We Could Be Dreamers

4

"So my place after school then?" Brooke asks with a smile, just as the bell rings.

I nod and stand up, starting to gather my things. "Yeah, that sounds perfect," I say, returning the soft smile. 

I'm going to her house.

Earlier today, Brooke and I didn't talk at all. She probably didn't even know my name. And now...

I'm going to her house!

For the project. Of course. But still, I'm way closer to her now than I was before. And even if it's just for a dumb school assignment, it's still something. Right? 

We filter out the door. I spot Sam leaning against some of the lockers across the hall, looking at her phone. Beaming, I make my way towards her. 

"Hey, Adam," she says, glancing at me. Her phone buzzes, but she ignores it. "Was class okay? You're grinning like an idiot."

"I am not!" I protest, doing my best to correct my expression as we make our way down the hallway. "But yes. Class was amazing. This was quite possibly the best class anyone's ever had."

"Um, okay," she says. "Well, good for you? What happened?"

"Okay, so there's this project," I say excitedly. "Well. It's for our culminating thing. And it's in partners, and the partners were assigned randomly, and I got paired with Brooke!"

"Adam, that's amazing!" Sam smiles. "So you guys are gonna be working together?"

"Yeah," I reply. "And here's the best part—I'm going over to her place. Tonight. To work on the project!"

"Awesome!"

"Yeah!" And okay, Sam might be a little bit right and I am grinning like an idiot. But I don't even care. 

Sam's eyes glint. "Just the two of you in her room, all alone, talking about..." she falters. "English stuff, I guess. I dunno. Still, very romantic," she says teasingly. 

I hesitate. "Well, okay. It... it's not just going to be the two of us. She invited her friend, too. Some guy named Jason. Apparently he's really good at this kind of stuff?" 

I'm kind of annoyed Brooke invited someone else, honestly. And I'm also a little bit worried—I don't know anything about this Jason guy or what their relationship is like. 

"Oh, no," Sam laughs. "Wait. Jason? Did you catch his last name? Because if he's the Jason I'm thinking of, he's hot," she says with a slightly wicked grin. 

I sigh. "You think everyone's hot."

"Wrong," she replies. "I think hot people are hot. My perception of hotness is just not limited by gender. And Jason is hot." 

"Great," I mutter, spotting my next class up ahead. 

Sam nudges me. "Hey, don't get discouraged. Jason might be extremely and overwhelmingly hot, but you're pretty great too." 

I smile. "Wait, so now he's not just hot—he's extremely and overwhelmingly hot too? Well, I can't wait to meet him."

"Ah, you'll be fine," Sam assures me. "Even just talking to her is progress, so."

Once again, Sam's right. Sam's always right. 

"Yeah, that's true," I admit. We pause outside the classroom door, and I hug her quickly. "You're the best," I tell her. 

Sam grins, hugging me back. "Yeah, I know."