“Sorry you got stuck with me,” Julian says as he hoists himself into the passenger seat of Theo’s clunky SUV.

“Don’t worry about it, think of it as a thank you for teaching me theatre things,” Theo says with a smile.

He sticks the key into the ignition and the engine roars to life. His radio starts playing a 90s rock radio station way too loud, and he quickly moves to turn down the volume.

“Sorry,” Theo says sheepishly, “I usually play music pretty loud when I drive by myself. I hope you don’t mind the station. You can change it, if you want.”

“No, I don’t mind it,” Julian responds, “my mom plays a lot of rock on the kitchen radio while she cooks. Is this 104.7?”

“Yeah! It’s my favorite radio station.”

“Mine too! My dad says I’m an old man, what with having a favorite radio station in the days of internet and apps,” Julian says with a laugh.

They slip into comfortable silence for a few moments as Theo navigates his way out of the parking lot. Julian points him in the right direction when they reach the school’s front stoplight.

“So… are you not old enough to drive?” Theo asks.

“No, I’m a senior. I have my learner’s permit, but I guess we just haven’t had time for me to go take the driver’s test,” Julian says, “or maybe I’m too nervous to actually take it.”

“I get that. I cried after my test, even though I passed. Just the nerves of finally getting it over with, I think,” Theo responds with a nervous laugh, unsure of why he shared that detail.

“I think I would do that too,” Julian admits. “Some of the girls, they aren’t old enough. Susan and Tina are both sophomores and Tracy’s a junior, but her parents don’t want her driving.”

“That’s weird. My parents were excited I could drive myself places. They wouldn’t have to always be coming to pick me up and drop me off and whatnot,” Theo says as Julian points at the next turn he will have to make.

“Yeah, she gets really worked up about it, it’s pretty funny,” Julian says with a laugh.

“You guys all seem to know each other so well,” Theo remarks.

“I really am surprised how nice they are, considering I just joined them at the beginning of this year,” Julian agrees. “Some of the drama clubs at my other schools were kinda toxic, and the people just weren’t fun to be around.”

“I didn’t know you just moved here,” Theo says, “I had been wondering how I didn’t notice you, since you’re so interesting.”

Before Julian can respond, Theo has pulled into Jimmy’s parking lot. Julian hopes Theo’s statement was more of a compliment than an insult as he hops out of the car to be greeted by the horde of girls.

Theo had driven past Jimmy’s a handful of times, but he had never stopped to eat there or pick up a milkshake. As he walks through the paneled glass doors, he notices the vibrant colors and retro theme that makes him think of the 50s. There’s a counter with round stools and those circular straw holders, vinyl booths with white trim, and checkered floors. Everything is accented with a rim of silver, including the jukebox next to the entrance.

Tracy shouts something out to the hostess before leading the group to a circular booth towards the back of the restaurant, where they all pile in.

“So, we already know what we’re ordering, but do you need suggestions?” Quinn asks.

Theo looks at the menu and notices some fairly eccentric names listed. The milkshake flavors range from classics, like chocolate or cookies and cream, to things like Pomegranate Pucker, Cosmo Brownie, and Fishtank Gravel, whatever that means.

“I’d like something not too dense, if that makes sense. Are there any like that?” Theo asks, and his ears are immediately flooded by overlapping suggestions and descriptions. The girls quiet down when a friendly voice cuts through the chatter.

“Welcome to Jimmy’s! My name is Owen, what can I get you?” A young man with long brown hair, tucked in a manbun, appears wearing an apron and a bow tie, equipped with a notepad.Tracy immediately melts.

“Hi Owen,” she says in a blatantly flirty tone, “we’ll all have our usuals. And Theo, what will you have?”

“I’ll try the uh…” Theo takes one last quick look at the menu, “Cherry Blossom Branch, please? And a plate of fries for the table?”

“Let me make sure I have this order right, m’lady,” Owen says, ignoring Theo while tipping an imaginary hat in Tracy’s direction. “Cherry Blossom Branch and fries for the new guy, Chocolate Chunk for Tina, Lollipop Bubblegum for Quinn, Rootbeer Float for Valerie, Jellybean Roulette for Susan, Christmas Cookie for Elena, Pineapple Freezy for Julian, and finally, The Colors of the Wind for Tracy.”

The group nods. “Coming right up,” Owen says, clicking his pen closed and taking the menus from the group.

“Theo, you’re my new favorite person,” Quinn says. “Fries for the TABLE? That’s some king shit.”

“Can you teach us how to play Paranoia now?” Elena whines.

Theo is reminded of their text conversation from the night prior and his promise of teaching them to play the game.

“So, it goes like this. One person whispers a question into their neighbor’s ear. It can be something like, who would be in the Olympics, or who’s most likely to be a stripper. Anything. Then the other person answers out loud a name of someone at the table. We flip a coin, and if it’s heads, they have to tell us the question, but if it’s tails they don’t,” he explains.

“Oh, and it’s Paranoia because you don’t know if they said you’re gonna be an Olympian or a stripper?” Tina asks in a small voice.

“Exactly. And you just go around the table like that,” Theo says.

“I love it! Can I ask the first question?” Elena asks, her blue eyes shining.

Theo gestures for her to go ahead, and she leans in to whisper in Val’s ear. Val giggles at the question while Theo produces a coin from his wallet.

“I think I’m gonna have to say Quinn,” Val says. Theo flips the coin and it comes up as heads.

“I asked who was most likely to be a lesbian,” Elena snorts.

“Wh- wow. I’m bi you guys, there’s a difference,” Quinn says, her cheeks turning pink as she gives an indignant huff.

“I’m next,” Val says before leaning over to Tina to whisper her question.

“Um… maybe… Susan?” Tina says, which causes Val to guffaw. Theo flips the coin and it comes up as tails.

“Wait! I gotta know now, what was it?” Susan says desperately. “Am I an Olympian or a stripper?”

“You’ll never know, I guess,” Val says while examining her acrylic nails nonchalantly.

Tina whispers a question to Tracy, and she answers Elena. The coin says tails, and Elena realizes she won’t be let in on the secret.

“This game is only fun if I know what the question is,” she huffs.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s fun all the time,” Tracy says with a smug smile. “Now, I ask Theo, right?”

Theo nods and she leans in to whisper him a question.

“I know you’ve only known us for a day but, who do think you’re most compatible with?” she asks, moving back quickly to study his expression and wait for his answer. He quickly leans over to whisper back.

“I can’t answer that, I have a girlfriend,” he says.

“It doesn’t have to be romantic, dude,” she murmurs back. “It can be friendship compatibility too.”

“Oh. Well, in that case, I guess I would say Julian,” Theo says out loud. He flips the coin, and it comes up heads.

“I asked who he thinks he’s most compatible with,” Tracy says before Theo can announce the question himself. The girls giggle and squirm, and Theo blushes so hard it reaches the tips of his ears.

“She said it could be friendship compatibility! I didn’t mean…I- I’m not-”

Before he can finish defending himself, Owen makes a swift entrance and starts setting down glasses followed by the basket of fries. Flirty chatter from Tracy fills up what could have been an awkward moment of quiet, and Julian coughs uncomfortably before chugging his Freezy to avoid conversation. The girls all seem unaffected by Tracy’s question, reaching an unspoken agreement to take a break from their game until the milkshakes are finished. The boys won’t even chance a look in the other’s direction, seemingly being the only two who feel awkward.

But why? Theo can’t help himself from questioning why he was so embarrassed by the implications of him being compatible with Julian. He only said that because he was so easy to talk to in the car ride over, and because he was so nice during rehearsals. Theo isn’t gay, so it shouldn’t matter if he says he’s compatible with a guy, especially if it’s from a friendship standpoint. Which it definitely was. He’s dating Jessica, so why would the mere suggestion of dating Julian make him so jittery? Why had his heartbeat still not slowed down?

On the opposite end of the booth, Julian sat with a hand clasped over his mouth, deep in thought. He knew that Theo was taken, and prior to this he had tried not to think of him in that way. Theo was supposed to remain the tall, pale, dark haired boy that would be in the spring play. Nothing more. But the way Theo had reacted both times there was any mention or suggestion of homosexuality made Julian wonder. Why would a straight guy get so flustered just by learning of another guy’s orientation? Why was he so quick to clarify he was talking about friendship compatibility and nothing more?

The game continues after the fries are gone, but Theo and Julian are still lost in their thoughts. The girls keep the energy up regardless of this, but there is a noticeable change in atmosphere. When it comes time to part ways, Theo makes up an excuse about his mom needing him to run an errand and leaves alone in his SUV after the girls say goodbye. Julian can immediately feel their eyes on him and feel his face heating up, but decides to ignore it. There’s still too much going on in his head, and he knows Elena will bring it up later, so he stays quiet in Val’s car as she drives him home.

He’s still quiet during a late dinner with his parents, in the shower that night, and while he lays in bed trying to sleep. But no matter how quiet he is on the outside, his thoughts could not be louder.