Sneak (Swipe Series)

the network? Long distance?” He tossed the griptone back to Dane.
    “I guess you could receive a message.” Dane shrugged. “If someone hacked into it or something. But I’ve never heard of anyone doing that.”
    “Of course not,” Hailey said. “How silly to think that this piece of junk might actually come in handy.”
    “Well, Hailey,” Dane said, turning caustic. “I sure am sorry I don’t have my wailing mitts out here to impress you with. Or was that just another fake interest of yours?”
    “It was fake,” Hailey said. “An excuse to scope out your house.”
    “Guys, will you drop this?” Logan said. “Please?”
    “You know . . . you never did apologize for the way you and the Dust bagged me,” Dane said. “Sneaking around like that, crashing my concert, knocking me out with chloroform . . . that last part especially,” Dane said. “Thanks for that.”
    Hailey inched out of the shadows into the moonlight shining through the boxcar doors. “I saved you,” she said. “You’d be a flunkee right now if it weren’t for me. Besides, you sure didn’t seem to mind the attention at the time.”
    Dane turned away, looking over the amber ground rushing past, letting the wind tousle his shaggy hair.
    The boxcar was silent for miles and miles.
    “Whatever happened to us?” Hailey finally asked Logan. “There was a time when I thought we were the best friends in the world.”
    Dane picked up his griptone again, ignoring her. Logan laughed nervously.
    “Remember Underbrush Woods?” Hailey asked.
    “Underbrush!” Logan said. “ Man , that place was great! Best sleepaway camp ever—I still believe that.”
    “It was awesome,” Hailey said. “Like, so great.”
    “Those camp counselors were the worst,” Logan said.
    “Are you kidding? They were the best!”
    “Our parents thought they were the worst,” Logan corrected.
    “They didn’t watch after us at all .”
    “No, that’s true. Remember that night we slept out on the lake, in the canoe—”
    “And they sent the search party out to find us—”
    “But not until, like, two o’clock the next day!”
    “That’s what I loved about the place,” Logan said. “Cause as much trouble as we wanted.”
    “Some things never change, I guess.” Hailey laughed.
    Behind them, Dane hummed some song he’d written for his old band, the Boxing Gloves, louder and louder, doing his best to tune out his two old friends.
    “Hover-dodge league too,” Hailey said. “We could’ve gone professional if we’d stuck with it just a little longer.” She laughed.
    “Whatever,” Logan said. “That was all Dane. You and I were always just trying to keep up.”
    “Yeah, right,” Hailey said, and both of them laughed.
    “I remember the day all three of us skipped school,” Logan said. “You guys remember that?”
    “Come on—how could I forget?”
    But still Dane didn’t respond.
    “Spent the whole day in that playground at Spokie Central Park,” Logan said.
    “That was the greatest playground.” Hailey sighed.
    Logan nodded. “Then the Dust met me there for a showdown in September,” he said. “I’ve never thought of it the same way again.”
    “Well. All I remember about skipping school is how much trouble I was in when I got home. I don’t think my dad had ever been madder.” Hailey frowned. “He hardly ever got that way. But it’s funny how you remember the low points.”
    “My parents too,” Logan said. “They took away my tablet for a month.”
    “I remember that! And Dane and I would sneak up to your window at night since we couldn’t message you!” Hailey slapped her knee. “Man. Whatever happened to that ?”
    “Nothing,” Logan said, turning to face Hailey and Dane both. “We’re the same as ever.”
    Dane rolled his eyes. “You’re kidding yourself, Logan.”
    “No. I’m not. You think we aren’t still the best friends in the world? Look at us!” Logan laughed now—a genuine, hearty laugh.
    “We gave up everything for one another. We had it good in Spokie, guys! We had it really good! And we threw all of that away without batting an eye. Didn’t even flinch! The time came when we needed each other, and we threw our whole lives out the window to answer the call. If that doesn’t make you two the best friends in the world to me, then I don’t know what does. And you’re both crazy if you don’t see it.” Logan looked back out to the countryside now.
    A minute later Hailey put her hand