Static & Storm

Maya's thumb hovered over the send button, heart doing that nervous flutter thing again. The iPhone screen glowed in her dark room, illuminating the draft she'd rewritten twelve times. Leo's profile pic—that stupid candid from freshman year where he looked actually happy for once—taunted her from the group chat.

Her golden retriever, Buster, chose that exact moment to launch himself at the window, barking like a maniac. Maya nearly dropped her phone. "Buster, chill!" She shoved him away with her foot, but he just whined and scratched at the glass. Thunder rumbled in the distance, making her stomach twist. Storms had always made her weirdly anxious, like the sky was judging her or something.

Outside, lightning forked across the clouds, bright and sudden as a secret exposed. Maya pressed send before she could chicken out again.

*u up?*

The typing bubble appeared immediately. Then stopped. Then started again. Maya's pulse hammered in her ears. Buster abandoned his post at the window to shove his nose in her lap, demanding comfort pets like the dramatic golden boy he was.

*yeah why*

Three dots. Deleted. Three dots.

*just had this weird dream about the science fair project lol*

Lame. So lame. Why was she like this?

*that was 2 years ago*

*i kno*

*but u were wearing that dinosaur shirt*

*WHAT

*

Maya actually laughed out loud, and Buster licked her chin like she'd just won an award. Another flash of lightning painted her room purple, and for once, she didn't flinch. The storm wasn't scary anymore—it was just light and noise, same as everything else that felt overwhelming at 2 AM.

*i still have that shirt btw

*

*prove it

*

Maya scrambled to take a selfie with Buster, who immediately tried to eat the phone case. The photo was a mess—hair everywhere, one eye half-closed, dog tongue invading the frame—but she sent it anyway.

*ok u win

*

*always do

*

Outside, the rain started, washing away the tension in her chest. Maya set her phone down and let Buster curl up beside her. Tomorrow, she'd have to face Leo in AP Bio. Tonight, lightning had struck, and somehow, impossibly, she'd caught it.