“What I’m most sorry about, though, is that when she called you fat…she hurt your feelings…when she was just trying to hurt my feelings.” He sighed. “And I’m sorry I made you feel that way too.”

Bugz felt herself become lighter. “It’s not your fault,” she replied, her eyes now smiling even as the stress still coiled around her spine. “It was an accident.”

Bugz pulled out her phone and scanned the chat screen. She tapped out a few replies with her thumbs, her screen glowing an amber orange as she typed. Feng pulled his phone out too.

“Holy, what’s going on?” he asked. His screen was filled with energy waves coursing wildly in random directions.

“Hey, weren’t you still sucking up to me?” Bugz teased.

“Right.” Feng chuckled, still staring at the amber glow from his screen. “It’s just I think I saw this when I drove here, but then I couldn’t find it again. It’s like we’re at the center of the universe or something.”

“The center of the center of the universe,” Bugz corrected him. “My universe, anyways.”

“Wait.” Feng stopped walking. “Did you bring me here to show me whatever it is that makes you super powerful in the Floraverse?”

“You think you’re a big deal, don’t you?” Bugz chided him. She bit her bottom lip. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.”

Bugz surprised herself with the comment. The words felt dangerous and unstoppable as they escaped her mouth, but they left only warmth behind. She basked in that feeling. Please don’t ruin it by being needy or fishing for compliments, she thought.

“What do you mean—” Feng began, but cut himself off. Bugz smiled as she watched him read the situation correctly for once and abandon whatever he’d almost said. “Thanks,” he offered instead, and thought for a second before speaking again. “You’re pretty cute yourself.”

“You don’t think I’m fat?”

“No,” he said. “I think you’re amazing.”

They walked in silence, Bugz content to let the good vibes soak into the distance the earlier conflict had created. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep, slow breath of fresh forest air. But instead of the relaxed feeling she usually got from being in the bush, a hint of concern crept in to her brain. The boy had been quiet for too long. What was he up to? She opened her eyes, looked down, and saw his hand reaching for hers.

“What are you doing?”

Feng’s hand froze and found its way back to his side. “Nothing.” He sounded like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.