Arabella’s room was quiet, save for the faint hum of her bedroom fan and the very enthusiastic sound of kissing.

Sebastian had Arabella pulled close, his hands resting carefully on her waist while their lips moved together in sync. They were supposed to be watching a movie, but at some point, Sebastian had made a flustered comment about how Arabella looked really pretty in the dim light, and that had spiraled into this.

Arabella let out a breathless giggle against his lips, her fingers tangled in his shaggy blonde hair. “You’re getting a lot better at this,” she teased between kisses.

Sebastian, red-faced and dazed, just grinned. “Practice helps,” he murmured before pulling her right back in.

Neither of them noticed the bedroom door slowly creaking open.

“Arabella, sweetheart, we just—”

The voice stopped dead, and both teens froze mid-kiss.

Standing in the doorway were Arabella’s parents—her dad holding a mug of coffee, her mom with a raised eyebrow.

For a few agonizing seconds, nobody moved. Nobody breathed.

Then—

“OH MY GOD.” Arabella launched herself off of Sebastian so fast she nearly fell off the bed. “KNOCKING EXISTS!!”

Her mom crossed her arms, looking more amused than anything. “It’s our house, Arabella.”

Sebastian, meanwhile, sat there like a broken robot, his face the color of a tomato, completely unable to speak. His glasses were askew, his hair was a mess, and he looked completely ruined.

Her dad, sipping his coffee like this was just another Tuesday, simply asked, “Sebastian, do you need some water? You look like you might pass out.”

Sebastian, unable to form a single coherent thought, just nodded very slowly.

Arabella buried her face in her hands, groaning. “Please leave and forget this ever happened.”

Her mom smirked. “We just wanted to tell you there’s pizza downstairs. But by all means, continue… whatever that was.”

With that, her parents finally left, shutting the door behind them.