Landon spotted Andrea in the corner of the library, legs tucked under her and a book in her lap. 

“You’re a hard woman to track down,” he remarked, sitting next to her.

She looked up and smiled warmly. “Am I?”

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath, gathering his courage for what he was about to say. “I broke up with that girl.”

Andrea’s face fell. Guilt twisted in her gut. She glanced back down at the book in her lap.
“... and that is a look of pity,” Landon noted.

“It’s not pity,” Andrea said quickly. “I just … somebody else sort of asked me out, and I said yes.”

“So it’s my turn to wait?” Landon said optimistically, not missing a beat. “I can do that.”

Andrea returned his smile. She couldn’t help it. It was infectious. “Friends? For now?”

“Something tells me you can always use more of those.”

Andrea laughed, turning her head to the side to hide her face. Landon just watched. Friends. He didn’t know he was going to survive this.

“Come here.” Andrea motioned for him to step forward. “I want to show you something,”

Landon tried to calm his heart hammering in his chest as she placed her hands on either side of his neck. 

“Close your eyes,” she whispered. 

Under his eyelids, images flashed. He recognized them from years ago. The Grill. Connor. His nametag. 

“You can read my mind?” Landon murmured.

Andrea shook her head. “They’re not your memories. They’re mine.”

Connor’s face came into focus. Landon could see him wiping down his car. He knew how much he loved that car. Just out of range, someone got out of their own car in the parking lot, eyes trained on Connor.

Landon’s lips parted as he watched Andrea come into view, hands curled at her sides. She twisted them in a silent spell, and the windows in Connor’s car exploded. Landon jumped, but Andrea’s hands stayed firm on his neck.

He watched her smile grow in his mind before she finally turned and snuck away, unseen.

“You did all that for me?” he asked as her smirk faded back into the darkness of his eyelids.

Andrea let her hands fall back to her sides. “I did it for me.” One corner of her mouth turned up sadly. “I don’t like bullies.” She stared at him for a beat too long before she turned and cleared her throat. “Sorry. I have plans that I have to … show up to.” She smiled again. “But if there’s any bullies like that here … you know where to find me.”