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Annie bounced out of her house and slapped Hollis on the arm.

“You ready?”

“Yup.”

You said she’d be mad.

Give it some time.

Annie had dyed her hair light green over the weekend and cut the back very short. The rest of it she had tied into two space buns decorated with butterfly clips.

She had bright pink blush fluffed across her nose and eyeliner freckles; she looked like a sweet strawberry.

“Did you see Yulia at Will’s?”

Annie shrugged. “Yeah, she came way after you left and stayed late. She’s probably still hungover, to be honest. She was sad that she missed you.”

Annie seemed too happy, and Walt was anxious about it. Hollis spent the majority of their walk to school soothing his worries while Walt tried to dual wield a conversation with his least-favorite person.

True to form, when they arrived, Yulia looked like she’d been through the wringer. But she was still well-dressed in matching cream-colored sweats and Birkenstocks in spite of the cold weather.

She pulled Hollis forward by the back of his neck and dropped a rare kiss on his forehead.

“We’re going out for lunch, don’t be late.”