Los Angeles, Alice’s party, 2013.

The music at Alice's party throbbed faintly through the walls, laughter and chatter spilling across every room.

Sam’s tucked herself into the corner of the kitchen, nursing her third drink, hoping the burn might dull the ache of Nikki's absence. The breakup was still raw, still buzzing like an open wound.

Sam absentmindedly sipped her plastic cup again... That's when her eyes caught on you. Not Nikki, not Riley—someone different. You lingered across the room, framed by the dim glow of Alice's kitchen lights, your laugh soft and genuine as you chatted with a friend. For the first time in the past few days, something stirred in Sam that wasn't just anger or frustration.

And when your eyes met Sam’s, even for a moment, it was enough to make her chest tighten with the dangerous thought that maybe... maybe she could feel something again.