The block party was already loud when they arrived.
Music thumped through giant speakers in the yard.
The bass vibrated through the ground hard enough for anyone to feel it in the soles of their shoes.
Colored lights flashed across the crowded space.
Students packed shoulder to shoulder around the tables littered with cups, bottles, and melting ice.
Some climbed chairs, screaming lyrics into the air.
Instantly, Isla regretted coming.
She stayed close to Jonna as they moved through the crowd.
Her shoulders tensed beneath the jackets she wore.
The entire area was too crowded—too much noise.
Too many bodies brushed against her without warning.
Jonna, on the other hand, looked like she belonged here in a way Isla didn’t understand yet.
She laughed and waved at people who called out her name.
Her energy pulled attention without effort.
She reached back once to make sure Isla was still there, fingers brushing her wrist in a quick grounding squeeze.
“Okay,” Jonna said over the music, leaning in.
“I’m going to introduce you to my boyfriend first.”
Isla didn’t respond.
She just followed.
They stopped near a cluster of guys gathered around a red cooler.
“Devin!”
One of them turned immediately when Jonna called his name.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Basketball build—everything about him shaped like an impact.
He had that relaxed confidence athletes carried, as if it belonged to them more than air did.
“Hey, baby.” Devin grinned before wrapping an arm around Jonna’s waist and kissing her.
“Isla, this is my boyfriend, Devin,” Jonna said.
“Devin, this is my roommate and best friend I told you about.”
“I feel honored to meet the mysterious Cheer Girl who roasted Liam Douglas,” Devin said.
Isla forced a polite smile.
“Hi, Devin.”
He stretched out his hand for a handshake, and she took it.
Devin nodded once.
“We’ll be over.” Jonna kissed Devin on his lips again before pulling Isla along with her.
“I need you to meet a very good friend of mine. He might seem awkward, but he’s lovely. His name is Shae.”
“Shae?” Isla repeated.
“Isn’t that like—”
“A girl’s name.” Jonna completed.
Shae was easier to spot.
He was sitting on the edge of a table, legs crossed, laughing at something a guy said beside him.
“Shae!” Jonna called him over.
He lifted his head, and a bright smile broke out on his face.
Isla understood why his name was feminine.
He was pretty.
“What took you so long, girl?! I have been waiting forever.” He side hugged Jonna.
“This is Isla.” Jonna introduced.
“Famous Cheer Girl.” He clapped.
“Nice to meet you, Shae.”
“You too.” Shae tilted his head, studying her for a second.
“You look terrified.”
“Shae!” Jonna gasped.
“What? I’m helping. She needs to…loosen up, I think.”
“I don’t look terrified. And I’m fine.”
“Sure.” Shae’s mouth twitched.
“I have heard a lot about you.”
“I am hoping only good things,” Isla replied.
Shae’s smile widened.
“Mostly good. A little intimidating, apparently.”
Isla looked at Jonna.
Jonna groaned.
“I didn’t say intimidating.”
“You implied it,” Shae said, completely unbothered.
Devin walked over to him.
“Anybody need something to drink? Beer? Punch? Whatever mysterious liquid they are serving tonight?”
“I’ll take anything cold,” Jonna answered.
“I’ll have the beer,” Shae said.
Devin looked straight at Isla.
“You?”
Her stomach tightened.
“No. I’m good.” It came out a little too fast.
“You sure? They’ve got soda too.” Devin said casually.
“I said I’m good.” Her voice had a sharp edge.
They all looked at her with confused expressions.
A tiny crease appeared between Jonna’s brows.
“Isla, it’s just soda and—”
“I said no.” Isla cut in, softer this time but still tight.
A beat of silence passed between them.
Jonna’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Jonna nodded.
“Okay…”
“I’ll be right back.” Devin walked away.
Isla immediately hated herself for snapping, but irritation was already crawling beneath her skin.
She crossed her arms over her chest.
Devin returned briefly with drinks balanced in his hands.
“Still no?” he asked Isla again, offering one out of habit.
“I’m good,” she repeated.
He nodded and handed Jonna a cup and a can of beer to Shae.
“You’re really just water and vibes tonight?” Shae teased her.
Jonna stepped in quickly.
“She just doesn’t drink much.”
Music changed.
The crowd shifted toward the far end of the yard, where someone was shouting about a kissing booth set up near a large tree.
Shouts rippled through the crowd like it was contagious.
“Hey, babe, we should check that out,” Devin said to Jonna.
Jonna’s face lit up.
“Yeah. It’s tradition.”
“Huh! Huh! Definitely not ending this night without kissing someone in the booth.” Shae squeaked.
Isla watched them all pivot toward the idea as if it were inevitable.
Something in her stomach tightened.
She didn’t want to go.
She didn’t want to follow towards another wave of people she barely knew into another corner of noise and touch and pretending.
“I’ll just stay here,” she said.
Jonna turned back.
“No, you have to come with us.”
“And do what exactly?”
Jonna laughed a little.
“You’re acting like I’m dragging you into war.”
Isla exhaled.
“How long are we staying?” she asked.
The question landed wrong.
Jonna blinked.
“What?”
“Like,” Isla added, voice tightening, “what time are we going home?”
Devin and Shae looked between them, confusion flickering.
“We literally just got here,” Jonna said slowly.
Isla nodded once, not satisfied.
“I know. I’m just asking.”
Shae looked away awkwardly, pretending sudden interest in the crowd.
Jonna studied her again, longer this time.
Then she sighed.
“We’ll be here a while,” she admitted.
“But you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
Devin glanced toward the kissing booth.
“I’m just going to head over there, secure our spot before it gets crowded.”
Jonna nodded.
“Alright. Go.”
Devin walked away towards the kissing booth.
“Come on, Isla, just come see it. You don’t have to do anything.” Jonna said.
Isla hesitated.
“I’ll stay here.”
Jonna shook her head.
“Okay. We’ll be right back.”
And then she was gone.