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“Can’t believe we kissed that guy,” Ava said, tapping a painted nail against her tray as she spoke, while the other one was playing with a string of her brown hair. Her voice was light and cool, matching the icy-blue shimmer of her eyeshadow.

“Can’t believe we kissed both of them,andhe’s coming to Sienna’s party,” Raine corrected, her face twisting in disgust. Her voice, usually soft, was laced with sarcasm and irony right now.

“I can’t believe all three of you kissed both of them.” I shook my head, pushing a strand of blonde hair out of my brown eyes.

“And who is he anyway?” Raine muttered, aggressively stabbing a piece of lettuce on her tray. The sleeves of her grounded, blue knit sweater bunched at her elbows, while her brown hair was tumbling over her shoulders. Her blue eyes were narrowed, fixed on a table across the cafeteria.

“Just a conceited little prick.” Ava didn’t even look up from her phone, her thumb scrolling with bored speed.

“And the other one is just a goon,” Sienna added, crossing her arms over her chest. I looked at her red hair; it was a blazing, defiant scarlet that seemed to soak up all the light in the cafeteria. It was pulled back in a high, sleek ponytail, making her bright green eyes look even sharper and more full of volatile energy. “A cute goon, maybe, but still a goon.”

“Girls, c’mon,” I sighed, dropping my fork with a clatter that made Ava and Raine jump. I rubbed my temples, feeling the familiar throb of a headache starting right behind my eyes. “I just want to have a nice lunch today. Can we talk about something else?”

Ugh. The girls were whining about him again. Noah. And his stupid, ever-present shadow, Dune. The undisputed, untouchable kings of this stupid school. As always.

It all went back to that party a week ago. The one I’d thankfully skipped. They’d made some disgusting, toxic bet to see if they could kiss all three of my friends, without any of them knowing it was all just a game.

Since then, my friends have been united against them, fueled by a righteous, white-hot rage.

And honestly? I can’t blame them.

I’m just so, so glad I wasn’t there. The very thought of Noah, or God, Dune, even looking at me like that...trying to...ew.

My stomach physically recoiled. The bile rose in my throat.

I can’t imagine them ever kissing me. I might actually scream. Or throw up. Or scream while throwing up. Just the mental image was enough to make my skin crawl.

Anyway, I’ve always tried to avoid them. Not because I thought they were inherently bad people, but just because they always sought attention. They practically bathed in the spotlight. I was never the type to be in the center of anything. I was just the low-profile, funny friend who was always there for her girls. And I was okay with that.

I was the type to express myself through more artistic ways. I loved painting and writing. My life was basically a triangle: when I wasn’t studying, I was painting, and when I wasn’t painting, I was writing. A fun fact about me would be that I have over 100 paintings in my room, in a folder. Oh, and I run the Midnight Confessions blog. The one that our entire school obsessively checks all the time.

I wrote one blog post about “the conceited little prick” my friends were just talking about, and it blew up. Since then, I’ve gotten thousands of reads. It was supposed to be a quiet blog about how to study, art techniques, and crafts. Instead, it became the school’s number one gossip rag. And honestly, I was enjoying it a little too much.

My friends knew about it. I made my first post about capturing lightning in paintings, so it was quite hard to hide it from them. Now they’re always excited to feed me the worst gossip that could possibly be out there. Of course, I don’t post most of it...but they always hope.

As if summoned by the conversation, the guys passed us to go sit at their usual lunch table. And just like that, Noah and I locked eyes. A solid, three-second connection across a sea of cafeteria tables. I rolled mine and broke away first.

I was so not interested. I just mentally deleted him from existence. We’ve never spoken, but we always acknowledged each other’s presence. It was this silent, weird acknowledgment. A gravitational pull I actively ignored. That was all. Nothing more.

The maximum interaction I’d ever had with him was being forced into the same room for theatre rehearsal in junior year. I just ignored whatever he was saying—couldn’t care less. Thank God we weren’t in the same one-act.

I was playing the role of an old man, while Raine was the daughter. He was playing a married couple with Loren, the girl who could weaponize a hair-flip and make any guy fall in love with her.

I never understood how she managed to do that, but it was the same way with Noah. And part of me despised that, being ready to get freaky with anyone, anytime. For me, connections were about trust. About love. I could have never even been friends with my girls if I didn’t know I trusted them and loved them, and that they trusted and loved me back.

“Lena, are you coming tonight?” Raine elbowed me.

“Of course,” I said without even thinking, although doubt did cross my mind.

It was Sienna’s birthday tonight, and she’d invited the whole high school, including the two guys who just passed by us. She invited them before they pulled that move on them, and now it was too late to uninvite them. Plus, let’s be honest, there was no party without the two of them, especially if they brought their friends. If they were there, the whole school was there.

The thing is: You didn’t just go to Sienna’s birthday parties. They were legendary. The kind of chaotic, epic night you couldn’t miss. The speakers would be cranked so loud you’d feel the bass vibrating in your teeth, like the actual heartbeat of the party. There’d be fake fog pouring out the front door, making everything look like a movie. The entire school would be there, packed shoulder-to-shoulder into her impossibly tidy living room. Honestly, it was going to be the party of the year, and I wanted to support her.

But thinking of all the people that were gonna be there made my stomach do a slow, uncomfortable flip. My excitement deflated, just a little, replaced by that familiar buzz of anxiety under my skin.

Okay, who was I kidding? It wasn’t all the people.

It was one.

Noah.

He’d be there, holding court like he always did, that easy, infuriating confidence rolling off him in waves. He’d be completely in his element. And I’d be...me.

I always wondered how it was so easy for him — to just go with the flow, to say yes to the wildest ideas without blinking, to throw himself into every moment like it was the opening scene of his own movie. He could climb the roof of the gym during lunch just to shout “Happy Friday!” to the entire school. He could skateboard down the hallway and somehow get applause instead of detention. He told jokes that weren’t even that funny, but people laughed anyway, because it was him. Because the world bent around him like he was the sun, and we were all just orbiting.

That intense, weird-as-hell eye contact we shared earlier suddenly felt ten times heavier. My palms started to feel clammy. What was I even going to wear? How do you simultaneously support your best friend and also become invisible?

I looked over at Noah again, this time under the cover of sipping my apple juice. I studied him for a minute. The way his blonde hair fell over his blue eyes, the easy confidence in his shoulders. He must have felt my stare, because he looked up. We locked eyes again, and he winked at me. This was the kind of shit he was always pulling off.

And part of me hated him for it. The other part? Well, I don’t know what the other part felt, but I knew for sure I had to stay away from him.

He was trouble.

I immediately snapped my gaze down to my plate. Today I got smashed potatoes and a sloppy joe. The congealed gravy suddenly looked repulsive. I was in no mood to eat. I needed a break from the noise.

“But you do need to wear a costume,” Sienna said, pointing her spork at me.

“But, Sienna—”

“No buts. Last time you said you would dress up ‘next time’. If you say the same thing now, I will kick your butt.”

“Fine, then,” I sighed, pushing the potatoes around.

“I also have our costumes ready,” she grinned, her eyes lighting up. “We will be the Winx Club.”

Of course we would. Only Sienna could make a childhood fantasy look like a Friday-night fashion statement.

“And please don’t forget to write about the party,” she added, wiggling her eyebrows. “You promised.”

“Sienna, are you insane?” I hissed, leaning in like a criminal mastermind. “Shut up before someone hears you.”

Raine blinked at me like I was the unhinged one here. “Calm down, Lena. It’s just us.”

It was only then I realized I was gripping my fork like it was a weapon and my free hand was tangled in my hair, clawing at it like a deranged villain in a horror film.

I slowly set the fork down. Great. Totally normal. Perfectly sane.

“Right,” I breathed out, trying to un-crazy my face. “I will, girls. I’ll write about it, like I promised.”

“And don’t forget to write about it when it starts,” Sienna said. “More people will show up if you hype it.”

“I will,” I sighed.

Sienna shot Raine a smug look, like she’d just tamed a wild animal. Meanwhile, my brain was melting into existential soup.

Because yes, I’d promised to post about the party on Midnight Confessions, but absolutely no one could ever find out.

*

The second the last bell rang, we staged a tactical sprint to Sienna’s house.

Her bedroom was a glorious mess. Sparkly fabric scraps littered the floor, half-empty chip bags hung out of drawers, open makeup palettes stared up at us from every surface, and a “Y2K Bad Bitch” playlist blared from her speakers. On her bed, like offerings to the party gods, were our costumes.

“They’re perfect,” Sienna declared, holding up a glittery blue top. “Bloom, obviously, is me.” She fluffed her red hair like it was self-evident. “Lena, you’re Stella. Ava, Flora. And Raine, our water-powered queen, Aisha.”

“Did you use a hot glue gun for these wings?” Raine asked, poking a delicate turquoise frame. Her tone was deadpan, but the little smirk gave her away.

“It’s called artisanal crafting,” Sienna shot back, already shimmying into her Bloom outfit.

We scrambled around her room, laughing and stepping over piles of clothes, trying to get changed. Ava was first, of course. She twirled in her pink, rose-petal-inspired skirt, examining herself from every angle. “Slightly asymmetrical hem,” she noted. “And is this craft glitter? Not cosmetic grade?”

“It’ll look fine in the dark, you petty queen,” Sienna replied, zipping up her boots.

Raine appeared next, in a wave-blue two-piece. “Surprisingly comfortable. I expected to be dying in five minutes. Well done.”

I, however, was having a crisis. I pulled on the tiny, glittery orange bottoms of my Stella outfit and stared down. Nope. Still horrifying.

“Um, Sienna?” I looked up, clutching the waistband. “My shorts... they’re not... long.”

“They’re supposed to be like that,” Sienna said, barely glancing up, mascara wand in hand. “It’s a look. Quit whining and find the matching boots.”

“A look? Sienna, a breeze could get me arrested!” I hissed, backing toward the bathroom. “These are less ‘shorts’ and more ‘polite suggestion of pants.’”

Raine peeked in, smirking. “Just think of it as harnessing the power of the sun. You’re radiating, Lena.”

“Shut up, Raine,” I muttered, but couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping.

I stared at myself in the mirror. Okay, fine. The orange glittery outfit was actually kind of sexy. Ava had done my makeup; it was just mascara and a shimmery golden eyeshadow, but it worked. My blonde hair down, brown eyes, the orange and gold... it actually looked good.

When I finally came out, the girls all turned.

“Okay, Stella!” Ava approved with a nod.

“See? I’m a genius,” Sienna said, striking a pose with one hand on her hip.

We stood in front of the full-length mirror, a ridiculous, glittering, hot-glued-together magical team. Sienna, fiery and chaotic as Bloom; Ava, flawless Flora; Raine, cool, sarcastic Aisha; and me... very scantily clad Stella. Glitter stuck to our skin, twinkling with every move. We looked insane, but amazing.

DING-DONG.

The first doorbell rang. Then another. Voices shouted from the lawn.

“They’re early,” Raine noted.

“Always early,” Sienna said, grinning. “Someone’s already got a drink in the garden.”

She clapped her hands. “Showtime, witches.”

“Wait—” I held up a hand. “Not before I schedule the post about the party.”

“Good point,” Ava added.

I’d already written it during PE, locking myself in the bathroom. I knew I wouldn’t have time to do it during the actual party, and I couldn’t disappoint my girls.

Thirty minutes to the minute, I hit “schedule” and tossed my phone onto the nightstand by the window. Out of sight. Out of mind.

Ava, Raine, and Sienna headed for the door.

I took one last look in the mirror, gave a tiny wiggle in my micro-shorts, and smiled.

Here I come. The show starts now.

Hey everyone! 👋

This is the very first chapter of my story, and I’m so excited to finally share it with you. I hope you enjoy meeting the characters and diving into their world.

If you like what you read, don’t forget to vote, comment, and follow. It really helps me know you’re enjoying the story! 💛

Chapter 2 is coming very soon, so stay tuned... things are about to get interesting.