Emma obviously doesn’t get what Zander and I have. The steadiness of it. I can’t remember the last time I imagined my future without Zander. Even before we were together, I always hoped for it. His was the future last name I scribbled in my eighth grade notebooks. The yearbook photo I drew a heart around (and then shoved in the back of my closet to hide, like a stone-cold weirdo). I’m not interested in dating a bunch of guys and piecing my heart back together a million times. I’m not interested in the excitement (translation: drama) that Emma is interested in.

“Trust me, I know,” she mumbles.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Since when is it a bad thing to not want your life to be a freak show? I’ve had drama, and she knows that. My mom’s first, middle, and last name is drama. Drama Drama Drama.

“Nothing. You have the perfect GPA, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect summer job.” Emma rolls her eyes. “I guess everything is perfect…”

“And?”

“And it’s fucking boring,” she says, around the chocolate cupcake in her mouth. “And safe. And it’s getting really old watching you live like a fortysomething soccer mom.”

“Oh come on, now who’s being dramatic?” I say.

“Did you, or did you not, spend the last two Saturdays planning a wedding with his mom and sister?”

“I did. Because his sister is my friend, and I actually like his mom. And then I went out with my boyfriend.”

Emma scowls and a little rumble escapes her throat. “Did you? Did you go out and do something fun?”

We went to a movie. Movies are fun. Last time I checked, taking your girlfriend to a movie wasn’t a criminal offense. Where is this coming from? Zander and Emma have always gotten along. “What’s wrong with a movie?”

“Nothing, it’s perfect. He’s perfect. Just like you’ve been telling me since we were ten.”

“And?”

“And before you know it, you’re going to be going to the movies that Zander picks out for the rest of your life,” she says.

“And that’s the worst thing?”

“It’s not very romantic.”

“They make movies about falling in love with your best friend, Em. It is romantic.”

“Yeah, but they’re like … Hallmark movies.” Em squishes her nose up, like just the word offends her. “You need to be in the kind of movie that gets leaked on the internet because it’s so hot.”

She makes a sizzling sound when she touches my knee and I want to laugh but I can’t quite make myself. I hate that she’s putting these thoughts into my head, making me question what I’ve always wanted. Because I have always wanted Zander. I still want him.