It was awkward, very awkward, but Lucita was trying to remain friends with Francis. He was a good guy, nice, pretty cool, and attractive. There was a reason she had dated him, however briefly.

Except now, he was barely paying attention to her and instead focused solely on Elizabeth. Not that she could blame him; she did break his heart, apparently. But still, it bothered her just a little bit.

Not that she was jealous; she wasn’t. She just didn’t like it.

On the one hand, it was nice to be single again. No boyfriend to hog all her time and invade her space constantly. God, Francis had been so needy. And the kissing. She didn’t get it, the kissing. Kissing Cyrus last year had been different, and she hadn’t ever really made out with Lucas, nothing more than light pecks. But with Francis, there had been so much spit and tongue. What was the obsession with the tongue?

Why had she wanted a boyfriend so badly? Sometimes, she didn’t understand herself. She wanted Cyrus but wanting him hurt. And now, with him gone and dating Tiffany, wanting him made her feel lonely.

Francis had filled the void, but only a little bit.

It all came down to the kissing. Lucita could not get over the kissing and the way his hands had gone over her body. God, she had hated the way his hands felt like they were trapping her, marking her as his when she most certainly was not.

“Hey Luci.” Lucita spun around and looked at Jason, who stood behind her in the crowd of students.

“Jason!” She wanted to throw her arms around him but didn’t know if anyone would be watching, and the way Liz had been looking at her lately, she really couldn’t risk alienating her friend.

“It’s okay,” he said as if reading her mind. “I screwed up, I know.”

“Jason—”

“No, look, I just…can we hang out? Like we used to? I just…I feel like I have no friends anymore, ya know?”

Lucita looked around tentatively, then at her watch. She was going to be late for class. “Jason, I, well, as much as I would, I mean…I’m not sure it would be the best idea. Liz is still pretty hurt, and if she…I think she blames me? Does that make sense?”

Jason scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. Besides, she looks like she rebounded real fast with Francis.”

“They’re not dating.”

“Maybe they should.” He looked down at her intently. Sometimes, she thought the freckles under his eyes resembled the constellation Orion.

The bell rang, and Luci swore. “Jason, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, okay.” She didn’t bother to wait for his reply before she ran off to lit class. A part of her wanted to skip so that she wouldn’t have to listen to the snickers of her being late to class.

She tried to sneak in, but the teacher caught her anyway.

“Lucita, any particular reason you’re late?”

Students snickered. Ms. Hancock never let anyone get away with being tardy and always made them a spectacle.

“Sorry, I forgot my notebook in my last class and had to run back and grab it.”

The teacher rolled her eyes at her pitiful excuse. “Just take your seat.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Lucita bowed her head and made her way toward the back of the classroom, where she sat with her friend Natalia. Natalia grinned at her.

“Did I miss anything?” she whispered, taking her notebook out of her bag while the teacher began writing notes on Of Mice and Men on the board.

“Just attendance. Oh, and your ex.”

“Seriously?” Lucita pulled out her own notes from the book. She loved it, but it made her cry at the end.

“Yeah. Don’t worry, I sent him on his way. Why did you ever date him? He’s so annoying.”

Luci stifled a laugh, looking at the teacher set up the TV and DVD player. “He’s nice, and I thought he was cute.”

“No amount of muscles or great hair can excuse his annoying personality.” Lucita stifled a laugh again, barely listening to the teacher as she gave instructions to compare the book to the movie.

However, she spent most of the class thinking about Jason’s words.

Francis and Elizabeth…

They had been getting close in the last couple of weeks. After class, she kept mulling on the idea that had been building up. Could they date? Would they date? Would it really be dating or just rebounding? Would it be a good idea? There was no harm in putting them together.

“What’s up, homie,” said Silvia, following her into her next class.

“I have an idea.”

Silvia eyed her warily. “Okay?” Lucita dropped her blue backpack to the ground and sat on her desk, feet in her chair, facing Silvia, whose desk was behind her.

“Alright, I ran into Jason today, and he thinks Liz and Francis are dating.”

Silvia’s eyes just about bugged out of her head. “They wouldn’t. Wait, are they?”

Lucita shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s been a couple of weeks now. She should be getting over it right. Maybe they are both in the rebounding stage.”

“Really? Dude said he was in love with you.”

Lucita’s cheeks burned at the memory. “Right, but I think he’s over it. It’s awkward, but we still have to ride the bus together, so we’re just friends. It seems okay.”

“Okay.” Silvia dragged out the word and stared at her warily. “Lu, please tell me you’re not actually considering setting them up.”

“Would it really be so bad if they started dating?”

Silvia sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s your ex, and she’s your best friend. And then…well, it just seems like dangerous territory.”

“I don’t think so. I have no feelings for him, none. Like, ugh, I’m not really sure why I dated him.”

“Pretty sure you were distracting yourself from Cyrus.”

“Anyway,” she said, giving Silvia a pointed look. “I don’t think it could hurt. They’re already flirting and hanging out.”

“I don’t know, it still feels wrong. Like, Liz is crossing a line.”

“That’s silly. There is no line if I’m the one saying ‘hey, date.’”

Silvia raised her eyebrows at her. “You’re sure you want to do this? What if…I hate to say it, but what if he’s only paying attention to her to make you jealous? I mean…Luce, I’m pretty sure Liz blames you for Jason.”

“Right, so this will fix it! I’ll give her my blessing. And, say you’re right, she’s too smart for that and, again, I don’t like him, so why would I get jealous?”

Silvia continued to stare at her warily. “Alright, if you’re sure, I’m game.” Lucita clapped her hands excitedly.

“I still say this is a bad idea.” Silvia followed Lucita as she practically skipped toward the cafeteria.

“Oh, hush.”

“Do you even know if he likes her that way? What if you give her this idea, and he rejects her? She’s gonna be mad at you.”

“You don’t think he does?”

Silvia groaned. “I don’t know. We all forced Jason to ask Liz out last year, knowing he had a crush on you, and look how that turned out.”

“No one forced Jason to do anything. Just like no one forced him to cheat.” She got in the salad line. “You want ranch dressing, right?”

Silvia nodded, biting her bottom lip. “I’m just saying, it’s only been a couple of weeks.”

“I thought you were game?”

“I’m allowed to change my mind. Lucita, let’s not play matchmaker—”

“Vee, I’m just going to drop hints. I’m not going to hold them at knifepoint and demand they date. Besides, I miss hanging out with Jason—”

“So that’s what this is really about.” Lucita ignored her gaze, grabbing a premade chicken Caesar salad, two packets of ranch dressing, and one pack of croutons. Silvia waited for her to pay before taking it from her, leaving her the chocolate milk.

Silvia had to admit she missed hanging out with Jason, too.

“Alright, what’s the plan.”

Lucita smiled. “I’ll talk to Elizabeth after school today before I catch the bus. In the meantime, we’ll observe them and see what’s happening.” Silvia nodded, still thinking it was a bad idea.

Lucita sat at the bus stop in front of the laundromat, waiting for the number 12 bus to arrive. And for Francis. Looking back in the direction of the school, she saw him coming. She waved at him, looking back to see if the bus was coming.

“Hey,” he said in his new tone. It was his hurt tone, his whole “I’m trying, but I kinda hate you” tone. Lucita knew that tone; she had used it often enough with Cyrus. But, really, did he have to be so broken up about it? They had only dated for…two months? She shook her head; she really couldn’t remember.

“Hey, what took you so long? I was worried you were going to miss the bus.”

“I was waiting for Liz’s mom to pick her up.”

“Oh!” She had not expected that, but it was good; it was what she wanted. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Liz lately.”

“Jealous?” Lucita’s eyes widened. There was something about his smirk that she didn’t like, but she ignored it. Silvia’s misgivings played in the back of her mind, however.

“No, just curious.” She waited a beat. “Do you like her?”

Francis surprised her with a laugh. “You know, you’re the weirdest chick I’ve ever met.”

“Don’t call me a chick, dude.”

“Fine, but it’s true. You’re my ex-girlfriend,” she didn’t miss how he practically spit the word out, “and first, you practically insist we be friends, which, by the way, sucks. And now you’re asking if I like your best friend.”

“I’m genuinely curious.”

“Why?”

“Well, ’cause I think she kinda likes you. She seems happier when you’re around.”

“It’s only been a few weeks.”

“Okay, so?”

“So nothing. She’s probably—”

“Are you?”

“What?”

“Do you still like me?”

He shut his mouth, his eyes darkened, staring at her angrily. “I told you I love you.”

“We’re in high school, dude. We’re barely sixteen. I’m fifteen, for crying out loud. You can’t really believe you love me.”

“You believe you love Cyrus.”

The words caught her off guard. “That’s different.”

“No, it’s not. You believe you love him—”

“I’ve known him for years.” Since 6^th grade, she didn’t even know how to not love him. She’ll probably always love him.

“Right. And he’s so interested in you, right?” The words stung. “Whatever.”

Now she was angry. “Whatever? Okay, let’s say you do love me. Why be with me knowing I love someone else? Why not give Liz a chance?”

“Look, okay, I do like her.”

“Really?”

He sighed, looking away. “Yeah, I like Liz. Look, if you talk to her…I’ll think about it, okay.”

“Would this be a rebound?”

“Jesus Christ. This is the very definition of rebounding Luce.” He sighed again, looking past her. “Look, here comes the bus. Can we not talk about this anymore.”

“Francis—”

“Luce, it would be a rebound for the both of us. Leave it at that. You want me to move on? Fine, I will. I’ll think about asking Liz out, but only if you find out if she’s interested. Sound good?”

She nodded, grabbing her bag as the bus pulled up. This was okay; it was fine, she told herself, even while the nagging feeling in her stomach grew.