Vise Versa

The morning after the pool party was muted.

No hangover. Just emotional exhaustion. Like their hearts had been wrung out and left to dry somewhere they couldn't reach.

Skie sat cross-legged on her bed, a half-finished bowl of cereal in her lap. Dylan lay beside her, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars she'd stuck to her ceiling back in freshman year. Neither of them had spoken much when they got home last night — just changed into pajamas and collapsed in silence.

Now, the sunlight creeping through the cottons felt almost too honest.

"So," Dylan said, voice still rough with sleep. "Are you gonna talk about it?"

Skie poked at her soggy cereal. "About what?"

"You know what."

She sighed. "I thought I'd be mad. Or like, sick to my stomach. But I wasn't. I just… froze. Like, seeing Conner with someone else didn't hurt the way I thought it would. It just—" she paused. "—made something heavy move in me. Like a shift I didn't know I needed."

Dylan turned to face her. "That sounds like jealousy, babe."

Skie rolled her eyes. " Jealousy? Don't start."

"No, I'm serious. You sure you're not in love with him?"

She looked at him, her expression unreadable. "I don't know what I'm in. I'm confused."

"You're in denial," he muttered.

Skie snorted. "That's rich coming from someone who cried through half a party."

Dylan froze.

Skie blinked. "Wait… why were you crying?"

He sat up slightly, a defensive tension crawling into his shoulders. "It's nothing."

"Dylan."

He hesitated.

She narrowed her eyes. "You like someone."

He gave a short laugh that sounded more like defeat. "Maybe."

"Who?"

He chewed his lip, looked away. "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters."

He looked at her then — eyes glassy, throat tight. He told a lie to cover the truth, but it wasn't all lie he told himself "It's someone from the the football team"

Silence.

Skie blinked once. Twice.

"Okay? Do I know them?" she asked .

He nodded.

Skie's attention now focused on him"So you ran out crying. Why?"

"I saw him kissing Ruby. Behind the shed. I was gonna tell him how I felt — finally — but…"

Skie exhaled sharply. "You should have. It's literally the first time I've seen someone else, who's not Conner make you cry that hard Dylan since we were kids."

"You're not weirded out?"

"No," she said quietly. "I'm not. Why should I am be?

Dylan swallowed as Skie stopped mid-way of her speech.

It's not my ex, right?" She said all serious but jokingly.

"God forbid. Hell No!."

They both laughed.

She reached over and touched his hand gently. "We're both in the wreckage, huh?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "But at least we're not alone in it."

Later That Day — Conner

Skie found him by the bleachers after practice. He was pulling on his hoodie, hair still wet from a post-run rinse, when he looked up and saw her.

For a second, it felt like time rewound.

To summer bike rides. Popsicles. Dumb dares.

To when everything was easy.

She stepped forward. "Hey."

He froze. "Hey."

A beat.

"Can we talk?"

He looked unsure. "I don't know if I—"

"I'm not here to fight," she said, voice softer now. "Just… to say I'm sorry."

He blinked.

"I messed up," she continued. "I pushed you away, even when you tried. I made it seem like you didn't matter when you were the person who always did."

Conner stared at her, breath catching slightly.

She stepped closer. "I never hated you. I was just scared. Scared of how much I needed you. And I guess I thought if I pretended not to, it wouldn't hurt so much when things changed."

He looked away. "I avoided you… not because I was mad. But because if I saw you again, I'd beg you to take me back. And I didn't want to be that guy."

Her eyes watered. "You really still—?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. I don't think I still love you." He swallowed. but said in his mind "I think I never stopped."

They paused a little before his said again "Can we still be friends?"

She stepped forward and pulled him into a hug.

It wasn't romantic. It wasn't desperate.

It was the kind of hug that says thank you for still being you — even after everything.

He held her back just as tight.

Then he pulled away. "I'm, um… seeing someone."

Skie's heart jumped. "Oh."

"She's from Eastlake. Alyah."

"The girl from the party?"

He nodded. "It's going… okay. I guess."

"You love her?"

He smiled, a little sad. "She's easy to be around. Doesn't know the version of me you do."

Skie nodded. "That makes sense."

Conner studied her. "Are you seeing anyone?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Just trying to figure out who I am when I'm not… hurting people I love."

He looked down. "We were never perfect, Skie. But we were us."

"I miss us," she whispered.

"Me too."

And they left it at that.

Aaron & Dylan — Later That Night

Dylan was in the backyard alone, sketching patterns in the grass with a stick when Aaron found him.

"Hey," Aaron said, offering him a bottled soda.

"You disappeared last night."

Dylan took it. "Yeah. Wasn't feeling the vibe."

Aaron sat beside him. "I didn't know you were friends with Ruby."

Dylan stiffened. "Yeah, kind of."

Aaron grinned. "She kissed me."

"I saw."

"Oh." Aaron blinked. "Right. You were there."

A pause.

"I think I really like her," Aaron said, sounding surprised even at himself. "Like… she's so different from anyone I've ever dated. Chill, but still focused. Tough, but not cold."

Dylan nodded, heart twisting and curling in heartbreak.

He couldn't breath.

Forced smile.

"She asked me to hang out again," Aaron continued. "I was thinking of actually asking her out. Maybe do it right this time. You got any advice?"

Dylan looked up.

Straight into the eyes of the boy he found himself in love with longing for another.

Asking him for dating advice… about someone else.

And even though it cracked every inch of him, Dylan kept on smiling.

"Be honest," he said quietly. "Make her feel seen. Don't lead with charm — lead with truth. She'll respect that."

Aaron's smile lit up his face. "You're the best, man. Seriously."

Dylan took a sip of his soda to swallow the burn.

"I try," he said.

Aaron threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Don't ever change."

As he kisses his cheeks.

It took Dylan unaware, as the burn in his chest grew hotter.

And Dylan thought:

If only you knew how much I already have.

-------

Skie stood in her room later that night, alone, staring at a picture of her, Dylan, and Conner from middle school.

Innocent smiles. No walls. No fear.

And now?

Now they were older. Not quite broken. But not whole either.

She picked up her phone and texted Dylan.

SKIE: "Thanks for being there. For real."

He replied within seconds.

DYLAN: "Always."

And for now… that was enough.