Spinach Teeth & Sunset Foxes

Leo's breath hitched when Maya laughed at his terrible joke. Not in a bad way — like, actually laughing. His dog Barnaby chose that exact moment to bolt toward the woods behind the playground.

"Barnaby!" Leo groaned, already sweaty from the autumn chill.

"I'll get him," Maya said, taking off.

Leo's brain short-circuited. His first proper hangout with the girl he'd been crushing on for months, and his idiot dog was ruining everything. He chased after them, lungs burning,Varsity jacket flapping.

They found Barnaby frozen, staring down a magnificent red fox at the forest edge. The fox's amber eyes glowed like something ancient and knowing. Maya gasped, pulling out her phone.

"No flash," Leo whispered. "You'll scare it."

She lowered the phone. "Since when are you the expert on foxes?"

"Since my dog's an idiot," he said, then immediately regretted it.

But Maya smiled. "He's adorable."

The fox vanished like smoke. Barnaby lost interest and started chewing on a discarded orange juice carton.

"Gross," Maya wrinkled her nose. "Hey, you got something — " She pointed at her own front teeth.

Leo's stomach dropped. He'd forced himself to eat that stupid spinach smoothie his mom made for "brain power" before leaving. He swiped his tongue over his teeth. Nothing.

"It's gone now," she said. "But yeah, I saw the whole leaf situation earlier."

Leo wanted the earth to swallow him whole. He'd been walking around with spinach in his teeth all afternoon.

"I was trying to be cool and not say anything," Maya added. "Because that's what a decent human does."

He looked up, expecting mockery. Instead, she was grinning.

"You're blushing so hard right now."

"Shut up."

"Make me." She stepped closer. The sunset burned orange across her face, making everything feel possible and terrifying at once.

"Your dog's eating trash again," she said, but her voice was softer.

"He's a dog. That's his job."

"Yeah, well," Maya's fingers brushed his. "You're not doing so bad yourself."

Barnaby barked at nothing, tail wagging like he'd just saved the world. Maybe he had.