The problem with being only a few days away from the Winter Formal was that suddenly—
everything felt important.
The clothes.
The music.
The decorations.
Even text messages somehow carried emotional significance.
Lily discovered this on Sunday afternoon.
She had just returned home after shopping when her phone buzzed.
One message.
From Noah.
Her heartbeat immediately became suspicious.
She opened it.
Noah: Did you find something?
Lily stared at the screen.
Then smiled before she could stop herself.
Lily: Maybe.
A few seconds later—
another message appeared.
Noah: So that's a yes.
She typed back.
Lily: Maybe means maybe.
Another pause.
Then—
Noah: Fair enough.
For reasons she couldn't explain, the conversation should have ended there.
Instead—
her phone started rin
