I walked over to my usual lunch spot away from the cafeteria, but then remembered Tyler. I turned around and went to the theater kid table.

“Tyler!” I called. He pulled me over to a corner where no one could hear.

“Hi Jessica, sorry about all that. It was Ryan, he was saying stuff about me, uh, never having a girlfriend and-”

“Don’t worry! I totally get it. So, what’s the deal? Do want me to sit with you at lunch? Hold your hand? There’s this movie I’ve been wanting to see if you want to come tonight,” I offered, and quickly regretted it.

“Wait-what? You’re actually considering this?” he asked. Oh. I was glad that he didn’t want to be my pretend boyfriend because the more I thought about it, the more nervous I got. I didn’t know how we could make it work.

Before, I could tell him this, he said, “Thank you! I think some people have been catching on, if you know what I mean, and I didn’t know what I was going to do until you came along!” Shoot.

I quickly said goodbye and escaped to my own table. I said hi to Ricky. Ricky and I have been best friends since kindergarten. I needed to tell him about Tyler.

“Jess! There’s something I need to ask you, like, right now.” he said with a nervous smile on his face. He sounded too excited.

“Sure, what’s up?”

I realized what was up as soon as his marching band friends came out of nowhere playing their instruments and holding a large banner.

Ricky took my hands. “Jessica, I know we’ve been just friends, but lately, I’ve just felt this spark between us,” I hadn’t felt it. “So, um, I wanted to know if you could come to homecoming with me.”

This couldn’t be happening. I knew that he didn’t mean come to homecoming as friends. How could I say yes when I was fake-dating Tyler? But how could I say know when he was my best friend?

“Of course!” I lied. We hugged. Well, I couldn’t tell him about Tyler now.

Things could have been okay with this little arrangement. I could date Ricky for a few months, say things weren’t working, and let him down easy. Tyler and I were in completely different friend groups, so no one would ever find out about us. But there was one problem: Shawn.

I had gone to France for summer vacation. We were visiting my nana in the countryside, and it was so boring. One morning, I went to a cafe to get coffee. This guy approached me at the table I was sitting at outside.

“Hey,” he said. I have to admit- he was really cute, but I was confused as to why he was talking to me.

“Um, hi?” I responded.

“Oh sorry! I thought you’d recognise me. I do yard work for your grandmother every Wednesday. She told me you were coming, and I’m pretty sure I saw you in the garden yesterday,” he explained. Oh my god. The one super cute, super nice guy that I met in France saw me singing and dancing around in my grandma’s garden. I felt my cheeks turn red.

“You have a really pretty voice, actually,” he smiled. Oh. I grinned back. I could tell that the mood had changed.

“Thanks, but really, I’m not that good,” I blushed.

“I teach guitar to kids in my spare time. Maybe I could teach you some chords some time?” he offered. Wow. He cleans old ladies’ yards and teaches kids how to play music. I really scored.

“That sounds nice. I’m free tomorrow,” I said. I was free today too (I was free literally every day) but I didn’t want to sound like a loner.

“Well, then. I’ll have to get your number,” he smirked.

“Well, then. I guess I’ll have to give it to you,” I said. He handed me his phone and I gladly gave him my contact.

“I’m Shawn, by the way,” he added.

“I’m Jess,” I replied. I wondered if that was my cue to make up an excuse and leave, but then he sat down. We talked for hours. He explained that he wasn’t actually French, he had just moved here with his mom last year because she wanted to “go on an adventure” but really she just wanted to be as far away from his father as possible. I told him how boring my life was and how I was jealous of his exotic one.

Eventually, my mom texted me to come back to my nana’s house, and we had to part. I called Ricky later that night to tell him everything. He tried to convince me that Shawn was probably a player that flirted with all of the tourists. Only now do I realise why.

“What are you going to do for your birthday on Sunday?” I asked Ricky as we were walking through school. It was a few days after he asked me to hoco, and he kept mentioning us being a couple. I hadn’t had to talk to Tyler at all, which was good, but I don’t know what he had told his friends.

“You’re my girlfriend, now. Aren’t you supposed to figure out that kind of stuff?” Ugh. Girlfriend. “Kidding! Actually, my cousin is coming over. He’s from Europe. Cool, right?”

“Yeah, cool, cool,” I mumbled. He was way too hyper. I knew that Shawn would act way more chill than Ricky if we were still together.

“I was thinking of just having a nice dinner at Bill’s with you, him, Amber, and Chris. Then we could just all hang out at my place,” he explained. He knew Bill’s was my favorite restaurant. He hated their burgers. I didn’t complain, though. I knew we would go there no matter what.

Right when we were about to step into Math, Tyler blocked our way.

“Hey, Jessica! Um, do you want to go that movie tonight? My treat, of course!” he practically shouted. I turned around and saw Alex staring at us with an evil smirk on his face. I couldn’t say no with him around, but I couldn’t say yes with Ricky around.

“Maybe,” I uttered. I sprinted into class.

“Woah, what was that about?” Ricky questioned.

“I really don’t know,” I lied, but Rick still looked mad, “I’m not going, obviously. It’s just, Alex is always making fun of him, so I didn’t want to say no with him right behind us. I’ll text him later.”

“You have his number?”

“God, Ricky! Why would I be cheating on you with Tyler Baker?” I whisper-shouted. Shawn wouldn’t get mad so easily.

“I never said you were cheating! You’ve never talked to him in your life, so I was curious,” he responded, “Hey, can I copy your homework?” 

I got home from school, threw my backpack on my bed, and pulled out my phone.

Hey I don’t think i can make it tonight something came up, I texted.

Ok. Tomorrow? Tyler replied. What was I supposed to say to that? I decided to just be honest.

I don’t think this is gonna work. Sry. I anxiously watched the three dots in the reply bubble.

Please??? he pleaded.

Omg Tyler. You’re not fooling anyone, I could tell how annoying my own words sounded.

Wdym? For a guy with a 4.0 GPA, he wasn’t that smart. I hated to be the one to have to spell it out for him, but I didn’t really have a choice.

Everyone knows ur into guys, I wrote.

Oh, he said, finally.

Sorry, I replied.

Its ok.

I felt bad about what I did to Tyler, even though I knew it was for the best.

Ricky and I were in the party room in Bill’s hanging up decorations on Sunday. He had been quiet since I told him about what happened between me and Tyler, but I knew he wasn’t angry, just surprised.

“So tell me about your cousin,” I started.

“Well, his parents got divorced a couple years ago, and so his mom moved him to France. He kinda hates it, so he’s excited to be back in the States,” Ricky explained.

This story sounded familiar, but I just brushed it off.

“Well, I think we’re all done,” I announced.

“Looks great.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek. I glanced up at the retro clock on the wall above our table to hide my smile.

“We have about an hour to kill. Wanna go to the roller rink?” I smiled. He grinned back. Our moms used to bring us there all the time when we were little. Ricky took my hand and lead me out of the restaurant and into his car. He put played “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift.

“This song always made me think of you,” Ricky said. I giggled. I thought it was funny that he would listen to a Taylor Swift song. It was also the sweetest thing I’d ever heard.

“That’s actually kind of adorable,” I blushed.

We got to the rink and put on our skates. Ricky helped me out onto the dance floor. We talked about lots of things. Somehow, us talking was different than it had ever been. It wasn’t weird like it had been this past week, and it wasn’t the way we used to talk. We were looking into each others’ eyes more. I liked it.

The hour had gone by too fast. As we drove back to Bill’s, I realized something: I was in love with Ricky.

“Ricky,” I began.

“Yes?” he replied.

“I love you. When you asked me out, I didn’t. I was shocked, and didn’t want to say no. I am so happy that I said yes because being with you, like actually with you, makes me so happy,” I gushed.

“God, I love you too.”

I was laughing at a joke Ricky said when we skipped into Bill’s. We were twenty minutes late to our own party, so our friends were already there waiting for us.

“Happy Birthday, Ricky!” they shouted in unison.

“Hey guys! Sorry for being a little late, we…” I looked my friends and saw a face that made me tune out Ricky’s words.

Shawn sat at our table, wearing one of the party hats that we laid out. He was staring straight at me. He seemed as surprised as I was; his expression was kind of cute. All of the emotions from France came back to me. I had to tell myself that Ricky, my boyfriend, was right next to me and he was kinder, funnier, and more attractive than Shawn would ever be.

“Shawn! So glad you could make it! Jess, this is my cousin Shawn. Shawn, this is Jessica.” Ricky thought he was introducing us, but we had already met. I guess Shawn never mentioned me, and Ricky was right: he flirted with every French tourist. I hated thinking that what we had meant nothing to him, but I knew it was true.

“Ricky, can I speak with you alone for a moment?” I asked, looking right at Shawn. I dragged him out of the restaurant so that we could discuss this, uh, situation in peace and quiet.

“Shawn’s the guy I met in France when I went to visit my nana,” I blurted out.

“Oh my god. How did I not realize this? I’m sorry, Jess,” he apologized.

“No, it’s fine. Really. I just thought you should know. It’s kinda funny, right?” I managed to let out a fake laugh.

“Yeah, okay,” he smiled.

“I don’t have feelings for him anymore, obviously,” I said.

“I know,” he replied. “Now, let’s party!”

When we went back inside, Shawn kept looking at me. It was sort of disgusting. I was his cousin’s girlfriend.

“So, why didn’t you call me?” is what he decided to ask.

“It was never going to happen, Shawn. You live in Paris, France. I live in San Diego, California. And it’s not like you called me, either,” I argued.

“I missed you,” he put his hand on mine. I knew for a fact I didn’t miss him.

I threw my arms up and asked, “Who’s ready for cake?”

“Jess,” I turned around and saw Tyler. I was so busy worrying about Shawn’s surprise appearance that I hadn’t realized he was invited.

He continued, “I just wanted to thank you. If you had allowed for us to stay together, I probably would have stayed in the closet forever. I actually came out to my friends yesterday. Like you said, they weren’t surprised, but it was nice to explain how I feel. Hey- do you know whose side that French guy plays for?” I smiled.

“Well, he’s kinda been hitting on me all night, but you never know! Why don’t you go see?” I offered. Tyler laughed and actually walked in Shawn’s direction. Maybe things would actually work out for everyone.

As Ricky drove me home from the party, he explained that he felt bad for Tyler and invited him last minute. Then, he got a text from Shawn.

Hey im gonna get coffee with that Tyler kid tmrw. hes cute.

Ricky and I looked at each other and started laughing hysterically. It was hard to believe that Shawn was actually falling for Tyler, but I didn’t care. All of our problems had been fixed so easily. “You Belong With Me” came on again and we screamed the words together. When we arrived at my house, he opened the car door for me and walked me to my porch.

“We really do belong together,” I said. Ricky pressed his lips against mine, and I knew it was true.