Orange Cable Summer

I sat on the edge of Maya's bathtub, desperately texting Leo because the party downstairs was giving me major anxiety. My thumbs flew across the screen as I typed, "this is awkward af send help"

Maya's orange tabby cat, Mango, nudged the bathroom door open with his head and hopped onto the counter like he owned the place. "Not tonight, buddy," I muttered, scratching behind his ears. He purred like a tiny motor, completely unbothered by my existential crisis.

My phone buzzed. "you're ghosting your own crush situation" Leo texted back. "she's literally asking about you"

I stared at the text, heart doing this weird fluttery thing. Maya had been asking about me?

The bathroom felt suddenly too small, too quiet. Outside, I could hear bass thumping from the speakers, people laughing, bottles clinking. All the things normal people did at parties. All the things I was currently hiding from.

"Goldfish brain," I muttered to myself. That's what Leo called me whenever I overthought stuff - said my attention span lasted about as long as everyone's favorite theoretical fish. But this wasn't overthinking. This was fully justified panic.

Mango meowed, like, dude, get it together.

"You okay in there?"

The bathroom door pushed open further and Maya stood there, wearing this oversized orange hoodie that made her look soft and warm and everything I was terrified to talk to. "Hey," she said, and her voice was gentler than I expected. "Been looking for you."

"Just," I gestured vaguely at the bathroom, "you know. Taking a sec."

"Mind if I join?" She stepped inside and closed the door, effectively blocking out the party noise. "It's getting loud out there."

My brain was short-circuiting. Maya freaking Chen was voluntarily hanging out in a bathroom with me while her own party raged downstairs.

"Sure," I managed, trying to play it cool. "The cat's good company though."

She laughed, scratching Mango behind the ears. "He's the real host tonight. Everyone else is just crashing his place."

We sat on the edge of the bathtub together, shoulders barely touching, and I could feel this electricity racing up my arm. The bathroom had this weird fish-themed shower curtain, and I pointed at it. "Those look like goldfish."

Maya squinted. "You think? I always thought they were just... badly drawn tropical fish."

"No, definitely goldfish. I used to have some, before my mom made me give them away."

"You had goldfish?" She turned toward me, genuinely interested. "What were their names?"

"Bubbles and... another Bubbles. I was seven."

She laughed this full, real laugh that made something in my chest untwist. "You had two fish named Bubbles?"

"I was dedicated to the theme."

Maya's knee bumped against mine, and she didn't move it away. "Leo said you're in a band?"

"Yeah. We mostly do covers. Nothing serious."

"I'd come hear you guys," she said softly. "If you played somewhere."

My heart was doing gymnastics. "You would?"

"Duh." She bumped my shoulder. "Why do you think I kept asking Leo about you?"

"You were asking about me?"

"Maya. I literally asked Leo where you were five minutes ago." She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "He said you were probably hiding somewhere because you're 'lowkey scared of parties'."

"That's," I rubbed the back of my neck, "embarrassingly accurate."

"It's cute though." Her face went serious. "Like, you don't have to do the whole party thing if it's not your vibe. I just... wanted to hang out with you."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

Mango hopped onto my lap, purring loudly like a total wingman. Maya's hand landed on my knee, just for a second, but it felt like everything.

"We could," I started, then gathered courage I didn't know I had. "We could go to my basement instead? Less loud. My parents aren't home."

She raised an eyebrow. "Your basement, huh?"

"Netflix. Couch. Orange soda if you're into that kind of thing."

"I'm into that kind of thing." She stood up, offering me her hand. "Let's bounce."

We slipped out through the back door, leaving the party and the noise behind. My basement wasn't much - old couch, decent TV, gaming setup - but it was quiet. Private.

"Nice," Maya said, flopping onto the couch. "Way better than fifty people screaming over each other."

I grabbed sodas from the mini fridge and noticed the coaxial cable was still on the floor from when I'd moved the TV last week. "Sorry about the mess."

"Dude, I live with a cat who thinks the floor is his personal litter box. This is luxury."

She patted the spot beside her, and I sat down, trying to play it cool even though my heart was hammering. We watched some reality show neither of us cared about, but I wasn't really watching.

Maya kept shifting closer, her arm pressing against mine, her knee brushing my leg. Every touch sent these little sparks through my whole body.

"Leo's going to lose it when he finds out," I said finally.

"Lose what?"

"That we're hanging out. He's been on my case for weeks about 'making a move' or whatever."

"You should listen to him," Maya said, turning toward me. "He seems smart."

"He's literally failing two classes."

"Still." She was looking at my lips now. "Smart about this."

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"Yeah."

She leaned in, and I met her halfway, and her lips were soft and she tasted like orange soda and everything I'd been too scared to want for months.

When we pulled apart, she was smiling this tiny, genuine smile. "Finally."

"Yeah," I breathed. "Finally."

Mango meowed from the doorway, like he was judging us for taking so long.

"Shut up, cat," I said, and Maya laughed into my shoulder, and I thought maybe Leo was wrong about my goldfish brain. Because I was definitely going to remember this forever.