The Bull in the Basement

The cable dangling from the wall looked like a dead snake, and Leo knew his mom was gonna kill him.

"Dude, you broke it?" Marcus stood in the doorway, looking like he'd just caught Leo spray-painting the garage. "We're supposed to watch the game in twenty minutes."

"I didn't break it," Leo lied, which was such bull. He'd been yanking on it trying to get a signal, and now the connector hung loose, exposing wire guts. "It just... fell out."

Marcus raised an eyebrow like he knew exactly what kind of BS that was, but didn't call him on it. That's what Leo liked about Marcus—he knew when to let things slide. Unlike some people.

"Whatever. Just fix it before your sister gets home. She'll tell your mom."

Leo dropped to his knees, stomach doing that thing it always did when he thought about Casey—his sister's best friend, who'd somehow become the center of his entire existence without even trying. She was coming over to study later, and if she caught him messing with the cable again, she'd give him that look. The one that made him feel like a complete dork.

The baseball game was huge—state finals, and Leo's crush was actually gonna be in the same room while it played. If he could get the TV working, maybe he could pretend to care about stats instead of having to make actual conversation.

"Hand me that flashlight," Leo said, reaching for the toolbox Marcus had brought down. The cable connector was stripped, and his hands were sweating. Great. Now he'd look incompetent AND sweaty.

"You know," Marcus said, flipping through channels on his phone like he wasn't even stressed, "you could just tell her you don't care about baseball. That you're only watching it because Jake plays."

Leo's face burned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right." Marcus's voice was dry. "That's why you've been wearing his jersey every Friday for three months?"

Leo was saved from answering by a sound from outside—pounding hooves, yelling. Then: "BASEBALL!" followed by what sounded like a body hitting the side of the house.

They both scrambled up the stairs. Outside, Leo's little brother was racing around the yard on the back of their neighbor's escaped bull—a REAL bull, like, actual livestock—who'd apparently decided that the wooden fence was merely a suggestion.

"GET HIM OFF!" his brother screamed, actually laughing.

The bull stood there, looking mildly offended, while Leo's mom came running out of the house, phone already dialing animal control. "How did this even HAPPEN?"

Leo looked at the chaos, then back at Marcus. They both started cracking up, because what else could you do? The cable was broken, his crush was coming over in ten minutes, and his little brother was currently riding a stolen bull through the petunias.

"So," Marcus said, wiping his eyes. "You still gonna try to fix the TV? Or you gonna admit you're just doing it for Jake?"

Leo sighed. "Both. But first—we gotta save my brother from that bull before he gets himself killed."

"Deal." Marcus grinned. "But after this? You're telling her."

Leo's stomach flip-flopped, but he nodded. Because maybe—just maybe—it was time to stop with the bull. Time to just say what he actually felt for once.

Even if it terrified him more than riding a runaway bull through a suburban backyard.