The bass hit before Nick even reached the porch, low enough to rattle the loose railing beneath his hand. Light spilled through the front windows in flashes of blue and amber, turning the packed living room into a shifting blur of silhouettes. Someone laughed too loudly from somewhere inside. Someone else shouted over the music, the words swallowed before they could make sense. The old off-campus house looked like it had survived decades of student tenants through sheer stubbornness, its sagging porch and peeling paint temporarily disguised beneath strings of cheap lights and the constant tide of people flowing through the front door.
Nick ran a hand through his dark blond hair before stepping toward the front door, pushing back the pieces that had fallen forward during the walk over. At six feet tall, with a broad athletic frame built from years of lifting and playing sports, he was used to standing out in a crowd even when he wasn't trying to. His blue eyes and easy smile had always made people assume he was more confident than he felt, but tonight he was mostly just looking for a familiar face and a drink.
Nick stepped inside and was immediately absorbed into the crowd. Warm air, thick with the smell of beer, cologne, and sweat, pressed in from every side. Shoulders bumped his as strangers squeezed past with plastic cups held overhead, trying not to spill their drinks. He adjusted the hem of his cutoff T-shirt, muttered an apology to someone he'd accidentally elbowed, and started working his way toward the back of the house, where the music seemed even louder.
He was halfway down the narrow hallway when someone shifted from the doorway ahead, blocking his path just enough to make him stop.
The guy leaning against the frame couldn't have looked more comfortable if he'd owned the place. A white tank clung to a lean, athletic frame. He was tall, close to Nick's height, with tanned skin, strong shoulders, and faded basketball shorts that stopped well above his knees. A backward black cap barely contained a mess of tousled brown hair, with a few strands falling loose across his forehead. One shoulder rested lazily against the molding, like he'd been watching people wander by all night. A crooked grin spread across his face the moment Nick met his eyes.
"Yo," he said, raising his voice just enough to be heard over the music. "Welcome, man. Glad you made it." His grin widened. "Which roommate dragged you here?"
Nick nodded toward the front of the house. "Aiden."
"Nice."
The stranger stepped forward without missing a beat, greeting him with an easy dap that rolled into a quick side hug.
"I'm Chase."
He gave Nick a friendly clap on the shoulder before stepping aside to let a pair of girls squeeze through the hallway.
"So how do you know Aiden?"
"Same fraternity. We pledged together."
Chase's eyes flicked over Nick for a second, taking in the cutoff sleeves stretched over broad shoulders.
"Yeah," he said with a laugh. "That checks out."
Nick looked him up and down. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've got the uniform down." Chase gestured at the jeans and cutoff shirt. "Just missing the backwards hat."
Nick smiled. "Says the guy actually wearing one."
Chase reached up on instinct, adjusting the cap as a few strands of brown hair escaped onto his forehead. His hazel eyes narrowed with an amused grin.
"Fair."
"So," Chase said, "was Aiden one of the idiots who got stuck on the library roof last month?"
Nick laughed.
"No chance. That was Pike."
Chase groaned. "I knew it."
"They swore they were hanging a banner."
"Sure they were."
"Exactly."
"I still can't believe campus police had to bring a ladder."
"And they still posted the video themselves."
Chase shook his head. "The internet ruined shame."
Nick laughed.
"That's your takeaway?"
"I'm serious."
"No, you're not."
"I am a little."
Chase smiled, the kind that came easily.
The conversation drifted from there without either of them noticing. One ridiculous campus story rolled into another. A professor whose microphone accidentally broadcast an argument with his wife before class. An economics TA who ate pavement on an electric scooter in front of two hundred students. Someone stealing the mascot costume and taking it to a fraternity formal. Somewhere between laughing at people they barely knew and comparing professors to avoid next semester, Nick realized he'd stopped looking for the people he'd come with.
Someone brushed between them on the way to the kitchen, sloshing beer onto the hardwood.
"My bad," the guy muttered, already disappearing into the crowd.
Chase glanced toward the living room, where another group had just wandered through the front door.
"I was supposed to be making rounds like twenty minutes ago."
Nick smirked. "You're a terrible host."
"I know."
Chase made no move to leave.
Another burst of laughter erupted from the living room, followed by a chorus of off-key singing that somehow managed to overpower the music.
Chase winced.
"Jesus."
Nick laughed. "Your party."
"I know." Chase shook his head. "I forgot how loud people get after some beers."
A chant broke out somewhere near the kitchen, answered by a series of hard bangs against the countertop.
Chase looked toward the ceiling for a moment, then back at Nick.
"You wanna get out of here for a bit?"
Nick shrugged.
"Sure."
"I've got a better spot."
Chase disappeared into the kitchen and came back a few seconds later with two cold cans pulled from a half-empty case in the refrigerator.
He tossed one across the hallway.
Nick caught it one-handed.
"Thanks, dude."
Chase flashed him a quick grin and jerked his head toward the back door.
"C'mon."
They slipped through the laundry room and out onto the back deck. The door clicked shut behind them, and the noise softened instantly. The bass still pulsed through the walls, but out here it sounded distant, more like a heartbeat than a song. The voices below blurred together until they became part of the house itself, something alive but far away.
The backyard was swallowed in darkness. Beyond the weak glow spilling from a single porch light, the fence dissolved into shadow. Somewhere nearby, cicadas buzzed lazily in the warm summer air.
Chase crossed the deck without hesitation and grabbed the narrow aluminum ladder bolted to the side of the house.
"You've done this before," Nick said.
"A few times."
Chase was already climbing.
Nick followed, the aluminum rungs cool beneath his hands. As he pulled himself over the edge, the roof stretched out in every direction, dark shingles still holding onto the last of the day's warmth.
The sounds of the party faded another step. They could still hear muffled laughter and the steady thump of bass beneath them, but up here it felt like another world.
Chase wandered toward the center of the roof and dropped into a seat, stretching his legs out in front of him.
Nick joined him.
Chase lifted his beer.
"Cheers."
Nick raised his can.
"Cheers."
The aluminum cracked together with a soft metallic click.
They each took a drink.
Nick set his beer beside him and leaned back until his shoulders rested against the shingles. He folded his hands behind his head.
Above them, the sky stretched on forever.
Without the porch lights in his eyes, he could see hundreds of stars scattered across the darkness, each one sharp enough to catch his attention. They shimmered quietly overhead while the party rumbled beneath the roof, distant now, like thunder rolling somewhere far away.
For a while, neither of them said anything.
The roof held onto the warmth of the day beneath them, but the night air had started to cool around their shoulders. Somewhere below, the party continued on without them. The bass still pulsed faintly through the walls, but it felt impossibly far away.
Nick watched the stars overhead, letting the quiet settle in.
Then something flickered at the edge of his vision.
A small point of greenish light drifted through the darkness, moving slowly above the roof. A firefly floated closer, its glow appearing and disappearing like it was breathing.
Nick smiled.
"Bro, look."
Chase turned his head.
Before either of them could say anything else, the firefly drifted toward Nick and landed gently against his cheek.
Chase froze.
"Don't move."
Nick glanced over at him, amused. "Why?"
"Just trust me."
There was something about the seriousness in Chase's voice that made Nick go still.
Chase shifted closer, the movement slow enough that Nick could have pulled away if he wanted to. Up close, the details he'd only noticed in flashes earlier became clearer. The messy brown hair escaping from beneath his cap. The faint shadow along his jaw. The hazel of his eyes, softer now without the noise of the party surrounding them.
Chase lifted a hand.
His fingers brushed lightly against Nick's cheek as he guided the firefly away. The touch should have lasted only a second, just long enough to move the tiny insect back into the night.
But his hand stayed.
Nick forgot about the firefly.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The confident smile Chase had worn all night was gone. He looked different up here, quieter. Like there was no crowd to entertain and no reason to pretend he wasn't affected by the closeness between them.
Nick's breath caught.
His eyes, wide and unguarded, reflected the endless scatter of stars above them. The same blue eyes that had seemed so certain downstairs now looked almost surprised, like he was trying to understand what was happening before it disappeared.
Chase's thumb brushed once along his cheek and Nick felt the warmth of his hand against the cool night air.
Then Chase leaned closer.
Slowly, carefully, giving Nick every chance to stop him.
Nick didn't.
Their lips met softly, a quiet contrast to the chaos happening below them. For a few seconds, the whole world seemed reduced to the feel of Chase's hand against his face, the warmth of his body beside him, and the distant glow of the party beneath the roof.
Above them, the stars kept burning.
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