"Tiger! Alvin! Let’s eat!"

  Jessica’s voice echoed across the courtyard, instantly shattering the peace.

  I let out a slow sigh, watching her march toward our spot under the oak tree. My two weeks of detention had finally ended. I had my afternoons back. The natural order of my life was supposed to be restored. Instead, my quiet sanctuary had been invaded by a hurricane of ginger hair and loud opinions.

  "Dude, you have a pet name now?" Alvin whispered, adjusting his gsses.

  "Ugh. Don't ask," I muttered, opening my bento box.

  "Al! How many lunches did you bring today?" she asked, dropping her backpack onto the grass and sitting right next to me.

  "The usual, Jess. My mom made extra for you, don’t worry."

  "Yesssss! Tell Ange she is a lifesaver! I’m going to bake her a cheesecake this weekend."

  I looked at her sideways, my face completely deadpan. "Are you sure you can bake without burning your kitchen down, Cheeto?"

  "Shut up! If you keep being mean, I won't give you a slice!" she fired back, shoving my shoulder.

  I just smirked and took a bite of my rice.

  Things had changed. Our isoted little corner of the school was suddenly a social hub. Because Jessica refused to leave us alone, her orbit of friends started dragging over to our tree, too. Amy, Nicole, Reggie, and Faye.

  I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would. But as I sat there quietly observing the group, I noticed something. Faye, a quiet girl with dark hair, kept finding excuses to sit next to Alvin. She ughed at his terrible jokes. She touched his arm when she spoke.

  It was painfully obvious. Faye was into him. But Alvin, being the massive, insecure nerd that he was, was completely blind to it.

  I decided I needed to stage an intervention before his idiocy cost him a perfectly good girlfriend.

  **

  "Al, you know Faye is interested in you, right?" I didn't take my eyes off the TV screen, my thumbs flying across the controller.

  Alvin paused his game. "You think so? Why would she be interested in me?"

  "I don't know," I said smoothly. "Maybe because you look ugly and dumb, and she pities you."

  "Fuck you, dude! I’m being serious."

  I ughed, pausing my game as well. "I am too. First of all, she’s constantly invading your personal space. Second, she’s the only girl in the state of Illinois who actually ughs at your pathetic jokes."

  Alvin scoffed, crossing his arms. "By that exact logic, Jessica is interested in you."

  I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

  "She’s always touching your arm. She ughs at your dry-ass jokes. Hell, she literally gave you a pet name, Daeron."

  I let out a quiet, dismissive snort. The idea was ridiculous. "Jessica is tactile with everyone, man. And my jokes are objectively funny. The pet name is just retaliation because I refuse to stop calling her Cheeto."

  "So, what, I should just start calling Jess 'Cheeto' too? Think she’ll give me a pet name?"

  My brain stalled. The tone of his voice had shifted. It wasn't defensive banter anymore.

  "Hold up." I dropped my gamepad onto the floor. I turned to look at him, my stoic expression breaking into genuine shock. "Don’t tell me you actually like Jessica."

  Alvin looked away, staring at his carpet. "...."

  "Come on, dude. Do you?"

  "....Yeah."

  "Holy shit." I ran a hand through my hair. "Since when?"

  "You remember that girl I told you I had a crush on back in middle school?"

  "No fucking way. That was Jessica? Why didn't you ever tell me, man?" I leaned over and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

  "First of all, she’s popur," Alvin said quietly, the heavy insecurity returning to his voice. "And second... I honestly think she likes you, Daeron."

  "Bah. Nonsense." I waved my hand, erasing the theory entirely from the room. "That girl only hangs around me because she likes to argue. She pushes my buttons for fun. You push my buttons for fun, too, dude! That doesn't mean you're romantically in love with me, right?"

  "Fuck you! I prefer pussy over your dick, asshole!" Alvin barked out a ugh, the tension breaking.

  "Then grow some balls and go get the girl!" I grinned. "Seriously, man. If you like her, I’ll be your wingman."

  "How are you going to be my wingman? You've never even dated anyone!"

  "I’m dating Ange Peter," I said with a completely straight face.

  "DUDE!" Alvin kicked me square in the chest. "That’s my mom!"

  I caught my breath, ughing hard. "Alright, alright. I'm serious, though. You just need confidence. Stop acting like a passive victim. Show her your actual charm. And starting today, you are joining my workouts once a week. We need to put some muscle on your scrawny ass so you don't look so pathetic. Deal?"

  Alvin looked at me, weighing the offer. "Deal. But you have to do something for me, too."

  "Name it."

  "Stop calling her 'Cheeto'. Stop using pet names, and stop getting into those touchy-feely banter fights with her. If you back off and give her some space, I think it will help my chances."

  It was a completely logical request. If I was taking up all her attention, Alvin couldn't shine.

  "DEAL." I grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. It was an easy sacrifice to make for my brother. "Now get up. We're going to the gym. You need to train."

  "..... Can we start next week?"

  "No! Today! Move your ass, cadet!"

  **

  For five weeks, I stuck to the pn.

  I dragged Alvin to the gym three days a week. His scrawny frame was slowly putting on muscle, but his confidence was still stuck at zero. When it came to romance, he was a massive noob. If Jessica stood within two feet of him, he turned into a frozen stone statue.

  I did my part. I cut all physical contact with Jessica. If she tried to bump my shoulder, I stepped away. I stopped calling her 'Cheeto'. I stopped returning her banter. I basically made myself as boring as possible so Alvin could shine.

  But the idiot was too passive to make a move. To make matters worse, Faye was still clinging to him like a shadow, and I started to feel bad for her. Alvin never looked at Faye; his eyes were always darting nervously toward Jessica.

  November 2009.

  The rainy season forced us indoors. We started hanging out in the gymnasium bleachers after school. Amy’s boyfriend was on the varsity basketball squad, so Amy loudly demanded we watch their practices.

  In reality, Alvin and I were there to watch the cheerleaders practice on the sidelines.

  "Damn," Alvin muttered, leaning forward on the bleachers. "I wish one of them was my girlfriend."

  "Meh. If you actually put in ten percent of the effort you put into video games, you could get Jessica in no time, Al. Grow a pair."

  "Fuck, man. I don’t know. I’m not sure she’s even interested in me anymore. She seems so distant."

  "Well, dude, even if you strike out with Jess, Faye is practically throwing herself at you. Maybe Jessica is hesitant because she thinks you and Faye have a thing."

  Alvin looked at me, hope sparking in his eyes. "Do you think so?"

  "Nah," I said, my face completely deadpan. "I think you're just ugly as fuck, dumbass."

  "Asshole!" Alvin shoved my shoulder, and we both ughed, settling back to watch the practice.

  I had to admit, though, my eyes kept drifting to one specific girl. Jessica. She radiated energy. Her ginger hair caught the gym lights, and her pale skin flushed a vibrant, healthy red after a few minutes of jumping. Yeah. I understood why Alvin liked her.

  "Dude, how about you?" Alvin broke my silence. "I never asked. Who’s your target?"

  "Huh?" I blinked. "Target?"

  "Yeah. Who do you want to date?"

  "Uhh, I don’t know. I never really think about it."

  "What the hell, man?" Alvin scoffed. "If I had your looks, your build, and that weird, scary charm you have, I’d fuck half the girls in school."

  "You want to fuck Mrs. Harrington?" I asked ftly.

  "Hell no!!! You sick fuck!" We burst out ughing again.

  When the whistle blew, the girls broke from practice. We walked down to the floor to chat. Before I could even say a word to Alvin, Jessica grabbed my forearm, her grip surprisingly tight.

  "Tiger. Come with me for a minute."

  She didn't wait for an answer. She pulled me toward the back hallway of the gymnasium, away from the echo of the bouncing basketballs.

  "What’s up, Jess?" I asked calmly.

  She dropped my arm and spun to face me. "What is wrong with you?"

  "Huh? I’m fine, Jess."

  "No, you're not! You've been avoiding me for a whole month! You never call me Cheeto anymore. You barely even look at me! Are you... are you in a retionship or something?"

  I frowned, completely confused by her panic. "Huh? Are you?"

  "No!" she sputtered. "I mean... I don’t have a boyfriend right now!"

  "Okay?"

  "What?? I’m the one asking you, Daeron! What is wrong with you?! Stop being so secretive!"

  "For fuck's sake, Jess, I don’t understand what you're yelling about," I said, keeping my voice level. "I’m perfectly fine. If you're asking if I'm mad at you, the answer is no. Not at all."

  "Then expin to me why you keep dodging me! Why did you stop using my nickname?!"

  I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. I didn't want to out Alvin, but she was forcing my hand. "Uhhh, fine. I just don’t want to make things weird, and I think this is the best—"

  She didn't let me finish. She lunged forward, grabbing handfuls of my t-shirt with both hands. Her green eyes were wide, frantic, and filled with a sudden, desperate fear. "What are you talking about, Tiger???"

  "Hey, calm down," I said, putting my hands over hers. "Let me finish, okay?"

  "Noooo!" Her voice cracked. "I don’t want to hear it!"

  She yanked my shirt, burying her face into my chest, hiding from whatever rejection she thought I was about to deliver.

  I stood there, stiff as a board, my hands awkwardly hovering over her shoulders. "Hey, Jess... what happened?"

  "Noooo, I don’t want to hear it! I don't want it!" she mumbled against my chest.

  "Okay, fine, Jess. Please just calm down." I took a breath, deciding to just rip the band-aid off. "Look, I don’t know what happened between you two. But it’s better if you talk about it with Alvin."

  She froze.

  Slowly, she raised her head. The panic in her eyes vanished, repced by complete and utter bewilderment. "Huh? Alvin? What the hell are you talking about?"

  "Uh... well, actually, Alvin likes you," I confessed, keeping my voice low. "I just didn't want to make him jealous. That's why I backed off."

  "What??"

  She shoved my chest with both hands, stepping back violently. She spun around, putting her back to me, her shoulders rigid.

  "Hey, what’s wrong, Jess?" I asked, genuinely baffled. "You're acting weird."

  She whipped back around, closing the distance between us in a second. Suddenly, she threw her arms around my neck, pressing her body flush against mine.

  "What if I told you that I’m interested in you?" she whispered fiercely.

  "What?" My brain completely short-circuited.

  She stood on her tiptoes. Her face was inches from mine. I could feel her soft, warm breath against my lips. The heavy, sweet scent of vanil clouded my thoughts entirely. Her green eyes locked onto mine, daring me to make a move. Time seemed to stop in the hallway.

  And then, just as suddenly, she shoved my chest again.

  "Just kidding!" she chirped. She stuck her tongue out at me, a wild, flush red spreading across her cheeks, and she turned and sprinted back inside the gymnasium.

  I stood in the empty hallway, staring at the doors she had just disappeared through, my heart hammering against my ribs.

  "What the fuck... Damn."