𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲

If I said you could
never touch me,
you'd come over
and say I looked lovely
-Leith Ross

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

I find myself humming at the bookstore. I'm re-stocking the shelves with old returns. It's a monotonous task; my least favorite task, but I'm humming. I'm not even angry when I'm interrupted by a student, searching for the classic literature section. I think I even smile at her.

Ash is raising an eyebrow when I return to the register with an empty bin. "What?" I ask, and they shrug.

"You seem to be in good spirits."

"I am," I say, and I fall into sync beside Ash, placing fresh stickers onto a stack of new books. "Things have been good, lately."

"Would that have something to do with Tens Walsh?" they ask, and I smile. "Uck, that's a mental image, I did not need to see, today."

I act offended, my mouth hanging open, a hand over my chest. "Ash, aren't you the one who called me pretty? I would think you'd enjoy the image." Ash rolls their eyes, and I laugh.

"Whatever," Ash grumbles. "Just so long as I never catch you all in the geographical non-fiction section, it's fine by me." I raise my brows. "It's a popular hook-up spot, didn't you know?"

"No," I say. "But I'll keep that in mind."

I nudge Ash in the shoulder, and they look horrified, but we return to sticking barcodes on book covers. And I return to my humming.

When I get back to my dorm, Khalil is booking it out of the room. His shirt is hanging around his neck, he's rushing to slip his arms through the sleeves. He looks guilty when our eyes meet, and he moves past in a hurry.

I find Frankie standing on the hardwood. She's wearing a tank top and jeans, but the top button is undone. Her hair is all messy, and her cheeks are flushed. She hugs her waist, and rocks on her toes.

"Uh, what was that?" I ask, pointing to the hall.

"What?"

"Khalil," I say, but Frankie plays dumb. She wrinkles up her face and pulls at one of her curls. "Frankie, are you back with Khalil? And if so, why haven't you mentioned it?"

She throws her arms up, and collapses on her bed. But then she's wagging a finger at me. "First of all, I'm owed one secret from you—you kept a pretty major one from me," she argues, and I nod because, fair. "But yeah, well, I guess we are together. We haven't really discussed it. You know, there has been a whole lot of talking, period."

I grimace. This must be how Ash felt earlier today. It's much better to be the one loved up than to hear about it—or imagine it. I shudder. And then I look at Frankie. "You still could have told me," I say. "I mean, it's Khalil."

"Which is exactly why I didn't say anything!" She perches on the edge of her bed, rubs a hand over her forehead. "I don't want you to feel like the odd man out," she says. "Because trust me, it wasn't any fun for me when it was you and Dalton together, and me on the outs."

I stare at my shoes. I hadn't considered that. But it probably was uncomfortable. Before her and Khalil broke up, it was always the four of us. The only reason I even met Dalton was because Frankie was with Khalil. "I'm sorry, Frankie," I say. "I didn't realize you felt that way."

She waves a hand. "It's whatever now, but I don't want you to feel awkward—or like I'm picking sides or something because I'm hanging out with Khalil and Dalton, because I'm not... And even if I were, I'd choose yours, every time."