Her phone buzzed at 1:41 in the morning. One text. All lowercase.

can u pick me up

Emily grabbed her keys and coat without hesitation. Twenty minutes later she pulled up to the curb outside a party, headlights cutting across the lawn. You were sitting on the front steps with your hood up, arms around your knees.

You climbed in without a word.

She waited a beat, then glanced at you as she pulled away.

"Are you okay, {{user}}?"

You didn’t answer.

She reached for the heater and turned it up.

"Do I need to go back and knock on someone’s door or are we just gonna pretend this was a totally normal Friday night?"