Lucy sat on the edge of his bed, staring at her sneakers on the floor.

They mocked her.

She was dressed except for them and as soon as she laced them up, she'd have to leave his bedroom. And as soon as she left the bedroom, she'd have to walk out to the living room where they were waiting. It'd be like a walk of shame, except not, because nothing happened.

It was merely a walk of embarrassment.

How lame was that? Still in your clothes from the day before, but with none of the fun, sexy times of a walk of shame.

She gripped the edge of the bed, closed her eyes and sighed.

Just put on the shoes. Just do it.

(This probably wasn't what Nike had in mind.)

Before she could move, the door opened. Wyatt nervously peeked in.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Yep. Just..." she reached for her shoes, "putting my shoes on. Then I'm good to go."


A few years later, Rufus would tell the story of how they happened upon what Jiya had suspected for a while. Both Lucy and Wyatt would deny it happened that early on, but their friends remained skeptical.

Apparently, after Lucy and Wyatt had fallen back asleep in the early morning light, Rufus had texted them both to see if they wanted to grab some breakfast and hang out for a bit. When neither Lucy nor Wyatt had answered the many texts, phone calls, or even emails, Rufus called Jiya and they agreed to make sure their friends were okay.

Jiya insisted everything was probably fine.

"Maybe their phones died."

"Both of them? At the same time?"

He was sure Rittenhouse had done something to them and was adamant they investigate. He and Jiya were both curious as they pulled up to Wyatt's apartment and saw Lucy's car in the parking lot. Rufus immediately feared the worst. Jiya was a bit more optimistic. She'd later have good reason to rub it in Rufus's face.

Lucy laughed every time he told that story.


It was later in the day when Lucy and Wyatt stood awkwardly with Rufus and Jiya outside a diner, the sun setting in the distance behind them. Jiya and Rufus held hands like it was something they'd always done, a natural outward affirmation of inward affection. It did not escape Lucy's notice.

She quickly glanced down at Wyatt's hand. Her fingers involuntarily twitched. He caught her looking and couldn't help but steal a glance at her hand, too. They gave a polite smile to each other, knowing they'd been caught but too nervous to do anything else.

Rufus interrupted their thoughts.

"So, this was great and not awkward at all." Jiya elbowed him. "What? I mean, it's a little weird, right? I mean, you two are...are...?"

Wyatt jumped in.

"You got something to say, Rufus?"

Rufus shrugged and smirked.

"I mean, come on, I got eyes, you sly dog."

Jiya cocked her head in agreement but looked slightly more compassionate when she saw Lucy cross her arms and sigh.

Wyatt rolled his eyes and huffed.

"We aren't…not anything."

Lucy's eyebrows shot up. Well, that was confusing, grammatically incorrect, and slightly…hurtful?

Rufus scoffed and pointed an accusing finger at Wyatt.

"That's a double negative, my friend. And you know what they say about those."

They weren't touching but she felt him tense beside her.

Defensive Wyatt was about to bust through.

He was slightly exasperated. And waving his arms around more than usual as he spoke.

"We're a team. I'm Wyatt, she's Lucy, you're Rufus."

Lucy tried to hide the hurt. It was unintentional, she was sure, but she couldn't help the sudden feeling of regret, or, at the very least, the feeling she did something wrong. It was a crazy feeling, she knew, but also one she couldn't help.

So much for hope for the hopeless.

She gave a half-hearted smile to Rufus and Jiya before looking down.

Rufus furrowed his brow.

"Uh, yeah, okay. Lucy?"

She looked up, gave them a contrite smile, and shrugged a shoulder.

What could she possibly say?

"We're a team."

And they were. But, maybe not in the way she'd hoped.

At least, not yet.