As an ordinary genius

Ethan sat at the edge of his bed, cradling his head in his hands. The hangover had dulled to a faint throb, but the embarrassment of not remembering most of the night before lingered.

He stared at the glass of water and aspirin on his nightstand, muttering to himself, "Never again. I'm never drinking again."

Raj peeked into the room, grinning as usual. "You alive, buddy?"

"Barely," Ethan groaned. "I feel like my brain's been replaced with static."

Raj laughed and plopped down in the chair by Ethan's desk. "Well, that's what happens when you let loose for the first time in, like, ever. I'm proud of you, man. You actually had fun."

Ethan looked at him suspiciously. "Define 'fun.'"

"Oh, you know, dancing like nobody was watching, laughing at terrible jokes, and..." Raj trailed off, smirking.

"And what?" Ethan asked, narrowing his eyes.

Raj shrugged. "Nothing. Just saying it was a good night for you."

Ethan sighed, leaning back against the wall. "I don't even remember how I got home."

"Felicity walked you back," Raj said casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Ethan froze. "What? Why would she do that?"

"You were... let's say, a little unsteady on your feet," Raj said with a chuckle. "She said she'd make sure you got home safe."

Ethan felt a pang of unease. "Did I... did I say anything stupid to her?"

Raj's grin widened. "Nah, you were just your charming self. Don't worry about it."

Ethan stared at him, trying to read his expression. "You're lying, aren't you?"

"Would I do that?" Raj asked, feigning innocence.

"Yes," Ethan said flatly.

Raj laughed but didn't elaborate. "Relax, man. Felicity's cool. If you did say anything, she didn't seem upset about it."

Ethan spent the rest of the day replaying Raj's words in his head, his anxiety growing with each passing hour. He couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened—something important—but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember.

He checked his phone for any messages from Felicity. Nothing.

"Good," he muttered to himself. "If there's no message, maybe I didn't do anything too embarrassing."

Still, he couldn't stop wondering.

The next day, Ethan bumped into Felicity at the library. She was sitting at a table, her laptop open, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Hey," he said, approaching cautiously.

She looked up and smiled. "Hey, Ethan. Feeling better?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Thanks for... you know, getting me home."

"No problem," she said, her tone light and friendly.

Ethan hesitated, then asked, "I didn't do anything... weird, did I?"

Felicity's smile widened slightly. "Define 'weird.'"

"Great," Ethan said, groaning. "That's reassuring."

"Relax, Ethan," she said, laughing softly. "You were fine. A little drunk, but fine."

He nodded, still feeling a little uneasy. "Okay. Thanks, Felicity."

"No problem," she said, turning back to her laptop.

As he walked away, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something she wasn't telling him.

That night, Ethan sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen but not really seeing it. His mind was elsewhere, replaying snippets of the party, trying to fill in the gaps.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Never again," he said aloud. "No more drinking."

He pulled out a sticky note and wrote, "No alcohol—EVER." He stuck it on the corner of his monitor as a reminder.

"From now on," he thought, "I'll focus on what I can control—work, projects, and staying out of trouble."

What Ethan didn't realize was that some moments, no matter how embarrassing or unclear, had a way of coming back to him when he least expected it.