All at once, she breaks away and steps back from me. I gasp from shock and adrenaline, and lean forward to rest my hands on my knees. Meanwhile, Rose touches her mouth with her fingertips, staring into the distance. “What are we doing?” she asks.

Good question, I think, trying to focus. She kissed me. Rose kissed me. And I’m awake.

Rose kissed me, and now she’s pacing back and forth. “What are we doing?” she asks again. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry I did that. Oh my god.”

I watch her go forward and backward, blinking, while I let myself fall back against the tree.

Rose kissed me, Rose, Rose, she—

She stops short and opens her mouth. Then she apparently thinks better of it, because she throws her hands up into the air. I think it’s my turn to say something.

“You okay?” I ask, mostly because she very obviously isn’t.

“Yes. No. Maybe?” She clasps her hands in front of her, and she sort of looks like she’s praying. “What should we do? Should we go back? Maybe we should go back.”

Does she mean to school? Or back in time? “Do you want to go back?” I ask.

She hugs herself, and her fingernails dig harsh dents into her jacket sleeve. “I—I, um. No? No.”

She looks like her thoughts are a whirlwind. But for me, the world is crisp, and clear, and simple.

“Neither do I,” I say, and she finally meets my eyes. And I see everything in them. Everything.

She approaches me with a fierce look, and I stare her down, steady and totally sure. She rests her forehead against mine first, her breath trembling. I think she’s expecting me to pull away, or tell her this is a bad idea. I don’t do either of those things. I just wait for her to figure out her next move. Every second she spends like this tightens the pit of my stomach more and more, until it feels like I might die if I can’t taste her again.

Then, finally, she breathes out and presses her lips against mine again.

And I’m done for.

TWENTY-ONE DANNI

I’m shocked by how quickly Rose and I settle into something called “us.”

Obviously, there are rules to “us.” Rule one, no one can know about us. That’s easy enough, because I’m only out to Rachel, and Rose is only out to her parents, so it’s not like either of us are exactly racing to announce we’re together. There’s a little weirdness there on my end because the media—and half the people we know—still seem convinced Rose and Alfie are a thing, but Rose insists that there’s never been anything there with Alfie past the one kiss, and I believe her. I just wish the rest of the world knew that.