Lightning in the Cables

Jordan's fingers hovered over the send button, the WiFi indicator doing that annoying red thing. The cable modem was dead again. Third time this week.

"You've got to be kidding me." She grabbed her phone and bolted down the stairs. "Mom! The internet's out! AGAIN!"

Her mom looked up from her coffee. "Did you try resetting it?"

"Yes, I tried resetting it. I'm not basic." Jordan grabbed her keys. "I'm going to Maya's. She has actual functioning internet."

"Wait, you're going now? It's pouring rain."

"That's the point!" Jordan called back, already running out the door. "Tyler's supposed to drop that new EP at noon and I am NOT missing it because our cable company is trash."

The rain hit hard, but Jordan didn't care. She needed to hear it – Tyler's first solo project since leaving the band. Since they'd kinda-sorta-maybe been texting for three weeks. Since he'd sent her that voice note that made her stomach do actual backflips.

She rounded the corner and slammed into something solid.

"Whoa there, track star." It was Lucas from AP Calc, looking unfairly dry under his massive umbrella. "Running from something or running to something?"

"Running to functioning WiFi. What are you doing out in this?"

"Walking my dog. She's terrified of storms." He pointed at the trembling golden retriever puppy beside him. "This is Pepper. She's basically a baby bear."

Jordan laughed. "That's the worst comparison I've ever heard."

"You're not wrong." His phone buzzed. "Oh, snap – Tyler's EP just dropped."

Jordan's heart stopped. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, my data is working. Want to listen?"

They huddled under his umbrella, water streaming down the sides, thunder cracking overhead. Lucas hit play, and Tyler's voice filled the air between them – raw, honest, nothing like the polished stuff from before.

Lightning flashed across the sky, turning everything white-hot for a second. In that moment, Jordan realized something that made zero sense and all the sense at once.

The song was about her.

"Oh," she whispered, as the rain kept falling like it would never stop. "OH."

Lucas nodded like this was completely normal. "Yeah. That's... that's a lot."

The cable modem could wait. Some things were worth getting soaked for.