Her legs moved before her brain did.
Leina practically floated down the hallway, dazed and flushed, her uniform feeling just a little too tight and the air suddenly way too hot for midterm season. Her satchel thumped against her side as she speed-walked back to class like a girl on a mission. A mission to outrun her own feelings, which—judging by the wildfire in her chest—had clearly betrayed her.
"I was close to him," she muttered under her breath. "Too close. Close enough to count his lashes. He has so many lashes. Why does he even have so many? That's not fair—"
"LEINA!" a familiar voice shrieked like a siren of chaos.
Leina jumped, nearly tripping over her own feet as two tornadoes collided with her from behind—Maria and Daria, the Mills -approved bringers of noise and nonsense. The twins didn't even ask questions; they just grabbed her arms like they'd spotted a runaway celebrity and immediately pulled her toward the nearest water fountain like it was an emergency.
"You're red," Daria said with the urgency of a paramedic.
"You're sweating," Maria added, fanning her dramatically with her timetable.
Leina yanked her arms back, heart still racing from... yeah. Him. Alexander.
"I am fine," she said, enunciating every syllable like it was a personal attack. "Not dying. Not combusting. Just... walking fast."
"Girl, you look like you're running from a crime scene," Maria deadpanned, eyes narrowed. "What happened? Did someone say something mean ? Or worse… touch you?"
"She definitely looks more like a scapegoat now," Daria whispered like they were narrating a true crime documentary.
Leina made a strangled sound. "No one did anything to me! Can we not?! I just—" she paused, remembering the way he looked at her, the smirk, the way she got so close she could smell the warmth of his cologne. "Ugh!"
Daria leaned closer, eyes wide. "You saw him, didn't you?"
Leina blinked.
"Alexander," Maria said like it was a forbidden spell.
Her cheeks burned. "Maybe."
The twins looked at each other. Grinned. "Oh, it's happening," they said in unison, hands clasped like this was the romance arc of their favorite drama.
"Shut up, it's not happening," Leina said quickly, but her voice cracked at the end, which absolutely did not help her case.
Daria twirled her hair like she was in a telenovela. "Was it a dramatic hallway stare? Did you drop something and your fingers brushed?"
Leina sighed. "It was the library. And... we talked. Kind of."
The twins gasped like she'd said he proposed.
"Waitwaitwait," Maria grabbed her arm. "What do you mean kind of? Girl, give us the tea, not just a teaser."
Leina groaned, covering her face. "I sat next to him. Like... next to-next to. I confronted him. Asked why he was ignoring me. He said something smug. I said something stupid. Then I ran away."
Daria made a noise that was part squeal, part static. "That's not stupid, that's peak cinema."
"I think I was having a heart attack," Leina whispered.
"YOU WHAT?!" the twins screamed so loudly a poor third-year down the hall dropped his juice box and ran.
"I didn't mean it literally!" Leina hissed.
But it was too late. Daria had already dropped to the ground dramatically. "Not my bestie flatlining over a guy!"
Maria gasped. "Oh no, we're gonna have to hold a vigil. Who gets her sticker book collection?"
"Neither of you!" Leina growled, kicking Daria's leg lightly. "And I didn't flatline, I just—" she sighed, then muttered, "felt things. Weird things."
The twins immediately froze. Their twin telepathy clearly activated.
"...Oh no," Maria whispered.
"She's entering the Phase," Daria gasped.
"What phase?" Leina asked, instantly suspicious.
"The 'Am I dying or just in love?' phase," they said, deadly serious.
Before Leina could threaten to transfer schools, the twins suddenly shrieked in unison and dragged her into a nearby alcove, slamming their backs against the wall like they were evading the FBI.
"What are you—"
"He's here."
Leina's heart stopped. "Who's here?"
Maria peeked around the wall, eyes gleaming. "My future husband."
Daria was vibrating. "He's walking this way. He looked in our direction. Oh my GOD, Maria, act normal!"
Maria fluffed her hair violently. "I can't! I think I just swallowed my tongue."
Leina, still crushed between them and the wall, muttered, "Why am I here again?"
"Because we need moral support," Daria said seriously. "Also, if I pass out, catch me."
Maria flinched. "He looked again. I think he smirked. Daria, he SMIRKED."
The twins started squealing into their sleeves while Leina watched, equal parts horrified and entertained. These were her people. Her completely unhinged, unnecessarily dramatic, wildly loyal people.
Somewhere in her chest, the tension that had been strangling her since the library softened just a little.
The girls finally calmed down—barely—when the boy in question vanished down the hallway.
Maria sighed dreamily. "He walked past me. He definitely felt something."
"You're delusional," Leina said fondly.
"We call it 'manifesting,'" Daria corrected with a wink.
The bell rang, distant and shrill, snapping the moment in half. Leina took a deep breath, adjusting her blazer and brushing her hair back behind her ear.
"Ready to return to the battlefield, Crown Room Royalty?" Maria asked.
Leina hesitated. Thought of Alexander. Of how close they'd been. Of how her heart still hadn't stopped racing.
She looked at her best friends and smiled. "Let's go before I actually have a heart attack."
And with that, the three girls took off—arm in arm, laughter echoing down the hall, Leina's blush still warm, her thoughts still tangled, but her steps just a little lighter.