Nate turned at the jab at his shoulder, ears burning. "Alright, alright, sorry," he mumbled to Helen. She was kinda cute, in a hardbitten don't-you-fucking-dare sort of way, though for some reason Nate was relatively sure she was into girls. Maybe Steve or Harper or someone told him that. "I'll see you tonight," he said to Cara before slinking off in embarrassment, regaining his seat.

Nate reflected on the whole thing. He wasn't much of a partygoer, true, but something about this seemed a bit out of kilter. Cara wasn't the type for spontaneous parties, until a moment ago he had never heard more than two words out of her. It was a bit strange- and that's why he was so interested. The big gloomy house on Edgewood was just gravy, as well. He remembered all sorts of childish rumors about that place when it was sitting vacant back before the Pennys moved in. That it was haunted. That a serial killer had operated out of there. That it was a drug lab. The usual sort of thing. Checking it out might solve one of the low-level mysteries that had flitted through his head for years.

Besides, his dad would be thrilled if he actually went out to a party. The old man was always telling him to get homecoming tickets, go the home games, something, anything. This might get him off his back for a while.

He nodded to himself. Yeah, might as well go.