They ended up leading Landon to the corner of the street, which wasn’t hard because the rooster seemed inclined to follow Michelle’s every step.

  As they waited for Barnaby’s arrival, they stood outside a quiet yarn shop that didn’t see much business.

  “You can go back first,” Michelle offered, raising a hand. “You don’t need to wait here with me. I know it’s boring.”

  Caledon shook his head. “I have to stay here.”

  Her face scrunched up. “Um … why do you have to?”

  “I have to walk you home after our date. I’m your boyfriend, so I have to stick with you.”

  Memories of her best friends’ boyfriends insisting on escorting them home surfaced in her mind’s eye. Hailey always asked Carter to accompany her to most pces. It was like they were bound together by invisible handcuffs. That wasn’t Michelle’s definition of enjoyable.

  “Wow,” she said, watching Landon bob his head at his own reflection in the shop window, “that sounds so fun. Not. You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to, dude. I won’t hold it against you.”

  “But my friends always stay with their girlfriends. And they’ve been asking weird things about us tely. Our retionship is just as real as theirs, so I’ll wait here with you.”

  She couldn’t help giving him a slightly judgmental side-eye.

  “Alright,” Michelle said. “Flimsy reason, but I’m not about to turn down free company.”

  Landon seemed content to be in Michelle’s general vicinity—maintaining a maximum distance of about two feet, really, but what did it matter?—as they stood around and waited.

  “Is he friendly?” Caledon asked, lowering himself into a squat in front of Landon. “Does he let you pet him?”

  Landon did not shy away. Instead, he peered back at Caledon with a sharp, beady eye from one side of his face.

  “Yeah, he’s quite nice,” she said. “He usually lets people pet him. Pretty much everyone in our club has.”

  The first time she’d done it was because Barnaby had all but shoved Landon in her face, bragging about how cute his pet was. Landon had been very docile, allowing her to pet him.

  She crouched down beside Caledon to face Landon. The rooster trod towards her, bobbing his head.

  “Hey, boy.” She reached out to gently stroke his back. “Were you bored at home?”

  Landon leaned into her touch. Upon seeing that, Caledon followed suit and gave him a tentative pat. When Landon didn’t react negatively to it, he continued patting him.

  He said, “Hi, Landon. What do you normally do at home?”

  “Living his best life as a pet, probably,” Michelle said, not without a tinge of envy in her voice. “Barnaby loves him. He’s like a doting parent.”

  Every time he made his way to the drama club room in school, Landon would be scolded by Barnaby for being reckless and disobeying his command to wait for him to come home. Then he would receive treats from Barnaby, who apparently kept them in his school bag for ‘convenience.’ Nobody had the heart to point out that this act ran contradictory to the lectures he would give his pet, especially since Barnaby was so popur in his year.

  “What I wouldn’t give to be fed and watered and do my only job of being cute all day,” she said.

  Caledon ughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Michelle cracked a grin at him.

  “Don’t we all,” he said.

  “What about you? Do you have a pet?”

  “No,” he said. “My parents won’t let me get one. I really want a dog, though. If I had one, I’d take it with me everywhere.”

  For just a second, a dreamy look crossed Caledon’s face. It startled Michelle enough to drop her hand from Landon’s back, and it brushed against Caledon’s.

  It was the look of a guy who evidently spent enough time daydreaming about spending time with his future dog.

  Michelle sighed. “Me too! I want a dog so bad. I’m definitely getting one when I get my own pce.”

  “Yeah, that’s my pn. What kind of dog would you get?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m still thinking about it. Autumn has a golden retriever, and she’s super cute and goofy. Is there a breed you want?”

  “I’d want either a pomeranian or a corgi. Those are my dream dogs. But golden retrievers are cool, too. They look so happy.”

  He sighed, looking dreamy again.

  “Dude, you really want a dog, don’t you?” Michelle stared at him. “Why won’t your parents let you get one? I mean, you have a part-time job and you can save up for one and everything.”

  “Vet bills are expensive,” he said glumly. “Even if I bought one with my own money, I might not be able to afford the vet bills if something happened to it. Besides, dog toys and food all cost money and they add up. I’d be at school for most of the day and since I’m working part-time, I won’t be able to spend much time with it. Then my parents would have to take care of it and they just don’t want to commit that kind of time and resources to taking care of a pet.”

  “You’ve really put a lot of thought into this.”

  “That’s a given,” he said. “They’re living beings. If I get one, I’ll make sure it has the best life I can offer. What about you? Why don’t you have one?”

  Michelle sighed. “Mom’s allergic to them. I can only get one when I move out.”

  “That’s too bad. I wish one of my friends owned one. I’d go over all the time to py with it.”

  She smiled at his obvious yearning.

  “Michelle!”

  Hearing her name being panted loudly by someone from what sounded like a short distance away, Michelle turned her head around to try to see who it was.

  Barnaby, who had on a sweat-soaked gray cotton T-shirt and running shorts, with a pair of running sneakers on his feet to match, dashed up to them. Wheezing, he rested his hands just above his kneecaps. His dark hair was matted with sweat.

  “Whoa,” she said, blinking in surprise. “Were you … exercising? Or something?”

  “I went out for a run,” he expined in between gasps for air. “I told Landon. You knew I was only out for a run, buddy! Why’d you leave the house like that?”

  At the reproachful stare he was giving the unrepentant-looking rooster, an involuntary giggle ran up Michelle’s throat. Both she and Caledon got to their feet.

  “Sorry,” she said quickly, when he looked back at her.

  “Thanks for calling me,” he said in resigned tones. “I really appreciate it, Michelle.”

  She waved at him airily. “No problem.”

  As Barnaby scooped Landon up into his arms, Caledon said, “Your rooster’s really friendly. You have a nice pet.”

  “Thanks.” He looked curiously at Caledon. “Are you Michelle’s friend?”

  “Boyfriend,” Michelle crified, eager to rub it in everyone’s face that she had a boyfriend now. “We’re dating. For real. Legitimately. It’s not a bet.”

  “Yeah,” Caledon chimed in, vouching for her. “I’m Caledon. Nice to meet you.”

  She couldn’t quite comprehend the strange stare Barnaby shot her, as if she were the weird one for escaping singledom, so she chose to overlook it.

  “I’m Barnaby. Nice to meet you too. So, uh, it’s not a bet, huh?”

  “No!” She scowled. “We’re for real. Why does everyone keep asking that?”

  He seemed even more bewildered. “You do realize that I wouldn’t have asked that if you hadn’t thrown that in, don’t you?”

  “It’s a just-in-case thing,” Caledon expined, and Michelle felt a gush of deeper appreciation for her boyfriend. “Since everyone keeps asking.”

  Barnaby stared a little before shaking his head.

  “I’d ask why everyone keeps asking, and why you guys seem so chill about it, but I’m too exhausted. Thanks again for calling me, Michelle. See you around.”

  She waved back at Barnaby, who spun around and started trudging off.

  “I was about to start heading home slowly,” he said to the rooster tucked firmly in his arms, “but then you had to run out and make me work even harder to get here. No treats for you tonight.”

  Landon clucked in protest.

  “Look at them; they’re so cute,” she mented with a sigh. “If only that could’ve been me. I’d reprimand my mischievous dog for running out of the house to look for me, and then I’d take it home to cuddle for the rest of the night.”

  “If you get a dog, I can help you to walk it,” Caledon said.

  “Well, until the day my mom miraculously stops having allergies or I move out, you’re going to have to keep dreaming, I guess. Let’s go.”

  “Sad.”

  He took her hand again and they started walking back to Michelle’s house.

  ———

  With crossed arms, Michelle stood before the vending machine, mulling over the different options it offered.

  Since Caledon had gotten her a drink the other day, she figured it was only fair that she got him something in return. The only problem was that she didn't know what to get him.

  From what she recalled, Caledon disliked soda.

  In the end, she settled on a bottle of orange juice and hoped he didn't hate oranges. She’d have to ask him what he liked ter.

  They’d exchanged their css schedules for easy future reference. She knew that Mrs. Archer’s lessons always dragged on, so there was enough time for her to get to Caledon’s st css.

  As expected, students were only just leaving Mrs. Archer’s cssroom when she arrived. She scanned everyone’s faces as quickly as she could, hoping not to miss Caledon.

  She spotted him stepping out of the doorway, his head tilted over his shoulder as he spoke to someone behind him. Lloyd followed him out, waving his hands as he talked.

  Michelle made her way to Caledon as quickly as she could, slipping past the crowd of students. He and Lloyd were walking at a very slow pace, so it was easy. Once she was standing in front of Caledon, she lifted the bottle in her hand.

  “Hey,” she said.

  He looked startled to see her. “Hi.”

  “Here you go,” she said. “Please tell me you don’t hate oranges.”

  “No, I like them.”

  “Great.”

  While passing Caledon the juice, she gave Lloyd a little wave of acknowledgement. He nodded back.

  A pyful grin formed on Lloyd’s lips as he slung one arm around Caledon’s shoulders. “Whoa, you came here right after css to look for him? How sweet.”

  Michelle didn’t know what to say in response to that, so she smiled awkwardly and then faced her boyfriend instead.

  “It’s to pay you back,” she expined. “You know, since you got me that iced tea on Tuesday. It’s only fair.”

  There was a look of amusement on Lloyd’s face.

  “Oh,” Caledon said, the confusion on his face clearing up. “I guess so. Well, thanks. Do you want me to walk you home?”

  “No, but thanks. I’m going to Autumn’s house with the others ter. It’s going to be just us girls.” At least, that was what her best friends had promised, and she was not going to let any boy ruin it. “See you tomorrow.”

  “You came here just to give him the drink and leave?” Lloyd asked with a look of astonishment.

  She eyed him. “He told me you guys do the same thing. Why is it weird if I do it?”

  “Yeah, but we …” To make up for how much at a loss for words he was, Lloyd made some vague, sweeping gestures with his hands. “We talk a little more. We don’t just leave abruptly. We meet each other for a reason.”

  “My reason is to give him that drink,” she said, shrugging.

  The small frown of clear dissatisfaction Lloyd was giving her seemed to indicate that it somehow wasn’t a good enough reason.

  Caledon edged closer to Michelle and whispered into her ear, “He means they hug or kiss before they say goodbye, but please don’t kiss me.”

  “Yeah, I’m not kissing you.” She shuddered. “Do you want a hug? I can do that at least.”

  “Nah, there’s no need. Just ignore him. My friends are weird.”

  “It’s fine. Mine have been weird all week.”

  Lloyd, whose eyes had been darting between the two of them this whole time, looked as if he were about to burst into ughter. Michelle chose to act like she couldn’t see him.

  “Alright, bye. Thanks again for this.” Caledon lifted the bottle in his hand.

  “Bye,” she said, waving at him. “See you tomorrow.”

  When she left, Michelle could still hear Lloyd’s incredulous voice in the distance, questioning Caledon if they were really together, refusing to believe his affirmative answers. It was getting a little annoying. What did a couple have to do around here to get others to acknowledge their retionship?