The Water Between Us

Maya stared at her phone screen in the dark of her bedroom, the blue light illuminating her face as she scrolled throughyet another Instagram profile. She'd become a professional at this—digital spying, basically. Her fingers hovered over Kai's latest post: him and Lucas at the community pool, laughing, water droplets glistening on their skin. The caption read "Summer doesn't wait for anyone."

"You're doing it again, aren't you?" Jordan's voice cut through the silence. Maya jumped, nearly dropping her phone. Her best friend stood in her doorway, arms crossed, that I-know-everything expression she'd perfected over seven years of friendship.

"I'm not spying," Maya lied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just... staying informed."

"Girl, you've been stalking his profile since June. That's not staying informed, that's obsession." Jordan flopped onto Maya's bed, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the nightstand. "You need to talk to him. Or move on. But this in-between thing? It's drowning you."

Maya wanted to argue, but she couldn't. Because Jordan was right, and that was the worst part. Since eighth grade graduation, when everything between her and Kai had shifted from comfortable friendship to awkward distance, she'd been stuck in this limbo. Watching from afar. Too scared to bridge the gap.

The next morning found her at the community pool, heart pounding like it would burst from her chest. Kai was there, practicing laps alone. The water rippled around him as he surfaced, shaking droplets from his dark hair. He hadn't seen her yet.

She could leave. No one would know. But Jordan's words echoed in her head: *It's drowning you.*

"Kai!" she called out, her voice echoing across the empty pool deck.

He froze, then treaded water, blinking against the sunlight. "Maya?"

She walked to the edge, sitting so her legs dangled in the cool water. "We need to talk."

Kai swam closer, resting his arms on the pool edge. The water dripping from his lashes made him look younger somehow, less guarded. "About what?"

"About us. About why we haven't spoken since graduation. About why you've been posting all these pictures but never reply to my texts." The words tumbled out, faster than she could think.

Kai was quiet for a moment. Then he ducked underwater, surfacing with a splash that sprayed Maya's jeans. "I thought you were avoiding me," he said finally. "You stopped posting. You stopped hanging out. I figured you'd moved on to cooler friends."

"What?" Maya laughed. "I thought you'd moved on! You kept posting with Lucas and everyone else, but never me. It felt like you were... I don't know, leaving me behind."

"I was trying to make it look like I was having fun," Kai admitted. "While my best friend pretended I didn't exist."

They stared at each other for what felt like forever, the truth hanging between them like something fragile and precious.

"We're both idiots," Maya said, and Kai laughed—that real laugh she'd missed for months.

"Want to come in? The water's perfect."

Maya didn't think about it. She kicked off her sandals and slid into the pool, fully clothed, the cool water shocking her skin. Kai swam beside her, and suddenly everything felt easier. All those months of spying from afar, all those overanalyzed posts and texts, and the answer had been so simple: just show up.

"You're still my best friend, you know," Kai said quietly. "Even if we're going to different high schools."

Maya smiled, splashing water at him. "I know. And I'm never letting another summer pass without talking to you first."

Jordan was going to be so insufferably right about this, but honestly? Maya didn't even care.