WE WERE FINE UNTIL WE WEREN'T

CHAPTER 7. Sparks At Sunset

The backyard was packed. String lights zigzagged overhead, casting a warm orange glow on sweaty teens dancing, laughing, and generally causing chaos. Music thumped from a set of speakers that looked way too expensive for a high school party. Emily stood by the fence, clutching her soda, scanning the crowd.

“Don’t just stand there, loser,” Liam called, weaving through the crowd to reach her. He tossed her a grin that made her heart skip a beat before she scowled.

“Excuse me? I am surveying the scene!” she shot back, raising her soda like a makeshift microphone.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, snorting. “Surveying while avoiding every human who could embarrass you.”

Emily rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh. “Shut up.”

“Not gonna happen,” he said, grinning. “Anyway, you in for the water balloon fight later?”

Emily blinked. “Water balloon fight? Seriously?”

“Yeah! Come on, it’s summer! You can’t just sulk by the fence like a damn wallflower.”

“Wallflower? Really?” she muttered, but her lips twitched into a smile.

The party chaos escalated quickly. Someone launched the first water balloon, screaming like a maniac, and it hit a guy square in the chest. Emily and Liam ended up side by side behind a table, refilling balloons as the friendly war continued.

“You’re cheating!” she accused, tossing a balloon at him.

“Cheating? Me? Never,” Liam said, ducking and laughing, though the balloon hit the side of his shirt.

Emily squealed, dashing to refill another, and he grabbed her hand mid-run. “Whoa! Careful, princess. Don’t want you tripping over nothing.”

“Liam! Let go!” she protested, half laughing, half glaring, but she didn’t pull away. Her heart was beating faster than it should.

“Not a chance,” he said, smirking. “You’re way too fun to let go.”

The balloon fight eventually devolved into slipping in the grass, shrieks, and shrieks of laughter that drew a few neighbors out to see what the hell was happening. Emily was soaked, hair plastered to her forehead, and somehow ended up in a tangle with Liam after he tripped over a rogue garden hose.

They fell onto the grass in a heap, laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

“You’re such an i***t,” she gasped, wiping water from her face.

“Yeah, but you love it,” he said, one eyebrow raised, grinning like he’d won the universe.

Emily groaned, hiding her flushed cheeks. “Stop saying that!”

Eventually, everyone gathered around a bonfire. The sun dipped below the trees, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. Emily sat next to Liam, letting the warmth of the fire dry her soaked clothes.

“You ever notice,” he said quietly, poking the fire with a stick, “that some nights just… feel… bigger than they are?”

Emily tilted her head, thinking. “Bigger how?”

“Like, they feel important. Even if nothing huge happens, just… this. Being here, with all this chaos… it sticks.”

She smiled softly. “Yeah. I get that.”

For a long while, they just sat there, side by side, listening to the fire crackle and the laughter around them. It was simple, ordinary, but somehow… different. Sparks, maybe—not the fire, not the balloons, but something faint between them that neither of them dared to name.

Eventually, Emily yawned, stretching. “I should probably head home before my parents think I’ve been kidnapped.”

Liam nudged her shoulder. “Yeah… me too. But seriously—tonight was awesome. Thanks for not being a total bore.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, smiling.

He grinned, nudging her again. “Yeah, but you love it.”

Emily rolled her eyes, hiding her smile as she walked toward the driveway. Her heart was still fluttering, and she realized… maybe the sparks weren’t just from the chaos.