“Do you ever get, like, a weird vibe from him?” I must look offended because she rushes to elaborate. “Not bad weird, just … I don’t know, he’s just…”

The back of my neck is prickling. I think I know what she’s trying to say. But there aren’t even really words for it. The fact that Caitlin is having a hard time explaining the uncanniness of Caleb comforts me a bit, but it also freaks me out. If she’s picked up on something too, then it’s not just me being overly dramatic.

“Really perceptive?” I offer when it’s clear she’s not going to finish her sentence.

“Yes!” she shouts, eyes wide. The sound echoes in the abandoned library and we both flinch at the loudness.

“Sorry,” she whispers, “sorry, I just—yes, that’s exactly it. He’s perceptive. Weirdly perceptive.”

“Does that bother you?” I ask.

“No, not really, it just kind of catches me off guard sometimes, you know?” Caitlin’s shoulders relax as she leans back in her chair. “I’ve just never met anyone who knows what’s going through my head like that. After the fight, we walked around the field so he could blow off some steam and he was—he just knew exactly what I was feeling. It was unreal. And also, like, a little embarrassing.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, suddenly very curious. Caitlin’s face is getting red and she’s picking at the corner of her notebook, a nervous habit that seems out of place with her easy confidence.

“Just…” Her face reddens even more. “Like, we were having an okay time, you know? Just walking around the field and talking. And he’d been so nice the whole night, standing up for me and everything, and I sort of thought…”

“Oh,” I say, as I realize where she’s going. “Right.”

I would very much like to evaporate now, please.

“And he knew,” she continues. “He knew I was thinking about, I don’t know, kissing him or something, and before I had a chance to say anything or do anything, he turned me down.”

“Oh,” I say again. Caleb turned Caitlin down? Caitlin Park? Oh god, stupid hope, what are you doing here? Go away go away go away—

“And, I mean, I guess it’s nice to save me the embarrassment,” Caitlin says, the heat starting to leave her face, “but it’s not like I was being obvious about it. At least, I don’t think I was. But he just blurted out that he wanted to just be friends, and the way he said it … I don’t know, it felt like he’d read my mind.”