Static and Storms

The bass from Maya's speakers shook my chest, or maybe that was just my heart. I'd been hiding in this corner for twenty minutes, nursing a flat soda and trying to look like I wasn't desperately texting Jordan to come rescue me.

"You good?"

I looked up. Leo. He'd transferred in three weeks ago and already owned every hallway conversation without trying. His hair was that perfect messy that probably took twenty minutes.

"Yeah. Just. Thinking about leaving."

His eyes drifted to the window behind me. "Yeah, probably smart. Weather app said storm's coming in hot."

That's when the first flash of **lightning** cracked the sky, purple-white and way too close. The entire party flinched. Then the power died.

Total darkness, then phone screens everywhere, creating this ghostly constellation of faces.

"Everyone stay chill!" Maya's voice cut through the confusion. "Backup generator kicks in, like, two minutes max."

But then came another **lightning** strike. And then: the unmistakable sound of something frying.

The stereo cut out mid-song.

"The HDMI **cable**!" Maya practically shrieked. "It's not surge-protected!"

Before I could think about it, I was moving. **Running** through the dark living room, guided only by the occasional flash from outside and my phone's flashlight. I could hear Leo behind me, calling my name, but I didn't stop.

The surge protector was behind the TV stand. I dropped to my knees, fumbled for the tangled mess of cords, found the **cable** Maya was talking about, and yanked it from the wall just as another **lightning** strike illuminated the whole room.

Silence. Then slow clapping.

I looked up. Leo was grinning down at me, hair messy, sweat on his forehead. "That was actually iconic."

My face burned. "I just – didn't want her stereo to get destroyed."

"Nah, you moved like you knew exactly what you were doing." He held out a hand to help me up. "Most people would've just stood there freezing."

The backup generator hummed to life. Lights flickered on. The party resumed like nothing had happened.

But Leo didn't move. "Hey, you want to get out of here? There's this rooftop nearby, killer view of storms."

I thought about Jordan's texts. About how I'd been **running** from everything all year – parties, conversations, anything that felt too real.

"Yeah," I said, and it was the easiest thing I'd done all night. "Yeah, I'd like that."

We slipped out the back door as the first real thunder shook the ground, leaving the party behind, neither of us **running** anymore.