The following day, I make my way to the public library. Normally, I try to stride away from libraries—unless I have no other choice. This is one of the times I need to be here, because Abigail could be here. She has to be.

Seeing the many rows of books segregated from fiction to non-fiction to the children's area—I bet Riley, Kyle, and their friends must love going there. However, one person I don't see is Abigail. I scour through the busy areas, passing down many rows, trying to remain silent as best as I can. I hold onto my cell and try to make a text:

Give me one minute.

As I survey the main floor, I realize there's only one area she would go. Jogging up the escalator, I venture onto the second floor. Once there, I make my way towards the Science Department. Passing many rows, I head to the astronomy section. And with a sigh of relief, there's Abigail. She's sitting cross-legged in a corner between the large metal shelves, talking to herself and looking back and forth for a minute. But when she has the time, she keeps herself engrossed in a big, wide book about, what I believe is, her favorite planet, Jupiter.

As I get closer, a strange mix of obligation and genuine curiosity settles over me. It's not the forced march of our first encounter. Abigail looks up and a bright smile spreads across her face. Is this real? Or is she just happy to have someone finally share her weird space obsession?

"Hey, Slater! Look at this!" She holds up the book, her eyes shining with excitement. "Did you know Jupiter is actually shrinking? Not by a lot, but it's slowly getting smaller as it radiates more heat into space than it receives from the Sun. It's like it's still settling down from its formation billions of years ago!" She perks up, her tan cheeks rosying up. "Isn't that exciting?"

"I mean..." I say, genuinely impressed. "That's pretty cool."

She nods eagerly, diving into more details about Jupiter and its moons. She continues with another factoid.

"We talked about Europa's ocean but get this: some of Jupiter's other moons might have subsurface oceans too, like Ganymede and Callisto! It's like Jupiter is this whole mini-solar system with multiple hidden water worlds." Her eyes widen, so enmeshed with the fifth planet.

Her enthusiasm is infectious. As I go and continue to listen to what she loves and what she usually thinks about what's up there in the stars, I find myself actually enjoying our quirky conversation. Weird, yes, but quirky, nonetheless. We soon move to a nearby table close to the second-floor clear railing border. As I sit trying to lean in to see what else she has in store for me, Abigail suddenly pulls out something from her backpack. Thinking I should be freaked, I'm not. It's something very familiar. She takes out her large, messy notebook with interesting space-themed and alien-themed stickers plastered all around the cover. As she flips her notebook, she soon shows me her notes. It's a chaotic mess of diagrams, scribbled facts, and her tiny handwriting.

"You have to see this," She whispers, flipping to a page crammed with swirling galaxies and cryptic notes. "This is where I work out my theories."

Interesting.

She points to a spiderweb of lines. "See this? My hypothesis on Jupiter's moons' gravity." Then she shows me alien sketches—multi-eyed jellyfish. "Potential extraterrestrial biology!" Her joy is intense. She flips through pages filled with underlined facts about planets and stars. "Did you know Jupiter's Red Spot could swallow Earth?"

"Nope, I didn't," I say, trying not to be a cynical jackass.

Equations cover another page. "My attempt at dark matter!" She exclaims. It's overwhelming, like trying to understand another language. But even though it's chaos, her passion for the universe is undeniable. For a second, looking at her messy notebook, I almost see the cosmos the way she does—vast and strangely appealing. As I listen to her, I start to appreciate her uniqueness. She's not like anyone else I know, and there's something refreshing about that. But I can't forget why I'm doing this. It's just until Junior Prom ends.

"Why do you care about all this so suddenly?" She asks just out of the blue, looking at me with curious eyes.

Needing to keep my facade intact, not trying to blurt out anything that would reflect on the dare. "I've always found astronomy interesting, I guess. Just never had someone to talk to about it."

She narrows her eyes slightly but then shrugs. "Okay. It's just...no one's ever really been interested in what I like before."

"Well..." I pause.

Abigail notices the odd halt and looks back at me. "Well...what?"

Before I can properly finish my response, my phone buzzes. I glance at the screen and see a reply text I have been waiting for. Finally.

I'm here, Slater. Waiting.

I meander my sight down to the first floor near the sliding double door entrance and spot my guy... Otto already inside, standing close to the front, wringing his hands nervously. Standing awkwardly but optimistically, he almost feels like he has one foot close to the exit. I begin to smile, seeing now's my chance. I turn back to see Abigail not really concerned about what I wanted to say to her. She has her gaze back on her notebook and that Jupiter book. Needing to excuse myself.

"Hey, I'll be right back. Gotta handle something."

She nods slowly, paying really no attention to me, so absorbed in that book. Having the time, I hurriedly head downstairs in a mellow fashion and greet Otto, who's fidgeting nervously, his weight shifting from one foot to the other.

"Hey, man. You ready for this?" I ask with some modest concern. I'm doing my best, rubbing his shoulders like a coach prepping his player. "Are you really ready?"

"I...I think so," He stammers, adjusting his glasses, which keep sliding down his nose. "What do I even say to her?"

"Just be yourself. Be confident. Girls like confidence. Talk about what she likes—Jupiter, astronomy, all that galactic stuff."

Otto nods, looking more terrified than reassured. I give him a pep talk, much like the ones we get from Coach Thompson before a big game or during halftime. "You got this, Otto. Just go in there, smile, and be charming. And remember, this could be your big break. After all, you're doing this to be Prom Prince."

"Yeah, Prom Prince," He says slowly, cracking a fragile smile.

With one last pat on the back and a joking slap on the butt—a tradition some of me and my baseball teammates do for motivation—I send him off. As he carefully heads upstairs, I follow behind a few steps back. Once upstairs, I head to an aisle that can bring a perfect view for them. Hoping not to be spotted easily, I lean back but not far, pretending to read a book. Though my main focus is hovering on Otto and Abigail. Seeing him, he walks up to her, clearing his throat tensely.

"Hi, Abigail," He says, his voice shaky.

She looks up, surprised. "Oh, hey, Otto?!" She looks around, possibly wondering about me, but glances back at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I...uh, I was just...wanted to see if you wanted to hang out. Maybe talk about Jupiter?" He asks warily, scratching the back of his neck.

I cringe from my hiding spot, hoping this doesn't crash and burn. Abigail raises an eyebrow yet doesn't dismiss him immediately. Instead, she closes her book and starts talking to him about what she just told me a few minutes ago. Otto, bless his heart, tries his best to keep up, but his awkwardness is painful to watch.

Seeing that it's not going great, I quickly take a balled-up piece of scrap paper nearby a stranger whose so busy with his work he doesn't notice. Needing to get Otto's attention, I throw the balled-up paper at the back of Otto's head. He stops and turns back around to see me. Trying not to get noticed by Abigail, I signal him to come over. I race back to my hiding spot, awaiting him. I look on to see he has already excused himself from Abigail, who is more focused on her Jupiter-stuff than watching a poor nerd who has a crush on her falter like a Jenga tower. He eventually walks over to me, looking dejected and almost about to cry.

"Snap out of it, man." Trying to give him some confidence.

"I'm terrible at this." He whispers, his lower lip trembling slightly.

"You're doing fine," I say, trying to reassure him. "Look, why don't you invite her to Gigo's tonight? Lily and I will be there. You can see how we interact, and it might help you feel more confident."

Otto looks hesitant, still not having that confidence but subtly nods. "Okay, I'll try."

As he heads back, I whisper to him, "Mention that Jupiter will be close tonight. She'll love that."

He takes a step back and ponders about that. "Are you sure? I checked out the astrology charts..."

"Just go!" I quietly yell, hoping my timber isn't loud enough to spook everyone up here, especially Abigail.

"Okay, okay!" Otto reluctantly acknowledges.

Leaning close to the aisle, holding firm in my hiding spot, I see him returning to Abigail and attempting to redo this all over.

"Hey, Abigail, did you know Jupiter will be really close tonight? You can see it really well from Gigo's Pizzeria. Want to join me there?" Otto finally speaks it out.

To my surprise, she nods. "Sure...that sounds interesting."

I quickly duck out of sight, not wanting to be spotted. But as I watch Otto turning back in my direction, beaming, he sort of mouths off in a low tone, just using his lips in not so many words.

"She said yes!" He quickly gives me a thumbs up, grinning so wide I can see his buck teeth.

"Great job, man," I mutter, giving him a thumbs up in return. This is good. I'm genuinely impressed by my...matchmaking skills. I may not be some kind of Romeo, but at least I got the ball rolling. Tonight is really going to be something.

***

As the sky briskly paints its hazy purplish glow, I'm standing outside Gigo's Pizzeria, dressed in a button-down olive green shirt, dark dress pants, and dress shoes. I'm waiting endlessly, hoping neither Otto nor Abigail is chickening out. What's worse, I didn't have time to tell Lily this solo date—I owed her—has unexpectedly become a double date. Criticizing myself since I left the library hours ago, I realize how stupid I am to choose this night of all nights. It's supposed to be just between me and Lily.

Ethan had dropped us off, and like his annoying older brother self, he had to embarrass me in front of her. We were both in the back seat of Ness. "Just so you know what you're getting yourself into with this one..." Ethan paused for dramatic effect, his eyes flickered to me in the rearview mirror. "...prepare for the constant need for snacks. Seriously, the guy can inhale a whole pizza faster than Gigo can slap one in the oven. And don't even get me started on his video game rage. Last week, I swear the neighbors thought we were being robbed."

Lily just laughed, a sweet, genuine sound that usually calmed my simmering annoyance with Ethan. But tonight, knowing he was trying to make me look like some kind of slobbering, tantrum-throwing man-child in front of her, it just made me want to yank him out of his jeep by his oversized hoodie. I shot him a death glare. "Real mature, Ethan," I muttered, already reaching for the door handle. He just winked at Lily, that infuriatingly knowing look on his face. "Just looking out for you, Lily. You've been warned." The second Lily and I were out, he peeled away from the curb, leaving a cloud of exhaust and his idiotic laughter hanging in the air.

Still standing outside, almost lost in thought, I see Lily coming back outside. She had to use the ladies' room. But once she stepped back out, I'm so spellbound by her look. Dressed in a beautiful short red dress and a black jacket, her blonde hair flowing down straight, she continues to be stunning. I don't know what else to say.

"Slater, what are you waiting for? Our table is about to be lost," She says, her voice tinged with confusion. "What's going on?"

Despite her amazing appearance, I can't hide the elephant that is about to stampede through our not-so-solo night. Trying not to act dumb, I sigh a deep breath. "Uh, I had to..."

"Had to what?! Slater, what is it?"

Not sugarcoating this any longer. "We might have company," I stammer, glancing around nervously. Before I can hear what she has to say, I soon notice someone coming from the south sidewalk.

Looking closely, I spot Otto walking toward us. He's wearing a tuxedo t-shirt, tan pants, and his frizzy brown hair smoothed over his head. He's holding what appears to be a small bouquet of different colorful daisies and is looking surprisingly dapper. He may still be rocking his glasses, but for a second, I almost thought he was someone else. Not the dorky, computer nerd we all know from school.

"Hey, Otto," Lily says, very impressed. "You look nice. Are you on a date?"

Otto blushes, nodding and smirking. "I think so. Or maybe it's just a group of friends hanging out."

Lily's perplexed, speechless reaction disturbs me. Otto looks around, asking, "Where's Abigail? Is she coming?"

Lily turns to me, her eyes widening in shock and perplexment. "You didn't..." Her initial shock gives way to a dawning realization, her lips slightly parted in disbelief.

I don't have to say anything. She may have expected a verbal response, but there are no words coming out of my lips. She can already see it in my eyes—the frustration that I've duped her, thinking this was supposed to be a date just between us. Her eyes now reflect pure disappointment.

I know I've screwed up. And I fear what she's about to do next, even worrying that 'girlfriend rage' could be inbound. I pray that doesn't come. But after this, I'm bracing for it.