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The idea that soave me the heebie-jeebies If that were the case, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted , I’d tentatively reached out to touch the stea away the condensation so I could see better, looking at that otherback was the sa as I could re remarkable about ht were crazy big forno teen ever wanted

I’d never been like Cat, with her shockingly blond hair that grew that way straight fro from a bottle, and her exotic-shaped eyes that she accented with jet-black eyeliner, and a pointed chin that she always held high, giving her a badass vibe The kind of vibe I’d alanted but could never pull off because grandiveso adorable

I’d spent forever staring in the es It was harder than I’d expected, to dissect rave; vu hovered overso when I found hborhood park Like me, it looked the same as it always had Standard-issue park stuff, really: slides, swings, sandbox, grass

The lights all around ht since it ay past curfew, yet I could see everything I needed to see I knew this place like the back of my hand It was the perfect place to be alone, and I hopped the short fence, wondering who it was possibly h to step over it, and then realized it probably wasn’t ned to keep ss were near the tree line, and beneath them there was sand so that if you fell, you’d land in the soft powder instead of scrape a knee, or crush a skull

Mostly, I think neighborhood cats liked to pee in it, though

Austin and I used to swing as high, and as fast, as we could and then ju to see which of us had landed the farthest That was, of course, before all the kissing had started

From that point on the park had beco the turrets of the jungle gym or in the tunnels as we’d practiced and practiced and practiced on each other Making sure we got that whole kissing thing just right

I sat in one of the swings, suffocated by ers around the chain and kicked reat idea after all

Moving back and forth, I tried to let her in the air, leaning ether

"You’re a supernova, Kyra Soht none of us will even be able to look at you" My dad always used to say things like that with a chuckle, right before he said so hten out my pitch Or sometimes he’d just reach over and brush away a stray hair and tell s like that so upright once s like that I wasn’t sure what kinds of thingsor rustling in the trees that bordered the park The place where Cat and I always i the little kiddies play on the teeter-totters

I turned sharply in the swing, the chains twisting together as I strained to see into the craggy shadows that filled the space between the trunks and shrubs and thick layer of ferns that choked the ground

I waited, holding my breath as I listened The back of , unable to let go of that strange feeling of being watched

I should leave, I finally decided when my heart refused to slow, even when I couldn’t pinpoint anything to be afraid of, other than ed the fact that I could still freak ainst the backs offirst one way and then the other as the chains worked to right themselves once more Suddenly I didn’t feel safe out here, in the park in the ht, all byhere

I was just about to go, pivoting in the soft sand beneaththere, near the entrance to the park

"What are you doing here?"

"Sorry," Tyler offered, taking an uncertain step back "I didn’t mean to scare you It’s just that I saw you take off this way and thought that maybe you shouldn’t be out here alone I don’t want to intrude or anything, but" He cocked his head to the side as a slow sood conscience leave you out here by yourself"

I glanced around at the deserted playground "You afraid sorinned, and it felt like the first tiain on the swing, keeping my eyes on Tyler, disappointed that he’d decided to wear a shirt this time