Fox in the Flash

The pool party was everything Maya dreaded. Chlorine smell, too much skin, everyone acting like they hadn't spent all year ignoring each other in the hallways. She stood by the fence, nursing a lukewarm soda, feeling like the wrong species at a zoo.

"Hey, Fox!" someone yelled.

Maya flinched. That nickname again. Last year's Halloween costume — fox ears, tail, the whole deal — and suddenly she was branded for life. Social media was forever, unfortunately.

Then she saw him. Leo. The guy she'd been lowkey obsessed with since September, currently shirtless by the pool, laughing at something Chloe said. Maya's stomach did that annoying flutter thing. She should just go home.

A crack of thunder made everyone scream. Then lightning — actual lightning — flashed across the sky, turning the whole backyard weird and purple for a second.

"Pool's closing!" someone from inside yelled. "Everyone inside, NOW!"

The chaos was instant. People scrambling, towels everywhere, someone definitely dropped their phone in the water. Maya spotted Leo grabbing his stuff and booking it toward the back gate instead of the house.

Weird.

Before she could overthink it, Maya was running after him. Not her finest moment, honestly. But something about the way he'd moved — like he was escaping something — made her follow.

She caught up near the woods behind the subdivision. Leo was standing there, shirt still off, staring at something.

"You following me, Fox?" He turned, grinning. Not mean. Just... amused.

Maya's face burned. "No. I just —"

Then she saw it. An actual fox. Real, orange fur, watching them from the tree line, completely unbothered by the storm.

"No way," Maya whispered.

"He's always back here," Leo said quietly. "I come here when parties get too loud. My little secret."

Another lightning flash. The fox's eyes glowed for a second before it slipped into the woods.

"You're not really into the whole scene thing, are you?" Leo asked, actually looking at her for the first time all year.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Pretty sure you've been hiding by that fence for two hours," he laughed. "Come on. I know a shortcut."