Page 94 of As You Walk On

She stops, back stiff, sparing the barest glance over her shoulder.

“You get it, right? This is who we are.” I pat my chest. “We chose these friends. And they choseus.”

It’s a gamble. Reasoning with the side of her who, not two hours ago, abandoned us for the cheer squad. Because of obligation. Because that’s how this works.

Right?

“We can’t just change everything in one night.”

Makayla chews her lip, as if she’s envisioning the right way to reply. I hold my breath. With a lazy shrug and in the least convincing voice, she says, “Sure, Theo. That’s exactly who we are,” before walking away.

Then it’s Luca and me.

His expression is new.Disenchantment, one of those SAT words I learned from my app. I try to smile. He doesn’t react. What was I expecting?

We blinked and whatever magic we had back at the Waffle House fizzled out like an open can of soda sitting untouched on the counter for too long.

After our silence lingers for a beat, I say, “I gotta do this.”

My resolve to win this dare hasn’t diminished. If not for prom, at least I can get the recommendation letter. One less thing to deal with.

Luca’s teeth pick at a corner of his lower lip.

I wait quietly, chest tightening with every second.

He finally says, “Aleah’s right, isn’t she? You’re choosing him over us?”

“It’s not a him or you. It’s a dare. I’m choosing what’sbest.” I grip my phone tighter. “Isn’t that what you do with your family?”

His face wrinkles.

“At the end of the day”—I pause to glance down at his nails—“we do what’s best for them and us.”

He laughs harshly. “What? So, one night of me talking about my family and you think you know everything? That’s it?”

“Am I wrong?”

All of Luca’s features sharpen. Anger darkens his eyes. He shoves his hands into his pockets. His pants are dry. Of all things, I noticethatbefore he speaks again.

“You’re clueless. Don’t compare my family sitch to your friendship with a proven dickbag.” He exhales. “It’s not the same.We’renot the same.”

I swallow and blink.

“You can twist it any way you want,” he continues, “but this is you picking.” He laughs again. It sounds like a balloon bursting. “All night people have been telling me to move past Dev. Get over it. Stop holding on. But look at you...”

I begrudgingly wait for him to finish. Time’s running out. I should go. The window to find Jayla, to fix my future, is closing fast. But I can’t convince my feet to move.

“I’m more than what happens with my family. With my ex-girlfriend. I’m done running.” Luca shakes his head. “I thought you were too.”

Frustration rips through me. Why can’t I have both? My old friendships and new ones? The night of my dreams and the future my pops is trying to create?

Luca stares at me expectantly. He wants a response.

I scowl, then shrug. “Guess not.”

His shoulders fall. It’s the first crack. The crunch of Luca’ssneakers as he turns away sounds a lot like my heart shattering behind my ribs.

I spin on my heel. I can’t watch him huddle with Makayla, whispering furiously, both regretting spending even a single second of their night with me. I do one last phone check—eight minutes left—before sprinting back toward Chloe’s house like a gold medal is on the line.

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