I’m not really in the mood for gossip, but I can tell it means a lot to her. So, I find a smile and spread it across my face. “Okay, I’m ready. Go!”

“My girl Titi overheard Devonte talking to his boys and he called you his girl!”

“No! For real?”

“Yes!” She runs it all down for me. One of Devonte’s friends was trying to set him up with a girl he knew and Devonte declined, saying he had the girl he wanted. She said he was beaming when he said my name.

I knew we were official because Devonte didn’t pull back at all since things went down. In fact, we’ve only gotten closer. This morning he took me to visit my mom. We talked about the crazy stuff on the news and he made me promise to come find him in school if I was feeling overwhelmed.

“I got you,” he said. It was a simple statement, but it meant the world to me. On our way to class, I quickly text Devonte:

Me: So, I hear we’re official now.

Devonte: You didn’t know?

Me: I did. Still nice to hear it out loud. We should celebrate our “official” status

Devonte: Like w/ a kiss?

Me: I was thinking more of a pinky swear situation but a kiss will do.

A few moments later, I fake having to use the restroom so we can meet up in the stairwell by his locker. He makes good on the kiss. I mean really, really good. When he pulls away, I groan softly. He laughs. “Same, yo.” I guess he didn’t want to stop either.

He looks me over, but not in the “are you okay” way everyone else has been. This look is more passion than pity. I like it.

“Man, I always forget just how beautiful you are until I see you. And then its . . . wow.”

I bury my face in his chest and wrap my arms around him. And for a moment, all my heartache goes away . . .

Later, Nai and I head for lunch with the guys. When I encounter Shawn and Dell, they too suck the air out of my lungs. When we sit down, it looks just like old times, but it’s not. I can feel them feeling sorry for me. And even though there’s all this food on the table, no one feels like eating, not even Dell.

I wanted to keep things light, but I end up ranting to them about all the stuff in the news. They admit they’ve seen it, and they wonder if it will actually work and if the cops will get off. We all say, “Hell nah.” But we say it knowing just how wrong we could be.