Samuel can be quite the screamer. Fortunately for us, he usually only has enough strength for a few good yells. 

"What were you thinking? Those idiots could've killed you! Or worse, kicked your ass in front of your friends!"

"I think it's a little too late to prevent that," mutters Niko.

"Ha, ha," I say. "You would've been knocked out at this point, let's be real here."

He shrugs, smirking. I roll my eyes and look back to Samuel.

"Are you...going to bring us back home?" asks Fraze.

"Well, you've come all this way," says Samuel. "Might as well bring y'all to the garage. Why do you wanna go there today of all days, anyway?"

His eyes twinkle mischievously. I narrow my eyes. Does he know more than he's letting in on? A quiet chill runs up my spine.

"Just...stuff."

"Stuff?"

He begins to walk, letting go of the two guys. His bottle swishes and sways from his belt. Oh, he definitely knows something. The three of us exchange wary looks, following him. Despite our detour, his house isn't actually too far away. It'll take us five minutes. Tops. Of course, it's a silent, tense five minutes, so it feels like an eternity. My heart rate refuses to return to normal.

But my thoughts have returned to my dragon. Am I going to have to give this all up? Samuel will be there, and he'll be watching. I don't think he'll report us but he sure as hell won't let us go through with this. I'll have to figure out a way to build my dragon somewhere else. My house? I guess I could take parts from the garage, I don't think he'll notice. It'll take longer, but I can get it done. I think.

For some reason, the creaking porch sounds louder than usual. I gulp. There's something off about all of this. But I just can't put my finger on it.

We enter the hallway. Maybe it's just my ears playing tricks on me, but I swear I can hear someone murmuring. It's not any of the guys. It's distinctly feminine, like a banshee getting ready to scream on a summer's eve. I shiver as Samuel opens the door to the garage.

"You kids have fun. Please, don't blow anything up down there."

"I haven't blown anything up in, like, three months. Have some faith in me!"

"It's not you, it's crooked nose and short stuff that I have problems with."

Niko and Fraze scoff at him, disappearing into the door. Samuel laughs. I roll my eyes and follow my friends.

"I'll keep an eye on them, I promise."

"Keep an eye on your sister, too."

"What?"

I stop mid-step, spinning around to face him, my eyes wide. Samuel's eyes gleam.

"Yeah, she's been down there for about twenty minutes with the twins," he says. "Unlike you three wash ups, they came and talked to me. Like adults. And walked along the road. Like adults."

"So what you're saying is we just need to grow up?" I say with a head tilt.

"What I'm saying," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Is you need to trust the people near to you. They want to help. So put on your big boy pants and let them."

I nod, smiling wider than I had in months.

Maybe things are going to go right for once.