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“There is?” There was a sense of expectation in her voice, and I almost felt bad that it wasn’t actually true.

I slowly nodded and gave her a serious look. “They say that a kiss a day keeps the virus away.”

She stared at me for several seconds before a small smile cracked her lips. “And let me guess. You want to test the theory?”

I grinned. “If you’d be my test buddy, I’d say it would be rude not to at least try it.”

She shook her head, but she was still smiling. “I’m not going to kiss you.”

“Not even for your own health?”

“Nope.”

“What about the good of humanity? We could save thousands of lives if we prove it’s true.”

“Not even that.”

I rested my arm against the steering wheel as I stared at her. “So, I don’t want to be that guy, but you know that the fate of the world lies on you kissing me every day.”

She laughed and turned her head. “The world has no chance then.”

I let out a sigh and started the engine. I had no idea what was going to make this girl crack and fall in love with me but,damn it, I was going to find out.

Clary seemed relaxed as we drove down my street, but she started tapping her fingers against her leg as we drew closer to her house.

“How are you dealing with it all?” she asked. “Lockdown, I mean.” It seemed as though she was just talking to distract herself rather than because she actually wanted to know.

“It’s only been a few days. It’s better than school but a bit boring being stuck inside.”

“Yeah, it is a bit,” she agreed. “Have you thought about starting any lockdown activities to pass the time?”

“Activities? I can think of a few we could do together…”

She scoffed. “I’m talking about something productive or creative. I don’t know—knitting or origami or something.”

I struggled not to smile as I imagined myself actually sitting down and trying to fold pieces of paper into animals. I’d probably get a load of paper cuts. “Do I look like a knitting or origami kind of guy to you?”

“No,” she admitted. “But it doesn’t have to be knitting or origami. I was just giving examples. Like Zoey says she is doing puzzles with her parents.”

“I don’t do puzzles either.”

Clary stared at me for a moment before she responded. “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re difficult just because you can be.”

“Sometimes, I wonder if you like it.”

Clary smiled and shook her head, but she fell silent as I pulled onto her street. The lighthearted look on her face slowly lowered as we stopped outside the front of her house. There was concern flickering in her eyes, and I knew she was thinking of her parents. I hated she had to worry about them, but I felt powerless to help. Not even making her laugh again could hide the hard truth. Her parents still had no way home.

She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. She seemed to check it every few minutes, and there was a brief flicker of hope in her eyes whenever she brought it out. As soon as the screen lit up, the optimism in her gaze dissolved, her shoulders sank, and she quickly put the phone away. I assumed there was still no good news from her parents.

“So, do you know what mailboxes you want to put your cards in?” I asked, hoping to pull her from the sadness that appeared to have taken hold of her.

Her eyes were distant for a moment until they gradually seemed to focus on me. “Yeah, I have an idea.” Her expression turned more determined as she hopped out of the truck and set off down the street. There was no more joking around after that.

We spent about an hour on our little expedition, and I was sad I couldn’t somehow make it drag on longer. I didn’t particularly like the idea of returning home so soon. I hated being trapped inside the house, but I knew it was against the rules to remain loitering on the street.

We had just about reached my house again when I noticed someone standing on my front lawn. Her white-blonde hair was fluttering slightly in the breeze, and my gaze was pulled to the letterman jacket draped across the back of her shoulders—my letterman jacket.

“Is that Shelly?” Clary asked, leaning forward to get a better look.