‘You’ve got money, right?’ Harry said. ‘As soon as quarantine ends, you need to get lawyered up, big time. Cut the best deal you can.’

‘I haven’t got much info to give them,’ Charlie said. ‘Shoulda learned my lesson and taken a job at the mall …’

‘Ambition is one thing we’ve always had in common,’ Harry noted.

‘But yours doesn’t get you into trouble,’ Charlie said, remembering how easily they’d always found stuff to talk about. ‘Can I ask a question, if you’re not too busy?’

Harry laughed. ‘I’m holed up in this apartment with Matt until quarantine ends. There’s nowt on Netflix and I’ve jerked off twice already.’

‘I never figured out what I did to upset you,’ Charlie said. ‘I called. I sent a dozen messages. I even went old-skool and bought a card and a stamp and put it in the post. You were my best friend and you cut me dead.’

Harry considered lying, but after two years his ego could handle the truth.

‘I was in love with you,’ Harry admitted. ‘There was a Trojan full of Brad’s sperm in your bathroom bin and the thought of being anywhere near when he was around made me feel like firing a bullet through my acne-splattered temple.’

‘Brad …’ Charlie gasped. ‘I didn’t realise you found out …’

‘Are you still seeing him?’

Charlie laughed. ‘Brad had a girlfriend, and another girlfriend when he went to his uncle’s farm, and other girls at school he was hooking up with. After a few weeks, I realised I was never gonna be anything more than the girl across the hall.’

‘Seeing anyone now?’

‘Not really,’ Charlie said. ‘I guess I should have realised you were crushing on me, all the time you spent talking to me, and the gifts. But for over two years you were my only friend. That meant so much to me.’

‘The weekend before, I almost put my arm around you after we had lunch.’

‘I had a lot going on back then,’ Charlie said awkwardly. ‘How about your love life?’

‘Nothing significant,’ Harry said, as he realised Charlie probably had no idea about his mods. ‘My skin is better now. Went out with my friend Anita for a few months at the start of junior year.’

‘You must be a senior now, right? Is college sorted?’

‘NYU, Photography and Reportage,’ Harry said.

‘Living in New York will be so cool!’

‘I’ve been so involved with trashy stories on Vegas Local and Ellie’s super-lean business model. It’s two years since I got my good camera out and did proper photography. And eighteen seems too young to be a sell out.’

‘A bit,’ Charlie said, and her laugh made Harry feel great.

‘How about you? I’m assuming you’ve aced your SATs already.’

‘I got a thirty-six in the ACT in my sophomore year,’ Charlie said.