Heron Lake Plateau So there's this puzzle I work on endlessly

This was probably the first time he'd had a healthy conversation with any girl.
Scratch that — half of this conversation involved him lying through his teeth, and he knew it would come back to bite him in the ass one day. Maybe Niamh would figure things out and hate him like everyone else. Still, he couldn't help but see her in a new light now that they were both discussing such an obviously risque topic.

How had this happened?
Oh, right. Raven.

Not one of your siblings, she countered, breaking him from a potentially dangerous downward spiral of thoughts, only to lead him on with some vague, leading comments that, strangely, made his curiosity pique. No, Screech, don't go there. You don't need more drama in your life (another lie).

Not a sibling — you don't have a thing for one of the Blackthorns, do you? That made him recoil a little, a frown creasing his features. He didn't want to judge Niamh or anything, but if she had her sights set on one of them, he wouldn't be able to help himself, and she was becoming a pretty decent friend (which he was in desperate need of). It wasn't like he was jealous if that were the case (he told himself quickly), but to choose a Blackthorn over — well — anyone else? Hopefully she'd clear the air with some other truth bomb, because right now Screech was ready to nope the heck outta there.