Poolside Physics

The chlorine stung my nose as I hovered at the edge of Maya's birthday party. Everyone else was already in the pool, shrieking and splashing like they'd known each other forever, while I stood there in my cover-up, gripping my phone like a lifeline.

That's when I saw him: Liam, the baseball pitcher from third period, sitting alone on a lounge chair. He was sketching something in a notebook, completely ignoring the chaos around him. I'd been crushing on him since spring training, when I watched him strike out three batters in a row.

"You gonna join us or what?" Maya yelled, doing a cannonball that soaked half the party.

I froze. Social situations felt like chemistry equations I couldn't balance—too many variables, not enough time to think.

Liam looked up, caught my eye, and actually smiled. "Hey, aren't you in AP Bio? I saw you working on that lab report last week."

"Yeah, I'm definitely overthinking it," I admitted, surprised by how easy it was to talk to him.

"My mom says I'm so bull-headed about school that I miss everything else." He closed his notebook. "Wanna see what I'm drawing? It's stupid, but..."

It was a cat. A incredibly detailed cat, mid-pounce, with fur so realistic I almost expected it to move.

"That's amazing," I said honestly.

"Thanks. It's my sister's cat. She's always chasing after this baseball I leave in the yard." He shrugged. "Kinda like how I've been trying to work up the courage to ask if you wanted to hang out sometime."

My heart did this weird little flutter thing.

"I mean," he added quickly, "unless that's weird. I'm terrible at this stuff. I should probably take a vitamin for social skills or something."

I laughed, actually laughed, and something in my chest unclenched. Maybe I didn't have to be the person who stood on the edges. Maybe I could dive in.

"I'd love that," I said. "But first..." I pulled off my cover-up and jumped into the pool, finally part of the noise and the mess and the moment.