Kisses after midnight (WICKED #0) | ✓

10

MATEO HAD LOST WHERE they were ages ago. Now he was just staring mindlessly in front of him as Chase scribbled a drawing of Sahar on the side of his notes. At least, he presumed it to be Sahar, with how much Chase had been talking about her these days. With how terribly it was drawn it could as well have been a tree.

Before he could zone out completely though Gabriela walked in the classroom, the new kids on her heels. She talked with the teacher for a bit, before he gestured for them all to sit down. When she passed him she offered a smile and that familiar feeling he always had after a good fight coursed throughout his whole body, the way it always did when he saw her.

"She smells like flowers, dude," Chase said dreamily after Sahar had walked by.

"Were you smelling her?" Mateo frowned.

"Not in a weird way!" Chase protested," I can't control my nose."

"Uh-huh," Mateo grinned," it's your nose you can't control."

Chase murmured something under his breath, likely an insult, before glancing back nervously at where Sahar was sitting.

"Hey," he said to Mateo," what do you and Gabriela talk about?"

"What?" Mateo said.

"I want to start a conversation," he said as he shifted in his seat," but I have no idea what about. The best thing I can come up with is the weather - you got to help me out here, man."

What did he and Gabriela talk about? Mateo honestly had no clue. Their conversations always flowed easily, even if most of the time they were talking about nothing, really. It was either a four hour convo about the oppressive nature of the patriarchy on women or people of color in positions of power or about marshmallows. There was no in between.

"Just talk about something you're interested in," he said.

"I can't talk about her," Chase frowned.

"Don't you have hobbies, man?"

"Not anymore," he said as he glanced back at Sahar, his gaze dreamy.

Mateo rolled his eyes, before they widened.

"Wait," he said," there's the party Friday. You can talk to her about that, invite her to be your date even."

"That was a surprisingly good idea coming from you," Chase blinked.

Mateo narrowed his eyes at him.

St Joseph's Institute for Troubled Children was unlike every other school, even in their parties. Where usually the biggest party of the year took place in some rich kid's mansion, at St Joseph it took place at the school itself. Each first Friday of October someone stole the spare key from the principal and opened the school's doors at ten for all the students. Music was fixed quickly with a playlist which was put on open a week before so people could add songs and everyone brought their own booze and games.

It was fun, reckless and exhilarating. The best part of it? They never had gotten caught. Until daybreak they danced, before all of the delinquents teamed up for once to clean everything up before eight. The spare key was then put back where it belonged and no one spoke of it again until the next year.

"Are you doing it again this year?" Chase said," if you don't want to, I can -"

"No need, Chase," Mateo grinned," you know no one would do a better job than me anyway. The old man loves me."

"You and our principal have a strange friendship," Chase said," sometimes I almost feel like you'll replace me."

The principal did like him for some reason. It was the reason why Mateo had been able to steal the key for three years consecutively and he wasn't planning on ending that streak now. The idea for the party had jumped into his head when he had caught a glimpse of the spare key and now here they were, three years later, and it had been his most succesful idea yet.