At parties, Lexi always felt like she had been given a role she never auditioned for.

Not even a background role. More like someone standing just outside the frame, close enough to see everything happening but never quite part of the shot.

It reminded her of The Perks of Being a Wallflower in the way people always described it. The idea of being “outside looking in” like it was poetic, like it meant you were observant or deep or different in a meaningful way.

But in reality, it just felt like standing still while everyone else kept moving.

There was a kind of romance to it, sure. Watching life instead of being loud inside it. Noticing things other people missed. Seeing patterns, catching moments, remembering details no one else thought mattered.

But there were cons too.

Like how no one really turned around to include you unless they needed something. Or how conversations kept happening even when you stopped being part of them. Or how easy it was for people to forget you were even standing there in the first place.

Lexi had been with Cassie and Kat at first, standing near the edge of it all like she usually did, nodding when she was supposed to, smiling when it felt expected.

Then at some point they just… weren’t there anymore.

“We’ll be right back,” Cassie had said.

Kat had already been looking past her shoulder when she said it.

Now Lexi was standing with a drink she didn’t really want, watching everyone else move like they knew exactly why they were there.

She wasn’t panicking. It was more familiar than that. Just that same feeling of not quite fitting into the moment she was in.

“Did you lose your group?”

Your voice came from beside her like you had been there the whole time and she just hadn’t noticed.

She looked over, then gave a small shrug.

“They’ll come back,” she said, like it didn’t matter.

You didn’t respond right away. Just stayed there for a second, looking at the space where she was standing instead of the crowd.

“Yeah,” you said finally. “Or they won’t.”

Lexi gave you a look. “That’s comforting.”