Chelsea
Matt Zimmon offered to give me a ride home today.
Faith
Wait…do you like him or something?
Chelsea
Well, he IS the hottest guy in our grade—
Chelsea
And I’ve basically been handed a golden opportunity to get with him.
Faith
Idk, Chelsea, isn’t Matt a little…obvious?
Chelsea
What’s that supposed to mean?
Faith
Idk, he’s captain of the soccer team…
Chelsea
I KNOW. What a bod, right?!
Chelsea
Don’t tell me you wouldn’t climb him like a tree.
Faith
Chelsea! He’s not an object. He’s actually really smart—
Faith
We sit near each other in Social Studies, and he always asks me how my day’s going.
Faith
And he, like, REALLY listens when I respond.
Faith
I can talk to him about anything…
Faith
My parents’ divorce…
Faith
My secret love of math…
Faith
GAH, I can be so nerdy around him, but Matt never laughs at me.
Chelsea
Hold on — do YOU like him?
Faith
I could never be into soccer superstar Matt Zimmons.
Faith
I mean, sure…I think he’s attractive. But so does everyone, right?
Chelsea
Faith, you TOTALLY like him!
Faith
Don’t tell anyone, okay?
Chelsea
I could do some investigative work for you—
Chelsea
Maybe he likes you too!
Faith
Yeah, but what if he doesn’t?
Chelsea
Please. How could he not like you?
Faith
Very easily, I would think. No one likes me…
Faith
No seriously! I’ve never had a boyfriend or anything.
Chelsea
So? Neither have I…
Faith
Yeah, but boys like you.
Chelsea
Eh, I don’t know about that.
Chelsea
Boys like kissing me. That doesn’t mean they LIKE me.
Chelsea
I’d much rather they’d want to talk and listen to me…
Chelsea
Like Matt does with you.
Faith
Yeah, but Matt is driving YOU home — not me.
Faith
He probably thinks of me like a sister. Maybe…
Faith
Maybe he likes YOU instead.
Chelsea
Haha, but he doesn’t even know me!
Chelsea
And besides, I wouldn’t kiss him.
Chelsea
I put my friendships first.
Chelsea
Like, over any hookup.
Chelsea
So please, Faith, I won’t be obvious about it—
Chelsea
But can I please talk to him?
Faith
Tell me what happens — right away!
Faith
Chelsea? I thought you might be home by now…
Faith
How’d it go with Matt? Did he say anything?
Chelsea
Hey Faith. So listen…I don’t think it’s gonna work out with Matt.
Faith
Ugh, of course it isn’t — these things never seem to pan out for me.
Chelsea
I wish I had better news for you.
Faith
It’s okay. I’m almost afraid to ask, but…
Chelsea
Oh, I just kinda brought you up a lot…
Chelsea
But every time I did, Matt changed the subject.
Faith
He did? Why wouldn’t he want to talk about me?
Faith
But don’t you think that’s weird?
Faith
After all that time we spend together in Social Studies?
Faith
Huh. I guess it was all in my head then. Maybe…
Faith
Maybe he’s just a good listener to everyone.
Faith
Umm…are you going to go for him now?
Faith
Well, you did say you wanted to climb him like a tree.
Chelsea
Oh, Faith, no. I’d never do that to you.
Chelsea
You still have feelings for him — that’d be really shady of me.
Chelsea
Friendships first, remember?
Faith
Ditto — and thanks, Chelsea.
Faith
I’m lucky we’re friends.
But that night, Faith tosses and turns in her bed.
Something’s not making sense in Chelsea’s story—
Chelsea said Matt didn’t want to talk about her…
But he always wants to talk TO her in class…
Could Chelsea be lying about what happened on the ride home?
What if Chelsea seized her “golden opportunity” to get with Matt Zimmon and kept it from Faith?
Is she just pretending to be her friend?
The next morning, Faith wakes up groggily and rakes her hair into a messy top knot.
Her first class is Social Studies and she’s dreading it.
But when she walks in, Matt’s chair is empty.
She thinks she’s going to avoid him, but then…
Matt walks through the door.
And he’s holding a bouquet of flowers.
He sits down next to her, extending his arms.
Matt
These are for you, Faith. Will you go to prom with me?
Matt
Umm…it’s more of a yes or no question.
Is Matt really going to play her like this?
It seems that if he planned to ask her to prom all along…
He would have driven HER home, not Chelsea.
Matt
It looks like something’s bothering you.
Matt
Because Chelsea told me you would like them….
Faith
What? Chelsea said that?
Matt
Yeah. I gave her a ride home yesterday—
Matt
So I could tell her I wanted to ask you to prom.
Suddenly, everything becomes clear to Faith.
She was right that Chelsea had been lying to her…
But it was just to make sure Matt’s plan was a surprise.
Faith
Oh my gosh — that’s why you gave her a ride!
Matt
Yeah. I asked her what she thought because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.
Matt
I mean, what if it turned out that you didn’t want to go with me?
Matt
She’s your friend, right?
Faith
Yeah, but wow — I can’t believe you put in all this effort to ask me!
Faith
That’s really nice of you.
Matt takes the flowers from Faith’s hands and sets them on the table.
Then he surrounds her hands with his.
Matt
So…will you go with me?
Matt leans in for a hug and Faith awkwardly puts her arms around him.
Matt’s muscles feel nice and firm beneath her fingertips—
So nice that she pulls away from him quickly.
Faith
I’m sorry… I’m not very good at this.
Faith
The Matt Zimmon isn’t good at flirting?
Matt
Well, I think Faith Jensen is better at it than she thinks.
Matt
But listen, Faith…this isn’t just about flirting or finding a date for prom for me.
Faith feels her cheeks flushing
Matt’s face is so earnest that she doesn’t know what to say.
He looks directly into her eyes as he speaks.
Matt
Maybe we don’t JUST go to prom together…maybe…
Matt
Could we go on a date?
Faith
Matt, are you asking me to date you?
Faith
Yeah. Because I’ve actually liked you for a long time too. But…
Faith
Does this mean that…
Faith
Are you my boyfriend?
Matt
Do you WANT me to be your boyfriend?
Faith throws her arms around his neck.
And this time, it feels like the most natural thing for her to do.
She lets herself stay in his arms for a moment, just absorbing the heat of his body.
As Faith pulls back and looks into Matt’s eyes—
Suddenly, her phone beeps with an incoming text.
Faith
I gotta get this. It’s Chelsea.
Matt motions for her to go ahead.
Chelsea
How’s your morning going?
Faith
Well, my boyfriend Matt just asked me to prom!! 🎉 🎉 ❤️
Chelsea
Your BOYFRIEND?! That’s awesome, Faith!! 💏 🍾
Chelsea
This is so great — he told me about the prom plans, but not about the boyfriend part ❤️ ❤️
Chelsea
GAH, you don’t know HOW hard it was to keep that a secret!
Faith
Haha, aww. Well, thanks so much for helping to make it a surprise—
Faith
That made it so much more fun for me.
Chelsea
Of course. It’s all part of it — friendships first, remember?
Faith
Yeah. And you know I’m here for you too, right?
Faith
Friendships first 👯
