Static and Thunder

Marcus flopped onto his bed, phone screen glowing in the darkness. 'bro wyd' he'd texted two hours ago. Still no reply from Jake, his best friend since seventh grade. The fight had been stupid — something about who'd abandoned whose gaming squad — but the silence felt heavy.

Thunder rattled the window. Outside, lightning fractured the sky, painting his room in electric purple for half a second. Luna, his cat, shot under the desk. Bean, the ancient Labrador mix, didn't even twitch from her spot on the rug.

'Marcus! Cable's out again!' his mom yelled from downstairs.

'Again?' He groaned. Of course. The one night he actually needed to stream something to take his mind off everything, and the universe had to malfunction.

He trudged down to the living room. His dad was already behind the TV, flashlight between his teeth, messing with a tangle of wires. 'Hold this,' he mumbled around the flashlight.

Marcus held the light while his dad fiddled with the cable connection. 'You know,' his dad said suddenly, 'when I was your age, if I fought with my friend, I couldn't just avoid him forever. Small town. You'd see them at the store, at school, everywhere. Made you fix things faster.'

Marcus snorted. 'Ancient times, I know.' But he got the point.

Another lightning strike illuminated the room, closer this time. Bean's ears perked up. Luna crept into the doorway, tail twitching.

'Try it now,' his dad said, tightening the last cable.

The TV flickered to life. Marcus's phone buzzed in his pocket.

From Jake: 'my bad. u coming over? storm's wild'

Marcus typed back: 'omw. bring extra controllers'

His dad grinned. 'See? Connection restored.'

'The cable works, too,' Marcus said, grabbing his hoodie. 'That's nice.'

He stepped out into the rain, Luna and Bean watching from the window. The storm wasn't over — the sky kept crackling with light — but something in his chest felt lighter anyway. Some friendships glitch out. Some just need a reboot.