"Watch the curb," my mom warned from the passenger's seat.

When she picked me up from babysitting, she offered to let me drive home. She wanted to see where I was at before she took me to take my driver's test. Other than going a little too hard on the gas a few times, I think I did well.

I parked in the driveway next to Indy's car. She'd spent almost every day here this week. It was an adjustment, no longer having a bathroom all to myself and the snacks running out faster, but I loved having her there. Especially since I was still technically grounded and only allowed to socialize at school.

Indy was like a loophole because she could have friends over. Even when those friends were actually my friends. Nia and Keraun had been over a few times. Romeo seemed to always be busy.

At school we talked. Kind of. It was mostly small talk--homework, teachers, the lunch specials. We didn't feel like us. I was afraid we may never go back to the way it was. Not after what happened last weekend.

You couldn't bare your soul to someone and pack it back up.

"Did I pass?" I asked.

My mom turned to me, eyes glossy. "Can't you stay my little girl for a bit longer? Another year? Ten years top."

I laughed. "I will always be your little girl. Especially when I need someone to cook me food, or do my laundry, or detangle and re-twist my hair."

"I take it back." Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen before saying, "Work."

I left her alone to take her call and went into the house. Indy was in our room, sitting in the middle of the floor with one of those muscles roller things.

"Have fun at practice?" I teased, flopping on my bed.

"You laugh, but this is going to be you over the summer," she said.

I sat up so fast I knocked my backpack on the floor, its contents falling on Indy's legs. "Umm...no."

"Umm...yes," she countered, gathering my things back into my bag and out of her space. "Because, as Valle Vista's new dance team captain, I'll need someone to practice new dance team routines with."

A high-pitched squeal came from me as I tackled my sister to the floor. "You're captain?"

"I'm captain!"

"Wait," I sat up. "What happened to that Mariah girl?"

Indy rolled her eyes. "She was still trying to make her sister, Erykah, captain. Erykah finally stood up to her and quit. But not before telling everyone that I would make the best captain.

I squealed again, wrapping her in a hug. She laughed, falling back on the floor. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, thank you. Now let me get back to my massage." I went back to my bed and tried to reorganize my backpack. "What's this?"

I looked to see Indy holding the white envelope Romeo gave me last week. "Pictures that Romeo took."

Her eyes lit up. Even though she hadn't entirely forgiven Romeo for making me cry back in middle school, she warmed up to him a little after I told her everything. She said him having a million pictures of me saved on his phone was creepy, but after what happened with Andre, she wasn't getting involved with my relationships anymore.

She opened the envelope, pulling out the glossy photos as she joined me on the bed. The pictures were mostly random--blurred cars as they drove by, a tree, his dad's pizza oven. There were even a few of him, Keraun and Jason, playing video games.

The last picture in the stack was of me. The first picture he took as soon as he opened the camera. I was looking through the coupon booklet we got, my neck glistening with glitter.

"Cute," Indy said, holding the picture up for me to see it better. "Oh."

"What?"

She turned the picture around. There was writing on the back. A simple question.

A laugh slipped through my lips at boxes labeled and . Then I realized the picture had been sitting in my bag for over a week, his question unanswered.

"What are you going to tell him?"

I stared down at the question. The answer came to me instantly. It was immediately followed by doubt. A swirl of "buts" and "what-ifs" settled in my mind.

"What do you think?"

Indy shook her head vigorously. "No. Nope. Not getting involved, remember? I pushed you to give Andre a chance and look how that played out."

I knew that was coming, but it was worth a shot.

"Besides, I think you know what you want to do," she said, moving back to the floor. "You've known since middle school."

● ● ●

I glanced over my shoulder to see Indy in the car, giving me a thumbs up and a wide smile. It was nice that she had all that confidence because my knees were shaking as I stood on Romeo's porch.

I didn't have a whole lot of time. Indy and I were supposed to be picking up some things for dinner. Taking a steadying breath, I reached up for the doorbell, then froze. Something shattered on the other side of the door, followed by Rashad's voice. He sounded angry.

I went for the doorknob instead, thankful the door was unlocked. Rashad had Romeo pinned to the couch by his neck, his arm cocked back, ready to hit Romeo in the face. I grabbed the first thing I could and aimed for his head.

It was one of their shoes and it hit Rashad square in the face. He stumbled back, grabbing his nose that was gushing blood. His dark eyes found me. Romeo hoped over the couch, blocking me from Rashad in a blink.

"You see what that bitch did to my face?" He pointed at his still dripping nose.

Romeo didn't say anything, not that there was anything to say. His brother couldn't be reasoned with. His hands clenched tightly into fist, ready to defend himself against his bully of a brother.

Rashad grabbed Romeo by the shirt. Romeo swung, his fist colliding with Rashad's cheek. Rashad was taken aback, cradling his face. That was probably the first time Romeo had ever hit him back. I wondered if it was as satisfying for him as it was for me.

The front door opened then. Mr. Hayward came in, pausing when he saw the state of his sons. Romeo's shirt all stretched out, a bruise forming around his neck. Rashad with dried blood on his face, his cheek already swelling.

Mr. Hayward didn't have to ask what happened, his sharp glare cutting into Rashad. Rashad stumbled over his lies, trying to say Romeo and me jumped him for no reason. I didn't hear the rest of their argument because Romeo dragged me down the hall, closing us in his room. The voices of Mr. Hayward and Rashad were muffled.

He actually turned the light on in his room for once. His eyes looked me over as if Rashad had somehow injured me. "Are you okay?"

"Me? I wasn't the one being choked out." I gently touched his neck. I could feel his pulse racing even though he'd gone completely still.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Why are you here?"

I looked up at him, dropping my hand from his neck. "Best friend telepathy. And I found this." I pulled the picture from my back pocket.

He plucked the picture from my hand, but didn't turn it over to see which box I checked. Something told me he already knew the answer.

"Thanks for..." He motioned to the door. Mr. Hayward and Rashad still going at it.

"I wish I had a heavier shoe."

He cracked a smile that made my heart flip.

Like magnets, we inched closer. Our lips met, making my head swim. We fumbled a bit, laughing through our awkwardness, since neither of us knew what we were doing. Once we got the hang of it, my arms wrapped around his waist. His hand pulled my face closer, deepening the kiss.

When we pulled apart, my stomach filled with flutters because I just kissed my best-non-blood-related-friend. The wide grin on his face suggested he thought the same thing.

He pulled me closer, burying his face in my neck. "It's wild to think that we wouldn't have met if I didn't get your shoe off that vending machine."

"You mean when I got your shoe off the vending machine?"

He pulled back to look at my face. "That's not the way I tell it."

I shook my head at him. "You are--"

"Your boyfriend?" he finished, a smirk on his lips. "That's what you were going to say, isn't it?"

The word made my cheeks warm. "Boyfriend?" Saying it aloud did something nice to my chest. "Giving yourself that title before the first date?"

His expression turned more serious as he peered down at me. "I don't want to waste anymore time."