He shrugs. “Maybe not those either. I don’t know. I was thinking about using something more neutral.” He pauses, his eyes roving the floor again like the perfect pronoun is just waiting in the grout. “I don’t want to make things too complicated, though. I just—I’m not sure how comfortable I feel with he/him anymore.”

“Devin, they’re your pronouns. You don’t have to consider anyone else before you pick them.”

His eyes widen, and then I don’t know what changes, but he smiles like all his problems have melted away, and it really is a beautiful smile.

“Thanks, Noah. Do you mind using they/them for me from now on?”

I roll my eyes. “No, I don’t mind. They’re your pronouns.”

And they smile again, and for a moment, my heart feels heavy. Then they say, “I hope things weren’t too bad while I was gone.”

And the smell of applesauce washes over me, and my whole body tightens up. I groan, pushing past them to head back down the hall. “We’re gonna be cleaning up all afternoon.”

Seriously, Becca, I know you’re busy, but come on! What about our spa date???

Delivered

On the way home, Brian stops to pick up Maggie from some friend’s house or something. I haven’t seen them together as much recently, but if that was supposed to give me any hope they’d be breaking up soon, it’s completely crushed the moment Brian hops out of the car and runs to hug her. Gross.

Brian kicks me out of the passenger seat so Maggie can hop in up front, and I just roll my eyes before slipping into the back. It’s fine. I’m trying to pretend to be invisible instead of being their third wheel.

I’ve noticed that Maggie hasn’t invited me to anything since trivia, and I don’t know if that’s a reflection on how badly we lost or the fact that I didn’t get the bookstore job and, by extension, her discount. Brian claims she just hasn’t been doing anything Noah-worthy recently, but then, he’s also been more Maggie-fixated than before. It’s like every recipe he tries just further convinces him he needs to be the perfect chef of Maggie’s dreams, which is also gross.

Maggie goes on about watching this gay movie because she has a gay friend, and my eyes roll back into my head at the absurdity. I mean, really, who acts like they know something about being gay just because they have a gay friend?