Poolside Lies and Bulldog Confidence

Marcus stood at the edge of the pool, chlorine stinging his nose, heart doing that stupid fluttery thing it always did when Chloe was around. She was laughing at something Tyler said—Tyler, who'd just spent ten minutes bragging about his "sick" backflip skills. Total bull. Marcus had seen Tyler attempt a backflip at gym class last year and faceplant so hard the whole school talked about it for weeks.

"You should've seen it," Tyler was saying, gesturing with a red solo cup. "Literally nailed it. Coach was shook."

Chloe's golden retriever, Buster, trotted over and sat beside Marcus, nudging his hand with that wet, puppyish optimism that made everything feel slightly less catastrophic. Marcus scratched behind the dog's ears, grounding himself.

"Hey Marcus," Chloe called, splashing water in his direction. "You coming in or what? The pool's not gonna bite."

Before he could respond, Tyler announced, "Watch this then" and launched himself toward the diving board.

Buster chose that moment to shake himself vigorously—dog water spraying everywhere, directly onto the diving board. Tyler slipped mid-stride, flailed, and crashed into the pool with such spectacular awkwardness that half the party winced. When he surfaced, sputtering and wiping water from his eyes, the only sound was Buster's happy barking.

"Bro," Marcus heard someone whisper, "that was literally the opposite of a backflip."

Chloe was laughing so hard she had to clutch the pool's edge. Marcus caught her eye and something shifted—she was looking at him now, really seeing him, not Tyler's fabricated highlight reel.

"Your dog has impeccable timing," she said, grinning.

"Buster's got your back," Marcus replied, and for the first time all day, his hands weren't sweating.

"So," Chloe said, swimming closer, "you ever gonna tell me what actually happened at gym class with that backflip? Or are you gonna keep letting Tyler spin stories?"

Marcus realized she'd known all along. She'd been waiting for him to speak up.

"His face was purple," Marcus said. "Like, actual purple. I thought he was gonna pass out."

Chloe laughed, and it sounded like permission. The pool water reflected summer twilight, and Marcus finally jumped in—perfect cannonball, total splash, zero backflip required.