The Cat Who Saw Everything

Maya's palms were sweating. Like, actually sweating through her phone case as she gripped it way too tight. The bass from somewhere in the house thrummed against her back, and she could literally feel her heart doing gymnastics in her chest.

"You good?" Jay asked, leaning against the porch railing like he didn't have a care in the world. Of course he was chill. Jay was always chill.

"Yeah, just needed air," Maya lied, wiping her hands on her jeans. "It's just... a lot in there."

Jay nodded, understanding without making it weird. That was the thing about him — he got it.

A calico cat wound around Maya's ankles, purring like a tiny motor. It belonged to Ms. Hernandez next door, but it spent half its time crashing parties like it owned the place.

"That cat's seen some things," Jay said, grinning.

Maya laughed, some of the tension in her shoulders loosening. "For real though. It knows all our embarrassing moments. It's probably judging us right now."

"Yo, can I tell you something?" Jay asked suddenly, not meeting her eyes.

Maya's stomach did that stupid fluttery thing again. "Yeah?"

"I was gonna ask you to homecoming, but then I heard you already said no to like, three people, and I didn't wanna be number four getting roasted." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking suddenly uncharacteristically nervous.

Maya blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I just — I wasn't trying to make things weird. If you're not into—"

"No, I said no because I wasn't trying to go with randies I barely know," she interrupted, then took a breath. "I was waiting to see if someone specific would ask."

The cat chose that exact moment to jump onto the railing between them, like a furry, judgmental chaperone. Jay's eyes went wide.

"Oh." A slow grin spread across his face. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Maya's palms weren't sweating anymore. "So... you still wanna ask me?"

Jay laughed, relieved. "Maya, you wanna go to homecoming with me?"

"Obviously." She smirked. "But you're gonna have to do better than that. That was weak."

"Fair." He gestured to the cat. "Bear witness, fuzzball. This is history."

The cat yawned, completely unimpressed.

Maya smiled so hard her face hurt. For the first time all night, everything felt exactly right.