I got to Ms. Swallow’s class early the next day. I wanted to catch her and ask her to not say anything to my dad about Tyson and I and our closet rendezvous.

But she wasn’t there.

I waited at her desk until the bell rang. All the kids had gathered at their lab tables before I gave up and headed to sit in my spot. Where Tyson also wasn’t.

What was happening? Why was everyone missing?

Ms. Swallow’s heels could be heard as she entered the room. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was carrying a mug of coffee. Suddenly, her coffee date with Dad floated into my mind.

Of course. She was seeing Dad. Ugh. Had they been flirting?

Memories of the night before came rushing back. Blegh. Adults shouldn’t be allowed to flirt. It comes across awkward and creepy.

“Good morning, class,” she said, setting her mug down and pushing her hair from her face. She looked different today. She had on makeup.

This was getting worse.

Tyson appeared in the doorway, and I almost celebrated. Finally, something to take my mind off Dad and Ms. Swallow.

But as soon as I took in his countenance, a worried feeling brewed in my gut. Something was wrong.

“Do you have a slip, Mr. Blake?” Ms. Swallow asked, reaching out her hand and wiggling her fingers.

Tyson ducked his head as he walked past her. “No,” he said. His voice was low.

A frustrated expression passed over Ms. Swallow’s face. “Excuse me, Mr. Blake. That’s a tardy. Three tardies and I’ll have to send you to detention.”

He shrugged as he dropped his backpack next to our table and sat. He kept his gaze focused on the table in front of him.

Ms. Swallow gave him one more disapproving look before she turned to the board and began writing. I wanted to ask Tyson what was wrong. I wanted to tell him that I was here for him. I wanted to do…something.

But he never looked my way. Instead, he pulled out his phone and started playing some candy game on it. I sighed as I turned my attention back to Ms. Swallow.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep my focus from shifting back over to Tyson. What was the matter? Did it have to do with his mom? So many questions floated around in my mind, and I didn’t realize until the bell rang that class was over.

I stared down at my paper covered with a bunch of doodles and one sentence of notes.

Bromine and Mercury. Liquid at room temperature.

Was that what the lesson had been about? Honestly, I had no idea.

Tyson was gone when I glanced back up. The need to catch up with him raced through my mind, so I grabbed my backpack and shoved my notebook into it as I made my way across the room.

“Destiny?” Ms. Swallow stopped me as she stepped into my path.

I wanted to groan, but instead I glanced over at her. “Yeah?”

She looked nervous. Why was she nervous?

“I just wanted to make sure that we’re okay. Last night, I did not mean to monopolize the time you were spending with your dad.”

I peeked past her, hoping to see Tyson walk down the hall. No such luck. I needed to get out there before the throng of students swallowed him up.

“It’s fine. I’m happy you two are getting along.”

She continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “It’s just been hard, me not knowing anyone here. Your father has been so nice to me. And then yesterday, it was really nice that you guys allowed me to join in.”

This conversation was never going to end. I glanced over at her. “I’m happy for you. But I should really get to class.”

It seemed as if she’d suddenly remembered that she’d cornered me in her room. Her cheeks turned red as she stepped aside. “Yes. Sorry. You’re free to go.”

I nodded and moved toward the door. But then the reason I’d come into class so early rushed back to me. “Could you do me a favor?”

Her eyes lit up. “Sure. Anything.”

“Can you not tell my dad that you put me and Tyson together as lab partners. Or that you saw us in the closet at Ted’s?”

Her brow furrowed. Did she really need to think this hard about it?

She hesitated and then nodded. “Sure. It’ll be between you and me.”

I smiled and continued out the door, calling, “Thank you,” behind me.

Now out in the hall, my hopes deflated. Tyson was gone. There was no way I was going to catch up to him now. Blast Ms. Swallow and her need to tell me her whole life story.

I threaded my thumbs through the straps of my backpack and ducked my head. Might as well head to English.

Just as I passed the lunchroom, a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into a supply closet. I yelped and tried to break free—until I saw it was Tyson.

He shut the door, flipped on the light, and glanced over at me. He still looked upset.

“Is this going to be a habit of yours? Forcing me into closets?” I asked as he studied me. Butterflies erupted in my stomach when I met his gaze. There was something there that I couldn’t quite read but made me desperate to know what he was thinking.

He laughed, glancing to the side and then back over at me. When his gaze returned, there was an intensity to it that caused my breath to catch in my throat. He was going through something, and I couldn’t figure it out. I cared about Tyson, and seeing him this upset affected me in a way that I couldn’t describe.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Before I could react, he crossed the room and slipped his hands around my waist. My heart pounded as I glanced up at him. This whole closet-thing was rapidly becoming my favorite move ever.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice coming out breathy.

“Something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.” Just as the last words left his lips, he dipped down and pressed them against mine.

Fireworks exploded across my skin at every point of contact. It only took a second for me to get over the shock and respond. At first, I was nervous. What if I did it wrong? What if I bit him? Suddenly, I was Porter in our second-grade kiss debacle. Why had I been so critical of him?

Thankfully, Tyson had experience. He pulled me closer and deepened the kiss. His lips moved against mine as if he were looking for something. I responded, forcing out all my thoughts of inadequacy and losing myself in the moment.

I allowed my hands to slide up his chest and up to his shoulders. I could feel every muscle twitch as I moved across them. When I reached his hair, I let my fingers play with each strand.

And just as quickly as it started, he pulled back. A look of pain flashed in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Destiny,” he said as he grabbed his backpack and moved toward the door. “You deserve better.” He met my gaze for a moment, before he dropped it. “Just forget I did this, okay?”

He paused, as if waiting for me to answer. The only rational thing I could do was lie. It was the only thing I seemed to be able to do lately.

So I opened my puffy lips and said, “Of course.”

He pulled open the door and left.

I stood in the middle of the supply closet, not really understanding what had happened.

Tyson Blake had kissed me. Me.

I stumbled over to an overturned bucket and sat down. I placed my head between my knees and took a deep breath—just as my elementary school nurse had told me to do when I felt overwhelmed.

How did that happen? And why?

I sat up and grabbed my phone. I needed Rebecca.

After texting her to meet me, I placed my head back onto my knees and took deep breaths. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and it opened.

“Des?” Rebecca asked as she peeked her head into the room.

I sat up and nodded. “Yeah. I’m in here.”

She entered, letting her gaze sweep across the room. “Yeah. I got that. But why are you in here?”

I motioned to the bucket next to me, and she complied by sitting. Once she was comfortable, I told her all about Tyson being at Ted’s. About Dad and Ms. Swallow. And then the kiss. A lot about the kiss.

The air fell silent as the last words left my lips. I watched as her eyebrows rose. I could tell she was trying to digest what I had said. I didn’t blame her. It was a lot of information.

“Wow,” she said, leaning back on the wall behind her. “He kissed you?”

I nodded as I reached up and touched my lips. That was one thing I was sure of. I had definitely kissed Tyson. Well, actually, Tyson had kissed me. And it wasn’t some lame kissing booth at the school fair or a dare given to him by his teammates. He had met me in a dark closet, where there was no one around…

I glanced around. Was Tyson embarrassed by me?

No. That couldn’t be it. I was sure that Dad was the reason he wanted to hide our relationship.

Ugh.

Why did I keep saying we were in a relationship?

And then a sour feeling formed in my stomach. We were in a sort of strange relationship. I had come to know so much about Tyson. And they weren’t things that revolved around chemistry. I knew about his life. I’d seen his mom. I wondered how many of his teammates knew about what he was struggling with.

Probably none.

“This is…” Rebecca paused as if she were trying to come up with a good description. I turned to look at her, hoping she’d give me some amazing advice. “This is amazing. Des, you two are really cute together.”

That was the last thing I needed to hear. There was nothing amazing about our relationship. We could never be together. Ever. I was pretty sure Dad would ground me and kick Tyson off the team if he found out what I’d done.

But none of that scared me as much as the fact that Tyson had asked me to forget the kiss. That definitely didn’t scream happily-ever-after. He regretted his decision to kiss me. He regretted me.

“But he asked me to forget it, Bec.” I leaned against the wall and blew out my breath. Even speaking the words out loud hurt. Like, boa constrictor around my heart hurt. How had everything gone south so fast? “That doesn’t really make me confident about the meaning of the kiss.”

I heard her sigh. “It’s probably just complicated. I’ve been hearing rumors from some of the other cheerleaders that his home life is pretty rocky. That’s why he’s been showing up to practice just drained.”

I glanced over at her. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I’d witnessed it first hand.

“Like what things?” I asked, just to make sure that we were talking about the same thing.

Rebecca shrugged and picked some lint off her miniskirt. “His mom is drinking again, which makes it hard for his little sister.” She glanced over at me. “He’s been having some of the other cheerleaders help out with watching Cori.” She narrowed her eyes. “He hadn’t told you any of this?”

Told me, no. I only knew about it because he had to pick his mom up when he was driving me home. Our supposed relationship was probably all made up in my mind. He was just being nice. That was all. Tyson Blake didn’t have feelings for me. I’d imagined them and then obsessed about them.

“I’m such an idiot,” I said, closing my eyes and tipping my face toward the ceiling.

I felt Rebecca’s hand rest on mine. “You’re not an idiot. He kissed you, Des. That means something.” I glanced over at her and fought the tears that formed on my lids. She shot me a sympathetic look. “Give him some time.”

I sighed and grabbed my backpack. I was late for class, and so was Rebecca. She was probably right. I needed to give him some time. A break from the questions forming in my mind seemed like a good idea too.

I needed to focus on school and Pep Group. And I was going to start right now.

We stood and left the closet. I said goodbye to Rebecca and walked down the now-empty halls to class. With each step, I forced my mind to clear. I wasn’t going to let Tyson occupy my thoughts anymore. I was going to be strong and move on.

Or I was going to die trying.