Chapter 2

"You never called last night."

Rory glanced over at Melanie as she shut her locker tight.

"Yeah, sorry. Tyler came over and within an hour there was no junk food left," she said. "It was like watching a human garbage disposal at work."

"Takes a lot of calories to be Haverport High's star running back," Melanie replied with a laugh. "Wait"—her eyes went wide and she tilted her head—"you and Tyler are talking to each other?"

Rory nodded, shifting her gaze away from her friend's inquisitive one. "Yeah, we're, um, all good now."

"Okay but…" Melanie started, then hesitated. "Did you guys talk about, like…the fact that he likes you?"

"Uhhh, not exactly." She opened her locker back up and shuffled things around for no particular reason. "I just kind of told him I wanted to forget everything that happened and go back to how things were."

Melanie frowned. "Can he even do that? Can you even do that?"

Could she?"Everything seemed fine last night."

Melanie tapped an index finger to her cheek. "Interesting."

She closed her locker once more and pointed to Melanie's jeans, desperate to change the subject. "Miss Mel, do I see a rip in the jeans you are wearing today?"

Melanie sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. They got caught in my bike gears the other night riding home from Calvin's."

"He made you bike home? God, he's getting lazy."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Noooo, he just needed to study for a test, and I left so he wouldn't have any distractions."

She wiggled her brows. "Too much of a distraction then, huh?"

Melanie blushed. "Oh, shove it."

She laughed. Never in a million years did Rory think someone might actually be interested in Calvin. He was the guy everyone loved to hate at work—always bossing people around, treating every aspect of the job like it was the damn military. Sure, it made sense why he was the way he was; Ron Parsons, the owner of Scoops, was Calvin's only father figure. Hence why Calvin made the decision to take over Scoops from him someday. But still—was refilling hot fudge canisters or having enough homemade waffle cones really a matter of life or death?

All it had taken was Melanie moving to town for Calvin to become a whole new guy. His goofy side made a surprise appearance every once in a while, and he could not keep his hands off the girl. It was sickening sometimes; she and the rest of the Scoopers had to constantly yell at them to knock it off or kick them out of the tiny bathroom in the back of The War Room where they would meet to makeout between shifts.

Rory took her friend in for a moment, noticing how much Melanie had changed since she'd first met her back in May. Gone were the preppy clothes and the perfectly straightened hair. Haverport seemed to have taken hold of her; she now sported a pair of baggy light-washed jeans, a big knit cardigan over a flowy white tank top, and a pair of chunky sandals. Her beachy waves were held back by an elastic blue headband, and the faint glow of a tan still lingered on her skin.

Melanie frowned. "What?"

Rory shrugged. "You just look like you belong here now."

Melanie gave her a shy smile, her eyes starting to mist over. "Yeah?"

Rory pummeled her in a fierce hug. She still didn't know how to talk to Melanie about the fact that Duncan was gone—an event that'd undoubtedly and irrevocably changed her friend's life. It had been clear to most people over the span of the previous summer that Duncan had a drinking problem, but the fact that he was taken so soon because of it? It just didn't seem fair.

She wanted to say something to Melanie, something comforting or encouraging. But she couldn't string together the right words, so she just hugged her tightly, ignoring the bustle from students heading to their homerooms.

Rory felt her phone buzz in her back pocket. She pulled away slightly, using the back of her sweatshirt sleeve to wipe away the tears on her friend's cheeks before reaching for her phone. She swiped open the screen to a text message.

It was from Jay.

Hi

Rory's stomach dropped.

"What?" Melanie asked, sniffling. "Who is it?"

She didn't say anything, just turned the phone so she could read it.

Her brow furrowed. "That's…odd."

"No kidding," Rory huffed.

"Have you guys talked at all since—"

"The day he shouted for all to hear that Tyler has a crush on me? Nope, not a lick."

"Weird," Melanie said. "Did you guys ever text before the—um, you know…"

"No, never," Rory said. "I'd try to get him to, but he always gave me some dumb excuse, like how he's horrible at texting or he didn't see it or whatever else."

"Well, clearly he's not so horrible at it now."

Rory stared down at the single word. Jay was three months into his freshman year at the University of Connecticut, and no one from Scoops had heard from him yet. He just up and left at the end of the summer, leaving all of them in the dust. Leaving her without saying a proper goodbye.

Not like she deserved one—they were never an item or anything. Even though she fantasized about it pretty much every day since meeting him during her first shift two years ago.

"What do you think it means?" Melanie asked.

Rory felt herself get flustered. "I—god, I have no idea."

"What are you two staring at?"

The two of them jumped at Tyler's sudden appearance. He was wearing his football jersey, just like the rest of the team did for Friday football games. And tonight was a big one—the game that could qualify Haverport High for the state championship. And, to top it all off, it was Homecoming.

With Tyler's huge frame towering over them, Rory almost didn't notice Blake stealthily creep up to her side and try to peek at her phone.

She quickly switched the screen off, then shoved it back into her pocket. "Oh, nothing, just a silly TikTok."

"But how silly?" Blake asked. "Gimme, I'll be the judge of that."

"No." Her face heated. "Only girls would really understand it."

"Why?"

"It's about vaginas."

Melanie laughed out loud, causing a few heads to turn toward them in the hallway.

Blake winced. "Yep, pass."

Tyler leaned in, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Can you guys please not scream about vaginas so early in the morning?" he whispered.

"Aww, does someone think his rowdy, inappropriate friends are going to cause him to lose votes for Homecoming King?" Rory teased.

Tyler shook his head. "No, stop—"

"Wait, you call that screaming?" Blake asked. "I mean, I could show you screaming."

"Vaginas," Melanie said instantly, her voice steady, her eyes dancing with mischief.

"Vaginas," Blake said louder, causing a few more heads to turn.

Rory inhaled dramatically, eyes dead set on Tyler. "VAG—"

Tyler lunged for her, throwing his hand over her mouth, his palm practically covering her entire face. Melanie and Blake burst out laughing as a teacher approached them, telling them to lower their voices.

Rory tried biting Tyler's hand as he pulled away. He shook his head at her. "You're a menace sometimes, you know that?"

She grinned. "Menace is my middle name."

The warning bell rang, signaling them to get to their homerooms.

Tyler started backing away from the group. "See you guys tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" Melanie cheered.

"I'll be the one in navy!" Rory quipped.

"Aren't we all supposed to wear navy?" Blake asked, looking confused.

"That's why it's funny, Blakey-boy."

Blake frowned. "I don't get it."

"And that's why I didn't show you the silly vagina TikTok—you never understand my humor," she teased, meeting Melanie's eyes and sharing a grin with her.

Blake shook his head as he walked away from them. "You are a strange, strange human."

Once Blake was out of earshot, Melanie placed her hands on Rory's shoulders. "Update me on this little situation at lunch?"

Her stomach twisted, realizing she still hadn't responded to Jay. What were you even supposed to say to an out-of-the-blue Hi? Who did that?

"If I have an update by then," she responded.

"And I think you now owe me a sleepover."

"Oh, trust me…" She pulled her backpack over her shoulder. "There will be plenty of opportunities for sleepovers now. Gabi picked up another job, so I'll constantly be in an empty house. Want to come over, I don't know, every night?"

"Don't tempt me."

The second bell rang, letting them know they were both sufficiently late for homeroom.

"Look at you," Rory teased. "New wardrobe, no AP classes, getting in trouble with a teacher, late for class. Who are you, and what have you done with Melanie Albertson?"

Melanie cocked her head as she backed away, that grin still on her face. "She moved to Haverport."

* * *

Does this mean we're still ignoring each other?

Rory satdown on the metal bench next to the high school's soccer field, drenched head to toe in sweat. It was the second to last practice before their final game next week, and this one was especially brutal. Coach Konicki had them run their winning plays over and over again, and by the end of it, her legs felt like goo.

She huffed, grabbed her water bottle out of her bag, and squirted the top of her head. She had yet to respond to Jay, going back and forth on what to say to him. Would a simple "hi" back be enough? Or was it alright to jump right in and tell him off about how angry she was that he left Haverport without saying goodbye?

She looked down at her screen and decided to be cordial. At least…for now.

Sorry, been busy

Hi back. How's college?

Rory sat there and watched the little gray dots dancing.

Fine

How was the last day at Scoops?

She shook her head. He left the way he did, yet he actually wanted to know how things were going? It didn't make sense. He was always the one complaining at work about how much he hated it and that he wasn't making enough.

Don't tell me you actually care

I do care!

Sure didn't seem like it when you left without saying goodbye

She couldn't help herself. He made her angry—especially when it really didn't seem like he cared about any of them.

Can't a man admit that he was wrong?

She shook her head as she typed back.

That's not on brand for you

Then consider me rebranded!

Before she could type her response, another text came in. She scanned it, then felt like she couldn't breathe.

I miss you

She stared at her screen, completely shocked. He…missed her? It was hands down the most intimate thing Jay had ever said to her, the closest he'd ever come to expressing some kind of emotion beyond his usual cocky arrogance. While there were a few moments Rory did witness a crack in his facade, it was always gone in a flash—a wall he clearly put up around others to hide whatever was actually going on in that thick, thick head of his.

Yet now, here he was, telling her he missed her.

Rory heard the squeaking of cleats as the rest of her team approached from the field. She switched off her phone and tossed it in her bag, wishing she could go back to answering a text that simply said "hi" instead of figuring out how to approach this massive bomb Jay just dropped on her.

"So who do you think is going to win tonight?" Kayla asked as she plopped down on the bench.

"Haverport," Rory said confidently. Even if they were playing Garrison Prep, who were notorious for having the best teams in the state, tonight's game was a shoo-in. Especially with Tyler out on the field.

"Not the game," Kayla teased. "Who do you think is going to be crowned queen?"

Rory rolled her eyes as her teammates burst into a lively debate about which of the school's popular girls was going to be elected for the coveted spot.

"I think Penelope's got it," Kayla said, untying her cleats. "That girl has every single teacher wrapped around her finger."

"Yeah, but so many students hate her," Gina retorted. "Just because she's the class president doesn't mean she's going to win the popular vote. I say Rhianne."

"No way," interjected Helen before taking a swig of her water bottle, the rest of the team collectively waiting with bated breath. "Guys, come on, it's going to be Zoe."

Rory listened to her teammates murmur their approval. Zoe Clark was Haverport High's "it" girl. Cheerleading captain. First selectman's daughter. Tall. Blonde. Absolutely stunning.

But above everything else, Zoe was known for always being the kindest person in the room. With that kind of power, she could be whoever she wanted.

Rory detested her.

"Do you guys think Tyler will get king?" Gina asked.

Rory perked up, leaning in slightly as she listened.

"Against Walker? I don't know, I feel like he doesn't have a chance," Kayla said.

Rory frowned. "Why not?"

Kayla shrugged. "Walker has always been the golden boy. Just because Tyler was made captain and is having an incredible football season doesn't exactly mean he's going to win."

Helen rolled her eyes, tossing her cleats in her bag.

Rory scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Tyler is ten times the person Walker is. And he isn't just having a good season—he's single-handedly carrying that team to victory."

Kayla raised her arms in defense. "Not saying he isn't. He's just not that popular, you know?"

Rory pursed her lips. It seemed unfair that Tyler wouldn't get the recognition he deserved because of some popularity contest. Walker may be the quarterback and the team's second captain, but he certainly wasn't as nice or hard-working as Tyler. He'd had everything handed to him on a silver platter…like his scholarship to play football for Auburn next fall, the same university where his father happened to be on the Board of Trustees.

But Tyler, who was always in the backyard working on his technique, always the first one to show up at practice and the last one to leave? He deserved to be Homecoming King, deserved a shot at playing college football—something she knew he'd wanted his whole life.

She knew he'd need to be offered a scholarship, which meant a recruiter would have to come watch him play. For some ridiculous reason that made no sense to her, not a single one paid a visit to their school. And with the season coming to an end and college application deadlines getting closer and closer, it seemed to her that Tyler might be running out of time.