo, guess we won't get to talk about the boy that you like.’

‘What a shame,’ he said, putting his head down and getting back to work himself. ‘Do I still get to watch a naked pillow fight?’

‘Sure. You can look one up on NudeTube.’

A snort of laughter erupted from the kitchen.

We both jumped.

‘Who—? Oh. Gwen.’

Ryo just shook his head.

* * *

Unfortunately for my tastebuds, Ryo's implied comments about Gwen's cooking were right on the mark. 

Nice as she is, when Gwen plopped the pot of... gloppy brown stuff on the dining table in front of us, I had to ask what it was. She spat out the name of some Welsh stew that supposedly contained potatoes, veggies and bacon. If there were potatoes, vegetables or bacon in the charcoal black sludge in front of me, I couldn't see any sign of them.

Odd that I'd never noticed it before. She'd been my kitchen partner during Home Economics for a whole semester back in eighth grade, and as far as I was aware, everything we made then was perfectly edible. Of course, according to Ryo, nothing we made in Home Ec. became poisonous because I was there to make sure the ingredients were properly converted into food – starting with the fact that I actually followed the recipe.

Ryo was sitting across from me, staring at his bowl, his face a peculiar shade of greyish-green. Gwen was at the head of the table on my left, spoon in hand and a hopeful, puppy dog look on her face as she waited for me to try it. 

Looking at her was a mistake. As soon as I did, all I could do was hope to God that her cooking at least tasted better than it looked – 

It didn't. 

The so-called stew tasted like raw cocoa mixed with burning rubber and cement. For something that was supposed to be more liquid than solid, it left a very odd sand-papery feeling in your mouth. The fact that she could even produce that texture was almost genius – in a backwards sort of way. I just… couldn’t swallow it.

Gwen was oblivious. Happy that I’d given her cooking a go, she dipped her spoon into her bowl and said with a beam, ‘So, we're having a slumber party on Thursday, are we?’

I choked. My mouthful of inedible stew ended up sprayed all over the dining table, bits flying through the air to land in Ryo’s bowl, opposite mine. Looking relieved, he tossed it into the sink and brought me a glass of water, giving me a good two or three thumps on the back to help clear my airways.

‘Slumber party?’ I wheezed.

Gwen blinked. ‘You said you wanted to invite Ai, didn’t you?’

‘That was a joke. Right, Ryo?’

‘It was?’

I shot him a look. 

He turned on Gwen to deflect it. ‘Eavesdropping’s a bad habit, you know.’

‘It wasn’t intentional. You two are loud.’

Because normally it’s just us two in the house… 

‘It sounds like fun though,’ Gwen continued with a smile. ‘Ai would agree. If we ask her together, I’m sure she’d say yes.’

For a second I thought that I’d misheard her. ‘Ask her?’ I repeated.

‘It’s worth trying, isn’t it?’

I doubted it.

Gwen winked. ‘Don’t worry, Evelyn. I guarantee that she won’t say no to me.’