“So? Doesn’t mean I don’t want to stand up for her too.” He’s starting to look mad again and I’m not sure what I’ve stepped into here. “She was really annoyed and angry and scared and I think that was all making it hard for her to get rid of him and I could tell that Henry wasn’t going to stop—he was feeling so … charged up or something, and so I needed to do something. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

He sinks into himself as he finishes his rant and I have no idea where the hell any of that came from or what I should do next. Something about what Caleb just said is bugging me—demanding that I pay it closer attention—but I can’t quite place it. I push it aside for the time being and try to do what I’ve been trying all along: be the Friend.

“Listen, Caleb,” I start, not really sure where I’m going with this, “I’m sure Caitlin’s grateful and everything, but you don’t have to fight everyone’s battles for them. Just because you got into a fight a while ago doesn’t mean you’re, like, the designated knight for the whole school.”

Caleb shoots me a look.

“I know you don’t really follow school sports or anything, but you know our mascot is the Knights, right? So I am, actually, literally a school Knight.”

I want to laugh at this but instead the sour look on Caleb’s face taps into my acidic side.

“Just because I don’t come cheer you on at every game doesn’t mean I’m blind, Caleb,” I spit out. “I know our mascot is a knight, but that’s a silly school symbol, not a fucking code you have to live by.”

“Why are you so annoyed by this?”

“I’m not annoyed,” I lie, “I’m just frustrated.”

“What the fuck is the difference?” he shouts, and I guess we’re doing this. We’re having a stupid squabble about absolutely nothing in an empty park in the middle of February.

“Is this about breaking up the thing with you and Bryce way back?” he asks, saying “way back” like it wasn’t a little over a month ago and we’ve been friends for ages. For some reason, that annoys me more.

“No, it’s not about that,” I say. I’m not sure what exactly this is about, but I’m not about to admit that to him. “I just don’t get why you feel like you always have to step in the middle of these things. Don’t you want to avoid getting into trouble again?”