Running Before the Orange Sky

Marcus hated running, which was unfortunate since track was basically his entire identity now. Not because he loved it — because Maya did.

She'd convinced him to join back in September, back when they were just friends who'd sit on her bed watching her goldfish, Comet, swim in endless circles. "We're like him," she'd say, feeding the fish. "Just going through motions."

Now it was February, everything had changed, and Marcus was literally running in circles around the school track, his beanie pulled low because Maya had said she liked his messy hair and now he couldn't deal with actually showing it.

"You good?" Tyrell asked, effortlessly keeping pace beside him. The new kid. The one who sat with Marcus at lunch now and actually laughed at his jokes.

"Yeah," Marcus lied, which was basically his personality at this point.

The sky was turning this intense orange — like, dramatic sunset orange, the kind that makes everything feel like a movie moment. Maya used to love sunsets. They'd go to the pier and watch them together, before she started dating Josh from the soccer team and stopped waiting for Marcus after practice.

Marcus stopped running. His chest burned.

"Yo, you good?" Tyrell stopped too.

"No," Marcus said, which was weird because he never admitted that. "I think I'm done with track."

Tyrell considered this. "Because you hate it? Or because of Maya?"

Marcus stared at him. "What?"

"Bro, it's obvious." Tyrell sat on the grass. "You're always looking at her. You joined track because she did. You wear that hat 24/7 because she said she liked your hair."

Marcus pulled off his beanie. The cold air hit his ears. "Is it that obvious?"

"To everyone except Maya, probably." Tyrell grinned. "Comet — her goldfish? You went to her house three times last week to 'check on him' while she was at soccer."

Marcus groaned. "I'm pathetic."

"You're a teenager," Tyrell said. "We're all supposed to be pathetic. It's, like, the whole thing." He stood up and offered Marcus a hand. "Come on. Let's go. Track's whack anyway.

Marcus took it.

"Where are we going?"

"Taco Bell," Tyrell said. "My treat. You can tell me about how you're going to win her back, or whatever cringe situationship thing you've got going on."

The orange sky was fading to purple behind them as they walked away from the track, and for the first time in months, Marcus wasn't running anymore.