Poolside Protocol

Marcus stood by the chain-link fence, feeling like a total fraud. Chloe's pool party raged behind him—music thumping, kids laughing, the occasional splash as someone cannonballed into the water. He wasn't invited. Obviously. But when he'd walked his neighbor's golden retriever, Buster, past the house earlier, he'd seen something he couldn't unsee. Now he was back, playing amateur spy, because what else was he supposed to do when the most popular girl in tenth grade might be in trouble?

Buster panted happily beside him, totally unaware that Marcus was currently committing social suicide by even being here. The dog's leash was wrapped around Marcus's wrist three times—secure, because Buster had a talent for escape artistry that Marcus respected.

"Buster!" a voice called out.

Marcus froze. That was Chloe's voice.

He turned to see her standing at the pool's edge, dripping wet in a denim cutoff set that looked effortless and expensive. Her eyes went wide when she spotted him. "Marcus? What are you—" She broke off when Buster saw her and practically yanked Marcus's arm out of its socket dragging him toward the gate.

"I was just, uh, walking Buster," Marcus said, face burning. "And I thought I heard—"

"You saw," Chloe said quietly, coming closer. Behind her, the party continued like nothing was wrong. Someone was doing swimming laps in the deep end, rhythmic splashes cutting through the bass-heavy music. "Earlier. When you walked by. You saw me crying."

Marcus nodded, unable to lie. "Is everything okay?"

Chloe let out this dry laugh. "My parents are getting divorced. I found out this morning, and then my mom was like, 'just have your party, everything's fine,' and now everyone's here expecting me to be the hostess with the mostest, and I honestly think I might throw up in the pool."

"That sucks," Marcus said, because what else could you say?

Buster chose that moment to shake his whole body, spraying pond water all over both of them. Chloe shrieked, then started laughing—really laughing, not fake Instagram-story laughing. And Marcus, despite being the designated loser who crashed a pool party with a dog he was technically petsitting, found himself laughing too.

"You know what," Chloe said, wiping dog water from her face, "screw it. Come inside. But you're going in the pool. Clothes and all."

"What?"

"Buster too," she said, already heading toward the gate. "Consider it your spy initiation fee. You wanted to know what was wrong? Welcome to the inner circle. Spoiler alert: it's just a bunch of scared people pretending they've got it figured out."

Marcus looked at Buster, who was already pulling him toward the gate like he owned the place. Whatever. If he was going to crash the party and ruin his reputation, he might as well commit. Besides, Chloe had smiled at him. Really smiled.

"Fine," he said. "But I'm not responsible for Buster shedding in your filter."

"Deal," Chloe called back, and for the first time all day, Marcus didn't feel like an outsider watching from the fence. He felt like someone who'd just been pulled into something real.