The world was alive.

Every leaf shimmered like it was laughing at something you couldn’t hear. The breeze tickled your arms and made your skin feel like it could float off your bones. And the sky—God, the sky—was purple and gold and glittering like spilled paint.

You were on your back in the grass, one hand raised like you could catch the last bit of sunlight in your palm.

Then—

“There you are.”

You turned your head slowly, lazily. And there she was.

Lottie Matthews. Standing over you, her arms crossed, her dress long over her long frame, strands of her dark hair catching the light like silk. Her face was unreadable, but you could see the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth.

“Sunshine,” you grinned. “Or… goddess. Or—what’s your name again? Something soft and cult-y.”

Lottie knelt down beside you, one brow arching. “You’re high.”

You nodded enthusiastically, smiling like the word itself tasted sweet. “Mhm. Me and Travis. But he got all weird and serious, and I wanted to look at the trees instead. They’re, like, talking.”

She reached out and brushed a few pieces of grass from your cheek. “Are they saying anything interesting?”

“They said I’m in love with you,” you whispered, giggling.

Lottie blinked, just once. But she didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, she let it linger—warm against your skin.