Static in the Palm

Maya's palms were sweating. Again. She wiped them on her jeans—for the third time in thirty seconds—and tried to remember how to stand like a normal human being at a party.

"You good?" Riley asked, tilting their head. "You look like you're about to pass math or something."

"I'm fine," Maya lied. "Just... vibing."

Vibing. Sure. If vibing meant mentally cataloging every awkward thing she'd said since seventh grade and calculating her social stock crash, then yeah, totally vibing.

Outside, lightning flashed across the sky—silent and dramatic, like that one girl in drama club who definitely never washed her extensions. The storm had been building all evening, matching the weird electricity buzzing under Maya's skin. Because tonight was the night. She was finally going to tell Cameron how she felt.

Probably.

Maybe.

Her phone buzzed. Riley: "he's literally outside rn go"

Maya's stomach did something gymnastic and illegal. She grabbed her solo cup of lukewarm punch and headed for the back door.

The backyard was chaos. Some guy's dog—a golden retriever with zero respect for personal space—had gotten into the chips. Cameron was crouched down, laughing as the dog attempted to eat an entire bag of Doritos at once.

"Buster, no," Cameron said, gently prying the bag from the dog's jaws. He looked up and spotted Maya. "Oh hey! You wanna help me save these before they become dog food?"

And just like that, Maya's whole prepared speech evaporated. Because Cameron wasn't being profound or poetic or whatever she'd built up in her head. He was just... saving chips from a very determined dog named Buster.

"Yeah," she heard herself say. "I got it."

She reached for the bag, and their hands brushed. Static crackled between them—actual, literal static electricity from the storm-charged air. They both laughed, nervous and genuine at the same time.

"Sorry," Cameron said, grinning. "I guess we're shocking."

"The worst," Maya agreed, and somehow this wasn't how she'd planned it, but the dog was barking at leftover Doritos and Cameron was looking at her like she was the only person in the yard, and her palm wasn't sweating anymore.

"Hey," Cameron said. "After we secure the chips... wanna hang out?"

Maya smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Lightning flashed again. This time, it felt like exactly the right kind of dramatic.