The Night Everything Went Wrong

My lucky trucker hat sat crooked on my head—basically a security blanket against social suicide—as I stood outside Tyler's house. The bass from inside vibrated in my chest. First real party. Senior year. Do or die.

"You good?" Maya asked, already halfway up the driveway.

"Yeah," I lied. "Just fixing my hat."

Inside, the air smelled like cheap body spray and desperation. Someone had zombie makeup dripping down their face—Halloween in February? Bold. I navigated through people doing that awkward party sway-dance thing, feeling like a tourist in my own high school.

Then I saw him.

Tyler's older brother, Luke, leaning against the kitchen counter. Total bull in a china shop—towering over everyone, voice booming like he owned the place. He was telling this war story about bear wrestling in Colorado or something, surrounded by a rapt audience of freshmen hanging on every word.

I'd had a crush on Luke forever. Not that he'd ever noticed me. I was just his little brother's friend, invisible as background noise.

"Yo, nice hat," someone said behind me.

I jumped. It was Luke. Up close, his eyes were actually kind, not intense like from across the room.

"Thanks," I managed. My voice cracked. Cringe.

"You're Marcus's friend, right? The one who's obsessed with that zombie show?"

I froze. Marcus had told him about me?

"Yeah, actually. I mean, obsessed is a strong word."

Luke laughed. It was genuine, not mean. "Nah, it's cool. I've been meaning to catch up. What did you think of last season's finale?"

We talked for twenty minutes about plot twists and character arcs. His dog, this golden retriever named Buster, kept nudging my hand like, pet me, I'm more interesting than zombies. Luke caught me petting Buster and didn't even make fun of me.

"You're actually funny," he said when I made some self-deprecating joke about my social skills.

"Funny weird or funny ha-ha?"

"Both. But like, in a good way."

My heart did this embarrassing flutter thing. Then someone shouted something about beer pong and Luke got pulled away by his friends.

But he looked back. "We should continue this sometime."

I walked home with Maya afterward, my lucky hat pushed back, feeling like maybe—just maybe—I didn't need it anymore.