Fridays always felt different from the rest of the week. There was an unspoken energy in the air, a collective exhale after days of grinding through classes. I basked in the feeling, as I scanned the cafeteria in search of Della, but she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was out in the courtyard with her friends. Lucy's voice snapped me back to reality, cutting through the dull hum of the room. She was talking, but I hadn't been listening. Still, I managed to catch the tail end of her sentence.

"A party you say?" I asked, scrambling to catch up and feeling a little guilty for not listening. Lucy didn't seem to notice; she nodded, her mouth full of sandwich.  

"Ugh—where and when?" I asked. 

"My place, Tomorrow night." She said, unamused.

I raised an eyebrow, "You are throwing a house party?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "You weren't listening, were you? My brother's the one throwing a party."

"Who's he inviting?" I asked, grinning sheepishly.

"His friends and by friends I mean anyone he brushed shoulders with." she groaned. "His debate team friends have been pushing him into it. I know it."

"And your parents are... okay with this?" I asked, though I already suspected the answer.

Lucy snorted. "Yeah but Liam convinced them it's a small gathering without alcohol."

"So there will be alcohol?"

"I'm pretty sure there will be. Liam has friends with fake IDs and everything."

"How'd he make sure you wouldn't snitch to your parents?" I chuckled.

"He's... got blackmail material," she said reluctantly, slowing on the words.

I raised an eyebrow. "What sort of blackmail material?"

"The sort that keeps me quiet," she muttered, her lips pressing into a thin line. I slurped my juice box, giving her an inquisitive stare.

"Hmm... I'll find out what it is." I smirked.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at me, clearly regretting sharing that piece of information. "Anyway I told Liam he's on cleanup duty for whatever mess this turns into." She said.

"Sounds like a solid plan," I said, leaning back with a grin. "I'm in."

Lucy gaped at me, her sandwich halfway to her mouth. "I'm not inviting you!" she scowled.

"Ouch." I feigned hurt, placing a hand over my chest.

"No, no!" Lucy said quickly, shaking her head. "Weren't you listening? I think this idea the worst. I've been trying to talk Liam out of it."

Grinning, I shrugged and gave her a playful nudge on the arm. "Maybe it's not so stupid. The party might be fun. A night to let loose?"

Lucy didn't look entirely convinced, but she let it go. We settled into a comfortable silence, finishing our lunches as the cafeteria buzzed around us. I glanced at the clock. Tyler and Kacey were still missing—probably held up in class or distracted.

"Hey, yesterday evening was fun, wasn't it?" Lucy said suddenly, her voice soft.

I smiled, nodding at the memory. We'd gotten ice cream, then crashed at Tyler's to rewatch Transformers. The girls laughed at us reciting Optimus Prime's lines with exaggerated drama while Tyler and I gushed over Megan Fox.

"I can't get that end-credits song out of my head," Lucy said, tapping her fingers against the table.

"Oh?" I pretended not to know which one.

"The one that goes..." She hummed the guitar riff from What I've Done by Linkin Park.

"Wait, wait!" I held up a hand, leaning closer. Clearing my throat, I put on my best deep Optimus Prime voice, "I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting..."

Lucy burst into laughter but didn't miss her cue, singing, "What I've done... I'll face myself..."

I beatboxed along in mock seriousness, making her laugh even harder. We didn't make it far into the song before collapsing in giggles.

"I'm so proud I got you into Linkin Park," I teased, nudging her shoulder.

She nudged me back. "So why haven't I seen you wear that Linkin Park hoodie I got you for your birthday?"

"Saving it for something special," I said with a wink. Truthfully, it was in my closet like a collector's item—I was terrified of ruining it.

"Still can't believe I missed your sixteenth birthday last summer," she sighed.

I shrugged. "You didn't miss much."

My sixteenth wasn't anything huge but it was a good one. I got a car-a second handed from my mom even so, she's mine now. Then Della kissed me for the first time...

Just thinking of her brought a rush of memories, and a reminder of everything I'd kept from Lucy about last summer. She did miss a considerable portion of the summer.

I glanced at her, that familiar flutter of nerves stirring up. Maybe now was the time to finally tell her about Della—to talk about everything that happened.

"Hey, Lu, can I tell you something?" I said, looking up at her.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Of course," she replied warmly.

"Last summer–"

"THIS BOY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY!" A loud voice interrupted, slicing through the cafeteria chatter.

"What the—" I turned around, along with everyone else, to see a guy standing on a table, his eyes locked onto a girl across from him. A Bluetooth speaker began blaring music.

"Isn't that Gavin Brooke? From our art class?" Lucy asked, exchanging an amused glance with me.

"Yeah, and his friends..." I watched as Gavin jumped off the table in a flourish, and four of his friends came forward.

"Ashley," he called, his voice cutting through the now-silent lunchroom again. "I have something to say, but..." Ashley blinked in surprise, her cheeks flushing as she looked up at him. He hesitated, then launched into a familiar tune, his voice shaky but earnest.

"But I may just take your breath away

I don't mind if there's not much to say

Sometimes the silence guides a mind

To move to a place so far away."

Whispers rippled through the crowd, and several students raised their phones to record him as he belted out lyrics from 'Sweater Weather' by The Neighborhood, while his friends danced electrically around him and Ashley. It was straight out of High School Musical. Beside me, Lucy was grinning, clearly enjoying the scene.

"Coming down...

You and me, this fall,

One night, one ball...

No fear, no doubts

Just us, you'll find out

Nothing that I wouldn't wanna tell you about, no, no, no..."

Everyone oohed at his change of lyrics and dance moves as he stepped forward to Ashley. He began singing softly, his words barely audible to me, likely continuing with:

"'Cause it's too cold

For you here

And now, so let me hold

Both your hands in the holes of my sweater..."

We watched as Gavin extended his hands toward Ashley, who looked as if she might collapse from embarrassment. But a shy smile broke through, and she reached out, taking his hands in hers. He lowered his head to her, and whispered something to which she nodded and the cafeteria erupted in cheers and applause.

"He can actually sing and dance pretty well," I said, turning to Lucy. "You should recruit him for the choir."

Lucy chuckled. "Yeah, we could use more talent for the fall ball performance."

"There's going to be a performance?"

She laughed. "Why do you think I've been having all those choir practices this past week?"

I shrugged. "The music room is like your natural habitat ever since you became the choir's official pianist."

"Fair enough," Lucy said with that upside-down smile—the one that always made me smile, too.

"You had something to tell me, right?" She asked, suddenly reminding me. Just then her eyes left mine, glancing over my shoulder, I looked behind me to find Tyler and Kacey making their way to us with their lunch trays.

"I did but it totally slipped my mind. I'll get back to you when it pops up." I lied, not feeling certain about having to discuss the matter with her suddenly.