“If they were in a couple’s costume, then Brinley was in a couple’s costume with many people that night… including you.”
“Wait,” I begin, finally getting a shot in on Declan, “his name’s just Alex?”
“What?”
“The guy Brinley was with on Halloween. His name isjustAlex. That’s not short for anything?”
“No, Brinley said it’s just Alex.”
“What do his friends call him?” I pause the game.
“What?”
“Alex is a nickname,” I argue. “How do you come up with a nickname for a nickname? Do people call him Al? That’s weird.” I laugh. “Ha, weird Al, get it because I said—”
“I get it,” he cuts me off. “Alex is a short enough name; I guess it doesn’t need a nickname. You don’t have a nickname.”
“I can think of a few nicknames I have; they just might not all be appropriate to say out loud,” I continue. “And a ton of the guys call me Z; it’s simple, straight to the point.”
“It’s a letter.”
“A letter people associate withme. So, it’s a nickname.”
“You’re relentless.” He shakes his head. “Can we get back to the game?”
“You don’t have a nickname.”
“What?”
“What do people call you? I don’t know if I’ve ever called you anything other than Declan. Does that mean we aren’t really friends? Friends have nicknames for each other. I bet you call Alex, Al.”
“Who calls Alex, Al?” Jaxon walks through the front door.
“Declan.”
“You guys are on a nickname basis?” Jaxon continues. “And what kind of nickname is Al. Like Weird Al?”
“That’s what I said!”
“We aren’t on a nickname basis.” Declan rolls his eyes. “I barely know the guy.”
“You didn’t even start calling me Jax until we’d been friends for a year, and you’re already there with Alex?”
“I just said I’m not.” Declan groans.
“Does he have a nickname for you too?” I question. “Is that why you like him better than us?”
“You guys are ridiculous.”
“Wait, do we have a nickname for you?” Jaxon freezes. “I’m Jax, Jeremy’s Jere, Fletcher’s Fletch, Carter is Brooks, Zeke is Z.”
“Told you.”
“You guys call me Sanderson sometimes.”
“Nah, the last name thing is Brooks’ thing,” I argue. “And we mainly call you that during practice or games.”
“What about D?”