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"I lovesup to our table, Nate and Rowe carrying their own trays behind hinizable, which makes Houston look in our direction Our eyes meet almost instantly, and for a second, it’s just as it is every tih the s of the library, across a street--we hold up a hand and acknowledge the other one exists, and then we continue being chicken shits and going about our pathetic lonely days

I’h…and the hair-flip--then the girl with hi she finds so unbelievably hilarious that she is corasp his arm with her hand

I’m out ofI’h At least when it co out of e," he stutters Great He’s stuttering This is so cliché

"Hey, Houston So, this your hot date?" That’s seriously what coh, and pretend I’ at the inside of my cheek I realize too late that I’ve started this act, so I need to keep it up I’ I’ve lost loss onmyself from the inside

There’s a moment where his mouth actually forms an oh, and I can’t quite tell if it’s an "oh fuck!" or an "oh, no" I’ive hi onto the other end of the bench next to his…date

"Hi, Paige I’m Tracey It’s nice to meet you," she says Her shake is firm Shit, she’s nice And her teeth are really white She has her hair pinned in the front in these really cute twists I should try that with s I want to eh for that to happen…for her and I to be friends She needs to go

"So, what brings you two out for Fish-Fry Friday?" I ask I’m not even really sure if that’s what this is called It is now

"Oh, e sort ofto Houston for confirmation, or maybe out of courtesy I can tell she doesn’t want to rat hihtly, and eventually he pops one open, right when she finishes her sentence "Online?"

Online She says it like a question

"Oh," I say, not really sure what to do with that answer "Oh" I just said it again

Houston’s doing that thing he does when he puts his hand on his neck and squeezes My best guess is he’s trying to work his own head off his body so he doesn’t feel the pressure of this very situation It’s ht noish he’d just stop

There are a few seconds that pass when I think Houston is about to talk, but eventually he shakes his head and covers his er I’ here feels, and we’re all starting to focus on the country song being piped through the speakers; Tracey--I think?--even bothering to go as far as to bob her head in tiood ti htly at Tracey as I leave our shared bench "Nice to meet you"

"You, too," she says, or at least I think that’s what I hear behind the swishing of air rushing over et back to our table, and I know it’s not because I’ve had a plastic cup of wine Rowe catchesat the baskets of food, but nobody is really saying anything They’re trying to be polite I know they all probably understandbetween me and Houston--than they say out loud I kind of love theht noe could all just call a tiry and pissed and hurt in front of my friends

My friends These are my friends

"I hate fish," Rowe says Nate doesn’t skip a beat and grabs her basket, placing it in front of hi with his Their distraction does its job, and the rest of us laugh

Rowe scratches the tips of her fingers along et my attention, then nods toward the exit I silently tell her it’s okay, but she silently insists