Beyond the Chain Link

I sat on the concrete ledge behind the pool clubhouse, legs pulled up, baseball cap pulled low. From here, through the gaps in the chain-link fence, I could see everything without being seen.

Spying on Taylor's party wasn't pathetic. It was strategic intelligence gathering.

The popular crew was in the deep end, their synchronized swimming looking like something from a music video. Taylor surfaced, water dripping from her perfect hair. Even from thirty feet away, she glowed.

"Hey."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. A guy my age stood there, holding an orange slice like it was the most normal thing in the world. Tank top, cutoffs, zero trace of judging me.

"You're Mason, right? From English?"

I nodded, pulling my hat brim lower. "Yeah."

"Cool." He sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touched. "I'm Leo. Taylor's cousin. I'm hiding too."

"You're... hiding from your own cousin's party?"

"Bro, have you met Taylor?" Leo laughed, feeding the orange slice to the golden retriever that had appeared beside us. The dog—Buster, apparently—had escaped the party too. "She's been planning this since May. I'm just here for the free food."

We sat there for twenty minutes while Buster napped between us. Leo didn't ask why I wasn't inside. He didn't ask why I'd been watching through the fence like some weirdo. He just talked about video games and how much Taylor's playlist sucked.

"You coming in?" Leo asked eventually, standing up and stretching. "Taylor ordered three pizzas and I can't eat them all myself. Plus, Buster needs water."

I looked at the pool. At Taylor and her friends, at the laughter echoing across the water. At the fence separating me from them.

Then I looked at Leo, hand extended, waiting. And at Buster, wagging his tail like he'd already decided I was part of the pack.

"Yeah," I said, taking his hand. "I'm coming."

The fence had always been low enough to climb. I just hadn't let myself.