Romeo had the nicest house out of any of us. He lived in a neighborhood where the houses all looked the same, with huge yards and nice backyards.

There were still Christmas lights strung up in the tree and on the roof of his house. Which my mom pointed out when she pulled into the driveway to drop me and Nia off. Indy had plans with her dance friends, but made me promise to bring her back some pizza.

"Call when you need me to pick you up," my mom said as I reached to open the door. Nia was already out the car, heading to the back gate.

"Romeo will drop us off."

Wrong words. My mom looked like she'd just bitten into the most sour lemon on the planet. "He has his license?"

"He got it months ago."

She was still hesitant. "I don't know. Have you driven with him before?"

"No, but--"

"Just call when you're ready, okay?"

Arguing with her would've been pointless. When she went into Protective Mode, there was no reasoning with her. "Okay."

She kissed my cheek and I climbed out of the car. Romeo, Keraun and Jason were setting ingredients on a table. The pizza oven Mr. Hayward had been working on since November had been put together, a couple of wooden logs burning on the inside.

Keraun was trying to convince Romeo and Jason that gluten-free dough was actually good.

"I don't trust the taste buds of anyone who thinks mushrooms are good," Jason said, frowning at the box of pre-made gluten-free dough Keraun was waving around.

Jason had shaggy blonde hair that fit his surfer vibe. Cargo shorts and flip-flops, no matter the weather, apparently. And the weather was very cold that day.

On the surface, Keraun and Jason had nothing in common. Keraun was Black and loved a good fantasy novel. Jason was white and loved a good nap. But Keraun seemed to really like him, which was the important part.

The date they had last weekend must've gone great if Keraun was willing to let him meet us.

"Thank you," Romeo exclaimed, pointing at Jason. "He gets it. No one who eats those things should be making decisions about the food."

"You know what? More for me!"

Romeo laughed. Jason patted Keraun's shoulder, holding back his own smile. "I'll have some with you."

"Oh, no, don't do me any favors," he said, adjusting his glasses. "I'll enjoy my pizza on my own."

Nia popped up beside me. "I should've brought my bikini," she said, looking at the hot tub with longing.

"That thing works?" Jason asked, going over to squat next to it, dipping his fingers in.

"Yeah, but it needs cleaning," Romeo told him as he popped a cold pepperoni into his mouth. "My brother and his girlfriend were in there the other night."

Jason pulled his hand out of the water like it'd burned him. Romeo laughed at his reaction. Jason shut up him up when he flicked the water on his hand at him.

"What are you all standing around for?" Mr. Hayward asked when he came through the back door. "I thought you came to make pizzas?"

"Excuse me, where can I wash my hands?" Jason asked.

"Just rinse them in the hot tub," Mr. Hayward said. Jason's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, his mouth popping open.

We all laughed. We were used to his jokes. It was Jason's first time meeting Mr. Hayward. It was always fun to see how a newcomer reacted to his humor. His last victim was Nia, back when she moved to Valle Vista a year ago.

"I'll show you where the bathroom is," Keraun offered, ushering him inside.

Mr. Hayward messed around with the brick oven while me, Romeo and Nia got started on our mini pizzas.

We talked about school and movies and hid the mushrooms from Keraun while the five of us worked on our pizzas. Despite a couple hands full of shredded mozzarella being thrown, the pizza making was a success.

Jason tried Keraun's spinach and mushroom, which he spit into a napkin as soon as Keraun turned his back.

Nia and I got our pepperoni pizzas mixed up. My mouth still burned from the amount of red pepper flakes she used on hers. Romeo got pictures of me downing a glass of milk, the white liquid running down my chin as everyone laughed at me.

Romeo made me another pizza minus the pepper flakes while I was trying to cool off my tongue. He offered me some of his Hawaiian pizza while I waited for mine to finish.

"Does it taste like professional pizza?" He asked after I took a bite.

We sat in a couple of lawn chairs. We were alone since Keraun and Jason got too cold and went inside to play Romeo's Xbox. Nia went inside to go to the bathroom, but from where I sat, I could see that she joined the boys to play video games in the living room.

"I can't really tell because my tongue has been destroyed. How does it look?" I asked, sticking out my tongue.

He chuckled. "Like a tongue."

"How can Nia eat that stuff?" I complained. I hated all things spicy. "And why'd she have to make the same pizza as me?"

"I don't know why you both were boring and made plain pepperoni," he said, a smile on his lips. "That's almost worse than Keraun's pizza."

I gasped, clutching my chest. "How dare you? Pepperoni is a classic!"

"Classics are boring."

"You're boring."

He laughed and continued to eat his pizza. We sat in a comfortable silence. Keraun and Jason had the right idea to go inside. It was freezing, but I didn't want to move.

"Have you talked to Andre?"

That question disrupted the peace in more ways than one. I turned on my side in the lounge chair to get a better look at him.

Between Nia and Indy, I was sick of the Andre talk. At the same time, I enjoyed the attention. Normally, I was on the sidelines, listening to them talk about boys and hook-ups and dates. Now, they were bugging me with questions about my love life. Not that I had one.

Andre hadn't talked to me since lunch the other day. Not in person or through LaterTofu. I'd been tempted a few times to message him on HALLZ, but what would I say? Did I pretend we never talked in person and talk about digital art? Did I bring up the conversation we had at lunch? Did I even want to talk to him?

Neither Indy or Nia seemed this conflicted when discussing the boys they were talking to. What was I doing wrong?

"Not since lunch the other day," I told him. "Why?"

He shrugged, picking pineapple off his pizza and eating it. "Just asking. You really didn't know it was him in the closet with you?"

"Nope."

His dark eyes focused on the small pizza on the plate in his lap. There was a twitch in his jaw before he asked, "How? Didn't you talk? Or did you skip straight to shoving your tongues down each other's throats?" He laughed as he said it, but it didn't sound right. Not like his usual laugh.

"I think we've said the word tongue enough times today." The word sounded gross now. "And please don't start begging for details like Indy and Nia."

His gaze met mine when he asked. "So, there are details to talk about?"

That feeling I had the other day, when he had me pinned to the fence, came back. I thought I was over that? Maybe I was about to start my period. Yeah, that explained it. My hormones were out of whack, making everything he did slightly more attractive. That was the reason the tiniest part of me wondered if he was jealous.

"What are you burning out here?"

I didn't have to look up to know who spoke. The answer was written all over Romeo's pinched expression. He closed his eyes as if it'd make his older brother disappear.

Rashad Hayward was the only person capable of sucking the good mood out of a room just by stepping into it. He was a lot older than us, not that you'd know by the way he acted. Twenty-four and still not above giving you a surprise wet willie.

He graduated and moved away for college around the time I met Romeo, so I didn't know a lot about him. Just that, whenever Rashad was home for holidays or birthdays, Romeo was usually at my house as much as possible.

But I knew about the wet willies. Instinctively, I pulled my hood up over my head. He was not sticking his spit covered finger in my ear again.

The burning Rashad was talking about was the pizza. Romeo hopped up to assess the damage. He used the metal paddle to pull the pizza out.

From the looks of it, only a small part in the center was good enough to eat without fear of chipping a tooth. It was charred, swirls of smoke coming from it.

Rashad cackled as Romeo dumped the burned pizza in the trash. Everyone else came out then, wanting to know what Rashad found so funny.

"What happened?" Mr. Hayward asked, stepping through the crowd.

Romeo started to answer, but Rashad jumped in. "His dumb ass set the pizza on fire."

"It wasn't--"

Mr. Hayward didn't care to listen to his defense, already starting the process of turning the oven off. "I think we're done with the oven for the night. Jerome, maybe it's time for your friends to go home."

"Yeah, Mom wants us to come over and clean out her garage," Rashad said, pulling his brother into a headlock. "So, tell your girlfriend you'll talk to her later."

Romeo tried to fight his brother off, but Rashad held strong. Mr. Hayward was no help, simply going back into the house without putting his oldest in check. The moment became very awkward, neither of us knowing how to tell this grown man he was acting like an ass.

"The bus is supposed to be here in ten minutes," Jason told Keraun, probably wanting to get as far away from Rashad as possible. I understood the feeling.

Rashad released Romeo, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. Romeo coughed, rubbing his neck. Rashad slapped his brother's back, which Romeo shrugged off. "We gotta go. Mom wants this done tonight."

Even after Rashad went back into the house, the tension still lingered. It didn't let up until the five of us we out front, sitting on the curb. Nia leaned against me, complaining about the cold. Keraun and Jason kept a lookout for the bus. Romeo hadn't said a word.

"How long is he here for this time?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Romeo stared down at his hands before replying, "I think he's moving back in."

I cursed under my breath. Even Jason held a sympathetic expression and that was his first time meeting Rashad. Meeting any of us, really.

"Our hang outs don't usually end this badly," Keraun said, probably thinking the same thing as me. This was a horrible introduction between his friends and his soon-to-be boyfriend.

"Yeah, I should've warned you all about my brother." Romeo rubbed the back of his neck, his shoulders still stiff. "He's usually out until after midnight."

I bumped his shoulder with mine, trying to lighten the mood. "It's cool. We all made it out with dry ears. So, I'd say it was a success."

"Dry ears?" Jason repeated, eyes wide.

"You don't want to know." Keraun shushed us and we heard the familiar sound of an approaching bus. "That's our ride."

We watched as Keraun and Jason ran down the street, turning the corner to get the bus stop on the main street.

"I have to pee," Nia said, standing.

"Keep your ears covered," I told her as she walked through the lawn to get to the house. She laughed, but pulled the hood of her sweater up before she entered the house.

The sun had started to set. The sky was a swirl of orange, blue, and purple. The only sound filling the air came from distance dogs, passing cars, and insects. Everything about the moment seemed deceptively calm when I knew there was a storm brewing inside Romeo.

If I could, I'd go kick his brother's ass. Maybe even his dad's for not stepping in to stop Rashad from bullying him.

"You never got your pizza." Romeo's voice broke through the silence. His eyes trained on the house across the street. "And you were the most excited about it."

I stared at his profile. His unfairly long lashes, the slope of his nose, the set of his jaw--the face of someone who deserved all the good things the world had to offer and instead got stuck with a jerk for a brother.

I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him. The force of nearly knocked us back onto the sidewalk. His laugh vibrated in his chest before I heard the sweet sound in my ear.

"Uh...what is this for?" His voice might've sounded unsure, but he didn't hesitate to hug me back.

Those feelings from eight grade still whirled around my stomach. Like all those years ago, I ignored them to be the friend Romeo needed. But that didn't make me any less of aware of his hand on my back or the warmth of him seeping into me, even through my layers of clothes. Or the fact that he was still using the body spray I got him. Lavender and mint was quickly becoming my favorite scent.

"I don't want your brother to be the last human contact you have today," I said, still clinging to him.

I didn't have to see his face to know he was smiling. We pulled apart, only enough to put our foreheads together. "If you ever need to escape, you can come over."

"Thanks."

My mom's car pulled up. Romeo and I broke apart. As I climbed into the car, Nia came out of the house, skipping. "Rome, I expect freshly made pizza every day for lunch from now on."

"I second that!" I said, hanging from the passenger seat window.

He stood from the curb, arms crossed. "Do I get paid for my service?"

Nia and I exchanged a brief look. "We'll pay you in high-fives," I told him.

"I'll think about it." A smile tugged at his lips. That almost smile faded the further my mom drove down the street. Romeo's head hung low as he made his way into the house.