Everything That Glitters

The party reeked of cheap body spray and desperation. I'd spent two hours on my makeup, trying to look like I belonged in Maya's giant house with its perfect furniture and parents who didn't scream at each other over bills. My orange cat, Pumpkin, had given me judgmental eyes before I left, like she knew I was about to humiliate myself.

"You good?" Maya asked, handing me a red solo cup. "You look... intense."

"I'm good," I lied, smoothing my dress. My phone buzzed in my pocket—probably my mom asking if I'd fed her cat before coming over. "Just taking it all in."

That's when I saw him. Fox, everyone called him, because of his sharp features and the way he moved through crowds like he owned them. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking bored and beautiful and entirely out of my league. My stomach did that embarrassing flutter it always did when he was around.

I should mention that my name's not actually Goldfish. That was just the nickname Fox's friend group had given me freshman year after I'd literally forgotten my own name during intro presentations. Memory of a goldfish, get it? Ha ha, hilarious.

"Hey, Goldfish," Fox said, suddenly in front of me. His eyes were weirdly intent. "You got something..." He gestured at his teeth.

My heart stopped. I'd been trying to eat healthy since my parents got divorced—lots of salads and spinach and pretending I was totally fine with everything changing—and apparently I'd failed.

"Spinach," I whispered, horrified. "I have spinach in my teeth, don't I?"

"Yeah." He didn't laugh though. Just handed me a napkin. "It happens."

"This is so embarrassing," I said, scrubbing at my teeth. "I'm literally never leaving this house again."

"You're fine," Fox said, and something in his voice made me actually look at him. Really look. "Nobody's watching. And even if they were, who cares? It's just spinach."

"Easy for you to say," I muttered. "You're not the one with—"

"With what?" He raised an eyebrow. "A actual personality? Opinions? The courage to show up to things even when you feel like you don't belong?"

I stared at him. "What?"

"I've seen you in English class," he said, almost quietly. "You're smart. You say things that actually matter. That's rare here." He gestured around at the party. "Most of us are just faking it."

"Even you?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.

He smiled, and it was different from his usual smirk. More real. "Especially me."

My phone buzzed again. I ignored it.

"You wanna get out of here?" Fox asked. "There's this taco truck..."

"Like, right now?"

"Unless you have important spinach business to attend to."

I laughed, and it felt real. "Let me just text Maya."

As we walked out, Pumpkin's judgmental face popped into my head. Maybe she'd known tonight would be different. Maybe cats were smarter than we gave them credit for.

"So," Fox said as we stepped into the cool night air. "Your name's not actually Goldfish, is it?"

"No," I said. "It's Chloe."

"Nice to meet you, Chloe." He grinned. "I'm Liam."

"But everyone calls you Fox."

"Yeah, well." He shrugged. "Sometimes nicknames stick even when they're dumb. Doesn't mean they define you."

I thought about that. About how I'd been letting the Goldfish thing bother me for two years. About how much energy I'd spent worrying about fitting in instead of just... being.

"Yeah," I said. "I think I'm starting to get that."