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Twenty-Four

To be honest, I didn’t think house parties with live bands were really a thing until tonight. In an old three-story house in the middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania, about twenty minutes from Millersville University, Nope. continues to slay their set with Zo, temporary guitarist from Turtlenecks and nonbinary ruler of denim vests after Devon Miles Smith quitthis morning. Apparently, Zo knew how to play most of the songs and covers already, but they learned the rest in about four hours, which, according to Kayla, is more than Devon ever did.

I sing along to “Netflix and Kill,” soda in hand and camera bag slung over my shoulder, as Corrine and Juniper dance around me, having some sort of battle to see who can be louder when shouting the words. The song ends and we throw our hands up, screaming our applause as the people around us clap not half-heartedly, but maybe like three-fourths-heartedly. These people would have been fine with some loud Bluetooth speakers, but Hayley, Nope.’s drummer, was roommates withthe party’s host freshman year. A gig’s a gig, even if the band’s not getting paid.

Corrine throws her arm around my shoulders and kisses my cheek, leaving a sticky, mouth-shaped lipstick mark behind that she insists on Instagramming.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” she says. “And Kayla practically shit herself when she saw you showed up. Even if itwasjust to film for your documentary or whatever.”

I ignore the jab, mostly because I got amazing footage for the VR headset a few songs ago. Trevor’ll feel like a member of Nope. the way Kayla flirted with the camera and made the crowd hype up in my direction. “I hope she changed her pants before the show.”

She shrugs jokingly.

“Hey, how are ya?” Kayla asks into the microphone, breathless. The small but polite crowd gives a collective holler.

She flips her long, curly hair over her shoulders and smiles. “I’m so happy we could be here tonight. You know, I applied to Millersville, so maybe I’ll see some of you next year.” Another cheer. Another smile. The highlighter on her brown skin shimmers in the colored lights set up for the party. “So, for anyone who isn’t familiar with us, which could be a lot of you, we are Nope. and Nope. is Alexa on bass.” Alexa plays a little ditty when Kayla points to her. “Hayley on drums.” Drum solo. “Some of you may know her from class. Me on vocals and general hip-swaying. And, for possiblytonight only, which should make this very special, Zo from Turtlenecks killing it on guitar.” They do some kind of picking on the strings, but it’s barely heard over Juniper’s, Corrine’s, and my screams.

“So, um...” Kayla is breathless again, staring at her feet, slowly picking her words. “That last song was called ‘Netflix and Kill,’ and this next song is actually brand-new, and I wrote it, and it’s called ‘Oatmeal Raisin.’ I hope you like it.”

My jaw drops, but Juniper doesn’t seem to experience anything other than excitement. Kayla is finally sharing a song she wrote. That’s huge enough, but it’s calledOatmeal Raisin? And the fact that Kayla admitted to me that her songs were about Juniper?

THIS SONG IS ABOUT JUNIPER, I want to yell. Corrine cuts to me, her eyes full of hearts.

It’s a catchy song, not a sad, slow love ballad by any means, and it has everyone dancing, even though no one knows the words. It’s not until the bridge, when Kayla starts singing Juniper’s name, that our friend stops dancing. My heart is racing watching Kayla, eyes closed tight, singing her heart out and Juniper realizing what’s happening.

I mouth, “Oh my god,” to Corrine and she mouths back, “Oh my god.”

By the time the song ends, Juniper has zombie-walked herself to the front, and stopped right in front of Kayla. Kayla opens her eyes and Juniper leaps into her arms, tackling her. Juniper locks her lips onto Kayla’s as the band plays on. Corrine breaks into a huge grin watching them; she can’t take her eyes off a happy ending.

I’m happy, I am. But seeing them entwined just makes me think of Holden. Reminds me that we haven’t spoken since I threw myself at him last night, except for when I texted him that I was filming at Nope.’s show tonight and he so eloquentlysaid “okay” in response. We’re coming to the end of our list of footage to collect and then the documentary will be over, and... what will happen to us? What has already happened to us?

The band continues its set, Juniper dancing wildly in the front, never taking her eyes off Kayla. She has a different kind of confidence now. She was a born front woman, but now maybe one day she’ll attain creepy dictator status or whatever Trevor says.

After Nope. finishes, a playlist kicks on and the band joins us. Kayla and Juniper pretty much only have eyes for each other, but it’s sickeningly cute, so we allow it. Zo tries to explain their technique for learning songs quickly, but it flies over my head. I think Hayley and Alexa somewhat understand, being musicians themselves, but Corrine meets my eyes multiple times like,“What language are they even speaking?”

She grabs my elbow, steers me away from what sounds like a math problem about music, and nods to a corner of the living room. “There’s a guy over there that keeps looking at you.”

I expect to wonder who it is, but I don’t. He meets my eyes instantly, and I know them.

“Victor,” I groan. “What the hell is he doing here?”

“You know him?” She raises an eyebrow. “You know a cute college guy and haven’t told me?”

“He’s a pain in the ass,” I say, taking a drink. “I know him from Penn State.”

“Wonder what he’s doing here.” She watches him for a second, and his mouth curves into a smile surrounded by pillowy lips. “You should go talk to him.”

“Why would I do that? I’m not a masochist.”

She shrugs. “He looks like he’s into you.”

“Well, I’m not into him.”

Intense Eyes™ now. “Are you into someone else?”

My stomach drops. “No? I already said I wasn’t. I’m too focused on my Temple app for anything else.” This is the conversation with Kayla all over, except it’s way more uncomfortable and it feels way worse lying.

Wait, am I lying?