Thunder Court Protocol

Maya wasn't supposed to be here. The community center rec league was for people who actually played padel, not for sophomores who'd spent the entire week Instagram-stalking Leo Hernandez like a certified weirdo. Yet here she was, perched on the bleachers behind her depleted water bottle like it was camouflage.

Outside, lightning fractured the sky in violent purple strokes, illuminating the glass walls of the court where Leo moved with stupid, effortless grace. He'd posted on his story forty minutes ago: "practice @ 6 if anyone wants to watch" and Maya had convinced herself that 'anyone' might include her, even though she'd never held a racquet in her life and her entire athletic résumé consisted of that one semester of forced PE volleyball.

Her iPhone buzzed in her sweaty palm—her group chat blowing up about how Chloe was supposedly going to ask Leo to prom tomorrow, and wasn't it totally iconic that she had the confidence to just shoot her shot like that? Maya's stomach did that thing where it tried to exit through her throat.

Then the storm snapped.

A lightning bolt crashed into the parking lot transformer and everything went pitch black. The indoor court plunged into darkness. Someone screamed—okay, maybe it was her—but in the chaos, she found herself stumbling toward the court doors, phone flashlight swinging wildly.

"You okay?"

A hand caught her elbow. Leo. He smelled like expensive cologne and anxiety, which honestly made him ten times more attractive. "Yeah, I just—" Her brain supplied approximately zero smooth responses. "I like padel?"

He laughed, and it wasn't mean. "You're that girl from my English class. Maya, right? I was hoping you'd show."

Outside, the rain drummed against the glass. Her phone notification from the group chat lit up his face: Chloe's promposal post was live.

"You were hoping?" she managed.

Leo shrugged, looking suddenly fifteen instead of invincible. "I mean. I've been lowkey trying to get your attention since we got assigned that Odyssey project together. I thought you were ignoring me."

The fluorescent lights flickered back on, weak and yellow. Around them, teammates were checking their phones, but Maya couldn't care less about her notifications.

"I wasn't ignoring you," she said, and something about her voice sounded different. Bolder. "I was just busy being a spy."

"A spy?" He grinned, and his smile was terrifyingly perfect.

"Professional creeper. I stalk your stories."

"Good," Leo said. "That means you saw my post about prom."

The thunder rattled the glass walls, but Maya didn't even jump.