Give her a minute? Avery felt disoriented and bewildered, looking down at himself. The vest didn't have any fasteners, so he couldn't have done it up if he'd wanted to. And Lyra was gone. He took a step to follow her.
"Hey!" Topher appeared at the top of the stairs behind him, grinning widely. "Wanna come play wizard sticks?" Before Avery could complain, he was being almost carried downstairs and out onto the patio. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of someone who looked very like him, but taller and more brunette, heading up the other stairs, and he realised Topher was saving him from a painful reunion.
It appeared that now he was being introduced to playing a loud drinking game, and had a can of beer shoved into his hands. "My cousin," he overheard Topher saying, and he observed the immediate change in attitude from these boys he'd never met, immediately pulling Avery into their ranks and recognising the familial links. It was absurd to watch the network he'd long hypothesised in action, and he wanted to know more. He had to be included. And that meant chugging a beer and taping the empty can to the bottom of his red solo cup. And maybe a couple more, just to throw them all off the scent, that Avery was going to be the one to take them down from the inside. Oh, they were all be kicking themselves in the morning!