How many love stories begin like this? A girl meets a beautiful stranger at a party, and can’t get them out of her mind. Classic, overdone... and yet, when it happens to you, there’s this uniqueness to it. It’s hard to describe exactly what it’s like. It just feels... special.

Amelia was special.

My second year of college was a moment of big changes in my life. I had finally managed to end a four-year relationship with Michael, a boy from my previous school, and also my first love. Breaking up with him was challenging. Not because I regretted it, or had strong lingering feelings, but simply because every time I spoke of a breakup, he came up with a bunch of arguments to convince me to give it another go. And as often happened with us, I relented. Every time... but one.

A friend once told me that you never really know a man until the moment you say ‘no’ to him. I don’t know if this is true of everyone, but here’s what happened to me.

He asked me to quit college and move in with him.

I told him no.

He hit me.

He fucking hit me.

Needless to say, after that, I gave up trying. I sent him a really long message, telling him that things were over for good, and cut contact. He hasn’t tried to reach out for me since.

And so, here I am. Second year of college, never even been to a party, not since Michael and I had started dating. Lydia, one of the few people Michael would allow me to be friends with, actually physically jumped of joy when I told her I had broken up. Then she immediately messaged a friend of hers to plan a party at this friend’s place.

Janis was one of those people Michael would not allow me to be friends with. Because she was openly gay, and the guy didn’t like me hanging out with gay girls, for fear that they might influence me or some similar nonsense. Poor guy. If only he knew.

Anyway, none of that mattered anymore. Michael was no longer in my life. Party at Janis’ place? I’m down.

Saturday at 6pm, I took the subway line to the North Zone, to a neighborhood I’ve never been to, before. I had to wait for Lydia to meet me at the station with her boyfriend, then we took a cab that left us in front of a modest four-story building. We climbed the stairs to the third floor, and Lydia rang the doorbell.

I swear to god, that door was opened by a literal goddess.

“Hey, Ceres! Good to see you,” said Lydia, hugging the goddess. There was a moment of silence, while I stared awkwardly at that woman, and her at me. Lydia’s boyfriend nudged her, and she realized she hadn’t introduced us yet. “Oh, sorry. So, um, Ceres, this is Hannah, she’s a childhood friend. And Hannah, this is Janis’ girlfriend.”

“I’m her fiancée, actually,” said Ceres, beaming.

Lydia gaped. “No?! Really? When did that happen? Who proposed?”

Ceres chuckled. “I’ll tell you all about it, of course. But come in, first. Don’t just stand in the hallway.” She motioned us in.

Janis’ place was a cozy small apartment filled with cushions, plants, and artwork. We settled around a small coffee table in the living room while Ceres fetched us drinks from the kitchen. She asked us what we’d be having.

“Soda for me,” said Lydia. “Hannah, what would you like?”

I hesitated. I often felt awkward in situations like these. I decided to play it safe. “Same as you.”

Ceres came back with the drinks, and sat on the cushions with us.

“Now, spill,” said Lydia.

“Janis proposed,” Ceres declared, to Lydia’s delight. “It wasn’t anything grand. But it was pretty sweet, I think. You know how Janis is majoring in astronomy, and I’m... well, I’m actually named after a planet. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, we found out there was this meteor shower going to happen, so we drove to the mountains to watch it. We just sat there, stargazing, and talking to each other for hours.”

“And making out,” Lydia guessed, making Ceres giggle.

“Yes, that too. So, anyway, when the first meteor showed up, I asked Jan what she would wish for. She said she wished to spend her whole life by my side. Then she took the ring from her pocket, and I almost fainted right there.”

Lydia squealed. “She didn’t?!”

Ceres nodded, happily.

There was generalized commotion among us Ceres’ guests, then. Even Lydia’s boyfriend couldn’t help but fawn over that story. It was so sweet! And Ceres looked so in-love, then. Did I ever have that look on my face, when I was dating Michael? Somehow, I doubted that. Maybe when he asked me out, yes, but hardly after that moment.

“Ceres, um... do you mind if I ask you a question?” I risked.

“Sure, go ahead,” said the girl, grinning.

I hesitated a little. “How long have you and Janis been together?”

“Four years,” she answered. “Five next month.”

Four years.

That’s how long I had been with Michael, before our recent break-up. Back then, I would never have been able to smile like that with him. Not even if he proposed. Particularly not if he proposed. What did that mean, exactly? I didn’t hate the guy, not before the aggression. I simply... didn’t feel that deeply for him. It was strange to think that there were couples who could still be happily in love after years, while others simply fell apart.

The doorbell rang again. Ceres got up to answer the door.

It was Janis, and a few more people with her. Ceres and Janis immediately hugged each other and kissed. Well, would you look at that? That was the first time I was seeing two women kiss outside of TV. Everyone congratulated Janis on her engagement, and soon enough we were all together drinking and chatting happily with each other. Or, well, most people were chatting. I didn’t know anyone there, save for Lydia (and I barely ever spoke to Janis before that day), so I mostly kept to myself.

A few more guests arrived. A guy with a guitar slung across his back, and another dressed like a gentleman from the nineteenth century. And then, a girl. A redhead, with a nose ring and freckles. I saw her greet both Janis and Ceres enthusiastically, help herself to a beer from the fridge, and then... she came and sat right next to me.

“Hey, I don’t think we met,” said the girl. I hesitated, out of habit. Michael would definitely not allow me to befriend someone like her. But then she smiled at me, and I was suddenly very glad not to be dating him. From now on, I choose who I’m friends with.

“Hannah,” I said, offering her a handshake.

“Amelia,” said the girl. “Friends call me Mel.”

“Cute name, Mel.”

She smiled again. “Thanks, I picked it myself.”

I furrowed my brow. “I’m not sure what that means.”

Amelia laughed. “I’ll tell you about it some other time. So hey, are you a friend of Janis? I don’t recall seeing you in one of Ceres’ performances.”

Lydia intervened. “Hannah has been living in a cage,” she said, slurring just the tiniest bit. Was she drunk already? “She used to date this horrible guy who controlled every aspect of her life.”

“He didn’t control every aspect of my life,” I argued. I didn’t even know why I was trying to defend the guy. Maybe I just didn’t want Amelia to think I was a helpless idiot.

Lydia shot me a sideways glance. If the look on her face could be put into words, those words would be “girl, please...”

“How long has it been since you’ve last been in a party?” she asked.

I shrugged, trying to remember the last party I’d been to. It had been Lydia’s sixteenth birthday. She was twenty now. “Four years.”

“And how long have you been dating that idiot?”

“Four y— Lydia, that doesn’t matter,” I said, feeling my cheeks burn. I was blushing, and that was very unlike me.

“Admit it, Hannah. He even picked your friendships!”

I sighed. “Okay, so he may have been a little manipulative, yes.”

“Is it true?” said Amelia. I turned my head to look at her. The redhead had a desolate expression on her face. I nodded, and averted my eyes. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she declared.

“It’s alright,” I told her. “That’s all over, anyway. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“Of course,” said Amelia, smiling. “Hey, wanna hear the story of how I first met Ceres? It’s kind of a funny one.”

I smiled as well, and agreed. Amelia started telling me stories about her and the pair of girls who had now taken to dancing around the room, while one of their guests played love songs on the guitar. Amelia’s stories really were too funny, a series of unlikely and inexplicable events involving things like origami dinosaurs and capybara. Each story had me gasping at plot twists and laughing at the comic resolutions, just like a good novel. Only it was no novel. She’d done these things for real.

“Damn, I kinda envy you now,” I said, at some point. Amelia furrowed her brow, and stared at me in silence, utterly confused. She had just been telling me of this one time she and Janis fell in a river while trying to rescue a lizard who had been stranded on a rock. It definitely didn’t seem like the kind of thing someone should envy. “Oh, no, I mean... You’ve done so many things, been to so many places and all. It’s like you’ve really been living your life... while I just...”

“Hey,” Amelia interrupted me, sounding serious. “You were in a bad place, don’t blame yourself. You’re free, now. You can do all of that and more if you want.”

I chuckled. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Amelia smiled. “Want me to show you?” she asked, leaning slightly closer. “I can take you on some adventures, if you’d like.”

I felt my heart skip a beat. I looked at Amelia, locking eyes with her. Her sweet smile was... contagious.

“Okay,” I said, smiling as well. “I would like that.”