Three years of animosity don't dissolve just like that. Sometimes, Henry pretends that Turner doesn't exist, and their time together has Finch constantly swiveling his head back and forth to have individual conversations with the two of them. Sometimes, Turner puts on an innocent face as he presses too close to Henry, and Finch has to pry him off.

"Has anything changed with you two?" Finch asks on one of the bad days, which is usually when the teacher tells the class to split into pairs.

Henry's still bitter over being tricked into working with Jonathan--who shrugged and picked his nose the entire time--but he can't stop himself from exchanging looks with Turner. The sight of the other boy reminds him that he's still angry, so he quickly turns away.

"I don't know about me, but Henry's changed. He's nicer than he used to be," Turner says. "He used to get upset before I did anything. Now he gets upset after, like he should."

Conjuring up images of Jonathan with his finger stuck halfway up his nose, Henry tries to keep hold of the last bits of his anger, but they seem to have flown away.

"You changed too," Henry grumbles. "You used to never say sorry."

And even a small thing like that, Henry has to dig deep for. He can't think of any other positive changes they've made for each other.

However, when he gets the final report card of his elementary school career and it tells him that he's attending the same middle school and class as Turner, he waits for that familiar sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. It never comes.

"Oh." Finch leans until they're almost cheek-to-cheek. "I'll miss you, Henry."

"Huh?" Henry turns, flushing at the close proximity. "You're in a different school?"

Finch slides his open report card into view. "No, but my parents will kill me."

There's a long string of 4's, which terminates with one 3: Finch's physical education grade. Finch waggles his eyebrows at him, and Henry can't help but laugh.

---

Middle school is an entirely different beast.

In elementary school, romance was half a joke. A girl would latch onto a boy, and the two of them would adopt someone else in the class as their kid. Then, without ever having had anything resembling a wedding, the couple would separate. Divorce rates were especially high in Henry's class.

On the second day of seventh grade, Henry spots a girl and a boy kissing in the hallway, their arms entwined around each other. He ducks his head and hurries to homeroom.

It's not that he's unaware of romance. It's more that it's never been a corporeal presence in his life. His parents act more like business partners than a married couple. Seeing it up close like that...he's shocked by how visceral it is, and a little disgusted at the thought of having to do that someday.

Finch is already in the classroom, sitting in his seat with his bookbag still on his back. Henry studies his friend's dazed expression as he sits down.

"Did you see them too?" Henry asks.

Finch blinks, then grins his usual winning smile. "Are you psychic?"

Henry shakes his head, hesitating before he says, "You think it's a little bit gross?"

He holds his breath, watching closely for Finch's reaction.

"Well-" Henry jumps, startled by the other boy's voice; at that, Finch lets out a short, breathy laugh and adds, "It's definitely weird."

"Yeah, weird."

"I can't imagine kissing any girl I know."

Henry exhales in relief. "Glad to hear it."

"Glad to hear what?"

Henry whips his head around. Turner's standing behind him, one strap of his bookbag hanging off his shoulders. He got a haircut during the summer, so now his curly brown hair lies almost flat against his head. For some reason, it makes him look older than he did four months ago.

"Nothing," Henry says, curtly.

"Rude. What did I do now, Henry?" Turner asks, pulling a seat out for himself next to Henry.

Henry scoots his chair away. Turner only ever wants to sit together when he feels like messing with him.

"The couple in the hallway. We were talking about that, and how weird kissing is," Finch hurriedly explains.

"Weird?" Turner says, almost off-handedly, as he begins putting his books onto Henry's desk. "Are you guys still in that 'girls are gross' phase?"

There's a silence, with only the shuffling of paper from the growing tower of books. As the pile begins to lean towards Henry, Turner looks up and snorts.

"Really?" Turner laughs, shaking his head. "Come on, guys. I've already got a girlfriend."

This is somehow both disturbing and relieving to Henry. He looks to Finch, and judging from the way his mouth is twisted to the side, his friend agrees with the first part.

As the week continues, Henry thinks more on the topic. The news is not surprising; Turner contributed to at least 20% of the divorce rates in sixth grade. What bothers him, though, is the thought of someday finding Finch kissing someone in the hallway and knowing that his closest friend has taken that first step into adulthood. It feels constricting, like the territory of his childhood is being encroached upon by something vast and terrifying. He wants to hold onto the idea of "girls are gross" for a little bit longer.

___

When it comes time for high school applications, Henry lives with the unnerving understanding that compared to Finch, Turner, and the rest of his peers, he is lagging just a little bit behind in maturity.

Turner's had quite a few relationships. It got to the point where he stopped telling the two of them whenever he was going out with someone new. His favorite thing to say to Henry has become: "Alone forever."

Finch has joined the school band for afterschool activities. Having never played anything besides the recorder, he struggled at first, but soon the band teacher began giving him all the solo trumpet parts. He starts humming more in his conversations with Henry.

And Henry? He tried to join the band, but with no sense of rhythm and no strength in his lungs, there wasn't much he could do there. Having already resigned himself to a high school life without Finch, Henry barely reacts when he discovers that he and Turner have both gotten into the same school.

"Whoa, I didn't think you'd get in," Turner snickers as he reads the acceptance letter over Henry's shoulder.

Even the gross warmth of the other boy's breath blowing into his face doesn't annoy Henry. He folds up the letter and shrugs. His parents have been looking forward to this day since he started middle school. He's dived into his studies with a sort of frantic dedication to get into this school, but as he sits there, his eyes start prickling in a way they haven't since elementary school.

He doesn't want to think about it, but he remembers that last day of sixth grade, with Finch saying, "I'll miss you, Henry" as he slid his report card across the table. Maybe...just maybe something like that can happen again.

Something coarse rubs against his face. Henry splutters, slapping at the foreign object.

Turner brings his sleeve away. He opens his mouth like he wants to say something, but then his eyebrows furrow and he turns away.

Finch comes back from the bathroom. His eyes go wide when he catches sight of Henry's puffy, red eyelids and red nose. Immediately, he looks to Turner.

"I, uh, called his mom fat," Turner says, scratching his cheek.

Henry grits his teeth and nods along.

"Nothing changes with you two," Finch mutters, reaching out to ruffle Henry's hair. He sounds skeptical, but stays standing there, talking about unimportant things until the teacher resumes class.

They graduate. As they leave the ceremony, Henry watches Finch's back as the other boy walks with his parents. It's there that Henry says his quiet goodbyes.