Zombie Mode at the Deep End

Marco pulled his snapback lower, praying nobody would notice the dark circles under his eyes. Three nights of ranked matches will do that to you—transform you into a total zombie before first period even hits.

"You good, bro?" Carlos asked, shoulder-bumping him as they walked toward Jayden's pool party. "You look like you've been awake since last month."

"No cap, I'm functioning on like four hours of sleep and three Monster Energies," Marco admitted, adjusting his hat. "But Zoe's gonna be there, so I gotta show up."

"Your rizz is weak when you're running on fumes, man." Carlos grinned. "Just don't do anything weird."

Easier said than done. Marco's palms had been sweating since Tuesday when Zoe had actually commented on his Instagram story. Now here he was, about to see her in person for the first time since The Incident (which nobody spoke about, ever), and he was wearing his lucky hat because superstition was easier than actual confidence.

The backyard was already packed. People were everywhere—some in the pool, others draped over lounge chairs like they'd been there since dawn. And then he saw her.

Zoe was sitting on the pool edge, legs in the water, laughing at something some guy from the football team was saying. Marco's stomach did something complicated and not entirely pleasant.

"Yo, Marco!" Jayden called from somewhere behind him. "Get in here, bro! We're about to play chicken fight in the deep end!"

"I'm good," Marco started, but someone shoved him from behind.

His hat flew off. His phone, which he'd stupidly tucked in his waistband, slipped out. Time moved in weird slow motion as he stumbled forward, arms pinwheeling, and splashed into the pool fully clothed.

When he surfaced, coughing pool water, the entire backyard had gone quiet. Then someone screamed.

"DUDE!" Jayden was laughing so hard he could barely get the words out. "You just跳水 bombed into the shallow end like a confused cat in a bathtub!"

Marco's phone was at the bottom of the pool. His hat was floating toward the drain. And Zoe was looking at him.

But not like he'd feared. She was laughing—not at him, with him. And she was standing up, wading over through the water.

"You okay?" she asked, extending a hand. "That was... actually kind of legendary."

As he reached for her hand, Marco realized something: sometimes looking like a total zombie, having palms so sweaty you could water plants with them, and accidentally cannonballing into a pool fully clothed was exactly how you found your people.

"I'm good," he said, and somehow, he meant it. "Just thought I'd make an entrance."