Nora

The music was louder than I expected. It pulsed in my chest, in my fingertips, even in the space between breaths.

I followed Amelia into the house, trying to act like I belonged here.. like I didn’t already want to turn around and walk straight back out. People moved around us in blurred motion. Laughing, shouting, pushing cups into hands, hips swaying to the bass-heavy rhythm. It felt like stepping into someone else’s dream.

“Is it just me or is this house way too clean for how many bodies are in it?” Amelia leaned toward me, dodging someone’s flying elbow.

“Give it twenty minutes,” I said. “Someone’s going to spill something.”

She grinned. “I’m taking bets it’s Eric.”

“You’re biased.”

“Correct.”

She disappeared into the crowd with the ease of someone who had never second-guessed herself a day in her life. I followed slowly, eyes scanning the room. I didn’t recognize anyone, not that I expected to.

Everyone here looked so comfortable in their skin. Like they knew how to exist in spaces like this. Like they weren’t calculating every step. Like they belonged.

And then it happened.

That feeling.

That feeling like someone had lit a match against the side of my neck. I didn’t know where it came from, but I felt it all the same.. sharp, invisible, heavy. My gaze lifted. It took a moment.

But then I saw him.

Upstairs. Across the railing.

Watching.

Axton.

He didn’t look away. Just… stared.

I didn’t know what to do with that. He wasn’t supposed to be here. Or maybe I wasn’t.

He looked different, even from a distance. Like he belonged to this place and still resented it all at once.

His hoodie was gone. Black shirt. Slightly rolled sleeves. Drink in hand like it meant nothing. But his eyes were sharp. Fixed on me like I was something he hadn’t expected, but wasn’t ready to ignore.

My heart stuttered.

And for a second, the crowd thinned. Not literally. But in that way when everything else goes soft around the edges and you’re only aware of one thing. One person.

It was him.

And the way he looked at me like he wanted to say something but knew he wouldn’t.

“Nora?” Amelia’s voice snapped me out of it.

I blinked and turned toward her. She was holding two drinks, brow slightly furrowed.

“You good?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Just... warm.”

“You look like you saw a ghost.” She shoved a cup into my hand. “Drink. Loosen up. Be mysterious and hot for once.”

“I’m always mysterious.”

“Yeah, but now you’re mysterious and under LED lighting.”

I managed a weak smile and took a sip.. something fruity and too strong.

We moved deeper into the party. She started introducing me to people. Names I forgot instantly. Faces that blurred together. But I could feel it.. That weight.

His eyes.

Even when I wasn’t looking up, I knew he hadn’t stopped. And I hated how much it made my skin feel too tight because I didn’t know what he wanted. Or if it was just curiosity. Or something worse.

Amelia tugged me toward the kitchen, laughing at something someone said behind us. Her hand brushed mine like she was grounding me but I wasn’t grounded.

Not anymore.

The truth settled in like a whisper between ribs. I didn’t come here expecting to see him. But now that I had, I couldn’t unfeel it.

Because I wasn’t the only one who came here trying to forget something.

And now… we were both failing.