“I wouldn’t hurt Call. I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

• Suddenly, Aaron appeared next to him. Call almost yelped in surprise. Aaron had an amazing habit of doing that, he thought, clicking into place beside him like a determined blond magnet. He bumped Call’s shoulder and looked meaningfully down at his hand.
• Aaron scrambled into the first of the boats, reaching out his hand to help Call inside. Resentfully, Call took it.  […]  Aaron was out of the boat first, followed by Tamara, and then Call. Aaron reached out a hand to help him, but Call deliberately ignored it. [this isn’t a ‘shoulder touch’ but i had to include it.]
• “Thanks for what you did up there, too,” Aaron said, putting his hand on Call’s shoulder and patting it awkwardly.

• “You okay?” Aaron asked, bumping shoulders with Call as Master Rufus led them down a set of stone stairs carved into the rock.
• There was a hand on Call’s shoulder, and Aaron was drawing him up to his feet. 
• “Easy.” Aaron put a hand on Call’s shoulder. Steadying him. Call stood up abruptly, fighting for breath. “I’ve got to …”
• “I — can’t,” Call gasped, and then there were figures around him, Aaron and Tamara and Jasper, and someone was trying to help him to his feet but his legs wouldn’t work. “Go,” he whispered. “Go without me.” “Never.” A hand gripped his arm and he realized it was Aaron’s.
• “Look at Jasper,” Aaron said, coming up next to Call and clapping him on the shoulder. “What a show-off.”

• Aaron put his hand on Call’s shoulder. “Remember,” he said. “If you need to do any chaos magic, don’t try to do it all on your own. I’m your counterweight. I’ll be just outside with the others. Draw on me, on my chaos energy, like you’d draw on air if you were underwater.”
• “Be careful,” Aaron told him, clapping Call on the shoulder. His green eyes were reassuring.
• Call felt Aaron’s hand on his shoulder, and a moment later he’d been guided out of the room and was back in the corridor. He pulled the sleeves of his hoodie down over his hands. He was freezing, shivering all over.
• Aaron squeezed Call’s shoulder and let go. “You’re not the Enemy,” he said.

• Call reached out and grabbed Aaron’s hand. Aaron looked surprised for a second. Then his grip locked with Call’s. Call wanted to tell his best friend how sorry he was, how this was all his fault because he was Constantine Madden. But Aaron spoke before he got a chance. “At least we’re going to die together,” Aaron said. Then, unbelievably, he smiled at Call.