But just like Cooper, he hasn’t really talked to you since September.
Another guy judging you for one stupid mistake. A mistake that doesn’t even affect him.
Anger rumbles in your stomach, warring with the smoked brisket from lunch. You want to shout at him for ditching you. You want to shove him into the bookshelves for being a terrible friend. For abandoning you instead of having your back.
Tyler used to be like a brother to you. But not anymore. Even when he was super mad at you, Marshall didn’t abandon you the way Tyler and Cooper did.
Brody’s a better friend to you than Tyler ever was. And you’ve only known him a few months.
You’re about to turn and leave when Tyler looks your way. His mouth drops open in surprise.
He never did have much of a poker face, which made him super easy to beat in UNO. Super funny to frustrate, too, as he’d inevitably be the one made to draw twenty-four cards at some point in the game, all while he moaned and groaned and counted out his cards slowly.
“Oh,” he says. “Hey, Dayton.”
You’re caught off guard. He actually spoke to you.
“Hey.”
Tyler is tall and fat, his sweater stretching across his stomach. His red hair is cut short, and clear plastic glasses frame his hazel eyes. He’s got a pimple coming in on his cheek, which makes you self-consciously reach for your own, where you’ve got one of yourmom’s pimple patches. You’re not 100 percent sure they actually work, but Marshall swears by them.
“Long time no see,” he says.
You expect him to brush you off, the way Cooper always does. Or ignore you, the way Jace did in the car. You don’t know how to handle him acting… well, kind of normal.
But he doesn’t get to act normal. That anger in your stomach blazes hotter, tempered with something cold it takes you a moment to identify.
You miss him.
You miss him, but you’re also mad at him. Really, really mad.
How can he just stand there, acting like nothing happened? Like he didn’t totally ditch you?
“Funny how that happens when you throw away four years of friendship,” you say, surprised by how even you’re able to keep your voice.
Tyler flinches, his cheeks flushing. Like you, he’s super obvious when he gets embarrassed. Unlike you, he doesn’t try to hide it. He just lets his face get red, looking at you with his eyes all magnified by his glasses like an anime character.
“There you are,” Brody says from behind you. “You ready to go?”
Tyler looks from you to Brody and back. Like he’s confused or something.
Just because he ditched you doesn’t mean you don’t have any friends.
“Oink, oink,” Brody says, and Tyler’s face goes even redder.
He gives you one last look, shakes his head, and retreats down the other end of the aisle.
You turn to Brody, who’s back to smiling like nothing happened.
“Not cool,” you say. You know Ty’s self-conscious about his weight. Honestly, who isn’t? It wasn’t so bad in middle school, but since the start of this year, it’s like everyone’s obsessed with how they look in the mirror. Even you.
“What?” Brody asks. “Wasn’t he one of the guys that acted like you were some kind of leper just because you got suspended?”
He was.
“You deserve better friends than that,” Brody says, and the fire in your stomach banks, replaced with gentle warmth. Brody’s not always perfect. Sometimes he says stuff he probably shouldn’t—stuff you wouldn’t—but he doesn’t mean anything by it. And when it really matters, he has your back.
“Yeah,” you say. “I do.”
