They met at dusk.
Eli almost backed out three times. Her hands were shaking as she zipped up her jacket and stuffed her sketchbook into her bag. What was she even doing? Breaking into a lighthouse with a girl she just met?
But then she saw Skyler — waiting by her bike under the amber streetlight, camera in one hand, two cups of iced coffee in the other.
"You came," Skyler said, handing her a cup. "Wasn't sure if you'd chicken out."
Eli raised an eyebrow. "I considered it."
Skyler winked. "Cute."
Eli nearly dropped the coffee.
They walked the cliffside in silence at first. The air smelled like salt and old secrets. The lighthouse stood tall in the distance, its cracked windows reflecting the fading sky like broken glass mosaics.
Skyler whistled. "You weren't kidding. This place is straight out of a dream."
Eli smiled quietly. "It's my quiet place."
Skyler glanced at her. "Or your lonely place?"
Eli paused. "Sometimes both."
Skyler didn't press. Instead, she pulled a small metal rod from her backpack and jimmied the lock like she'd done it before.
"You've done this before?" Eli asked, half impressed, half terrified.
Skyler smirked. "What, trespassing? Babe, it's basically my middle name."
Eli tried to pretend the word "babe" didn't set off fireworks in her stomach.
Inside, it was dust and silence and the soft creak of memories. They climbed the spiral staircase, Skyler snapping photos of peeling paint and shattered lanterns. Eli stayed a step behind, watching the way the light hit Skyler's face through the cracks in the tower.
When they reached the top, the town below looked tiny. The sun dipped low, bleeding pink and orange across the sea.
Skyler didn't take a picture.
She just looked at Eli.
"You always see things like this?" Skyler asked softly.
Eli turned to her. "Like what?"
"Like they're more beautiful when no one else is watching."
Eli didn't know what to say. So she handed Skyler her sketchbook, the one no one touched but her.
Skyler flipped through it slowly, reverently. "These… these are magic."
She stopped at a page — a portrait of the lighthouse, and below it… a girl. Half-finished. But the shape of the eyes was unmistakable.
It was Skyler.
Eli froze.
Skyler looked up, grinning. "Is this me?"
Eli opened her mouth to lie. Couldn't.
Skyler stepped closer. "You see me like that?"
"I—"
But Skyler kissed her.
It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't loud. It was soft, like a question.
And Eli kissed back.
For a second, there was only them.
But then the camera flashed.
Skyler had accidentally leaned against it.
They pulled apart, breathless — laughing nervously.
"I think I just outed us to my entire Instagram," Skyler muttered.
Eli's stomach dropped.