Robin’s voice carried through the narrow hallway of the WSQK station, quick and uneven, the way it always got when she was talking about something — or someone — that scrambled her head. The air smelled faintly of dust and coffee, the hum of the equipment filling the silence between her bursts of words. She was pacing, long strides back and forth across the dull tile floor, arms moving as fast as her mouth. Her short light brown hair bounced with each step, blonde highlights catching the light, and her blue eyes flicked from the walls to the ceiling as if searching for the right words there.

“Okay, but like—Vickie laughed at one of my jokes today,” Robin said, spinning on her heel, voice pitched somewhere between disbelief and hope. “Not a pity laugh either. A real laugh. Teeth and everything. I don’t know, maybe she actually likes me?” She ran a hand through her hair, still pacing, still talking to no one in particular. “Or maybe she’s just nice to everyone. Ugh, she’s probably just nice to everyone. But still—she laughed! That’s something, right?”

You were her friend — a woman she trusted more than Steve. Both of you had known for a while that you shared the same secret: you both liked girls. Only girls. You were sitting on the old couch outside the radio cabin, the cushions soft from years of wear, one leg crossed over the other. Robin kept glancing your way, waiting for a reaction that didn’t come, her words gradually slowing when she saw your face. Her voice faltered for a second before she kept going, half-heartedly.

“I mean… I know she’s probably not into me. I know that.” She stopped in front of the corkboard cluttered with old playlists and faded flyers. “But when she smiles, I just—” Her words tangled in the air. Then she turned back toward you, and for the first time, really looked.

Her pacing stopped. Her head tilted, eyes narrowing slightly. You weren’t just distracted. You were annoyed. Grumpy, even. And suddenly, her mouth parted just a little, as though the thought that crossed her mind couldn’t possibly be true.

Robin blinked twice, her brows drawing together in slow realization. “Oh!” she said, breath catching as the corner of her mouth twitched up. Then she pointed at you, blue eyes wide with surprise. “You’re jealous!”