I manage to swallow and rejoin the land of the breathing just in time for Holden to drop into the seat directly across from me, all long limbs and tension and that hat. Thatdamnhat.
And just like that, the entire table has turned into a very specific kind of battlefield.
Micro-battle loss number one: the cinnamon roll I’ve been sneak-thieving was, in fact,nota community pastry, but Holden’s. To his credit, he doesn’t say anything about the bite marks. Still, I briefly consider lodging a tater tot into Theo’s sinuses for not keeping me from eating it.
Micro-winnumber one: I show them the playlist Maya made for me, explaining that every single one of my actions earns me a new song—and it triggers a deep laugh from Theo, a full snort from Alana who never gets tired of the story, and—miracle of miracles—a chuckle from Holden. A real one. Low and surprised.
Scratch that. It’s abigwin.
“How do I apply to be co-editor of this masterpiece?” Theo asks, still scrolling.
“Absolutely not,” I say. “It’s already bad enough she playsGood Luck, Babe!every time I head to…”
Anywhere within Holden proximity.“Class.”
Alana nearly falls off the bench, shoulders shaking. Theo and Holden look like golden retrievers watching a squirrel—alert, amused, completely unaware of context. Theo keeps scrolling, eyebrows lifting here and there—until he stops. His grin turns downright evil.
“Wait—why isRock That Bodyin here?” he asks, pointing to the Black Eyed Peas’ song.
My cheeks go nuclear. I snatch the phone back. “That’s irrelevant.”
And boom. I’ve lit the fuse.
“You want to tell the story,” Alana says sweetly. “Or should I?”
“Alana, don’t. Iwillchange all your autocorrects tomoist,” I threaten.
Theo snorts—loud enough to turn heads—and Holden covers his mouth, very unconvincingly, as if that’s going to hide the smile fighting its way out. I’m tempted to let all of this unfold without a fight just to see more of it.
Alana shrugs. “Eh, worth it.”
She turns to them like she’s onstage at an open mic. “So. Last week, Coralie decided it would be an excellent idea to snorkel through a bait ball.”
“I was hoping to see a shark,” I mumble.
She side-eyes me. “Anyway. She does it, makes it out alive—but realizes some of the fish got stuck in her wetsuit.”
Holden’s eyebrows start rising.
“And instead of, I don’t know, removing them like a normal person, she starts wiggling like she’s a cup of Jell-O, and Maya—bless her—immediatelycues that song.”
I facepalm so hard I consider triggering a mild concussion just to escape the moment. For a second, I think I might have knocked something loose in the space-time continuum because—what is that sound?
I peek through my fingers andthere it is: Holden.Laughing.
Not a scoff. Not the begrudging half-chuckle he sometimes gives when forced to acknowledge human joy. This is a real laugh. Deep and rough-edged, the kind that starts in the chest and takes a few seconds to shake free. His shoulders actually move with it. His eyes crease. He looks… human. Happy.
And it’s a problem. Because this version of him—sun-drenched, in civilian clothes, not grading my lab report—could convince me to rethink entire belief systems.
The Barnacle Rule? Yeeted. Launched straight into the Mariana Trench, never to be seen again.
Nearly an hour later, we give up our table to make room for the lunch crowd. A small part of me mourns the loss—not just of the food, but of the strange, unspoken truce that had settled over the table. Somehow, against all odds, it had been easy to be around Holden. Enjoyable, even.
That illusion shatters the moment we step outside.
Holden says nothing. Just shoves his hands into the pockets of his shorts and angles himself to the outer edge of our group, leaving me between Alana and Theo. Like proximity alone had been the problem and distance is now the cure. I feel the shift immediately—the temperature drop, the way conversation thins in the air around him. He’s quiet, but it’s not the calm kind. It’s taut, restrained. Controlled with effort.
Theo, oblivious or reckless, glances down at me and drapes his arm across my shoulders again.
