The gym was empty now, the lights dimmed except for the soft glow of string lights hanging from the ceiling. The remnants of the prom night—the scattered confetti, the crushed cups—lay forgotten on the floor. Ollie and {{user}} sat together on the edge of the stage, the buzz of distant voices and laughter still faint in the background.

They hadn’t spoken much all night, caught in the whirlwind of expectations, rumors, and the pressure to be someone they weren’t. But here, away from the crowd, the noise faded, and all that was left was the quiet between them.

Ollie shifted closer, his usual sarcasm softened into something honest.

“You ever think about how dumb all this is? The perfect dresses, the endless smiles… like none of it’s real.”

{{user}} glanced at him, but said nothing. He smiled a little, the kind of smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Maybe we’re just two messed-up kids trying to find a moment that means something. And maybe, for a second, this is it.”

He looked at her, searching for a spark of that old connection they used to have—the one that wasn’t about appearances or rumors, just… them.