Life Line, Bad Hair

Maya's sweaty palms were giving her away. Again.

"You're freaking out, aren't you?" Chloe said, not even looking up from her phone as they walked toward the house party. "I can literally see you wiping your hands on your dress."

"I'm not freaking out," Maya lied, smoothly this time. "It's just... what if he's there? What if he's not there? What if he's there but ignores me?"

Chloe rolled her eyes so hard Maya thought they might get stuck. "You've been crushing on Liam since September. This is it. The moment. Also, your hair is doing that weird flippy thing on the left side again."

Maya's hand flew to her head. She'd spent forty minutes straightening her hair that morning, but apparently the humidity had other plans. Because of course it did.

The party was already in full swing when they stepped inside. The bass from whatever song was playing vibrated in Maya's chest. People she'd known since middle school were scattered across the living room, red cups in hand, laughing at inside jokes she wasn't part of.

And there he was. Liam. Standing by the patio doors, looking annoyingly perfect in that way that made Maya want to simultaneously kiss him and also maybe throw a drink in his face.

"Go talk to him," Chloe pushed her. "Or I will tell everyone about your fascination with zombie apocalypse movies."

"That's not a secret," Maya protested, though her face burned. "Zombie movies are culturally significant. They're metaphors for—" She cut herself off when Liam caught her eye and smiled.

Actually smiled. At her.

Maya's heart did this embarrassing flutter thing as she made her way across the room. Her palms were sweating again. Her hair was definitely misbehaving. But for some reason, when she reached him, none of that mattered.

"Hey," he said. "I was hoping you'd come."

Maya blinked. "You were?"

"Yeah." Liam stepped closer, and suddenly they were in their own little bubble, separate from the noise and the people. "Can I tell you something weird?"

"Sure?"

"I've been wanting to talk to you since September too. But every time I tried, I got so nervous I felt like a zombie. Like, brain completely offline."

Maya laughed, surprised and delighted and relieved all at once. "So we've both been walking around like zombies for months because we were too scared to say hi?"

"Pretty much." Liam grinned. "So, hi. I'm Liam. And I really like your hair."

Maya's hand went to it again instinctively. "It's doing that flippy thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's perfect."

Outside, through the open patio doors, palm trees swayed in the breeze. Inside, Maya finally stopped worrying about her sweaty palms, her messy hair, or saying exactly the right thing. Sometimes the most awkward moments become the best stories — and this one was just beginning.