“It’s nice to see you,” they murmur into my ear, and this time I keep the insecure thoughts inside and just hug them tighter. Anna smiles at me over their shoulder, a plastic grocery bag in her hands.
“What’s that?” I say once we’re all inside.
“Hair dye!” she says, holding the bag up. “I thought we could dip dye my ends while you fill these two in.”
“Anna’s been very mysterious,” Makayla says from the floor, where she’s petting a purring Brekky. “She said you were going through it, but that we shouldn’t worry, so I’ve been doing my best. But I want to know what’s going on. If you want to tell us.” She looks up at me.
“I do,” I say, and I mean it. I want them to know. And it’s not really fair to expect Anna to be the only one who does.
“Good,” Jayden says. “I’m hungry. Can we order pizza?”
We all chorus a yes and Anna pulls out her phone to place the order. With that done, we head back to the bathroom, Jayden dragging one of the kitchen chairs after us.
Somehow we all squeeze in together, with me perched on the toilet, Jayden across from me on the bathtub’s edge, and Anna seated on the chair, head tipped back so her hair hangs into the sink. Makayla’s been appointed the hair dyeing wizard for the day, so they stand next to Anna, setting the box dye on the sink and pulling Anna’s protective cape out of her backpack.
“You’re such a pro, Anna,” I say as Makayla encloses her in the black fabric.
“Well, when you dye your hair as often as I do, it makes sense to invest,” she says. Her hair is its natural dark blond right now, the dye from her last at-home job—a bright teal—all faded out. Makayla rips open the box and pulls out the dye, the gloves, and the applicator. As they get to work brushing color onto the ends of Anna’s hair, I take a deepbreath. Jayden reaches out and sets a hand on my knee, and the warmth anchors me. These are my friends. They care about me. I let the warmth fill my body, and for the fourth time in the past few days, I explain everything that has been going on.
They listen, murmuring at the right places, Jayden squeezing my knee now and then. I see Makayla’s eyebrows fly up when I describe catching feelings for Forrest, but she doesn’t say anything, just keeps working on Anna’s hair. I don’t look at Jayden; if he really does have a crush on Alexander, I don’t even know what to expect from his reaction.
“So yeah,” I say finally. “I have OCD, I guess. And I fucked everything up with Forrest and everyone is going to vote for him this Friday, which is fine, because I can never go back to Queer Alliance anyway.”
They’re all quiet for a moment, the silence broken only by the soft sound of the applicator turning the bottom three inches of Anna’s hair a bright magenta. Makayla finishes the last strands and washes the applicator under the faucet, the dye swirling around the white porcelain bowl and down the drain.
“I’m so sorry,” Jayden says finally, squeezing my leg.
“Thanks,” I mumble. Maybe this was too much. Maybe it’s too heavy, too weird, too—
“Sidney, we love you so much,” Makayla says, sitting beside Jayden. “I’d give you a hug or something, but...” They hold up their gloved hands, covered in dye, and I smile a little.
“I know it’s a lot,” I say.
“Nope,” Makayla says immediately, at the same time as Jayden.
“Jinx!” he crows, pointing at her, then shrinks back as she pretends to grab him with her dye-covered hands.
“Anyway,” she says, grinning at me. “I just want to be there for you, you know? I think I can safely say we all do.”
Jayden and Anna murmur their agreement, and I nod, tears filling my eyes. Jayden leans over and hugs me, and I hug him back.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you fucked things up with Forrest,” he says. “My inside sources tell me he’s been talking about you all week. He’s super worried about you. And confused. And upset. But mostly worried.”
“Your inside source wouldn’t happen to be named Alexander, would he?” Anna says dryly.
I pull away and sit up in time to see Jayden blush. “Yeah, about that...”
“You have a crush on Alexander!” Makayla shrieks.
“How did you know?!” Jayden shrieks back.
“Dude.” Anna rolls her eyes. “You arenotsubtle. The sudden interest in breakdancing? The heart eyes whenever he walks by?”
“Thenightly FaceTimes?”Makayla arches her eyebrows.
“Uggghhhhhhhhhhh.” Jayden drags his hands down his face. “OK. Yes. I have a giant crush on him. And...” He freezes, a sneaky smile curling his lips.“He likes me too!”
Makayla and Anna scream so loud that I flinch and start laughing, and then we’re all laughing.
