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“Umm.” My eyes swept over the rows and rows of labels, trying to think of something. I didn’t want to say anything that would cut our little trip short. I wanted to linger in the grocery store as long as I possibly could. “Milk, eggs, the usual. A bit of everything, I guess.”

“Okay, then let’s walk down all the aisles that way we can grab anything you need.”

Yes, that seemed like a good enough plan to me. The longer, the better.

“Will you be going to Bellevue High as well?” she asked, dropping a block of butter into my basket.

Bellevue High? I was home-schooled my entire life, but that could change depending on her answer. “Why, do you go there?”

“Yes, that’s the only high school in town.”

“Then that’s where I’ll be going too.” I sidestepped to make way for the woman rolling a filled cart in front of us. The motion made the back of my hand graze Katy’s soft ones.

And I was close, so close to her that only an inch separated us. She was sandwiched between the shelves and my body, and my gaze lowered as I watched her inhale sharply.

The moment didn’t last long as I mumbled a sorry and created a safe distance between us. But still remained close.

“Then we can be friends,” she blurted.

Confused, I eyed her.

“I mean, like we would be going to the same school and we are neighbors, so we could be friends. Or not.” She waved a hand. “Or try to. It’s not that we know each other enough to be friends.” She swallowed, a flare of fear crossing her glinting eyes. Like she was scared of what I would say.

I already had one friend whose personality matched the bodies of a hundred friends. Making new friends was a chore, and I never wanted another friend.

Yet right here, right now, I never wanted to be friends with anyone else more than her. Maybe even more than friends. I wanted it withher.

“I would love that,” I said softly. “I would love to be your friend.”

The way her eyes melted at my words was a picture I wanted to capture and keep in my pocket for the rest of my life.

We walked the last section, and I was already bummed that my time with her was nearing an end.

“These are good.” Her hand darted out to grab a jam pie. “They only brought them in last week, and it’s already my new favorite snack. My treat, I’ll get it for you,” she said with a wide smile that made the gold specks in her eyes shine.

I hated sugar. But then, I would eat sand if I could see that smile on her face. “It should be my treat,” I added the entire row of jam pies to my basket.

“That’s too much,” she mumbled.

“It’s nothing.” My family had enough money to buy a country, so it really was nothing.

Much to my dismay, we were soon standing by the counter to pay.

Katy stared intently at my basket, biting her lips. “We forgot milk,” she blurted like it was a crime we forgot milk. “I’ll go get it. Everyone needs milk.”

“No, it’s okay—” She started to walk away before I could stop her. I wanted to follow her, but the cashier had already started scanning the items.

I stood there bored, wishing the cashier who loudly chewed her bubble gum would hurry up.

The sound of the bell and girly giggles filtered through the store, which was almost empty now. I didn’t even bother to turn as I kept my eyes trained on the aisle where Katy disappeared.

The girly giggles and the smell of choking perfume came into my vision, annoying the fuck out of me. A girl with ink-black hair in tight jeans with two similar-looking girls behind her grabbed a packet of Sour Patches while they whispered something to themselves as they made their way to the counter.

They stilled when they noticed my presence, and the girl in the middle looked shocked. For what? I had no idea. I hoped she would move so I could keep an eye out for my Katy.

“Hi.” The girl stepped forward. “I’ve never seen you before. I’m Sabrina, by the way.”

It took me a long second to understand that she was actually talking to me. I nodded politely.