“That’s nice of her.” I let a chuckle escape as a gust of wind blows past us, tossing the leaves about our feet like little tumbleweeds. “Tell her I’ll come by right after class.”
“Great. Thanks,” he says before his gaze shifts to my hair. “Sorry, but you’ve got a leaf in your—”
Joey’s hand reaches out to assist me, but an inch away, his hand stops—or rather,isstopped. Time moves in slow motion as my gaze swings to Phantom, and I see their hand encasing Joey’s wrist, swiftly removing his arm from my personal space. “Don’t.”
I gasp at the wickedness in their tone, at the shadows haunting their eyes. Goosebumps erupt along my skin, causing me to shiver. But whether from fear or delight, I have no idea.
“Uh—sorry. My bad,” Joey stammers as he steps away, angling his body toward the bottom of the steps. “I’ll let Claire know you’re coming. Bye, Maeve.”
And then he’s gone, jogging away at a curiously fast pace. I stare after him for a moment before whirling on Phantom.
They’re staring at me, at the leaf stuck in my hair, with... longing. My breath turns languid, and time slows again. They raise their hand toward it tentatively, as if they’d like to remove themself, but at the last moment, they simply point, gesturing with a single finger to where I should move my own hand. The darkness in their eyes is gone now, replaced by something unreadable.
My anger flares anew as I swat the leaf away. “What was hell was that?”
I’m glaring up at them, and yet, I can’t convince my body to move away. The faintest hint of mint floats in the air between us, and I don’t know how much longer I can ignore how the scent sends my toes curling in my boots.
“Sorry,” they mutter. “I interrupted.”
As if that’s an acceptable answer.
“I don’t care about that,” I scoff. “Well, I mean, I guess I kind of do, but I care more that you’ve been ignoring me fordays.”
Phantom looks away, their eyes downcast and teeming with guilt. “I warned you. I’m not good with people. This—” they gesture to the space between us “—doesn’t come naturally to me.”
“Having a friend?” I ask incredulously. But the word ‘friend’ feels like caulk on my tongue.
Phantom nods.
“So, we still are, then? Friends?”
Phantom meets my eye, their wide gaze full of naive innocence. “I hope so. If you’ll forgive me for being... inexperienced.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry, that’s just too—”
Cute. God, they’re not just cute, they’re—
Phantom looks away again, moving to leave, but I grab their coat sleeve, halting them. “Friends don’t ignore each other. If they’re struggling with something, they talk it out. They don’t hide away and deal with it on their own. Okay?”
When they search my face, I hope they find sincerity, because I mean those words more than I know how to express.
“Okay.” Phantom’s eyes smile as I drop their sleeve.
Peeling my gaze away from theirs, I wonder, and not for the first time,Should friends look at each other the way we do?
24Good Person
Okay, seriously, who have you been texting so much?” Iris asks as I set down my phone and return to curling my hair.
“Just Noah,” I lie effortlessly.
Phantom asked me to keep our friendship a secret, so I am. I don’t tell Iris who I’m texting or who I’ve been spending so much time with this week. I don’t share the inspiration behind my recent paintings with Emmy. I keep Noah in the dark, omitting Phantom from our conversations. I’d even keep it secret from Zayne and Franco too, if they ever asked why I’ve been acting differently, but thankfully, they haven’t seemed to notice.
I don’t know why anonymity is so important to Phantom. I wish I did, but I worry it’s too soon to ask. So, instead, I decide that if they ever choose to open up to me about why, I’ll be here to listen. After all, as they said before, that’s what friends are for.
“Mhm,” Iris hums while leering at me, like she’s trying to sniff out the lie. But I school my features, refusing to let her win this one. I’m not willing to lose my friendship with Phantom for anything.
“Emmy told me your most recent painting for class was excellent, per usual,” she continues, changing the subject as she dresses for the day.
