Everyone was at Tara’s infamous party.

The house buzzed with chaos—music thumping through the walls like a second heartbeat, bodies shoulder to shoulder, spilling out onto the backyard. The air was thick with the sour sting of beer, sweat, perfume, and smoke. TikTok lights flashed from every corner as influencers posed, laughed, danced like they weren’t being watched by thousands online.

Vinnie was already three drinks in, flushed and laughing with his friends, a red Solo cup dangling from his hand. That is, until he saw her.

His laughter died mid-breath.

Across the crowd, framed in the pulse of neon lights and the blur of moving bodies—{{user}}.

His jaw tightened. “Oh, hell no… what is she doing here?” he muttered under his breath, the words nearly lost in the bass shaking the floor.

Vinnie and {{user}} never got along. Oil and water. Fire and ice. They argued like it was a sport and tolerated each other because they had to—not because they wanted to. Or at least… that’s what they always told themselves.

He took a long, burning swig of his drink, dragging his gaze away from her.

But she looked… different.

Not the usual flared jeans and faded t-shirt. No— tonight she looked like she belonged in someone else’s world. Hair slightly curled, a dress hugging her figure, eyes scanning the party like she was trying not to drown in it.

Vinnie couldn’t stop glancing over. Every few seconds, stealing quick looks while pretending to follow the conversation around him. He knew {{user}} hated places like this. Too loud. Too much. Too fake.

So what the hell was she doing here?

And why did it bother him so much?

He ran a hand through his hair, jaw ticking. He shouldn’t care. He really shouldn’t.

But when he looked again, she was on the ground.

Kneeling. Pale. Breath unsteady.

His heart stopped for a second.

“Shit,” he muttered, breaking away from his friends and pushing through the crowd.

He reached her quickly, dropping to one knee beside her, hands finding her shoulders as gently as he could. “{{user}},” he said, his voice low but urgent. “Hey—hey, look at me. Are you hurt?”

She looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears, lips parted like she couldn’t catch her breath. He swallowed hard.

Without thinking, he slipped his arm around her waist and helped her up, keeping her close against him as he searched for a way out of the chaos. She leaned into him—not fully, but enough to make his chest ache.

He spotted a quiet corner in the back of the room and started leading her toward it. They barely got a few feet before some guy stumbled into her.

“Watch it,” Vinnie snapped, shooting the guy a cold glare as he shifted {{user}} protectively behind him. His arm didn’t leave her waist as he guided her to a small, beat-up couch in the corner.

She sat down slowly, her fingers trembling as they fidgeted in her lap as he slowly sat down beside her, his leg brushing hers.

“What are you even doing here?” he asked, brows furrowed. “You hate crowded places—especially parties like this.”

Alina looked down, silent for a beat too long.

So he sat there. Beside the girl he couldn’t stand… or couldn’t stop thinking about.

He wasn’t sure which anymore.