Her frown only deepened, and she stepped closer, searching my eyes as I swallowed and tore my gaze away from her. I stared at the space between us, my hands tucked firmly in the pockets of my sweatpants.

“You’re not okay,” she whispered.

Again, I tried to smile, but it wilted like a flower in the desert sun. I lifted my gaze, debating over trying to say I was fine.

But in the end, I just shook my head.

Giana sighed, nodding like she understood without me saying a word. “Okay, you,” she said, grabbing my arms and marching me toward her bedroom. “Sit,” she instructed, pushing me until I sat down on the edge of her bed. “Relax. I’ll make us a couple plates. And you pick out the documentary we’re going to watch.”

“Documentary?” I asked with an arched brow, kicking off my sneakers before I sat back against her headboard.

“Yep. We’re going to watch a stupid documentary about something weird and stuff our faces.” She thumbed through to Netflix, eyes lighting up a bit when she clicked into the documentary sub-category. “Oh! Look. One on cheerleading.”

She gave me a look, waggling her brows.

I swiped the remote out of her hand. “Give me that.”

With a smile, she obliged, disappearing into the kitchen. She came back moments later with two plates piled high with a smorgasbord of food, and then she slid onto the mattress next to me.

“Our Planet! Excellent choice, my friend,” she said, popping a Cheeto in her mouth. Then, she grabbed the remote out of my hand, scrolled a few episodes, hit play, and flicked off the lamp next to her side of the bed.

The documentary started, and she kept her eyes on the screen, save for when she reached for something on the two plates between us.

She didn’t bug me about what was wrong. She didn’t pry.

She was just… there.

“Isn’t this… crazy?” she asked me around a mouthful of Cheetos when we were halfway through the second episode we picked. It was High Seas, and glow-in-the-dark creatures that lived far in the depths of the ocean were swimming across the screen. “It looks like it’s CGI. But it’s not. This is real.” She paused, waving her Cheeto about like a wand. “I mean… that’s real. That weird glow-in-the-dark fish that looks like an alien lives right here on the same planet as us.”

She popped the chip in her mouth, shaking her head.