“Wait!”

They reached out, hoping he wouldn’t leave them behind. Despite reaching forward, they expected to feel air. Not his hand.

He smiled at them. “Hurry up! We’ll miss out on cookies if we take too long. My mom’s only so patient.”

Unable to process the fact they had a warm hand in hand, they stared at him. No one had done this before. Yet he hadn’t hesitated. They didn’t know what to do.

He blinked. “What’s wrong?”

They flushed. “N-nothing! You said cookies, let’s go.”

Together, the two walked up to his house.