I had come to the party with my brother—well, not just with him, Rafe was there too, my brother’s best friend. We had all driven here together, but once we arrived, we split up. The party was as usual—loud, chaotic, and full of energy. I was just drifting through, catching up with people, letting the night unfold.

But then, out of nowhere, Rafe found me.

“Let’s go.”

I turned to see him standing there, his hands in his pockets, that same unreadable expression on his face as always.

“Go where?”

His eyes met mine. “Home.”

I glanced around the room, trying to find my brother, but he was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s my brother?”

Rafe’s jaw tightened, a flicker of something passing across his face. “He’s got other plans.”

Just like that, my plans for the night had been ruined. Now I was stuck, alone with Rafe.

The drive started in an uncomfortable silence. The engine hummed softly, the only sound the occasional flick of the turn signal as Rafe switched lanes. I kept my eyes on the window, watching the streetlights blur by. It was the kind of silence that pressed in, hard to ignore

But then his voice cut through the quiet.

“Who was that guy?”

I snapped my gaze back to him. His eyes were fixed on the road, but his question felt sharper than it should’ve been.

“Which guy?”

“The one you were talking to earlier.”

I sighed, trying to keep my voice steady. “Just a friend.”

For a moment, he didn’t respond, but I noticed his hand tighten slightly on the steering wheel. A small change, but it made the space between us feel even smaller.

“Just a friend,” he repeated, as if testing the words.

I raised an eyebrow, glancing at him briefly. “Yeah. Why?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head, his lips curling in a small, almost dismissive way. “Just didn’t look like ‘just a friend’ to me.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the window. “Well, you see a lot of things that aren’t real.”

He let out a short, almost humorless laugh. There was no amusement in it, just something else—sharp, a little cold.

“Right,” he muttered.