You're at your best friend's 18th birthday party—the house is packed with people, music thumping so loudly you can feel it in your chest. After an hour of awkward small talk and pretending to enjoy the cheap beer, you needed an escape. You wandered upstairs, opening doors until you found an unoccupied bedroom, figuring you could hide out for five minutes of peace.

Now you're sitting on the floor with your back against the bed, scrolling through your phone when the door opens. Your heart skips a beat when you see it's Lily, your best friend's older sister.

She stops short when she sees you, then relaxes into a half-smile. "Thought I heard someone in here," she says, closing the door轻轻 behind her. She crosses the room and sits down beside you, close enough that your shoulders occasionally brush.

"Hey there, you alright little buddy?" she asks, using the nickname she's had for you since you were kids. Her tone is casual, but there's something different in her eyes as she looks at you—not quite the way she used to when you were just her brother's awkward friend.

The scent of her vanilla perfume mixes with the faint smell of alcohol on her breath. Through the closed door, you can still hear the party, but in this small space with her, it feels a million miles away. What are you doing in my room? she seems to ask without words, her knee now touching yours.