Trying to stay level headed and keep my expectations low proved to be difficult the next morning. Andre Walker wanted to talk to me, possibly ask me out on a date, and every single piece of my clothing was unacceptable.

Nia sat on my floor, returning everything I'd tried on and threw down back to their rightful hangers. After trying and failing to dress myself, I called her for backup.

I would've called Indy over, too, but while I told my sister basically everything, telling her how stressed I was getting over a text seemed silly. She was always cool, calm, and collected whenever I watched her getting ready before she hung out with some guy.

I needed the company of someone who knew what it was like to be anxious about meeting a guy. Although Nia wasn't exactly giving that energy.

"As much fun as it is playing dress up," she said, draping a pair of jeans over a hanger. "Is this really necessary? Yesterday you made it sound like you were done with Andre."

An image of him and that girl from yesterday popped into my head, but it was quickly replaced with the moment at the drive-thru. The way he winked at me after dodging Indy's questions about his plans for the movie on Valentine's day.

I was always so quick to write someone off. That needed to change.

"I know," I told her as I put a cream-colored sweater on. Nia immediately shook her head "no" when I turned around for her opinion. "But I think he might ask me to go to the movie with him."

Nia caught the sweater I just pulled off in mid-air, finding a hanger for it. "Do you want to go with him?"

"Why not?" I said, going back to my closet. "It's not like guys are lining up to ask me."

"So, you're only going with him because he might ask?"

I faced her, slipping on a short-sleeved gingham print button-up that I tied in the front. "Why all the questions? Didn't you predict that he'd ask me out?"

"You look like you should be milking cows," she said. Then she frowned, pushing her braids from her face. "And the prediction was before I realized--" she paused, running her hands through her hair again and focusing on re-hanging my clothes.

"Realized what, Nia?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, standing as she went to put my clothes away.

"Shania?" I prodded.

She continued to ignore me until every item of clothing I pulled from my closet was back inside. Finally, she turned to me.

"I thought Andre was a good match for you," she started, twirling one of her braids around her finger. "Then I realized...Jerome is in love with you."

That last part flew out of her mouth so fast I was sure I'd heard her wrong. "Huh?"

She sighed, repeating herself slowly. "Jerome is in love with you."

That's what I thought she said. The memory of our first snow day replayed in my mind.

"He's not."

Nia watched silently as I changed my shirt once again. That time to a simple tank with an embroidered butterfly on the chest.

"He is," she insisted. "You don't see the way he looks at you. Or the way he doesn't look at you whenever you're talking about Andre. It's like it physically hurts him to see you so happy about another guy."

For a split second, I allowed myself to believe that. He left the party when it was my turn to play Seven Minutes in Heaven. He got uncharacteristically quiet whenever Andre was the topic. Then I remembered seventh grade and shook the thought away.

"I don't know what you think you see, but it's not love." I grabbed a zip-up hoodie to put on, hoping the conversation was done. It wasn't.

"Why do you say it like that?" She asked, throwing her hands up. "Why is it so unbelievable that the guy you've been friends with for years could possibly have feelings for you?"

She waited for an answer as I made sure I had all my assignments in my backpack. Why'd she have to bring this up right before I met with Andre?

If I thought she'd actually drop the subject, I would've kept quiet. But when Nia caught the scent of a secret, she didn't stop until she got it out of you.

"Because he told me."

At her silence, I turned to her. Her jaw hung open, her eyes wide. "What do you mean he told you? When?"

Anything would've been better than having to relieve one of the worst days of my life. But if it'd get her to shut up...

I searched my drawers for socks, just to keep busy as the memory came back to me in full force.

Romeo and I made a snow bet back then, too. The forecast always said it'd snow, but it never did. Waking up to sunshine always disappointed me in the winter. So, I was positive that the weather report was wrong yet again.

I couldn't remember what the terms of the bet were, but I remembered sitting next to Romeo on the school bus when the snow started. The bus was always packed to capacity--three people to a seat. I was squished between Romeo and Keraun. The three of us had our eyes glued to the window. The sounds of the other kids on the bus excitedly talking about the first snow most of us had ever seen faded away.

All I could focus on was Romeo and the grin on his face as he bragged about winning the bet. I always thought he was cute, always had a small crush on him. But after those two weeks apart for Winter break, my crush intensified.

I was at my aunt's house for a week and Romeo and I talked every day. My cousins teased me about the way I was smiling at my phone the entire time. My older relatives kept saying I was texting my boyfriend.

Maybe they were the ones to put the idea in my head? All I knew was that when I got back home, I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of calling Romeo my boyfriend. I went back and forth with myself for days about whether I should make the first move.

Then the snow happened.

In a city where it hardly even rained, it snowed. That had to mean something. It had to be a sign, right? Because, if the weather could change so drastically, why couldn't my relationship with my best-non-blood-related-friend?

I tried to build up the nerve during the snowball fight between me, him, and Keraun. There was an announcement that morning for the Spring Dance. The school cafeteria probably wasn't the most romantic of places for a first date, but it was a start. All I had to do was ask him.

As soon as Keraun left us alone, I made my move.

"My face is numb," I said, easing into the question as I dusted snowflakes from Romeo's shoulders.

"You look like Rudolph," he commented, reaching up to pull something from my hair.

"Ha ha ha."

"Don't you mean: Ho ho ho?"

I rolled my eyes at his corny joke. "You going to the spring dance thing?"

He shrugged a shoulder, scratching his nose. "Maybe. Keraun wants to go to stalk some dude from the soccer team."

I nodded, picking at the green polish on my fingers. "We should go together." The words came out fast. Like a running start before you jumped. I was suspended in midair, waiting for his answer.

And he took forever with his answer. His eyes squinted despite the sun being covered by snow dropping clouds. Maybe he didn't hear me?

Just as I was about to repeat myself, he said, "You, me, and Keraun?"

My first instinct was to agree and avoid any embarrassment. But I couldn't take another day of wondering if he spent every moment of the day thinking about me like I did him.

"No. Us. You and me," I said. And, to make sure he understood completely, I added, "As more than friends."

My face burned hotter with every word that left my mouth. My heartbeat rang in my ears over the silence that followed. Romeo stood there, watching me like he didn't even want to blink until he knew what his next move would be.

I knew what his answer was before he said it. No one needed that much time to think of how to say yes. Trying to think of how to let someone down easy, though...that required some preparation.

"We should just go as friends..."

What I did after was a blur. All I remembered was feeling like I wanted to scream, cry, and throw up all at once. And I definitely didn't go to the spring dance, faking sick instead. Now that I thought back on it, maybe I wasn't faking.

We never spoke of it again. Breezing over the incident like it never happened. All was fine until I got drunk and lowered my guard, letting those old feelings resurface.

I gave Nia a condensed version of the story. Her immediate response was: "I'm gonna slap him!"

"No, you're not," I said. "You're not going to bring this up to him. Or Keraun. Or anyone. Including me. Don't even think about thinking about it once we leave this room."

Nia gently pushed my finger down. I didn't realize I was even pointing at her. "Okay. I hear you. But can I say something and I'll drop it forever?"

I sighed, nodding.

"Eight grade boys are dumbasses and shouldn't be taken seriously. Ever."

As promised, she dropped it after that. It was me having trouble thinking of anything else as my mom dropped us off at school.

Was it possible that Romeo didn't mean what he said? He could've been nervous to say yes. Just like I've been too scared to tell my mom I knew how to drive. The stakes seemed low in theory, but fear was weird like that. It didn't let you think rationally.

"I have to print some stuff out at the library," Nia said as we walked into school.

I nodded, only half listening. Most of my thoughts were stuck on Romeo. My mind was so preoccupied, I didn't snap out of it until I tripped over a backpack.

An arm wrapped around me before my face met the concrete. Instead of letting me go right away, the person turned me around. Andre.

We were extremely close, our bodies pressed together. His light-brown eyes twinkled in the early morning sun as a smile spread across his lips. "Hi."

"Hi," I said back, a little more breathlessly than I meant to.

Why was I wasting time wondering if Romeo liked me or not when Andre was right there?

He moved his hands to my shoulders, making sure I was stable on my own two feet before letting me go.

Then a guy I recognized from my math class, Eric, jogged over, slightly out of breath, as he reached down to grab the backpack at my feet. Andre beat him to it and instead of handing it to him, like I thought he would, he flung the bag to a group of his football friends.

Eric cursed, heading to the the other side of the walkway.

Andre laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world as his friends continued playing monkey in the middle with Eric's backpack.

"That's really mature, Andre." I shook my head at him before turning and storming off.

It didn't matter how nice he was to me if he walked around bullying other people.

"Woah. Hold up!" Andre was suddenly in front of me, expertly matching my pace as he walked backwards. "Can you slow down so I can explain?"

I crossed my arms, focusing on a spot over his shoulder. "No."

"Daya, please? Just talk to me."

"Go talk to that blond," I spat, immediately regretting it.

Andre stopped in his tracks so quickly that I nearly ran into him. "Blond?"

Even in the early morning chill, my face felt like it was on fire. I tried to walk around him, but he blocked me.

"No. We have to talk now." He caught hold of my backpack straps, walking backwards again. I let him lead me to a more secluded area between two buildings. My curiosity and the laughter he fought to contain made me want to know what he had to say.

"Where do I start?" He asked, amusement all over his face.

I shrugged, glancing at the asphalt between our feet and the fact that he still held on to my straps. "Eric."

His grip tightened around the straps before he let out a breath and loosened up. "Remember that night I was at your place?"

I faced him then, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"My sister was at the mall with her friends," he started, a muscle in his jaw ticking. "She wanted me to pick them up because that pervert was following them around."

"He what?" Andre's sister was only about thirteen, and Eric had been held back so many times he was at least eighteen. The thought of him following around those little girls made me sick. The feeling intensified when I realized I snapped at Andre when he was only defending his sister. "Sorry."

"Yeah," Andre said with a dry laugh. "He's lucky all I'm doing is throwing around his stuff. If I wouldn't get expelled for it, I would've beat his ass by now." Something told me he meant it and if Andre ever ran into him off school grounds, it'd be over for Eric.

Now I felt guilty for being quick to assume Andre was a bully. He didn't seem bothered by my judgment as he brought up the next topic.

"And the blond," he said, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a smirk.

"Forget I said that," I demanded, covering my face with my hands.

He tugged my straps, causing me to stumble into him. My hands pressed against his hard chest before I fell into him completely. "No, I'm not forgetting your little jealous outburst."

If spontaneous combustion was a thing, that would've been the perfect time for it.

"Because I have one of my own." My gaze flicked up to meet his. "You and Jerome. In his car at six in the morning. Looking like the definition of a walk of shame."

"He's my friend," I said, even with the memory of how we woke up together that morning came to mind.

"Christine is my friend," he said. "Now that we've established we both have friends of the opposite sex and I'm not an asshole--Will you go to the movie with me?"

Even though I had a feeling it was coming, the question took me by surprise. I looked down at his hands, the loose straps of my backpack wrapped around them, so he couldn't see the flush of my cheeks. "I guess."

"You guess?" He said, incredulous. "Don't do me any favors."

I tilted my head up to see him and the playful smile on his face. "Yes, I will go with you."

His smile grew wider just as the bell rang. After we said our goodbyes, I went to our usual morning spot. Romeo and Keraun were the only ones there, gathering their things before they went to their own classes.

"Why you come around the corner cheesing?" Keraun asked, adjusting his glasses on his face.

I didn't realize I was still smiling until he pointed it out. It only made me blush harder.

Romeo was picking lint from his rose patterned shirt when he asked, "Nia's prediction come true?"

Only because Nia said it that morning did I note Romeo's lack of eye contact when he asked the question. Even after I answered him, all he gave me was a quick glance and a "Cool".

Was everything Nia said true?