Then, both Robbie and Johnny are looking to where the horse looked, and Lance is caught lurking in the trees with muddy knees. He curses himself, filled with the urge to cry or run and never come back. He’ll just look down the next time Danny gets on the bus. He’d rather do that than try to explain what he’s doing in this moment. Even if things had gone exactly according to his plans, though, would it really have worked? I’m an idiot, he thinks bitterly, beginning to backpedal.

Before Lance can turn and run, Johnny raises his arm in a friendly wave, jumps off the fence, and lopes toward him. Robbie climbs out of the round pen and follows Johnny at a regular walk, the horse’s halter dangling from his hand.

Johnny reaches Lance first, smiling. “Hey,” he says happily. At thirteen, he’s already as tall as some of the high-school kids who ride the bus. And he’s—well, there’s no other word for him, really, but pretty, with his wavy, dun-colored hair and the bold lines of his face and his sun-kissed skin. Every girl who Lance has ever seen in Johnny’s presence whispers and giggles as he passes by, and their voices get high when they talk to him. Today, like most days, he’s wearing a denim jacket and his usual easy smile. His glance skims over Lance’s knees and his smile turns wider—knowing. Lance freezes.

“You walked over, huh? That’s smart. It’s not even that far. I told Danny that you live so close, he should just walk to your house if he wants to see you so bad, but he didn’t believe me. He thinks he knows everything, but he has no sense of direction. Absolutely none. You should see him play that ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ game. Or even worse, with a piñata.” Suddenly, Johnny’s arm is hooked around Lance’s neck, and Lance doesn’t even know how it happened. But he’s falling into step beside Johnny, who’s taking small, slow steps that don’t fit his much taller, leggy body, and which make it obvious that he’s guiding Lance along. “Glad you’re here. Danny’s been even more annoying than usual all morning. ‘When will it be ten? What does it mean when he says ‘around ten’? Do you think that means he could be earlier?’” He rolls his eyes, grinning all the while, until Lance, helplessly, finds himself smiling, too.

That was actually a pretty good impression of Danny, Lance thinks, but obviously he’d never admit it. He likes Johnny, but Danny is his best and only friend. Lance will always be on Danny’s side.

Robbie has made his way over to them and the sun is right behind his head, so Lance has to squint at him for a second before his face comes into focus. When it does, Lance’s heart skips a beat.

His heart hasn’t done that before. It’s frightening, like something just snuck into his chest and closed a tight fist around his heart, seizing it briefly, and it has to hammer to catch back up to its usual tempo. The moment steals his breath.