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Alice was waiting for me and Belle at the parking lot and came over to us as soon as we stepped onto the curb. Rather than our customary fist bump, she stepped into my chest and gave me a warm hug. “How are you doing?” she asked with serious concern.

“I’m alright,” I replied, patting her shoulder and then taking a step back. “Actually, have you seen or talked to Neevie?”

Alice shook her head. “I tried. Drove over to her house. Her mom answered the door and I could hear her and her dad yelling at each other. Her mom apologized and said it wasn’t really a good time. Haven’t gone looking for her yet around here; I was just waiting for you guys.”

I nodded and gestured for us to go ahead and start walking. Alice slipped her hand into mine and gave it a squeeze. I gave her an odd look at first, but the feel of her hand reassured me, so I squeezed it back. And like I’ve said: people had thought we were a couple since seventh grade, so nobody paid any attention to us.

Ten steps later, Belle held my other hand with both of hers.

I smirked. Having two girls holding my hands at the same time would be a little out of place at school. But then again, everybody knew the three of us were BTC. I got a couple of jealous stares, but that was it.

Eventually, we did have to split up and get to our separate classes. Belle pulled me down for a quick kiss before leaving. This time, Alice did give me a fist bump. And then I headed off to my own first period.

Sam gave me a warm smile when I came in the door for our shared first period. There was no time to talk before class, but even after I sat down, I saw that she looked back over her shoulder and gave me another warm smile. Moments later, though, the teacher started his lesson.

At the end of class, Sam came over to me quickly before I was done packing up my bag. As soon as I stood up, she wrapped both arms around my elbow and leaned in for a quick peck, which I gladly gave her.

“How are you?” she asked me with obvious concern.

I smirked. “‘How are you?’ Really? I think I can count on one hand the number of times you’ve ever asked me, ‘How are you?’”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Very funny.”

“I’m fine, really. Anxious to talk to her, but fine.”

“I think we’re all anxious for you to talk to her.” She sighed. “Are you sure that ending it is what you want?”

I nodded. “Taking a break is best for both of us. She needs to reevaluate her feelings for Conor. I need to reevaluate my feelings for her.”

Sam squeezed my arm and leaned over to peck my cheek, which briefly slowed us down, but we picked up the pace again. “Just remember that we’re all here for you, no matter what, alright?”

I patted her forearm. “I know. But I want to make sure you’re all there for Neevie, too. Whatever else might happen, the absolute LAST thing I want is for this to fracture the BTC.”

“It won’t. You don’t seem to have any hard feelings for her, and she quite honestly doesn’t have the right to have hard feelings for you. As long as you two can work things out, we’ll be alright.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry to make you worry about this sort of thing. You always feared that me dating someone and then breaking up would ruin the BTC. But Neevie and I just couldn’t control ourselves.”

“It’s fine. It made you both happy. And we can’t always control the way we feel.” Sam stopped walking just then and pulled me over to the side against a wall.

I didn’t know what was going on, but she turned to face me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and suddenly gave me a VERY intense kiss that took my breath away.

But she stopped almost as soon as she’d started. Her eyes got big, as if she was just as surprised by the kiss as I had been. Frowning, she looked back and forth between my irises as if searching for something, and in an unexpectedly quiet voice, she muttered, “Sorry ... I ... I don’t know why I did that.”
I snorted and remarked lightly, “You don’t ever have to apologize for kissing me.”

She blinked, furrowed her eyebrows, and stared at my lips for a moment. She squirmed a little, adding, “I can still feel you squishing inside me, actually.”

I grinned at that.

But then Sam shook her head as if to clear it, took me by the hand, and abruptly pulled us back into the flow of traffic. “C’mon. Don’t want to be late for class.”