"Did you even move at all since I left you?" Arson asked when he found me half an hour later.

His suspicious eyes narrowed at me even though I was intentionally displaying the weary expression of someone who had been through every aisle of a store.

He did not look any less energetic than he had been earlier when we first arrived.

I ignored his question to ask my own. "Found what you were looking for?"

He waved a bag over his head as an answer. "What about you? Did you find anything interesting?" he asked me.

"No," I said with a shrug. I hadn't been looking for anything, so I found nothing.

"Want to get something to eat?"

Without waiting for an answer, he headed back the way he had come from after nodding for me to follow him. He had the talent to avoid bumping into other people. Although I walked in the same path he did, my shoulder seemed to be designed to nudge others.

As we walked past multiple stores, I watched people getting pulled into them by the 2000s pop music and the smiling employees.

Conversations animated every group that walked around us. Somehow, the air smelled like friendship. It seemed to be loaded with the thrill middle school students felt at the idea of buying new trends, and the reluctance of adults who still followed them inside every store, grumbling about the thousands of other—better—things they could be doing instead.

"Remember this weird girl, Brooklyn, we met at lunch that day?" Arson asked once we were within sight of the frozen yogurt parlor.

"Yeah?" I said, barely registering his words because I was staring down at my sneakers. Watching myself walk always made the process of walking feel a little more awkward than it already was.

"She seemed cool, didn't she?"

I shrugged. "I guess."

"Good."

I glanced up at his face to attempt to interpret his words from his expression. He was staring at two girls sitting by a water fountain at the center of the mall.

He started making wild motions in the air with his arms as if to shape snow angels without lying down. He drew their attention before I could stop him.

"What on earth are you doing?" I hissed, nudging him in the side when I noticed that the girls were heading toward us.

"You said Brooklyn seemed cool." He shrugged as if that was a good explanation. "I assumed you wouldn't mind if they joined us."

"Yeah, why would I mind having lunch with two strangers instead of going home?"

I distinguished Brooklyn from her friend by her eyes, once they reached Arson and me. Her eyes seemed just large and bright enough to invite those who beheld them to peek in and view her soul.

"Hi," said the girl beside Brooklyn, with a brief wave.

Her light brown shirt brought attention to her brown eyes. Her posture and figure claimed that she was likely an athlete.

"Good to see you again, Avery," Brooklyn said with a smile that illuminated her face. She then turned to Arson with a frown. "Arson."

If Arson was perplexed by her tone, he shrugged it off well. "What's up, Jayce?" he said to the other girl, holding up a hand until she high-fived him. "We were about to get some yogurt. Wanna come along?" After a few seconds of consideration, he added with a nod towards Brooklyn. "You can even invite your friend if you'd like."

A weird lopsided smile was plastered across his lips as if he had just said the funniest joke. Brooklyn laughed, shaking her head. Jayce and I appeared to be the only ones who didn't get it.

"Okay." Jayce walked ahead of our little group and entered into the parlor, refusing to play along with whatever Arson and Brooklyn were doing.

I decided that it was a wise action and followed suit. The parlor was colder than the rest of the mall. I congratulated myself for wearing a jacket.

The parlor had a cozy atmosphere. Children were skipping all around the room, and there was a soft rock song playing just high enough to hush the children's chatter.

Jayce and I customized our frozen yogurt and picked a booth by the windows. Through the window, we could see Arson and Brooklyn talking and laughing, probably unaware of our absence.

"What's with them?" I said aloud to myself.

Jayce shrugged. "I think they get a kick out of making fun of each other."

I smiled when I saw a faint tinge of pink on Arson's cheeks.

I took a bite of the strawberry on my yogurt. It was sourer than I expected, and I made a grimace that I hoped Jayce didn't notice. I furtively glanced at her to check, but she seemed captivated by her own bowl.

"Everything okay?" I asked, noticing her frown.

She looked up at me and was in the middle of nodding when she changed her mind, deciding to go with the truth instead.

"It's just... I'm..." she let out a sigh and stared at the chocolate yogurt in front of her as if she wanted to vanish into it.

When she looked up again, she had regained her composure. "Things don't seem to be working out for me lately."

I fiddled with my spoon, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation.

"Do you want to, uh, talk about it?" I asked, not looking up so she wouldn't know that I was new at the empathy thing.

"School and family drama," she said before taking a spoonful of frozen yogurt into her mouth, as to give herself time to figure out what to say next. "I've found myself in a whole lot of drama since I joined the cheerleading squad. Do you know the dramatic-mean-cheerleader cliché? Well, turns out it's not always a cliché."

Sounds of laughter stole my attention away from the yogurt melting in my bowl and towards the topping counter.

Arson and Brooklyn had finally made it inside the parlor. She tugged on the hood of his shirt to take his place in the short line to the cashier. He crossed his arms on his chest and shook his head in mock disapproval.

"They're practically an old married couple," Jayce said, chuckling at the pair.

I shifted back in my seat to face her, surprised by her comment. "Do you think they like each other?" I asked.

She smiled and tilted her head a little to the left. She seemed about to say something but decided against it when she noticed that Arson and Brooklyn were now heading towards us.

Arson took the spot next to me, giving me a small pat on the shoulder to acknowledge my presence.

Arson shifted in his seat to make himself more comfortable. I watched his every move to find an indication of the feelings Jayce hinted at earlier, but he looked the same to me.

As usual, he was absorbed by some weird task. He was wrapping a piece of napkin around the handle of his spoon.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he carried on with his work, oblivious to our stares.

"Well, you know how my spoon always gets too deep into my food and stains my fingers when I do not notice?" Arson asked, proud of the mummy spoon he created. "Well, I think I've found a solution."

I knew I should not have asked. How on earth was that guy the captain of the basketball team?

Brooklyn rose from her seat and dropped her empty paper bowl into a nearby trash can.

"Gotta go. It was nice to run into you, Avery," she said with a huge smile, "and company," she added with a nod towards Arson.

He did not look up to acknowledge her comment, but I caught a glimpse of a small smile playing on his lips.

Jayce shook her head at the two and stood up. "Nice meeting you," she said to me and gave a small salute to Arson.

I watched them walk out of the door before turning to Arson who looked pleased with the performance of his spoon so far.

"Now that you've had your fun, are we going home?" I asked, giving up on my melted yogurt.

Arson popped a gummy bear into his mouth then nodded without arguing.

"Really? I was expecting you to put up a fight."

"Do you want me to put up a fight?" he asked, sliding out of the booth.

He tossed my bowl and his into the trash can then waved to the cashier, as if they had become friends when he was ordering.

I walked out and held the door open for him. We walked side by side to the exit and across the parking lot until we reached his Chevy. The door handle was burning hot, a preview of the state of the passenger seat. But I climbed in and put on my seatbelt anyway because I couldn't wait to get home.

Arson turned on the air conditioner as soon as he started the car and waited until it cooled down before backing out of the parking spot.

"So," he said, once we were back on the road, "this was fun."

"Fun," I repeated, the word sounded foreign to me. I had no idea what it meant anymore.

I was glad he got me to come with him. If I had stayed home, I would have been alone with my thoughts, and I knew that was a dangerous thing. I didn't want to go back on my decision to change even though I knew it was going to take a lot of effort. I was glad I wouldn't have to do it all alone.

I watched other cars speed by us and tried to entertain myself by guessing their brands before seeing the logos.

We passed by our school, the park I usually went to, a hospital, the main library, and—

—This was not the way to my house.