Electric in the Downpour

Maya's vintage dad hat was already drenched, but she didn't care. The sky was putting on a show—lightning crackling across the horizon like some cosmic Instagram filter come to life.

"We're gonna miss him!" Chloe screamed over the thunder, grabbing Maya's arm and yanking her forward.

They were running through the mud now, combat boots sloshing, phones clutched in waterproof cases like their lives depended on it. Because in a way, they kinda did. Caleb, the sophomore who'd finally noticed Maya's Story posts last week, was supposedly somewhere near the main stage. This was her chance.

Maya's iphone buzzed in her hand. A notification from the festival app: LAST CALL BEFORE WEATHER DELAY.

"Go!" yelled Tyler, this junior who'd been randomly running with them since the food truck incident. He was fast, like track-team fast, and somehow still had the energy to be chaotic.

Maya's hat flew off. She skidded to a stop, mud splashing her white dress—stupid choice, honestly, but she'd wanted to look cute for Caleb.

"Leave it!" Chloe shouted back.

But Maya wasn't letting that hat go. It was her favorite, oversized and slightly ridiculous, the kind of thing that said I'm not trying too hard while actually trying pretty hard. She snatched it from the puddle, shaking off dirty water.

The first drop hit her phone screen. Then another. Then the sky opened up like it had been holding it in all day.

They kept running anyway.

Lightning flashed again, closer this time. The crowd was scattering, but Maya spotted him—Caleb, near the barricade, looking exactly like his photos but somehow more real. He was waving at someone.

At her?

She slowed down, heart pounding harder than the storm. Mud streaked her dress. Her hat was ruined. Her phone screen was wet.

Caleb grinned, pointing at her hat. "Nice! You kept it on!"

Maya blinked. Then laughed. This ridiculous, perfect moment.

"Yeah," she said, shaking water from her phone like it was totally fine. "Priorities, right?"

He held up his own phone. "I got a pic. You look... legendary."

Maya glanced at her reflection in his phone screen—mud-streaked, hair frizzy, hat dripping. She looked like a disaster.

She looked like herself.

"Send it," she said, grinning. "But you're definitely following me back after this."

The storm raged on, but Maya wasn't running anymore. She was exactly where she needed to be.