Orange Lightning at Midnight

Maya's heart hammered like bass drops at a rave. This was it—her first house party, and honestly? She was lowkey freaking out. Standing on Tyler's porch, she clutched her phone like a lifeline.

"You got this," said Jordan, her best friend since seventh grade. Jordan adjusted their snapback with that trademark Jordan confidence. "Just vibe. Nobody's watching you as hard as you think they are."

Easy for Jordan to say. Jordan didn't spend three hours overanalyzing their outfit.

Inside, the party hit Maya like a wall of heat and sound. Someone's phone illuminated everyone with a sudden flash—like lightning trapped in a room. Maya flinched.

"Hey, you okay?" A guy with the softest brown eyes appeared beside her. He was wearing a shirt that said BEAR in all caps, with an actual bear drawing. It was so random it was kind of iconic.

"Yeah," Maya managed. "Just... lot of people."

"I'm Leo," he said, then offered her an orange slice from a platter on the counter. "Emergency vitamin C. My grandma swears by it."

Maya actually laughed. Like, a real laugh, not the fake polite one she'd been practicing all week.

"I'm Maya. And I think I need that orange more than I need anything right now."

They ended up on the back porch, watching a real storm roll in across the sky. Actual lightning split the darkness, way more epic than any phone flash.

"So," Leo said between thunder rumbles, "what's your deal? Like, besides being intimidated by house parties?"

Maya took a breath. "I paint. Like, actually paint. Oil, acrylic, whatever. I want to be an artist but my parents think that's not... practical."

Leo nodded like this was the most interesting thing he'd heard all night. "That's sick, though. What do you paint?"

"Storms mostly." Maya pointed at the sky. "Like that. Stuff that feels bigger than us."

The storm broke. Rain sheeted down and everyone screamed and ran inside. Maya and Leo stayed on the porch, getting absolutely soaked, and honestly? She wasn't even mad about it.

"You're going to show me your art sometime," Leo said over the rain. "That's non-negotiable."

Maya's phone buzzed—a text from Jordan: wyd? we're leavingggg

But for once, Maya wasn't in a hurry to follow the crowd. She was exactly where she was supposed to be.