The party pulsed with light and rhythm. Music throbbed from the speakers like a living heartbeat, the bass weaving through bodies, heat, and laughter. Sami, perched on the edge of one of the mansions' many pillars, a cup of ginger soda in one hand, watched the revelry with a smile that flickered at the corners— content, but not quite at ease.
Beside her, Misa leaned close. Her braids swung slightly as she bounced to the beat, but her eyes were sharp, taking in her best friend like a detective sniffing out a secret. She'd seen that look before— It was the "he's-here-and-I-can't-breathe" look. The kind of glance a girl tries to hide when the boy she loves walks into the room.
Misa followed Sami's gaze.
Wolfgang.
He was in his usual form; chest semi-bared under some ridiculous, overly floral shirt, loose beige pants that moved like luxury on his long legs, sneakers so white they glowed under the fairy lights. He was surrounded by Jake, Max and some other guy, laughing as if he owned the air itself. Every now and then, he'd sweep a hand through his unruly curls, and even the way he leaned against the wall seemed to demand attention. It was ridiculous, and Misa would've been annoyed if it wasn't so damn effective.
"He's really milking the peacock prince thing tonight," Misa muttered, sipping her drink.
Sami tried to sound unaffected. "It's just how he is."
"You mean 'how he struts,'" Misa corrected with a grin. Then she turned, poking Sami lightly in the arm. "And you've been watching him like you're planning an art heist."
Sami rolled her eyes, but the heat climbing into her cheeks betrayed her. "Misa—"
"No, no. Don't deny it." Misa leaned in dramatically. "You're in love with Wolf!" She grinned broadly, fully showing her white teeth. "You're in love with that. You poor, poor creature."
Sami groaned into her drink. "I'm not in love with Wolfgang."
"You are."
"Please stop...."
"Absolutely not." Misa twirled her cup between her fingers like a wand. "How long are you going to deny it? Please stop the ridiculous show of playing it cool. You love that extravagant, overly flamboyant flowerboy!''
Sami sputtered. ''Well, he's good looking, isn't he? His fashion style and demeanour may be over the top, yes, but it's always well maintained, neat and stylish....''
"And he's the main striker of Ardenburg Greenhill Football Club and from what I hear he is pretty good at kicking balls, and his body is hot as hell," Misa said pointedly.
Sami looked away, frowning. "Wow, Misa, seriously? You know I care little for sports. Me and Wolf just talk sometimes."
"Yes, about fashion, and not only that; the two of you also from time-to-time work on fashion projects," Misa nudged her. "You two seem to have a pretty good chemistry...."
Sami said nothing. Her eyes flicked back to Wolfgang again. Just for a second. ''That's in the past, we hardly talk to each other lately,'' She muttered, her voice sounded sad and sorrowful.
Misa downed the last of her drink and stood abruptly. "Right. Enough moping. We're gonna do something about this."
"What?"
"The confession booth."
Sami's face froze. "No."
"Yes."
"Misa—"
"Do you trust me?" Misa asked, eyes gleaming with dangerous joy.
"No," Sami deadpanned.
"Rude," Misa said, grabbing her arm. "But I don't care. You're going in that booth. With him. Tonight."
Sami resisted, but Misa's grip was firm— like a best friend powered by truth and a mission to provoke fate.
"Misa— what if it's awkward? What if he doesn't feel the same?"
"What if he does?" Misa challenged.
They paused at the edge of the hallway leading to the pool house. The two girls stood next to the chocolate fountain under the illuminous spotlights that highlighted the piece of sweet extravagance with its bright light that shone excessively. Across the crowd, Wolfgang was just finishing a conversation with Jake. He caught sight of them - of Sami, more precisely - and gave his signature wink and crooked smile. He started walking toward them.
"Perfect," Misa whispered like a scheming general. "The prey comes willingly."
"Stop narrating my humiliation."
"Never."
Wolfgang approached, hands in his pockets, his shirt shifting slightly in the breeze. "Ladies," he greeted, eyes flicking between them. "Plotting something?"
Misa answered before Sami could breathe. "Yes. A game. Confession booth. You and Sami. Five minutes. No lies. Full honesty. Think you can handle that?"
Wolfgang blinked once, then smirked. "Truth or dare: Deluxe Edition?"
"Exactly."
He glanced at Sami, tilting his head. "You in?"
Sami was paralyzed, caught between terror and thrill. Her heart fluttered like paper in the wind. Then - slowly - she nodded. "Sure. Why not."
Wolfgang gave a mock bow and extended a hand. "After you, Madame Richenauer."
Sami's fingers brushed his as she took it, warm and soft and magnetic.
Misa beamed. "Have fun," she called, then added under her breath as they walked toward the velvet-curtained booth, "and please finally kiss him."
Sami shot her a warning look over her shoulder.
Wolfgang held the curtain open like a gentleman, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Ladies first."
And then - just like that - they were inside.
Misa stood outside the booth for a long moment, arms crossed and smiling like a matchmaker watching her masterpiece begin.
She didn't know how it would go in there. But she knew Sami needed to say something— anything. And if Wolfgang had half a soul beneath all that cologne and charisma, maybe - just maybe - he'd hear her.
"Alright," Misa whispered to herself. "Now it's up to them."
She turned and strolled back toward the dance floor, grinning wide. She felt happy. Delighted. The reason was because Jake had broken up with that vile witch Darcy, whom she always hated and detested for her arrogance and haughtiness.
Misa sat alone for a fleeting moment near the velvet-curtained booth, her drink swaying in her hand as the pulse of the party throbbed around her. She hadn't said it aloud - hadn't dared to - but the moment Jake mentioned he and Darcy were done, something inside her had quietly bloomed. A secret joy, tucked deep beneath her sarcasm and knowing smiles. But most of all she felt relieved that it was finally over, that she - and Jake - were now free of that bitch.
Of course, she was well aware that their relationship had become cold in recent months, but the fear that they would find each other again, that they would once again be together full of lust and love, banishing Misa to the shadow of their revived passion, always remained. So, now that the curtains have really fallen Misa really felt herself to be thirty kilograms lighter in enrapturing relief.
She remembered the chaos Darcy always brought. The venom behind her polished words. The way Jake's posture would tighten when she entered the room, like a man preparing for war. That girl - no, that storm - was finally out of his life.
Misa's fingers traced the rim of her cup. He deserves peace. He deserves someone who sees him - actually sees him - and doesn't treat love like a battlefield. Her chest tightened, and she exhaled slowly, lips curving slightly.
She hadn't told anyone how happy it made her. That would feel cruel. But in the quiet corridors of her mind, she let herself feel it. He's free now. Finally free. And maybe - just maybe - that meant there was space for something new. Something real. Something not made of drama and daggers disguised as kisses.
Misa took a long sip of a cup with lemonade she took from a table and grinned to herself. Now let's just hope the idiot realizes who's been in his corner all along.
She imagined what it would be like if he looked at her the way he used to look at Darcy— back before it all turned poisonous. Not the fake performance, not the guilt-laced obligation. Just that raw, real want. The way he smiled when someone surprised him, when he forgot to keep his walls up. Misa wanted that smile turned on her. Just once. Just long enough to see if it was as warm up close as it looked from the sidelines.
Would he touch me gently? Like I'm something delicate? Or would he grip my hips like I'm the anchor keeping him from flying apart? The thought made her legs tense involuntarily. She glanced down, cheeks burning. Get it together, Misa.
But still, her imagination wandered. She pictured his hands in her braids, trailing over her scalp with reverence and curiosity. She imagined sitting next to him, knees touching, late at night, legs intertwined under a blanket, some awful movie playing they weren't really watching. His hoodie wrapped around her, the smell of expensive cologne and something deeply Jake— warm, restless, real.
She could almost hear his voice - soft now, stripped of bravado - whispering something stupid and tender in her ear. Something like, "I don't know why I never saw it before. You're the only one who makes me feel calm."
Her breath hitched just thinking about it. God, that would be so amazing. Why can't that happen in real life? Why must I always remain his sister-like friend?
She rolled her eyes at herself, exasperated. "This is dumb," she whispered aloud. Like that will ever happen, get real Misa....
---------
Misa found Jake leaning against the stone wall near the drinks table, a half-finished soda in hand, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and that expensive watch glinting under the party lights. He looked relaxed, casual even, but she could tell by the slight tension in his jaw that he was still on edge. Maybe about Darcy. Maybe about something deeper.
She approached, waving her cup lazily. "Hey, tall and brooding. You plotting world domination or just avoiding drunk karaoke?"
Jake glanced over and smirked. "Both. Plotting while dodging disaster. You?"
"Just forced two people into a velvet trap of potential emotional implosion," she said, sipping. "You know. The usual."
He raised a brow. "Let me guess. Sami and Wolf?"
Misa gave him a guilty shrug. "What can I say? I believe in fate. And in pushing fate off a ledge when it hesitates."
Jake chuckled, his laugh low and genuine. "You're dangerous, you know that?"
"Only in the best way," she said, bumping her shoulder against his.
They stood in easy silence for a moment, the party's glow wrapping around them like a soft net. Misa watched him from the corner of her eye. He had that look again— half here, half somewhere far off. The kind of look she hated and adored in equal measure. Because she wanted to be the one who pulled him out of whatever inner world he kept escaping into.
"You okay?" she asked after a beat, quieter now.
Jake took a sip, then nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just.... Thinking. I keep expecting something to go wrong. Which is stupid, I know."
"It's not stupid," Misa said. "You've been through chaos. Makes sense your brain still thinks it's around the corner."
He glanced at her then, and for a second - just a flicker - his gaze softened, like he saw through her usual armour of jokes and deflection. "You always know what to say, huh?"
She shrugged, trying not to blush. "I try."
They both leaned against the wall now, shoulder to shoulder. Misa could feel the warmth of his arm next to hers. It was maddening— how natural it felt to be near him. How much effort it took not to reach out and take his hand.
"I'm glad you're here," Jake said suddenly.
She blinked. "At the party?"
He nodded. "Yeah. But also.... Just here. In general. You're solid, Misa. A lot of people come and go, but you're—" he paused, searching. "You're like gravity. You keep people grounded."
Her heart gave a slow, painful lurch. Say something, you idiot, she commanded herself, after being thunderstruck for a few seconds.
She smiled instead, tilting her head toward him. "Well, someone's gotta keep you from flying into a black hole of your own brooding."
He laughed. "That's fair."
But the words Jake, I really like you caught in her throat again— stuck somewhere between fear and timing. Misa had said so many things to so many people. But never that. Not to him. Because once said, it could never be taken back. And she wasn't ready to lose him— not even to the truth.
So, she swallowed the words down, like always.
"You gonna watch karaoke?" Jake asked, suddenly bright again. "I'm thinking of doing something.... Special."
"Oh? ~ You're going to do a duet with Max or something?" She replied, grinning.
Jake smiled dejectedly, looking as if something heavy weighted on his chest. "No," he replied. ''This time I'm going to do something really special.''
Misa felt dumbstruck by his suddenly turned-dark demeanour. ''What could that 'special' thing be?''
''I'll sing a song that waves goodbye to an old period and ushers in a new period.''
''What song?'' Misa asked intrigued.
''You'll hear when the time's ready,'' Jake said softly, almost whispering.
''O-Okey,'' Misa said.
She felt a fire of curiosity burning within her, but also a spark of joy, because with the words 'I'll sing a song that waves goodbye to an old period and ushers in a new period' Jake made it clear that he no longer had any doubts about his relationship with Darcy, and that he sincerely and determinedly wanted to enter into a new life, separate from her.
Misa's mood turned delighted again.
Now he truly enters into a new period! Away from that wretched witch he can really concentrate and focus on his new life!