“So like, are y’all friends again?” Connor asks as he sits down at the table. I look up at him with a masked attitude.

“Shush it.”

He shrugs his shoulders, sliding his tray in front of him, and wastes no time as he dives into his mac and cheese.

“I’m just asking because if I’m put on the back burner again, I’m going to be sad and I don’t have the time or energy to be sad.”

“No one is getting put on the back burner.” Blue eyes meet mine and I see the emotion right on the edge of his sarcasm. “I’m serious.”

He looks down, sticking his plastic spoon into a hard, what I presume to be some type of meat on the left side of his tray. “If you say so.”

My eyes plead for him to drop it. It’s not that serious. We hung out once and haven’t been able to stop texting since. We’re just old friends catching up on lost time. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Mya Ray,” an overly loud voice calls from across the lunchroom.

My eyes enlarge at the sight of him. Matty’s obnoxious, yet ridiculously sweet best friend, Kameron. In four long strides, he makes his way over to us. I laugh as he ruffles my hair and sits down next to me, throwing his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. “I heard we could officially be friends again.”

I fall back into his chest and slightly hug him back the best way I can.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” I reply. It wasn’t like we all weren’t friends. We all knew each other. We all spoke to each other. We all just stopped hanging out and stopped associating our circles together. There was never a particular moment where any of our friends had to stop talking to each other. I stopped talking to Matty and they all just stopped talking to one another.

Kameron pulls back but leaves his arm draped around me. I look up at him and smile as his green eyes beam with happiness.

“Regardless, I missed you.”

I smile harder. Kam is one of the most outgoing, compassionate, and undercover softie there is. He always has been. He plays as one of the offensive linemen on the team. When he puts his helmet on though, his softness disappears, and a beast comes out. Every rival school talks about him on their social media feeds after games because the girls swoon over him and the guys want to destroy him. They believe he’s dangerous and brooding. A player that’s indestructible. It doesn’t help that his face is quite attractive too. Kam is just as defined as Matty, but his coal black hair hangs in his soft green eyes, hiding the fact that he wears his heart on his sleeve. His obsessively tan skin glows in any circumstance. His overall body size is double of Matty.

Their friendship is like no other. I think of it like I think of mine and Connor’s. Some people are just meant to be friends. This is one of those situations.

“I’ve missed you,” Connor mimics across the wooden countertop.

“Oh, Con, you know I missed you the mostest,” Kam grins. Connor blows him a kissy face and acts like he’s blushing by throwing his nonexistent long hair over his shoulder.

I laugh, pressing back into Kam’s chest. His gaze follows as I look up at him. For the slightest second, I feel his eyes flick down to my lips and my heart stops.

I guess I should add “massive flirt” to Kam’s description.

“Hey now,” Matty says from behind us. “If I knew us rekindling our friendship was going to cause you two to couple up, I would’ve hesitated.”

I continue laughing. Seeing Matty’s smile take over his entire face and having Kam’s arm around my shoulder feels as if it’s all making sense again. I’ve had a senior year like no other, but now it seems hopeful that it will go out with a bang.

“I’ve got to get to bio. We’re dissecting balls today,” Kameron chuckles from behind me as Matty sits down across from me. My face curls in disgust.

“And that makes you happy?” I ask, concerned.

“Oh, shit, you’re right,” Connor says, taking the last bite of his food and standing up. “We better go or else we’re going to get the smallest ones.”

Kam lets me go and stands, nodding his head.

“Since they’re friends again, can we be lab buddies again? I need the good grade.”

Connor grins, tossing his 2012 Justin Bieber haircut to the side. “Of course, babe. I’m all for it.”

“You two make me sick,” Matty says before I have the chance to. Connor tosses his trash and shrugs.

“If you can’t beat them, join them.”

Matty’s face falls for the slightest second, but as his eyes meet Kameron’s gaze, his pupils fall dark. I begin to question his shift, but Kam cuts me off.

“Hey Mya, can you meet me after practice today? I need your help on the trig homework.”

I nod before realizing I suck at trigonometry, but as I turn to object, both him and Connor are already gone.

“I’m glad to know my friends and I are only good for our intelligence.”

Matty laughs, picking up his slice of pizza. I look at it for the slightest second, but then look away. I’m hungry, but I know I shouldn’t eat. I have to have progress on the scale this week. I’m going to hate myself if I don’t. I brought my protein shake. I just need to drink it and I won’t be tempted to indulge in junk food.

“Oh, you know it,” he agrees. I grin. My heart flutters as his cheeks flush with the slightest shade of red as he looks at me. I look away. I take in this moment as a whole as I look around the lunchroom. Everyone is staring at us. Lauren’s bright red hair catches my attention as she sits on the edge of one of the tables, her two followers beside her. She stares at Matty reluctantly before her eyes finally shift up to meet mine. She lowers the apple she has in her hand before mouthing the word “cow.”

I blink rapidly hoping I just made that up. Allowing my eyes to drift back to her, I swallow at the reality. She really just called me a cow… again.

Matty looks behind him to see what I’m looking at. His brows furrow and he looks back at me.

“What did she say?”

I shake my head, not giving her the satisfaction of getting to me.

“Nothing no one doesn’t already know.”

“Mya,” he breaths.

“It’s cool,” I smile. “She’s just a wannabe bitch that can’t seem to find her way. I feel sorry for her, truthfully.”

He shakes his head and rolls his eyes at the same time.

“What?” I ask, pretending to act innocent. “I’m only speaking the truth.”

He reaches down and picks up his pizza again, taking a bite.

“What am I going to do with you?” he asks.

“Whatever you please,” I retort, raising my eyebrows at my playfulness. “Just be gentle.”

He blushes again but sets down his pizza.

“My Lord, woman. You’re kinkier than I remember.”

“It’s the romance books.”

He lifts his eyebrow in shock.

“Oh, we’ve upgraded to romance from fantasy?”

I grin. If only he knew.

“Nah, we’ve learned of the fantasy that incorporates romance.”

Nodding, he looks away but bites his lip, impressed with my answer. He unperturbed demeanor matches my sass as he returns his hold.

“Oh, I see. Care to share the details? Maybe I’ll pick one up.”

I instantly shake my head, refusing to give away anything relatively close to the books that occupy my mind. Not yet at least. With the literature I read, you have to test the waters before diving in.

“You couldn’t handle it.”

He thinks for a moment but then stands, taking his tray just as the bell rings to indicate that lunch is over.

“Care to make a bet?” he asks, walking back to me. This time he comes on my side of the table.

“I’m always up for winning,” I tease him.

“Count your losses, Mya Ray. You’ve met your match,” he objects. I stand to face him. Grabbing my bag, I turn directly towards him.

“Bring it on, Mad.”

I start to walk away, but he grabs my hand.

“Bookstore at six?”

My world stops. I get déjà vu from yesterday as the silence falls around us once again. Matty towers over me and I feel the intensity as it rushes through my veins.

“I’ll meet you there,” I finally reply. A smile tugs at his lips, but he holds it in as he lets his eyes flick down to my own lips and them skim lower. This time I know it happened and don’t question it. Specifically, because it’s Matty and he just… flirted with me? Could that be possible?

“It’s a date,” he says, releasing my hand.

I hear my heartbeat in my ears. Did I hear that right?

“Is it?” I question. This time he shrugs.

“You tell me. Fantasy or romance?” I swallow hard, processing the response just as he leans in close to me. I feel his breath on my neck. “Pick your play.”

My entire body is left with a shudder as voices swarm in my head and I’m engulfed back in the real world. I’m left speechless in the act of longing as I watch him walk away.

The rest of my classes were a blur. I couldn’t shake the chill from my body. I have an actual “date” with Matty Edwards tonight. Truthfully, I know in my heart that it can’t be a real date, but it’s alone time with Matty and that excites me in ways I don’t dare to say. After my last class, I asked Anna to see if Connor could take her home, which was a no-brainer on both their ends. Connor talked her into going bowling because he had another night off from work, and Anna got to spend more time with him. Neither seemed to mind.

I went down to the football field shortly after everyone filed out and the parking lot emptied. Kameron texted me after lunch reminding me to stay, and if I could, come watch practice. I agreed primarily because I’ve never really hung out on the football field.

Kameron and Matty were both deep in thought as I made my way to the bleachers. Coach Brax has them doing 3-hurdle drills and lateral bounds. It’s a bye-week this week which means there’s no game tonight, but being a D1 team has its disadvantages; the team never gets a break.

A group of seniors that I don’t really know sit on the first bench as I walk up the set of rows. Their stares make me slightly uncomfortable. I pretend not to notice as I sit down. I fix my eyes on Kam as he breaks away and notices me within seconds. He waves at me like a five-year-old child and I grin. I give him a small wave back.

Matty turns around to see what’s going on. I continue waving but stop instantly as he looks at the girls in front of me and then turns back around. Did he actually see me? Maybe not. It’s very sunny out today.

Kam shakes his head, placing his hands on his hips, but turns back to the coach as he starts back up on laterals. I look down at the girls who sit in front of me. They continue to stare at me.

I watch a few minutes of the guys practicing, but soon enough my anxiety gets the best of me. I grab my things, swing my bag over my shoulder, and start my walk back up to campus.

“You’re Mya, right?” one of the girls asks me as I hit the last step, walking past them. I stop, turning on my heel. She’s a short blonde with a very similar body shape as mine, only thinner, with heavy freckles that paint her face.

“Yeah?” I reply as more of a question than an answer. She looks me up and down, then smiles.

“Cool.”

My brows grow in confusion, but I drop it as I turn back and continue walking. I’ve done pretty well in maintaining a low profile all of high school except for the slight Lauren thing. Surely I’m not about to start catching people’s attention now.

Getting back to the top of the hill, I push through the glass doors on the main entrance kind of ticked off, but kind of still left guessing how she knew my name and why she asked. More importantly, why was her answer just “cool”?

Sighing, I look down the hall. It’s completely empty. I need time to clear my head. I’m building myself up probably over nothing. However, first Matty ignored me and then looked at them. Secondly, that girl knew my name and yet asked me to clarify anyway. The situation with Lauren is too far irrelevant for her to just now be asking. Something is off and I’m not sure what it is.

In silence, I walk to the opposite side of campus and into my safe zone, the library.

“You didn’t wait,” Kam’s voice surprises me from the opposite side of the shelf I’m looking at. I look down at my watch and see it’s 5 pm. Practice doesn’t end for another thirty minutes. Stepping slightly to the left, I peer through a vacant spot in the books. He leans in cross-armed with a quirky expression on his face from the row directly across. He’s changed out of his uniform and back into his school clothes. A dark grey V-neck hangs tight on his chest, slightly damp with either sweat or water. I’m assuming sweat.

“It was awkward,” I reply, not know how else to word it. “But I did technically wait considering I’m still on school grounds.”

My focus dissipates as the books shift to the right and he places his entire head through the hole.

“But you didn’t wait where I asked you to.”

My eyebrow cocks. “Why does that matter?”

His eyes pierce through me with a sudden conclusion. “I guess it technically doesn’t.”

Intentionally avoiding looking him straight in the face, I look down to my worn-out sandals, and cross my arms. “What did you want to talk about?”

He brings his arms up and rests his elbows on the empty shelf.

“Why did Matty start talking to you again?”

I hesitantly look around us. Not another soul is in sight except for Annabelle, the red-headed freshman that I sometimes hang out with if we’re both in here after school. She sits at one of the tables in the middle of the room with her face plastered in a book. She doesn’t look up as I stare at her. Odds are she’s engrossed in the latest Throne of Glass book. I glance back.

“What do you mean?” I defend.

A green tsunami swarms around his pupils.

“Was your friendship resurrected because you wanted it to be or because he did?”

I’ve never seen Kameron be so confrontational.

“Why does it matter?”

He drops his glare and looks anywhere but my face. An uneasy feeling deposits in my stomach.

“I just need to know.”

My heartbeat increases, but I reply subtly. “I don’t think you do.”

His eyes instantly find mine.

“Why are you getting defensive?”

“I’m not”

“You are.”

My breathing staggers as a defense, but I freeze. Taking myself out of the conversation, I turn and walk away. What is happening? I reach the end of the shelf only to have Kameron there waiting for me.

“Mya.”

“I’m not talking about this.”

He dips his entire frame to make me look at him.

“I care about you. I’ve always cared about you and you know that. Excuse me if I can’t help but be concerned when as of last week, I know for a fact rekindling your friendship was the last thing on Matty’s mind.”

My heart clenches.

“What?” My voice is weak. Weaker than I would like it to be.

His face shifts as if he just said the wrong thing.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

My emotions run high. I feel it as it flusters my face. Why would Kam say that if it wasn’t true? Never in my life has he lied to me. Despite the time Matty and I shared apart, Kam has always been there. We may not have hung out and known every detail about each other’s lives, but anywhere I turned, he was there. He still is there, and everything that has ever come out of his mouth has always been the truth.

“What did you mean it like?” I ask, needing to find out answers before it’s too late and I’ve wasted my time allowing myself to be hurt.

“Truthfully, I don’t know. I’ve heard speculation and I’m just trying to not see you get hurt.”

“What is the speculation?”

He shrugs.

“I’m not entirely sure. No one wants to tell me anything.”

My brows grow together because that doesn’t make sense.

“What does that mean?”

He sucks in a deep breath and shakes his head.

“I don’t know. I’m just... I’m concerned about this situation entirely.”

“What is there to be concerned about?”

“Do you not know Matty? There’s a lot to initially be concerned about.”

In some ways he has a point. Matty is the biggest heart throb around. He’s had his fair share of girls and it is weird that he randomly decided to mend our bridges. Not that we are going to date. We are just friends. I’m not stupid. Boys like him don’t date girls like me.

Reaching a hand out, I grab Kam’s.

“Matty is your best friend, Kameron. Wouldn’t you be the first to know if something ill-intentioned was going on?”

He looks down at our joined hands.

“Yes and no. When it comes to you, he hides things from me.”

As he looks up, his face shifts to something I can’t read.

“Why?”

He shrugs again.

“I don’t know. He just always has.”

Slightly laughing, I reply. “You’re not making much sense.”

I get a small smile out of him, but he pulls our hands up to his chest, placing them over his heart.

“I know. I guess I’m just asking you to watch yourself, Mya. Keep your heart pure, but don’t be too lenient on who you give it to.”

I feel his pulse as it beats onto the back of my hand.

“I’m not giving anyone my heart,” I justify, knowing that’s partially a lie. I’ve already given it to someone.

“You and I both know that’s not true,” he says, grinning. “You and Matty have liked each other for a long time. To me it’s just a coincidence he’s waited this long to pursue you and I’m being overprotective because that’s who I am.”

I shake my head.

“We’re not going to date, Kameron. I’m not Matty’s type and you know it. I’m just happy to have solid ground to walk on again.”

Reaching up with my free hand, I wrap it around his neck. He lets go of our hands and drops his hold to my waist, pulling me into him for a real hug.

“I’m glad to have you fully back in my life,” he says, placing a kiss in my hair. “I don’t want anything to jeopardize that.”

I look up at him and smile wide.

“You’re not losing me again, regardless.”

He arches his eyebrow.

“Forever and always?”

I make a confused expression.

“Sure,” I reply with my voice high pitched in sarcasm. He chuckles and we part.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll catch you later.”

I nod and bid him farewell before turning back to the shelf I was previously browsing.

“Hey Kam?” I say, causing him to stop. I turn around to look at him. He pauses to look at me. “What happened to the trig homework?”

His face lights up as he fights a smile.

“I’m in calculus.”

My face hurts from the smile that consumes me.

I nod and turn back to browsing. I hear the doors open and I feel Kameron’s presence disappear. The giddy feeling that has me smiling like an idiot stays looming in the air. I run my fingers over a few spines, but nothing seems interesting enough to check out. I begin to tune into the music that softly streams through the speakers above. My heart skips a beat as I recognize the familiar song and the innuendo I’m just now picking up on. “Forever and Always,” by Parachute echoes through the empty library.

Coincidence, is it? I know Kameron is a softy, but I didn’t realize how smooth he could actually be.