Cody stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring intently into his own eyes. You can do this, they told him repeatedly.
He'd been standing there, psyching himself up, for a while now. The bell for next class was going to ring any minute now. He knew he should get a move on.
But his hands wouldn't ungrip themselves from the sink. He was locked in place, his knees shaking.
A knock came at the door. Gwen. "Cody? Are you okay?"
When he didn't respond, she knocked again. "You can't just hide from this, Cody. I know you're nervous, but trust me, you'll feel better once you ask him."
She was right.
Cody released his grip on the sink and made his way out of the bathroom. Gwen smiled at him. "Ready?"
All he could muster was a nod.
She placed her palm on his back and started guiding him towards the cafeteria. The hallway was thick with other students flowing in and out from every direction. Not one of them spared him a passing glance.
The air in Cody's lungs seized as a familiar figure emerged from the crowd.
Noah dodged past everyone around him and skidded to a stop in front of Cody. It was probably the most physical exercise he'd gotten all week. He was sure panting like it was, too.
"Hey," he said, in between wheezes.
"Hey," Cody responded, eyeing him up and down.
Noah frowned when he caught sight of Gwen with her hand still on Cody's back. "Um, can Cody and I talk in private, please?"
"No worries. Bye Cody." Gwen was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. She waved goodbye as she wandered off and disappeared into the crowd.
Despite being in a busy hallway, Cody suddenly felt like he and Noah were the only two people on Earth.
"So…" Noah began with uncharacteristic uneasiness. Cody went very still, as if the slightest movement would disrupt what he had to say. Noah turned his gaze downwards and rubbed the back of his neck.
The pause seemed to stretch for an eternity.
And then…
"Wanna hang out?" Both blurted out at the same time.
Then the awkward laughter ensued. Cody's entire face practically felt like it'd been set alight. He never wanted the ground to swallow him up like he did at that moment.
"So," Noah said again, still not quite meeting Cody's eyes.
"So," Cody said without thinking.
"Yeah."
"Yeah?"
"Let's hang out." Was that a gulp? "At my place."
"Okay. Yeah… When? Friday?"
"Friday's good." Another pause. "I, uh, gotta go meet the others right now. See you later?"
"Yeah. See ya."
Noah turned and hurried away, only soaring him a single backwards glance. Cody, without even really processing it, committed that image to memory.
He pressed the cool palms of his hands against his beet-red cheeks and sighed.