Well. Ethan was a lousy gossip. I was more confused about Jude than ever.

We were still a few minutes early when we got to the classroom, so we lingered in the hallway. “So what’s it going to be?” Ethan asked. “Winter Formal or waffles?”

“Waffles,” I said.

Ethan leaned the side of his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “Tragic. It’s so tragic it’s killing me. I’m dead.”

I snorted. Over Ethan’s shoulder, I spotted Harrison walking down the hall. When he saw us, he stopped, then frantically glanced between Ethan’s back and the floor before heading our way. He took off his beanie, smoothed out his hair, put it back on, and… oh my God.

It was Ethan. Harrison had joined the musical for Ethan. I knew that to an outsider it would seem like pretty weak evidence, but I’d spent years listening to Colleen explain how a walk or a gesture or a hair flip proved that so-and-so had a crush on so-and-so, and she was almost always right. I was weirdly certain about this.

I looked at Ethan, who was still pretending to be dead. I jabbed him in the stomach, and he opened his eyes just as Harrison came up. “Hey, guys,” Harrison said. “How’s it going?”

“Not bad.” Ethan smiled. “Just minimizing the time we have to spend in English.” He gestured to the classroom.

Harrison laughed a bit too loudly. “Right, right, I hear that.” There was a pause, and I tried not to look between them too much. Ethan seemed like he always did—friendly, jokey, laid-back. I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign. “Um, anyway…” Harrison stepped back. “Gotta get to calc. See you later.”

I watched Harrison walk off, and Ethan turned back to me. “Did you do the reading for today?”

“What do you think of Harrison, he’s cool, right?” I said.

“Um.” Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Right…”

“I heard he likes someone in the musical.”

“You heard? You’re too cool for Winter Formal, but now you’re all plugged in to the Eagle View gossip?”

“Again, not gossip. Information.”

Ethan brushed his hair out of his eyes and gave me a stern glare. “Well, I haven’t heard that. Or anything else about Harrison’s sexuality. So whatever you’re trying to do… don’t.”

I sighed. “Fine.” Ethan had kept quiet about the whole Paul and Jake situation when I asked him to, so I wouldn’t meddle in his business. “Just keep your eyes open,” I said quickly.

“Excuse me, I don’t take advice from people who choose waffles over neon-themed dances.” I rolled my eyes as a passing teacher shooed us into the classroom. Ethan squeezed my shoulder before going to his seat in the front corner, his small way of bolstering me so I could make it through forty-five minutes in the company of morons.