Ash stared at the small piece of chocolate, a heaviness settling on him.

“So my what-if,” she went on, “is what if I hadn’t been so concerned about winning the popularity prize of prom queen, and we had all left early to go to the after-party instead of staying until the crowning. Then I’d still have you both. My soul mate and my best friend. Or who knows, maybe I wouldn’t have you. You always couldn’t wait to leave. I just never thought that you’d be able to do it and not look back.”

Nausea welled up in him, the words cutting little scars into his already ravaged psyche. “Let’s not play this game anymore, okay? It’s useless. We can’t go back.”

“No,” she said, resignation coming into her voice. “We can’t.”

She set her half of the candy bar down on the table, stood, and walked away without another word.

Five

Then—2005

“So how exactly does this best-friend-is-a-girl thing work?” Graham asked without preamble as he leaned a shoulder against the locker next to Ash’s and watched him load books into his backpack. “Like, how much does Kincaid tell you?”

Ash glanced over at Graham, who had that intense look he sometimes got when he was overly focused on something, the look that caused a vertical line in his forehead. Ash hedged. “What do you mean?”

Graham frowned. “You know, does she talk to you like she’d talk to another girl?”

Ash snorted. “If you’re worried that she’s telling me the private details of your relationship or whatever, don’t. I don’t need to know what kind of kisser you are. Believe me, that’s a line neither of us is interested in crossing.”

“No, not about me and her,” Graham said. “I mean before we were together. Did she confide in you about stuff?”

Ash shoved his PE uniform in his locker and made room for Trevor Lockwood, who had the locker to the left of Ash’s. He nodded at Trevor in a silent what’s up acknowledgment. The kid never said much, but that was an improvement over last year when Ash’s locker was next to Vivian Lansing’s. She was always making out with her boyfriend and blocking the way to Ash’s locker with their PDAs.

Trevor nodded back at Ash, gave Graham the side-eye, and then turned to his locker, acting as if Ash and Graham weren’t there. Ash refocused on his friend. “She’s your girlfriend, man. You know how she talks. She talks about everything. Quickly. Constantly. Sometimes I listen, sometimes it all blends together. Why?”

That wasn’t entirely true. Ash listened more than he should. Filed away more details about Kincaid these days than he had any right to. But he knew Graham well enough to know he wouldn’t appreciate that tidbit of trivia.

“Hey, dude, you almost done?” Graham asked, eyeing Trevor. “Personal shit to discuss.”

Trevor ignored him but slammed his locker shut with extra force a few seconds later and loped off down the hallway.