Fusion

“It’s not fu

He had this argument every time we watched the movie. Not that I could blame him. It seemed cruel that Tod had been forced to be separated from the only family he’d ever known—and his best friend.

“I think Tod was okay in the end,” I told Jeremy, smiling up at him. “He and Copper will always have their memories, and even if they’re apart, in their hearts, they’ll always be the best of friends. No matter what.”

“It still sucks. I don’t want to call you Tod anymore,” he grumbled adorably.

I laughed. He did this every time. “Too late. I’m Tod. You’re Copper. We’ll just have to make sure we have a different outcome, okay?”

“Remind me why we keep watching this movie,” he said, shaking his head.

“Because we’re gluttons for punishment?”

His eyes clouded over into an unreadable expression. Before I could decipher it, he plopped down onto the bed next to me. Then he took my hand and started toying with my fingers.

“I really did miss you this summer,” he whispered, and I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut, wishing something more were behind those words.

I shut the television off, descending us into darkness. We’d never spent the night in my bedroom alone, but somehow, I knew Jeremy wasn’t leaving.

Placing my arm around his waist, I cuddled up to him. “I missed you, too.”

His chin rested on the top of my head, which rose and fell with his chest. “Promise me something, Sierra,” he said, sounding far too serious.

I blinked twice. “Anything,” I responded, knowing full well that, if he asked me to fly to the moon, I would do it in a heartbeat.

“Promise me you’ll never leave. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

My eyes burned with hot tears. It was a promise I wanted to keep. It was a promise that would break my heart one day. But I didn’t care. It was a promise I would make over and over again.

I nodded against his chest. “Of course, Jeremy. I’ll never leave,” I promised.

It was also a promise I didn’t ask him to return.

When I woke up the next morning, Jeremy was already gone. Butterflies were swirling around in my stomach the whole time I was getting ready for school, and I wondered what my sophomore year was going to bring me.

“I’m so excited!” Lexi gushed as we got our lunches ready. “High school boys!”

Mom shook her head at my boy-crazy sister. I was definitely going to have to look out for her when it came to the upperclassmen. With stars in her eyes, she continued to gush to Je

Jeremy made a show of rolling his eyes at Chris and Je

By the end of the first week of school, I felt like I’d barely seen Jeremy.

“Hey, Sierra, wait up!”

I turned to see Da

“I’m glad I caught you.”

I smiled at him. “I haven’t seen you all week. Must be exhausting being king of the school.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Please tell me you don’t buy into that shit.”

“I’m only teasing. What’s up?” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I eagerly waited for him to respond.

“Well, since things didn’t work out last time, I was hoping you were free this weekend. I meant what I said at the begi

A blush crept onto my cheeks. His gaze was intimidating, and as he studied me, I found myself wanting to say yes. So I did.

“That’d be nice.”

His smile widened. Then we made plans for the following evening.

“Who was that?” Mom asked, raising an eyebrow at me when we were all buckled in. Usually, we’d walk to school together, but with the heat index in the low one hundreds, Mom had insisted on picking all of us up. With the way I was sweating, I was thankful for it.

“Da

Je

“He’s not that good-looking,” Jeremy grumbled beside me.

I frowned and elbowed him, trying to get him to look at me, but he wouldn’t. We rode the rest of the way in silence as Lexi went on about Da

“What’s his problem?” Lexi asked.

Mom wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “My guess? Da

I shook my head, trying not to emit the sadness I was feeling. “No, that’s not it. Jeremy doesn’t care who I date.”

I just wished he did.

SOPHOMORE YEAR WAS TURNING out to be much different than freshman year. Instead of Sierra and me becoming closer, with each passing day, the chasm between us grew wider. I didn’t understand it. I was so close to spilling everything, to telling her that friendship wasn’t enough, but I was too slow. Too late. By the time I was ready to admit it all, she was already going on dates with Da

As I walked into my living room, Chris and Je

The slight chill in the air had goosebumps pebbling on my skin. The coolness of the evening had left the beach deserted, which I was grateful for. I wanted to be alone anyways.

That’s how I felt those days.

But could I really complain? After all, I’d done this to myself.

I spread my blanket out and lay down, staring up at the stars. My eyes instantly co

I missed her.

At that moment, I realized how much she meant to me and how miserable my life would be if I had to watch another man making her as happy as I wanted to. Sierra was my morning, noon, and night, and I wanted her to be everything in between. But she wasn’t that anymore. She was barely even my week, and I had no idea how to change that.