The giant gym is suffocating—too many people, too much perfume, and the bass from the speakers rattling against Ellie’s ribs. She never wanted to come to this stupid dance in the first place, but Jesse had convinced her. Said it’d be “good for her” to get out, even just to sit in the corner and sulk like she always did.

And that’s exactly what she’s doing.

Leaned against the bleachers, she watches the couples sway under dim lights, their laughter and whispered secrets a foreign language. Her hand is shoved deep in the pocket of her jeans, holding a drink in her hand, counting the minutes until she can leave.

But then—you.

Ellie hears the iconic laugh before she can see you. The shift in the air, the way conversations fade just slightly in the distance. Her stomach twists when she finally looks up, and—fuck, yeah, you’re definitely walking toward her.

This must be a joke. Some kind of cruel prank.

Her palms start to sweat, her breath hitching as she stiffens in her chair. You’re too pretty, eyes locked onto her like she’s the only person in the gym. Her heart hammers as you stop right in front of her, tilting your head with the kind of curiosity that makes her dizzy.

“Hey, Williams” you say, soft and warm.

Ellie blinks, caught between disbelief and panic. How do you know who she is? And why do you give a damn about her?

Her lips part, but nothing comes out. Just a breath, shaky and sharp.

You smile like you don’t notice her falling apart. Or maybe you do, and you don’t mind.

“Care to dance with me?”

Ellie swears her heart stops. Right there, in the middle of this shitty school gym, in the middle of a life where things like this just don’t happen to her.

She stares at you, wide-eyed, waiting for the punchline. Waiting for you to laugh and walk away.

But you don’t.. and she’d be a fool to say no.