𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬

𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

Just always be waiting for me
-JM Barrie

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

The Mississippi heat is relentless.

I pack the last moving box up the stairs to our new apartment. It's a five-minute walk from campus, and we have every window open. There's a thick layer of sweat on my brow. My clothes stick to my skin.

Frankie opens the front door, she helps me set the last box onto our living room floor. The place is a disaster. It isn't a big apartment already, and now it's filled to the brim with cardboard boxes—and Frankie's clothes, so so many clothes.

She smiles at me. "Oh my gosh, this is going to be so much fun!" she squeals, and then she's sprinting across the floor. "I'm calling first dibs on bedrooms."

"Too late," Ash calls, stepping out from the back room. "I already called the master."

Frankie pouts, but smiles when Ash sticks out their tongue. There's a silver stud right in the center of it, Ash's newest addition to her collection. I shake my head at them. I don't care which room I have, so long as I get one.

"I brought those books that I told you about," Ash says to me. "They're in my car, whenever you're ready to read them." I smile, tell her thank you, and I am excited to read them. Lately, I've been excited to read anything. I must have read a hundred books last summer, though I still haven't found a single one better than Peter and Wendy.

My chest warms, thinking of Lost Boys—thinking of Tenny.

But I know I will see him again. Because I did what he asked, and I didn't call him all summer. I left him to fight his battles alone, just as he asked. And because he made me a promise, I know that he'll be back, and we will be alright.

Tenny will be alright.

"You want to go to the Union?" Frankie asks, already throwing her hair up into a messy pony. "I told Andres I'd meet him at two."

"Andres?" I ask, and she grins. "I thought you'd sworn off boys."

"I did!" she squeals. "For an entire summer, and I think I've learned my lesson! Besides, Andres never did anything wrong; he's a total sweetheart and he came all the way back from Spain to spend another year here, with me."

I shake my head, but I'm happy for Frankie. And I did like Andres.

"Sure thing," I say. "Let me just ask Ash if they want to come too."

We lock up behind us, and make the short walk towards campus. Frankie talks Ash's ear off the entire walk, filling her in on every last detail of Andres: his bronzed skin and hunky Spanish accent. I try to bite back my smile at Ash's miserable expression.

The University's winding paved pathways come into view. I can almost picture Tenny walking along the pavement, the two of us pausing in front of the fountain, feeling the mist on our faces. I bite onto my cheek.

We pass Pittman. There's a new group of freshmen outside, fighting with the buzzer system. I catch a glimpse of golden hair; Frankie catches it before I do. Her hand is in the air, waving Bailey over. She wraps him into a hug, and his cheeks don't even flush pink.

He smiles at us. "Hey guys," he says. "How was your summer?"

We fill him in on all the boring details: books we've read, places we've traveled, my new adorable niece, and Ash's grandmother's new dog. A flash of excitement comes over Bailey's face.