The Lightning Between Us
Maya felt like a zombie as she dragged herself through the hallway, third consecutive all-nighter catching up to her. APUSH was absolutely killing her, and the coffee from the cafeteria wasn't even touching her exhaustion.
"You look dead," said Jordan, falling into step beside her. They'd been barely-friends since seventh grade, the kind who sat together at lunch when neither had anyone else to sit with.
"Thanks," Maya muttered. "You're looking particularly alive yourself."
Jordan laughed, and Maya felt that weird little spark she'd been ignoring for months now. Not that it mattered. Jordan was popular, played lacrosse, had actual friends. Maya was the girl who sat in the back with her headphones on, existing in the margins.
The sky opened up as they stepped outside—lightning split the sky in this jagged, gorgeous crack that made everyone scream. Jordan grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the old statue on the quad.
"The school sphinx," Jordan said, grinning as they ducked under the stone creature's wing. "Classic shelter."
"Who hides under a sphinx?" Maya asked, but she was smiling too. Their shoulders pressed together in the small dry space. She could smell Jordan's stupid expensive cologne, could feel warmth radiating off them.
"We're just two zombies trying to survive junior year," Jordan said softly, turning to look at her. The lightning flashed again, illuminating their face in this momentary, perfect glow. "And I've been meaning to ask—"
The bell rang, cutting them off. They pulled apart, the moment breaking.
"Never mind," Jordan said, but they were still looking at Maya like—like maybe they felt it too. That spark. That impossible, terrifying lightning-strike feeling.
"Ask me anyway," Maya said, her heart hammering harder than any storm.
Jordan smiled, and for the first time all year, Maya didn't feel like a zombie at all. She felt awake. She felt seen. She felt like maybe, just maybe, she wasn't existing in the margins anymore.
"Friday," Jordan said. "There's this stupid party. I was thinking—"
"Yes," Maya said, before she could overthink it.
The rain kept falling, but under that stone sphinx, everything had changed.