Eros and I hadn't spoken at all this past weekend- complete radio silence. No texts, no calls, no desperation hookups.

Nothing.

But he'd had time to work out with Henry, and to also post on social media about it. Who does that?

I let out a loud sigh, leaning my head back against my seat.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked, turning off his car.

"Eros," I said, "I'm still mad."

"I think he's probably staying back to avoid hurting your feelings."

"Yeah, well, he's hurting my feelings more by not reaching out."

"Well, sorry, but I'm not entirely sure it's his responsibility to reach out and try to fix things."

I glared over at Henry, knowing he was right. It wasn't his responsibility, but it still would've been nice.

"How do I know he wasn't hooking up with other girls this weekend?" I asked, trying to erase even the thought from my mind, but failing.

"He doesn't see other girls, Jo. Even when he's mad. No one else exists. You're safe. At the gym the other night-"

He cut himself off as I looked over at him, making him clear his throat and look away from me.

"I'm just saying. He saw none of the half naked girls."

"Well, that's so comforting," I deadpanned, opening my door. I stepped out of Henry's car and folded my arms over my chest, blowing a strand of hair away from my lips.

"Don't stress yourself out about it," he said, squinting as he locked his car.

We walked towards the school entrance, and I noticed that Henry had been paying less and less attention to the female attention he was receiving.

"Henry, every girl knows you're single now, and they're all over you."

He looked over at me, chuckling. "And?"

"You're not entertaining it," I said, looking up at him as soon as we got inside the building.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I was locked down for a year. Kinda feeling free currently."

I sighed. "I wish I felt more locked down currently."

He patted my shoulder, looking down at me. "Things will work out. I've gotta run."

"Yeah," I muttered, knowing that Eros's first class of the day was art. The art classroom was only a few doors away from me, and I knew he'd either be in there or in the gym.

I curiously peeked inside the classroom, my heart sinking to my stomach when I saw him and another girl laughing.

And they're awfully close.

I cleared my throat, standing in the doorway with my arms folded over my chest. He looked over at me and his smile slowly faded, making him stand up from the table he was sitting on.

"Hey, I'll give you guys some privacy," the girl sweetly said, shooting me a small wave.

"You really don't have to-"

"Yeah, thanks," I said, my tone clipped as I watched her walk out.

Eros stood in front of me, his head hung. "We were working on something."

"You didn't say a word to me, all weekend," I said, taking a step towards him.

"The phone works both ways," he said, his eyes meeting mine.

I let out a laugh, keeping my eyes locked on his. "Right. I'm sure that comes in handy when you're cutting up with her over text. Right?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Jo, we're not going there."

"Oh, I'm going there," I said, nodding.

"She's my art partner, Josephine," he said, holding out his arm, "we're working on a project together."

"Oh, is that what it's called now?"

"Working on a project together? Yes, that's called working on a project together."

I bit down on my lip, looking away from him. "You were laughing with her. Like you used to laugh with me. I want to-"

"Emphasis on the used to," he said, "what, you think I don't want to laugh with you? Jo, I'd love to laugh with you. But I can't. Because you have convinced yourself that the decisions your parents have made have completely ruined your life, and their relationship issues have bled into ours."

I stood in front of him, again, at a loss for words. Josephine King could come up with a comeback quicker than she could blink, most of the time.

"Why are you being so harsh?" I softly asked.

"Because you don't understand anything else," he said, "you never have. It takes us at each other's throats to get a fucking point across."

"Okay, let's be at each other's throats," I said, eliminating the space between us, "you're supposed to be there for me. And okay, yeah, maybe in your head, you were being there for me. But from my point of view, you were pointing out every flaw, everything I'm insecure about right now."

"How was I pointing out something you were fucking insecure about?" He chuckled, "if you were insecure about the way you're handling everything, you wouldn't act like that so confidently."

"You're a fucking asshole," I snapped, "you always have been, I've just swept that under the rug."

"And you're a brat."

"You did not just call me a brat," I laughed out, looking up at him.

"Yeah, pretty sure I did."

I chuckled, folding my arms over my chest. "You know what? I'll just not speak to you about anything. I won't tell you what's going on. I'll go through it alone, and it'll be fine."

"You mean like I do?" He asked, "Jo, you haven't asked me how I am. You haven't bothered to be any kind of curious as to what's even going on in my life."

I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes. I shook my head as I realized I had no response, backing away from him.

"I'm not done with this conversation," he firmly said.

"The bell's about to ring," I muttered.

"You can come over later, then," he said, "because we're not done."

"Yeah, whatever," I said, slamming the door shut behind me.

~*~

"Why can't I open my eyes?" I giggled, feeling around for the countertop to lean against.

"Because, it's a surprise," Dad said, "just a few more seconds."

I smiled, extremely curious as to what Mom and Dad had pulled off this time. Was it another one of those week-long cruises in the Caribbean? Or was it a car? I can't even drive yet. Why would they get me a car?

"Open," Mom excitedly said, and as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw her phone camera only inches away from my face.

I let out a sigh and smiled, waving at the camera. Why do moms need to video document everything?

Dad nodded towards the kitchen, an excited smile on his face. I looked down and gasped, throwing my hands over my mouth.

"No way!" I screeched, "I've been asking about this dog since I was a baby! Literally!"

"We know," Dad said, matching my exact tone.

I giggled and knelt down, letting out a quiet squeal. "Hi, sweet baby."

A golden retriever- when I was younger, I'd always se Major when visiting Grandpa and always wanted one of my own. For some reason, we hadn't ever gotten one, until now.

"She's so beautiful," I softly said, smiling up at Dad.

"Yes, she is," he said, "we got her from the shelter. Little does she know she's about to have the best life a dog could have."

I beamed up at him, smiling back down at the dog. "Hero's gonna freak."

Mom smiled and leaned against the counter. "So, are you gonna take care of her?"

"Yes," I immediately responded, "yes, yes, a million times yes."

Dad smiled, rubbing Mom's back. "I got Major for Dad when Adora was pregnant. He claimed he didn't want the dog, but was hiding him in bed with him."

I giggled, raking my fingers through the beautiful, soft fur of the dog. "I wonder what her life was like before."

"Someone abandoned her," Dad said, a sympathetic look on his face, "she was just on the street when the shelter picked her up."

"How could someone do that to you?" I softly asked, earning the dog's beautiful brown eyes.

I smiled. "We're gonna love you so hard. What's her name gonna be?"

"You and Hero can brainstorm," Dad said.

"I hope she lifts his spirits," Mom softly said.

"Yeah, me too," I said. I missed Hero. The loud, obnoxious Hero. The full of life Hero. The life of the party Hero.

The door opened and I gasped, covering my mouth. "Is it Hero?" I whisper-yelled, looking up at Mom.

She nodded, placing her index finger over her lips.

"Hey, champ," Dad said, "and hi, Amelia."

"Hello," she pleasantly greeted, and I could see Hero's fluffy hair over the countertop. I looked down at the dog, smiling a broad smile.

"Hey, come in here," Dad said.

"Where's Fran?" Hero asked.

"She's home," Mom said, "I came and picked her up."

"Oh. Fran?" He yelled, making me giggle a quiet giggle.

He walked into the kitchen and the dog and I both looked up at him, earning his eyes.

He smiled, and it was the most genuine smile I'd seen from him in quite some time. "No way."

"Yes way," I said, sitting upright, "look at her."

He knelt down, using both of his hands to massage her head. He smiled and looked up at Dad. "Are we fostering her?"

"No, she's ours," he said.

"What if she's one of Major's babies?" I whisper-yelled, "and she somehow ended up in Chicago? What if she rode a bus over here?"

Hero smiled over at me, softly shaking his head. "She's beautiful."

"And a man's best friend," Dad said, looking down at Hero.

He stood up, smiling down at her. The dog followed him, making me giggle and follow the, what I'd figure to be, newly inseparable pair for a long while.

Amelia smiled, but her smile was replaced with a surprised look as the dog plopped down at her feet. She giggled and knelt down, petting her. "Hello, pretty girl."

Hero leaned against the counter with a smile, looking back at Dad. "Thank you."

Dad nodded, pressing a kiss to Mom's head. "Do dogs just naturally take to you that well, Amelia?"

"W-well, I guess so," she said, giggling as she looked up at Hero.

"What are we going to name her?" Hero softly asked.

"Hmm. What about Lorelei?"

"No," Dad quickly responded, "no, sorry."

"Lorelei was most certainly a hookup," Hero said, smiling back at Dad.

"Reckless era of my life. What about, I don't know, Goldie, or something?"

"That's awful," Hero muttered.

"I think it's cute," Dad said.

"It's definitely going to take some thinking," I said, "but we'll come up with something."

We all stood in silence, all watching the dog lick Amelia's legs.

"I-I don't know-"

"Daisy!" I yelled, earning everyone's attention.

"What about Daisy?" I sweetly asked, smiling over at Mom.

"I love Daisy," she said, rubbing Dad's forearm.

"Daisy's cute," Hero said, "good one."

"Daisy seems to be a fan of my lotion," Amelia giggled, "I-I don't know what to do."

Hero chuckled and knelt down, pressing a kiss to Daisy's head. "Let's go play ball, Daisy."

~*~

I sat in my car, contemplating even getting out.

Is it worth it?

Without even answering my question, I turned off my car and opened my door. I attempted to dodge the mud surrounding the football field, but failed.

"Yuck," I muttered, grimacing as I stepped through it. I made it to the dry grass and swept my hair behind my shoulder, spotting who I was looking for.

I approached the girl from this morning, my eyebrows in a furrow as I watched her pick up trash and throw it in a bag.

I let out a sigh, walking over to her. I gently tapped her shoulder, making her turn around and pull out her earbud.

"Oh, hey," she pleasantly greeted, tilting her head over.

"Are you doing community service, or something?" I asked, a concerned look on my face.

She giggled, dropping her head. "N-no, I'm not. The group that I run, we pick up trash on Monday afternoons. Keeping our campus beautiful and clean."

I felt my face morph into a frown, making me nod. "O-oh. Well, that's nice of you."

"Yeah," she softly said, brushing her blonde hair away from her face, "it's windy."

"Yeah," I said, nodding, "it is."

"Josephine King has barely even looked in my direction before," she said, "so, what's up?"

She began to walk and I walked alongside her, sighing. "Well," I began, but I realized I was unable to finish without sounding horrible.

"Well?"

I let out a loud sigh, looking over at her. "I was gonna tell you to back off. B-but, you have this really good heart. I mean, you're picking up trash."

She laughed, looking over at me. "Josie, everyone knows you and Eros are together. I would never, ever do something like that."

"And I pulled your hair in kindergarten," I quickly spat out, biting down on my lip.

She smiled. "I think all is forgiven."

I stopped, making her stop in front of me.

"Why are you so nice?" I asked, "I-I mean, I was kind of a jerk to you this morning."

She shook her head. "You weren't a jerk."

"That seems to be all I've been these days," I muttered.

We began walking again, making me look towards the football field. "I got so jealous this morning."

"Why on earth would you get jealous?"

"I don't know, look at you," I said, "you're so nice, and you're picking up trash. Voluntarily."

She laughed.

"And Eros deserves someone like that," I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"Well, I assure you," she said, "Eros is so head over heels for you. We had to do a project for art, and he wrote a poem. For you."

"He wrote a poem for me?"

"This was months ago," she said, "but everything he draws, I'll catch him doodling all the time. It's always a gorgeous girl with dark hair who strongly resembles you."

I looked over at her. "Really?"

She nodded. "He talks about you all the time. He really loves you."

"He's really mad at me right now," I muttered, "but thanks for that."

She smiled over at me. "Just talk to him. I assure you, nothing has happened between us. We are strictly art partners looking for a decent grade."

I bit down on my lip, brushing my hair away from my face. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's okay."

"Thanks for being so nice," I muttered, "and I hope, you know, you get a great grade. And I hope the rest of trash picking up goes well."

She laughed, nodding. "Thank you. I hope everything goes well with you guys."

I smiled a crooked smile and shot her a small wave, turning around to walk back to my car.

What is wrong with you, Josie?

~*~

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