We watched Lillia and Kalei head towards the love trio’s garden party.

  “So where are we goily?” Oka said.

  On one of my excursions to the indarden, I had stumbled on (or rather, ran past to try and escape Ema Kari and Snake Riley), a little treehouse in one of the bigger trees that I figured would give us a good view of the garden party. We hadn’t told Kalei, but part of our pn was to use a stat on Lillia’s squirt gun and spray Kalei if she was mean. I mainly wahis as part of the pn in case she was mean to Amara, who I felt weirdly protective of.

  “Oh no way, there’s a little tree fort in here?” Oka said.

  “Yes!” I said.

  We both climbed up the wood pnks of the dder and got seated. There was a window that gave us a det view of the garden party, but obscured enough by greehat it hopefully didn't look like we were spying.

  “We ’t break this or Lillia will kill us.” Oka said, hefting the sniper rifle squirt gun in her hands. We got it set up at the window.

  “Just think, this is what it’d be like if we were like trained assassins,” Oka said. “Going around the world together, sniping bad guys…it’s kind of romantic.”

  “And kinda scary and violent,” I said.

  “Yeah, that too, I guess,” Oka said.

  I watched as Lillia and Kalei joined Rain, KJ, and Amara at their garden party. The stats for the squirt gun came with a surprisingly high-quality scope.

  “Alright, they’re in,” I said. “I mean, I ’t see the love trio not letting them in, but yeah."

  I looked again at the bright green squirt gun. It had a removable cartridge that the water went into that was empty.

  “Hey, we fot to refill this thing,” I said.

  “Lillia did get a lot of hits in on Kalei,” Oka said. “Oh hey, use your powers!”

  “Good idea!” I said.

  I managed a small rainstorm over the water cartridge part, and we were ready to go, vely just a bit before Lillia called. Another part of the pn that we hadn’t told Kalei was that Lillia would be calling us so we could hear how the versation was going and judge her meanness.

  “Make sure you put it on mute,” Oka said.

  “Right, thank you for reminding me,” I said. “It’d be really awkward if we started like, kissing here or something and they heard it."

  My joke hit a h Oka, but not like a fun giggly an embarrassed, quiet one instead. I looked into the scope instead of dealing with that because I was super embarrassed myself.

  “Oh, man look at those desserts!” I said. “They have like, strawberry banana cupcakes! Just that ig looks incredible.”

  “What? Let me see!” Oka said, taking my spot at the squirt gun scope. “You weren’t kidding…why didn’t we bring food up here?”

  I checked my pockets. “I have a little bag of cheese bug crackers.” I said.

  “Good, let’s split that,” Oka said. “I’ll y eyes and pretend those strawberry banana cupcakes taste like cheese.”

  We waited as the garden party got rolling. There wasn’t a lot of servation as they were all eating the desserts. It made me really want those cupcakes while also being kind of gross hearing lip smag and chewing sounds.

  “The love trio sure eats loud,” Oka said. “I know that isn’t Lillia, because she eats so quietly it’s absurd. I get shocked any time she’s finished. Potentially Kalei is in this loud mix as well.”

  “I think talking about it is making the sounds worse in my head,” I said.

  “Oh yeah, me too…” Oka said. “So hey, just thinking out loud here. If you were upset about Amara’s thing with Elisa in css, you do realize Kalei being mean could be even worse if she does blow up at her?”

  “I’m hoping my potential disappoi in her would sway her away from it,” I said. “Oh, they’re starting to talk!”

  Oka got ready at the squirt gun immediately as versations started.

  “Oh, this tea set really brings out the fvor in the cupcakes,” Rain said. “I’m so gd we got it checked out, as well as big table!”

  I listened carefully for Kalei’s rea. Personally, every time Rain and the others referred to the big table as just ‘big table’ my blood felt like it was boiling a bit.

  “Yes, how lovely you always get that tea set,” Lillia said.

  “How does a different tea set ge fvor?” Kalei asked.

  “Oh, in lots of ways, gosh,” Rain said. "It's one of the reasons we like eating at big table, for the fvor ambiance."

  Kalei seemed to be listening ily as Rain expihe fvor ges a different tea set could bring for a really long time. She didn’t have a snarky eback, even when Rain said her personal favorite por brand called Nude Chess. That seemed like a good start.

  “Here, I o get a shot of everyone,” KJ said. “The lighting’s perfect today.”

  KJ got up and started filming with her trusty camera. When she reached Kalei, she put the camera right in her face.

  “I’m getting sed-hand annoyance here,” Oka said. “This would be a tough challenge even for me.”

  “Hey, do you wanna be in my test movie?” KJ asked. “We could use someoh your abilities."

  Going by her work in my club, KJ was a good filmmaker. But she was also very pushy about it. Since Kalei had been mainly w on the music side of things, she hadn’t seen that side of her, especially the camera face shoving part.

  “There’s this drug dealer character in my script I think you could pull off,” KJ said.

  “You wao be a drug dealer?” Kalei asked.

  A moment of panic hit us at the tension in Kalei’s voice. Oka got to the squirt gun.

  “That would be awesome!” Kalei said. “Do I get to be like that mob boss in Renderfold’s Tryst?”

  KJ gave her pitch for the character, and Kalei got really excited.

  “Excuse me Kalei,” Amara said. “But could we switch seats? I’d like to be across from Rain.”

  This felt like the moment of truth, for me at least. If she could be o Amara, that would seal the deal that her turning off her joking side when she had to.

  “Sure, yeah, go for it.” Kalei said.

  “Don’t take her seat though,” KJ said. “I want that one so I get a good view of Rain, too.”

  “Maybe you get a good, long view of Raiime we’re cheg out tea sets,” Lillia muttered.

  “Kalei’s being nice,” I said. “She doesn’t even have any love trio jokes to make when they’re giving easy material. That’s goht?”

  “Yeah,” Oka said. “Lillia’s even being meahan her. Maybe we should have told her not to go if she’s gonhis salty about that tea set.”

  “I'm fused," I said. "She's been a jerk all day..."

  "Yeah...maybe we finally got through to her?" Oka suggested.

  "Or...we’re not a bad influen her, are we?” I asked. “Like she’s not just being a jerk when we're around, right?"

  “Nah,” Oka said. “I think it’s just because Kalei’s fortable enough around us that she lets us see when she’s angry. She never spends time with the love trio, so she's probably subsciously behavier."

  “Huh.” I said. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  Kalei suddenly reminded me of my sister Stel. I sometimes had to be at the library she worked at, and everyohere described her as the ki, sweetest person imaginable. And while I didn’t necessarily disagree with that, I had seen her in enough bad moods that she was fortable enough with me to let out.

  "Kalei's fusing," I said. "I think I'm gon a headache if I try to uand her more today or this whole thing will feel pointless."

  "Yeah..."

  We silently observed a bit longer, with Kalei almost frustratingly behaving. Oka's expnation made sense, but I was still mad Kalei apparently waited until we left to finally be hat day.

  “I know we’re supposed to be watg Kalei,” Oka said, sitting away from the squirt gun. She wasn’t even looking out toward the garden party anymore, just at me.

  “But?” I asked.

  “I dunno,” Oka said. “I’m just thinking. Especially with Kalei doing well, that...”

  “What are you thinking?” I asked.

  “Holy, it’s kind of…romantic up in this secluded treehouse away from everyone, isn’t it?”

  Oka turned bae, her top fangs biting her bottom lip.

  “Y-yeah,” I said.

  “Wanna hold hands?” Oka asked. “We keep watg to make sure Kalei isn’t mean too if she starts ag up. While making hand holding a focus.”

  “I…like this idea.” I said. I took Oka’s hand.

  We were looking out towards the garden party, but our focus grew further away from it.

  “Hey…are you sure that thing is on mute?” Oka asked.

  “Yep,” I said, my mouth feeling a bit dry. “Why do you ask?”

  “I have an idea,” Oka said.

  Just as she said that we heard motion behind us. Iris was climbing up the steps, and she yelped when she saw us.

  “Oh, are you guys on a date?” Iris asked. “Our bad!”

  Maia was a bit up the stairs as well; I could see her ears poking up just by Iris.

  “No, no we’re not!” Oka said. “What are you doing here?”

  “We hang out here sometimes, it’s a cool spot.” Iris said. “So we e up?”

  Iris and Maia ihemselves up. If Oka and I hadn’t finished all the cheese bug crackers I would have offered them some, but we had devoured them all.

  “What’re you guys doing?” Maia asked. “Why do you have a Blorpo sniper here?”

  We quickly expined our pn to Iris and Maia. Before we could stop her, Maia took hold of the squirt gun. I panicked as she presumably took aim at Kalei. Her tail darted bad forth.

  “I holy don’t know how you put up with her,” Maia said. She put the sniper squirt gun down.

  “Well, she isn’t like that all the time,” Oka said.

  “And that’s just how school is, you know?” I said.

  “School is just having a friend that’s stantly in ‘make fun of their friends’ mode?” Maia asked.

  “Kinda. It’s like living with a sibling,” I said. “Sometimes they’re the most annoying people in the world, but they’re still family, you know?”

  “I suppose,” Maia said.

  “That’s just a part of high school really, too,” Iris said. “Some of them we’ll like and others we won’t, but at the end of the day we’re all stuck here together.”

  When the garden party ed up, Iris and Maia joined us to see Kalei as Lillia and the love trio went to returea sets. We handed off the squirt gun as well, and I felt relieved not wielding that kind of power. Kalei forced a smile when she saw Maia.

  “Oh, hey Maia,” Kalei said.

  “Hey.” Maia said, crossing her arms.

  Kalei fidgeted with her hands a bit.

  “Sorry I’m such a jerk,” Kalei said, finally breaking the silence. “And that I was such a jerk today.”

  “You’re not that mean,” Maia said. She sighed. “Just…like shut up sometimes? It really shouldn’t be that hard. You may have all these lines you think are zingers in your head for some weird stand-up routine, but that doesn’t mean you have to subject the world to them.”

  “Yeah, good point,” Kalei said. “It’s easier on days when Tyrant Rangers doesn’t get deyed.”

  “Oh my ght?” Maia said. “I was so pissed about that this m. It had me in such a bad mood."

  Maia thought for a moment, maybe about her own blow up. “Maybe we’re not that different.”

  “Yeah,” Kalei said. “I know a goram you could try.”

  Kalei smiled at us.

  “Cool,” Maia said.

  Maia scratched one of her ears. Kalei fidgeted with her hands again.

  “You y some Tyrant Rangers?” Kalei asked.

  “Yeah, sure.” Maia said.

  “Cool.”

  * * *

  We were back at the treehouse with a pstic tub of the leftover cupcakes Rain had cooked that she had graciously given us.

  “Well, I’d call that a successful mission, partner.” Oka said.

  “Yup, I’m beat,” I said. “Job well done, my lovely girlfriend.”

  We filled up on the cupcakes and were down on the wood flether, staring up at the ceiling, which had glow in the dark pstic stars glued to it. Oka’s hand reached out first, and I grabbed her back tenderly. For a while, we just stayed there together and held hands, looking up at the pstic starry sky.

  “Isn’t it weird?” I asked. “That we’re dating now. Like we’re actually for real dating.”

  “Yep, I still have to pinch myself,” Oka said. “But like, this is a good kind of weird.”

  We each rolled then, turning to face each other.

  “I do this whenever I want now,” Oka said as she rubbed my shoulders. “Here, sit up.”

  Oka had me sit up.

  “I do this, too.” Oka said as she hugged me. “Or…this?”

  My heart ounding in my temples now as Oka delicately brushed some of my hair out of my face. I really hoped we didn’t get interrupted like st time. Oka leaned in, and our faces were close. But we both froze, then pulled back.

  “Why is it so much harder now?” Oka said. “We got like three in that first night…”

  “I don’t know!” I said. “I just froze up pletely there!”

  “At least we froze up together,” Oka said. “You’re not mad, are you? You were the first to…initiate. You know?”

  “No, you’re fine!” I said. “Maybe for me it’s because this kinda feels like a fresh start.”

  “What do you mean?” Oka asked.

  “Like…to me it feels like the…past one was so bad, and you’re so good. You y bad past. In a way, you’re my first girlfriend. So it makes sehat things like…intimate things are harder because they’re kinda new now?”

  I sighed. “Did that make any sense?”

  “Yeah,” Oka said. “I like that a lot.”

  “We’ll figure this all out,” I said. “I’m fih taking it slht now.”

  “You know, me too,” Oka said. “But I’m still holding your hand. And when we’re both ready, we are gonna be kissing. A lot.”

  “S-sure.” I said. “Instead of that right now, would you settle for cuddling and watg some shows?”

  We ed ourselves up in a b and positioned my phone in front of us. Cuddli a bit easier thaher new options avaible to us now that we were dating. While we weren’t as close physically before, it wasn’t hard for us to be uhe same bogether.

  “Let’s not do Tower though,” Oka said. “Teylet really does suck.”