He checks himself one last time.
Something unfamiliar looks back.
The door is already open.
Red spills down the stairs like something from a story.
She does not wait to be asked.
Twelve seconds pass.
Neither speaks.
Then she laughs at something no one else heard.
The room tilts.
They move through the crowd side by side.
Someone calls from across the hall.
Neither turns around.
She stops on the stairs and glances back.
The light catches him mid-step.
Neither moves first.
Outside, the sun holds on to the last warm hour.
She leans into the brick.
He forgets what he was going to say.
They find the one place no one else has found.
She tells him something true.
He laughs louder than he meant to.
Back to back, fingers laced.
When they turn around, the music has already started.
His shoulder is the only place left.
The lights are still on.
Neither of them moves.
The lights go out at midnight. They do not notice.
