It was peaceful. Too peaceful. If Cat hadn’t been so over the moon, she would have paid enough attention to know that she should have been incredibly suspicious of her friends. Had she been careless these past couple weeks? Were her excuses weak? Did she stare off into the distance too often, laugh too hard at Peter’s jokes when everyone was around? Maybe, but her head was too far into the clouds to notice the odd looks Hannah gave Cam, or the giggles Kelsey hid behind her hand.

She had no space in her mind to worry about how strange her friends were acting. Not when her toes were numb, not when she lay on top of Peter’s bare chest, breathing in his scent, struggling to slow her heartbeat. Finals were around the corner, indicating the end of the school year. Then, moments like now, where they were alone and happy, would be harder to come by.

“Both of our phones are going nuts right now,” Peter said into the crown of her head to wake her from her daydreams. His fingers raked her hair that lay on her back, which was definitely not the move he should have done if he wanted her to get out of his bed at any point. All this did was make her melt further into him.

“Group chat,” she muttered. Another blip she ignored. Then the chime of her ringtone. Cat opened one eye to glance at her phone on Peter’s nightstand. He went to reach it, but she laced her fingers in his and glanced up at him. “Nah. Just Hannah. I’m not done with you yet.” His cheeks burned a darker shade.

“You don’t need a break after all, then?” Just as she stretched her neck to kiss him, his phone started to vibrate, right next to hers. They stared at it, frowning.

“I guess you should get that, then,” she said with a sigh. “Someone must be on fire if they’re that desperate.” He reached to grab his, and she took the time to stretch over and get her phone to glance through the group chat, fully lying on Peter’s stomach. It was just a string of laughing emojis and hearts. What the hell?

“Hey, Cam. What’s up?” Peter grunted into the phone. Cat sighed and let herself up, trying not to crush his diaphragm. The mood was thoroughly distinguished by their stupid friends. Peter furrowed his brows and looked at her, curious. “Oh, um, sure. Yeah, just gotta--uh-huh. Yeah, I can meet you down in a couple minutes.” Cat’s heart jumped to her chest, but Peter just shook his head, continuing, “I--um, just studying.” A beat. “Yeah.” Peter shook his head. “’Kay. Bye.” She squinted at him, but he just shrugged. “He sounded like he was laughing, so everything must be okay. Said he wanted to--” Cat’s phone started to chime again. Hannah. She rolled her eyes.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Omigod--” Hannah’s voice was tight, like she was either crying or laughing. “Hi, we all want to go for pie. Do you want pie? Or maybe to give someone pie?”

“What?” Were they on drugs? What the hell was she going on about?

Hannah gasped. “Like a warm apple pie, I think it’s referred to.”

“What is?” Hannah burst into laughter without responding, but Cat froze, her phone dropping to Peter’s bed. The laughter was coming from outside the door just as much as it came from her phone.

“Fuck.”

“Was she calling...was she making an American Pie reference?” Peter asked carefully as he slid off the bed to grab his clothes. Cat moved a little slower, a little less certain.

“I didn’t see that movie. But I think I know what she meant, now.” Hannah was calling her vagina a pie. And apparently she and all their friends were going nuts in the group chat because...well, they knew. Heard. Ugh.

“Y-yeah.”

The two got dressed in silence, Cat sliding into her baby blue sundress, Peter in jeans and a polo. He stopped, staring at her as she adjusted herself.

“You okay with this? I know you wanted to keep this...between us….” Yeah, for this exact reason. Cat sighed.

“Not--not for anything bad. I just.” She looked to the door, frowning. “It’s just…. I guess we have to endure the most obnoxious conversation of our lives now. And we have no idea how long they’re going to freak out. It was so peaceful….” She dropped her phone into her bag and swung it over her shoulder. Peter chuckled, nudging her.

“Honeymoon’s gotta end sometime. You ready?” He turned the doorknob, and upon her nod, they stepped out together.

Kelsey, Cam, and Hannah stood, lined against the wall, in various forms of shock and ecstasy. Kelsey was the first to pipe up, right after she picked her jaw off the floor.

“How long has this been happening?” Cat glared.

Cameron interrupted her, waving his hands, stepping forward. “No, no, no, wait! The bets!”

“Bets?” Cat echoed in a low tone.

“I bet it was after the movie,” said Cam.

Hannah, always the detective, had the closest answer: “I bet it was that night you guys found out--”

“I didn’t even think you guys were there yet!” Kelsey whined. “It’s no fair, you guys got to know ahead of time.” She gestured to the two roommates, but Cam scoffed. Cat attempted to melt behind Peter, but he kept turning so she would be in full view of the group. What a traitor.

Cam scoffed. “I had to find out on my own!” Why did he look insulted? “I didn’t even know they’d been accidentally dating until a few days ago!”

“What? Peter didn’t tell you?” Kelsey asked, shocked.

“No! I had to practically torture Hannah, and found out right when you did! When Cat said she was at work, and she turned out not to be at work that first time!” Ah, shit. She knew that excuse wouldn’t pan out every time. It hadn’t worked multiple times, from the sound of it.

Kelsey huffed. “That’s bull--”

“Wait, so when did you guys start hooking up?” Hannah finally composed herself enough to ask her favorite lurking question. Peter and Cat could only stare at her.

Peter hardly responded, just muttered, “Oh my God.”

“Can we not...make a big deal--” Hannah interrupted Cat.

“Big deal? You want a big deal? Let’s go talk to that communications professor and tell her what happened, that’d be a big deal!”

“That’d be hilarious. She’d die,” cried Kelsey, who smacked Cam on the arm to cue him to start laughing again.

Peter crossed his arms, sighing. “She would not.”

“I bet everyone else will.” Hannah burst back into laughter.

“You know, Brad thought you guys had something.” Cat’s annoyance twinged a bit louder when Brad’s name was mentioned. Really, gossipping, Cam?

“What?” She glared at him.

“Well, he only met you at--well--you know when--” His fumbling filled in the blank of, when Nate tried to date rape you, “and he just thought you guys connected or whatever.” Connected. More like when everyone started spreading the rumors that Cat just went around and had a threesome with Peter and his BFF and no one came to ask her about it.

Kelsey gasped. “Omigod, did you guys ever hook up before you found out who each other was? Or were? Or who you are?”

“Holy shit!”

Cat shook her head. “That’s not anyone’s business--”

“I think it’s everyone’s business!” Hannah shouted. “We’ve been going through this with you all year! And now it’s finally happened!”

“So when did it?” Cameron interrupted, holding out a hand. “We need to know. For money.” Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Cat refused to answer, just crossed her arms over her chest. At this, Cam gasped. “Were you going to try and not tell us at all?”

Kelsey’s jaw dropped. “Finals are like--!”

“We weren’t hiding-hiding,” Peter mumbled.

“You’re just very annoying,” Cat finally said. “So it was just...kind of more...to stop….” She gestured to all of them with her hand. It was a little risky, offending them like this, but for whatever reason, this only made them laugh even harder. Shrill. Red-faced, doubled over, gasping for breath. Peter and Cat exchanged glances, waiting for them to stop.

Peter cleared his throat. “Were we going to go do something, or…?”

Hannah gasped for air and shook her head. “No, this was just because we saw Cat wasn’t at work again, and we wanted to see if she was with you.” So they could have just stayed in bed for a bit longer, in the warmth, in the quiet. Cat pinched the bridge of her nose as Hannah continued, “So did you guys start banging as Cat and Peter when you were accidentally dating each other or after you found out who you were on Talkative?” Cat slapped Cameron’s thumbs-up right as he started it, and Peter muttered the tiniest “after.”

“Okay--” Cam blurted, “maybe we can actually go out for dessert or something now. ’Cause it sounds good. And you guys can tell us everything on the way?”

“Tell you?” Cat echoed. “You guys already know everything, apparently.” She was the last to start moving down the hallway, Peter in front.

“No, no, no,” Kelsey said, sighing. “Like, how did it happen? Did you just stare at each other from across the room and rush up to each other and start fucking, or what?” Jesus Christ.

Peter pushed the button to the elevator a little more roughly than necessary.

“If we talk about it, will you leave it alone?” he asked.

“Eventually,” came Kelsey’s amused reply. The elevator doors opened, and they poured in, too close to Cat’s comfort. She watched Peter through the mirror of the elevator, who decided to shoulder this responsibility, since Cat obviously couldn’t bring herself to.

“Fine. Cam, you were on a date, and we took that time to talk it out. The end.” In the reflection, Cat watched the expressions of their friends turn to annoyance.

“That’s it?”

“Come on! When!” Hannah pressed.

“Um,” Peter pursed his lips. “Few Wednesdays ago.”

“On a Wednesday?” Cam furrowed his brows. As if that wasn’t the exact day he also got together with Brad.

“Wait,” Hannah started, squinting. “That night you said you came back from work super late, when I never saw you come in at all--you were coming back from his dorm!" She looked to Kelsey with a gasp, and the two for some reason decided that now, in this tiny elevator, was the time to start screaming. Full-on screaming.

Cat couldn’t get out of the doors fast enough when they opened. There were a few other people in the lobby, staring, laughing at how Hannah and Kelsey started to bounce up and down and scream-talk to each other.

“Wait, shut up, guys!” Cam shouted at them. Right when Cat was about to think he was coming to his senses, he asked in the stupidest voice: “Is it luuuuuurrrrve?”

Cat immediately covered her face to try and hide the dark, furious bushing. Peter didn’t say anything, but he must have reacted similarly, because now Cam joined in on the screeching with Kelsey and Hannah.

“Oh my God!” he shouted, pointing to them. “It’s love! They’re in love!” A warm, reassuring hand appeared on Cat’s back; Peter, shrinking in on himself and struggling to hide a smile, was urging her forward through the lobby. While it felt nice to feel his touch out in the open like this, it did feel like the world’s shrillest parrots followed them, attempting to break their ear drums.

“Daniel!” Cam shouted, rushing the RA off to the side of the lobby. “Dan, they’re in love! Look at them! Look at the love birds!” Daniel rolled his eyes at him.

“Yeah. I know.” The guy walked off without another word, silencing their friends.

“What?”

Peter sighed as he pushed open the glass doors to Casa del Sol. “He walked in on us in the stairwell one night.” The trio screamed all the way to the parking lot, until they split into two cars--Cam and Hannah in Kelsey’s, and Cat in Peter’s truck.

The couple sighed together when they finally sat, alone, away from the screaming and obnoxious questions and announcements to the world.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Peter tried to reason on the way to the dessert place Kelsey led them to. Cat glanced at him, still feeling the blood rush through her body, hot and sensitive to all the attention. He almost looked like he enjoyed the attention, though he still seemed relieved to be away from it all. She shook her head.

“If you think that’s the last of it, you’re stupider than you look.” He laughed.

True to form, both Peter and Cat were right. While that was the last of the screaming, it was far from the last of the teasing, which was to be expected. They thought they were being quiet any time Cat and Peter were in the vicinity, cooing at “how cute” they were, and “how perfect” they turned out to be. Their giggles gave Cat flashbacks to middle school. But...true, it wasn’t that bad. Cat could handle those sorts of things if she got to hold Peter’s hand under the table, or give him a kiss before bed without hiding. She didn’t consider before that maybe it was an even trade-off.

Finals for Cat were much simpler and easier than her friends’. She was caught up on her essays and ceramics projects, leaving just the final for math and the second part of communications. This made her completely done with school by Tuesday night, with her bus ticket bought and paid for to leave Wednesday afternoon. She was the first to leave, again.

Cat, Cam, Kelsey, and Hannah sat at the cafeteria tables while Peter returned from getting gas. Their food was already cleaned up, and she was already packed and ready to leave. Peter didn’t even really need gas, but he went and topped off anyway, just to give her more time with everyone. Cam was the first to bring up that this was their final goodbye.

“This was a wild year,” he said.

“Yeah.” Cat nodded.

“I mean, like...a little more wild for you than me, but still.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “...yes.” Across the cafeteria, she spotted Peter opening the door to come get her. She gestured to him, and started to rise from the table.

Cameron glanced over his shoulder, then nodded. “Anyway. I’m glad we met. And I’m glad you didn’t fall in love with me like Kelsey did last year.”

Kelsey shouted, “Are you fucking kidding me--”

“She did not--!” Hannah, coming to her defense.

“Cam, are you serious?”

He stood with a massive grin, holding his arms out. “Feelings are nothing to be embarrassed about!”

“Knowing you is something to be embarrassed about!” Kelsey punched him in the arm, but when she was done, Cat did accept his open arms for a hug. Last one of those for a while. He was such a good hugger, too.

“Anyway, see ya, Cat. Don’t ignore us this break, ’kay?” he said while she moved on to Kelsey.

“Fuck you, Cameron.” Over Cat’s shoulder, Kelsey shoved him again before wrapping her arms around Cat fully. “Love you to pieces. Stay in touch.”

“I will,” she promised, then taking her time to pull Hannah into the last hug of the school year.

Kelsey added, “Oh, and keep your nasty brother away from my sister!”

“Like I have any control over that!” Cat snapped while she pulled away from her friend.

Hannah giggled. “Ha, right? She couldn’t even stop herself from dating her arch nemesis!” This was, for some reason, the most hilarious thing anyone said, and the trio fell into laughter for a full half minute before Cat could call them dumb.

“I love you, too. Text me when you’re home?” Hannah asked, pointing to her as Cat started on her way to the door.

“I will. I promise. I’ll do it in the group chat.”

“Okay, you guys have fun sucking out each other’s tonsils. Bye!”

She scrunched her face. “You’re disgusting and I’m glad to be walking away right now.”

“Bye!”

Cat rolled her eyes when she reached Peter, and gave him a peck on the lips.

“Your friends are so annoying,” she muttered through a laugh. Without asking, he took her bag off her shoulder and reached for her hand to hold on the way to the parking lot.

“When they’re being annoying, they’re your friends. My friends would never.” They shared another laugh, this one tenser, tighter, more final. They were silent the entire ride to the bus depot, holding each other’s hands tightly, their thumbs rubbing together as a silent form of comfort. Her chest ached at the thought of going on that stupid bus, but...it wouldn’t be for long. Though it’d be difficult at first.

Peter pulled up to the dropoff curb and got out to grab her backpack and duffle bag without a word. Cat took her time to grab her purse and slide out of the passenger seat.

To keep her heartbeat slow, she breathed carefully. When she looked up at him, she could tell--he was trying to keep his expression smooth and unbothered, but the moment he set her bags down, she pulled him into a kiss.

He held her so tightly, like she would disappear if he didn’t. She clutched him just as hard, pressing too firmly to try and hide the fact that her eyes burned and her lip quivered. She pulled back a little, sucking in a deep breath of his scent to calm her nerves, force any incoming tears back.

“I’ll see you in a couple weeks?” she asked, her eyes still closed. She felt Peter nod as he pressed his forehead against hers. It must have been quite a sight, she thought, mostly to keep herself from crying. He was a foot taller than her, bent over like Quasimodo so he could touch as much of her as possible. She would have forced herself to laugh if she thought it would help her feel better.

“That’s the plan. If it’s okay with your family,” he said. If it’s okay with her family. Cat smiled, opening her eyes.

“I mean, worse comes to worst, you stay in a motel.” Peter replied with a tense laugh. “What?”

“Motel….”

“Oh my God, you’re such a snob.” She giggled, her grip on him loosening. Peter straightened up a bit more, but his thumb ran over her bottom lip.

“Hard to shake that lifestyle when it’s all you know.” She couldn’t even make fun of him for it, because he pulled her into another quick kiss. This time, when they parted, she let go of him. If she didn’t, she’d never leave.

Cat sighed. “Anyway, my parents are pretty cool, so they’ll probably be fine with it. Then I’ll try and come down two weeks after that, and we can trade off from there until I’m back.” Peter frowned, but nodded, glancing over to the Greyhound just a few hundred yards away.

“Okay, you’ve got to get on that bus before it leaves without you.” He bent down to hand her bags to her, and she swung them over her shoulder with a sad nod.

“I’ll text you when I’m home.”

“You better.” Once she had her backpack, duffle, and purse on, he pecked her again. “I love you.” She smiled.

“I love you, too. Talk to you later.”

“Bye….”

Walking away went against every feeling in her chest, every atom in her being. It was so hard to convince herself how temporary this was, but by the end of summer, they’d be pros, more solid than ever. Besides, they dated for weeks by accident without ever actually “seeing” each other. They could do this no problem, right?

Cat gave Peter a final wave right before she stepped onto the bus, and presented her ticket immediately after. After spotting a place near the middle, she shoved her back in the overhead compartment and pulled out her phone as she sat down.

There seemed to be enough space to stretch out a bit, to have her bags on the seat beside her and to just generally take up space. She leaned against the window as she waited for her mother to answer. She must have been the last expected passenger, because the driver announced departure over the speaker and threw the bus into gear.

“Hi, Mom. Just letting you know I made it safely on the bus and I’m on my way,” she said.

“Oh, great, honey! I can’t wait ’til you’re home!” That excitement and unconditional love was the only reason why leaving right now didn’t hurt as bad as it could have.

“Yeah…. I miss you.” Cat sighed, glancing out the window to watch Peter climb into his douchey truck. “Um, quick question: what are we doing in two weeks? Anything planned?”

“Planned? Uh, no...not that I’m aware of, why?” Oh, boy.

“I was wondering if….” The bus lurched forward; Cat braced against the empty seat in front of her. “I was wondering if my boyfriend could come up to visit for a weekend.”

“Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend? Ooooh, Dios mio! Tell me about him! What’s he like? What’s his major?” Well, at least her mother’s screaming was a little less obnoxious than her friends’. Plus, after Cat opened up about him a little, she knew her parents would have zero problems knowing she started seeing Peter.

“Um, he’s…. You kind of already know a little about him. He wants to be a physical therapist so he’s majoring in kinesiology right now….” The driver started his circle around the pickup dropoff area, following the curb to turn around. Peter still sat in his truck, watching, smiling sadly at her across the way. She smiled back.

“Kinesiology, what..?” Cat only tried to think of an equivalent Spanish word for a second, but gave up.

“The study of physical movement.”

“Like PE?” A mischievous smirk spread across her lips. The look of scared confusion from Peter through the windows made her laugh.

“...yes, Mom,” Cat said, giving a final wave to Peter from the window. ”Exactly like PE.”