Chapter 23 #2
The guys were all just—themselves. Jake cracked jokes under his breath during our study period in the library like nothing in the world was on fire.
Bubba offered me half his granola bar when I slid into math class without making a thing of it.
Coop stayed close but didn’t hover, like he was guarding the perimeter instead of my feelings.
Archie was more intense than usual.
That part I’d expected.
He watched the halls like he was mapping threats, his attention snapping to me every time a voice rose or a phone came out. But he kept it contained. No public confrontations. No controlling gestures. Just quiet vigilance.
At lunch, I bailed.
I didn’t even try to pretend I was hungry. The cafeteria was loud and echoing and full of eyes, and I felt the pressure building the longer I stood there.
Mathieu had mentioned he was eating with the teachers that day—some exchange student thing—so I used it as my excuse. Clean. Easy.
I slipped out. The guys let me too. I would’ve invited Rachel, but she never showed up to lunch and didn’t answer my text until after I’d already made it back to school.
Sorry—had to deal with something. I’m fine, she texted later, waving it off like she always did.
I didn’t push. Not today.
When I went to grab my books before last period, there was another note in my locker.
Different handwriting.
Neater.
What color roses do you want for Homecoming?
I stared at it longer than necessary.
Roses.
Homecoming.
The dance was closing in faster than I’d realized. And right on its heels—
Coop’s birthday.
That thought cut through everything else like a lifeline.
Instead of spiraling about who I was supposed to go with, or what I was supposed to feel, or how many moving pieces I couldn’t control—I latched onto the one thing that felt solid.
Coop.
He deserved something good. Something normal. Something happy.
I pulled my phone out and opened the group chat with the guys—sans Coop.
Me:
Coop’s birthday is coming up.
Me:
We need to do something for him.
Three dots popped up almost immediately.
Just like that, the day felt a little lighter.
Because some things—at least—were still ours to plan.
Bubba:
Already on it. I vote chaos.
I was pretty sure Bubba wasn’t serious about that.
Jake:
Absolutely not. We’ve had enough of that.
Archie:
Depends. How are we defining chaos?
Bubba:
Usually loud and involving fire.
I almost burst out laughing. Cause now I knew Bubba was playing.
Me:
No fire. We’re already unhinged, we don’t need to get arrested.
Jake:
Thank you, Frankie.
Bubba:
I can’t argue with the not getting arrested part.
Jake:
Thank fuck.
Archie:
He likes feeling seen. Lately, he’s been isolating. Let’s start there.
Me:
…did you just get emotionally responsible in the group chat?
Archie:
Don’t make me regret it.
Jake:
Okay but actually—what does Coop want? Baby girl you know him best. What would he like?
Bubba:
Food. He always wants food.
Me:
True. He also hates being the center of attention.
Jake:
So not a party.
Bubba:
He wouldn’t mind a party if Frankie threw it.
Me:
Bubba.
Bubba:
Kidding. Mostly.
Archie:
What about something low-key? Just us. Food he likes. No spectacle.
Jake:
Game night?
Bubba:
I like the idea of destroying everyone at Mario Kart.
Jake:
That happened once.
Bubba:
History remembers it differently.
Me:
Coop would like that. Especially after everything…
Archie:
Our place works. Game room. Jeremy. Drinks. Food. We have everything.
We. Our place.
Jake:
It’s practically our home away from home.
Bubba:
We need cake.
Me:
Obviously.
But I was still back at we and our place.
Bubba:
Then count us in. We have a game this weekend, then we have the homecoming game.
Archie:
We’ll make it work.
We would. We—
Me:
Senior skip day.
There was a beat where none of them responded. A very long beat.
Bubba:
Are we changing the subject?
Me:
No, I just remembered someone said senior skip day is coming. What if we did something then? Away from here—
Away from the “we and our house”. Because that might involve Maddy.
Archie:
What are you thinking, babe?
What was I thinking?
Thirteen years of birthdays—well this would be our thirteenth, I guessed. We’d spent nearly every single one together except the year…
Me:
Roller coasters.
The warning bell rang and I hurried into AP Euro where Jake was waiting and thankfully, Mr. G wasn’t.
Jake flashed me a grin. “Roller coasters?”
“He loves them,” I reminded him. “Remember?”
“Huh.” Jake grunted, then tapped into his phone.
Jake:
She’s right. He loves them.
“We need to find out when senior skip day is.” The past few days all seemed to blur together.
“We’ll figure it out,” Jake said even as our phones vibrated.
Archie:
I’ll take care of everything. Leave it with me.
“See,” Jake said. “Archie has it. He’ll take care of it.” He winked.
Bubba:
What about presents?
Me:
Yes, we’ll need those too. But I think we start with roller coasters, then cake back at the house, and fun. Lots of fun.
We all needed the fun.
Archie:
I’ll take care of it, babe.
For the first time in a while, I smiled at my phone. Planning something good for Coop felt like the right place to put my energy. When I caught Jake grinning at me, I didn’t question it, just went with it and grinned back.
“Help me review that last chapter?”
“Get over here,” he said, grin growing wider, as he dragged a desk closer to his own. “Want to start from the beginning?”
“Yeah,” I said, relaxing as he flipped open his book.
“Pop quiz,” he started and I almost laughed. Because that felt good too.