Storm Warning

Pool water dripped from Maya's hair as she leaned against the rough bark of the palm tree, checking her phone for the third time in two minutes. The graduation party at Tyler's house was supposed to start an hour ago, but half the senior class was still MIA.

"You look like you're conducting a stakeout," said a voice behind her.

Maya jumped. It was Leo from her English lit class, holding a baseball bat and looking annoyingly unaffected by the humidity. "I'm not. I'm just ... waiting."

"For?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "The apocalypse? Because I'm pretty sure that gray wall of clouds over there means we're about to get hammered."

Lightning cracked across the sky, closer than Maya liked. Perfect. This party was going to be a disaster.

"Tyler's baseball game went into extra innings," she admitted. "The whole team's running late, which means basically everyone important is still at the field."

"Everyone important," Leo repeated. "Ouch. Guess I know where I rank."

Maya's face heated up. "I didn't mean—"

"I'm messing with you, Maya." Leo leaned against the palm tree beside her, his shoulder brushing hers. "But seriously, why are you standing here like you're on secret spy duty instead of actually, I don't know, swimming? The pool is literally right there."

"Because I don't want to be the only one in the pool looking desperate."

"So you'd rather stand here looking mysterious?"

"It's called strategy, Leo."

He laughed, and something in Maya's chest did that annoying fluttery thing it sometimes did when he sat near her in class. "You know what's actually strategic? Being the person who jumps in first. Takes the pressure off everyone else."

More lightning. A low rumble of thunder followed.

"Yeah, well, some of us aren't built like that," Maya muttered.

"What, scared of a little storm? Or scared of being first?"

She looked at him—really looked at him—and realized something that hit her like actual lightning, the metaphor becoming real and terrifying and exciting all at once. Leo wasn't making fun of her. He was waiting. For her.

"Both," she said honestly.

Leo nodded like she'd just said something smart. "Me too. But I've got this theory that doing the scary thing first means everyone else thinks you're brave instead of scared."

Maya looked at the empty pool, then at the storm-darkened sky, then back at Leo. "Jump in with me?"

His grin was answer enough.

They hit the water seconds before the first real bolt of lightning split the sky, Tyler's baseball team running through the back gate just in time to see two people who'd been waiting all night finally start living it.