The headlock heir and his napkin wife

he Headlock

POPPY

sher in a headlock exactly se

eir chaos. We were at the last junior year pep rally of the fall, the Cape Cod Academy gym reeking of burnt popcorn and floor w

a fist at the cheer platform. "TWO FULL

d brain cell that only fired for cheese puffs and his secret situationship with Sloane-whooped so loud the freshm

ry tucked in my uniform skirt pocket, alrea

laun

f a second I thought he might actually pull off the dumb trick he'd practiced face-planting el

like a sack o

d in by the gym doors, navy basketball hoodie soaked, mess

um, and yelled sharp enough to cut glass: "Cool flip, shrimp. Next time

om exp

to play it cool by leaning against a locker. He tripped over a fres

.. two

st

round Asher's neck, yanking him into a headlock so firm Asher's eyes bulged. He noogied the top

E BEING A TOTAL IDIOT! TH

ut protests that came out half-gasp half-y

YOU GOT A HUNDRED? I COPIED YOUR EXACT ANSWERS LAST WEEK AND GOT A D.

kept in my backpack exclusively for this exact moment out of my bag, and was waiting by the bleachers when Jax finally released him, snickering and tapping a tally into his phone. I knew the note well: OFFICIAL JAX

hair, face still bright red. "Dud

il swinging. A lanky senior with a varsity jacket and a bouquet of cheap roses

. "I've liked you since freshman

once, then looked him up and down like he was a mo

since last month than you," she said, deadpan. "Also your

nging an arm over her shoulders-they'd been sneaking around behind the football field for two weeks, a secret only I

e, flopping onto the bleacher so hard the whole row

her since eighth grade while the girl who'd loved him since birth sat two feet away fixing his hair every other day. I popped the Gato

een making my heart do backflips since we were seven and he'd pushed a third grader off the swing s

red more tiny white roses into my diary. Run

nd of hair behind my ear. "Also get your head stuck in

mic on the stage, clearing his throat so loud th

HONOR ROLL ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SEMESTER! YOUR TOP FOUR RANKE

: the quiet kids who sat front row, brought

ses. "FOURTH PLACE, 3.98-OUR ST

le

tled: "NO WAY THAT'S RIGGED. I GOT A D ON

TRA CREDIT ON YOUR SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT BUMPED YOU UP.

aved small, pressing my diary tighter to my hip. I'

02-CHEER CAPTAIN,

the crowd, flipping her ponytai

FECT 4.0 ACROSS EVERY AP CLASS, OUR VARSITY BASKETBALL CAPTAIN, TH

lasted three

eamed so loud th

rand: hide the genius, lean into the silly jock act, so no one looked at him like he was just the heir to Hale Industries,

IMES YOU ASKED ME TO HELP YOU 'STUDY' YOU WERE ALREADY ACING EVER

about his grades for years, of course. I was the only one he let see his report cards, the only one who knew he stayed up till two

s in a pack, Asher still getting clapped on the back by random seniors, Jax still complaining about being sca

Tupperware. A giant teddy bear wearing a tiny basketball

then kicked a letter across the

are like the Atlantic. Mine was stuffed too, mostly shy notes from boys too scared to talk to me out loud, and J

tal, three cakes, eight gift cards, two teddy bears, one cooler o

ions, then slowly turned to Jax, a misc

lamin' hot cheese puffs. The big bags. And we print official rejection certificates. Tiered ones. Platinum Frien

freshman jumped. "DEAL. BUT IF YOU LEAD ANYONE ON I

e a few lines about Asher's smirk later, like I did every night, and press another t

t quiet poetry kid from AP Lit-the one with the curly hair and vintage sweat

. His hand brushed a crumpled white envelope tucked under the container, no stamp

cking it up, a

lder to read it, and m

ale Industries when he ha

s jaw tightened for half a second-just a flicker, the only sign he was scared-then he folded the note small, sho

was wrong. "You're the nice one. Help me practice my rejection

he. I knew that look. The one where he decided he was going to handle something scary alone, no help

cket, wrapping my fingers around m

said. "I

at the note wasn't ju

perfect, silly, chaotic life I

going to get w

f Cha