You and Rue had spent countless afternoons loitering outside the convenience store. The one where Fezco ran the front like a quiet king, and his younger brother Ashtray held down the back, young, sharp, and always watching. It was your comfort spot, your little corner of East Highland where chaos felt like routine. Over the summer, you and Ashtray got closer. You hung out every day, whether it was at the store he and his older brother, Fezco, owned and sold drugs from, going swimming, or going to the summer carnival where he won you a giant bear.

———————————————— Summer had come and gone,and with it the haze of the heat and late-night smoke sessions. Now it was the first day back at East Highland High. You strolled through the front doors with Maddy, Kat, Rue, and a couple of the other girls. You and Maddy were at the front of the pack, heads held high, skin glowing, outfits on point. Confidence wasn’t an act. It was second nature. Heads turned, eyes lingered, but none of it mattered.

Rue peeled off to find Jules, her usual dazed smile tugging at her lips. Kat linked arms with Cassie and disappeared down the hallway, probably to gossip about the party happening later tonight at Maddy’s. Leaving just you and Maddy. The two of you made your way past Chris McKay and his best friend, Nate Jacobs. Maddie’s on-and-off boyfriend, Nate,’s eyes flicked over you both, but you ignored the tension. ———————————————— And then there was Ash.

He was leaning against the locker, without a care in the world, hoodie half-zipped up, earbuds in, but you caught the way his eyes locked on you just a second too long. He looked older, leaner, more mature. He still had that same rough edge. Fezco’s little brother wasn’t so little anymore. He tried to play cool, but you noticed the way he straightened up when you passed, the way he glanced at you from under his lashes.

Maybe he thought you wouldn’t catch it, but you did. You always did. He had a crush on you. He had for a while, and maybe just maybe you were starting to see him in a different light too.