I grin, but also, my heart feels light. No more Maggie. No more Brian and Maggie. I mean, wow, what total and complete bliss.

Then Brian says, “I didn’t know you and Devin were so close.”

I freeze, heat rushing to my face. “We’re not!” I snap, but I guess that isn’t entirely true. I didn’t think we were that close before this afternoon, but e knows about the Diary now, which means e’s basically part of my inner circle. Hell, e knows more than Brian.

“He’s nice. You don’t have to get so defensive,” Brian says, carefully tucking the overhang on one of the wrappers. He definitely seems more comfortable now that the spotlight’s off him.

“Devin uses e/em pronouns now,” I say reflexively. “And I’m not defensive. I just don’t want people getting the wrong idea.”

“I’m sorry about the pronouns, and who exactly is people?”

I shrug because I can’t really explain it. It’s something about the way Becca laughed at me when I told her about Devin, like she thinks there’s something going on there that just doesn’t exist. And now the way Brian’s talking about em like I’m supposed to be weighing out who to take to prom or something.

“Oh, Drew came by while you were gone,” Brian says.

My hands jerk back from a half-folded egg roll. “What? Why didn’t you lead with that?”

Brian shrugs. “I kind of forgot about it, to be honest. He asked if you were home. I said you were out with a friend, and then he just left.”

My hands are shaking, but I’m not sure why. This is a good thing, right? It means he came by to apologize? Or does it mean he came by to break up with me?

“Did something happen between you two?” Brian asks, and for a moment, I can hear a note of sadness in his voice, like I probably should’ve told him about all of this earlier.

“I—I don’t know,” I say. “We went to a party, and things got kind of awkward.” I push the wrappers away. I can’t muster up the restraint to handle them properly.

“What’d he do?”

I shrug. “Got wasted and didn’t want to leave even though we were supposed to go to Devin’s party.”

“So are you guys in a fight or something?”

“I honestly don’t know, but if he came here looking for me, I should probably go talk to him. I don’t want him getting funny ideas about where I’ve been.”

Brian sighs. “Finish rolling those egg rolls first.”

I groan but oblige. I feel like I owe it to him.

“Also, Noah?”

I look up.

“Just because he’s your boyfriend doesn’t mean you owe anything to him, okay? If he’s getting possessive—”