After we finished eating, I went up to the register to pay, just like I always did. The cellular signal inside the restaurant was terrible, which delayed the transaction for a few minutes. By the time the payment finally went through and I turned around, my girlfriend and my best friend were nowhere to be found. I called her a dozen times before she finally picked up. "You were taking forever, so we headed out," she said, her voice breezy and unbothered. "We’re down at the Perler bead craft shop on the first floor. Hurry up and get down here." It was Memorial Day weekend, and the mall was packed to the gills. I waited through two rounds of elevators, but they were both completely jammed with families and teenagers. Frustrated and feeling a low throb of anxiety in my chest, I gave up and headed for the escalators instead. When I finally reached the shop, there wasn't a single open seat left. My girlfriend, Nina, and my best friend, Tyler, were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at a small crafting table. They were deep in conversation, mapping out their next ten years—from heading to Columbia University together in September, to their grad school plans, all the way to their PhDs. It was a grand, sweeping blueprint for a future that I had absolutely no place in. Back in May, they had both received early admission letters with full academic scholarships. Meanwhile, I had completely tanked my SATs, and I was currently trying to figure out how to navigate a gap year just to catch up to them. As I stood frozen by the doorway, Nina glanced up and let out a soft, irritated sigh. "You're always so slow," she said, not even looking up from her colorful plastic beads. "Just wait outside for a bit." I stared at their backs. A sudden, heavy wave of physical and emotional exhaustion washed over me. Nina, this time, I don't think I want to keep chasing after you anymore. … Once I got home, I did what I always did: I took a photo of the receipt—it came out to $145—and posted it to our three-person group chat. Nina's profile picture popped up almost instantly. [@Luther, let me cover this one. Don't worry about Venmoing me.] [Your family's budget is tight right now. Save your money for the fall.] Tyler wouldn't have it. He insisted on paying his share. The two of them started bickering back and forth in the chat, exchanging quick, witty paragraphs. From beginning to end, neither of them asked where I had gone. Or why they hadn't waited for me at the restaurant. Ten minutes later, Nina sent me a direct message. [Next time, let's not pick such an expensive place. You know how tight Tyler's family is on money right now.] I stared at the screen, a bitter taste in my mouth, and typed back: [He was the one who chose the restaurant.] At the time, I had even subtly hinted that the trendy spot was overpriced, suggesting we go somewhere else. Nina had just wrapped her arm through mine, laughing off my concern in front of him. 'Look at you, barely scraping a 500 on your math SAT, but suddenly you're an accountant when it comes to the bill.' It took her a few seconds to reply to my text. [But you're always the one who eats the most anyway.] Then, as if realizing she'd crossed a line, another message quickly followed. [Don't be so sensitive. He has a lot of pride. Just try to be a little more considerate of his feelings.] But splitting the bill had been Tyler’s idea in the first place. I stared at the screen for a long time, the blue light reflecting in the dimness of my bedroom. Every time the three of us hung out, they would drift into conversations about advanced calculus, European history, or deep philosophical questions about the meaning of life. I was always left in the dust, with nothing to do but stuff my face to keep myself occupied. She noticed how much I ate, but she never noticed the sheer embarrassment and alienation that drove me to do it. I stared until my eyes burned, then finally tapped out a reply: [Got it.] Ten minutes later, Tyler posted a photo of the food on his Instagram feed. He also included a screenshot of Nina's message telling him she'd cover the bill. 'Shoutout to a certain someone for the free five-star meal today,' his caption read. Nina liked the post within seconds. At around five that evening, Nina knocked on my door. Her eyes swept over my tense expression, and she let out a soft sigh, playfully nudging my arm. "You're the one who pulled a vanishing act at the mall, and now you're giving me the silent treatment?" I wanted to pull away from her touch, but my body instinctively leaned into her warmth out of sheer habit. Loving Nina had been the bravest thing I'd ever done, even if none of our classmates thought we made sense together. Her family lived in the apartment directly above mine. She was brilliant. From elementary school through high school, she was always top of the class—the golden child everyone's parents compared them to. I was the cautionary tale. Honestly, if Tyler hadn't tutored me before high school, I probably wouldn't have even made it into the same school district as her. My throat felt tight. "What's up?" "Here, this is for you." Nina slipped a Perler bead keychain of Snoopy into my hand. "I made it with that glitter finish you like." I didn't take it. My gaze fell on her phone, where a pink Sailor Moon Perler bead keychain was dangling from her case. For her last birthday, I had spent a week meticulously crafting a cute, customized mini-portrait of the two of us for her key ring. She had laughed, called it childish, and tossed it into a drawer. I had never seen it since. Noticing where I was looking, Nina waved her phone in the air with a grin. "Tyler made this for me as a thank-you for lunch. It's actually pretty cute, right?" She pressed the Snoopy keychain into my palm. "Anyway, I gotta run. Tyler sent me another brain-teaser today, and I am not letting him beat me." I reached out, wanting to pull her back, to finally say the words—we need to break up. But my hand caught only empty air. Nina was already halfway down the stairs. The echo of her voice floated back up as she answered a call from Tyler. "Deal! If you lose, you have to do ten princess-carry squats with me!" I stood frozen in the hallway, the silence pressing in around me like a physical weight. When my mom came home a little later and asked if I was okay, I opened my mouth, but it took a long, painful moment for my voice to work. "Mom," I whispered, "I don't want to take a gap year to reapply anymore." Mom pulled me into the living room, her eyes wide with concern. "What's wrong, sweetie? Just a few days ago, you were swearing up and down that you'd do whatever it took to follow Nina to New York." I hung my head, fighting desperately to keep the tears from spilling over, but a choked sob escaped my throat anyway. "I'm just so tired, Mom. I don't want to chase her anymore." Ever since high school started, I had lived like a spinning top constantly whipped into motion. I knew Nina's heart was set on Columbia. It was a goal she could reach without even trying. I hadn't been greedy; I just wanted to be in the same city as her. But to make that tiny dream a reality, I had to work a thousand times harder than everyone else. If my brain couldn't retain the information, I wrote it down. If ten times wasn't enough, I wrote it a hundred times. I lost fifteen pounds during senior year alone. But when my practice scores came back, my world shattered anyway. I had cried hysterically, mourning the long-distance relationship that felt inevitable. Nina had only smiled, wrapping her arm around mine as if I were being dramatic. "Why are you crying? You just didn't prepare the right way. Honestly, Luther, you need to study like Tyler. Just memorizing things blindly doesn't work." Once I let go of the idea of reapplying, I started looking into standard admission offers from other colleges. For the first time in months, I slept without an overwhelming tightness in my chest. The next morning, I woke up early for my summer job at the local boba shop. Tyler was already there when I arrived. During our lunch break, he slid over to me, holding his phone out. "Yo, Luther, you gotta go like my Instagram story right now. Nina is insane." I opened my phone with numb fingers. It was a ten-second video. Tyler was holding Nina in a princess carry, doing squats. In the sticky heat of summer, he was in a tank top, and she was in a short denim skirt. Every moment of physical contact felt suffocatingly intimate through the screen. I silently tapped the heart icon to like it, then went back to picking at my lunch. Tyler let out a dry laugh. "Not even mad?" I looked up at him, feeling a strange, new detachment. "Do you want me to be?" His shoulders dropped, and he scratched his head before grinning into his phone on speaker. "See, Nina? You lost again!" Nina's voice drifted through the speaker, crisp and amused. "Wow, look at him. He's finally stopped being so incredibly possessive and dramatic. Maybe there's hope for his gap year after all." The two of them immediately started arguing over what the next forfeit should be. I gripped my chopsticks, a heavy, suffocating pressure settling over my chest. They used to make bets over practice exams all the time in high school to keep things interesting. Back then, the punishments were silly things—like yelling "I'm an idiot" in the school hallway. But now, it felt like my reactions had become their favorite game. I stood up, dumped the rest of my lunch into the trash, and pulled out my phone. I texted Nina: [Let's break up.] Within seconds, her name flashed on my screen. I didn't answer, simply flipping the switch to silent. A moment later, Tyler's phone rang. This time, he didn't put it on speaker. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pop in his AirPods, and they talked for a long time. It was just like our group hangouts—they always had an endless stream of things to say to each other. It wasn't until our shift ended that Tyler crept over, looking apologetic. "Hey, that video was just a stupid filter app prank. Seriously, if you don't believe me, I can show you the chat logs." I glanced down at my phone. I had exactly one missed call from Nina. Meanwhile, Tyler had been on the phone with her almost the entire afternoon without hanging up once. I looked at him. "Do you honestly think the filter is the problem here, Tyler?" Even if it was just some silly app, was I not allowed to expect my girlfriend to respect my boundaries? Or did my feelings simply carry zero weight in their world? "Oh, come on. Why are you explaining yourself to him? It's not the first time he's thrown a tantrum like a spoiled child." Nina suddenly appeared at the shop entrance. She clearly thought my breakup text was just me acting out for attention. With a cold expression, she grabbed Tyler's arm and pulled him out. The passenger seat of the moped—a spot that had always belonged exclusively to me—was occupied by someone else today. I quietly finished handing over my shift to my coworker. Then, I asked the manager to transfer me to the closing shifts. Even though we lived right on top of each other, Nina and I might as well have lived in parallel universes. I didn't bump into her in our building once. I figured she was giving me the silent treatment to teach me a lesson, but this time, I didn't crawl back to ask what I'd done wrong. When my final transcript and placement results came in, I quietly submitted my applications to state schools down South. One afternoon, Tyler tagged me in our group chat. [@Luther, I spent the last week compiling my old AP prep and study guides for you. Can I drop them off tomorrow?] I typed out my reply: [No need, I won't be using them.] Nina instantly popped up. [Luther, do you even have a heart?] [Tyler worked his closing shifts and stayed up all night putting those guides together for you. He worked himself to the bone, and you won't even look at them?] [Do you honestly think the entire world revolves around you?] We hadn't spoken in nearly two weeks, and when we finally did, it was nothing but accusations. Tyler tried to play the peacemaker. [Nina, don't talk to Luther like that.] I was about to type out that I wasn't taking a gap year after all, but before I could press send, a notification popped up: Nina has removed you from the group chat. I stared at the screen for a second, then calmly deleted the conversation thread entirely. When the afternoon shift change came around, Tyler caught me by the arm, searching my face. "Luther, are you still mad?" he asked quietly. "I deleted that Instagram post days ago. I swear we won't play pranks like that anymore, okay?" I looked at the guy who had been my best friend for over a decade, and a sudden wave of alienation hit me. When had he and Nina become this inseparable "we"? I was the one who had introduced them in the first place. I pulled my arm back, suddenly uncomfortable with his touch. "Is there anything else? I need to get back to work." His face fell. "Tyler!" Nina called out, pulling her moped up to the curb outside. She didn't even look at me; her eyes were as cold as ice. Tyler gathered his things, then paused, trying to explain. "Luther, don't get the wrong idea. We're just going to visit our old guidance counselor to thank her. We planned this a while ago." There it was again. We. I let out a dry, humorless laugh but didn't say a word. The shop was exceptionally busy that day. By the time my shift ended at ten, my legs were shaking from exhaustion. After counting the inventory and sweeping up with my coworker, I walked out to an empty, quiet street. For some reason, after I got off the bus, a cold shiver ran down my spine. I gripped the straps of my backpack tightly, my pace quickening. Just as I was about to turn the corner into my apartment complex, a dark figure lunged from the shadows, covering my mouth and nose, dragging me into a dark alleyway. In the depths of my panic, a loud, piercing police siren suddenly cut through the night. The heavy grip on me loosened instantly. Without looking back, I scrambled to my feet and ran toward the streetlights. My heart was still hammering against my ribs by the time I slammed my apartment door shut. Before I could even catch my breath, a furious pounding rattled the door. Nina was standing on the threshold, her eyes blazing with anger. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the hallway. I stumbled, nearly tripping down the concrete stairs, but her voice cut through the air like ice water, freezing me in my tracks. "Luther! How could you just run off and leave Tyler behind like that?" she screamed. "Do you have any idea he got hurt trying to save you?" By the time she dragged me to the hospital, Tyler was still in the ER. I stared blankly at his mother, who was sobbing hysterically, a dark dread settling deep in my stomach. "Are you happy now, Luther?" Nina spat. I was entirely lost. "What are you talking about?" She let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "If you hadn't thrown a tantrum and switched to the night shift, Tyler wouldn't have been waiting outside to make sure you got home safe. And he wouldn't have been cornered by that mugger trying to protect you!" My mind spun. The siren I had heard—it hadn't been a police car. It had been Tyler, playing a siren sound effect on his phone to scare the attacker away. The mugger had let me go only because he spotted Tyler in the shadows and turned on him instead. Guilt and horror washed over me, heavy enough to drown me. I lowered my head, my eyes burning. "I didn't know..." I whispered. I had genuinely thought a real patrol car had happened to pass by. Nina scoffed, her voice dripping with contempt. "You didn't know? Of course you didn't, Luther. Because you're too busy throwing tantrums, expecting everyone to coddle you and bend to your every whim!" I went completely pale, my hands trembling uncontrollably. I stopped hearing her words. My mind could only hold one thought: Please, let Tyler be okay. Thankfully, thirty minutes later, the doctor stepped out of the ER. "The patient is going to be fine. He has about a dozen stitches in his arm, but with some rest, he'll make a full recovery." Nina's posture slumped with relief. Perhaps realizing she had crossed a line in her panic, her tone softened when she turned back to me. "Just... don't be so reckless next time, okay?" She reached out, trying to wrap her arms around my shaking shoulders. But I instinctively stepped back, avoiding her touch. "I'm sorry," I said, my voice quiet but steady. "We're broken up. Please don't touch me." Without waiting for a response, I pushed past her to go see Tyler. Nina's hand remained frozen in mid-air. She let out a sharp, angry laugh behind me. "Fine, Luther! Don't you dare come crawling back to me when you realize what you threw away." Over the next few days, both Tyler and I quit our jobs at the boba shop. The police came by several times to take our statements. But as the days passed, rumors began to spread through our small neighborhood. Every time I stepped outside, the neighbors would stare and whisper. "Imagine doing something like that. How does he even look at himself in the mirror?" "I heard he did it on purpose—set his own best friend up just because he was jealous. Why else would he suddenly switch to closing shifts?" "Doesn't matter if it was voluntary or not. The boy's character is rotten. No decent girl is ever going to want him." Every single whisper stung. One afternoon, my patience snapped. I balled my hands into fists and yelled at a group of gossiping neighbors, "Do you have any idea that spreading lies like this is defamation?" They exchanged uneasy glances and fell silent. But in the quiet that followed, one older woman muttered under her breath, "Who's lying? Your best friend is the one who told the local paper!" I froze, the breath knocked out of me. It took me several seconds to process her words before I spun on my heel and ran straight to the hospital. I marched into Tyler's room. "Why would you say that about me?" I demanded, my voice trembling with betrayal. "You know damn well I had no idea what was happening that night!" Tyler's eyes darted away, avoiding mine. He reached out to grab my hand. "Luther, I'm so sorry. I was just so scared when the reporter asked..." Before he could finish, Nina stepped into the room, placing herself firmly between us. "It's not even a big deal, Luther. Why are you overreacting?" she said defensively. "If we didn't give them that narrative, the town would have started whispering about Tyler being involved in something shady." A cold, sharp pain pierced my chest. "And what about me?" I whispered. "My reputation? My life? Does none of that matter to you?" Nina's expression hardened. "If it weren't for you, Tyler wouldn't have been in that alleyway in the first place. He saved your life. Is taking a little heat for him really too much to ask? Why can't you just grow up and be a little more mature for once?" I stared at her, completely numb. A hollow laugh escaped my lips. What was I even hoping for? Did I really expect her to protect me over Tyler? Without saying another word, I turned and walked out. To shield me from the neighborhood gossip, my mother sent me to stay with my aunt in the next town over for the rest of the summer. Nina sent me countless messages over those weeks. [Luther, the police caught the mugger, and the rumors have cleared up.] [Summer is almost over. Do you want to meet up? I don't want you crying because you didn't get to say goodbye before I leave for New York.] I didn't reply to a single one. On the morning of college move-in day, Nina stood outside my apartment door, her suitcases packed. Months ago, she had promised she would accompany me to register for my gap-year prep classes before heading to the train station. But no matter how hard she knocked, the apartment remained silent. Finally, our neighbor popped her head out. "Stop knocking, honey. They left for the station early this morning." Nina blinked, confused. "The station? But Luther is taking his gap year. Registration doesn't start until next week." "Oh, he changed his mind," the neighbor shrugged. "He decided not to take a gap year. He got into a university down South and left today." Nina's face went completely pale.
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