Micah heard something. It was low and quiet and constant. It definitely had English cadences, though he couldn’t quite make out what it was saying. Behind closed eyes, he caught a few words here and there - nothing he could string together. After a while of trying to ignore it or brush it off as a dream, Micah sat up in bed. The ribbon of sounds seemed to stop. He stared around his room. Nothing had moved. Nothing had changed.

He sighed, throwing himself back onto his pillows. It must have been a dream. Whenever he slept in the afternoons he was out deep and heavy - unlike at night when he was up for hours, unable to drift off.

Turning over, Micah grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He had several messages. It seemed that everyone had planned on meeting at Danielle’s house later. Micah checked the time. His mom would be home from work soon, if she wasn’t already. 

Micah texted the group back, No beer this time. I’m getting sick of it.

Almost immediately a barrage of emojis and hahas came flooding into his phone. Micah tossed it aside. He stretched before finally crawling out from beneath his pillowy comforter.

The setting June sun cast deep orange strips of light on the hardwood floors of his room. Micah shuffled out into the hallway, listening for sounds of his mom as he made his way to the bathroom. He could hear her lightly humming in her bedroom. Micah smiled and shook his head.

After showering and dressing, Micah found his mom in the kitchen, sitting at the island. 

She was munching on edamame beans, grinning as he walked in. “There you are,” she said.

Micah sat down on a stool beside her. He popped one of the lightly salted beans into his mouth, pulling out his phone. “You look nice,” he said, knowing she was avoiding telling him she had a date.

“Thank you.”

Scrolling through nothing in particular, Micah waited.

“I have a date,” she finally admitted.

“Gross,” Micah said without looking up. He wasn’t worried. Whoever it was wasn’t going to be good enough. All these men had nothing to offer her. She was prettier and more successful than they were. 

A green, slimy bean bounced off Micah’s temple. He looked up.

His mom just snickered. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Danielle’s.”

“Who else will be there?”

Micah rolled his eyes. “Everyone. I would definitely not go without other people. Danielle would eat me alive. She’s still upset about the breakup.”

“I forgot you two broke up. So, will Amber be there then?”

“I hope not. We broke up, too.”

He could feel his mom’s pause in the air. He ignored it.

“I once overheard another mom at the school say that you were a little wolf,” she finally said.

“Wolf?” Micah chuckled.

“Yeah well, I’m thinking she was probably right. What was wrong with Amber?”

“Mom. C’mon.”

Sighing, she checked her watch. “Look, my date will be here soon. Please, please, just be nice to the girls.”

Standing, Micah kissed his mom’s forehead. “I’m leaving,” he said.

“Back by midnight.”

Micah didn’t respond. He turned the corner, plucking up his keys by the front door.

His mom called to him from where she still sat in the kitchen. “I’m serious. If you aren’t home by 12:01 I will call every single one of your girlfriends and tell them you still wet the bed.”

“They wouldn’t care.” He chuckled. Swinging the front door open, Micah nearly ran directly into a man wearing a sweater vest, holding pink flowers and smelling heavily of cologne.

Micah paused, staring at him.

The man forced a wide grin. “You must be Micah,” he said.

Keeping still, Micah ignored the man’s outstretched hand.

“I’m Patrick.”

“Sure.” Micah yanked the bouquet out of the man’s hands, throwing them aside. “No pink,” he said.

Patrick’s face fell.

Micah’s mom came striding up behind him. “Hi, Patrick.” She was using that voice - her weird, breathy dating voice. “I see you’ve met Micah.”

“Y-yes. Yes.” Patrick smiled again.

Sidestepping the hand his mom had placed on his shoulder, Micah started for his car that was parked in the driveway. “See you later, Mom. I’m sure you’ll already be home by the time I get back.” He didn’t wait to observe either of their reactions. No doubt his mom would be fuming beneath her too-tight dress and big, bright smile.

Micah slipped into his old, rusting Chevy, watching Patrick walk into the house. With a heavy exhale, Micah left.

***

Danielle’s older brother answered the door. He was stalky, barely older than Micah, and scowling.

Micah grinned while stepping over the threshold. Last time they saw each other, Danielle was crying while Micah and he were in a fist fight. “Hey, Andrew, back from college for the summer?”

“Danielle asked me to leave you alone. That is the only reason I haven’t torn your head off.”

“Sure. Well, good to see you at any rate,” Micah said, only partly trying to hide his sarcasm.

Andrew clenched his jaw and his fists before turning around and storming up the stairs.

Walking through the kitchen, Micah moved down to the finished basement where he found everyone already gathered.

Tracy and Vince played a video game while most everyone else sat around the couches and bean bag chairs, talking. Danielle sat on a chair, pointedly ignoring Micah’s presence.

“Hey, Micah,” Parker said.

Heads turned, legs moved, and suddenly there was a small crowd, greeting Micah. It took everything Micah had to not roll his eyes at them all. They looked like a crowd of meerkats waiting to be fed. He just nodded. “I’m thirsty,” he said.

A drink was soon passed over to him. “Wine? Really?”

“It’s all we have.”

Danielle finally glanced over, frowning.

Micah smiled her way, chugging the wine down in one, long swallow.

Everyone laughed.

Placing the glass down, Micah ignored their cheers for his non-accomplishment and went to sit down beside Tyler. “Hey,” he said.

Tyler just smiled in response. “You look annoyed.”

“Danielle’s brother was upstairs.” Micah glanced up to see that Danielle had moved over by Parker. They stared at Micah for a moment before turning away and whispering something to each other. “What’s that about? They together?”

Tyler looked over at them. “I don’t know.”

“Hm.”

“Come on. No, Micah.” Tyler sighed.

“What?”

“Just let them have whatever they have. Leave it alone.”

“Well, I would, but, you know, I can’t.” Micah stood up, ignoring Tyler’s disapproval. It wasn’t that Micah necessarily wanted her back; it was more that Danielle was so obviously trying to snare him by flirting with other people. Micah couldn’t have that. He couldn’t let her think he was trappable. 

Sliding his way to the opposite side of the room from Danielle, Micah threw himself into a beanbag chair next to Kelly. She smiled at him while he drank from an open wine bottle that sat on the coffee table beside her. He didn’t have to turn to see if Danielle was looking. She most definitely would be. “How’s your summer?” Micah asked the blushing Kelly.

“Good. My parents are taking us to Mexico in a couple of weeks.”

“Nice. I’ve never been anywhere. What’s it like?” Lie. He’d been to Mexico several times. Everyone knew it. Kelly knew it, but she didn’t say anything. No one ever contradicted him.

Kelly shifted in her seat and started in on a long explanation of what Mexico was like.

Micah kept eye contact. He laughed at her jokes and bit his lip when she brushed his hand. Eventually, Micah didn’t think he could listen to her for a second longer. Kelly was dreadfully boring. He reached forward and kissed her. 

When he pulled back slightly, Kelly giggled.

Micah didn’t look at Danielle’s face, but from the corner of his eye he could see Parker frowning.

“I’ve been dying to have you do that to me,” Kelly said.

Micah clenched his jaw. He hated to be idolized. But instead of quitting his plan, Micah pushed back at his annoyance. “Come here,” he instructed.

Blushing more deeply, Kelly moved closer to him. She smiled slyly while running her fingers around the shape of his ear, fiddling with his earring. 

If he closed his eyes, he could imagine she was anyone but her. 

Kelly tasted like bubblegum. It didn’t mix well with the wine at all, but Micah had to just ignore it. 

Finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore, Micah gently pushed away from her.

Danielle and Parker were kissing in a dark corner.

Micah almost sighed in relief. He turned and caught Tyler’s eye. “See? It worked,” Micah called over to him.

Tyler forced a chuckle past his stony expression while everyone else acted like they didn’t care what was going on, though Micah knew they burned to find out. They always wanted to be in on everything he did.

Standing up, Tyler averted his eyes and moved over to the bar.

Micah would have to deal with him later.

For now, Danielle was off Micah’s back. Unfortunately, Kelly was all in. All night she clung to him like a sappy, giggly scab. She was terrible at reading body language, too. He would lean away from her and she would only scoot in closer.

Micah had to endure her sitting on his lap while he tried to play cards with everyone. It was too much. Micah finally pulled her off of him with no uncertain intentions. “Seems late,” he said. “I bet your parents wouldn’t mind if you got home early.”

The room quieted a bit.

Micah looked into Kelly’s hurt eyes. She shook her head and smiled instead of crying though. Of course she wouldn’t cry. Not yet. That stage wouldn’t be for a few more weeks when she caught Micah with someone else, or heard about him going out with another girl from another school.

“Oh, yeah. Probably,” she said.

“Just looking out for you,” Micah said. He could feel the others exchanging glances. He knew he was a jerk. He knew he was far out of line. But Kelly didn’t really like him anyway. No one did, except maybe Tyler. All they did was fawn over him, trying to seek his approval for reasons Micah couldn’t pinpoint. If he didn’t hurt them - keep them in tight control - they’d turn on him and destroy him in seconds.

Kelly just stared at him. It was likely that no one had ever talked to her this coldly. She was confused - probably wondering if he actually liked her. She would have seen this all before, happening to the others. It wasn’t his fault. She was the one who wanted him. Micah heard the rumors and read the secret messages she had confided to her friends. Kelly was infatuated with Micah. This was on her.

Standing up, Kelly reddened as she took her purse.

“I’ll walk you outside,” Micah said.

She grinned widely.

***

Her car was nice and brand new. Micah leaned against it while Kelly stood in front of him, holding his neck while they kissed.

Micah pulled back from her. “Okay,” he whispered. “Time to go. I’ll call you later, yes?”

She nodded.

It was clear she didn’t want to go, but Micah was tired of her. He watched her climb into her car, and he waved as she drove off. 

Back inside, the game had ended. A fatty was already being passed around. Micah threw himself onto an open seat on the couch, taking the weed from Tyler. Holding in a long inhale, Micah closed his eyes.

***

It was late. Micah could feel it, though he never checked the time. Vince was trying out a VR game, but kept falling over, laughing.

Micah chuckled.

Danielle spotted him, moving to where he sat by himself.

Why wouldn’t people leave him alone?

She didn’t say anything. She just kissed him.

Micah grabbed her firmly around the waist, pulling her in much closer.

***

Turning into his driveway, Micah shut off the ignition. He exhaled comfortably, leaning his head back into the seat. It was one in the morning and he wasn’t ready for the fight he was about to have with his mom. He was still buzzed and just a little high. He giggled, thinking about how mad his mom was going to look when he walked through the door.

Hearing his phone ding, Micah opened a text from Danielle. It was a less than wholesome selfie. Micah yawned, deleting it before sending a beating heart back.

She sent a kissy face.

Micah then checked in with Kelly who had been sending him a stream of mushy, love-confessing messages all night. After wishing them both a good night, he finally went inside the house.

Sure enough, his mom was on the couch, flipping through movies. She turned the television off when he walked in. “You’re a pain,” she said.

Trying to suppress his lack of remorse, Micah sat across from her in the armchair. Her makeup was already off and she had on a hoodie and pajama pants. She’d been home from her date for a while.

“You didn’t answer my phone calls. I’m not surprised.”

Micah could only shrug. He leaned his tired head to the side.

“I’m taking your phone.” She put her hand out expectantly.

He started giggling again. “Sure, mom. Just don’t read any texts if you want to sleep easy tonight.” He tossed his phone over to her.

She just glared at him.

Here it came. She was at her wit’s end and he didn’t used to be this way and if something was going on he could always talk to her. Micah smiled at her.

Instead of all that she said, “Are you drunk?”

“Good guess, but no.”

She dropped her head when she realized. “You drove home like this?”

“What? It was only, like, two blocks.”

“Okay, I am done with letting you run this household. As of tomorrow, you no longer have a car, nor do you have permission to use any car unless you ask me first. And I’m getting rid of this.” She waved his phone in front of his snickering face. “I’m getting you one of those toddler phones that only holds three numbers and can’t send messages.”

Micah laughed.

It looked like she wanted to hit him. “Go to bed,” she said, defeated.

Standing, Micah gave her one last smile before leaving her to fume in peace.

***

Up in his room, Micah didn’t bother changing. He collapsed onto his bed, trying to actually feel apathetic. Truthfully, he hated to be without his phone. And having no car was going to be a disaster.

Micah felt himself drifting off. The nonsensical chittering started up in his brain again. He shifted over his blankets. 

The voice sped up, running through him like music.

Micah sat up. He breathed fast and felt sweat slipping from his hairline. 

The voice stopped.

Standing up, Micah threw the sheets off his bed, searching between the mattresses and the seams. He heard something faint from the hallway. Opening his door, he looked down the hall to see lights flashing from his mom’s room. She was watching television.

Sighing, Micah finally felt sorry. Her date couldn’t have gone well. She was probably devastated.

Walking slowly over the hallway, Micah carefully pushed her door open.

She looked up at him.

He crossed the room, sitting beside her on the bed. “What are you watching?”

Without responding, she turned the volume up a little on some crime drama.

“Mom, I’m sorry,” Micah said, keeping his eyes on the show. “I’m sorry I make things harder for you.”

Micah felt her gaze on his profile. “Why do you do it then?”

Why? He didn’t know. Because he liked the control? Because he needed attention? Almost. But none of that was the whole truth. It was easier to get everyone against him on his terms than to watch them despise him on their own. Micah opened his mouth, but his mom interrupted.

“You just want your phone back, don’t you?”

Micah felt something sharp rip at his heart.

“Go to bed.”

Without another word, he stood up and walked back to his room. Feeling a heat rise up at the back of his eyes, Micah sat down at his computer. He sent a message to Kelly. What are you doing right now?

Getting ready for bed. Why?

Come pick me up? Followed by a wink.

I’ll be there in ten minutes.

I’ll meet you outside.

With that, he climbed out of his bedroom window.