"I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ambushed me like that," I hissed to Aaron on the drive to Cody's house. "Not even a little warning."

       "You would have said no."

       "Well, yeah!"

       Aaron shot me a sideways grin. "Come on. You liked it, though."

       I'd always had a thing about cute promposals, and he knew it. "You used my weakness against me."

       "Exactly." He leaned over to kiss my cheek. 

       "How'd you put Monroe up to that, by the way?" I asked. "Holding the sign up? She must have hated that."

       "Actually . . . she volunteered."

       Before I could question him, Aaron parked the car and muted Bad Blood. 

        "We're here," he announced.

        It seemed we were the last ones. Skylar was already on Cody's front porch, and the first thing I noticed was her dress.

        "Do you have any idea how hot you look right now?" I told her once I'd gotten out of the car—barely upright, thanks to my matching yellow heels.

        "Of course I do," Skylar said. "Being hot and knowing it is badass."

        Her pink dress was the colour of cotton candy, silky and tight, clinging to her lean curves with faint ripples. With her matching pink-and-violet strands of hair, she seemed more like a character from an anime come to life than an actual human.

         Beside her was the girl who must have been Lila Bard.

         She had brown skin with long braids that clinked at the end with little silver beads. Her dress was white, showing off her round hips and ample chest.

         No wonder Skylar had been head-over-heels for her when we were freshmen.

         Lila smiled at me, and her pearly teeth glinted. "Hey. You must be . . ."

         "Talia," I supplied. "And this is Aaron, my best friend."

         "Boyfriend," Aaron corrected, sliding one hand over my waist. 

         Fuck, I thought.

         "Mom!" Cody called from inside the house. "Aaron and Talia are here."

         Cody's mother came out of the house, armed with professional cameras, and his father followed soon after.

         "Oh, God," I groaned. "I can't take it. There'll be a million pictures."

         Cody had certainly gotten his photography skills from somewhere—his mother. 

         Aaron settled next to me, Skylar and Lila moved together, and Cody's date—Teagan Ray—held his arm. 

        "You look really pretty," Aaron said into my ear, as the cameras began flashing. 

        Through my smile, I replied, "Thanks. So do you."

        "BE RESPONSIBLE!" SAID CODY'S mom as soon as she had taken every picture she could ever humanly need.

        Cody's father had already retreated into the house, but now his mom squeezed me tightly. "I always knew you and Aaron would end up together," she whispered.

        I tried to laugh, but something about that dried my throat. Ending up together with Aaron . . . was that what I wanted?

        After fixing a stray lock of my hair, she stepped back and raised an eyebrow at the group.

       "All of you better make good decisions tonight," she said. "No drinking and driving. And if you do drink, call me so I can pick you up. Alright? I promise I won't be mad."

        "Yeah, right," Cody whispered, loud enough that I heard Lila and Teagan Ray snicker.

        "Maybe at first," Cody's mother relented. "But I'd rather you're alive and scolded than dead and drunk."

        "Dead and drunk?" I whispered to Aaron. "Is that a thing?"

        "Don't question it," he mumbled.

        "Thanks, Mrs. Beckham," said Skylar. Her ability to seem like a God-fearing good girl in front of parents never ceased to amaze me. "We appreciate the offer."

        "Oh, of course, Skylar sweetie," said Cody's mom. In the bright evening light, I could see where Cody had gotten those sapphire eyes from. But where his hair was pitch-black, his mother's was a fading red. "Goodbye, Talia dear. Careful, Aaron honey. I know you're all going downtown later—make sure you don't get distracted by their shenanigans on the road."

         Those were her names for us—Skylar sweetie. Talia dear. Aaron honey. When she said goodbye to Teagan and Lila, I noticed with just a little bit of satisfaction she hadn't given them any pet names. 

        "Tal, your territorial side is showing," Aaron whispered.

        "What? You can tell?"

        "I can always tell what you're thinking," he said with a grin.

        But for some reason I thought, No, you can't. 

        THE SCHOOL DANCE STARTED AND ENDED without much to show for it.

        And even though I drank a gallon of fruit punch, my eyes wandering the crowd as if I'd see a confident, swaggering, green-eyed figure anywhere, it wasn't what I was really looking forward to.

        No, I was ready for tonight. 

        "Buckle up!" said Aaron from beside me. Since I was his girlfriend, I got to call shotgun.

        In the backseat, Skylar, Lila, Cody and a boy I didn't recognize were fumbling over each other for a seat belt.

       "Where'd Teagan go?" I asked.

       Cody shrugged. "I don't know, but this is Rook. Say hi, Rook."

        Rook was thin, but I could see from the way he slouched that he was much, much taller than anyone else back there. He had clear glasses, magnifying his honey-brown eyes, and something about him screamed innocent.

       He caught me looking, and the curve of his pure smile turned sharp. Mischievous.

       Okay, I thought. Maybe not so innocent. 

       Cody gave me a wink, and I twisted back in my seat. Bracing myself for the night ahead. 

       SKYLAR CLINKED A KNIFE GENTLY against her wineglass. 

       "I'd like to make a toast!" she announced.

       From all the restaurants we could've gone to, she had picked this one: Eau de France. High-class French cuisine, with a menu that costed more than a college education.

        It hadn't bothered Skylar, though—it was an unspoken rule in our group that she always paid. She'd wanted it that way ever since we were old enough to eat by ourselves. With parents who were rich hippie stoners, she'd once said, I consider it a fuck you to them. They always thought they could just buy me stuff to make up for going on all those stupid weed road trips. 

         "Tonight, I sit here today with—" And here, Skylar picked up Lila's hand and squeezed it. "—a girl I deeply care for. We're celebrating our fifth anniversary together."

         Lila's eyebrows knotted together. Neither her nor Rook knew anything about our marriage proposals—at least not yet.

         But I had a feeling Skylar was working her way up to one.

         "Dear Connie," Skylar said, clutching Lila's hand to her heart. "Connie Lingus. I love you. I will always love you. As your lesbian lover—"

         At this, the entire restaurant hushed. 

        Me, Aaron and Cody somehow managed to keep a straight face. Probably from practice. Rook's face was frozen in disbelief.

        Our waiter, carrying our drinks, paused two feet away from our table.

        "—you know that I cherish you. Sleeping with the CEO of McDonalds meant nothing to me, honey. You know that."

        "Does that include the time you slept with Ronald McDonald?" Lila asked.

        Aaron and I exchanged a look. She was going along with it—she was actually going along with it.

       "A temporary lapse in judgement. You can't blame me. Besides, what about the time I found your love letters to Mike Pence?"

       "Those weren't for your eyes!" Lila snapped. "And you can't talk. I've seen your Donald Duck vibrator."

        "Well, never mind all that," Skylar said, taking a swig from her wineglass. "The important thing is that we're getting hitched, not your Buzz Lightyear dildo." She set her glass down and knelt in front of Lila. "I just have one important question."

        Lila narrowed her eyes. "No, I don't want to have a threesome with Ronald McDonald."

        "That's a question for later, honey," said Skylar soothingly. "But for now—will you marry me?"

         "Of course!" Lila shrieked, launching herself onto Skylar. They crashed into the ground in front of the waiter's feet.

         Uncertain applause trickled in through the restaurant. I heard a man whispering from somewhere behind me, "Fucking lesbians."

         I jumped to my feet and gave Skylar and Lila a standing ovation, clapping so hard my palms stung.

        "WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

        Now, it was time for Aaron and I to shine. We'd picked another restaurant—something called Oca Nera Fine. 

        The Italian waiters whirled past each table, all pale-skinned and dark-haired. The dialect they spoke among each other was almost singsong, with musical vowels and soft syllables.

        The restaurant itself was so full it was nearly brimming. At the table next to us, a family with five kids roared with laughter. The mother was trying to catch a toddler who was buried in mashed potatoes.

       I didn't think anybody had heard Aaron's question, but when he got down on one knee, the conversation stilted.

       "Stella," he said. "You are such a special girl. I love you so much."

       "Oh, Harry, you know I love you too!"

       Skylar nudged Lila as if to say, We totally did better than that. 

       But I smiled at Aaron. We'd fucking destroy them.

       "Stella Virgin, I know that even though you wanted to save yourself for our wedding night and I humped you in my dad's truck, I still love you. Your worth is not diminished by the thirty-seven blowjobs you've given me since August."

       The restaurant went silent.

       "Oh, Harry Cox, you're such a good man. My dad was so wrong when he said you'd hit it and quit it."

       "Of course I would never hit it and quit it. We're family, Stella."

       "Do you think we could ever go back to Alabama?" I asked with teary eyes. 

       Aaron paused, frowning. "Well, my love, it's probably not a good idea."

       "Because my dad chased us out of the house with a sock when he found out we were the inspiration for the porn video with, Step-bro, what are you doing?" 

       "Our love might be unconventional, but it's still strong. Remember, Stella." Aaron looked up at me glittering, heartfelt eyes. "We're siblings by chance, but lovers by choice."

       Skylar's jaw dropped. From the corner of my eye, I saw a security guard making his way towards us.

       "Oh, Harry," I wept, summoning some tears. "You always make me feel better. I hate our family. They don't realize our love is completely normal."

       "Of course it is! Just because we're Mormon step-siblings doesn't mean our love is any less valid."

        My eyes flickered to the back, where the security guard cut a beeline through the crowd. Aaron took the hint, slid a Ring Pop onto my finger, and grabbed me by the hand.

        "Now let's hit it and quit it for real," Cody whispered.

        "SERIOUSLY, GUYS? MORMON STEP-SIBLINGS from Alabama? How the fuck were we supposed to beat that?"

        "I don't know," I said, dizzy with adrenaline as we walked under the citylights. "But please tell me more about this Buzz Lightyear dildo."

        Skylar grinned. "Brilliant idea, wasn't it? I know." She leaned into Lila. "And . . . nice touch with Ronald McDonald."

       Something shone in Skylar's eyes—something bright and unfamiliar and giddy. There was even a little skip to her step.

       "Hey," Rook said suddenly. "I think Cody and I should have a chance."

       "What?" I said, laughing. "We stole the show, sorry. But you're welcome to try and one-up us."

       He glanced at Cody, who raised an eyebrow as if to say, Why not?  

       I could tell Cody liked the surprise. The unexpected challenge.  

      "Let's do it," Cody said. "And for our setting . . . we choose McDonald's."

       The group began to ease forward, filled with a new sense of direction. I hadn't known it, then, but I wouldn't end up seeing Cody and Rook's proposal.

       Because just then, I heard my name.

       Aaron paused, maybe to linger behind with me, but I just urged him forward.

      "I'll only be a second," I said. I wanted to know who was calling my name.

      "You shouldn't walk alone in the city."

      "Five minutes, alright?"

      Eyes conflicted, Aaron nodded. "Five minutes, and then I'm coming for you."

      Once him and the rest of the group had moved further ahead, I turned. In the shadow of the dark city, I couldn't make out any more than old brick buildings and rusted steel doorframes. A homeless man leered up at me when I passed and began ringing a bell.

      "Talia Decker."

      The voice was so faint I could still barely hear it. I peered into an alley—there was nothing here but graffiti. Someone had written FUCK THE POLICE in bubbly green letters.

       When I stepped out of the alley, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

       The homeless man from earlier—the one that had rung the bell. 

        He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Behind him, three other men approached.

***

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From the moon and back,
Sarai