Fox Fire at 2 AM

Maya was halfway through her third hour of doom-scrolling when Jaden's text lit up her screen: *running away. come.*

Maya grabbed her sneakers, her brain feeling like total zombie mode from finals week. She crept downstairs, past her parents' room, and slipped into the backyard. There was Jaden, waiting by the fence, neon blue hair freshly dyed – a total rebellion against her mom's "professional appearance" lecture at dinner.

"You look sick," Maya whispered, hopping the fence.

"Feel sick," Jaden said. "My hair was the last thing I could control."

They started running – nowhere, everywhere – through the empty suburban streets. This was their thing. Best friend energy, but also something else. The unspoken thing that made Maya's stomach do backflips every time Jaden looked at her too long.

They ended up at the old creek behind the middle school, sitting on the swings that were way too small now. Jaden's blue hair caught the moonlight like something magical.

"My dad's job transferred again," Jaden said finally. "We're moving to Oregon."

Maya's heart actually stopped. "When?"

"Two weeks."

"That's –"

"I know."

Then something rustled in the woods. A fox – actual legit fox – trotted out of the shadows, its fur glowing copper in the streetlamp's orange light. It stopped, watched them with eyes that held zero fear, then disappeared like it had never existed.

"That was literally perfect," Maya said. "In the worst way."

Jaden laughed, wet and crackly. "Yeah."

They sat there until Maya's phone buzzed – her mom awake, checking in. The zombie exhaustion hit her all at once, but she didn't want to move. Didn't want this night to end.

"Oregon's not the end of the world," Jaden said, like she was trying to convince herself. "We can FaceTime. I'll dye my hair stupid colors there too."

"It's not the same," Maya said, and the words came out before she could stop them. "You're my –" She cut herself off. Best friend. Best friend. But that wasn't right anymore.

Jaden looked at her, and for three seconds, the air between them was electric. Then she stood up. "Running away doesn't work anyway."

"No," Maya said. "It doesn't."

They walked back, not running anymore. The fox was gone. The blue hair was still perfect. And Maya still hadn't said what she needed to say.

But there was always tomorrow. Until Oregon.

"Hey," Jaden said, when they reached Maya's fence. "Thanks for coming."

"Always," Maya said.

She watched until Jaden disappeared around the corner, a streak of neon blue in a world that had gone completely gray.