That Way Madness Lies Read online

  His eyes fell upon Vi, who was escorting Olivia across the dance floor as planned, toward Seb, toward a destiny that was inevitable. Antonio’s heart raced, pattering violently in his chest. Did he really want to witness this?

  Vi and Olivia paused.

  The two of them spun around.

  And then Olivia’s hand was on Vi’s back, her other hand in theirs.

  And they spun again.

  Again.

  Again.

  Okay, perhaps Antonio was imagining—

  No, nope, that was definitely—

  Oh, wow, they were really close now, and Olivia was whispering something in Vi’s ear and—

  Vi’s eyes went wide then locked with Antonio’s.

  Oh, no.

  Something had gone horribly wrong, hadn’t it?

  “Come this way,” Antonio said—a sudden, thoughtless change. This was pure reaction, nothing else, as he guided Seb away from the dance floor and toward the table of all the nonalcoholic drinks provided with the cost of the ticket. “Let’s get something to drink first.”

  “But I’m not thirsty,” said Seb, looking over his own shoulder back into the crowd. “And I kinda have to pee, and is that—”

  “Perfect, then let’s go to the bathroom!”

  Seb’s features twisted as he was guided to the bathroom. “How is it perfect that I have to pee?”

  Nice going, Antonio, he thought. But he had to move past this moment and get Seb to safety. Seb would be crushed to see Olivia with literally anyone else, but with his own sibling? That would be a tragedy of epic—

  “Is Vi dancing with Olivia?”

  Antonio stopped and put his face in his free hand. No, no, no! This was not going how it was supposed to go. Antonio was supposed to make Seb happy by introducing him to the future love of his life, and now it seemed like Vi had perhaps stolen Olivia away from their own brother.

  “It might be,” said Antonio. “I can’t see too well in the dark, so maybe it’s someone else.”

  Seb tilted his head to the side and scrunched his face. “It’s not that dark here, Antonio.”

  “Maybe we should have petitioned to have better lighting installed in the gym,” suggested Antonio.

  “Dude, the lights are fine. Most of them are just off.”

  It was clear from the look on Seb’s face that Antonio had now completely lost him. “Never mind,” Antonio said. “Let’s get some air. You want some air?”

  “Bruh, no.” Seb frowned. “I want you to stop being so weird.”

  Well.

  That wasn’t what Antonio wanted to hear.

  And when Vi and Olivia spun into view behind Seb, Antonio could not push down the frustration building within him.

  He was going to make this right, no matter what it cost him.

  * * *

  Olivia figured it out within a minute.

  And she was more than fine with it.

  She had never seen Vi like this. Vi, rhymes with “ski.” Vi Rojas. She rolled the name around in her mouth. Vi had whispered it in her ear toward the beginning of the dance, once Olivia admitted to mixing up the twins.

  And maybe she was attracted in some platonic way to Seb—she had not really considered it before—but this feeling? The energy that Vi gave off? The way Vi held their chin high? Whoa. Where did this come from? Why hadn’t Olivia paid more attention during those student council meetings?

  Maybe this felt so exciting because Vi was finally being themself.

  The pair spun around together, even though the song wasn’t meant for slow dancing, wasn’t intended for two people like them, but who cared about intent? Who cared about plans and dreams and futures when someone came into your life like this?

  Vi had always been so quiet during those meetings.

  Or … wait.

  Had they?

  Or was Olivia mistaken in how she remembered the past? Could her perception of Vi be flawed? If so, how could Olivia possibly know what kind of person they were?

  Vi smiled at her.

  “This is very strange,” they said.

  “I like strange,” she said back. “And chaotic. And different. This school can feel so … so…”

  “Typical?” Vi offered.

  “Yes,” said Olivia. “That word.”

  Olivia’s disinterest in much of life at school stemmed from that: everything here felt so typical. So cliché. So exactly like you expected it. But … not Vi. Not this moment. Olivia knew this wasn’t love at first sight. That wasn’t how things worked with her; never had, never would.

  But right here, right now … something else was happening. Vi was a fantastic dancer, knew how to take the lead, knew how to look into Olivia’s eyes and make her feel like there wasn’t another person on the whole planet, and …

  Well, the rest of it, Olivia would have to find out. And what an exciting idea that was.

  Not love at first sight. That implied that otherworldly forces were at work, that some magical energy was pushing them together.

  Nah. This was a choice.

  “What are you doing?”

  The moment was shattered. Olivia’s back was to whoever had yelled, but she quickly realized it wasn’t meant for her.

  There was Seb, right there, and next to him, that boy with the dark hair and thick brows who was always at Seb’s side. Like right now, his face twisted in anger. “Vi, I thought you were supposed to help me!” the boy said.

  Vi let go of Olivia, and seconds later, Maria was back, two drinks in her hands. She looked from Olivia to Vi, then to Seb, then back to Vi.

  “Um … did I miss something?”

  * * *

  Help him?

  Help him what?

  “I’m so confused,” said Seb. “Antonio, why are you yelling at Vi?”

  “This isn’t how this is supposed to happen!”

  Antonio was way upset. More than Seb had ever seen him.

  (Had Seb ever seen him angry?)

  (Damn it, he was kinda hot while mad!)

  (Focus, Seb, focus!)

  “What exactly is supposed to happen?” Seb asked. “I don’t see what’s wrong with Vi dancing with—”

  “It was supposed to be you!”

  Antonio’s face twisted in agony, and Seb took a step back. Oh. This was serious.

  “Antonio…” he began then sighed. “I just … oh, no.” He gently placed his head in his hands. “You think I wanted to like … date Olivia?”

  “You’re always talking about how cool you think she is!” Antonio shot back.

  “Wait, really?” Olivia said, her hand over her heart.

  He grimaced, certain he was about to disappoint another person, then faced Olivia. “Like … as friends. But yeah. I do think that.”

  Ugh, that sounded so terrible, he thought. But there was nothing wrong with wanting to be friends with someone! It wasn’t any less of a relationship than a romantic one. How, though? How could he explain that to her?

  “But you—” Antonio grasped for the right words, and Seb discovered that he also looked cute when flustered. “You always said you wanted to be around her, and I asked Vi to help, since they’re on the student council, so this was supposed to be your grand introduction, and … oh, fuck.” His hands flew to his face. “Did I mess this up? How badly did I mess this up?”

  Olivia laughed.

  She laughed.

  “Wait,” she said, swinging her braids back. “Did … did you try to set me up with Seb? Instead of getting with him yourself?”

  The wind was knocked out of Antonio. As he took a step back, Seb tried to save the moment.

  “He’s my best friend,” Seb shot back. “What are you doing with Vi, anyway?”

  “Whatever I want,” Olivia said. “And am I wrong about you two?”

  “But that wasn’t the plan!” Antonio said, moving closer to Olivia.

  “Am I not allowed to make my own decisions in all this?” Vi said softly. “Olivia didn’t want to be set up w
ith my brother. And I wanted to dance with her.”

  “I truly wish I had a bowl of popcorn,” said the girl standing next to Olivia, her face awash with glee. “This is so entertaining!”

  “And who are you?” Antonio asked.

  “That’s my best friend!” Olivia cried.

  Right as Olivia said this, Seb looked down.

  To see Olivia gripping a hand tightly.

  Vi’s hand.

  Oh.

  Just that.

  Then:

  She made a choice.

  The realization awoke within him burning desire and the terror of rejection—simultaneous monsters that he needed to conquer. They had kept him too silent for too long.

  So now these feelings made him bold.

  Seb stretched his own hand down. Ran his fingertips over Antonio’s skin, toward the fingers he then interlocked with his own, and Seb squeezed tight.

  Once. Twice.

  Then looked at Antonio.

  Because if Vi could make their own decision, then damn it, so could Seb.

  “I told you,” said Olivia. “Now can we get back to dancing?”

  Vi and Olivia spun off. Antonio hesitated, and Seb saw the glassy eyes, the quivering lip, the dawning realization.

  “Really?” said Antonio. “You mean it?”

  He pulled Antonio in for a kiss. It was short, but it was enough for now.

  “Yes,” said Seb. “I mean it.”

  Right then, Sebastián Rojas got to see a new expression on Antonio’s face.

  The one where he was both surprised and delighted.

  * * *

  Maria sipped at her apple cider and tried not to choke as she watched this scene unfold.

  So, if she understood it: Vi was in on the attempt to get Seb and Olivia together. This new boy—Antonio, maybe?—was clearly doing all this to get Seb’s attention because he was absolutely head over heels in love with Seb and perhaps thought this bit of self-sacrifice would be seen as noble? Maybe? And while Maria had been gone for the whole of five minutes, Olivia finally found someone that interested her, and it was the mega-hot (seriously, that suit!) sibling of Seb, so that made this a love … square? Except it wasn’t all perfectly mutual?

  Oh, god, this was the most delicious thing Maria had ever seen in her sixteen years on this beautiful earth.

  Except there was one piece of this messy disaster of attraction and romance that was heretofore unresolved, and Maria had to make sure things went smoothly.

  Which is why, as she spotted Mal making a determined beeline for Olivia, she deftly maneuvered out of this love fest to pull Mal to the side.

  “Hey, Mal, we should talk,” she said.

  But he was already staring over Maria’s shoulder. “Who is talking with Olivia? She probably needs me.”

  Maria put a hand out to stop Mal from going after her friend. “No, Mal, you can’t.”

  “I can’t what?”

  “You can’t keep trying to control Olivia’s life,” she said, and even as the words left her mouth, she thought that perhaps this was too cruel.

  But it felt true. In the years since Olivia’s heartbreak, Mal had only gotten more protective of her. And Maria was, too, to some extent, but … not letting her make her own decisions? How was that fair?

  “I’m not controlling her,” he said, his mouth dropping open in shock. “How could you say that?”

  “Look at her!” Maria gestured to her bestie, who was dipped low by Vi then spun up and around. “She’s having a good time. And maybe she’ll get her heart broken again, but she should be the one to decide to take that risk.”

  Mal pursed his lips. “But … I don’t like seeing her hurt.”

  “Who does?!” Maria shot back. “That doesn’t mean you get to swoop in and stop her from feeling happiness, too.”

  She thought she knew what he was going to say next: that he loved her, that he had always loved her, that this wasn’t just about protecting Olivia but protecting himself.

  She thought she had it all figured out.

  And then he turned around, his eyes searching the crowd, and then …

  A boy came toward Mal.

  They kissed.

  Was that … was that Duke Pennington?

  Maria coughed. “I’m sorry … are you two…?”

  Mal pointed at himself then at Duke. “You mean … are we…?”

  Duke shrugged. “I always thought he was cute.”

  “Don’t you think everyone is cute, Duke?” Maria asked.

  Duke smiled ear to ear. “Doesn’t make Mal any less cute.”

  “But … you and Olivia,” Maria began, pointing toward Mal.

  Mal burst into laughter, a loud, earsplitting sound. “What, did you think I wanted Olivia? This whole time?” The next round came from his gut. “Oh, honey, no. Not in a million years! I just want the best for her, you know?”

  And now Maria was left feeling … well, a little foolish.

  * * *

  The actors were all in place.

  And then—in possession of the truth, standing in their own selves, breathing the air of possibility—they danced.

  They did as they would.

  And the night went on.

  TAMING OF THE SOUL MATE

  Inspired by The Taming of the Shrew

  K. Ancrum

  No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forced

  To give my hand, opposed against my heart,

  Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen;

  Who wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure.

  I told you, I, he was a frantic fool,

  Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior,

  And to be noted for a merry man,

  He’ll woo a thousand, ’point the day of marriage,

  Make friends invite, and proclaim the banns;

  Yet never means to wed where he hath wooed.

  Now must the world point at poor Katherine …

  —KATHERINE, ACT 3, SCENE 2

  “Right there in the supermarket?”

  “Yeah, apparently she was grabbing some chips off a high shelf and heard him gasp loudly behind her, and when she turned around and saw him … boom! Full color and everything,” Katherine said.

  “Gross—Lucentio? Good god.” Sabrina gagged dramatically before continuing to swipe on her mascara. “I would die if he was my soul mate. He has muttonchop sideburns.”

  Katherine leaned against the doorframe and checked her phone. They were already a solid hour late to Lucentio and Bianca’s elopement party. “I bet if he was your soul mate, you wouldn’t care about the sideburns,” she said. “It literally turns you into a fool who would fall in love with anyone. I would blind myself to avoid it, if only I didn’t like seeing so much. I don’t even know if getting to see colors for the first time is worth that kind of embarrassment.”

  “Yeah, okay. But what if your soul mate was really hot or a celebrity?” Sabrina replied, dusting her under eyes with setting powder. “You’d change your tune then.”

  “I think you should be able to choose who you wind up with—”

  “I know,” Sabrina interrupted. “That’s why you’re dragging me, your only friend, to an engagement party with less than three hours’ notice. An engagement party thrown by high school seniors, no less. There better be at least a few college freshmen like us or this will be a waste of makeup.”

  Katherine sat down on the floor so she could pull on her light-gray boots. “It’s an elopement party, not an engagement party,” she clarified, zipping up the sides. “Our dad’s being weird about the family trust, and there are a bunch of archaic rules in it about the eldest getting married first. Neither I nor Bianca cared about that until now, because we were both really focused on getting an education. But I’m pretty sure he’s going to hunt her down when he finds out that she’s beating me to the altar,” she finished darkly.

  Sabrina whirled around, her gray curls flying. “So, you don’t like the soul mate thing becau
se it’s supposedly forcing you to choose someone you might otherwise not have liked. But your dad having a rule about your and your sister’s relationships is somehow worse than that? To the point where you’re fully supporting your younger sister running away with muttonchop man?”

  Katherine paused with one arm in her coat. “His muttonchops are bad. He’s also seventeen and not even in honors classes. This?” She waved her free arm around wildly. “This whole thing isn’t a best-case scenario. But I love Bianca, and it’s not fair for her to have to stand there and not get to be with her soul mate, just because I’m focused on my first college finals in three weeks instead of getting hitched to the first guy I see. Also, hurry up, you look fine.”

  Sabrina tossed her sparkly gray lip gloss into her makeup bag and cackled. “Wow. Way to bury the lede, Katherine. You should have just told me that first. Bianca would be seeing in color for years before you let a guy get close to you like that. You should’ve let me set you up with Janet.”

  “I’m not dignifying that with a response. You get five minutes before I’m driving away.” Katherine zipped up her coat and marched toward the car.

  * * *

  Sabrina scuttled in, seconds before Katherine was preparing to rev the engine threateningly. “Jeez, you could have waited for me to get my shoes on.”

  “You don’t have to look good for Bianca’s friends,” Katherine said. “They’re all bros, and by the time the weekend is over, you’ll be back to hanging out with bio majors anyway. Don’t waste your energy.”

  “I know, Katherine, but you never know who you’ll meet,” Sabrina said, checking her face one last time in her compact.

  “They’re all terrible, and my best friend deserves better than that. They’re super-immature, and we’re going to be pre-med. Bianca has been telling me stories about them, and they’re all horrible. Lucentio’s best friend even ate a goldfish on a bet. He’s probably going to be the best man.”

  “Really? Gross. Did he chew it?”

  “Does it matter? That’s the quality we’re going for here? And it’s going to be a small group, so don’t get any ideas. We can go to a restaurant afterward if you’re so desperate.”