To my surprise, when I get back to the kitchen, no one says a word. My family's silence speaks louder than any pointed comments they could be making. I can practically hear the ripple of giggling underneath everything. They all act like this is business as usual, like I have guys coming over just to say hi all the time.

Actually, no guy has randomly showed up on the doorstep yet just to chat with Reece. I'm the first in Fairview.

I win?

I still wish my whole family hadn't been here to witness that. I don't know what they're thinking right now, but it's driving me crazy.

"He was just on his way home, he wanted to say sorry he couldn’t come yesterday."

"Well, that's very nice of him. Whoever he is," my mom says, her tone ominous.

"You've met him before. Kent. He was here with his mom the reporter, the one from the day we moved in."

My dad nods, and thankfully no one else comments. As nice as the silence is, it’s unnerving. I almost wish they would. Almost, if only to break the tension. While it's nice in theory that they are all respecting my privacy, they’ll be whispering about this behind my back. I would do that too if it had been any one of my sisters.

Maybe they don't think that any guy could possibly have come to see me for any sort of romantic reason, maybe that's why they're not saying anything. That could be the more realistic option.

Yeah, I have no idea what I'm doing with myself right now.

My family soon disperses, each retreating to their own corners to finish up the rest of the night. They’re either reading way too much into this, or they're not.

I’m the last one in the kitchen, because I’m avoiding announcing anything at all about my plans for the evening. I'm just going to work on my homework in the attic, getting ready to face the world again tomorrow. I feel like anything I say will make me sound guilty, but I have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.

Kent coming over was nothing.

Yeah, right.

* * *

I’m really desperate to make sense of all this. Instead of tracking someone down to ask, I decided that I need some time alone. When I see Rhiannon heading up to the attic, I detour to our room.

A second after I plant myself on my bed and haul my backpack up behind me, Reece appears through the bathroom door. She didn’t bother to knock, but she closed the door behind her, as though to make sure we’re not overheard. This makes me want to run the other way.

"Hello," she says, dragging out the word. She's grinning at me. I have a sinking suspicion of what I'm in for. So much for being left to my own devices on this one.

"Hey," I say, trying to keep my voice casual. "What's up?" Yep, that will fool her. Absolutely nothing going on here.

"A boy came over to see you today." She announces, as if I somehow missed it completely.

"Oh, you don't say."

"Reagan, come on. Why was he here?"

"Oh, like you didn't hear every single word he said. It's exactly what I told you. He came over to apologize for not coming to the party. He was on his way home and what he did was a nice thing to do. Not a big deal."

Reece lets herself farther into the room before sitting down on Rhiannon's bed, staring at me like a hawk. "Like you're one to judge what's a big deal or not."

What's that even supposed to mean? I don't bother asking. I roll my eyes before pointedly looking down at the textbook in front of me, something I’m making a habit of. If these awkward situations keep up, I may actually absorb some real knowledge this semester. Not likely, but it’s possible. "Whatever."

Finally when she says nothing for nearly a full minute, I shift my eyes back up toward her, finding her gaze has softened somewhat. It's almost as though she’s studying me, so I find myself observing her right back. Reece has always been the sister that I've felt I had the least in common with. If there wasn't already evidence to the contrary, it would be hard to believe we shared any DNA at all, let alone all of it. She's athletic, extroverted, and genuinely good at knowing what to do around other people. There are times I feel like we couldn't be more opposite.

"You know..." she says, "...you're doing pretty well here in Fairview so far. Like really, your life here doesn't look anything like your life back in Richmond. That's weird, right?"

"That's kind of by design." I confess. "Things back in Richmond were good, but this was a fresh start for all of us. I tried to make the most of it, but maybe if I hadn't made an ass of myself on the first day of school, things would've gone even better."

"Nobody cares about that anymore, so you’re clearly doing something right. It’s possible that if you stayed in biology class, you wouldn't have met your drama friends. That’d be the only difference." Reece his mouth twists into a frown. "You're doing good."

"Easy for you to say," I counter. "You have tons of friends here. You would do well anywhere we would to move to."

"That's what makes my opinion so worthwhile." The smile she forces on her face doesn't meet her eyes, and the frown returns. "I like the people I’ve met here, but I would still go back home in a heartbeat." For a second, I entertain the idea that Reece is trying to tell me that she's unhappy here too. But that's something you could honestly never tell by looking at her. No matter where she ends up, she always fits right in. Except when things are completely outside of her control.

"Well, you’ll make the soccer team next year." I say, trying to sound reassuring. "Those coaches don't know what they were missing with you."

"You have no idea. Their team actually kind of sucks. I don't think anyone here really takes it that seriously."

"Whatever happened with that volunteer gig you wanted? That sounded perfect."

Reece shrugs. "That was a no-go too. The owner doesn’t take volunteers or something, or she handpicks them from people she knows. So because I’m new, again, I don’t have a shot. I could take up dog-walking or something instead." Her response is impossibly casual, there’s no question she’s forcing her attitude.

I shouldn’t have brought it up. If there had been good news, she probably would have shared it already. It’s just too easy to assume that things would just go Reece’s way no matter what, the sheer force of her willpower always seemed to bend the universe into doing what she wants it to.

"Sorry." It's all I can think to say, but I'm sure it doesn't help at all. "I'm just trying to think of this year as our readjustment. We're meeting new people and figuring things out here. Next year, things will make more sense. Fairview will feel like a place we belong."

"I don't want to waste a full year of my life waiting for things to figure themselves out. I’m not myself here. It sucks."

I’m just making this worse. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Now that you asked, you can stop dodging the topic of that guy today. Even if he meant nothing by coming to the house just to say sorry, anytime he comes up you get super weird. He obviously means something to you, and you haven't told us about it. I'm crying sister foul on that one."

I blush as guilt swells in my chest. I have had a crush on Kent pretty much since we moved here over three months now. I haven't told anyone, mostly because I've known it's not going anywhere. As much as my sisters are happy to talk about every single person they are interested in, I've never really done the same. Actually, now that I think of it, it's only Reece that really shouts from the rooftops every time she thinks someone is cute.

"Fine, I like him. Doesn't matter anyway." I find saying the words out loud stirs something deep within me. I like him. This might be the first time I'd liked a guy I was even a little close with. Before, I'd always developed crushes on random guys in my class I'd never really spoken to, or just happened to see in passing a few times. But, I like Kent because he’s ridiculously nice; he was kind to me when there was nothing in it for him at all. Also, that green streak in his hair, oh my.

I like Kent. Yeah, that's something I could get used to saying. At least within the safety of my own house, or maybe just in my own head.

"I knew it!" Reece cries out. Now she's grinning for real, wiggling in place with excitement. "Reagan's going to get her first boyfriend!" she continues in a singsong voice.

"Okay, getting ahead of ourselves here. Just because I like someone doesn't mean they have any interest me. I'm not you. It's harder than that for most of us."

"He obviously likes you! He came to your house on the Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend, after driving from wherever, when he probably just wants to go home and sleep. All to see you! That really has to count for something."

"You're crazy." But is she? For the first time in a long time, I’m mildly optimistic about my own dating prospects. The idea seems so absurd that I push the feeling away, trying to make myself be more realistic, but now Reece's voice has worked its way into my mind.

"That's not enough to go on." I point out. "I'm open to the idea. How would you, being the relationship expert you are, figure out if someone likes you or not?"

"No, no, no. I'm not giving you some list of how to tell if your crush is into you. It's something you have to do by yourself. It’s like a sense. The best way to figure it out is just going to be to ask. I've asked out more guys on dates than guys have ever asked me."

I’m well aware because she points that out to us every time it happens, like a point of pride. Neither Rhiannon or I have ever asked out anyone at all, or been asked out ourselves--or at least my sister hadn’t been until Derrick came along. I'm never going to have the nerve to ask someone out, blindly hoping they'll say yes and risking that they say no. Saying no means I'll have to avoid them for the rest of my life. Not a chance.

"That's not going to happen. You and I both know there is no way that's going to happen. What's Plan B?"

"I'd say spend more time with him and report back. Let me know if he says anything, or if he's paying a lot of attention to you. You've already been hanging out with him for a while, have there been any clues?"

I think back to classes and lunches spent with Kent and his friends, but everything seems like a blur. "He offered to do the haunted house with me last month. It was just the two of us. It's not like he made a move or anything."

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Reece is way off the mark. Kent hasn't done anything that would suggest he likes me as anything more than a friend. I should feel lucky he likes me even that much.

"Has it never occurred to you that he's playing the same game you are? Holding back and hoping for some kind of sign from the universe." Reece sighs like I’m the most exasperating person on the planet. "Tell you what. Tomorrow at school, just pay more attention. Consider the possibility and see how he's acting. No commitment for you to do anything, just wait and see. Don't be so busy hiding from the possibility, you might miss it entirely." With one big flop, I’m lying down on my bed, groaning in despair. "Now I wish you hadn't said anything. I'm sure he doesn't like me. Now I'm going to take any possible thing he does as a sign or something."

"That does not sound like you're taking my advice and keeping an open mind." I look over to find that Reece's expression has taken on one that looks frighteningly similar to that of our mother. I groan again to make a point, but I don't argue.

As Reece stands up to leave, I pull myself up as well and latch onto her in a big cheesy hug. "Thank you for being the only one of us who is remotely competent at this kind of thing." I don't know why I say it, it's not even really what I want to thank her for, but it's something. I truly mean it.

After a second, Reece pulls away and looks at me, giving a helpless shrug. "I have no idea what you guys would do without me."

I let out a dramatic sigh before conceding. "Same. Maybe if you aren't feeling like yourself here yet, find a way to change things. Do something big, something totally Reece to make you feel like you're owning Fairview just as much as you were Richmond. We both know that sooner or later you're going to be running this town in no time, so stop waiting around for it to give you permission."

Reece sticks out her tongue, but just maybe she’s considering what I’ve said. I may have opened a giant bag of worms on that one, or maybe she'll go to sleep in a couple of hours and forget that we ever had this conversation.

Reece gives me a quick wink and then disappears back through the bathroom.

For now, I'll let Reece worry about herself and I’ll worry about getting this homework done or I’ll worry about Kent. Okay, I'll be worrying about Kent because tomorrow I'm going to see him again. As of now, it feels like everything has changed.

I want to do as Reece says and believe. I want to be open to the possibility, but it's so far away from everything my life has ever been. Having a guy like me like that just doesn't feel like who I am, and I know that's ridiculous. Reece's voice is still whispering in my mind that this could really be happening. Not wanting to screw it up, I open my phone. I promise myself that this will only be a five-minute detour from homework, searching some lists of ways to tell if your crush likes you.