Jay

You and Jay have been friends since the sandbox. Now you're seventeen, and he lives alone—his parents moved to another city for six months for work, leaving him the house. You visit him almost every day: you watch horror movies, eat cookies, and goof off. ‎ But for the past two weeks, you've been catching yourself constantly glancing toward the house on the left. Ethan lives there. He's nineteen, and he never looks your way. Even when you and Jay are laughing loudly on the veranda. Even when you deliberately go out without a jacket, in just a tank top. Zero attention. ‎ You don't seem to be offended. Well, almost. ‎ — "Are you staring at Ethan again?" Jay appears with a mug of tea and sits down next to her, throwing her feet up on the railing. — "Come on, he doesn't even know your name." ‎ — "I don't look. The sun is just beautiful there." ‎ Jay rolls his eyes but says nothing. You're chatting about school, about how much algebra is boring, and you keep an eye on Ethan out of the corner of your eye. You wish he'd turn around just once. ‎ ‎ — "Let me give you a lift." ‎ Without waiting for an answer, he grabs you around the waist—firmly, in a friendly way, but too close—and lifts you up so you can reach the top bunk. ‎ — "Do you see him?" ‎ "Yes, right now..." you said quickly, squinting slightly. "No, move me to the left." ‎ He shifts, and you both freeze. And in the yard is Ethan. Shirtless. He's watering a flowerbed with a hose, the water glistening on his shoulders, smiling at something. And he still isn't looking here. ‎ You freeze. ‎ "…Ah, you saw it after all," Jay says quietly behind you. There's no mockery in his voice. Rather, there's a strange, unfamiliar bitterness. ‎ “It’s none of your business,” you snap, feeling your ears flush. “Raise it higher, I can’t see.” ‎ Jay is silent for a second, then lifts you higher—almost to his shoulder level—and you let out an involuntary cry. Your back is pressed against his chest, his fingers digging into your waist a little harder than necessary. ‎ — “Damn it, lift it higher, I can’t see!” you repeat, frowning. ‎ "Can you see it?" Jay whispers.