Morning Runs & Secret Lives

Maya's palms always sweat before checking Jordan's Instagram story. It was pathetic, really—she'd been silently watching from the sidelines since seventh grade, basically a professional social media spy at this point.

5:47 AM. Her alarm blared that terrible buzzing sound. Cross country practice didn't start until 7, but Maya had started running early, mostly because the morning quiet felt like a secret she didn't have to share with anyone. That was before the fox started showing up.

Three weeks ago, a fox with one ear folded over began appearing at the old oak tree near mile two. At first, Maya thought she was imagining things. But then it became a thing—she'd slow down, the fox would tilt its head, they'd have this weird moment. It felt kind of spiritual, not that she'd ever tell anyone that. Her friends would literally never let her live it down.

"You're taking those vitamins, right?" Her mom held out the orange bottle at breakfast. "Coach said regionals are huge."

"Yes, Mom." Maya downed them with grape juice. The vitamins were supposed to help with recovery, but mostly they just made her feel like she was doing something proactive, even when her legs felt like lead and Jordan's story from Friday night played on a loop in her head.

Friday night. The party she wasn't invited to. The one where Jordan probably kissed Taylor, because everyone knew Jordan and Taylor were basically dating, even though they hadn't made it official yet. Maya had spent three hours scrolling through people's posts, analyzing every shadow in the background, basically FBI-level stalking.

Tuesday's run changed everything.

The fox was there, as usual. But so was Jordan, sitting at the base of the oak tree, headphones on, knees pulled to their chest.

Maya nearly tripped. Her palms went instantly sweaty. Keep running, her brain screamed. Just keep running and pretend you don't see—

Jordan looked up. Their eyes met.

"You're the morning runner," Jordan said, like they'd noticed before. "Your mom's the vitamin lady, right? She works at that health store?"

Maya stopped. "Yeah."

"Cool." Jordan patted the grass beside them. "I come here sometimes. When everything's too loud."

Maya sat down. The fox watched them from a distance.

"I thought you were at Taylor's party on Friday," she said before she could stop herself.

Jordan shrugged. "Didn't go. Parties make me anxious. I'd rather be alone. But nobody gets that, so I just... don't correct them when they assume I'm there."

The fox flicked its ear.

"Same," Maya said. "With the running thing, I mean. Everyone thinks I'm super intense about training, but really I just like being alone."

"Weirdos," Jordan said, but they were smiling.

Maya's palms didn't feel sweaty anymore. "We should be weirdos together sometime."

"Yeah." Jordan's hand brushed hers, briefly, testing. "We should."