Here's to Us (What If It's Us #2)

by Becky Albertalli

This is every relationship. You start with nothing and maybe end with everything.

First-day jitters. Can’t have caffeine, or I’ll turn into Sonic the Hedgehog. Or a vibrator.”

You always hope your friends and crushes like each other.

“Between us, Arthur said that he and Mikey haven’t said ‘I love you’ yet,” I add. Dylan’s eyes widen. “But they’ve been together forever in gay years.”

People do this, right? Boyfriends and friends are supposed to meet. It’s the most normal thing in the world. So why does it feel like I’m trying to squeeze two universes into one solar system?

People don’t warn you that heartbreak is a chronic condition. Maybe it quiets down a little over time, or you can muffle it with distance, but the ache never quite dials down to zero. It’s there lurking in the background, ready to flare back up the minute you let your guard down.

It’s Pride Weekend Eve, and crying in my boxers about my ex’s hot boyfriend is a deeply valid expression of gay culture.

“It’s your life. You’re always the protagonist.”

It just seemed a little ridiculous that anyone could like me that much. I don’t leave that kind of a mark. Or I didn’t think I did.

“You’re going to hurt someone! That’s just how it is sometimes, and it sucks, but what’s the alternative? Never make a real choice? Close yourself off completely? You have to be honest, at least with yourself.

“Folks, I don’t know what to tell you. They’re not straight, but they came straight for our hearts.”