The cafeteria workers had sympathetic expressions as I passed with my tray, collecting my food. The woman handing out fries gave me a second carton. I was reminded of Emmett's grudge against his lunch lady for shorting his tater tots. It made me smile for the first time in hours.

As I walked through the tables, I wondered if there was anyone left in school who didn't know about the accident.

I joined my friends at our usual table by the windows that overlooked the courtyard. They immediately bombarded me with questions about the crash. Jackson banged his palm against the table twice. "Yo, assholes. Give him some breathing room."

I rolled my eyes. "I figure this is what y'all are most curious about." I lifted my shirt to show off the bruises. They had turned black and purple over the weekend.

Brandon reached out like he was going to touch it, but he pulled back at the last second.

"Does it hurt?" Tyler asked, chomping down half his hamburger with one bite. I couldn't help but think of him by Emmett's nickname for him—Camo Boy. It was more apt than Emmett knew. He really wore a lot of the stuff. Especially that stupid hat that he wore every day.

"Like hell." I let my shirt fall down when I noticed people at other tables staring.

"I saw your dad drop you off," Brandon said, sweeping a hand through his luscious blond hair that he was enamored with. "Is your car totaled?"

"No. Just banged up pretty bad." I exhaled, bringing a sharp pain that made me wince. "Not that it matters. My parents are taking it away for skipping yesterday."

Brandon raised a curious brow. "Why did you skip?"

I shrugged. "I just needed to get out of here."

"Alone?" Brandon seemed unconvinced. "Usually we all do that kind of thing together."

I shook my head. I didn't have a suitable answer. I couldn't tell them I was with Emmett. They knew Emmett was my friend, and he'd even hung out with them a few times whenever me and Emmett would run into one of them out and about. But if I told them I picked Emmett up from school to go to a park for lunch, what would they think? Would they believe it was an innocent friend thing? Or would they see through the story to the truth?

"Maybe he didn't want to have to deal with y'all idiots," Jackson said. "Sometimes a guy just needs peace and quiet."

I glanced over at my best friend, giving him a grateful smile.

"Hey," Tyler said. "How come Duke and Mark are sitting way over there?"

I looked to where Tyler pointed. Duke and Mark sat at the end of the football team's table. That wasn't completely unusual. They were both on the team and occasionally sat with them, but they always stopped by our table first for a few minutes. I wondered if Duke was telling Mark about me and Emmett. I also wondered if Mark knew about Duke. They were best friends, and had been since long before we met them in middle school. Unlike Heron Prep, that went from preschool to twelfth grade, the public schools in town comprised four elementary schools that fed into two middle schools, then everyone ended up at Huntington High.

I didn't have much time to think about Duke and what he may or may not tell Mark because Summer sat down in the empty chair next to me—the seat Duke would normally occupy.

"Hey." She took my hand and squeezed it. "I heard about what happened. Are you okay?"

Brandon and Tyler shared a look across the table. Jackson pretended to be too distracted by eating to look at them. The others probably wondered if a reconciliation was on the horizon. They all said I was crazy for breaking up with her. I wondered if they thought I was angling to steal her away from Shawn. Although, I didn't actually believe anyone could be stolen, unless they wanted to be.

"I'm mostly fine. Just some bruised ribs. And these." I raised my arm to show all the tiny cuts.

"You really had me worried." Summer paused, finally noticing the stares. And not just from my friends. People at other tables were looking now. She looked back at me. "Take a walk with me?"

"Sure." I stood up and followed her out. I'd barely eaten any of my lunch, but I wasn't that hungry, anyway. I didn't worry about it going to waste, though. My vulturous friends would pick over the tray until it was empty.

Outside, me and Summer strolled along the sidewalk that curved around the outdoor patio where a few groups sat at the wooden picnic tables, despite the heat and lack of protection from the sun. Once we got around the corner of the building, Summer asked, "How are you really?"

"I'm fine, Sunny."

She let out a small giggle. "I missed that nickname."

"Well, if you don't still hate me too much to be my friend, I'll call you that all the time."

Summer bumped her shoulder against mine. "I didn't hate you, Clay. I was upset, because I loved you."

"So, no to the friends things then?"

"Of course I want to be your friend, dummy." She tapped her fist against my shoulder. "Especially since I finally feel like I know you. You finally make sense to me." She looked up at me with an affectionate grin.

"Shawn won't get upset that you're hanging out with me? If you need to, you can tell him about... about me."

Summer rolled her eyes. "I don't have to do anything. Any boy who requires qualifications for me having male friends is a boy who will not be dating me." There was that fierce, headstrong attitude that initially drew me to wanting to be her friend. She was always the most confident person I'd ever known. She always seemed like she really had her shit together. I admired that because my shit was all over the place. "Besides, Shawn is not an insecure man-child. I told him you and I are friends again the day you came out to me."

"Speaking of which." I looked around to make sure no one was in the vicinity to eavesdrop. Satisfied, I said, "I was with Emmett."

"What do you mean?"

"In the accident. He was in the car, too. That's why I skipped. To go see him."

"Really?" She gave me a proud smile. "Did you take my advice?"

"I did, actually." I told her the story of how it all came about, including the bit where me and Emmett kissed in the park and confessed our love. I lowered my voice, even though we were alone. "He's my boyfriend now, Sunny." As always, that word gave me that heady, butterflies-in-my-stomach feeling. I couldn't get used to it, but I adored saying it. "I have a boyfriend."

"That's amazing news." Summer slipped her arm around my waist. I put my arm over her shoulder. It was just like old times. "I really want to meet the guy that finally thawed your frozen heart. He's gotta be something special."

My cheeks flooded with heat. "He is."

"Tell me all about him."

"God, Sunny, I love him so much." We spent the rest of lunch walking around campus through the paths least traveled by teachers. I told her everything I knew about Emmett. Everything I loved about him. From his obsession with Taylor Swift and his passion for books, to his love of obscure films that only cinefiles had heard of. I told her about all the time we spent together and everything that I wanted for us. Once I started talking about him, the wall I'd built up to keep my feelings secret crumbled; it all just came tumbling out.

It was so nice to talk about Emmett without fear of being ostracized or sneered at. Summer didn't care about me being gay. She didn't care that I was in love with a boy. She sparkled with joy, devouring every word.

I was actually disappointed when the bell rang, and we had to part ways.

Summer pulled me down to kiss my cheek. "I'm always here for you, if you ever need someone to talk to about him."

"Thank you." I gave her a hug. "And thank you for being cool about all this."

When she pulled away, she had a confused look. "Of course I'm cool with it. It's who you are."

"But if you had reacted badly, I don't know if I ever would've found the courage to tell anyone else. I guess you were like my guinea pig."

Summer nodded in understanding. "I get it."

"I love you, Sunny."

She grinned. "I love you, too, Button."

I laughed at the stupid nickname. I couldn't even remember why she started calling me that. I'd hated it when we together, especially when she said it around my friends. But it was nice to hear now. It reminded me of how close we'd been. I hoped we could get back to that, just in a new, more honest way.

Summer waved and headed off toward her next class.

Well, now I knew I had at least two real friends I could count on to stand by my side, no matter what. Summer and Jackson both knew my secret, and they still loved me. That gave me hope that maybe my other friends could accept it one day, too.