I paced outside Jade’s (and Justin’s) economics class. I swear, I waited for her, but I wouldn’t mind a glimpse of Justin. Or to hear his voice. Anything would be fine if it let me know he still went to school, still lived in Jamestown.

Since Sunday, I’d called his place twice. Each time I got the answering machine. I was too nervous to leave a message when it first occurred. But when it happened again, I left my information with a vague implication that I’d love to hang out sometime this week.

For hours, I’d gone over my message, terrified I’d come on too strong. When that got me nowhere, I turned to bugging Jade after every class I knew she shared with Justin. Unfortunately, her visit with Brian hadn’t been as pleasant as she’d hoped (she’d mentioned something about his poor health and depression), so she wasn’t in the mood to cater to my anxiety and never answered.

After her borderline meltdown yesterday, I realized I needed to chill.

So, all day, this was the first class I’d waited for her. I vowed not to look inside the classroom, to not study every person that left. No, I’d act like a non-obsessive adult whose colossal insecurities weren’t pissing of my friend.

The classroom door finally opened. Justin came out. I stopped mid-step, my heart on the floor. Our eyes met, and I waved.

Justin’s mouth parted, then a few more people filed out of the room. His attention dropped to his feet. He adjusted the backpack he wore before hurrying away.

I rested against the wall, about to vomit. What had that been about? Why had he acted like that? Was he mad at me?

Yes, after the failed sex fiasco, his dick had hurt, but only a little. By now, it should be okay. Plus, he’d told me he wasn’t upset, that he’d run into a few awkward scenarios because of his size.

Sure, he could’ve been lying, but he’d laughed and joked about it for the rest of the night. He made me feel—almost—good about the situation. When had he changed his mind? Why?

Jade stepped into the hallway. She groaned when she spotted me. “I don’t—”

“No! No, I’m not here for that.” I pulled the packet of Oreos I’d skipped lunch just to go get for her. “See. I brought you food.”

Jade approached; her expression skeptical. “This is just about cookies?”

I handed her the Oreos. “Would I lie?”

Jade’s face brightened. Like I’d hoped, she giggled. “You know, you almost sound like King Roland. You’ve been practicing.”

“Of course. What do you think I do with my free time?”

Jade tapped the Oreo packet. “Thanks.” She opened it up and popped a whole one into her mouth. “God, I’ve been starving all day,” she said as she chewed.

She surprised me by offering me the cookies.

I eyed them, unsure of what to do. Since starting college, I’d gained five pounds, though I walked almost everywhere and could barely afford a twenty-ounce of pop once a week. One Oreo wouldn’t expand my hips, but I didn’t need it.

Yet, I hadn’t eaten all day and dinner wouldn’t be for a few more hours. What if my blood sugar got too low and I passed out? I couldn’t handle that today, not after what had just gone down with Justin.

For good measure, I took two Oreos. “You’re so gracious.”

Jade shrugged then gestured with her elbow to the end of the hallway. I nodded, picked up my messenger bag, and nibbled on my cookies as we walked. Jade talked a lot more than she had the past two days. Not about anything important, but I liked to think her depressed funk was starting to pass. I hadn’t minded it too much, though. She’d handled the past year a lot better than I ever could, and she deserved a few off days here and there to cope with how her life had changed.

Too soon, we reached outside, and Jade ran out of innocent, light topics. She flicked me a sideways glance. “So, did you see Justin? He, uh, came out before me.”

“Um, no. I showed up just a few seconds before you got out.”

No way could she have seen the exchange that had happened between Justin and me, yet the way she frowned made me wonder. Had she overheard him say something? Could that be why she’d gone out of her way the past few days to avoid my questions?

Jade wouldn’t do that, though. No, I had to be interpreting her frown wrong.

“Ah, that’s too bad.”

“Yeah.” I adjusted my messenger bag. “Too bad.”