Static

Maya's iPhone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored it. Again.

The kitchen was packed with juniors from Northwood High, everyone laughing a little too loud, drinks in hand. Maya stood near the island, clutching her solo cup like it was a lifeline. She'd only come because Kayla had practically dragged her here, swore it would be "lowkey and chill." Spoiler: it wasn't.

"You look like you're calculating your exit strategy," a voice said.

Maya turned to find this guy leaning against the counter, dark hair falling over his eyes. He held up a bottle. "Want a gummy vitamin? I always carry them. My mom's obsessed with immune health."

She laughed. It slipped out before she could stop it. "Seriously? At a party?"

"Priorities, Maya."

She stared. "How do you know my name?"

"AP Calc. You sit behind me. You always tap your pen when you're frustrated. It's kinda chaotic energy."

Maya felt her face heat up. "And you are?"

"Ethan. Also, your pen-tapping is genuinely concerning. Like, how do you have any ink left?"

Before she could respond, the kitchen went pitch black.

Screams. Laughter. Someone shouted, "YO WHO TOUCHED THE BREAKER?"

Then a massive crack of thunder shook the house. Lightning flashed through the window, illuminating everything in stark blue-white for half a second. In that moment, Maya saw Ethan's face — he was grinning like he'd been waiting for this exact thing.

"Storm's gonna be wild," he said, his voice casual in the darkness. "Wanna bail? There's this spot on the roof where you can see the whole sky light up."

Maya's iPhone buzzed again. Probably Kayla asking where she'd disappeared to. Probably a million Instagram notifications. Probably everything that was supposed to matter.

Instead, she said, "Lead the way."

They sat on the roof for an hour, watching lightning stitch across the clouds like silver thread. They talked about everything — how high school felt like a performance, how everyone was faking it, how the pressure to be "on" all the time was actually exhausting. Ethan confessed he only came to parties for the free snacks. Maya admitted she secretly loved emo music but pretended to be into whatever was trending.

"Bro, that's valid," Ethan said. "My Chemical Romance is a whole vibe."

Another flash of lightning. This time, Maya didn't reach for her phone to document it. She just watched.

"Your vitamin gummy," she said suddenly. "Did you actually take one?"

"Nah. I just carry them to look responsible. It's my whole brand."

Maya laughed. This time, it didn't feel forced.

Her phone buzzed a third time. She turned it off.

"You know what?" she said. "I think I'm done with parties."

"Thank GOD," Ethan said. "There's a boba place down the street. My treat. Consider it your daily dose of happiness."

"That's not technically a vitamin."

"Tomato, to-mah-to."

As they climbed down from the roof, Maya realized something: sometimes the best moments happen when the lights go out. Sometimes you find your people in the static between flashes. And sometimes, just sometimes, you don't need to post about it for it to be real.