Milo

"Are you going to follow me to my bus stop every week from now on?"

I wobble my head as I match my pace to Nia’s. "I've only done it three times."

"In four weeks," she counters.

"Exactly." I shoot her a grin, proud of my achievement.

"I wasn't here last week."

My grin brightens. This walk to her bus stop has become one of my favourite times of the week. "You got a problem with that?"

Nia's lips turn down as she lets out a small hum. "Surprisingly, no."

"Surprisingly?" I clasp a hand to my chest. "I thought we were friends."

Nia's eyes dart around me before she turns her head forward. I can't read her expression, so I stay silent. This is the first time I've seen her since she shared her true diagnosis of her kidney disease.

My stomach churns when I think about everything she shared with me. But something changed between us. The trust Nia put in me to share something she holds so close, to trust me with the vulnerability of tears, I value that more than she can possibly imagine. It makes what I'm about to ask her so much easier.

"You busy tonight?"

"Why?" Nia narrows her eyes at me, and I hesitate at her reply. So much for earning her trust.

"I, for once, don't have detention, hockey, swimming, or work." I grimace at Nia. "I kinda don't know what to do with myself." I curl in on my shoulders, unsure with myself as all my confidence seeps out through my feet at my next question. "Thought you might wanna hang out?"

"No. I'm not busy."

"But?" A gust of wind blows off the field, dislodging my hair over my face. I brush it back and grip onto the longer strands as Nia comes up with some way to avoid me.

"Depends what you have planned for hanging out."

I release my hair with a happy huff. "So I've got until the end of the drive to persuade you? Challenge accepted. I could pick you up and carry you."

She glares at me through her eyebrows, and my grin grows. "I will kick you with these boots."

My grin waivers as I glance down at her Docs. My first option would be to lure her with food, but I'm unsure if this is a sensitive subject.

"Movie night," I blurt out like the desperate idiot I am.

Nia's silent for the last few steps, and I hold my breath as she makes her decision.

"I'll take it." She turns down the pavement towards my house. "But I get to pick the movie."

"Come on," I groan, unhappy with her condition. "You'll pick something lame."

She scowls at me, and we argue over films until we reach Katy's primary school.

"Why are we here?"

I curse, staring at Nia with wide eyes. “Sorry. I was picking up my sister.” I was too overwhelmed that Nia had agreed, I forgot to tell her. “Do you want me to see if one of her friends can take her for a bit? Or I can keep her in another room or-”

“Milo.” Nia shakes her head, a hand grabbing my arm to soothe my nerves. “It's fine. I'm happy to meet her.”

"Why did your voice just go squeaky?"

"It didn't," she says, putting on a low voice. I raise an eyebrow, forcing laughter to ripple between us.

"Milo." Katy's joy bounces across the playground towards us.

"Hey, bean. This is my friend Nia."

"Hi." Katy shoots her a toothy grin, and I can't help but smile when Nia looks as if Katy’s a giant dog.

She glances up at me, and I press my lips together to hide my amused grin.

"What?"

I release my smile, letting it spread until it eats up my face. "You're funny."

Her dark eyebrows crash downwards, burying her eyes within their depths. "Why?"

"You’re looking at her like she’s gonna bite you." My laughter erupts uncontrollably, and Katy's young giggles join in. "Don't worry," I say between gasps. "She hasn't got all her adult teeth yet."

I glance at Katy, who shoots a toothy grin, showing off all her teeth. I laugh again, but I'm pleased when a smile plays on Nia's lips.

"Come on. Let's go choose a movie."

***

"We're never gonna eat all that."

I follow Nia's gaze to the three carrier bags of snacks and food that Nia can eat piled on the breakfast bar. Sure, I went a little bit overboard in the supermarket. Sure, I might have set Katy up with reading a list so I could buy everything Nia could eat.

But I want her to feel comfortable. I don't want her to hide who she is from me.

"Nah." I rummage through the first bag, searching for the corn kernels. "You can never have too much food."

"Of course, you would think that. You're unnecessarily tall. We, however." Nia flicks her thumb between her chest and Katy, who's almost the same height as her. "Are tiny."

"He eats like a pig," Katy says cheerfully with a small giggle. "That's what Dad says."

I force myself to feign amusement so Katy doesn't pick up on the way her comment churned my stomach. "Shut it, you little midget gem."

My eyes focus on Nia. An amused smile sits on her face too, but I can't tell if she's faking it or not. Alone, Katy's statement is innocent. I've done what I can to avoid talking about Dad because he doesn't belong in our conversations. But I don't remember everything I've said to Nia over the last few months. I don't want her to pity me or things to change between us as a result.

"When are we making popcorn?" Katy bounces on her toes and claps her hands.

"Now." I drop the corn to the side and avoid looking at Nia as if she'll be able to see right through any facade. When no one moves, I risk a glance at Nia. A pleasant, neutral expression sits on her face, and I shake away my overreaction. "What do we do?"

"We need a pan, oil, and whatever flavours you want."

I place a pan on the hob, leaving the oil beside the corn. Nia gets to work, adding the oil to the pan and turning the hob on, as if she's a regular visitor. I press my lips together to repress the smile and hide my face in the bags.

"Cinnamon," I say, placing the jar beside the oil. "And I'll grab the sugar for me and Katy."

More interested in eating the food than making it, I pull out all the snacks and line them up before eyeing up what to eat. Since Nia got the most excited about the edamame beans, I pop open the top of the plastic pot and throw a pod in my mouth and chew.

"Ugh." I split the green goop into the sink and pick bits of plastic off my tongue. "Are we meant to cook these first?"

Nia turns with wide eyes before her laughter fills the room, mixing with Katy's when she sees my face.

Nia's laughter has me freezing. The ache in my heart I've gotten used to since Mum left feels less aggressive. The burning edges settle as a flutter emanates through my body.

"You're only meant to eat the beans," Nia tells me when her laughter has settled.

"What?" I look at her expectedly.

After a glance at the pan, she scrapes a pod through her teeth with her lips pulled back to show me the correct way to eat the green plastic. She opens her mouth to show me the three beans resting on her tongue. "See."

I narrow my eyes at her speculatively. "Was that a trap?"

Nia grins up at me and asks for a bowl. I keep my eye on her, following her movement as she watches me right back, and I place a bowl on the surface.

She glares up at me before stepping close to my side. I don't step away and peer over her shoulder as she tips half the beans into the bowl and slides it across to me. "These might taste better with some salt."

But before I can do anything to improve my edamame eating experience, Katy gasps from her position on the counter."It's starting."

Katy's eyes widen as she leans over the pan to watch the popping. I step up behind Nia to see what all the fuss is about and rest my arms on her shoulders and my chin on her head. She elbows me in the ribs, causing me to grunt, but when it comes again, I dodge out of the way and jab her with my fingers.

She reaches out to grab a frying pan resting on the back hob and turns, wielding it as a weapon.

I shake my head with a mocking laugh.

"What?" She asks, her grip on the handle tightening as she lifts the pan a touch higher.

"The knives were in reach, and the frying pan is your weapon of choice."

"All the best characters have a frying pan."

"Name one." I fold my arms and tower over her, not backing down.

"Rapunzel, Tiffany Aching, Princess Peach and, of course, Samwise Gamgee," she says without blinking, her wide eyes piercing into mine to the point I consider stepping back, just from her eyes alone.

I narrow my eyes at her, unconvinced she hasn't made up some of these names. "Sure."

She drops her stance, and the pan hangs limply from her hand, almost scraping the tiles below her. "I'm being genuine."

"Right," I drawl and lean in to nab the pan out of her hand, but she twists, pulling the pan out of reach. When she glares at me, I shoot her a playful grin and grab her wrist closest to me.

"She's right, you know," Katy announces with an air of arrogance from her countertop throne.

Nia puffs out her chest, and a proud grin widens her entire face. But the smug wiggle of her shoulders and the grateful glance to Katy causes her to drop her guard. I swoop, spinning her back into my chest and reaching for her other wrist, making sure she can't attack me.

She fidgets but gives up, and her shoulders slump beneath my arms. I lift her full hand and, with a small shake, force her to drop the pan to the counter. It lands with a clatter.

Nia tilts her head back slightly to glare up at me over her forehead. "I hate you," she says through her teeth.

I chuckle as I peer down at her. As if I only just realised how close she is to me, my heart begins to race. With her head pressed against my chest, I'm surprised she can't hear it. My smile suffers slightly, and so does her glare. But the moment is ruined by Katy's groan.

"Will you two just shush." She folds her arms and glares at the two of us with raised eyebrows. "You're ruining all the fun."

I grimace and shuffle with Nia, without releasing her, to watch as the last of the popcorn explodes and fills the pan. When I rest my chin on Nia's head, this time, she seems to sag against me, embracing the hold. Between gasps and noises of excitement from Katy, Nia jerks her hands from my grip to toss the popcorn in the pan. I feel the loss of her against me and drop to the counter beside Katy to stop myself from pulling Nia back into my arms.