The following day was rough. Though the whole school celebrates our first soccer win against Camber, it's still awkward in the friend group. During lunch, it's like the table is split by gender. All the boys on one end, and the girls on the other. Two discussions are in the air, and we're talking over ourselves.

Exactly what I was afraid of.

Jonah and I weren't even romantically involved, and our decision—well, my decision—to keep some distance created a rift. I notice Xiao and Maisie barely speaking to each other, but I want to believe that it's just something else and not because of Jonah and me.

"All right," Sierra folds her hands and rests them on the table. "I need to address the elephant in the room."

I cock my head at her. "What?"

"You know what," she raises her eyebrows. "What the heck happened last night between you and Jonah?"

I cast my eyes down on the half-finished bowl if Caesar salad sitting in front of me. "We argued."

"Okay?" Phoebe wears a confused expression. "You guys made up right? Like you always do."

I push my bowl away. "No, I think we're . . . worse now."

Maisie dropped her spoon. "Shut the front door. You can't be doing this."

"It's complicated," I explained, my voice almost cracking. I take a sip of my water, not knowing what else to say.

Our argument last night was rough, and I know I made the decision to keep some distance. It was for our own benefit. We both need time to clear our minds and think again about what we're doing.

Milo drums his fingers on the table. "So, Fi, how's Theo Nicholson?"

From the corner of my eye, I see Jonah tense up. "Umm, why?"

Xiao shrugs sarcastically. "Gee, I don't know. Blondie's into you, so, we're guessing you definitely hit him up last night because you have a thing for blondes—OW!"

Maisie kicks his shin and glares at him across the table.

I glance at Jonah for a brief second. He's staring down at his food like he's pissed at it—jaw clenched and eyes cold. "We didn't talk last night."

Milo winks exaggeratedly. "But you will, right?"

I gulp. "No?"

James furrows his eyebrows. "Fi? Theo? What happened with Jonah and Fi—?"

A loud thud echoes. Jonah nearly slams his water bottle on the table yet seems like he doesn't care about the disturbance. He nonchalantly shrugs at James. "Nothing's happening between me and your sister, man. It never did, never will."

And with that he stands up with his tray of untouched food, and he walks away. Everyone turns their heads at me, but my eyes follow the blonde boy as he walks to the trash can, throws his food away, and heads toward the exit.

Eight o'clock in the evening, and I'm in my room. I decided to skip the soccer game tonight against Pinehill because I don't want to add to the tension that resulted from lunch today. I scroll through my social media and come across Caryn's story.

Did I somehow accidentally follow her?

A video in her story plays, and it shows a clip of Jonah running and scoring a goal. Her voice is the loudest among the others in the video, and she flips the camera to show herself. Her blonde hair's in braids, and her face is painted in grey and white. What breaks my heart is the #12 on her cheek written in black paint. She's beaming, and you can tell she really admires him.

The game must be over now because I see Jonah being active right now. He just posted something on his story, so I boldly check it out. He reposted Caryn's video and captioned it saying, "Love seeing my #1 fan watching me tonight".

How. Nice.

Then something pops up on my screen. A text message from a random number. I go to the iMessage and read it out.

Unknown: Hey, it's Theo. From the soccer game last night.

Unknown: Hope you didn't forget me already!

I save his number first and start replying back, rolling on my bed and on my stomach.

O: Hey! Don't worry, I still remember you.

Theo: Congrats winning against Pinehill by the way.

O: We won? Sorry, I didn't watch.

Theo: Yeah, you guys did.

Theo: Your boyfriend was a big contributor.

I swallow hard at the term boyfriend.

O: He's not my boyfriend. I don't think he even wants to be friends anymore.

Theo: Oh.

Theo: That's tough.

O: What about your team? Didn't you guys go against Tigris High?

Theo: Yeah, we won too.

O: Oh, congrats!

Theo: Thanks! You know, it's weird hearing that since our schools despise each other.

O: Hahaha. True.

Theo: I don't hate you though.

O: Surprisingly, I don't either.

Theo: And how is that a surprise?

O: Oh, boy, I'm a Camber hater. Ask my friends.

O: They'll tell you how much I hate the Camber crowd. No offense.

Theo: None taken. I'm glad you don't hate me.

O: No. You're different. You're a lot more...civil.

Theo: What are you doing right now?

O: Nothing much. You?

Theo: I just got home. Do you get bored often?

O: I mean, I used to.

Before Jonah, I was bored out of my mind. But when I met him, things were going great. We made plans, hung out, had fun—boredom wasn't in my vocabulary anymore.

O: I think I'm going to be again.

Theo: I know you just met me, and I understand if you say no.

Theo: But maybe...maybe we should do something this weekend. Would that be crazy?

Is he . . .

O: I'm going to be completely blunt, and I know I'm going to be embarrassed after I ask.

O: Are you asking me out, Nicholson?

Theo: I'd be lying if I say no, so, yes. I am.

Oh. Well.

Holy schist, a Camber High boy just asked me out. What on earth am I doing? Has Sierra possessed me? Do I need to go through some ritual to disappear from this scenario right now?

I leave him on read and quickly rush through my contacts. I land on Gael and press the phone button, hearing the ring. She picks up on the second ring, but I don't give her time to even say hello.

"Hey—"

"I don't know what I just did," I pant out.

She stutters. "Uh-umm, what? What happened? What'd you do?"

"See, I was texting Theo and—"

"YOU TEXTED THEO?"

I wince. "Yes."

She calms down for a second. "What did he say?"

I cringe. "He just asked me out."

"THEO ASKED YOU OUT?" she shrieks, and I pull the phone away from my ear for a brief moment. "I'm sorry, but WHAT? What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"What will you say?"

"I don't know! I was hoping you could help."

She scoffs. "Fi, I don't know myself. I mean, you just met him. He's a Camber dude. He's awfully charismatic but think about Jonah! Are you sure you're wasting that potential for Theo?"

I take a deep breath, staring at the ceiling. "Well, no—"

"Then tell Theo to chill out," she suggests.

"But what potential do Jonah and I have anymore? It's gone. I finished it. It's nonexistent. He wants nothing to do with me anymore, so," I sigh deeply.

Gael pauses for a long minute. "Ophelia. Talk to me. What happened last night?"

"I told you," I remind her. "We argued. And I ended up telling him that we should keep some distance."

"Okay . . . why?"

"To clear our minds," I reason. "To refocus and think again about what we want. What we really want. And to make sure we aren't doing anything . . . reckless."

"Mm. Does Jonah know that?" she asks.

I ponder, staring at my ceiling. "I mean, I hope he does refocus. I hope he realizes that we've been messy since Caryn arrived. It's been worse and Theo's just—"

"Ophelia," Gael interrupts softly and gently, "you and Jonah have been messy for a while. For a few days. But, please, don't blame Caryn, and don't turn to Theo for a distraction. This is between you and Jonah. Talk to him. Trust me, I've the made the mistake of assuming and insinuating things just to realize the truth. I've realized that talking and being open helps a lot."

I run my hand through my hair. "Gael, this isn't like what you and Hugo have been through—"

"I know," she says. "I'm just saying that I don't want you to get hurt only by assuming things that aren't actually real."