Thunder Pool Secrets

The community pool was basically ground zero for all summer drama, and that's where I found him—Jay, my supposed best friend since kindergarten, crouched behind the snack bar with his phone pointed directly at me and Sarah.

"Dude, are you seriously spying on me?" I confronted him, my chest tight. "With your dog? Really?"

Buster, Jay's golden retriever, sat there looking guilty, tail thumping nervously against the concrete.

"I'm not a spy!" Jay protested, but the way he hid his phone screamed otherwise. "I was just—"

"Just what? Recording me for your TikTok? Living vicariously?"

That's when the first crack of lightning split the sky, illuminating everything in harsh white. The pool cleared instantly—everyone except me, Jay, and Sarah, who was still swimming laps like her life depended on it.

"We gotta go," Jay said, grabbing Buster's leash. "Lifeguards are closing everything."

"No," I said, arms crossed. "You explain first. Why were you spying?"

Sarah climbed out of the pool, water dripping from her perfect hair. She looked between us. "What's going on?"

Jay sighed, defeated. "Fine. I wasn't spying. I was practicing. For when I actually talk to her." He nodded toward Sarah. "I wanted to see what you guys talk about so I wouldn't make everything weird."

Sarah's eyes went wide. "You like me?"

"Obviously," Jay muttered, while Buster barked like he'd been waiting forever to say it.

Another lightning strike, closer this time. The air smelled like ozone and impending chaos.

"You're an idiot," I told Jay, but I was grinning. "You could've just asked to hang with us."

"I know," Jay groaned. "I'm just—"

"Awkward?" Sarah suggested, smiling.

"Yeah."

"Well," she said, grabbing her towel, "we're all getting soaked running to my house anyway. You guys coming?"

Buster barked again as thunder rattled the pool chairs. Sometimes the best friendships aren't about being smooth—they're about being real, even when you're caught hiding behind snack bars with your dog, spying on your best friend's crush. We ran through the downpour, all three of us laughing, while lightning painted the sky in electric strokes, like the universe was taking a picture of this perfectly weird moment.