Page 64 of As You Walk On

By the time the song ends, everyone is on their feet, cheering. Aleah’s breathless and smirking. I’m buzzing.

“Nailed it!” Makayla shouts.

Luca whistles sharply.

An overwhelming wave of joy crashes on me when River lifts both our arms in the air like boxers after a heavyweight battle. “Winners!” they declare.

I can’t help myself. I rush over to Aleah, wrapping her in my arms. “Hell yeah!” I say, caught in a laughter that feels never-ending.

But it does end.

“Get off me!” Aleah roars, jerking away. Our disengagement is clumsy, but her reflexes are quick. She stands stiffly by the door. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”

I stutter, “I—uh.”

“You what? Think we’re cool again? Friends?”

A dry itchiness grabs my throat.

“That’s over,” Aleah says with the finality she never used when we were younger. Because I was the one saying it when I turned my back on her.

Why did I think I could suddenly undo the past?

“I’mdone, do you hear me?” she seethes, her voice cracking at the edges. “No one else is gonna burn me. Never again.”

13

WHY ARE YOU HERE?

“So...” Luca saysat the peak of my brutal stare-down with Aleah, “you two know-knoweach other.”

Silence.

Frankly, I don’t knowhowto reply.

“You were friends?” Makayla asks, gazing more at Aleah than me. When Aleah doesn’t speak, she continues: “I’ve never seen you two interact before tonight. Which I guess isn’t strange. Brook-Oak is huge. I don’t recognize half the people I say hi to. But that performance you two just put on... you can’t be total strangers.”

The more Makayla talks, the more Aleah’s hands tremble as she rubs her arms. She’s a volcanic geyser waiting to erupt. And I have no escape route because Aleah’s blocking the door.

“You’re clearly not friends with his friends,” Makayla says, snorting.

My head swivels in her direction. What does that mean?Hisfriends. It’s the second time she’s taken a shot at TNT. What, are we talked about over hand-washing time at bathroom sinks? Are our names written in Sharpie across stalls?

“That also explains why Theo—”

Makayla stops when I shake my head so hard, I see stars.

Aleah doesn’t need to know what happened with Lexi. She doesn’t need to know I stood up for her. Or that Makayla didn’t.

“God, let it go,” hisses Aleah.

“Sorry, sorry.” Makayla raises both hands in surrender. “Another sensitive topic for you.”

“I don’t know why I came here tonight!” Aleah groans. “Why are any of you hiding out in some kid’s bedroom? What’re you running from?”

Luca waves a hand around. “Hello, I’m the guy with the semi-viral video of his ex turning him down during a promposal.” He pops a few gummies in his mouth, chewing angrily. “Said ex is downstairs, noticeably unfazed by my attempt to make her jealous with my new,fakegirlfriend.”

“Wow,” says River, blinking back their awe. “That’s a mouthful.”

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