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"What are they saying?" I don't need him to tell me, because it's all I've been hearing all day. We went out for recess and I searched her out. She and Nora were already playing with Nora's friends. Luna paused in her laughter when she saw me, her face frozen with her cheeks rounded and rosy in the fall breeze. Her silver eyes glimmering in the sun as her black hair tumbled over her shoulder and down to her small waist. She's the most unique person I've ever met, and I've met a lot of weirdos on tour with my dad.
But Luna… Luna is unlike anyone I've ever met before and I don't think I'll meet anyone like her again. It's not just her looks, although those are one of a kind. The way she laughs at my jokes that aren't funny, or the way she isn't afraid to play in the dirt or with frogs and tadpoles like Nora is. Nora can't stand the slimy texture of the wet frogs or the way their little legs bend and extend so quickly. Luna doesn't care, though, not at all.
So, I shouldn't be surprised that the moment she got to school, every person would be just as enamored with her as I have been all summer. But I am surprised, and if I were being honest, I'm jealous too. I want to go back to the summer when it was just us two. The days I couldn't hang out with my friends, and Nora would be too tired and would go inside, and it would just be me and Luna. Those were my favorite times. When the sun would go down and the fireflies would twinkle through the tall weeds near the water. How she could blend in with the night when we'd play past dark, her dark hair melding in with the darkness, except her pale skin made her stand out like milk poured onto the night sky.
"Duncan thinks she's pretty," Lonnie says, flipping his paper upside down so he can doodle on the back.
"Duncan is stupid," I spit the words before I can swallow them down. They ripped from my chest like a vicious hiccup, and all my friends swing their eyes to mine.
"Whoa," Clyde says, pushing his brown hair from his face.
I stand up from my chair. "I have to sharpen my pencil." I walk away before they have a chance to say anything else. Walking across the room, I push the tip of my pencil into the small hole of the sharpener and start cranking the handle. The metal squeaks as it rolls around, and small shavings fall from the bottom and into the small trash bin that's placed beneath. I take longer than I should, and when I pull the pencil out, I see it's so sharp it's unusable. The moment the tip hits paper, it's going to crack.
I shove my pencil down to my side and walk back to the table. My friends are all staring at me. "Your pencil didn't need to be sharpened," Lonnie says.
I wrinkle my nose at him.
"You like her, don't you? You like Luna?" Clyde says from beside me.
I shake my head, but my mouth can't form the words this time.
"Don't lie about it. I could tell from the moment she fell into the cornfield last week. You were so mad when we questioned you about it."
"I don't," I growl through my teeth, tired of my friends bringing up this stupid question. The worst part is I can feel my cheeks growing red and the tips of my ears begin to burn. "Quit asking."
"Whatever, Roman."
I don't respond, keeping quiet and hoping that my friends will change the subject. I don't want to like her, and I don't want Duncan to like her, either. But ever since last week when Luna asked if I liked her, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. It's like she was bummed when I said I didn't like have feelings for her like that. Though now, it’s like she’s planted a small seed in my head, and it's been watered every day. Now I have this root that won't stop thinking about her.
I want to be next to her.
I want to play with her.
I want to protect her.
I wanther.
Once the final bell rings for class, I'm out of my seat and waving bye to my friends before they can ask if I want to hang out. We usually spend our days at the park until the cold freezes the metal bars of the swing set. But today, my mind is only on one thing.
Luna.
I speed walk out of school, barely passing a glance at the traffic as I walk across the street. I see a wave of black hair up ahead, along with my sister's short curls, and the sandy brown head of Duncan talking to them.
My fists clench, and my feet punch the ground harder as I make my way across the street.
This isn't happening. Not now. Not ever.
"Roman!" My sister spots me first, running up and giving me a hug. I wrap my arm around her loosely, my eyes not able to drop from Luna's. She looks at me, her face tinged pink like she hasn't been able to stop smiling all day.
"Hi, Roman!" she says.
"Hi." My eyes swing from Luna's, to Duncan's, and back to Luna's. "What're you doing?"
"Duncan is in my class and was just walking me to the park."
Duncan looks over at me, a smile on his face that makes him look like he was just crowned king. "Hi, Roman."
"I could've walked you to the park. You didn't wait for me," I grumble to Luna. She frowns at me, her gray eyes darkening into silver pools.
