Page 82 of As You Walk On

They’re doubled over, head between their knees, hands cupped over their ears.

“Uh, Riv? You okay?” Aleah says.

Makayla hovers over River as if she’s unsure what to do.

“Oh. I’m fi-fine,” says River after a beat, gradually straightening up. “Thought I saw... a spider.”

“A spider!” Luca shrieks, knees banging against the dashboard as he pulls his feet onto his seat.

“Chill, Alge-bro.” Aleah shakes her head. “Theythoughtthey saw a spider. Not an axe murderer.”

Luca grumbles something back, but I’m too busy staring at River in the mirror to catch it. Even with their broad smile, I clock the thin layer of sweat on River’s forehead. Their chest has barely slowed to a steady rhythm. Every few seconds, their head turns to glance behind us.

I do too.

But I think we’re watching those dim, winking blue lights for different reasons.

•••

For almost midnight on a Saturday, Waffle House is relatively dead.

I haven’t made a habit of visiting twenty-four-hour restaurants specializing in speedy service and decent grub in the middle of the night, but, from our corner booth, this place looks like a graveyard. A final stop after a night of drinking, a late shift, or pure boredom.

Random solo diners sit at the bar. In another booth is a girl with reddish-brown skin who looks slightly older than us, her tablespace crowded with a laptop, two mugs of coffee, a forgotten omelet, and a mound of textbooks. Three college bros swap loud stories over waffle stacks on the other side of the restaurant. Online delivery drivers occasionally pop in to grab plastic bags of food.

We spend more time on our phones than talking after we’ve ordered. I’m distracted by movie-trailer reaction videos. Anything to keep from scrolling through the WhatsApp chat. Luca’s next to me. We’re pressed together, shoulders to elbows. Knees and ankles too. Something about this feels oddly cozy. Like we’ve done it a dozen times before.

Like we could keep doing this in the future, if...

I startle, face hot, when Makayla groans, “Oh my God, stop doing that right now!”

Her accusing tone attracts eyes from the Bro Squad, along with Study Girl, but it’s not aimed at me. Makayla reaches over to snatchLuca’s phone away. He almost knocks over a tray of sugar alternatives trying to escape.

I mistakenly look at his screen.

It’s a pic collage of him and Devya on Instagram.

“You’re torturing yourself,” Makayla asserts.

“I’m preserving memories,” he argues.

Their squabbling is muted by my own thoughts. Did that kiss mean anything to him? Was it merely spontaneous? Or was he experimenting with someone who’s not Devya? I stop my spiraling atAm I just a rebound?because, frankly, the last thing I need to do is overthink one more thing.

The kiss was a one-off. Two boys having a little fun. That’s it... right?

“Luca, seriously,” Aleah says while sipping her sweet tea. “Untag, delete, unfollow, block if needed, start fresh. In that order.”

Makayla nods with pursed lips. River appears on the verge of agreeing too.

Would it be appropriate for me to say anything considering what happened less than an hour ago?

Luca sighs heavily. His eyes are fixated on his screen. Devya smiles back from behind a stuffed teddy bear. The caption is all kissy and flaming heart emojis. Sickeningly cute.

“I lied earlier about Aja and the beer,” he explains, idly scrolling through his grid. “I saw Dev. She was alone. I had a chance to talk to her and, I don’t know. It hit me.”

His finger stops on a photo of the Ramírez brood, matching round chins and eye-crinkling smiles on every face.

“I was doing all this”—he waves a hand above his head asif that’ll fill in the rest—“the promposal, fake dating Makayla”—Aleah and River share a look at him finally saying it out loud—“all because my parents found out she dumped me.”

---