Static Electricity

Maya's iPhone buzzed in her pocket for the fifth time in three minutes. The group chat was blowing up, but she couldn't look. Not with spinach absolutely definitely stuck in her braces from dinner. She'd caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror earlier and practically died.

"You good?" whispered Jake, sliding onto the back porch steps beside her. The party inside was reaching maximum capacity — thumping bass, laughter, someone attempting to rap.

"Yeah," Maya lied. "Just needed air."

"Same." Jake pulled out his own phone, thumb hovering over something before shoving it back in his pocket. "Parties hit different when you're sober, huh?"

Maya snorted. "Since when do you drink?"

"Since never." He grinned, and oh no, he was cute. Like, distracting cute. This was exactly why she'd been hiding her smile all night.

A crack of lightning split the sky — close enough that the porch lights flickered. Rain started coming down in sheets.

"We should go back inside," Maya said, making zero move to actually move.

"In a sec." Jake turned to face her. "Can I tell you something?"

Her heart did that thing where it forgot how to rhythm. "Sure?"

"I've been trying to text you all week but I keep chickening out."

"Text me what?" Wait. Was this happening?

"That I think you're genuinely the most interesting person in our grade and I was hoping maybe we could—" Another lightning flash illuminated everything stark and sudden and weirdly perfect "—hang out sometime? Like, just us?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. Then she remembered. The spinach. The literal green stuff in her teeth. She practically levitated off the step. "Oh my god I have to go inside RIGHT NOW."

"What? Did I say something weird?"

"No! Yes! I mean—" She clapped both hands over her mouth. "Spinach. There is spinach in my teeth. I've had spinach in my teeth ALL NIGHT."

Jake blinked. Then he started laughing — actual laughing, shoulders shaking, head thrown back. When he finally looked at her again, something had shifted. Everything had shifted. "Maya, I promise I was not looking at your teeth."

"That's what they all say until someone posts a pic."

"Then let them." He stood up and held out his hand. "I meant what I said though. About hanging out."

She looked at his hand, then at the rain still pouring down, then back at his absolutely ridiculous smiling face. "Okay," she said, and maybe her voice was a little unsteady but whatever. "But you're carrying my phone. I'm done checking it tonight."

"Deal." He didn't let go when they walked inside.

Later, Maya would group-chat the girls: spinach disaster turned into the best moment of her freshman year. Because sometimes the universe hits you with lightning in the middle of a rainstorm, and sometimes you just have to trust it.