Kay walked down to lunch with a protein bar and bag of goldfish in hand and sat at the table that they always sat at. The one right next to the pole by the pile of trashcans. She took out one of her earbuds and looked around. She sighed as she realized how loud the rim room was. In fact, it almost disgusted her. She put the earbud back in and fell deep into her music. It was Harry Potter as usual. She knew Kyle would totally roast her for it later, but right now, she didn't care. Right now, she just needed to block it all out. She let her head fall to the table and put her hands underneath her head. She closed her eyes.

She was shaken back to reality by strong hands, with long, pointy fingernails. She could feel them digging into her back.

"Hey," she said looking up.

"Yo," he said back. And then he smiled at her. Kay loved it when he smiled at her. It was such a cute smile. So precious and special.

Her gaze lingered on him for a few more seconds even though he was not looking anymore. "What?" he asked. But Kay just shook her head and smiled before throwing the goldfish bag onto the table.

She adjusted herself into a comfortable position in her seat. For her, a comfortable position consisted of having her legs crossed in the chair and squishing herself down as far as she could. She took the wrapper off of her protein bar and started eating.

Overtime, more and more people started to get to the table until eventually it was full. This was the fun part for Kay. She finally removed the earbuds from her ears and placed them in her pocket. Then she watched.

" whats up Alyx?" Kyle asked another boy at the table. Alyx just looked at him and gave him a laugh. Kyle smiled before reaching in the goldfish bag and chucking a goldfish at him. "Want one?" he asked obviously too late.

"No, I'm good." Alyx said. Kyle went back to eating but it was obvious, as always, that he was searching for attention.

Kay ate the last bite of her protein bar and swallowed with one big gulp. Her eyes filled with tears as the anxiety she got from eating in front of other people filled her system. She swallowed her tears as fast as she could and tapped Kyle on the shoulder. He turned to look at her. She pointed at her empty wrapper.

"I finished my lunch," she said proudly.

"Good job," he said. "But can you even call that a lunch? It is more like a snack?"

"Well what else am I supposed to eat?"

"I don't know. Maybe... a sandwich?" he said as though that were the most obvious answer in the world.

"I can't eat bread. Remember dumbass?" Kay shouted as she got up. She walked the few feet to the trash can and threw out her wrapper before landing back in her chair with a plop.

"Sounds like a you problem." Kay rolled her eyes. "But can you not eat bread or are you just picky?"

"I can't eat bread. It makes me sick."

"Sounds like a you problem," Kyle repeated. Kay decided to let the conversation die there. She logged onto her phone and did the things she did every time she opened her phone out of habit. First, she opened her email, but there were no new messages. Second, she clicked on iMessage to see if Kyle had read her message yet. He had not. Then, she checked the work schedule. Nothing had changed as expected. Finally, she opened the photos app and made a quick scroll through her pictures.

She was just about to turn off her phone when she felt it wrenched from her grasp. "Hey!" she shouted. She looked up to see Kyle holding her phone with glee.

"Ugh. What are you doing?"

"Checking out your photos." Lovely, Kay thought to herself. Then she remembered. She suddenly reached over and grabbed at her phone.

"What?" he asked, not letting go. Kay held on tight as they yanked and pulled, fighting for the phone. She felt his sharp nails starting to dig into her arms.

"Let... go," she grunted. She finally managed to turn it off. "Ha ha now all the fun is gone," she announced.

"What even? I was just going through your photos."

"I know," Kay put all her emphasis on the second word. Then she logged in and started scrolling. There they were, the message screen shots. She quickly started deleting them.

"What is going on over there?" she heard Kyle ask.

"Nothing," She said in reply. After about three more minutes of scrolling and deleting she was all good. "Done," she said, and slid her phone back over to him.

"Nah I'm good now." Suddenly he pulled his phone. Sure enough, Kay's messages were sitting there on the screen waiting for him to read. She rolled her eyes.

He plugged in his earbuds. "Well," Kay thought, "Thats the end of that." But it wasn't.

He put one earbud in his own ear and held the other out to Kay. He gave her a look that seemed to be a combination of "well? Are you gonna take it?" and "cmon you know you want to." So she reached out and grabbed one placing it gently in her ear.

Music the likes of which she had never heard before streamed into her head. It was loud. It was raw and it was different. It was—

"Sorry..." Kyle said as a flow of colorful lyrics occurred. "I'll change the song." Kay just laughed. She did not mind all that much.

Over the course of that lunch she met a Kyle she had never met before. There was something she liked about him so much as he sat there, sharing not only an earbud, but his world with her. He started singing too. Something Kay had definitely never heard him do. He definitely was not a good singer. She was not even sure he was singing notes. It might have just been talk singing. But it was perfect to her. The love in his eyes as he looked at her and sang. She knew that look. He was happy. Truly happy. And that knowledge brought tears to her eyes. She did not let them fall though.

"Oh, I've got a good one," he said suddenly, breaking, but not ruining the moment. Everything went quiet for a second inside the earbuds and Kay's brain was filled with the roar and talk of the lunchroom. But just as quickly that was replaced by the opening notes to a song she knew very well. Unlike all his other music, this was a sing she often heard around her own home. "It's from Mario," he said sheepishly.

"I know," Kay said excitedly. "I know this one?"

"You do?" he asked hopefully. Kay nodded vigorously. And to prove herself she started to sing. Kyle's eyes lit up and he joined her in song. Quietly.

Kay grabbed his hand. Kyle continued to look straight ahead, but returned the grip and gave her a small squeeze. In that moment, Kay finally figured it out. She was in love.

The bell rang quite suddenly causing both Kay and Kyle to jump a little. They quickly dropped hands and stood up. Kyle put his earbuds back in his pocket with his phone. Together they walked out of the lunch room.

"Don't you go the other way?" Kyle asked when they got to the door.

"Maybe."

"Ok..." The two walked in silence for quite a while.

Suddenly Kay grabbed Kyle by the shoulder of his shirt. "C'mere you," she said dragging him into her arms and forcing him into a hug. She rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. She held on for dear life. She inhaled his scent and let it consume her, but she did not let go.

"Damn," Kyle whistled. "This is one long ass hug."

"Yup."

"You're gonna be late for class."

"Yup." There was a long silence. For a second, Kyle returned the hug. Then his arms retreated and he patted her softly on the head. "Do you want me to go?" she whispered.

"No," he whispered back. So she held on a little longer.

Finally, Kay backed up a little. With her arms still wrapped around his neck, she stared longingly into his eyes. She let her eyes make a quick dip to his lips. Kyle followed her gaze. Without warning, without even knowing what she was doing, Kay pushed herself up on her toes and met his soft cheek with her lips. They brushed for only a second and then she let go. And ran. She ran as fast as she could, only making it to class with seconds to spare.

As she sat down she felt her phone go off. It was a text from Kyle. It read:

Kyle: Was that a kiss?

Kay sunk down into her chair as low as she could. The adrenaline was still pumping hard and strong in her body. What was she supposed to say?

Kay: Yes

Kyle: Honestly did not expect that

Kay: I'm sorry

Kyle: Don't be

Kay felt all the air leave her body in one massive exhale. Was her face turning red? Was that why it felt so hot in here? She was sure she had to be blushing.

What did she say now? She had an idea but... no.... She couldn't say it. It was too much for the day. She inhaled deeply, closed her eyes and let her fingers take over.

Kay: What if I did it again?

Kyle: I wouldn't mind honestly

Kay breathed again. Now she was smiling. But she was still more than a little mortified at what she had done. Then came the next text.

Kyle: Do you like me or something? I honestly can't tell

Kay felt like the whole world had just come crashing down. It was just a simple question. She could say no like she should, then it'd all be over. She started typing and backspacing. Eventually she had what she wanted. A three letter word that had the potential to change everything.

Kay: Yes