“Hey, Kasey!” I call, stepping into the living room. “I’m heading out! Do you need anything before-?”

I spot her across the coffee table. She’s passed out in my armchair, the last glow from the sunset spilling right through her. I’ve never heard of a ghost sleeping before, but Kasey does. Sometimes I’ll just find her conked out on the couch or in my bed. Usually during the day, since she spends her nights with Will.

I lean my hands on the back of the couch, watching her with swelling affection.

“You’re turning nocturnal, Kase-face.”

The armchair used to be her favorite spot to sit in my apartment when she was alive. She would come over with all of her coursework and plant there for hours. It feels good to know that some things haven’t changed.

“Kasey.”

She blinks and stirs. “Mmm?”

“I’m going to that pool thing that Raj organized. Just wanted to let you know. Also, you look super cute right now. Love you in this chair.”

“You’re going to a pool? It’s like 6 PM.”

“Everyone had work during the day, so. It’s a nighttime - pool - thing. With the boys. I don’t know.”

“Have fun,” Kasey mumbles. “Sounds ridiculous.”

“As long as it’s not too ridiculous for Ripley. I want him to have a good time. I’m gonna get him to have a real conversation with me today. I’m determined.”

“Shy kids take time and patience, Jamie. If you work super hard trying to get him to talk, you’re only going to stress him out. I promise you. Don’t push it, just be normal.”

I hesitate, thinking it over.

“Really?”

Kasey nods sleepily.

“Go crazy trying to pry him open, and he’s gonna close up more. Just let him do it himself, at his own pace.”

She’s right, I realize.

“What would I do without you?”

“Truly, I don’t fucking know,” she says, and snuggles back into the armchair.

~~~~

Ripley is waiting on the porch of his house with a tall, willowy woman. They have the exact same shade of ash-blonde hair. She grabs him into a tight hug, and he quickly squirms free, hurrying down the path towards the driveway, his face a little pink.

Free-time Ripley looks different from City Hall Ripley. His board shorts are printed with a bright swirl of colors. He wore an earring in one of his piercings today, a small black stud. His green curls flop forward into his face, and his white t-shirt reads, in blocky black lettering: STAY UP ON THAT RISE.

I hop out of the car to make room for him: he’s the littlest, so he’s going in the middle.

“Hey, Ripley!”

“Hi.”

“Are you Jamie?” calls the woman. “Take care of my boy, please!”

“Mom,” Ripley groans, cringing.

“I will!”

Ripley scooches into the middle seat, and I climb back in after him. He pushes his backpack down between his shoes.

“Guys, this is Ripley. Ripley, that’s Raj driving-”

“What’s up, man?”

“You know Aiden-”

“Hey, Ripley.”

“And next to you is Noah.”

“Yo.” Noah extends a hand. Ripley goes to shake it, but Noah gives it a sort of bro-slap instead.

“Alright, do we have everyone?” Raj slides his sunglasses onto his face. “Any other stops, or is it pool time?”

“No more stops,” Noah says, leaning forward to poke Raj’s shoulder. “Let’s get going. I’m ready to take your ten bucks.”

“Yeah, okay, dude,” Raj scoffs, pulling out of the driveway. “Are you guys hearing this? My boy honestly thinks he’s Jesus, walking on water and shit.”

Ripley raises a blonde eyebrow and turns to me for an explanation.

“Noah seems to think he can run across the water using only pool noodles,” I tell him. “By the way, is it too late for me to place a bet? Noah, you wanna give me ten bucks, too?”

“Yeah, I’ll throw in on that,” Aiden says. “I could always use ten free dollars.”

“You people have no faith.” Noah shakes his head grimly. “Just you wait.” He twists to look at Ripley. “So, man, you work with Gabby? I just met her, she seems pretty cool.” Ripley nods, and there’s a beat of silence while everyone waits for him to say something, but - he doesn’t. Noah glances over at me, then tries again. “She kicks a mean soccer ball.”

“Hm. Didn’t know that.”

Another silence descends. Oh, god. What to talk about? I notice that Ripley’s fingertips are stained with different colors, so - “What’s up with your hands, dude?”

He folds them into his lap.

“Paint.”

“Oh, you paint, too?”

“It’s - for class.”

For some reason that doesn’t ring true to me, but okay. Ripley doesn’t follow this up with anything, and Aiden comes in for an attempt.

“So hey, Ripley,” he says. “Pretty much everyone in this car went to your same high school. Except for Raj.”

Ripley doesn’t answer, and I’m starting to worry that we’re doing what Kasey warned me about: trying too hard to make him talk. He doesn’t even know most of us, so - I decide to steer the conversation to someone else. Maybe that will help.

“Yeah, Raj, where are you from?” I ask. “You said not Ketterbridge, right?”

“That’s right. My family moved around a lot, but we ended up in Hawaii, so I mostly grew up there. Beautiful place, man. It never stops hitting you, how gorgeous it is. Cried like a baby my whole first week after moving away.”

“Then why’d you move?”

“Ah, sometimes you’ve just gotta strike out into the world and find what’s next for you. I decided it was time for something new. I was traveling around doing odd jobs, ended up in Ketterbridge. And I’m so fucking glad that I did, because I met my soon-to-be wife and made my soon-to-be baby.”

“Still, Hawaii…”

“I’d call this place beautiful, just in a different way,” Raj says. “There’s this evergreen smell to the whole state, I swear. But I will say, what you mainland people call a poke bowl is a crime. Someone gave me one with kale in it, once.” He shudders. “My God, just the thought.”

“Here we go,” Noah groans. “Don’t get him started on this.”

“Noah, for the billionth time, at some point I’m gonna take you there,” Raj says, flipping on his blinker. “We’re gonna get some incredible food and you’re never going to be the same again.”

“When are you and Noah gonna go to Hawaii?” Aiden quirks an eyebrow. “You have a baby on the way, man.”

“Duh, we’re all going,” Raj answers. “Soon as that little sucker is mature enough to fly.”

“How old does a baby need to be to fly?” I ask.

“I was talking about Noah,” Raj says, and then grins as Aiden and I both laugh. Noah rolls his eyes, shaking his head.

“I told you already, that is never gonna happen. I’m not crashing some romantic trip for you and your fiancée and your newborn.”

“Bro, how many times are you going to make me say it? I want to take you there. Why won’t you just believe me?”

“First of all, I don’t know where you think I’ll find the money for that kind of plane ticket-”

“True, it might be a while. Hawaiian beaches must wait. For now, we’ll have to get our splashes from someplace more convenient. Speaking of which!” Raj turns the car into a driveway and parks it. “Let’s fucking go, team!”

We’re here, which means that Ripley spoke a grand total of five words the whole ride over. This isn’t exactly going well, but. There’s still time. I’m not going to push him, he doesn’t have to chat or smile or laugh, but - I’d love to get just one full, uncoerced sentence out of him today, if I can. That seems doable. Maybe.

With my goal officially set, I follow the guys to the pool.

~~~~

Raj’s client has a nice house, but we’re pretty much only using the kitchen and the pool area. There’s a sleek outdoor bar sitting poolside, and we leave the cooler there. The pool itself is wide and rectangular, with a jacuzzi fitted against one end. The sun is about to fully set, but the pool gods must be smiling down on us today, because it’s a surprisingly warm evening, and the water actually feels nice when I dip my toe in.

Raj offers Ripley the aux cable for the speakers, but Ripley waves him away.

“Alright, then we’re listening to Common Kings,” Raj tells him.

“Okay.”

Raj picks out a song and cannonballs into the pool, followed seconds later by Noah. They immediately get busy pushing each other around, laughing and shouting. Aiden takes off his hat and pulls his shirt over his head, then tosses both onto a chair. I’m not trying to get distracted, so I swivel back to face Ripley, who is leaning his elbows on the bar, but-

Aiden closes his arms around me from behind and leans down to speak into my ear.

“You smell like sunscreen,” he murmurs, smiling. “Do you even put it on at night?”

“You’ve seen how I burn,” I answer, my heart fluttering. He rests his chin on my shoulder.

“Hmm. Is it all soaked in?”

“I think so.”

“Good,” he says, and scoops me right off the ground. I let out a yelp, trying to wiggle out of his arms, but instead find myself flying through the air. I crash into the deep end of the pool and surface, gasping, just in time to see Aiden leap in after me. He pops back up at my side, wearing a big grin and tossing his chestnut hair out of his eyes. It’s getting dark, and the pool lights cast a shifting glow all over him.

“Jerk-face!” I shout, with a splash.

Ripley comes to sit at the edge of the pool. He puts his legs in and slowly swirls his feet around in the water.

“Um,” he says. “Are you two - together?”

“Nope.” Aiden winds his arms around my waist and presses a kiss into the side of my cheek. “Hate this guy.”

I’m just excited that we got Ripley to ask us a question, but at Aiden’s answer, I twist to make a grouchy face at him.

“Stop it,” he laughs. “You know I’m joking.”

I can’t say for sure, but Ripley looks - a little less nervous, maybe? The tension around his mouth loosens up a tiny bit. I think I understand. Sometimes it’s just easier to exist in the world knowing that other people from your community are around.

I wonder suddenly if Aiden did this on purpose. In fact, I suspect that he did.

“Aiden!” Raj hollers. “Help me hold down Noah, I’m gonna put water in his ears.”

“You got it!” Aiden glides into a smooth breaststroke towards the shallow end. I kick my way over to Ripley and rest my elbows up on the edge of the pool next to him.

“So,” I try. “Cool shirt.”

He lifts a hand and runs it over the words.

“Thanks.”

“Stay up on that rise,” I read out loud. “Are you a Panic! At The Disco fan, I’m guessing?”

For once, Ripley actually looks me in the face.

“Yeah,” he says, fidgeting with his earring.

“Cool.” I smile up at him. “So am I. I like Brendon Urie’s more recent stuff, too. Death Of A Bachelor is so good. And I love pretty much everything off of Pray for the Wicked.”

Ripley tips his head to the side. “Me, too.”

“Like, I know that the sound is different-”

“But it’s still so good,” he says, and the smile on my face gets bigger.

“Dude! Yes.”

“I like…” Ripley pauses, and I wait, my breath held. “I like that it’s kind of chaotic, but there’s this - logic to all of it, somehow.”

Oh, my god. Longest sentence I think I’ve ever heard him say. I try not to look too excited, wary of what Kasey warned me about, but - I have to grin at him. This feels like friendship progress. He almost looks like he’s going to smile back at me. Like, not quite, but there’s this little quirk to his mouth.

“My favorite song from Pray for the Wicked is probably Dancing’s Not A Crime,” I tell him.

“Hmm,” he says. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m wrong?” This startles a laugh out of me. “I said it’s my personal favorite.”

“Yeah, but it's still wrong,” Ripley answers, the tiniest smile flickering over his face. “It should be King Of The Clouds.”

“Excuse me!” I laugh again and splash his leg. He leans back, bracing his hands on the edge of the pool, but he’s still smiling. Smiling! “I think I’m allowed to decide my own-”

Raj chooses this moment to come paddling over.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing,” Ripley answers immediately, his expression falling flat again. Raj pauses and glances at me, clearly confused.

“Where did Noah go?” I ask, twisting to find Aiden making his way over to us.

“To prepare,” Raj says, grinning. “Are y’all ready for this? Someone should film it.” Ripley looks like he’s about to reach into his pocket, but Raj taps his knee. “Don’t actually do it. Your phone is going to get soaked when Noah inevitably gets destroyed.”

“What exactly is the plan, here?” Aiden asks warily, coming to a stop at my side.

“Fuck if I know.” Raj shrugs. “But it can only go badly, and I, for one, can’t wait.”

“This is gonna be so stupid,” Aiden mutters. “Who willingly puts duct tape directly on their skin, does he not realize-?”

Ripley cuts him off with a little gasp. He lets out a sharp, ringing laugh, then presses both paint-stained hands over his mouth.

I turn in the water to see the most ridiculous goddamn sight I’ve ever laid eyes on. Raj and Aiden burst into laughter behind me.

“Noah,” I manage, “Oh my fucking god.”

“Oh, yeah, baby,” Noah says, striking a pose by the opposite edge of the pool. He not only has three pool noodles strapped to each foot like a pair of fucking snowshoes, but two along each arm, and three shorter ones twisted around the top of his head. “See it, feel it, take it in, love it. The ones on my feet are for speed. The ones on my arms are for streamlining. The ones on my head are for style.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Aiden wheezes.

“Yep, call me Houdini, because I’m about to make some fucking magic.”

Noah takes a few steps back, and Ripley scrambles to his feet, backing away from the pool, clearly suppressing another laugh. Raj, Aiden, and I press ourselves up against the edge.

“Bro,” Raj says, “You sure you-?”

“Ready?” Noah shouts. He teeters awkwardly on his pool noodles, aiming himself at the deep end.

“Have you done this before?” Aiden calls.

“Some talents you just know you’re born with,” Noah answers, bending into an absurd series of stretches. “I’m gonna make it all the way to the end. First try. Watch this shit.”

He stops, winds up, and charges wildly at the pool.

The noodles on his head fly off and land on the ground with a loud smack. Amazingly, he doesn’t even make it to the water before the noodle-shoes trip him up. He goes flying over them, his arms windmilling in huge circles, and crashes head-first into the pool. His kicking legs fly up into the air. One of the noodle-shoes tears from his foot and zips up ten feet over the water’s surface.

A massive splash explodes over everybody but Ripley.

The water has barely settled before Raj is frantically tearing across the pool towards the crash site, but Noah surfaces, gasping and shaking water out of his long hair.

“Holy fucking-!” Raj shouts, his eyes wide. "Are you alright, man?"

“Oh, shit,” Noah says, panting. The other pool noodle shoe pops up to float in the water behind him. “How far did I get?”

There’s an incredulous silence, and then we’re all howling with laughter. Aiden sags down over my back, pressing his nose into my neck, struggling to breathe, and I’m honestly going to sink, because I can barely hold it together right now.

I turn to look at Ripley and find him almost doubled over, his hands still pressed over his nose, his shoulders shaking, his laughter written all over his face.

Is this dumb enough, Gabby? I think, and laugh until my lungs hurt.