Even If the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia Read Free Book Online

trying not to laugh. I can tell.
    â€œCool.”
    I smile and forget that my hand is still warm in his, up until Taj and Danny interject once more.
    â€œHow come we don’t get fancy code names?”
    Miles lets go, and for a moment my hand feels cold and alone. I shrug away the thought and put it back in my pocket.
    â€œYou’ve already been introduced.”
    â€œI think we should get fancy code names, and backstories, don’t you, Taj?”
    Taj puffs out his chest. “Absolutely; I’d like to be Denis.”
    â€œDenis?” Danny says. “What? No, man. Pick something decent like Clark Kent or Conan.”
    â€œFine, I’ll be Kent.”
    â€œNah, man. Clark Kent. You can’t just be Kent—shit’s too white.”
    â€œMan, you white,” Taj shouts.
    â€œExactly, I should know.”
    They continue on like this for a bit, and I swear my heart grows lighter by the minute. I look up to see Miles staring at me, a soft smile on his lips, like he’d planned this all along. He reaches his hand out to me, and for a moment I see all the possibilities waiting. I take it.
    â€œLet’s go, Midsummer Boys. The night awaits.”

Shakespeare on the Roof
    â€œM AN, WHERE ARE WE GOING?” D ANNY YELLS OVER THE WAVES of sound that flow around us.
    â€œGotta find a prime spot before the parade starts.” I feel the tug of Miles’s hand pulling me along; to my left Danny keeps the crowd from tearing us apart and setting me adrift at sea. Taj takes the rear. If the night is truly awaiting, we are going to be so late.
    I push against the people around me, still in a bit of shock. How does New Orleans have this much energy? Above us the electricity flows in a web of cables that cut across the sky and swing back and forth with the wind. Should I get lost, I wonder if the pattern above me will bejust as useful as the stars were to those sailing across the seas?
    After what feels like an eternity of weaves and sharp turns and wings getting snagged, Miles stops and I collide into his back. “Sorry!” I push myself away and try not to think of how close we were and how good it felt. His body is firm and warm, and I wonder if I could stage another collision just to bump into him again. I force the edges of my mouth not to form a smile and look down at the ground. It’s still there, good.
    â€œWhy did we stop? What’s the plan?” Oh God I sound lame. Just go with the flow, Jules. “Not that there needs to be one for everything, you know?”
    The corner of Miles’s mouth quirks. “Relax, I have a strategy.”
    Taj rolls his eyes.
    â€œWhat’s your plan then?” Miles retorts.
    â€œIt’s Mid-Summer!” Taj motions around him as if we’d somehow walked through all these people and missed that fact. “Go where the mood takes you. Not everything has to have an itinerary, maestro.”
    Miles claps Taj on the shoulder. “All right, does your going where the mood takes you include getting some sustenance?”
    As if on cue my stomach grumbles, thankfully drowned out by the sounds around us.
    â€œIt does now,” Taj replies.
    S EVERAL BUMPS AND close calls where wings snagged on strangers’ costumes and we’re leaning over the rooftop of one of the buildings along Oak, looking down at the street below, then out to the burning sunset. There have been several fires in New Orleans history—what we stand on now is built over the ashes of one of its previous incarnations. I wonder if at some point the people who lived here could not bear to watch the sun set, as it lit the sky on fire.
    Miles nudges my shoulder, motioning to where the night has taken us. “Not bad, eh?”
    Not bad? “It’s amazing.” I can see everyone and everything. Two more baby floats pass by as I watch. One’s a crazy-looking octopus painted in fluorescent colors—I have a feeling it’s