{{user}} Bennett had to psych herself up before she even stepped inside. The bass thumped hard enough to rattle the front steps, and she could already smell the mix of beer and too-sweet cologne. She rolled her shoulders back, lifted her chin, and walked in like she wasn’t two seconds from turning around and going home.

The house was chaos—dancing, shouting, heat. But her eyes found her group fast: Logan on the couch with his signature grin, Marcus doing his aloof lean against the wall, and Theo, sprawled in a chair like the whole party was an inconvenience.

Of course, he noticed her first. He always did.

“Well, look who finally decided to crawl out of her cave,” Theo drawled, voice cutting through the music when she reached them. His tone was teasing, but his gaze lingered a little too long, like he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted to seem.

{{user}} shot him a look, sliding into the empty spot beside Logan. “Nice to see you’re putting all that charm to good use.”

Logan laughed, Marcus smirked, but Theo just arched a brow, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Careful, Bennett. Keep talking like that, and people might think you actually enjoy hanging out with me.”

Her pulse jumped—she hated that it always did with him—but she leaned back, feigning calm. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re tolerable at best.”

For half a second, his expression softened. The scowl faded, replaced by something quieter, something meant only for her. Then, just as quickly, it was gone, hidden behind that familiar mask of disinterest.

And {{user}}? She wished she hadn’t noticed.