Noel
The moment Noel and the boys piled into the car, I felt a rush of relief. A party. Something normal. A break from all the chaos that had been weighing on us lately. It felt good to smile, even if it was forced. I caught Noel glancing at me from the driver’s seat as we pulled out of the driveway.
“You okay?” he asked softly, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.
“Yeah,” I nodded quickly, brushing it off. “I mean, it’s just a party, right? What’s the worst that could happen?” The boys in the back laughed, Roman throwing a playful punch at Rain’s shoulder while River groaned from the front passenger seat.
“You’ve clearly never been to one of our parties,” River muttered, turning his head slightly to smirk at me.
When we arrived, the atmosphere was electric—music thumpin
