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hint but her head moves with me and I think she’s passed out or something.
    I poke her arm. ‘You okay?’
    There’s a groan but no words. I don’t know what to do.
    Before I can even work out a plan, she coughs, leans forward and vomits everywhere on the grass. I jerk my legs away, hoping to avoid the spray. It’s super fast and over really quickly and she laughs as she wipes her mouth.
    â€˜Sorry,’ she says, inching closer to me.
    â€˜Do you want me to take you home?’ I say without thinking and then instantly regret it.
    She nods. ‘Yeah.’
    I jump up, relieved to be moving away from her. I hold out my hand and she lets me pull her up. Her skin is warm and soft, and her hand is tiny in mine. I let go as soon as she’s on her feet even though she sways in the night.
    We start pushing through the crowd. I don’t turn because I’m hoping I’ll lose her as I reach the front gate, that someone will step forward to claim her and I won’t have to walk her home. I move as fast as I can, but it’s hard because I have to sidestep groups and couples. I’m terrified Tone will appear and I’ll have to explain why I’m walking this girl home.
    I make it to the side gate and through to the front garden and as I step out onto the footpath, leaving the party behind, I feel a hand slide into mine and I know she’s still there. My shadow.
    â€˜Where do you live?’
    â€˜Not far.’
    I try to pull my hand away but she’s holding on tight. Cars streak past us, their lights sweeping over our bodies. I can’t think of anything to say. We turn down a street to the left and the air cools as the trees along the side of the road get bigger. It’s so quiet here. Not even a dog barking. Each house we pass is bigger than the last, and the space around them is huge. Back in the borough, there was never enough space. You had to fight for your little square of it. The roads were crammed. The houses butted up against each other. Even school felt overflowing with students sometimes. But here, there’s too much space. Nobody ever has to share.
    As we pass under a streetlight it flickers, like it can feel the charge running through me, from my fear of reaching her house and seeing where she lives. Her fingers have loosened in mine and I tug my hand away, tucking it into my pocket so it’s safe.
    â€˜Mum bought me this dress today. Can you believe it?’
    She pulls at the material, trying to look at it.
    â€˜It’s nice,’ I say lamely, not really knowing if it’s nice or not. It just looks like a dress.
    â€˜No, it’s not. It’s horrible. The material’s all itchy. But I had to wear it. She wants me to be like my friends.’
    I don’t say anything to that because what can I say? Every angle will lead to the one thing I don’t want to talk about with her. I can’t believe I’m here and that I’m walking her home like I’m some sort of good guy. I have to get out of here. This isn’t right.
    â€˜Are we almost there?’ I ask, my voice anxious.
    â€˜The brown house on the left,’ she says, pointing to a huge place that’s even bigger than the house where the party was. She faces me, her eyes darker than I realised. She watches me and I try not to turn away. But I can’t have her look at me like that.
    â€˜Are you coming in?’
    â€˜No,’ I say, horrified at the thought.
    She nods like she understands. But she doesn’t. I want to tell her why I can’t ever come in.
    â€˜Mum will be up. Waiting for me. She’ll be watching from the window.’
    I step away, into the darkness, hiding. She follows me like it’s some sort of game. And then she grabs me around the waist, her arms clinging on, and I squirm, desperate to be freed. But then she reaches up to try and kiss me and I turn my head just before our lips meet and she connects with my cheek.