Page 36 of One True Loves

“First, just as a refresher, the very foundation of our budding friendship is that we assume the best of intentions. We both agreed to uphold this.”

“Yeah, are we going to have to review that fifty million times every conversation? Because that’s going to get tired.”

“I just want to make sure we’re on the same page here. That you’re not going to, you know, storm out or slap me or something.”

“Boy, what type of papers you got there? Because I can’t be promising to ‘assume the best’”—I hold up quotation marks—“if you’re about to show me some plan to blow up the waterslides, or, like... porn.”

“No! No, no, no!” he shouts, his cheeks flaming. “It’s not that. I would never show you porn. Never!”

“Uh, okay.” I can feel my neck burning too. “So then what is it?”

“God, I’m making this so much worse.” His fingers tangle in his hair. “It’s just that, I was thinking about what you were saying. About your parents wanting you to figure out your major. Soon. By the end of this trip. And so, I went to the business center last night, and... you know, printed out these questionnaires. My guidance counselor used them, I remembered, when we did group sessions sophomore and junior year.”

“Okay...” I swallow down my first reaction, which isannoyance. Because, like, why is he trying to get involved and insert himself in this decision I have to make? Does he think he’s some expert in getting your life together at seventeen? I mean, yeah, he probably is. But still.

Assume the best. Assume the best. That’s what I agreed to. So... that would be... lord, this is fucking hard.That would bethat he actually wants to help me? Without judgment? HIGHLY unlikely, but I’ll go with it. For now.

“Why would you do that?” I conjure up all of my non-bitchiness to make sure the words aren’t accusatory but neutral.

“Yeah, I’m sorry if this is overstepping. I’m not trying to do thatat all,” he says. “I was just thinking about you, and it’s a really hard decision, you know? Especially with such a quick timeline. I wanted to help if I could. You don’t have to look at them if you don’t want to.”

He starts to put the papers back on the table, but I snatch them out of his hands. I glance at some of the titles. “What Should You Major In?” “The Comprehensive Quiz.” The stack of papers is thick. Printing these probably wasn’t cheap.

“But like... I guess what I’m wondering is, what do you expect in return?” I can’t totally forget how we met, the stupid fake-dating thing he tried to get me to go along with, like we were in some Netflix movie. Is this some ploy to get me to help him with that?

“It doesn’t need to be mutually beneficial,” he says, and I search his brown eyes for something calculating, false, but Ican’t find it. “I can help you without needing something back. That’s what friends do.”

Is it? I’m always falling over myself to help my friends, but do they do the same for me? Without expecting something in return? I don’t know. And how does he say friends like that? So it makes my whole body warm up and my chest feel like it’s a shaken-up Coke bottle waiting to explode. I’ve definitely never felt that way with Tessa or Theo.

“Well, thank you.” I look around the room, anywhere but his searching stare, his stupid lips, and catch sight of something else falling out of his backpack: a couple bags of chips and some sort of egg.

“Are those for me too?” I ask, pointing at them.

“Nope. Definitely not.”

“But I thought we were friends?”

“Yeah, but we’re not share-my-snack-stash friends yet.” I fix him with my best glare, and he laughs. “Kidding, kidding! You can have some... I guess.”

I grab one of the bags of chips and look at the label. Most of it is in Italian, but I can understand the picture. “Ketchup? You’re out here hoarding ketchup chips?”

“It’s not hoarding. I’m gonna eat them!” I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “They’re probably notthatbad. And it’s just something I like to do when we travel. Find all the different, interesting snacks and try them. I don’t know. It’s fun.” He shrugs. “That’s what I went into that store for yesterday, and I just got lucky that they had the Sea-Bands too. And, oh, lookat this.” His eyes light up as he picks up the egg thing. “It’s a Kinder egg. These areillegalback home.”

“Oh my god. No!” I make my eyes go wide, imitating him, but I can only keep it going for a second before my laughter takes over. It is kind of... charming how excited he’s getting over some snacks. “And okay, wow—so your corner store trip wasn’t purely altruistic? It was really for illicit chocolate and ketchup chips? So—” I gasp. “You’re not actually perfect!”

“I’m far from perfect.”

“Oh yeah? Well, tell my parents that. ’Cause you were talking about your volunteer work and your freshman year internship last night at dinner, and they were side-eyeing merealhard.”

“No, they were not.”

“When’s your birthday? Where were you born? I was joking yesterday because your mom is the coolest, but maybe we reallywereswitched at birth and my parents can get the perfect child they need. Finally. To complete their perfect trinity.”

“September eighth.” He raises a finger. “But you know, there’s also the whole half Korean thing....”

“Damnit. June twenty-second.” I suck my teeth and snap my fingers. “And I reeeeeeally wanted to be able to raid your mom’s closet.”

“But wait,” he says. His eyebrows press together, and I immediately regret this turn of the conversation. “That’s in... two days? I remember your mom mentioning it at dinner now. What are we doing to celebrate?”

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